By Daniel Katzive
There is a new commanding officer at the police department’s 24th Precinct, which covers the northern half of the Upper West Side. Captain Veniece Gayle took the reins from Deputy Inspector Noreen Lazarus, who went to the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct, on September 8th, as reported by West Side Rag.
A 17-year veteran, Captain Gayle began her NYPD career on patrol in the South Bronx in 2008 and was most recently second-in-command at the 32nd Precinct in northeast Harlem. Along the way, she trained with heavy weapons, working for four years with the department’s Counter Terrorism Bureau, and served in the city’s Central Park Precinct.
WSR sat down with Captain Gayle for an interview in her office at the precinct about seven weeks into her tenure. The following discussion has been edited and condensed for clarity.
WSR: This is your first time commanding a precinct. What’s that like? To me it always seemed to be the hardest, most complicated job in the NYPD, not that any of them are easy.
Captain Gayle: I absolutely love it. I’m very big on the community, I’m very big on my cops, building morale, pushing morale. To be a commander and to have the bird’s eye view and to just make a difference means a lot to me, and I really enjoy it. So, even though it’s a lot of work and a lot of responsibility, it’s something that I’m excited and happy to do. I love it here.
WSR: Any surprises so far?
Captain Gayle: I’m honestly going to say “no.” I feel like my time in the 3-2 [the 32nd Precinct] under excellent mentorship has really prepared me for the role that I’m in right now.
WSR: How does the 2-4 differ from some of the other precincts in which you have worked?
Captain Gayle: The types of complaints and calls that we get. It is more retail driven here [referring to the busy Columbus Avenue and Broadway retail corridors where shoplifting has been a recurring issue]. And there are the quality-of-life calls as well. For example illegal parking, noise complaints.
WSR: Your arrival here coincided with the shift across the NYPD away from assigned Neighborhood Coordination Officers to Quality-of-Life Teams, or Q-Teams, to handle these calls. Can you explain how that works?
Captain Gayle: The Q-Teams are specially trained for quality-of-life calls. I’m looking at [quality of life] calls with a closer lens and I’m seeing where the calls are coming in and deploying [the Q-Teams] accordingly to make a difference. Their main purpose is to handle 311 [complaints] and quality-of-life 911 calls and to make other units available to respond to other emergencies at a faster rate. I have been seeing great success with that here, and my team is phenomenal. If I need a police presence at a certain retail corridor, I will deploy my Q-team there as well for police presence. I did an analysis of when calls were happening and based on the influx of calls and what time they were happening, I shifted the start time of my Q-teams so that they are available.
WSR: Do you think that will make a difference in the impressions that people have of the quality of life in the precinct?
Captain Gayle: Absolutely, yes.
WSR: When we look at the data on the Upper West Side, murder and shooting numbers are low; just one murder so far in the 2-4 this year, a stabbing that was quickly closed by arrest. But some other categories of crime are rising compared to 2024, including assaults and burglaries. What do you think that is telling us, and what can we do about it?
Captain Gayle: There’s always explanations, right? If you analyze the assault numbers, a lot of them are domestic and they are also closed by arrests. [The NYPD] has moved our domestic violence investigators to working directly under the Detective Bureau. That just rolled out. We already had domestic violence officers, but under the Detective Bureau they are more focused on closing more cases from an investigative standpoint and [offering] more outreach to victims.
With the retail [i.e., larceny complaints], I’ve been working diligently to try to figure out a way to mitigate those numbers. I’ve been working with community partners. I personally visited all of my top 10 locations, met with managers just to get an idea of what their problem is. I try to recommend security measures. Maybe hire a security guard. I’ve also been working with the District Attorney’s office because what I’m seeing mostly is recidivism with the larcenies. So I’m working with the DA’s office and community partners.
WSR: I understand that grand larceny numbers on the West Side are inflated by telephone fraud schemes, where often the perpetrator is not in New York City at all, only the victim is local.
Captain Gayle: That’s absolutely correct. We transfer those over to the specialists, the detective investigators, and they do a good job trying to mitigate that. We also do outreach, so I’ll have my crime prevention officer go out to certain locations where I’m noticing there’s been a lot of scam calls. She does tabletops [i.e., brochure displays on tables].
WSR: That’s Officer Frankel [who was recently profiled by WSR for her work with animal complaints]?
