Escape route. "Sitting Ducks" by Paul Goldfinger
By Paul Goldfinger and Charles Layton
A young man on a bicycle accosted two young women late Monday morning in Ocean Grove near Wesley Lake. During a struggle, he wrested an iPhone from the hands of one of the women and fled on foot into Asbury Park, abandoning his bicycle. No one was hurt during the struggle.
Witnesses who live in Ocean Grove, and who tried to help the young women, told the following story:
The young women, from Brooklyn, NY, had been in Asbury Park this weekend attending the music festival. They had never seen Ocean Grove before, and so, before leaving for home, they decided to take a walk through town and have breakfast at Nagle’s.
They came across on the foot bridge near Mt. Zion Way and began strolling down Mt. Pisgah Way, drinking coffee and texting on their phones as they went. When they turned onto New York Avenue, a young man in a gray hoodie approached them on a bicycle and, as he passed, grabbed an iPhone from one of the women.
“I was standing on my porch talking to a neighbor and I heard a girl screaming, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ” a resident said. He ran to the scene of what had become a struggle. As the thief tried to get away on his bicycle, the woman grabbed his hoodie and didn’t let go. She also threw coffee in the thief’s face.
The thief ended up abandoning both the hoodie and his bicycle and retreating on foot, with iPhone in hand, toward the bridge by Founders Park. The Ocean Grove man chased the thief for a time. The last he saw of the thief, he was on the Asbury Park side retreating in the direction of the Casino. He described the thief as probably in his 20s, black with short-cropped hair, and wearing a white tee-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers with red soles.
Other neighbors, meanwhile, came to the aid of the two young women. A woman who lives on Mt. Zion Way gave the two victims coffee while waiting for police to arrive. “They were I think in shock, sort of,” she said. She said Neptune police responded with considerable force, including an unmarked police van and at least one canine unit. She said police were visibly active in the area for about two hours.
The attack happened at about 11:30 a.m., according to police. One witness said the attacker had brandished a knife during the struggle, but another witness disputed that; he said a butterfly knife fell from the pocket of the hoodie after the attacker had fled.
Both Neptune and Asbury police joined in the unsuccessful search. Police took the bicycle, the hoodie and the knife as evidence.
“The investigation is continuing and police are looking for any person with information,” the Neptune PD said in a press release on Monday night. Anyone with information should call 732-988-8000.
Safe for Ocean Grovers….and safe for criminals.
You all seem to be very in favor of having the footbridges closed. I feel more safe walking or riding my bike across the bridges than going around the Casino or even the Dunkin Donuts way. Think about if it’s 12:30 and you are coming back from Asbury. Many times I have come back and been very upset because I have to walk all the way around to go through the Casino. That area is somewhat frightening and I have SEEN people that look like they are just hangin’ out, ready to rob someone, waiting for that opportunity. I may have been lucky just because there was a jogger nearby. I am the one that calls people paranoid, but this has been the case on more than one occasion. So, think twice about closing the bridges. As long as they are lighted, they are probably a safe entry point.
Ok. The lights on the footbridge and the several along Lake Ave have been out for a minimum of a few days, perhaps longer. The issue of overgrown vegetation was raised months ago and was supposed to have been ‘looked into’ then. I find it somewhat disheartening that it took a posting on this blog for these issues to come to the attention of officials (again). Whoever locks the gates at night didn’t notice the lack of illumination?
Has any official or police person actually walked along Lake Ave all the way to the boardwalk after dark, just to investigate what might be the possible staging areas or escape routes for the thieves? Identify possible problem areas? Has the same thing been done along the Fletcher Lake/Bradley Beach border?
Then again, if the gates are locked at midnight the bike thieves are not escaping that way. That leaves the boardwalk, a few roads into Bradley and the Main Street/Rt 71 exits. So either the thefts happen before midnight or people are riding bikes out of town by the main exits in the wee hours of the morning, unobserved! (Or vans full of bikes leaving town the same way) Months and months have gone by and nobody saw anything suspicious?
