Tish Cianciotta

New Law to Fight Memorial Thefts

Less than a month ago, two marble podiums outside the St. Stanislaus Kostka Church displayed brass memorials honoring Pope John Paul II. Today holes and bits of concrete grace their tops. In just a few weeks, bare memorial stands have become a familiar sight in Greenpoint and Williamsburg after a string of commemorative plaque thefts. To fight this disturbing phenomenon, New York State Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol introduced legislation aimed to crack down on the robberies. The proposed law would make it a felony to steal or knowingly possess a stolen memorial item.

Seven memorial plaques are reported missing. The first, a plaque commemorating September 11th victims, was stolen from St. Cecilia’s Church right before the anniversary of the attacks. The second, stolen from Fidelity Memorial Park, honored World War II veterans. After the third plaque, also commemorating those who died in World War II, was stolen from St. Francis of Paola Church, Lentol began drafting the legislation. As the law was being written, the fourth plaque, dedicated to Father Giorgio, a World War II veteran and pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, went missing. The day after the legislation was introduced to the bill drafting committee, news broke that two Memorials to Pope John Paul II and a plaque commemorating Father Joseph Studzinski were stolen from St. Stanislaus Kostka Church.

The police department has taken a number of measures to address this problem, including adjusting patrols in the area and investigating the removal and sale of stolen property, according to Michael E. Collins, the assistant chief of the New York City Police Department. However, no arrests have been made.

“People have problems with alcohol and they stole [the plaques] to make money,” said Father Joseph Szpirski of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church.

Indeed, local residents suspect that the stolen plaques are traded in for cash at scrap metal dealers, which are numerous in Brooklyn. Member of the Cooper Park Neighborhood Association, Carrie Perry, blames the “scrappers,” or local squatters who live in abandoned buildings and scrap metal for money. She said besides the plaques many metal things have been stolen in the area over the summer. The missing items include a copper garden ornament, a bicycle, an air conditioner, a lawn chair, fence posts, and the metal nozzle of a garden hose.

Since it is suspected that the plaques are being sold to scrap metal dealers, under Lentol’s proposed legislation, dealer’s convicted of criminally possessing a memorial item would become subject to their dealer’s licenses getting revoked.

“With this legislation we can fight back and protect this community and communities all over the state of New York from those who are so selfish and coldhearted they are robbing us of our memories and memorials just to make a couple of bucks,” said Assemblyman Lentol in a press release.

The seriousness of the crime depends on the value of the stolen goods, said Amy Cleary, media coordinator for Lentol. She said under the current law the plaque thefts are considered misdemeanors, since each is not worth enough money to be a felony. The law would bring the minimum monetary value of the stolen item down to $100, with more attention paid to the sentimental and historical significance. All the lifted memorials qualify, since not only were they large and made of expensive metals, they also represented the community’s memories.

Lentol plans to ask the New York Legislature to consider Emergency Legislation should the State Assembly meets for an emergency session this week to discuss the economic crisis.

Paul Delia, the coordinator of veteran’s benefits for Father Giorgio Post 689 for Catholic War Veterans, was among church members who discovered the Father Giorgio plaque missing. Delia praised the proposed law.

“That’s just the kind of legislation that they need to stop this,” said Delia.