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Foreclosed & Vacant Homes Rife With Crime In Queens
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 15, 2011
Modified Oct 15, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 15, 2011
Modified Oct 15, 2011
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One of the unintended consequences of kicking people out of their homes that they bought with subprime mortgages is that it makes the community less safe. There are so many empty homes that the federal government is considering renting them out. This couldn't happen soon enough in Jamaica Queens, where many vacant homes are rife with drugs, prostitution, and gang members. "They're becoming a magnet for criminal activity," the commanding officer of the 113th Precinct tells the Times. "They hang out in these abandoned homes that may be foreclosed, or the owners walked away. Every day we respond to something of that effect."
Queens councilman James Sanders Jr. says, "We're seeing activities where people are having strip shows in these homes." A neighbor and activist notes that, "you see them smoking their drugs in the driveway at night. They have parties. If the cops come, they run. During the day, they're quiet as a church mouse." This summer, police raided one vacant home and found two loaded guns, cocaine, marijuana, bags for selling drugs and $1,100 in cash. Three people who were squatting were charged with gun and drug crimes.
Though the police don't usually keep statistics on criminal activity in vacant or foreclosed homes, the 113th Precinct has begun keeping a list of homes that appear to shelter criminals. Right now, the list stands at 75 homes, with another 25 to be added by the NYC Department of Buildings and elected officials to keep watch. "It's destroying our quality of life," Jamaica councilman Leroy Comre Jr. says. "We can't say, 'Ah, we tried, and it's not working.'"
Tagged
crime
drugs
economy
guns
housing bubble
housing crisis
jamaica queens
nypd
queens
subprime mortgages
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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