More than 40 people congregated at Erwin First United Methodist Church on Monday night to talk about safety in light of a string of robberies in the East neighborhood.

In September, Syracuse police announced that the same two men may have been responsible for 10 robberies in the East neighborhood dating back to July. In many of the robberies, the suspects had a gun when they sneaked up on their victims, who were mostly students. The robberies occurred anywhere from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., and Sept. 28 was the day of the last robbery, said Capt. John Brennan of the Syracuse Police Department.

Although the meeting failed to attract Syracuse University students, city common councilors, several police officials and representatives from neighborhood watch groups attended the meeting, which lasted for an hour. Residents issued concerns about neighborhood safety and asked police officials for advice.

Before answering questions, Deputy Chief Joseph Cecile announced that SPD had arrested two individuals in connection with the Eastside robberies. They have not admitted to the robberies, but SPD is ‘fairly sure’ the two individuals committed the crimes, he said.

‘As soon as we made that arrest, the robberies went to almost zero,’ Cecile said. ‘This does not mean you shouldn’t be cautious, you should still be cautious out there because it’s clear that we have multiple people who are doing these robberies.’

Cecile encouraged residents to make their homes a hard target for burglars by leaving lights on, locking doors and having a house alarm. Criminals look to break into homes with doors or windows open and would likely look for a different target if a home has certain safeguards, he said.

Several residents also said they haven’t noticed a heavy presence by SU’s Department of Public Safety in the neighborhood.

Tony Callisto, chief of DPS, said his department typically has six officers working from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on certain days in the off-campus neighborhood, covering the area between Westcott, Thurber and East Genesee streets. In regards to Thornden Park, Callisto said SPD is responsible for that area, though DPS also patrols the park.

‘If our officers come across a felony in progress, they can actually make an arrest in that case regardless of whether it’s on campus or in the city, and they have in a couple of these cases,’ Callisto said.

Residents questioned police officials about how to defend themselves. Bruno Danielle, a SPD officer, told the audience that pepper spray was legal in certain amounts and residents should take caution in carrying weapons, as criminals can take the weapons and use them on the victim.

‘Your best defense is if they want something, give them something,’ Danielle said.

Harry Lewis, who has lived in the Eastside for 51 years and is treasurer of the Southeast University Neighborhood Association, ended the meeting by saying, ‘I feel more secure in this area than any place else in the city of Syracuse, especially with SU patrolling and so on, and I’m very happy I live in the area, and I hope everybody else does, too.’

As residents left, they took brown paper bags with light bulbs. It was to remind residents to leave their porch light on at night to help deter crime — the first of many precautions meeting organizer Cheryl Bellino hopes residents will take.

She said: ‘I think people are very aware and now concerned for each other and students, and I think people will pay more attention, be aware, leave their lights on, and if they see something funny, they’ll call the police.’

jdharr04@syr.edu

Published on October 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jon: jdharr04@syr.edu