By West Side Rag
An Upper West Side elected official, noting a significant decline in the number of police officers serving the neighborhood, has called on the city’s new police commissioner to assign more officers to the area amid “rising violent crime.”
City Councilmember Gale Brewer penned a letter at the end of November to Jessica Tisch, the newly appointed police commissioner.
“I write on behalf of residents on the Upper West Side expressing public safety concerns throughout the neighborhood amid a reduction in police officers assigned to local precincts,” Brewer wrote. “This reduction is felt across the community and intensifies public safety concerns.”
The number of police officers in the 20th Precinct, which stretches from West 59th to West 86th street, has decreased from 120 to 79 in recent years, according to Brewer.
“We need more police patrols on the UWS amid rising violent crime,” Brewer wrote on social media, with a link to a recent New York Post article: “Ritzy NYC neighborhood rocked by surging crime, including daylight carjackings and brazen robberies.”
The Post story, which focuses on the 20th Precinct, refers to crimes West Side Rag covered at the end of October into November. They include two separate assaults on women, who were randomly sucker punched; a Halloween night shooting; an attack by an Upper West Side resident who slashed a Danish tourist without clear motive; and two recent carjackings.
There have been arrests made in both of the random punching attacks, as well as the slashing of the tourist, but there have been no arrests connected to the October 31 shooting or the stolen cars.
In the 20th Precinct, major crime has risen 6 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to data provided by NYPD. The numbers show that robbery and burglary have both gone up more than 30 percent year-over-year in the 20th Precinct, while felony assault has jumped 14 percent during the same time frame, along with an increase in shooting incidents from two to five.
At the same time, murders, rapes, and grand larceny auto (vehicle theft) have all dropped noticeably in 2024, when compared to 2023. There have been no murders in the 20th Precinct in 2024.
In the 24th Precinct, which runs from the north side of West 86th to West 110th Street, major crime has dropped nine percent in 2024, when compared to 2023, NYPD data shows. This includes noticeable decreases in robbery, felony assault, grand larceny auto, and shooting incidents.
Brewer’s office told the Rag that there had been no NYPD response to the councilmember’s letter as of Monday afternoon.
Mayor Eric Adams recently announced the reinstatement of five classes at the city’s police academy, which had been suspended last year due to budget cuts. Reinstating those classes will add around 1,600 new officers throughout New York City in 2025, but it remains unclear where new officers will be assigned.
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There should be more police at the subway stations. I see people hopping over the turnstiles during busy times without a care in the world.
People who commit low level crimes oftentimes also commit high level crimes.
The NYPD needs to send a message that lawlessness on the UWS will not be tolerated.
Also on the bus, no one is paying the fare. My husband and I rode the M 86, witnessed about 75% of riders not pay. This also happens on the M96 and M104, see it constantly. Where are the MTA police?
It happens all the time on the Mll at 42nd street and also sometimes the M57. I asked one of the bus drivers about it and he said he is not a policeman. I sympathize with the drivers since they are afraid of getting hurt. So they say nothing. One day about 10 policemen were at 42nd street so people wouldn’t go in the back door. Why not put 1 policeman sitting near the rear door and let him or her ride the route. Also people come in with enormous strollers and carriage and walkers and block the front door so people rush into the back door and get a free ride.
From where will you get all these police officers to sit in every bus? How does that prevent scofflaws from getting on the bus through the front door and not paying. The driver doesn’t care whether someone paid or not.
I’ve seen people jump the fares while policemen are standing right there and did nothing. who can blame them? it’s not worth getting shot for a subway fare. poor officer Jonathan Diller was killed when he approached somebody illegally parked.
But that’s the job isn’t it? I morn the loss of Officer Diller but the job is to enforce the law.
Not sure what you would have police do in general.
I once got pulled off a train at GCT for walking between cars (while the train was in the station with doors open) and they gave me a ticket. A friend of a friend got stopped for using their kid’s metrocard. So it is possible to be stopped for these minor offenses. If they grabbed every person who jumped a turnstile and fined them $75 or $100, there would be lots of money for everything else.
