By Bill Parry
A proposal to unite Roosevelt Avenue under one precinct command has been rejected by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.
The idea, put forward by state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), would have ended the division divide of the busy business corridor, which has the 115th Precinct command the northern side while the 110th covers the southern side.
“A dividing line running miles down the center of a busy street makes no sense and almost certainly stretches resources thin,” Peralta wrote in a letter to the commissioner last month.
The senator added that the split made it more difficult to institute community policing measures when smaller neighborhood enclaves are cut in half.
“Although I would certainly not hesitate to initiate the process of realigning these boundaries if necessary,” Bratton responded, “I believe the long-established boundaries along Roosevelt Avenue have not impeded our efforts to reduce crime or improve quality-of-life conditions effectively.”
Peralta maintained that because of the thoroughfare’s divide, police in one precinct could but sometimes would not respond to incidents occurring across Roosevelt Avenue.
Bratton denied that claim.
“Our written guidelines clearly specify that uniformed personnel are to respond to any police emergency that takes place within five blocks of their current physical location regardless of precinct or borough boundaries,” Bratton wrote.
The commissioner also denied another of Peralta’s observations that “the 110th enforces the law more stringently than the 115th, leading to a disproportionate glut of vendors on the 115th side.”
Bratton said commanders at both precincts said it was not so.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.