I will check on why one footbridge is lit and one is not. I am not sure if there is some shared-services agreement regarding the footbridges, but I will find out.
One of the issues in Ocean Grove is that Neptune only owns curb to curb on a street; the rest belongs to the Camp Meeting Association. I wouldn’t dare to speak for the CMA, but it is in their best interests to have a safe community and they have always been good partners of the police department. I will say that when cameras have been used in Neptune, their presence has not been announced, but has been felt almost immediately.
It is difficult to believe Ken economies can’t be found in the township budget to pay for lighting and cameras.
Mary Beth please don’t reply: “It’s a bare bones budget.”
Marybeth and Charles,
Your comments are the only means of information readily available. May I commend you both on your attention to detail, impressive vocabularies, and speed of reply. For some reason, the NTPD has adopted an air of lets say… “arrogance?” Just wanted to say thank you for your attention to these latest developments in Ocean Grove. Also, for your diligence in staying on top of it all on a daily (maybe even hourly) basis. Thank you both for your professionalism.
Thanks Mary Beth!!
I feel that the criminals knowing that there are cameras there would be an important part of the deterrent. Mount them high enough they cannot be easily reached and place them in cages so stones/etc. can’t damage them. The traffic cameras we see everywhere nowadays don’t seem to get vandalized. In any event, anything you can do here would be greatly appreciated!!!
Re the issue of lighting: I went down to Founders Park late this evening and found that all the lights in the park itself were lit. However, not a single one of the lights on the foot bridge was lit. On the other foot bridge, near New Jersey Avenue, all the lights were on. The difference between the lit and the unlit bridges was dramatic.
Re the issue of police blotter stories in the Coaster — the considerations Mary Beth raises do not seem to prevent other towns from allowing the Coaster to publish police blotter stories. Why should Neptune be different? The fact is, Neptune has a history — one might even say a tradition — of being opaque when it comes to police news. I believe people at the Coaster would confirm that statement. Furthermore, the New Jersey Open Public Records Act requires that such police records be available. If only The Coaster would push that issue with the NPD.
Progress, I’ll definitely talk to the Chief about it. However, if cameras are put in, their locations would not be announced. The public may not even know that they have been installed, simply so people don’t go looking for them to vandalize. I’ll talk to the Chief and report back.
Mary Beth —
We are lucky to have you as an advocate with the Police. We appreciate all your efforts.
The one thing you did not mention is placing cameras at the 7 or so main points of entry/exit. Despite the comments above, quality HD video cameras that give very good resolution and that work in the day and night are available and affordable (they cost about $1,100, excluding installation). They can be installed with cages to prevent tampering. And they would catch pictures of criminals walking/riding/running out of town with our property. Many towns have cameras already installed at all key intersections to catch speeders. Why can’t we have cameras at town exits to catch muggers? There mere presence would deter crime — and the images they capture would be potentially helpful in supporting the investigation of almost any crime that happens in town. We do not need real time monitoring, just have the feeds recorded. This seems like an easy win.
Can we invest the $35K or whatever that would be necessary to add this potent crime fighting weapon?
Ken, some of that lighting may be municipal and some may be Camp Meeting responsibility, as is the jigsaw puzzle that makes up ownership and responsibility for property in Ocean Grove. I will definitely take the issue of both lighting and brush cutback to both the PD and the CMA.
To go back to some comments about blocking ingress and egress into Ocean Grove via the gates from Asbury Park, the roads from Bradley Beach, and the beach from Ocean Grove to Bradley Beach, there’s some basic things that make those ideas impractical.
First of all, regarding the gates between the Grove and Asbury Park, if the police are not available due to activity in the Grove or other parts of the Township, there are citizens who can lock the gates if the police are not able to do so themselves.
Second, the public streets that lead into and from Bradley Beach and Ocean Grove cannot be gated and locked; they must be able to be traversed freely, as so the public streets of Broadway and Main Avenue. While the beach is the sole and complete property of the Camp Meeting Association, there are rules from the DEP about what they can and cannot do in terms of installing things like fencing on a beach.
