Lawmakers Want Cops To Live In NYC After NYPD West Indian Day Parade Facebook Fiasco

(Flickr User William DesJardins)

If NYPD officers were required to reside within the five boroughs, they'd be less prone to racist misconduct, contends Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who is pushing a bill that would require cops to live locally. "If you live in New York City, you’re more likely to appreciate the need for racial unity and harmony in this city," the Brooklyn Democrat told reporters yesterday. His proposal comes in response to a controversial Facebook group called "No More West Indian Day Detail," which featured borderline bigoted comments by numerous users who appeared to be NYPD officers.

The NYPD Internal Affairs is investigating the officers whose names matched the offensive comments, and Commissioner Ray Kelly says the cops could face disciplinary action. But the NYCLU is standing up for the officers: Executive Director Donna Lieberman insists government employees must be able to express their opinions. She tells the AP the government can't restrict anyone's speech, and "that comes into play not only when we like what they have to say, but also when they say obnoxious, disgusting and hateful things."

Jeffries, on the other hand, doesn't see this as a First Amendment thing. He held a press conference yesterday to announce his proposal, which various lawmakers have unsuccessfully tried to pass over the years. "We’re still convinced that the overwhelming majority of officers are decent individuals," Jeffries told reporters. "But the racial intolerance that has festered in this department has reached an extreme level, and it is necessary that we take steps to remedy the situation." Councilwoman Letitia James also announced her support for such a law, saying, "The reality is that when police officers live in communities, they respect the community. They have an understanding of the people that they are purporting to serve."

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke is also joining Jeffries to call for such a law. But Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, issued this statement: "The first priority in hiring police officers should be to find individuals of the highest quality and then to pay them a salary that is competitive. About 60 percent of New York City police officers live within the five boroughs, and most have to work a second job or must have their spouse work in order to afford to live in the city they protect. Residency requirements did not work in the past, and we will oppose such a requirement for the future."

And Jeffries's proposal hasn't exactly been embraced on the law enforcement message board NYPD Rant, where anonymous commenters make that Facebook group seem like a sophisticated stuffed animal tea party. "I'm trying to figure out why this cry baby is blaming the cops for some of these people acting like animals," opines one poster, while another recalls, "I love how the piece of sh*t Media would rather focus on the facebook comments about the parade and angry pigeons at ground zero instead of what really happens at this parade. I worked this parade probably 10-12 times in my career and when I wasn't in the refrigerated area of the closest bodega Ive seen Sh*t that would make the average person shake their head in disbelief."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on December 12, 2011 11:43 AM

Comments [rss]

RammyH

HRA, ACS and a bunch of other city agencies (DA's office maybe) require city residency for all of their employees - lawyers to admin assts - and they're paid on average what a NYPD officer makes - so it is absolutely b*s* to claim that a cop making $60-100K a year can't afford to live in this city.

Living in your precinct is provably stupid, as it encourages corruption, but it wouldn't be that hard a work around to ensure that a cop lived outside his workspace.

The "invading army" aspect is accurate and definitely feeds into a lot of disrespect and tension.

If you're a NYC cop and you're terrified of Black people or Latinos or anyone who doesn't look/talk/think exactly like you do or who, God forbid, not live in a split level ranch house and lives ina tenement building - you shouldn't be a cop in this city.

Knightmare6

Yeah, nearly all City agencies have residency requirements for the five boroughs and a few selects counties in Long Island. You can bypass them with a waiver, if you possess skills required by the job, which may be hard to find on short notice, but yeah, that's how many of them work.

Also, cops receive a stipend for living expenses also, something I don't see being mentioned. I know a few officers in NYC, and they've told me they couldn't afford their apartments if they were just on salary, but luckily their living stipend helps them on their rent/mortgages.

Sadly other City employees don't get this, though some unions do offer housing assistance programs for first-time buyers and such, but the requirements for these are based on a national average, which is unrealistic for someone living in NYC.

Brenda Tobias

Is the assumption that the five boroughs are more diverse than other locales? I'd like to see some data on that. I think forcing civil servants to live in an expensive area is a recipe for potential corruption. www.HereSheIsBoys.com

William K. Scurry Jr.

Anecdotally, my experience has been that cops who live on Long Island treat the five boroughs like their own personal asswipe, full of "savages" and "mud people." On more than one occasion I've heard both L.I. firemen and police say of New York, "you don't eat where you shit." That contributes to many foul attitudes towards their policing and the citizens subjected to it.

