Jury’s out on new nabe cop patrols
People who live or work near NYPD precincts where a new communitypolicing plan was rolled out on a pilot basis gave it mixed reviews, with some seeing no spike in police presence but others giving it the thumbs up.
“I don’t see any cops around here. Everything is the same or maybe worse,” said “Myra,” a mother of two young kids who lives near the 34th Precinct station house in Washington Heights. “There’s too many teenagers on the street, on the corners. All you hear is them yelling on the corners, drinking.”
Another openly mocked the “One City: Safe and Fair — Everywhere” plan, which will assign the same cops to the same neighborhoods and require them to spend a third of their shifts on foot interacting with residents, merchants and community leaders.
“What, we gonna have social workers now?” asked Lisa Galliano, 25, who thought stopandfrisk was a better idea.
“I don’t want [criminals] to get a talkingto. I want them not to commit crimes and the cops to get guns off the street. I’d rather less guns on the street than conversations.”
But in the Rockaways, near the 100th Precinct station house, many noticed a difference.
Sam Ahmad, 55, owner for 30 years of the Eddi Store, a deli at Beach 86th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard, said he sees “lots more activity” in the last month.
“They drive around. They walk around. They come and they buy water, they say, ‘Hello,’ ‘How are you doing today?’ ‘Do you have any problems?’ ” he said.
“I see more police in the stores, in the streets, on the corners. I feel safe. It’s cool, they don’t harass anybody. I feel protected. When they’re around there are less people at the corners,” said maintenance worker Mike Peters, 50.
Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton unveiled the plan Thursday, saying it would cut crime and heal strained relations between cops and the community.
Under the new system, newly redrawn sectors will reflect neighborhood boundaries — and the number of patrol cops will be increased to make sure officers can stay within the boundaries.
The sector cops will have patrol cars but are also expected to walk the streets to identify problems on the grassroots level, fix them and gain people’s trust.