One of the reasons you may not see a crime written up in the Coaster or the Asbury Park Press is because that particular incident may be still under investigation as part of a larger group of similar crimes. When, say, a car burglary ring is broken up, for three or 30 or 300 cars, the information will then hit the papers. Until arrests are made and prosecutable cases built, the PD will not jeopardize an investigation by discussing details of a case. It may seem frustrating, but this is the only way to ensure that perpetrators are charged with felonies and not misdemeanors.
The Police Depart are using methods and resources that you may not be able to see or realize that they are crime deterrent or surveillance tactics in neighborhoods all over Neptune. You may see the marked car over by Bishop Janes Tabernacle on a regular basis; that does not mean that is the only police presence in town, human or otherwise.
If you have a bike or bike(s) that were stolen, you can call the Police Department and see if perhaps you might be able to peruse their stash of recovered bikes. You may be able to recover your stolen property.
No one wants to live in Fort Apache, Ocean Grove. The Grove has, for many years, been a target for thieves – in the early 90s, before the Grove began its renaissance, people stole from us. At the zenith of the real estate boom, from 2004-2006, people stole from us. And now, as the economy shakes out and looks for a plateau, people are still stealing from Ocean Grove. What’s scary is not the cutting of bike locks or breaking into houses; it’s strong-arm robberies for an iPhone that show a potential but scary shift in the paradigm of crime committed in Ocean Grove. The PD is taking this very seriously. If someone tries to grab your iPhone, iPad, purse or any other type of item you are carrying in your hands, give it to them. There is no item you own that is worth serious injury or even death. (I know this is a hard concept to handle for many people, including me.)
Stay safe and we’ll keep you updated.
Adding lighting is a municipal function. Each addition fixture has an installation cost and an ongoing operating cost; same goes for additional police. After years of protesting against property tax increases it may be time to ask the Township to budget for both.
Good luck.
Last night, during my evening constitutional, I walked along Wesley Lake. The lighting there is inadequate, plus half the street lights were unlit as were all the ones on the eastern Founder’s Park crossing. Not lit at all! Areas are still overgrown as well. The point is, what can’t be seen can’t be observed and reported. With all the seasonal residences winterized it gets pretty dark pretty fast in large areas all over town. Perhaps more and better lighting might add some illumination on the issues?
To everyone: Don’t think cameras are the answer. Thugs who steal bikes etc. throw rocks at the cameras to break them. Cameras wouldn’t last one day at the bridges. Also, the quality of video can NOT determine who the person is. I have experience with this. You can see the crime being committed, but faces are not clear enough. I went through this with the NTPD myself. The video was useless.
Hi folks –
I’m glad someone brought up foot patrols. The Chief and I (for those who don’t know, I’m serving as Police Commissioner this year, and I also filled this role in 2008) have had some in-depth conversations about the pros and cons of foot patrols in the last few weeks. Let me share with you both, and while you may not like that we do not perform some of the policing activities that you would like to see, if you have suggestions, please put them out there.
PROS: Officers are physically on the streets and can see and hear much more than what they do in the patrol cars. They also have the opportunity to interact with citizens and begin to know on a more familiar level the people who do and do not belong in a particular area. They can also spot the signs of committed crimes, such as sliced screens, jimmied doors, chains that locked bikes that have been cut, and even animals that are not being cared for properly. Foot patrols create a real bond between a community and “their” cops; an officer on foot patrol can also give chase to a suspect if an alleged crime has been reported.
