1st
safest for all crime
great kills & tottenville
Annandale, Arden Heights, Bay Terrace, Charleston, Eltingville, Greenridge, Huguenot, Pleasant Plains, Prince's Bay, Richmond Valley, Rossville, Woodrow
123rd precinct / population 98,032
These leafy bedroom communities are about as far away from urban life as you can get and still be living in New York City. Located on the southernmost section of Staten Island, with Tottenville at the tip, people who live here gripe that they have one of the longest commuter drives in the city, taking up to 90 minutes just to get to Manhattan.
Situated along the water, and tracing its history back to the 1800s, Great Kills witnessed a flourish of residential construction in the late 1980s and 90s. Predominantly white and well-heeled, residents live on streets of manicured single-family homes and townhouses in these quiet neighborhoods. The per capita income is among the highest of any neighborhood in the city, which could account for the extremely low crime rates in the 123rd Precinct, which covers the area.
There is something else the neighborhoods can boast about — this politically conservative area is No. 1 in private, licensed gun ownership in the city.
Most reported crimes involve property, such as car thefts, vandalism or graffiti. There were 371 crimes reported in this precinct in 2010, 297 of which were burglaries, grand larceny or stolen cars. Two people were murdered in 2010 — the parents of Eric Bellucci (see crime breakout, below). Just one murder occurred in 2009. In 2010, reported rapes dropped from four to two, with robberies down 37 percent, from 35 to 22.
There are no crimes waves. Residents are more likely to be mugged by kids looking for money to buy Oxycodone than anything else — Staten Island has one of the highest rates of opioid analgesic usage in the city. Still, if it gets any safer, residents won't even know they live in New York.
30%
Increase in felony assaults, 2008 to 2010
95%
Drop in car thefts from 1993 to 2010
Photo: Michael Oates
Son Kills Parents, Flees Country
Eric Bellucci (pictured, center) grew up in Annandale with parents, Arthur, a bond trader, and Marian, who owned a home-nursing company. Bright, tall and handsome, Eric attended Manhattan's prestigious Stuyvesant High School, then went on to the highly regarded Williams College in Massachusetts. On paper it seemed he was destined for success.
Bellucci, however, was schizophrenic. He lived at home with his parents, and as his behavior deteriorated, his concerned father took Eric's shotgun and pistols to the 123rd Precinct for safekeeping. But, on Oct. 12, 2010, Eric, 30, stabbed his parents to death in their home, drove the family pickup truck to Newark Airport and fled to Israel. There, as he boarded a plane to Beijing, the manhunt ended, and he was taken back to New York. He has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.
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