Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner O’Neill held a media availability on crime statistics. 40th Precinct, 257 Alexander Ave, Bronx. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
By Robert Press
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner James P. O’neill, and Chief of Police Terrace Monahan came to the 40th police precinct on East 138th Street to announce the six-month crime statistics for 2018.
Before they went into the numbers, Police Commissioner O’Neal spoke about the new home of the 40th precinct under construction near the Hub at East 149th Street. The new precinct will be completed by 2021 at a cost of sixty-eight million dollars. He added that the current building built in the early 1920’s will be refurbished, and continue to function for other police matters.
Mayor Bill de Blasio was joined by Bronx councilmembers Diana Ayala (CD 8), Vanessa Gibson (CD 16) and Rafael Salamanca (CD 17). Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
Mayor de Blasio then said that overall crime in the city was down 1.8 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. De Blasio said that people should feel as safe on 138th Street as they do on 38th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan.
Chief Monahan added that arrests were down 11.5 percent or 17,000 fewer than in the same period in 2017. He reported that robberies were down 6.4 percent, burglaries down 5.4 percent, grand larceny down 2.2 percent, and that shootings were down 5.6 percent.
Architectural rendering of the new 40th Precinct Station House planned for 149th Street and St. Ann’s Avenue in the Bronx. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
However, when it came to murder, Chief Monahan said there were 147 murders citywide for an increase of 8.1 percent across all five boroughs. He said that there were 51 murders in the Bronx during the first six months of 2018, up from 21 in 2017 for an increase of 64.5 percent. Chief Monahan then said that the 40th and 48th precincts were where most of the Bronx murders have occurred, and they will be getting added resources to combat that. Arrests were made in 33 cases or 70 percent of the murders in the Bronx.
Rape cases were up 33.2 citywide with the figure at 36.7 percent in the Bronx. Chief Monahan added that the increase in rapes was due to more rapes being reported to the police. Reports of domestic rape also increased.
Bronx councilmembers Diana Ayala (CD 8), Vanessa Gibson (CD 16) and Rafael Salamanca (CD 17) were on hand at the news conference when Mayor de Blasio announced that construction on the new 40th Precinct Station House planned for the HUB would begin shortly.
The new facility would be at the corner of East 149 Street and St. Ann’s Avenue, just about a mile from the current station house. “Every aspect of the new building, which won a public design commission award by the way, has been considered with the people of this neighborhood in mind,” said Commissioner O’Neill. The $68 million project is projected to be completed and move-in ready by spring of 2021 — less than three years from today.
“This new station house would be the first of its kind in the history of the NYPD to incorporate a dedicated, directly accessible 800-square-foot community space in which residents, and workers can engage with their police officers, noted O’Neill. “Our message to New Yorkers going forward, these are your station houses.”
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