CONS: Foot patrols require a lot of manpower – more than Neptune currently has. In a patrol car, an officer can reach almost any location in any neighborhood within 2-3 minutes of the call coming in to Neptune Dispatch; on foot, time has to be allowed for the officer to return to his/her vehicle and then proceed to the call. The biggest issue working against foot patrol, however, is the safety factor. Right now, Neptune is divided into six sectors in terms of police coverage (we probably need to expand to seven, given the increased retail development on Route 66). Unless we have a rookie who has just come out of the Academy, our officers patrol one to a car, and they would patrol singly on foot, as well. Foot patrols would require an officer to be on his/her own as they completed their rounds; though they would be connected to dispatch via their mobile radios and have the benefit of their firearm and nightstick, there is a strong possibility that an officer could be overwhelmed, harmed or worse, with no way for that officer to call for assistance.
The Chief has been trying to blend car patrols with foot patrols, where officers, when time allows, get out of their vehicles and interact with the citizens and business owners in their sector.
The police department is continuing to utilize and investigate alternative methods of crime prevention, detection, and perpetrator identification. The police administration and detectives are constantly looking at where crimes occur and the points of entrance and exit for criminals who initially elude the police. No crime is taken lightly in any part of town, and the brazenness of this most recent robbery – over a damn iPhone! – has hit nerves in citizens, the PD, and the Township Committee alike.
Ocean Grove is fortunate that it has the Ocean Grove Citizen’s Patrol, who assist greatly by volunteering to patrol several nights a week.
Thank GOD the young woman from whom the iPhone was stolen was not physically harmed. Hopefully, with all of us working together, we can keep this kind of dangerous robbery from happening again.
“Is it not within the Police’s power to do foot patrols like every other beach town on the Jersey shore? If they were regular foot patrols, maybe thieves would feel uncomfortable walking around with bolt cutters in OG.”
This point by Abbott and made earlier by JCo and others is a good one. Ocean Grove is a town made for walking. It’s one of the things that makes it so attractive. Having police wandering around on foot would certainly provide both comfort to the residents and a substantial deterrent to potential wrongdoers.
Having talked with these girls and being 3 doors away from the crime…I have to say that the police did a good job but it ended there….last evening I was out in the street talking with my neighbors about the incident and was there for a considerable amount of time….I did not see one police car or a cop on foot. I was sadly disappointed, as I would have thought that the police presence would have been around for a period of time. Somehow the police are focusing their attention on other places when OG at this time of the year is a great target for the criminals. I believe the cameras on the foot bridges are a definite must, and better lighting for the empty tent areas…
I believe cameras are a real deterrent to theft and would gladly donate to a camera fund. I’ve already lost 4 bikes this summer (locked in my yard, with great baskets) and 2 last year. Think of the money it might save me if I didn’t have to replace these bikes each year. Perhaps OGHOA could start up this effort.
Grover – With all due respect this was NOT an isolated incident, it is part of a pattern of increasingly brazen crimes committed in our little town. In the past 6 months or so -3 break ins, numerous bicycles stolen and cars broken into and now a morning mugging – all within 3 blocks of my house. And don’t forget the BOMB (thankfully crude and homemade) that was thrown at my neighbors’ house across the street last summer.
For any town all these incidents in such a small area as this would be cause for concern.
Another probably unrealistic idea: As a property owner has a right to put a camera on their property and as OGCMA owns the land/property in OG then OGCMA can put up cameras on both bridges pointing both North & South. Then if a crime is committed OGCMA can turn over the camera’s data to Neptune Police as possible evidence. Cost of these cameras can be paid for via donations. I think most OG citizens would kick in a few bucks for this. This proposal could happen quickly (maybe by year’s end) whereas waiting for Neptune just might take forever.
Well said Abbott
Where is the OGHOA or OGCMA? We need their advocacy to get better security for our town. I am beginning to be afraid to walk on the North side. I’m also afraid to use my bike because if I take it out of my basement, it will probably get stolen. This is no way to live.
“So, in short, please understand that the police are doing everything in their power, physically and otherwise, to protect you and your property.”
Is it not within the Police’s power to have a camera on each exit from OG? If it were, then we would have a nice photograph of the mugger who stole the iphone.
Is it not within the Police’s power to set up a sting operation with some bikes? If they did, maybe 20 bikes would not have been stolen in the past three weeks.
