Bronx Crime Watch: Another Church Hit in String of Robberies

A sixth Bronx church was burglarized this weekend, the latest in a string of break-ins targeting churches in the area since the start of November.

Someone broke into an office window at the Church of the Mediator, on West 231st Street and Kingsbridge Avenue, late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, according to senior warden Frank Holsapple and the NYPD.

The thief, or thieves, made off with several recently donated laptop computers and about $800 in cash, money the church was collecting for a Christmas toy drive.

"They hit every church around here, and I guess we were the last stop," Holsapple  said, adding that the burglar or burglars wrecked the office that they broke into but were unable to access the rest of the church, as the room was securely locked.

"They went out the way they came in," he said. "It could have been a lot worse."

A police spokeswoman said that they have no description of the perpetrator so far, and the investigation is ongoing.

Other churches that have been hit since early November include Our Lady of Refuge on 194th Street and Briggs Avenue, St. Ann’s Church on Bainbridge Avenue, Kingsbridge Evangelical Lutheran Church on Bailey Avenue, St. John’s Church on Kingsbridge Avenue, and Our Lady of Angels on Claflin Avenue.

"We're still edgy," said Father Antonio Zabala of St. John's Church. "They were able to break in through the window even though it has bars on it. These robbers are really professional crooks, and are really dangerous."

Church leaders say one silver lining has been the public's response as news of the burglaries spread.

"It's been overwhelming," said Father John Jenik of Our Lady of Refuge Church, which lost two laptops, a video camera and $1,300 in cash after a break-in at the end of November.

"We've gotten four laptop computers and over $15,000 in donations," he said.

Jenik says the parish will use the money towards repairing damages from the burglary and for tuition assistance, and to invest in a new alarm system for the church.

"We know how they got in, and it was easy for them," he said. "We have certainly tightened up security around here."

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 10

Good morning and a happy Friday to everyone!  On to the Bronx stories we've conveniently compiled for you, our lovely readers.

Our Lady of Refuge Church, one of several Bronx churches victimized over the past month, has received more than $10,000 in donations after being burglarized two weekends ago.

Bronx Councilman James Vacca chaired a raucous transportation committee hearing on city bike lanes yesterday. It featured strong arguments both in favor and opposed to Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan's push for more bike lanes. “Nobody disagrees that using more bicycles is a good thing, but in a city where traffic is horrendous and finding a parking space is difficult, bike policy is all about trade-offs," Vacca said, according to the Times.

A handful of state senators -- including Bronx amigos Pedro Espada Jr. and Ruben Diaz Sr. -- did not show for a big vote on the fate of Off Track Betting. the Times-Union opines. Espada's been absent since losing his re-election bid in the September primary.

Richard A. Falkenrath, a former counterterrorism official with the NYPD, is now fighting a Riverdale school that he says is disrupting the neighborhood with its traffic and construction plans.

A pregnant Bronx teacher suffered a miscarriage after being pushed to the ground while trying to break up a fight at the school she works at, Explorations Academy, a small high school on Boston Road and E. 173rd Street.

A dozen of the 21 schools, more than half, added this year to the city's list of failing schools are in the Bronx.

Columbus and Global Enterprise high schools are two of the Bronx institutions the DOE wants to close our reorganize.

The Bronx Chamber of Commerce will distribute some 500 toys and gifts collected at its annual holiday party.

The Van Nest community is looking to save St. Dominic School from closure.

The John F. Kennedy Knights hoop squad pulled out a win last night despite missing two key players who are academically ineligible.