NYPD HONORS CENTRAL PARK EMS VOLUNTEERS
The NYPD and the Central Park Precinct Community Council recognized 14 volunteers from the Central Park Medical Unit last week for their exceptional service during the blizzard of December 2010: Garrison Resnick, Samuel Bruce, Suki Fujioka Muller, Brian Goldberg, Kellene Mullin, Rafi Zigmund Castellanos, Freddy Cheng, Jason Ares, Roger Thomas, Nick Holsapple, Tom Duggan, Greg Levow, Michael Jones, M.D., and Rafael Castellanos. In addition, Brennon Jones, Staley Dietrich, Jonathan Kleisner and Samuel Bruce were honored for their help in saving the life of a cyclist who suffered a heart attack in the park in November.
A Precinct Nice Enough to Show His Wife
After chasing killers, commander settles on UWS
By Max Sarinsky
Christopher McCormack has spent most of the past two decades pursuing notorious criminals in some of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. So he may have felt a little out of place when in July, less than three months after being promoted to captain of the 20th Precinct on the Upper West Side, he received his first major assignment in the new position: to secure the neighborhood for President Obama’s appearance on The View at the ABC Studies on West 66th Street. Read more
Making His Mark on the Neighborhood
Police officer is a one-man unit battling graffiti
For the past 14 years, Officer David Echevarria has been with the New York Police Department, where he investigates gang-related graffiti activity.
He’s based in the 24th Precinct in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, but using a computer database of citizen complaints and police write-ups, he monitors graffiti reports from all around the city to look for connections to crimes in his command. Read more
DOT, NYPD ANNOUNCE SAFETY INITIATIVES
By Dan Rivoli
The commissioners for the Department of Transportation and the NYPD announced new safety initiatives at the Broadway-West 71st Street-Amsterdam Avenue intersection Oct. 21.
There will be an increase in police enforcement to crack down on speeding cars, drivers that fail to yield to pedestrians and bicyclists that disobey traffic laws. The city will also launch an ad campaign to educate drivers about the city’s little-known 30 miles per hour speed limit. A Department of Transportation study showed that two-thirds of city drivers are unaware of the city’s standard speed limit. Read more
Video of Suspected Riverside Park Attacker Released
By Dan Rivoli
The police released surveillance video of the man they believe attacked two women in Riverside Park July 5. Read more
Apple Fresh Off The Truck
By Dan Rivoli
Tech-hungry criminals got a hold of two boxes of Apple iPads, straight off the UPS trucks that were delivering the new devices, which start at $499. Read more
Dead Body in River Is Suspected Suicide
Police believe that a woman’s body found dead in the Hudson River near West 70th Street and the West Side Highway the morning of May 27 was a suicide. Read more
After Narcotics and Murder, Top Cop Shifts to Quality of Life
By Dan Rivoli
In Christopher McCormack’s 21 years in the police department, he has spent time on the streets of Washington Heights and East Harlem. He most recently led a squad of more than 150 rookies at Patrol Borough Manhattan North, targeting high-crime spots north of 59th Street. In his native Bronx, McCormack was a homicide detective and a sergeant at a downtown precinct. Now, he is taking the helm at the 20th Precinct, covering the Upper West Side from West 59th to 86th streets, between Central Park and the Hudson River. Read more
Why You Never Chase
Karen Schmeer, a friend of a dear friend, was killed Jan. 29 while carrying groceries home. She was hit on Broadway at West 90th Street by a speeding car driven by drug store shoplifters fleeing police. The impact knocked her out of her boots and flung her half a city block through the air. Read more
The Mayor’s Race: Focus on Crime and Safety
In past mayoral elections, crime has been one of the biggest issues for residents across the five boroughs. But with the city safer than it’s been in decades, the candidates have mostly focused on continuing the policies of the past eight years, with a few minor adjustments.
The combination of falling crime and budget deficits has resulted in a record low number of police on staff, leaving many precincts with limited resources. Read more
