Rash of tire and wheel thefts in the Five Towns

Posted

Updated on May 22 at 1:25 p.m.

Tires and wheels from four cars were stolen in the Five Towns on the night of May 20, according to Nassau County police.

Exactly how many such incidents have occurred in the past month is unclear. Police are saying that it is more than a dozen. All the vehicles were either Acuras or Hondas in Cedarhurst and Inwood.

Inwood resident Frank Manzo posted on Facebook that his brother’s tires on his Acura vehicle were stolen on Wahl Avenue. A neighbor noticed the missing tires and told Manzo in the morning of May 21.

“My brother’s Acura was left on cement blocks with all four tires gone on Wahl Avenue,” Manzo wrote. “The officer said our area has been getting hit hard for the last few weeks and that police had been filling out reports all morning.”

Manzo, who has lived in Inwood for the past 20 years, said he doesn’t recall any similar incidents occurring in the past. “The police also told me that six more cars had their wheels and tires stolen off their cars [on May 20] in Inwood,” he said. “It’s really a shame what our neighborhood has become.”

Village of Lawrence Mayor Alex Edelman sent a letter to residents on May 21 urging residents to keep their cars locked and to leave nothing of value visible.

“Please be advised that last night, in the Village of Cedarhurst, tires and wheels were stolen from three vehicles described as Hondas and Acura’s,” Edelman wrote. “Similar incidents occurred in the Village of Cedarhurst last week as well and thus, as a precaution, we are suggesting that everyone, especially owners of similar vehicles, consider the purchase of wheel locks.”