Photo of slashed tire via one of the victims.

By Krista Carter

Several Upper West Siders who parked their cars on Amsterdam Avenue between 107th to 110th streets awoke on Wednesday to find their tires had been slashed. The NYPD said someone slashed the tires on seven vehicles overnight for no clear reason.

“It’s pure malicious vandalism,” said Captain Timothy Malin of the 24th precinct.

This is the second such incident in the past few weeks. On Dec. 27, four cars on Riverside Drive between 100th and 102nd streets were found with slashed tires. There aren’t many video cameras on that block, so police had trouble tracking the people involved.

In general, police don’t open case files on these types of incidents, but they have in this case. Detectives want anyone who was vandalized to call 911 and report it, including details about when they parked their car and when they found the tires slashed. Getting as many details about where and when this might have happened will help them catch the perpetrator(s).

Below, check out our roundup of the 24th precinct community council meeting on Wednesday night:

1. Guest speakers:

• The Foundation for a Drug-Free World:  A nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free.

• Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB):  An independent agency with subpoena power, that handles complaints about police misconduct:

II. Captain Larin community update:

• Introduces the precinct’s 6 newest officers.  The probationary officers are aged 25-29 years old.  They will train for 6 months before being sent to an operation impact zone, an area of high crime, and will be paired up with veteran officers.  This gives the rookies a well-rounded approach instead of putting them on foot for an indefinite period of time.

  • Statistics:

    • Grand larcenies and burglaries continue to be the precinct’s biggest crimes

    • Grand larcenies of unattended property pose as the most common type of grand larceny committed in the neighborhood

    • So far this year there has been a 33% jump in burglaries.  It is happening primarily in institutions e.g. nursing homes, shelters, SROs, etc.

• Howard Stokes was arrested last week and is still in custody.  He was responsible for robbing two females of their pocketbooks on October 18, 2014 at 106th and 107th Streets. He is not from the neighborhood. Police released the sketch at right after the incidents.

• There has been an uptick in robberies between 100th Street to 110th Street from Amsterdam Avenue to Central Park West

• Last Sunday, 3 men robbed a cell phone store at 109th Street.  They brandished a firearm, hit the employee with a gun and stole 4 cells and an Apple Mac notebook

• On Friday night into Saturday morning at 105th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, there was a shot fired event.  Witness accounts claimed that a man was shooting another across the street and then fled in a silver car.

• A sign has been put on at 97th Street and Riverside Drive to advise out-of-towners to not leave their belongings in their cars

III. Community Questions:

• A resident asked why there has been an increase in petty larcenies.  Captain Larin responded that they can be attributed to the break-ins on Riverside Drive, as well as the shoplifters, especially at 24-hour stores like Duane Reade.

• A resident asked how many officers are in the precinct.  There are 112 officers currently and another 6 will be arriving from Central Park.  There are 5 lieutenants and 17 sergeants.

• A resident asked about last week’s subway incident in which a man was brandishing a chain at the 103rd Street subway station.  The man was escorted and taken into custody and psychiatrically evaluated.  He was not brought up on charges.