Report From RIOC President Leslie Torres - Welcomes New RIOC Board Chair Darryl Towns With Ride on Tram and Reviews Latest from Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Lesie Torres sends the following report to Roosevelt Island residents.
Last Friday, the new commissioner of the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal, Darryl Towns, visited Roosevelt Island for his first official tour, but not his first visit.A version of the RIOC President's column also appears on RIOC's web site and the April 23, 2011 Main Street WIRE.
Commissioner Towns was already familiar with Roosevelt Island because of his involvement with the wheelchair basketball league. Still, it was great to have the opportunity to show him all of our beautiful sites and tell him about the great projects and events we have in development.
Commissioner Towns plans to attend the RIOC Board meetings, so you’ll have an opportunity to meet him. I’m looking forward to working with the commissioner to make Roosevelt Island a better place to live and work on and visit.
Keeping our Island Safe
On Friday, May 13th, RIOC’s Public Safety Department (PSD) will host a Promotion & Commendation Ceremony for the Island’s 37 uniformed Public Safety Officers. The event will mark the conclusion of Police Week, which is observed across the nation to honor law enforcement officials who died in the line of duty during the previous year.
RIOC’s public safety officers work hard every day to ensure the safety and well-being of the Island residents. I hope you can join us at the ceremony to recognize their hard work. The event will be held at the plaza at 591 Main Street at 4:30 PM.
PSD officers are recognized by the NYPD as Special Patrolmen and are all NYS Certified Peace Officers. They receive training when first hired and ongoing training throughout their career, including training in defensive tactics; Courtesy, Professionalism and Respect; CPR and First Aid; Domestic Violence Training and much, much more.
Last year, PSD officers responded to over 7100 calls for service, and filed over 3700 incident reports during their 24 hour a day, 7 days a week operation. The officers respond to the same types of calls that are responded to by the NYPD including, but not limited to, domestic incidents, criminal trespass, vandalism and larcenies. They also are the first responders to fire-related calls, and have even helped residents put out small apartment fires over the years.
In addition to filing Incident Reports, PSD Officers also keep the island safe by enforcing the laws. They have the authority to issue Summonses for Parking Violations, Moving Violations, and Penal Law and CPL Violations. They also possess the authority to process arrests through the NYPD Booking System.
When an NYPD investigation is required, PSD works closely with the NYPD officers to aide them in the investigation. Similarly, PSD works with other law enforcement agencies.
PSD officers, with the assistance of the NYPD, help make Roosevelt Island one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. Between 2009 and 2010, crime decreased by 18 percent. This year, the downward trend is continuing. Between January 1 and April 1 of 2011, there were 10 felonies, compared with 16 during the same period the previous year. Misdemeanors are also down, from 40 in the first 3 months of 2010 to 32 in the first 3 months of this year.
I wanted to share with you some recent examples of the exemplary work conducted by the members of PSD.
Fighting Graffiti:
As you know, we have a graffiti problem on the Island. PSD has been focused on identifying the perpetrators. Recently, through increased surveillance and extra patrols, PSD arrested two individuals who were responsible for over 100 tags on the island. These individuals, who are not Island residents, were rearrested by the NYPD for other tags off Island.
Reducing Burglaries:
PSD arrested a burglar responsible for burglarizing two apartments. In both cases, the apartment doors were left open by the residents. The burglar walked down halls turning door knobs. When he found an unlocked door, he opened it and yelled someone’s name. If the resident answered he apologized and said he had the wrong apartment. If he didn’t get a response, he would steal valuables near the door, including cell phones, iPods, iPads, Kindles and more. Following his arrest, PSD issued a memo to residents reminding them that while the Island is safe, we still need to take certain precautions, including locking our doors, and reporting suspicious incidents to the PSD.
PSD is led by Director Keith Guerra, a 20-year veteran of the NYPD and Greenburgh Police Department. He is a NYS Certified Police Instructor and has received training from the FBI, FEMA, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, and others. Deputy Director Rene Bryan and Captain Estrella Suarez assist Director Guerra in running the department.
PSD has been proactive in providing the Roosevelt Island Community with outreach summits on Crime Prevention, Youth and Gangs. They have also sponsored programs in Bicycle Safety, Car Seat Safety, Halloween Safety and Safety for Seniors. They truly appreciate the community's support and believe in their slogan, "Together we can make a difference."
You can learn more about the PSD by visiting www.rioc.com Next time you see a PSD officer, introduce yourself. They look forward to meeting members of the community and getting to know you better. If you have any questions, or want to report and incident, you can always reach PSD at 212-832-4545.
More on the new RIOC Board Chairperson and Commissioner of NY State Homes and Community Renewal Darryl Towns from Capitol Confidential.
The 2010 yearly Public Safety Statistics are here and for the year 2011 thru March here.
