The 79th Police Precinct Community Council Meets

The 79th Police Precinct Community Council held its monthly meeting Wednesday night, and several residents expressed anger and frustration at what they characterized as an unfriendly and adversarial by the police with the community.

Community Council President Dr. Kim Best opened the meeting and explained the upcoming election process of the board’s council members, including eligibility and the ballot process.

Ray Murphy, chair of the Grievances Committee, announced his official resignation after serving in the position for the last four years. And he endorsed Maressa Ellis, who has worked alongside of him, as his predecessor.

*One audience member stood up and shared a grievance: “I want to make an official complaint about these meetings and how they are being run,” he said. “They have stopped being about public safety. They are distracted and not focused on core issues. We spend too much time on politicians—politicians who are absent most of the time, and then when they do show up, they’re trying to sell us their stuff. This is not a flea market, and this must stop!”

Dr. Best presented certificates of appreciation to three community members in honor of Black History Month:

• Captain Lola F. Obe, Commanding Officer of PSA 3
• C. Zawadi Morris, Editor of Bed-Stuy Patch
• Andrea Thorpe, Branch Manager of Carver Savings Bank

Dr. Kim Best then played the song, “I Believe in You and Me,” by Whitney Houston as a memorial to her life.

Commanding Officer and 79th Precinct Deputy Inspector Peter Bartoszek gave the monthly crime update. He said since the induction of the new officers two months ago, the precinct has made some progress in reducing crime in the Impact areas, specifically around the Tompkins, Sumner and Marcy Housing Developments.

Residents stood up to express individual grievances, and the room quickly got heated:

*A resident complained he witnessed a 14-year-old in his complex being surrounded by officers and then body slammed for no reason and then he was issued a summons

Bartoszk: “I will have to investigate this. Please show me the summons. I find it hard to believe that 8 officers would surround a teenager and then just body slam him for no reason. Also, we cannot issue summons to anyone under 16 years old, so I would like to see that summons, and we can get to the bottom of your complaint.”

*A resident complained on behalf of her brother, who she said was stopped and intimidated by police because he was told he looked like a suspect they were seeking. They eventually let him go. “I recognize that you guys have to do your job, but my brother had on a suit. He did say the officers were professional, and that they did not touch him, but he felt that they were not that kind,” said the woman. “All I’m saying is that please take into consideration that not all of us are criminals; many of us are hard-working members of this community. And if you are going to be stopping us like this, at least show a little kindness.”

Bartoszek: “I’m sorry to hear that your brother found the officers not to be kind. I will certainly discuss this and other issues at our next roll call.”

*A resident, the T.A. President of Lafayette Gardens Houses, complained about the treatment of one of LG’s tenants: “First and foremost, a grandparent and two grandsons were stopped by some of your officers without cause, and when the grandmother intervened, she was told to shut up. Why is she being pushed aside and not given any reason for why they want to stop her grandsons? So what you may think is happening with your officers, while you’re sitting in your office is one thing. But what is happening on the streets is another.” 

Captain Obe: “Please, I encourage your to tell your tenants to attend our citizen police academy. It helps. It’s free, and we have 6 residents going through it now. It will give residents and inside-view of what we’re dealing with and have to go through every day. It helps community police relations also, because we get to hear from you. Also come to our roll calls and speak to our officers so you can get to know who’s patrolling your neighborhood. Come to PSA3 or the 79th Precinct. This should not be all on us. It’s not NYPD against the residents. We have to work hand-in-hand.”

*The same resident, the T.A. President of LG, added: “I want to also complain about the structure of these meetings,” he said. “There’s just too much partying and pictures and all this other stuff going on at this meeting that has nothing to do with crime reduction. You don’t ask us the tenants whether we want to talk about any of these things you make us sit and watch and listen to. We want to get down to business. There’s too much dressing up and partying and all this, and then everybody is rushed through their issues.”
 

Dr. Best: “Believe me, I hear you. That’s what we’re here for, to hear from you. But I can’t tell you how many calls I get from people who want to know about the programs they can participate in to help them with all of these issues,” said Best. “So it’s important we share that information too, as well as give Inspector Bartoszek and the elected officials a chance to update us on what’s going on. Maybe we can discuss moving the grievances up earlier in the meeting and doing those first.”

Dr. Best them moved to table all of the committee updates until the April meeting. The motion was accepted.

City Councilmember Albert Vann addressed the meeting:

• “I have been hard at work in City Hall working on a resolution that addresses the killing of our children such as with the case of Trayvon Martin. We do not have the “Stand Your Ground” law, but we have the ‘Stop and Frisk, and I am against “Stop and Frisk.”

• “But the community needs to understand that we need these officers to be able to work with us, because as soon as you have a problem, they’re still the first ones you call. We have to find better ways to build better relations with them. Their jobs are on the line, if they don’t get the crime numbers down; they’re under a lot of pressure, but we need to play our part too. I understand that there’s no more pressing issue than knowing you can go out in your community and feel safe. But there’s a balance that needs to be reached on both ends.”

The 79th Precinct Community Council meets the fourth Wednesday of each month. The next meeting will be on April 25, 2012, at 7:00pm at the Job Corps Building, 585 Dekalb Avenue, 2nd floor.