Published: November 12, 2009 11:39 pm      

NORTH TONAWANDA: Payne-Oliver residents unite to fight crime

About 31 people attended the first meeting of North Tonawanda’s new “Citizens on Patrol” watch group Thursday at a church on Thompson Street.

Of those, eight signed up to keep a regular log of the goings on in the area the group was formed to protect:

Robinson Street from Oliver Street to Payne Avenue; Payne from Robinson to Thompson Street; Thompson from Payne to Oliver; Oliver from Thompson to Robinson; Vandervoort Street from Robinson to Christiana Street; all of Lincoln Avenue; all of Ganson Street and all of Geneva Street.

A sample sign was unveiled at the meeting and the city has committed to pay for more to be displayed throughout the neighborhood, where residents have convinced officials that petit crime is on the rise.

Business owners were in attendance, either to help our or out of curiosity, including Greg Wood of Wattengel Funeral Home on Oliver Street, a business that has been in the city for well longer than 100 years.

“In the last few years we’ve seen the area really, really decline and we’re concerned,” Wood said.

It’s this neighborhood that was the subject of several public meetings in recent weeks organized by Mayor Larry Soos. The city, including police and building maintenance officials hosted several such forums ultimately leading to the volunteer group’s creation.

With bylaws written up and distributed, Chairwoman Amber Penkszyk held off on a vote to adopt them while she got to know those who gathered at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 316 Thompson St., either to pitch in or share their thoughts.

Second Ward Councilman-elect Rich Andres attended, doing his best to help the body brainstorm on ways it can work through official city channels to get things done.

Penkszyk has appointed several “block captains,” who will help distribute information in their immediate area. On Thursday at least three more volunteers for the job were needed, with one woman stepping up by the time the meeting ended.

“This is just a first step,” Vice Chairman Mike Fisher said. “Other areas of North Tonawanda can start groups of their own.”

But some of what the officers (including Secretary Linda Hankinson and Co-Chairman Doug Johnson) have discussed is relevant to all residents sick of the kind of drug activity, trashy properties, break-ins and other quality of life crimes that seem to be on the rise.

For instance, where the police department is concerned, laws now on the books mean the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

In other words, one of the group’s most basic directives will be to report and report again every single infraction or disturbance they can document in the area. A nuisance law sometimes calls for many calls to be made before, for instance, a troublesome tenant can be forcefully evicted.

A tip line that could contribute to such a tally can be called at 693-8477, the group was told.

“If they don’t have enough complaints they can’t do anything,” Penkszyk said, continually re-issuing lessons learned during the original community crime forums, at which members of the police department and other officials debated at length residents’ options and the limits of the law.

Also, she has discovered the North Tonawanda police department recently launched a brand new Web site at www.ntpolice.com, and she hopes information about North Tonawanda Citizens on Patrol can become a fixture there.

Hankinson acknowledged one resident’s suggestion and vowed to look into inviting a member of another area watch group to attend as a guest speaker as the fledgling group here gets started.

Andres, offering his advice on working with the city, suggested the group assign a members to report to the Common Council on a regular basis, and also brought up the idea of a formal resolution asking City Judge William Lewis to consider stricter judgments against perpetrators of quality of life crimes.

Most simply, what’s irking the residents ranges from absentee landlords and decaying properties to minor drug activity and vandalism, car robberies and the like. Many of the residents tell similar stories.

More volunteers will be sought as the group continues to grow.

The unofficial bylaws state members in good standing (meaning they’ve attended 80 percent or more of the monthly meetings) can be elected to the board.

The board will then draft proposals as needed to members of the Common Council or other city offices.

Other official goals are to place a minimum of 10 signs as a warning to criminals, improve street lighting, keep in constant contact with law enforcement officers, keep a running record of matters to be addressed following each meeting and present those matters to the council for consideration.

“A lot of our goals don’t need financial input, they take volunteers — our eyes and ears and working to be diligent about our community,” Penkszyk said.

Meetings will be held at 7 p.m., the second Thursday of the month at 316 Thompson St.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.