Op-Ed | Community partnerships for quality of life
Earlier in June, the Lower East Side and New York City was shocked by an egregious outburst of violence when a person with severe mental illness stabbed three-people on 14th Street. While overall crime is down in our city and instances like this are an outlier, one violent act is one too many. This incident put a spotlight on unacceptable conditions that had been brewing in the community since COVID-19 and the need to deliver a comprehensive strategy to improve public safety. Our administration took immediate action — as we always will — when public safety is threatened.
Making New York City safer, more affordable, and more livable for working-class New Yorkers has always been the mission of our administration. And a key aspect of livability is addressing issues of deterioration in public safety and quality of life. Our administration refuses to tolerate an atmosphere where anything goes, and issues like illegal vending, retail theft, substance use, the mental health crisis, scaffolding, and unlicensed cannabis shops have no place on our streets.
That is why our administration has formed the “14th Street Community Improvement Coalition” on East 14th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A. And it is why we are actively working on similar community improvement coalitions across the city, from Midtown West to 125th Street, on 110th Street, and around Washington Square Park — all areas in which we have seen unacceptable quality-of-life issues take hold.
These efforts are part of our “Community Link” initiative to work with multiple agencies, as well as community partners, to make our city safer and more livable for all. Over the last 18 months, Community Link has responded to over 800 complaints and conducted over 600 operations to address quality-of-life concerns raised by the communities they serve. Our partners include the NYPD, Homeless Services, Sanitation, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, as well as our local elected officials and community groups, because we know how important it is to work together to achieve improvements that benefit neighborhoods both in the short term and long run.
On East 14th Street, our efforts will be anchored by a $1 million investment in a new NYPD Mobile Command Center, which will help law enforcement maintain a visible presence in the corridor and be able to easily and immediately meet the community’s needs. The NYPD Command Center, which was secured through the budget we passed in June, is equipped with state-of the-art technology and resources so that we can respond promptly and effectively to all kinds of incidents — whether they be quality-of-life issues or major crimes. This is something the community has been asking for, and our administration was proud to promptly deliver the resources needed to maintain public safety. The Command Center will initially be stationed in the vicinity of 14th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A but will have the option to be mobile as needed for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
Additionally, over the past several weeks, multi-agency teams have conducted sustained walkthroughs of the neighborhood, cleaning up our streets and offering direct services to people in need. We have installed new lighting to improve visibility and worked closely with local businesses. Using creative solutions, we even created a WhatsApp channel so that business leaders have an open line of communication to the local police precinct to express concerns and respond to issues in real-time.
Creating and maintaining safe communities involves many participants, including officers of the 9th and 13th Precincts, who have worked diligently to reduce crime in the area. But we must continue to work together to keep our communities safe and livable, and the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition will do that by combining the weight of our city services with the force of community members. Our administration will always remain vigilant in delivering public safety, here and all over New York City.
