By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
INWOOD — Police arrested two men for bashing in the windows of five parked cars in Inwood — the latest spree of break-ins in the neighborhood.
The men allegedly shattered the driver’s side windows of each of the cars, which were parked in a row along a quiet stretch of Park Terrace West flanked by Isham Park, between Isham and West 215th streets.
It was not immediately clear whether the men were trying to steal anything.
According to NYPD Community Affairs Officer Haydee Pabey, the pair was apprehended at about 6 a.m. Sunday with "a bag of burglary tools." They were charged with criminal possession of the implements.
Vehicle break-ins and vandalism are an old story for many drivers in Inwood and Washington Heights. Last summer, former 34th Precinct Commander Andrew Capul said he was implementing foot patrols in the precinct to reduce the amount of car break-ins and other petty crimes.
Earlier this year, City Councilman Robert Jackson promised to earmark funding to buy security cameras and additional lighting along another dark and winding street near parkland in Washington Heights after several cars were similarly vandalized.
Albert Samuels, 41, works on Broadway and has lived in Inwood for a decade. He said he stopped parking his car on the street after it was broken into several times. He now pays for a garage.
“I know it’s really hard to stop this kind of crime,” he said. “But everyone should know these people are not vandals — they are thieves.”
