New Haven Independent

At a meeting of the Downtown/Wooster Square Management Team meeting Tuesday, about a dozen people gathered for a monthly neighborhood update and to learn “how to get inside the mind of a burglar,” courtesy of Officer Joe Avery.

The crowd heard a round of updates:
• Wooster Square residents are meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Conte School to start a block watch.
• The long-prolonged demolition of the New Haven Coliseum is set for mid-October.
• The former Yale Boathouse at 127 East St. will be demolished to make way for the new Q Bridge. Citizens have 90 days to “make some noise” if they’re concerned.
• The Civilian Review Board, a 16-member board that oversees citizens’ complaints against police, is supposed to have a representative from the Board of Aldermen. The management team made a motion Tuesday to send a letter urging that someone from the Board of Aldermen step up to the plate.

Then a call for involvement: The management team, where contentious matters — such as noise from boisterous clubgoers and how “natural” Wooster Square Park should look — are settled, needs new leadership. Chairman Andy Orefice (pictured) is moving to Westville. Vice Chair Joe Vollano is no longer active, and there’s no secretary either. Orefice welcomed new leadership — from Wooster Square or downtown — to finish unfinished matters, such as where to put a new crosswalk near Wooster Square.

Over the years, the transient residents downtown (which includes the Wooster Square neighborhood for these purposes) have been tough to organize, said Officer Avery, whose job as the neighborhood services specialist is to keep citizens involved. “Downtown was the only district without a management team for many years.” He helped set the current one up a few years ago. “We need to continue.”

Avery (pictured) flipped on a projector and told the crowd “how to get into the mind of a burglar,” tips he compiled a few years ago after the city was hit with a spate of 30 burglaries in two weeks.

Most residential burglaries — about 60 percent, by latest FBI stats — happen in the daytime, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., said Avery. Thieves may see you working in the backyard with the front door open. They may note an air-conditioning unit has not been fastened in the window, and can be removed. They may see a ladder left in your backyard (That’s how the Lindbergh baby got snatched, pointed out Downtown Alderwoman Bitsie Clark).

Avery urged people to lock doors, fasten down A/C units, keep ladders locked up, and cut back shrubs that obscure windows, enabling thieves to sneak up unseen. For nighttime protection, the most effective tool is using outdoor lights from dusk to dawn, reckoned Avery.

He divulged a special tip on how to catch a robber: “Look at their shoes!”
For those concerned with recent street robberies (East Rock’s been hit hard, noted Avery), the officer had this advice: Look around you. Carry a cell phone. If someone approaches, cooperate. While doing so, look the person over, head to toe. “Channel all your energy into getting a description.” Especially the shoes — a mugger may strip off a layer on the fly, but probably won’t have time to lace up new sneaks.

Avery gave that advice to a woman at Bella Vista once. The next day, a man came to her apartment and robbed her at knifepoint. She called him and told him what happened. “I listened to what you said. I stared at his shoes the whole time.” The shoes were red. Cops caught the robber down the street.

Rosenberg (pictured at top) said she was glad for one forgotten tip: Engrave your electronics with your driver’s license number or last four digits of your social. That way, cops perusing a pile of VCR’s at a pawn shop can pick yours out.