NYPD Officer Assigned To and Patrolling Roosevelt Island Every Day But Not Yet On Permanent Basis - What Happened Last Saturday Night, Was There A Main Street Brawl?

 Image From NY Daily News

Here's the latest on efforts to again have a New York Police Department officer permanently assigned to Roosevelt Island.

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Matt Katz asked 114 Precinct's Deputy Inspector Stephen Cirabisi:

Dear Inspector Cirabisi:

 The RIRA Common Council will meet on Wednesday, June 1 for the last time until we resume after Labor Day on September 7.  Can you tell me whether an officer has been assigned permanently to patrol Roosevelt Island on the four to midnight shift?  I would love to share that good news with my colleagues before we disband for the summer.  Thanks and best wishes,

          Matthew Katz

          President, RIRA

Inspector Cirabisi At Speaking at April RIRA Meeting

Inspector Cirabisi replied:

Hello Mr. Katz, As of now there is not a steady officer assigned but there is one assigned everyday on the 1500x2300 shift. We try to keep the same officer as much as possible. You can be assurred that there will be an officer patroling the island everyday on this shift throughout the summer. If you have any other concerns please let me know.

Comments to post earlier this week on RIRA's June Public Safety Committee Report noted here and here that a brawl involving as many as 20 people may have occurred on Main Street near the Public Safety Office last Saturday at about midnight - after the NYPD officer's tour ended.

Yesterday, in order to verify the accuracy of these reports, I checked the Roosevelt Island Daily Public Safety Reports for the weekend and found nothing to suggest such an incident took place.(The Daily Public Safety Reports are posted on the middle sidebar of blog).

I then sent the following inquiry to Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Vice President of Operations Fernando Martinez and Public Safety Director Keith Guerra:

I received reports, including these two emails below, regarding a brawl/ fighting incident that occurred on Main Street last Saturday night around midnight.

I can find nothing on the Public Safety Reports for the weekend to indicate this occurred.

Was there such a fight and if so, can you provide information on what happened?

Below are the reports I received about the incident.

There was a serious incident on Main Street, just about in front of the Public Safety office, at about midnight Saturday. Looked like about 20 people involved in a fight, at least one taken away in handcuffs, several NYPD cars came screaming down the street.

and

What ever it was, it was loud, big and for a few minutes, very threatening -- I was awakened from sleep by the noise and I am not even on Main Street.
Called RIPSD and phone rang at least 30 times - I figured they already knew. Could see from my apt that many of the folks involved were running away as NYPD approached.
Summer is here and this will not be either the first or last incident that we will need to know more about...

Thank you.

As of this afternoon, I have not received any response to my inquiry so I followed up with this:

 Will there be a comment from RIOC regarding report of a fight involving approximately 20 people in front of Public Safety Department last Saturday night around midnight that was described in email below?

If this fight did occur, was it included in Public Safety Incident Report for that day? I did not see it listed. If not included, why not?

Thank you.

I did receive this announcement today from Mr. Guerra:

As part of our pro-active Community Outreach program, the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department will be hosting it's second Gang Summit on Thursday, June 23rd from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

We will be bringing in renowned gang expert Ron "Cook" Barrett, who will put on a fantastic presentation on Gang Recognition and Awareness.

Please pass the word regarding this summit, as we feel that everyone in attendance will get something out of this very informative program.

Thank you and hope to see you on 6/23.

Mr. Cook has previously conducted a Gang Recognition and Awareness Program on Roosevelt Island. More information on Mr. Cook's program available from earlier posts.

UPDATE 6/9 - At 4:16 PM yesterday, Public Safety Department Director Guerra sent the following message:

... As for the alleged fight, I already sent you an explanation.

I replied:

I never received any explanation regarding the alleged fight.

Can you resend please.

Mr. Guerra responded that he sent the same message to RIOC VP of Operations Fernando Martinez who received the message. When I asked Mr. Guerra to resend his explanation, he did so immediately. Here is his explanation for what happened on Saturday night.

The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department was called to the front of 540 Main Street for a large crowd.

Apparently, {Name Deleted}  who had been arrested last week, got out of his car to confront a group that was in front of the building. More people came over, and the noise level elevated. By this time PSD & NYPD officers were on the scene. The crowd was dispersed by all of the Officers on the scene. No arrests were made and order was restored.

{Same Name Deleted} then claimed someone had driven his car away from the scene, and wanted to file a report for Grand Larceny Auto. Witnesses, however, stated that the person who drove his car away was, in fact, with {Same Name Deleted}. A report was taken for Grand Larceny Auto anyway, and that was reflected in the 24 Hour Report.

(Note that this Blog's policy is not to publish names of those arrested before their case is adjudicated. That's why the name in Mr. Guerra's statement is deleted. In my view, the name of an arrested suspect does not add to the substance of a story and can harm that person unfairly if subsequently not convicted)

I also received this account from Roosevelt Island resident Arlise describing what she saw last Saturday night.

I returned to the island and had just reached Blackwell House when people began running as if for their lives. One woman yelled as she ran by to not walk down Main Street because a gang of kids are fighting and they might have guns. I've lived on RI for over 35 years and this was the first time ever, ever that I was afraid to walk down Main Street. A kind gentlemen over 6 feet tall walked with me until I reached my building.