Community Corner
Mayor Says Jeffries Cop Residency Bill is ‘Unnecessary’
A bill is being introduced to require new NYPD recruits live within the city, sparked by racially insensitive remarks about the West Indian Day Parade
A bill Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries to mandate New York City residency of all NYPD new hires has been rebuffed by the mayor who calls the bill “unnecessary,” according to WYNC.
The decision by Jeffries to introduce the bill was of officers leaving hateful and racist messages on a Facebook group entitled "No More West Indian Day Detail.”
Jeffries asserts that if officers live in the communities they serve, it may help cultivate greater empathy between officers and the communities they serve.
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“The vile and racist language used by police officers with respect to the West Indian Day Parade shocks the conscience and demands legislative action. We are not savages. We are not monkeys. We are sick and tired of officers who do not understand and respect our community,” said Assemblyman Jeffries at a press conference on Sunday.
However, yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg called the bill “unnecessary,” and said about 60 percent of the NYPD’s current academy class live in the city.
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Also, according to a spokesperson for Jeffries, there is no specific study available to support evidence that officers who live within the city limits behave with greater racial sensitivity.
“Fifty-three percent of NYPD personnel in the rank of police officer are minorities; 47 percent are white,” according to NYPD spokesperson Paul Browne, in an email to WNYC.
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association also opposes a city residency requirement, saying that the base salary for a recruit is $41,975, which the Daily News says is hard to live on in the city.
