Burglaries Drive Slight Uptick In Forest Hills Crime Rate

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — New York City may have seen a spike in violent crime in 2020, but Forest Hills and Rego Park bucked the trend.

Crime levels in the neighborhood saw only a small uptick last year, thanks to a slight increase in burglaries, robberies and car thefts, according to NYPD Captain Joseph Cappelmann, the commanding officer of the 112th Precinct.

Overall, the precinct has continued averaging 12 crimes a week, he said.

Officers started seeing more burglaries at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, mostly at chain pharmacies and retailers like CVS, Walgreens and Target, Cappelmann said during a 112th Precinct Community Council meeting Wednesday night.

“Typically this command doesn’t have a ton of commercial burglaries," Cappelmann said. "This year was somewhat of an anomaly, hopefully."

Most of those arrested for the burglaries do not appear to be local or specifically targeting Forest Hills and Rego Park; the accused burglars are being tied to similar crimes all over the city, according to Cappelmann.

The trend has followed officers into 2021.

On Jan. 3, a man with a bag on his hand walked into the Rite Aid on Austin Street and 71st Avenue, claimed he had a gun and demanded money.

He was arrested several days later on charges related to the Rite Aid hold-up, another at a Forest Hills beauty spa and two other incidents in a different part of Queens, Cappelmann said.

Cappelmann said there have been no recent shootings at the Rite Aid, addressing a question about the veracity of an unconfirmed report about gunfire there.

In an effort to deter crime, officers with the 112th Precinct are now being stationed near stores that have been hotspots for burglars and shoplifters.

Cappelmann also warned of car thefts in the neighborhood but said the numbers have gone down after police arrested several accused of repeat offenses.

"They’re not professional car thieves, they’re opportunists," he said.

Neighbors should also be on the lookout for online scams, Cappelmann said. Common examples include unsolicited emails from someone claiming they've fixed a computer issue, supposed property investment or real estate opportunities and emails falsely claiming an issue with an Amazon account's payment method.

Forest Hills and Rego Park residents with crime-related questions or inquiries should contact the 112th Precinct's community affairs unit.