Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark joined NYPD officials, City officials, and Maureen Curtis, vice president at Safe Horizon, for the opening of a new Bronx Special Victims Unit in the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx on Oct. 27.

 

Located on West 230th Street, the state-of-the-art center will be the new home for the Special Victims, Major Case & Cold Case Squad. Carlos Ortiz, chief of special victims, Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives, First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, Deputy Commissioner Management & Budget Christine Ryan, Kathleen Bear, director of special victims, and Police Deputy Chief Chaplain Fr. George Anastasiou, along with other NYPD members were present for the occasion which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the national anthem, prayers, other musical performances, a flag ceremony and speeches.

 

Kinsella said it was “a facility that represented a transformation in how we care for our survivors and deliver on our promise to put our victims first.” She said for decades, the Bronx SVU operated out of the “old Fort Apache.” She added, “That building carries a long history in the NYPD policing, but it was never designed for the deeply sensitive work that’s done by our team.”

 

Kinsella, from The Bronx, continued, “Survivors seeking help often found themselves in an environment that felt daunting and unwelcoming, one that didn’t reflect the care, the privacy or the compassion that they deserved, and the need for this work has been even greater. So now, in 2025, the Bronx Special Victims Squad has investigated nearly 1,300 cases of sexual violence, involving victims, ages 13 and older.”

Kinsella continued, “Each one of our survivors who turned to us for help and who deserved a space worthy of their courage, now they’ll have it here. Our new Kingsbridge facility, co-locates the NYPD’s Special Victims Detectives with our partners at Safe Horizon, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. So now, the moment that someone walks through these doors, every bit of support they need is right there in a welcoming environment. It is a place designed to give survivors privacy, and to bring everyone involved in these cases together in one setting.”

 

Kinsella continued, “This is what 21st Century policing looks like. It means to build a survivor-focused NYPD. I want to recognize Safe Horizon, whose advocacy and partnership are vital to the care we provide. I want to also thank Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and her team, as well as our borough president, Vanessa Gibson, for their leadership, for being a central part of what’s important.”

 

She added, “I want to thank the police commissioner as well who would want to thank Mayor Adams for his unwavering dedication to public safety and support for making this facility a reality. Our special victims detectives are the best in the world at what they do but even the greatest investigators need the right tools and the right environment to deliver justice to our survivors. This new facility ensures they will have exactly that, and now, let’s open this new chapter of service and justice for The Bronx.”

 

For her part, Clark said she was so proud to stand at the new center with all those present “as we launch this site, where justice, healing, and hope will begin.” She congratulated the NYPD for opening the new unit. It is so important for survivors and victims of sexual assault be made as comfortable as possible, when they are interviewed by detectives, trying to find out what happened [during] that terrible incident.”

 

She continued, “This facility is a symbol of compassion. When victims who have recently been traumatized walk through these doors, they will find a calm and peaceful place [where] they can talk and really be trauma-focused and understand what really happened to them, a place where victims will be able to unburden their heavy hearts. Just try to imagine… we don’t have to imagine. We know what it was like over there at Simpson Street.” Looking at Kinsella, she added, “I mean it’s a long history as you said, a lot of things going on there, making sure that the right people are held accountable, but it’s not the environment that’s needed for vulnerable victims such as these.”

 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark joins NYPD officials for the opening of a new Bronx Special Victims Unit at 188 West 230th Street in Kingsbridge, The Bronx, Oct. 27, 2025. V1 Video by Síle Moloney

 

The district attorney continued, “So, I’m so happy to have this type of facility available for them. I know how probably unnerving it was for them to walk through that station, seeing all kinds of people, all kinds of movement, everything else. This is a safe space, and of course it’s safe when Safe Horizon’s here. It can’t be any safer than that, with also the greatest detectives in the world being a part of this.”

 

Clark added, “I’m happy that my office has a space as well, so I’m going to make sure you have somebody in there to get the work done, because that’s how important… We know that this work is important. We know that it’s needed and those of us in law enforcement have a duty to stand up and fight for those victims and survivors to see that those who have harmed them are held accountable, and that’s what we’ll be able to do here.”

 

She concluded, “We have a strong partnership already with Bronx Special Victims Division, and it’s going to be now even stronger as we bring justice for these victims. We stand together to go all that we can for these sexual assault survivors. Thank you very much.” Clark added that Gibson was unable to attend but was also “a great partner in this work.”

 

One room at the facility was named an “IDF room.” Another was labeled a stress reduction room. At a subsequent press conference in December 2025, following now-NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win in the general election in November, Norwood News asked what was the purpose of the room. The mayor said he would look into it and get back to us. We did not receive an immediate response but will share any updates we receive.

 

The NYPD said it considers various factors when determining unit-by-unit staffing for its divisions. In the Detective Bureau, the Chief of Detectives adjusts the staffing needs of each unit under their direction. Specifically, for the Special Victims Unit (SVU), the Chief of Detectives evaluates the number of cases received by the SVU, the number of cases classified as felonies or misdemeanors, the number of cases involving children, the number of open and active cases each detective handles, as well as the investigative steps taken.

 

They said all SVU investigators receive Trauma-Informed Interview training, which emphasizes allowing the victim of a sexual assault to set the pace of the investigation.

 

They said consequently, a case may become inactive at the victim’s direction, allowing the detective to take on other cases. They said the determination also takes into account the number of cases involving known versus unknown suspects. They said cases with known suspects are treated with the same seriousness and investigated with the same vigor as those with unknown suspects.

 

However, they said cases involving unknown suspects require additional investigative steps to identify, locate, and apprehend the suspect. Additionally, they said the department examines the number of investigative resources employed from outside the division. For example, they said investigators routinely seek assistance from the Technical Assistance Response Unit for video gathering, neighborhood coordination officers for canvassing, the Real Time Crime Center for analytical and investigative support, Crime Stoppers, and Community Affairs.

 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark joins NYPD officials for the opening of a new Bronx Special Victims Unit at 188 West 230th Street in Kingsbridge, The Bronx, Oct. 27, 2025. V2 Video by Síle Moloney

They said the Crime Scene Unit supplements investigative efforts through forensic evidence collection, the Warrants Section assists in apprehending wanted perpetrators, and the Vice and Human Trafficking units augment investigations, all supporting SVU. They said furthermore, the SVU Mentoring Program supports and develops new investigators by pairing them with experienced, veteran Special Victims detectives.

 

They said this structured, four-month “Eight-Session Mentoring Program” provides comprehensive guidance, case reviews, and ongoing professional development through scheduled meetings that gradually decrease in frequency as the investigator gains experience. They said the first month includes weekly sessions, followed by bi-weekly sessions in the second month, and one session each in the third and fourth months.

 

They said meetings are conducted flexibly via phone, web conference, or in-person, depending on the senior investigator’s preference. They said each session is tailored to the mentee’s specific needs, focusing on case reviews, best practices, and Q&A. They said the program not only equips new investigators to handle the unique challenges of SVU cases but also fosters lasting relationships, promoting ongoing collaboration and support well beyond the mentoring period.