QUEENS — The 112th Precinct has hit a new low — and the residents of Forest Hills and Rego Park couldn't be happier about it.
There hasn't been a homicide within the precinct in the past two years, according to statistics provided by the NYPD.
In fact, the 112th was the only precinct in Queens that recorded no homicides in 2012 and none so far in 2013. In keeping with the trend, overall crime is down 8.22 percent this year compared to the same period last year, according to the police statistics for the period ending Dec. 15.
Only two other precincts in the city can boast a murder-free record in the past two years — the 19th Precinct, covering shopping areas around Madison, Lexington and Third avenues in Manhattan, and the precinct covering Central Park.
At a community board meeting earlier this month, Capt. Thomas Conforti, commanding officer of the Queens precinct, attributed the decrease in overall crime to the collaboration of his police officers with residents.
"We hope [the trend] will continue," said Heidi Chain, president of the 112th Precinct Community Council. "It's fantastic and we are very grateful for the police service that we receive."
Other precincts that had no homicides as of Dec. 15 are Manhattan's 1st, 17th and the Midtown North precinct, as well as the 68th Precinct in Brooklyn, the 111th Precinct in Queens and the 123rd Precinct in Staten Island.
By contrast, three precincts in Brooklyn recorded the highest numbers of homicides in the city as of Dec. 15. The 75th Precinct, which covers Cypress Hills, has seen 17 slayings. The 73rd Precinct, which includes Brownsville, and the 79th Precinct, which covers Bedford-Stuyvesant, have had 13 homicides each.
In 2012, New York City recorded 419 murders. This year, as of Dec. 15, there have been 317 homicides in the city.