Captain Gayle: Exactly. She does education with that. So it is definitely something that I’m aware of and doing the best we can from a patrol standpoint to raise awareness. I just reached out to my social media team also to see what we can push out further to the community in regards to grand larcenies from scams. So if we are not reaching out to you from a tabletop or at an intersection, I want to be able to reach you through social media, just to make you aware. So when you get these phone calls, you don’t fall victim.
WSR: What can you tell me about the Community Council Meeting process? Is it valuable?
Captain Gayle: Absolutely. I’ve been going to Community Council meetings ever since I became executive officer in the 3-2. That’s something I look forward to. It’s a way to actually also get feedback from the community. A lot of times, if it’s not in a 911 call or a 311 call, I won’t necessarily know exactly what’s going on. So I come to the Community Council meetings, I hear the complaints and if they’re police related, I’m on top of it. And if they’re not, we have other city agencies that I might have access to that we could refer them to. I always leave my Community Council meetings with a mission to address whatever it is that might not come to me via 911 or 311. So it is another tool for me to see what is going on in my community, and how I can further help my community.
WSR: You arrived here as an immigrant from Jamaica – and, by the way, I know today is a terrible day for Jamaica, and I’m sorry about that [we spoke a day after Hurricane Melissa made a devastating landfall on the island country]. What can you tell us about your journey as an immigrant to New York and what message would you have for other people in a similar position right now?
Captain Gayle: Thank you. I left Jamaica when I was 13 years old. My family came here for a better opportunity. I went to high school here, college here, and got a master’s degree. The opportunity is definitely here, and I don’t know how to put this without getting emotional, but the message I would give is, ‘Just never give up. Just always keep pushing. The opportunity is here. You just got to keep trying. You just got to keep pushing. And you can attain, it sounds cliched, but you literally can attain anything you put your mind to.’ If you told me 17 years ago when I joined the NYPD, or however long ago when I came to this country, that I would be the commanding officer of the 24th Precinct, I’d probably laugh…. It’s just so surreal to me, and I’m very happy and humbled by this opportunity.
If you want to meet Captain Gayle and share your thoughts on issues facing the neighborhood, the monthly Community Council meetings are open to all. The CC meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at Ryan Health at 110 West 97th Street. The next meeting will be on November 19th.
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I have noticed a definite improvement in 311 responses in the last couple months
i have never called 311 in my life.
The response of 311 has been outstanding the past five years and a great improvement in the system.
We wish her well
Please decrease crime. Please arrest and hold repeat offenders.
Not happening with Bragg being re elected and a new Mayor who thinks we don’t need police or jails.
The South Bronx is neither a specific Bronx neighborhood, nor a specific Bronx precinct in the southern Bronx.
What precinct in the southern Bronx in what named neighborhood did Captain Gayle start out in?
The phrasing now is sort like saying she started out [in her NYPD carrier] assigned to the west side [of Manhattan].
Very interesting and insightful interview. The TV cop series are so unrepresentative of the reality of the job of police in our neighborhood, which may seem mundane but are so important.
A few days ago, I saw a patrol car parked on W 66th St. with two cops inside. One was busy working his phone, and the other was sleeping.
Let’s support a no-phones-while-on-duty rules for police – like schoolchildren. For all – makes a difference.
They are WORK phones from which they get all their information and in which they have to record all their notes and data, but call me when you see someone pull out a 1962 little black memo book again.
And if they were arresting someone and had to use force people complain.
That’s not her precinct.
I was told that there was a third slashing near 103rd Street.
Let’s all give her our full support. Tough job, smart lady, highly experienced, determined to make a difference for all of us.
Congratulations to Captain Gayle! I salute her and her dedicated team, and am so impressed by her approach, openness, and fresh initiatives. Thanks, too, to Daniel Katzive for his excellent interview!
As someone who grew up in the South Bronx and as a New Yorker, I ask how is this relevant to Captain Gayle’s qualifications, expertise and commitment to community service?
God’s speed Captain Gayle
Welcome Captain Veniece Gayle! Thank you for bringing your skills, expertise, and goodwill to our neighborhood.
Thank you West Side Rag for this fine interview. And more importantly thank you to Precinct Commander Gayle – it’s comforting to read such a thoughtful approach to what must be a near-impossible job especially in these loaded times. Wishing you a long tenure in our neighborhood!
What an inspiring interview of an inspiring and remarkable woman. Thank you for your determination and courage, Captain Gayle! I salute you!
On behalf of the West 80th St. Block Association we would like to welcome our new NYPD 24th Precinct, Captain Veniece Gayle and wish her much success for our neighborhood and “Fighting crime, protecting the public!”