Is it not within the Police’s power to do foot patrols like every other beach town on the Jersey shore? If they were regular foot patrols, maybe thieves would feel uncomfortable walking around with bolt cutters in OG.
Is it not within the Police’s power to close certain crossings into AB and BB? I could go on and on.
The issue is not what the Police are doing. I’m sure it would be worse if they did less. The issue is what significant incremental steps should the Police be taking. Clearly, what they are doing is insufficient. With all due respect, it is hard to believe the Police are doing everything in their power at this point.
Criminals must believe there is a high probability of getting caught or being hassled. They must believe it because it must be true. The Police need to make it true.
As a minimal response, Mary Beth has it right: cameras on the two bridges.
At the risk of overreacting and being un-calm…I agree with OG Bob. Good advice.
Locking the bridges is all fine and well, but it does not keep people out of Ocean Grove, and it does tie up a police officer who sits at the bridge for however long, every night, waiting for midnight to lock it up. Remember that one of the house burglars, who burgled a home on Mt. Hermon on the north side of town, came from Bradley Beach.
Let’s not all overreact here now….. There is crime in every town. This was an isolated incident! Calm down, people!
Recently I saw three young guys strolling down my street heading north (I’ve seen them before on my street). A police car and SUV from Bradley Beach pulled up. The cops questioned the guys for a while and then took them away.
Hi folks –
I can tell you (and this is all I can tell you, so please don’t ask me to elaborate, because I cannot and will not) that the Neptune Police Department are not simply asking you to hunker down and keep your eyes open. There are other crime deterrent, observation, resolution, and elimination methods being employed by the NTPD. Two of the reasons they cannot be discussed are that we have found, over the years, that some of those who we consider members in good standing of the Ocean Grove community were, in fact, committing some of the crimes. The other reason is that word does get around within criminal circles that, for instance, every night a business owner has an officer walk him to the Provident Bank night depository. That becomes an opportunity to commit a crime elsewhere.
So, in short, please understand that the police are doing everything in their power, physically and otherwise, to protect you and your property. Easily-moved objects like cell phones, purses and bikes are prime targets everywhere; yesterday’s strong-arm robbery of an iPhone is an outrage and a reminder of why the gates and locks were installed.
Let’s keep an eye on each other and each other’s houses while the police watch over us, and if we ever get that feeling that something’s just not right, call the police. They would rather respond and find nothing wrong than have someone find out their summer home was robbed four months ago.
-0-
EDITOR’S NOTE: The writer, Committeewoman Mary Beth Jahn, is the police commissioner of Neptune Township.
Are the Neptune police and the Neptune Mayor reading Blogfinger and hearing of our dissatisfaction or are they just reading the police report and seeing just one more OG statistic? Are they ready to take action? Other parts of Neptune may have more severe problems but OG is our responsibility so we must take charge now to prevent things from getting worse. I’m proud of the girls fighting back and the good Samaritan who chased the low-life. This happened in broad daylight. If we don’t take action now things will continue to deteriorate. Word has to spread among potential thieves and hoodlums that OG is not an easy target. It’s time to lock the gates and install cameras. If I want to go to Asbury Park I’ll go out the front gate and walk around. It’s a sad situation but we must deal with it.
probably the same d bag that stole my bike this summer! (who I happened to see again this summer during the Fourth of July fireworks riding through the crowd on ANOTHER bike) These people clearly don’t really care if they come back into town..they do it cus they CAN and won’t get caught the majority of the time. Id like a little more protection, coming home late at night and all.
Can’t they track this guy with the stolen iPhone’s GPS?
Gloria — Good question. The answer is, none. The Coaster carries police blotter stories for other towns in our area, but not for Neptune. The Asbury Park Press runs police stories on a case-by-case basis, but doesn’t publish any kind of over-all police blotter feature. It would be a nice public service if Neptune Township provided such information on its website.
