BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Finally!
Mayor Adams on Thursday announced the launch of “a targeted multi-agency enforcement strategy” along 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A to boost public safety and quality of life along the problem-plagued stretch. The effort includes an allocation of $1 million in the city’s recently passed budget for a Police Department mobile command center at the location.
Adams was joined at the announcement by a bevy of police and other officials and local politicians.
Part of the Adams administration’s Community Link initiative, the scheme is being dubbed the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition — and is billed as a partnership between City Hall and community stakeholders to address the “deterioration” the neighborhood has been experiencing for the past five years or more.
The multi-agency effort will focus on a host of public safety issues, including illegal vending, retail theft, open drug and alcohol use, untreated mental illness, street beautification, sidewalk sheds that attract quality-of-life issues, unlicensed cannabis shops and more.
In recent weeks, multi-agency teams have done walkthroughs of the corridor to observe conditions and speak with local community members and businesses. They have also identified individuals in the area who may need connection to services, such as housing or medical care, and are making referrals to appropriate agencies or providers.
Also, to boost communication between the community and police, the 9th and 13th precincts have created a WhatsApp chat with E. 14th Street business owners to identify and address community concerns in real time.
“When we came into office, we had a clear mission: protect public safety, rebuild our economy and make our city more affordable and livable,” Adams said. “The 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition precisely addresses these concerns — enhancing quality of life and making the East Village safer. Our administration does not and will not tolerate an atmosphere where anything goes. That’s why our multi-agency approach, working in partnership with local elected officials and community members, will keep our streets safe and our businesses thriving. And we are already seeing an impact — with crime dropping in both the 9th and 13th police precincts this year.”
Adams explained the command post “will maintain a visible presence and allow our law enforcement to be mobile to meet the communities’ needs.”
He thanked Councilmembers Keith Powers and Carlina Rivera, who represent the north and south sides of the block, respectively, for their support on the initiative.
“For years, I have called for solutions to address the persistent problems on 14th Street,” Powers said. “I live across the street in Stuyvesant Town and I walk this block every day. The 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition is the type of effort we need to maintain the progress made over the course of the last month in cleaning up our neighborhood. … My neighbors and I know how critical it will be to maintain this so that folks can continue to feel safe.”
Today, we doubled down on our efforts to improve and sustain conditions on 14th Street.
We’ve started to see steady progress on the block, but we can’t give up.
Thanks to @nycmayor & colleagues for joining together to make sure that we solve these issues for good. pic.twitter.com/n5V8r1F7Cl
— Keith Powers (@KeithPowersNYC) August 8, 2024
“Residents and business operators on 14th Street deserve to feel safe, and city agencies are working to protect this corridor from crime and chaos,” Rivera said. “This area welcomes local families, visitors and commuters every day, and the various quality-of-life issues impacting the community deserve effective, sustainable services and better outcomes. Our coalition is redoubling its commitment to bring stability to these sidewalks… . Together, we must keep working to lift each other up and meet our challenges with meaningful and compassionate solutions.”
Rivera has said that addressing conditions in the area, which she called “chaotic and unkempt,” has been a priority of hers for years.
Overall major crime in the 9th Precinct is down 29.1 percent year to date, from 1,058 reported crimes in 2023 to 750 reported this year. In the 13th Precinct, overall major crime is down 6.8 percent year to date, from 1,016 reported crimes in 2023 to 947 this year.
Yet, recent incidents have shocked the community — including a fatal stabbing just steps from the busy Trader Joe’s market and, more recently, a fatal shooting in Tompkins Square Park.
As part of the 14th Street effort, police will conduct weekly operations to address homeless encampments, vendors and persons in need of assistance; assign a dedicated police foot post on 14th Street to address quality-of-life issues and maintain a visible presence; and affix mobile light fixtures to increase visibility. Also, Department of Sanitation workers will empty street trash baskets on all three daily shifts, address homeless encampments and remove graffiti; and other agencies will provide homeless outreach and support.
