Residents of Pawan Circle went before the Ulster Town Board earlier this month after a recent series of home break-ins in the community.
A letter signed by 58 members of the community was submitted to the Town Board on Tuesday, January 31, asking for assistance after three break-ins over nearly 11 months in their modest community. Many of those residents came before the Town Board two days later, including Stephen Hack.
“It is scary,” Hack said. “The most recent (break-in) occurred at 11 o’clock in the morning. We believe there are some solutions that could help us here, but the first thing we want to do is to bring some attention to the problem we are having there, and hopefully that will help shed some light on it.”
Light is one of the solutions discussed by council members along with Town of Ulster Police Chief Kyle Berardi and Town Supervisor James E. Quigley, III.
“Shortly after the third event I received an email,” Quigley said. “That night I was down at the entrance of Pawan Circle, and I noticed that there are no street lights down there. I have had frequent requests for the installation of street lights (in other parts of the municipality), and I’ve also had many complaints when we install street lights because we disturb peoples’ rural living character.”
An informal survey of the residents in attendance showed that they would favor the installation of a pair of street lights, one at either end of Pawan Circle, and the Town Board approved the supervisor’s motion that he ask Central Hudson to accommodate the request.
Hack asked for further assistance as well, including possibly blocking the north end of Pawan Circle at Varun Lane to make it easier to monitor the comings and goings of vehicles through the community.
“That right there would be a deterrent,” he said. “And we want to become a Neighborhood Watch community. We need video surveillance both coming in and coming out. A lot of us have these Ring doorbells, and they help. But just the deterrent of having a light or a fixture that recognizes the fact that we’re Neighborhood Watch and there’s video surveillance on cars coming in and out we think will help.”
Hack stressed that while the residents of Pawan Circle aren’t exactly tight-knit, they are still a community and are looking to quell the spate of thefts together…with a little help.
“We come looking to work with you,” Hack said. “We want you to be aware of it and we are concerned. We come from all walks of life, we’re not community living, we don’t all come to a cafeteria to eat together, but we do look out for each other.”
Quigley said that, like adding street lights, license plate readers and cameras have also been suggested in other parts of the municipality.
“And just like with the street lights, we’ve had those that are for and those that are against,” Quigley said. “This is a technologically challenging exercise and it may not be something that we can get done right away.”
Berardi said that his department had begun patrolling the Pawan Circle area more frequently, but he said the community will also be a significant deterrent to further break-ins.
“If you have cameras, please turn them on,” Berardi said, adding that they should be on 24 hours a day. “Obviously it’s happening during the day because that’s the least amount of time the people are home. But you’ve got a look out for each other: Call if you see somebody suspicious. The biggest thing is that you try to contact us immediately.”
Quigley seconded the idea of contacting the police department, adding that residents should stop short of confronting anyone acting suspiciously on their street.
“If you see a strange car write the plate number down, but don’t approach the car to take a picture,” he said.
Berardi said the Town of Ulster isn’t the only local community experiencing an increase in residential break-ins.
“It appears that people are randomly picking new neighborhoods,” he said, adding that it’s unclear if there’s an organized effort by thieves from community to community.
Town Board member Eric Kitchen suggested that bail reform will lead to an increase in crimes like residential break-ins.
“There’s no secret right now that in the country, in the state there’s a message being sent with bail reform that if you rob a house there’s no consequences,” Kitchen said. “You get out of jail immediately and then you go out to do it again.”
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