I don’t believe for 1 minute, the NYPD can hire 1600 cops, The NYPD has not hit hiring goals in years. NOBODY wants the job anymore.
The city of New York once had the greatest Police Department in the world, and they destroyed it.
The George Floyd riots changed the NYPD in a very fundamental way. I have said this before, Thousands of people marched in the street of NYC protesting fine officers who had nothing to do with what happened in Minneapolis. NYPD officers were hit with bricks and their attackers were protected by politicians and let go without punishment. As thousand marched and attacked your Officers Millions of New Yorkers sat on their butts and watched it happen.
Thousands of Officers retired or moved to more Police friendly States like Texas or Florida. The ones who stayed lost their love for the job and New Yorkers. The days of doing extra for most cops stopped. New Officers do not learn to love the job because the fundamental culture of the NYPD has forever changed. It’s just a job.
Very well said. However, I believe this culture change started when diBlasio took office. The Police despised him and the respect for police officers from the public started to decline at the same time. The Mayoral election of 2029 will be when the tide turns. A Guliani type figure will emerge.
The culture change started when the backlash to stop and frisk started. Bloomberg overreached with stop and frisk and that is why DeBlasio won. DeBlasio knew that certain interests were upset with him surging in the polls especially after that ad with his son Dante so what he did was appoint Bill Bratton as police commissioner to placate certain interests, this placation ended when Eric Garner got killed. I do think that there is a high chance police will overreach again and I think if anyone right now has a good chance of being mayor within the next ten years, it is Justin Brannan.
Pendulums always swing. Let’s strive for law and order with compassion.
no, they did it to themselves with their work stoppages and slowdowns and refusing to do menial things like parking and traffic enforcement. they did not practice the CPR that was written on every car. the are an occupying force in this city and they made it an “us against them” scenario.
the police work for the people. if they don’t like the job they can move on, but they don’t cause they don’t actually have to work or be held accountable for anything so they just collect their checks and OT.
The 20th precinct needs a rethink in strategy. It’s not going well.
People need to re-think their voting.
It’s not going well.
Voting shouldn’t affect cops doing their job. The job remains the same. Protect and serve.
It is interesting to me that the very people who called for defunding the police are now the same people calling for more police. Hello people, what did you think was going to happen?
More cops has never been the answer.
Well please suggest “an answer”..Thanx
Why isn’t the headline drop in crime?? This includes noticeable decreases in robbery, felony assault, grand larceny auto, and shooting incidents. And NO murder.
Because no one is being arrested, held, or charged.
The 20th precinct got a new commanding officer in January 2024, so this rise in crime has happened under her watch. Per WSR’s reporting when she took over, she had previously been in charge of PSA 9 and “in 2023, major felonies reported in public housing in the precincts covered by PSA 9 were up 10% over 2022 levels, well above the 3% increase reported for public housing citywide.” So it may be a pattern and may be time for new leadership.
There should be a move to get cops out of the their cars and walking the streets.
Absolutely!!!!! Sitting in their cars looking down at phones is not useful.
Yes, but in this environment, a cop sitting in his/ her car and not getting involved is a sound career move.
What happened to cops on bikes that we used to see a few years ago? They can cover more ground than on foot, and are more visible and accessible than in cars.
there were groups of cops on bikes over the summer in CP. they did not spread out , they just rode around as a group for what looked like fun. i told them a few times of things they could do something about, and they did not care the least.
Alvin Bragg is running again next year. The centerpiece of his campaign will be his prosecution of President Trump. Will anyone challenge him? I’m guessing he gets reelected. The situation will get worse. So when – in the ‘greatest city in the world ‘ when you’re afraid to go out at night, or afraid of getting carjacked in the afternoon, or being mugged in Central Park by a teenage Venezuelan ‘migrant’- remember he ‘went after’ Trump. President Trump will be laughing in the White House. People in normal states that lock up criminals instead of toothpaste are out at night enjoying their lives. You get what you vote for.
