Crime up near Aqueduct, No Honeymoon!

Crme doesn't usually increase immediately when a new Gambling Parlor opens, Not so for Genting and New York.



Crime picks up pace in ‘racino’ precinct
By PHILIP MESSING and JAMIE SCHRAM

Crime has gone up in the Queens precinct that covers the glittering new racino at Aqueduct, The Post has learned.

It’s unclear to what, if any, extent the gambling operation can be tied to the spurt of petit larcenies and misdemeanor assaults in the 106th Precinct, which covers South Ozone Park.

In November, the first month since the casino opened, petit larcenies in the precinct rose 53.3 percent to 92, from 60 in the same month in 2010.

There were 41 misdemeanor assaults, compared with 26 in November 2010, a 57.7 percent increase.

In December, petit larcenies went up 8.2 percent compared with December 2010, and misdemeanor assaults were up 31 percent.

During the months immediately before the casino opened, the two quality-of-life crimes had been trending downward.

It’s not clear how many crimes occurred on casino property — but there were at least three: a car was stolen from a parking lot; a dropped wallet was snatched in the racino by a patron; and one gambler tried to use a counterfeit bill in a slot machine.

A spokesman for the racino, Stefan Friedman, said, “Our commitment to keeping criminal activity out of the project has resulted in extremely few incidents on or around the casino property.’’

Betty Barton, head of the local community board, said “both the Genting Co. [which operates the racino] and the NYPD have been responsive.”

“Both . . . are making every effort to ensure that visitors to the casino continue to experience their visits safely.’’



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/crime_picks_up_pace_in_racino_precinct_L4fjjETSda74ksCmiPu3bI#ixzz1kHcEbQJf