Skillman Ave. residents say they've seen a rise in car and house burglaries on their Jersey City street

Monday, December 05, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Adam Maher/The Jersey Journal

Residents of Skillman Avenue in Jersey City say their street used to be a worry-free place to live. But a spate of car and house burglaries in recent weeks have shattered their sense of security.

Hamid Nirav, 50, said his daughter?s Nissan was burglarized on Nov. 19.

?They broke the passenger window when her car was parked in my driveway and took her GPS system,? Nirav said.

PRANAY SURVE, a Skillman Avenue resident for the past six years, lost thousands of dollars worth of cameras and electronics when his first-floor apartment was broken into last month.

That same night, Pranay Surve?s first-floor apartment on Skillman Avenue was broken into.

?I was out from noon till 9:30 p.m. that night, and when I came home, all of my apartment door locks were broken, and thousands of dollars worth of SLR camera lenses and laptops were missing,? said Surve, 34.
Located one block west of Kennedy Boulevard in the Journal Square area, Skillman Avenue is two blocks long and runs from Van Winkle Avenue to the Pulaski Skyway border.

On Nov. 27, Surve said he was outside of his home around twilight when he saw three boys looking into the windows of parked cars on his street.

Surve said he stared at the boys who ducked behind a house when they saw him.

?When they saw that I was still staring, they bolted, so I contacted the authorities,? he said.

Jersey City police detained one of the teens but didn?t hold him for lack of evidence, officials said.

There has been an upward trend in car and house burglaries across the city in recent weeks, Lt. Edgar Martinez said.

Police urge all residents not to leave GPS systems, or their windshield holsters, in their cars, during the busiest days of the holiday season.

Longtime Skillman Avenue resident Bob Miller, 72, said, ?At least five vehicles have been broken into recently.
It is not uncommon to see glass in the street at daybreak after thieves have broken into a neighbor?s car.

?My neighbors are very concerned for their privacy and their safety,? Miller added