If he gets re-elected, it’s because the majority of voters want him. Obviously they don’t share your point of view.
Someone tell Gale crime is still below the 1970s standards and that she need not be concerned. I know this bc the commenters who voice their concerns on local message boards tell me everything is fine….
Maybe Gale Brewer can take a minute to ponder the connection between all of the homeless shelters and migrant shelters we have in these ZIP codes and the increased crime rates of recent years.
What a difference 4 years makes! The Defund movement has been sent back to university ivory towers, where it will hopefully perish!
Pot smoking everywhere.
People who walk their dogs off leash during ON leash hours.
Bicycles riding on park walking paths
Vehicles not obeying traffic signals.
Motorized vehicles riding on the sidewalk.
What do you expect to happen next? Everyone in the community plays a role in what is happening—everyone is a part of the social fabric. It will continue to worsen if we don’t hold ourselves accountable. Start taking personal responsibility, and you’ll see how things change.
gosh these are some real horrors you highlight here
Yeah, that’s the point. Communities are strong until they aren’t. It doesn’t take much.
Defund the police and disrespect cops and authority, and crime goes up. Hmm
No one defunded the police.
No one defunded the cops. Please stop spreading disinformation – and moderator….perhaps moderate?
Millions of people are disrespected at their jobs everyday yet they still do their job.
Brewer had plenty of time to put this in place – approx. 2 years too late. Perhaps many of these crimes could have been prevented otherwise. Her priorities are way off, and she hasn’t listened to the residents of UWS. Perhaps she will have some competition in this next election. Many people felt they had no other choice. In my opinion, we can do so much better.
Maybe she can also help by not increasing the UWS population constantly without any increase in oversight???
Carl Heastie, the speaker of the State Assembly, still to this day brags on his website that he’s responsible for bail reform as well as Raise the Age:
https://www.heastiefornewyork.com/criminal-justice-reform
Bail reform has been a disaster and needs serious reform immediately. Raise the Age (to keep young people out of Rikers) has been cited repeatedly as the cause of the surge in youth violence and murders. This guy could not possibly be more out of touch and he’s proud of it. He needs to be removed as Speaker asap.
Even the NY Times had a big editorial on the ill effects of bail reform, despite the three “tweaks” to the law.
I’m optimistic for Tisch’s tenure. She actually respects the police force…and NYC citizenry. Bragg’s methods have not worked. Let’s hope a major reboot for public safety comes along with the new administration.
Simple solution: Crime is down in the 24th Pct up in the 20th. Take some cops from the 24th and transfer them to the 20th.
Case solved
So NOW we can finally acknowledge the rise in crime without being called a derogatory name. Think about all the victims of crime over the past 3 years who maybe or maybe not had their incidents recorded or who were gaslighted. What will it take? Gale Brewer finally signs on to the fact that there is a problem up in the staunch liberal UWS.
More police, in the city with the word’s largest police department, is not the correct answer. I feel like I’ve been disappointed with Brewer for years now. A 14 percent increase in felony assault is significant. But to hear Upper West Siders respond with ‘it’s too dangerous now, I’m leaving’ is funny. Where were you in 1980? 1990? 2001? Leave, then! You can go to Florida, Idaho, or if you are a millionaire, Wyoming, the state for millionaires who don’t ever want to be found. No one is forcing you to stay in a city that is safer than London.
THANK YOUUUUUU
There is no way to not correlate who you vote for to where we are now. If everyone wasn’t so TERRIFIED of an (R) next to a candidate’s name, you would have had Diane DiStasio for our city council – moderate and was very concerned for our public safety. You would have had Thomas Keniff for a DA, someone who has represented both sides from prosecuting and defending. They were both concerned for our safety and are police SUPPORTERS and you all voted against them. So stop blaming the police and now beg for more officers.