My congratulations to you Captain Gayle and the “Proud 24th” on this new chapter. Your service is vital to the safety and well-being of our neighborhood, and we are very grateful. 🙏
Billy Amato, CMP
Chair-person/President
West 80th St. Block Association
Columbus/Amsterdam Avenue
(Since 1968)
What about all of the illegal parking in front of the precinct on W. 100th between Amsterdam & Columbus? Are Cops (and Firemen) able to park their personal cars where ever they want on the street?
Small acts of corruption give permission for larger ones.
The fire and police personnel work different odd hour shifts, many commute significant distances to serve the neighborhood in what is difficult hazardous jobs. Often they come to work and because of an emergency situation or an arrest they know not when they will be able to go home. The parking situation on W 100 St. has been going on for decades. It is a great gesture on the part of our community to have been over many year accommodating these dedicate public servants with this parking arrangement that has become SOP. God bless our police officers and firefighters.
Many service workers commute long distances and work odd hours. Should they be allowed to park on the sidewalk, too? And not all police and fire positions are hazardous.
As a community member, I don’t remember agreeing to any “accommodating gesture” of allowing private vehicles to park on the sidewalk or to never move to allow for street cleaning. The block looks crummy and Bill is correct: it sends a terrible signal that petty lawbreaking by cops is okay.
so you support open corruption and double standards. nice.
No! I don’t think it is corruption or a double standard. I think it is appreciation of the police and fire personnel for the dangerous and necessary work they do. Perhaps a better way to do this would be to officially allocate enough parking for the first responders. They are a special class !
Good interview that presents Captain Gayle as a smart, dedicated leader eager to make a difference in her new Command. I wish her all the luck and joy in her job.
Wish she had mentioned the e-bike plague as a “quality of life” issue. But we wish her all the best!
what is your plan for arresting and putting in prison the e-bike operators who continue to ride through the red lights? It’s dangerous to cross the streets because they go in both directions and now! They also drive on the sidewalks! Do something to prevent that , then you will be impressive
Citibike riders routinely ignore rules and endanger pedestrians.
I strongly support that. It’s not just e-bikes causing problems. Regular riders also pose dangers. A friend and I were nearly knocked down recently crossing at a street corner when an entitled rider decided to swerve in front of us. I’ve mostly noticed problems in West 60s and 70s, but never see a police officer on foot there. A few arrests that make news could serve as a deterrent.
Welcome Captain Gayle. I wish you a success. I hope you can help to do something about some dangerous bike riders.
Are Community Council meetings hybrid and available to those who cannot manage Inperson meetings but wish to participate and be knowledgable about local concerns? Chronic pain, immunosuppressive disorders, schedule conflict make Inperson meetings difficult or impossible
I often notice a police car stationed outside the CVS on 70th and West End and have wondered why. Is it to reduce shoplifting at the store? Is this the quality of life team? And I wondered if CVS pays for this support.
I also see uniformed officers inside Fairway “patrolling” the store standing at exits. Is that also part of quality of life/shoplifting reduction and does Fairway pay something for that?
These are just questions I’m curious about – not criticizing the moves.
They are most likely getting OT at Fairway
pretty sure fairway’s situation is cops being privately hired for security: you can generally tell because their body cams have been removed and they work in single units.
Theory on CVS units… (since it’s at multiple CVSs). they are just randomly stationed in the precinct and have chosen to patrol next to those since those locations require a higher than avg response rate.
Uniformed NYPD officers are permitted to moonlight as private security under the Paid Detail Program. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/coib/downloads/pdf5/aos/96_98/AO98_04.pdf The security guard who was killed in the recent mass shooting at a Park Avenue office building was an NYPD officer.
I have that question too!
Great questions, WSR!! Well researched and smart.
i am highly in favor of Eric L Adams’s innovation as mayor to create the Q Teams, which i volunteer for indirectly as a civilian in 11234 for Brooklyn Community Sanitation. wherever i travel from my home on Kings Highway, which i may lose soon, i volunteer as a community leader to improve the cleanliness ot streets and the transit system by picking up litter with my bare hands (with the exception of feces) and depositing it in nearby trash bins. you can call me “bin laden” like ellis island folk: i am heavy laden but not weary. i am proud to work on behalf of Eric Adams, one of the city’s best mayors to have ever served. i pray he gets elected as President of the USA if he chooses to run for the White House.