 Borough President Vito Fossella joined his fellow elected officials and members of the law enforcement community to offer his support to legislation introduced into the State Assembly to address the dramatic spike in car thefts across Staten Island, the city, and the state.
“This is the bottom line, like most things in the bail reform a few years ago were a joke, if you steal a car whether it be on Staten Island or anywhere in the state, it’s a joke -- you get a slap on the wrist if anything,” said Borough President Fossella during a press conference outside the 122nd Precinct in New Dorp. Assemblyman Mike Reilly and Assemblyman Michael Tannousis introduced legislation that would increase the penalties for those who commit grand larceny auto. The legislation also aims to increase the prison sentence for those who commit grand larceny auto again after a previous conviction. In addition, the legislation would try 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds in the Youth Part of Criminal Court rather than in Family Court. State Sen. Andrew J. Lanza introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Borough President Fossella said there are rings in New Jersey who come to Staten Island and recruit 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to steal cars “because they know nothing is going to happen to them. They go to Family Court, plea to a misdemeanor, and they’re back on the street to steal another car.” “And, last summer in particular, it was like happy hunting season, in which sometimes people would get two cars stolen from their house in a single day,” he said. “And if you caught them, if you were lucky enough to catch them, nothing happened. And yet, despite the best efforts of the people who serve in the New York City Police Department every single day to combat crime and to keep us safe and to prevent stolen cars, what happens is these individuals know they can get away with anything. If you need any more exhibits as to what you can get with away, just watch the video, it’s not about stolen cars, but its emblematic of where we are as a city right now, watch the video of the police officers getting beat up by migrants in Times Square two weeks ago. That is what we’re dealing with right now. That’s the mentality, that’s the disposition that the people who wear the uniform are the enemy, the people who come here illegally can beat them up without consequences. We on Staten Island, quite frankly, are looking to change that mentality, change the attitude and this legislation is a step in that direction. I want to thank the men and women in the New York City Police Department who are on the frontlines every single day to try to keep us safe.” Comments are closed.
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