When you vote, there are consequences.
I’ve been here for 30 years. Something has changed in the neighborhood. It doesn’t just feel less safe. It is less safe. Ask yourself: Are you comfortable going out after 9pm? I’m not. Yes, stores have been shuttered post covid. And homeless encampments have proliferated under sidewalk shelters. But it’s more than that. The upper west side is not what it once was. I do believe the police presence is woefully lacking. Hate to say it but I’m ready to move.
30 years or 300 years, if you are not comfortable going outside after 9pm on the upper west side of all places, it’s possible new york city is just not for you
I go out after 9 pm all the time. Get a grip.
More reason for me to go out after 9 pm – all the paranoiacs are inside!
79 officers for the entire 20th precinct? That’s insane!
No wonder we don’t see them,, and when we don’t see them, the criminals don’t see them either, hence the crimes.
We do Gofundme’s at the drop of a hat. Even though we pay insane taxes, it seems like that is not enough to protect us?! Gale Brewer please pound the table and get us more officers. For the hundreds of thousands of citizens you represent, 79 policemen is not enough, and 1/3 of them are probably in the Precinct building much of the time.
We need officers out of their cars and off of their phones, in order to protect us and our children. If something is not done soon, I will start a gofundme, to raise money for 25 more officers!
Please Gale protect us!
Liberal social policy to blame.
Adams is the worst.
You get what you vote for.
It’s no surprise Trump got elected.
Deal with it.
79 cops? Think about the math. People, including cops, work 8 hours a day/5 days a week. There are 24 hours in a day, so it takes three cops to cover a full day. That doesn’t include weekends. Police also get vacations and holidays. Sounds to me that there are only 15-20 officers on the streets at any given time on the UWS.
I’m not so sure we should take that 79 officers as fact. There are 36,000 officers in the city, and 77 precincts. Plus 12 transit districts and 9 PSA’s. That amounts to about 360 per location. Maybe at the next meeting people can ask: What is the annual budget for the precinct? What is the total head count? How many patrol officers are on duty on average? Why can’t we have foot patrols?
you have forgotten to account for all of the specialized units that the NYPD has — ESU, K-9, counterterror, organized crime, narcotics, highway patrol, etc. A large number of officers are assigned to those units as well.
Please get people to pay bus and subway fairs. This is costing the MTA billions per year. There should be cops at every station.
I agree that fare evasion is a huge problem. However, it does not cost the MTA “billions per year.” Their estimate is around $600M, IIRC, and that presumes that everyone who evades the fare would pay if forced to vs. not riding. I’m not sure I understand the logic of having uniformed workers stationed at the “emergency” gates since they can do little more than try to deter the more timid potential fare beaters; they can’t physically stop anyone from entering, AFAIK. But at lease one policeman at every entrance would make sense for a number of reasons. The bus problem is far more difficult to solve.
Brewer as usual is oblivious. She writes letters after the fact. Cops from “low crime” precincts like 20 and 24 have been reassigned for several years to high crime areas around the five boroughs. The City is short probably 10K officers. Bear in mind that officers are divided into three shifts and different jobs. Only a fraction of them are on street patrols at any given time of day. Ask Brewer why she supports or hasn’t objected to the recent imposition of four shelters in the immediate vicinity of Broadway and 86th Street. Officers do their best but they’ve been put into a lose-lose situation. The tax-paying citizens are at the end of the line.
Years of anti-police rhetoric coupled with misguided assumptions have resulted in street anarchy in NYC. Criminals are emboldened by lack of Policing and prosecution. Unregistered mopeds blatantly disregard traffic rules, flagrant fare evasion, and aggressive panhandling have greatly lowered our quality of life. Local politicians spend their time removing street parking spots. 2 daylight armed carjackings in 8 days on the UWS! As citizens we must demand not only a return to Polce minimum staffing levels but also allow them to do the Police work that needs to be done.