Precinct commander promoted
Anthony Bologna, 52, who as captain became commanding officer of the First Precinct a little over a year ago, was promoted on Aug. 1 to the rank of deputy inspector. The First Precinct covers Lower Manhattan, Soho, Hudson Sq. and the South Village.
“It’s not likely to mean a change of assignment,” he said. “I expect to be here for two years or more. It’s a step up, a little more clout, I guess, and it feels good,” he added. A police officer for 24 years, he served on the Lower East Side, Brooklyn and as a detective lieutenant in Washington Heights.
Promoted to captain in October 1998, Bologna led the Manhattan South Task Force, which responds to demonstrations and other special situations, before coming to the First Precinct. He is also a chief petty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, doing his annual tour of duty as a sea marshal inspecting ships that enter New York Harbor.
Bicycle shooting
A man on a bicycle shot and seriously injured a man and a woman who were sitting on a bench in the LaGuardia Houses complex at Clinton and Cherry Sts. at about 4 a.m. Sun, Aug. 6, police said. The victims of the bike-by shooting, Monique Ratliff and Jose Guerrero, identified as residents of the neighborhood, were taken to Bellevue Hospital in serious condition. There were no arrests and the case is under investigation.
Hit by car
A four-year-old girl visiting from London suffered a broken shoulder on Saturday afternoon Aug. 5 when she broke away from her mother’s grasp and dashed into the path of a car on Hudson at Franklin St., a Fire Department spokesperson said.
The girl, Caelo Dineen Vanstone, was walking with her mother when she spotted a fire truck near the Franklin St. station and wanted her picture taken with it. They both went across the street to the truck but the girl pulled away from her mother and ran back into the oncoming car.
Firefighters at the station stabilized the child’s neck and back and stopped traffic in the street until an Emergency Medical Service unit arrived. The girl was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital and released a few hours later. The driver of the car, Bun Kim Lee, 27, of Manhattan, was not changed.
Arrest 2 suspects
Police arrested two men in connection with the 12:55 a.m. Aug. 1 knifepoint robbery of a man walking on Canal at Varick St. The suspects removed the victim’s sneakers as well as his backpack and iPod, police said. They fled into the subway station at Sixth Ave. and Canal St. where Officer David Jamet of the First Precinct apprehended them. Charged with second degree robbery were Barnell Blackwood, 20, and Roger Myers, 17.
Robbed on train
A man who got on a Downtown express No. 3 train at Times Sq. Sunday night Aug. 20 was examining his new cell phone when a stranger got on at Chambers St., sat beside him and demanded the phone and money, police said. The victim complied and the thief fled the train at Park Pl.
Soho jewelry
The manager of Versant Jewelry, 152 Mercer St., told police that someone had smashed the front window of the shop on Friday night, July 21 and made off with merchandize valued at $18,000.
King St. mugging
A man walking on King St. near Sixth Ave. while drinking take-out coffee on Sunday morning July 30 was accosted by a stranger who ordered him to put down the cup, police said. When the victim refused, the stranger began rifling his pockets. The victim then fled into a nearby deli to phone 911 and the stranger fled north on Sixth Ave. Police Officer Michael Lanaro soon arrested Roy Miller, 38, who was identified by the victim, police said.
Eye wear boutique
One or more thieves smashed the front door window of Joel Name optical boutique, 448 West Broadway, near Prince St. during the early hours of Fri., July 28, entered the store and took an undisclosed number of sunglasses with a total value of $9,000, police said.
Chain reaction
A man told police at the First Precinct that a woman swinging a bicycle chain hit him several times and injured his eye at about 3 p.m. Thurs. July 27 before fleeing in an unknown direction.
Chaired on Canal
A man told police that a stranger, described only as a black man, picked up a vendor’s metal folding chair and hit him with it at 5:45 p.m. Mon. July 31. The attacker fled in an unknown direction.
Vendor ruckus
An argument between a street vendor and a customer on West Broadway and Broome St. at 5 p.m. Fri. July 28 ended when the vendor stabbed the customer in the left arm with a fork, police said. The victim told police that the vendor fled in an unknown direction.
—Albert Amateau
