By Tom Momberg
The NYPD unveiled a new street sign on 108th Street in Richmond Hill Monday, carrying out a resolution passed by the City Council to have it bear the name of the late deputy commissioner who grew up on that street: Jack Maple.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton shared several stories about Maple, a transit police officer credited with establishing the department’s data-driven policing model ComStat in 1994. He also read passages from a book Maple co-wrote, “The Crime Fighter: Putting the Bad Guys Out of Business.”
Bratton said as much as he misses Maple, who died after a battle with colon cancer in 2001, he was fortunate enough to have known him, and that the city was fortunate for having him come up with a system the NYPD credits for a major drop in crime in the late ‘90s.
“For those of you who don’t know Jack, even in telling these stories, you really cannot understand the fun we had with him, but also how much we learned from him,” Bratton said.
The NYPD was joined for the unveiling of Jack Maple Place by Maple’s family and Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who sponsored the street renaming.
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
