The problem of vandalism and theft against local homes, businesses and other establishments whose purpose is to secure scrap metal for resale dominated the meeting of the Common Council of the City of Poughkeepsie held on Monday, July 7.
Residents, legislators, and Police Chief Ronald Knapp all voiced concerns and urged action against a form of criminality which has ballooned in recent years to the point where it causes damages and losses in the range of tens of thousands of dollars.
Garfield Place residents Melanie Vetter and Donna Levinson opened the discussion by relating horror stories of valuable fixtures which disappeared suddenly only to turn up in area scrap metal dealerships. The seriousness of the crimes was, however, offset by a note of absurdity, when Vetter explained that an $8,000 wrought-iron fence stolen from her property turned up at Love-Effron, which had paid all of $40 for it.
Mayor John Tkazyik explained that the incidence of thefts of roof gutters, fences, ornaments, etc. in order to obtain the copper, iron or other metals they are made of had increased exponentially over the last four years, with four incidents in 2005, six in 2006, 24 in 2007, and a whopping 35 in the first six months of 2008. Yet it was left to Police Chief Ronald Knapp to put things in legal and practical perspective, pointing out the difficulties of combating the phenomenon.
Backing the previous speakers’ call for a county law that would make it harder to sell illegal scrap metal, Knapp explained that to be effective, such a law must consist of three key elements: people bringing in metal should leave a thumbprint so they can be matched against past criminal violations or be recognized as a long-term legitimate seller; metal must be held for a period of time at the scrappers, to allow for illegally stolen items to be traced; and the crime of stealing metal for resale, which is now only a misdemeanor, should be made a felony.
“It is important to address this situation at the selling point,” Knapp said. “You don’t have thefts if you don’t have a market. We have to try and put in a better set of tests, determining where this metal came from and who brought it in.” He cited a precious metal and antique coin exchange law of several years ago that helped curb burglaries of these items.
Yet Knapp also stressed the reality that the problem of limited jurisdictions would have to be surmounted if anything is to be achieved.
“If we did this on a city ordinance basis, they would just steal here and sell it elsewhere,” he said. “A county law improves the situation, but ultimately this law needs to be done on a state level.”
The resolution calling on the Dutchess County Legislature to pass such a law was carried unanimously.
Other discussions concerned drawing up a feasibility study for the Hoffman Street Bridge over the Metro North Railroad, which is in serious need of repair, the allocation of funds to expand the summer Unity Youth Basketball League, and amending the budget to provide funds for the city’s Youth Initiative, which involves young people in the performing arts and aids them in developing employment skills. All were carried unanimously, with the Youth Initiative being singled out for special praise by Councilwoman Gwen Johnson (D-7th Ward).
“This is something very special we have been able to offer our youth,” Johnson said. “I’m really looking forward to when we can have a city youth employment agency. There are kids who want jobs, and it would aid them in doing things they should be doing, instead of being involved in things we’d rather not see them doing.”
Action on complaints by local residents about an emergency diesel generator which Verizon has been operating in the area of South Hamilton Street, and the issue of Central Hudson’s response to recent power outages after a rainstorm, was delayed pending a review of reports on the issues which had been commissioned from Assistant Corporation Counsel Paul Ackerman and City Administrator Michael Long on the problems.
“I think it would be worthwhile to have a written synthesis of information on all of these problems,” said Council Chairman Brian Doyle (D-4th Ward) in asking that the reports be considered at the next meeting of the council.