Looting Arrests Made .
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Via WSJ
By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY, ANDREW STRICKLER and RYAN DEZEMBER
New York City Police arrested 13 people for crimes that included looting in Sandy's aftermath, law-enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Of the 13 confirmed arrests after the storm, most took place in areas of Brooklyn and Queens where police precincts had to be evacuated due to flooding, police said, adding that none of the crimes were violent and no officers or civilians were injured.
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In the Rockaway section of Queens, a region that saw major storm damage, five people were arrested Tuesday for alleged crimes that included burglary, trespass, mischief and resisting arrest, an official said.
The 100th Precinct in the Rockaways was partially evacuated Monday as Sandy battered the neighborhood; in response, an official said, police set up a mobile command center Tuesday and arrests were being processed at a neighboring precinct.
On Coney Island in Brooklyn, matters were more difficult. The entire 60th Precinct was evacuated, forcing personnel to relocate to the 61st Precinct, the official said. Patrol Service Area 1, a precinct that covers public housing on Coney Island, was also evacuated Monday evening.
By Tuesday afternoon, uniformed officers had established a visible presence on the streets and corners, where business owners said they had to contend with sporadic incidents of looting.
On Long Island early Tuesday morning, police arrested four men and charged them with planning to loot businesses damaged during Sandy, authorities said. Nassau County Police said the men entered a store called Expressions in Hempstead, which had a broken door, but fled when the alarm sounded. Nothing was reported missing from the store, police said.
NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the NYPD was "devoting a lot of resources" to such areas as Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, including officers and lighting equipment.
"Certainly doing everything we can to see that it doesn't recur," he said of the looting.
Eddie Liu arrived at his ocean-facing laundromat, American Suds, in Coney Island on Tuesday morning to find its front blasted open and filled with people.
"There were a bunch of people, like a market," Mr. Liu said.
The crowd was apparently indifferent to the area's big police presence, Mr. Lui said. They dispersed upon his arrival, but not before burglarizing his business, shattering glass displays, swiping soap and pilfering cash from the till, he said.
Witnesses said the police appeared temporarily overwhelmed by the looters. "When I came out at about 8:30 this morning, there were people coming out of all these stores, guys carrying Hefty bags," said Roger McKinon, 40 years old, who lives in the nearby O'Dwyer Garden Houses. "The crazy thing was, there were cops around but all they were saying is get out of here, go home."
By late afternoon, vans full of officers were patrolling and stopped to order small gatherings of people to disperse—triggering shouting and shoving.
Along with the damage from the storm, the prospect of vandalism and looting had some business owners uneasy and unsure of what to do.
Ali Khalid, 56, the owner of 99 Cent Express on Mermaid Avenue, said his store was looted between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. when he left to pick up a worker.
"I asked the police what I should do. They said they didn't know," he said. "I can't close the door and I'm not staying here tonight. It's scary here now."
Write to Tamer El-Ghobashy at tamer.el-ghobashy@wsj.com and Ryan Dezember at ryan.dezember@dowjones.com
