Housing Police Hold Forum in Armstrong Houses

Police Service Area 3 (PSA 3), the NYPD unit that patrols housing for Bedford-Stuyvesant, held a forum Tuesday night in the Armstrong Housing developments to give tenants an opportunity to air their concerns and also learn about the programs they make available to tenants.

Officer Luana Cedano of PSA 3’s community affairs office coordinated and Captain Lola Obe led the meeting of around 20 residents, which was a low turnout given the department’s weeks-long effort to get the word out via flier postings and a door-to-door campaign.

“I’m thankful you’re here, because that means you care,” said Obe. “But people need to understand how important it is we work together in all of these efforts. One thing is for certain and that is we cannot do it by ourselves. We need community involvement. We need to have residents help us out.”

Obe went on to outline the role of the PSA unit for tenants and some of the recent initiatives surrounding efforts to reduce crime and improve their quality of life in housing. However, the majority of the meeting was spent answering questions by tenants regarding crime.

One tenant asked about the process and effectiveness of dispatching housing police from a department that is located all the way in Bushwick. A question was posed about increasing on-the-street promotions for job opportunities in the department for residents. And another tenant requested the department do more walk-throughs in and around the housing grounds and have an overall greater precense.

The biggest issue of the evening, however, was getting more residents actively involved in the Resident Watch Program, a pilot program launched by NYCHA and the Mayor’s Office for which Armstrong Houses currently is one of three initial start developments.

The Resident Watch Program organizes residents who volunteer and agree to sit around the clock in shifts within each building’s hallways. Their responsibilities include requesting that unrecognized guests sign-in while also taking note of the building’s general activities.

So far, the program has been found to be an effective means of building collective responsibility for the welfare of all residents, while serving as a deterrent of unlawful behavior, according to officers at the meeting.

The police precincts are made aware of the tenants and their volunteer times and locations during each shift. And each volunteer participant becomes exempt from any assigned community service.

For more information on setting up a Resident Watch program or information on the next date and location of the next housing forum, contact Officer Luana Cedano at 646-246-8651.