At first, the command center will be stationed at 14th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A, but police “will maintain the flexibility to relocate the unit as circumstances dictate.” The mobile post will be staffed by uniformed police officers and serve as “a central hub for law enforcement operations” in the area. The command center also will “facilitate communication and coordination among officers — ensuring efficient and effective responses to all manner of quality-of-life conditions…crime and major events.”
In addition to Powers and Rivera, also supporting the initiative at the announcement were other area politicians, including state Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Harvey Epstein.
“This is a welcome approach to addressing the overlapping issues of homelessness, drug addiction and mental health challenges,” Glick said. “Since the pandemic, most communities face this constellation of problems that seem intractable and give the general public a sense of disorder. It is crucial to address these multiple issues with a coordinated response, and I am pleased to see this multi-agency effort to connect those in need to critical services while securing the safety and comfort of residents and small business owners in our neighborhoods.”
“We all deserve to feel safe in our neighborhood,” Epstein said, “and we must develop long-term solutions to address the series of issues we have confronted on 14th Street. I look forward to continuing to partner with Mayor Adams to make our community safer and address the root causes of violence.”
Also at the announcement was Queens Assemblymember Jennifer Rajkumar. A former local district leader and City Council candidate in Lower Manhattan’s District 1, Rajkumar has become a close Adams ally, frequently appearing by his side at press conferences. She is currently exploring a run for comptroller.
“Today we launch a historic 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition to address quality of life on East 14th Street, a bustling corridor that has faced tremendous challenges since the pandemic,” Rajkumar said. “In June, two people were hospitalized and one died from stabbings in broad daylight [on E. 14th Street], showing the human toll of the crisis. We will not accept this for even one more day and are springing into action with our multi-agency coalition.
“We are unleashing a comprehensive approach to beautify the neighborhood, crack down on crimes like illegal vending and retail theft, close unlicensed cannabis shops, and get people facing homelessness and substance abuse off the streets and into supportive housing.
“I am proud,” Rajkumar added, “of my contributions, passing the SMOKEOUT Act to give cannabis enforcement power to the city, which has already padlocked multiple smoke shops on 14th Street. Together, we are going to bring unprecedented safety, vitality and prosperity to one of New York City’s most popular corridors.”
We have four national food chains on that stretch of 14th; McDonalds, Popeye’s, Wing Stop, all fast food, and a Trader Joe’s. There’s a T-Mobile, a national chain, at 1st Avenue and 14th and, down 14th on the east side of Avenue A, a Target. Why aren’t we banging on their marketing peoples’ desks to make them come up with a public-relations initiative to mop up the trash that their customers leave and tell the bums that they can’t sell stuff in front of their stores because of the endangerment of dense pedestrian traffic, and bus/subway traffic at 14th and 1st Ave. and 14th at A. That job would logically go to Mr. Nadler, our federal account executive.
“Let’s hold a press conference with some signs to show people we’re leaders.”
These people continue to fail. All I see in this city is politicians responding to crises with these pathetic band-aids.
It’s like the NYPD cracking down on illegal cars. Cracking down means you weren’t enforcing laws in the first place.
Why are our leaders and police always asleep at the wheel? The NYPD, DAs and judges have allowed drug dealing in the open for decades and are then surprised when unhinged addicts murder one another or violently assault an innocent. Guess what? “Quality of life” issues almost always eventually lead to serious, sometimes fatal crimes. They are symptoms of a growing problem.
Rivera has to be one of the worst “leaders” I have ever come across. Adams is right there with her vying for the gold medal in the 400-meter Incompetence Hurdles.
These people have no idea how to deal with the homelessness, addiction and mental health issues we all encounter the moment we walk out of our homes to buy groceries. The problem is the same as it was 20, 30, or 40 years ago.
No industry would survive without innovating and changing the way it works. We should demand drastic changes from our leaders.
Why not marshal human resources (hire people) and house all these addicts in dual-path addiction and mental health facilities outside the city? I bet it would cost less than all the money being spent playing whack a mole responding to all the emergencies they create putting us all at risk outside our buildings.