We in Ocean Grove, fortunately, do get that kind of information via Neighborhood Watch.
what paper has the neptune police blotter?
Mary Beth:
We greatly appreciate your presence on this blog and your support of our community. Keeping the gates is a no-brainer (and represents status quo). Comments above raise the idea of the Police and/or elected officials taking incremental steps to reduce crime. Things do seem to be getting out of hand and you can sense from this blog that the honest and hard working folks of OG are loosing patience with the “grin and bear it” approach. Any thoughts about cameras and the like would be much appreciated (in fact, if we had a camera on the bridge, we would know what this mugger looks like).
Maybe the police can find a traceable print on the bike or the knife and
match it with one on file from when the fellow was fingerprinted previously for a
local boy scout, good will or community project.
He was just following the advice of Willie Sutton.
God’s Square Mile sure looks a lot riper with pickings than five blocks west.
We live in an ihouse with phones, pads, pods and even our dog and cats are bluetooth equipped, but it is imperative that people pay attention to their surroundings.
Yes, thank you for bringing this crime to our attention. Your blog is the only way most of us hear about these issues. I get a million daily email notices from the Neptune township offices, but never about any serious safety issues, such as this. Please take note, Neptune. Cameras and more patrols are necessary.
Mayor Johnson of Asbury Park just asked me to have the Township Committee consider removing the gates on the footbridges, as they are considered an insult to the citizens of Asbury Park. Even though this happened during the day, the fact that a Wesley Lake footbridge as a means of escape reinforces the reasons why the gates were installed in the first place. We’re very grateful that the Asbury Park DPW removed the overgrown bushes on their side of the easternmost footbridge, but the gates -and the locks late at night – have to stay.
what we need…cameras, cameras and cameras
Paul, thank you (as always) for keeping us informed. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t know what is (almost literally) happening in my backyard. 11:30 in the morning? Scary…
This may be an unrealistic suggestion but nonetheless I will throw it out there. Police (both Asbury & Neptune) should publish (in Blogfinger, Coaster, town websites, etc) photos of the hoodie, the bicycle, and the knife. Maybe just maybe someone would be able to identify this guy and turn him in.
I agree JCo. Things are out of hand. We’ve lost more than 20 bikes in the last three weeks, physical assaults, etc. What has to happen in this town for the Police and town officials to do something? And by something, I mean something much more than what is now being done (as that is clearly inadequate).
Police cameras at all traverse points and other high crime areas, foot patrols, sting operations would be a nice start. All we hear is that we should hunker down and keep our eyes open – and that’s a preposterous response. Equally ridiculous is the notion that we have only theft, simple assault, and robbery while the rest of Neptune Township has murder and gunfire, thus our crime levels must be accepted. Really, it’s time for the Police and the elected officials to step up to the challenge at hand. Where are they?
Small correction from the still winded pursuer, (just too damn old these days) the incident happened on Mt. Zion at New York, just in front of the tent area. He used the fire break at Pennsylvania to get to the sidewalk known as Asbury Avenue, sprinted east along the lake to the long footbridge at Founder’s Park. On the Asbury side he headed east toward the Casino. At no time was the knife used, it fell unopened from the hoodie. The young woman did get a scraped knee. Thing that still stuns me is there were people about in broad daylight.
“he fled on foot…abandoning ‘his’ bicycle.” His bike my foot. It was probably my neighbor’s bicycle.
Seriously, the OG crime wave is entirely out of hand. Those little streets back by the Mt. Zion bridge are poorly lit and narrow and, now, forboding. What has to happen for Neptune to institute a real police presence in OG? The town is under assault, and requires something more than a guy on a Segway issuing parking tickets and another who sits around next to the bridge gate waiting to lock it at midnight. We need more cruisers and a foot patrol, so that the town can again be safe for residents and visitors.
This makes me very nervous…hearing about all of the bikes being taken, now cell phones being grabbed right in daylight with people around. The thieves are very bold. I hope both police departments can really work on this problem together.