As the holidays reach peak season, the NYPD has also been stepping up its ongoing outreach efforts with local communities, organizing a number of kid-friendly, holiday events across the borough. Meanwhile, the report by the City’s Department of Investigation into the NYPD’s handling of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations this year was released on Friday, Dec. 18, amid some scathing criticism from legal groups.

 

On Friday, Dec. 11, the Police Athletic League (PAL) hosted a bunch of children at PAL’s new South Bronx Center to kick off the holiday season with an outdoor tree lighting ceremony. Organized by PAL vice-chairman, John Catsimatidis, and Margo Catsimatidis, the tree lighting event brought some much-needed holiday cheer to local kids with presents, festive music and seasonal snacks.

 

Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea, members of the NYPD, PAL executive director, Frederick J. Watts, and PAL staff served as Santa’s helpers, and personally wished the kids and community happy holidays.

The PAL holiday celebrations throughout the city aim to “bring happiness and toys to youngsters at PAL centers and police precincts in their own communities.” The organization said the celebrations are being made possible this year “by the generosity and holiday spirit of hundreds of caring New Yorkers including John and Margo Catsimatidis.”

 

According to organizers, PAL is a civilian led group founded in 1914, and has served New York City’s young people for over 100 years. It provides recreational, educational, cultural and social activities to 20,000 boys and girls annually, and is the city’s largest, independent, nonprofit youth organization.

 

In Norwood, a toy giveaway was held at the 52nd precinct on Webster Avenue on Tuesday, Dec 22. According to Elizabeth Quaranta, executive director of Friends of Mosholu Parkway (FOMP), about 150 people were in line at the event at one stage, with Doug Condit from FOMP also seen helping out.

 

Kids under 12 met Santa and received a gift before getting their photo taken in front of a snow scene backdrop, while parents received an informational bag sponsored by Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson which included a mask and hand sanitizer. The NYPD Domestic Violence unit added safety and educational material to complete the bags, and everyone left with cookies in hand. Over 250 toys were handed out to kids in the community.

A food drive for local, needy families had also been organized in recent weeks by the 52nd precinct in conjunction with Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernández. Dry food donations had been coming in over a number of weeks from members of the community, with the proceeds eventually going to St. Brendan’s / St Ann’s Food Pantry, which usually provides food to over 200 families every Saturday.

 

Community Affairs Officer Crystal Reveron said about 20 food boxes were finally put together at the precinct on Thursday evening, Dec. 10, for onward delivery to the pantry on the following Saturday.

 

Meanwhile, crime still remains high both citywide and locally, and the NYPD has warned residents to ensure to keep their cars locked to curb a recent surge in Grand Auto Thefts. At the last local community council meeting, NYPD crime statistics through Dec. 6 revealed that the 52^nd precinct continues to experience increases in murder and burglaries, similar to the citywide increases seen in both categories.

Another great event in partnership with our community stakeholders. “It’s beginning to look a lot like ☃️🎄❄️ #NYPDConnecting. @Target @NYPDCommAffairs @MMCCenter #NYPDconnecting pic.twitter.com/apENqbhyMU

— NYPD 52nd Precinct (@NYPD52Pct) December 22, 2020

There were two more murders in 2020 compared to the same period last year. Of the ten homicides, nine are considered closed cases. The murder rate remains at less than one per month at the 52. Burglaries rose by 35.9 percent from 167 to 227 over the same period, while rapes have decreased.

 

The city reported a drop in rapes of 20.3 percent, while the 52 precinct rates dropped by 28.1 percent from 32 in 2019 to 23 to date this year. This is also despite the dramatic increase in domestic violence incidents this year. The precinct made more gun arrests than any other precinct in the Bronx, and is fifth in the city for gun arrests.

 

Many local residents complained about people loitering in buildings, people playing loud music, parked cars that obstruct driveways, and drug addicts at the D train subway. Residents were encouraged to contact Community Affairs Officers, Stephen Echevarria and Crystal Reveron about these problems. Their contact details are available on the precinct website or by calling 718-220-5824. The 52nd Precinct Community Council meetings will resume in Jan. 2021.

Following the release of the report into the NYPD’s response to the Black Lives Matter demonstrations earlier this year on Dec. 18, The Legal Aid Society and the New York Civil Liberties Union released a statement, extracts of which are outlined below.

 

“This report confirms that the shocking violence the NYPD employed during the George Floyd protests was directly traceable to the leadership failures of Mayor de Blasio, Police Commissioner Shea and other police leaders who created a de facto policy permitting and encouraging individual officers to target protesters for brutal treatment and unlawful arrests,” it read.

 

“Removing a terrorism-focused unit like the Strategic Response Group from the equation is a positive step, but simply instituting more training and shifting responsibilities around is not a solution,” the statement continued. “The fundamental problem is a department whose leadership and culture allowed the events of this summer to unfold, refuses to confront its own conduct, and does nothing to address the root causes of these long-standing problems.”

The groups added, “Lastly, Mayor de Blasio’s mea culpa comes a day late and a dollar short. It should not have required a City investigation for him to reach the same conclusion as millions with eyes to see bore witness to this past summer.”

 

On Oct. 26, as reported by Norwood News, the New York Civil Liberties Union and The Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit against the mayor, the police commissioner, Chief of Department Terence Monahan, the City of New York, and several individual police officers for their roles in what they described as “the indiscriminate brutalizing of peaceful protestors during the protests following the police killing of George Floyd.”

 

The suit addressed the first month of protests between May 28 and June 28, “where swarming officers used batons, pepper spray, and other aggressive techniques to retaliate against New Yorkers for showing their support of Black lives and demanding an end to police violence.” The groups said that such uses of excessive force against these demonstrators violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights.

Both de Blasio and Shea released statements following the issuance of the report, with the mayor saying in part, “This is a season of reflection. I’ve read the Department of Investigation’s report on the NYPD’s handling of the protests in response to the murder of George Floyd. It’s clear that we have we to do something different in New York City. We have to do something better.”

 

Meanwhile, Shea said, “I have reviewed the Department of Investigation report. In general terms, the report captured the difficult period that took place in May/June of 2020 and presents 20 logical and thoughtful recommendations that I intend to incorporate into our future policy and training. I’d like to thank DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett and her entire staff for their professionalism during this process.”

As reported by Norwood News, the NYPD held the last outreach listening session of 2020 on Dec. 9, as part of the ongoing efforts to rebuild the trust of New Yorkers. The various listening and outreach sessions which have been live streamed online have been criticized by some groups as being inadequate and not sufficiently inclusive.

 

For more information about PAL, visit www.palnyc.org.