It's a sight residents in a Queens community are waking up to frequently: cars on cinder blocks and crates, with all four wheels missing.
"It's insulting. You know, they come, they damage your property and then they drop the car on the pavement so there was more damage beside the wheels," said Allon Theilen, who paid $3,800 to replace his wheels when his were stolen a few weeks ago in Glen Oaks.
Glen Oaks Village President Bob Friedrich said, "They literally can get all four tires off in less than five minutes, and then they're gone,"
Friedrich met with police Wednesday and says there is a plan to stop the thieves.
"I've been working closely with the 105th Precinct. They have beefed up patrols here, a lot of unmarked patrols, and they're taking some other measures that I'm not at liberty to disclose right now to try to combat this," he said.
Residents in the Glen Oaks Village coop development pointed to nearly a dozen incidents they know about, and they suspect there have been more in the surrounding area in the last few months.
"I've seen a number of cars circling around the block, and there's just, almost every morning, you'll see a car on cinder blocks, which is scary," said Mike Calia.
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Friedrich said police told him the thieves often go after Hondas, which is why neighbor Matt Kruger put a special wheel lock on his own Honda.
"Hopefully someone sees something to catch these people because it's not fair to wake up and see your tires missing. You miss work, and it costs people money," he said.