Mr Mel

The main reason the cops don't live in the city is the schools. Its one thing when your 22 years old and can swing. Its another, when you 35 with a family. The best deals are in the suburbs with their superior schools and safety.

whitecastlerock

Right you are!!!

Stevennnn

Detex,

Show me a house in New York City with good public schools, a driveway, garage, decent backyard for 300K in a good neighborhood. I extremely highly doubt you can. Increase that by 500K then maybe you can.

m015094

This is New York CITY, not New York SUBURB. I'd suggest that if you want all those things that you live in Vermont.

Brooklynite11235

well if you make a 100k and your spouse works, you should be able to live in a good neighborhood and have a good local public school. The system is broken but it's not horrible in all parts of the city.
Median housing prices on a detached house in queens are around 600k. Don't just think of Manhattan.
Also, the NYC is the most diverse place in the worth, with Queens leading the way. The idea is being that New Yorkers are more tolerant because they come from this melting pot of cultures rather than a majority white suburb (not to say all suburbs are, just giving a broad comparison),
Do I think this law should be passed? No. New Yorkers aren't exactly fighting to be in the police force, so what's the harm? And what if I, as someone mentioned, don't want to live in an apartment or a house without a yard.
But seriously, such cynical views of NYC...

Gothamistriss

I agree with their union.

They shouldn't be forced to raise their children in apartments or have to pay for private school if they want their kids to get a good education. Sure you can make it in nyc on their salary, but I think there are plenty of people that would make outstanding police officers that have a dream of raising a family with the white picket fence in the suburbs.

whitecastlerock

Yeah it's a fucking breeze living in this city with a 100k salary and kids. The public school system is horrendous. Okay so you go the private school route-hello bankruptcy. I am astonished that anyone would take these jobs on the salary they pay.

the4thcoming

So can we break it down regionally and put it in category? Are the racist cops from LI? rapist cops from the city? Ticket fixers from upstate?

I'd say the LI category definitely fits.

Gadea

This is a bad idea.
Cops should be allowed to live anywhere they like,
as long as they can get to work.

Ed Throckmorton

Let them live wherever they want, just make it a requirement that they either take mass transit or bicycle to work.

AndySydor

What nobody seems to realize is that it's against police guidelines for a cop to live in his own precinct. It's been that way since the 1920s. This demand that police "live in their own neighborhoods" flies in the face of that. The rule was put in place because it was found that, back in the day when police DID live in their own neighborhoods, there was a greater threat to the cop's lives (and the lives of their families); there was also more corruption. Anyone who thinks about this for more than five minutes can see the logic of this.

crusher153

i whole heartedly disagree with any residency restrictions for any city or state agency. where you live does not make you any more of a racist than you would otherwise be. if someone doesn't want to live in a crowded area, that should be their choice and noone elses. just as long as it doesn't affect or interfere with work or getting there.

Militant Conformist

Two points. First, don't other city jobs have a residency requirement? I'm not against cops being allowed to live outside the city but to me this is a bargining chip to use in the next round negotiations. Want to continue receiving this exemption then give us something in return. Nothing personal against the mostly fine officers we have but fair is fair
Second, a better reason for a city employee residency requirement is economic base instead of tolerance. Rather see the economic multipler effect of the salary expense go to city based businesses.

AndySydor

They did negotiate. Residency requirements were dropped for a number of divisions in exchange for lower salaries. (Bloomberg's last contract cut the starting salaries of cops $8000 to 25k a year.) Of course, for some of you nuts, no salary is too low for a government worker, but when you cut salaries, there are consequences.

Detex

25K?!? Maybe double that for BASE BEFORE OT!!!

http://nypdrecruit.com/benefit...

Also, in 5 years your base is close to double at where you started. That BASE also starts WHILE you are in PA. What other job PAYS for your school AND while you are in it? so yeah, I think they are doing just fine.

Obamatheracist

So only cops that lived outside of NYC make negative posts?It's very naive to think that living in the city would make these cops more able to deal with rude,ignorant racist behaviour from parade goers.This parade has always been the worst in the city because of the ghetto neighborhoods it runs through and criminals it attracts.NYPD is told to have incredible restraint when dealing with people on the parade route.Other parades liquor is confiscated,this parade liquor as well as pot is used openly.I would rather have a cop on duty who is able to go home to the suburbs and decompress from the city.A cop on edge all the time is not a good thing.