NYPD's 114 Precinct Commander Deputy Inspector Cirabisi to Appear at Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Meeting Tonight - Is NYPD Community Policing Over For Roosevelt Island?

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) will be meeting 8 PM tonight at the Good Shepherd Community Center (543 Main Street). The Agenda for the meeting is below. As always, prior to the start of each meeting there is a public session in which any resident can come and address the Common Council Delegates on any issue of concern.

The RIRA Agenda includes the scheduled appearance of the 114th Precinct Commander Deputy Inspector Stephen Cirabisi during the Public Session.

Image From NYPD

It will be interesting to see how Deputy Inspector Cirabisi addresses the recent departure of the only NYPD officer assigned to Roosevelt Island and the apparent unlikelihood that another NYPD officer will be assigned to Roosevelt Island.

Commenting on the loss of Roosevelt Island's only assigned NYPD officer, Retired NYPD writes:

Since the 1980s the NYPD has seen a dramatic decrease in crime. This is mostly attributed to the attack on quality of life issues, such as the beer drinkers, public urinators, graffiti artists, drug addicts, emotionally disturbed people, etc.

The way NYPD carried out this plan has changed over the years. NYPD Police Commisioner Lee Brown introduced community policing to the NYPD back in 1990 as a form of crime prevention. For years after that you would see more police walking on foot, patrolling on bicycles and interacting more closely with the communities they patrolled. It was considered a good crime fighting tactic, at the time. In the mid 1990s community policing was supplemented with beefed up street crime units. By the early 2000s community policing had already been phased out completely by new police commissioners and replaced with the IMPACT program. Instead of having 'veteran' cops patrolling specific communities on bike or foot, you now had 'rookies' swarm areas of high crime.

I don't know of any other community in New York City besides Roosevelt Island that still had a community police officer still posted to it. I would think it is common sense to not jeopardize a good thing if you have it. I have been retired a couple of years already, but I assume the thinking is still pretty much the same as it was in the early 2000s. Asking the NYPD for a change, such as a reassignment of a community police officer (which should not still exist in current NYPD law enforcement strategies) can be equated to an ending of a specific post.

Sure, Roosevelt Island will still have a police presence, in the form of patrol cars driving through or in response to calls. Roosevelt Island will not have a swarm of rookies patrolling on foot, like for example, Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, because of the low crime rate on the island. The difference will be seen in the NYPD's strategy on Roosevelt Island, crime prevention versus a 'quick' response to crimes. Luckily, the Public Safety Department uses a combination of strategies. That is why you see PSD officers patrolling the buildings, officers patrolling on foot, bike and segways on the street and patrolling everything else in cars. Community policing in such a small town is important. As residents of Roosevelt Island, we should have a better appreciation of the job the Public Safety Department does.

Here is the April RIRA Agenda:
RIRA April Agenda

Just before the start of the April RIRA Meeting, the April RIOC Board of Directors Meeting will take place starting at 5:30 PM at the Manhattan Park Community Center.

Also, State Senator Jose Serrano's staff will be holding their monthly constituent office hours from 4 -7 PM at RIOC HQ, 591 Main Street. These constituent office hours by Senator Serrano's staff are an excellent way to let Senator know what's happening on Roosevelt Island and also a way for them to help you with any assistance that may require the help of your elected representative