New 34th Precinct Commanding Officer Barry Buzzetti addresses community residents gathered at the public safety meeting this past Wed., August 24th. Video by Sherry Mazzocchi
Story by Sherry Mazzocchi, Debralee Santos and Adrian Cabreja
“I am very excited to be here. I look forward to serving the Washington Heights and Inwood communities.”
With that, Deputy Inspector Barry Buzzetti, new precinct commander at the 34th precinct, issued his opening remarks to an overflowing crowd of about 250 community residents.
Northern Manhattan residents gathered at the Northeastern Academy School this past Wednesday evening to hear what the newly appointed commander had to say.
The meeting was hastily convened only a day before to address the concerns of a community anxious over a rape that occurred just blocks away from the Academy during daylight hours, allegedly committed by a police officer.
In a wide-ranging, 20-minute address that touched on his 25 years of service, his commitment to vigorous crime-fighting, and references to his own family, Buzzetti sought to assure those assembled that he planned on working closely with residents and community leaders to reverse the recent upward spiral of crime.
And while Buzzetti refrained from speaking specifically about the recent rape case, he was unequivocal about the fact that it was a “matter of highest importance” for the NYPD, the stationhouse and its officers.
“Please understand the seriousness that we take it with. I can’t put into enough words the outrage, the hurt, that we feel just as you do, as members of the Washington Heights and Inwood communities,” said Buzzetti.
Buzzetti has only been precinct commander for a week. The NYPD sought to reassign the previous commander, Deputy Inspector Jose Navarro, on August 16th, despite community protests.
Two days into his tenure, an Inwood schoolteacher was raped and police arrested an off-duty officer, Michael Pena of the 33rd Precinct, at the scene. He was charged with first-degree rape and other sexual assault charges. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office set bail at $500,000 cash or $1 million bond.
Buzzetti acknowledged that the arrest of officer erodes the public trust in the police department.
“It hits home for every member of the 34th Precinct,” he said. “I will speak for the entire police department—the outrage that every member feels when they see something like this happen—it is indescribable.”
And he noted that the suspect was captured because of community involvement. A neighborhood woman called 911 and the police promptly made an arrest at the scene.
“It worked the way it should work,” he said.
Residents also had a chance to air their issues directly with officials in sometimes-tense exchanges.
One audience member directed her ire at Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (who was not present) and pointedly asked if they would let the police officer go free like Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Several audience members informed the deputy inspector of quality-of-life problems they said weren’t addressed by the 34th Precinct. One woman told Buzzetti that when she calls the precinct, no one picks up the phone.
A number of people were concerned with motorcyclists driving too fast and the wrong way in areas around Dongan Place and Arden St.
Buzzetti did receive strong applause when he said that the Precinct will actively pursue a motorcycle confiscation policy, beginning before Labor Day.
Other residents complained of a lack of resources—particularly an absence of beat cops on the street. Buzzetti said that NYPD is operating on substantially lower levels because of new duties involving counterterrorism.
“We have to make do with less,” he said.
Another suggestion advanced at the meeting was the division of the 34th Precinct, as it was divided during the nineties. As Laura Marie, a resident in attendance, argued, “[It would] make the police department more accessible to the people of Inwood.”
Buzzetti responded, “We will explore that option and we will look into it. However, I cannot promise anything because the Police Department as a whole is serving the community with tremendously low resources and that is something we need to consider.”
Several residents said people drinking alcoholic beverages persist on the street and parks until the early hours of the morning, making places like Isham Park increasingly unsafe.
Buzzetti said the police work closely with the Parks Department to monitor activity in the parks. Several cameras have already been installed in the parks to deter graffiti and other quality of life crimes. He noted that the precinct’s recent acquisition of a Segway and an all-terrain vehicle will make patrolling the 25 miles of parkland in the neighborhood easier.
In addition, Buzzetti is requesting the Police Department’s aviation unit perform flyovers. Using infrared sensors, they can detect if there are people in the park after curfew. He will also seek a mounted police presence in the park to provide a higher visibility patrol during the day.
He urged the community to continue to use the parks and not cede them to criminals. “Don’t be afraid to use them,” he said.
Some audience members had personally experienced the increase in crime.
Betty Kirke, 86, said that she was walking in the neighborhood during the day, when a man knocked her over and ran away with her purse.
Kirke has lived in Inwood since the 1960s, and said people didn’t even lock their doors back then.
“When I moved here, I couldn’t believe how safe it was,” she said. “And now it’s all gone.”
Yet Buzzetti expressed enthusiasm for the work ahead.
“In my 25 years as a police officer, being a precinct commander, I have found to the most personally rewarding position that I have ever had,” said Buzzetti to the assembled crowd, assuring them that he would look to work in collaboration and cooperation with all residents.
The meeting was co-sponsored by New York State Assemblymember Guillermo Linares and New York City Councilman Robert Jackson, together with State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assemblymember Herman D. Farrell Jr., Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, and Borough President Scott Stringer.
Assemblymember Linares expressed a desire to see the new Commander succeed at his post, and said he was actively working to put together a similar community forum in the coming weeks that would bring Buzzetti specifically into Washington Heights, to hear from residents, as he put it, “from all corners of our shared community.”
To listen in on Precinct Commanding Officer Barry Buzzetti opening remarks this past Wed., August 24th at the public safety forum, please visit Bit.ly/buzzetti.
