Brooklyn residents complain they have no say in choosing new NYPD precinct chief despite new city policy: ‘This is a farce’

The appointment of a new NYPD chief in Brooklyn is a mockery of the city’s recent policy of giving local residents a say in such appointments, some in the community say.

On Monday, Captain Christine Suarez will become the new commander of the 72nd Precinct, responsible for Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace.

But some locals complain they weren’t given the opportunity to properly vet Suarez for work, leading a local city council member to criticize the process in an angry letter to NYPD Commissioner Kichant Sewell and Deputy Mayor Philip Banks.

“This process was not only a complete mockery of community participation, but deeply offended the very members of the community who sacrifice their precious time and energy to keep the community and site connected,” council member Alexa Aviles (D-Brooklyn) wrote in the paper. . fire letter dated 10 January.

In January 2021, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that local community councils, made up of local civilian volunteers, would begin immediately to play an advisory role in the selection of new NYPD precinct chiefs, including interviewing candidates.

“This is unprecedented in the history of the NYPD,” de Blasio said at the time. “We bring the voices of the community to determine who will be the right leader.”

Council member Alexa Aviles takes part in the

The NYPD community councils, designed to serve as a link between precinct authorities and local residents, have existed since the 1940s.

Aviles said the video community meeting was announced for interviews with candidates just a few hours in advance and only 15 people attended. Locals who joined the meeting found their audio muted and their video chat feature disabled.

According to Aviles, the NYPD leadership gave the county council chairman several pre-written selection interview questions, and the police did not allow candidates additional or clarifying questions.

Last week, community council leadership did not respond to requests for comment.

“This trial was unfair,” said Ray Acevedo, a former NYPD sergeant and leader of a local nonprofit. “When you stop the audience from talking and then put questions in their mouths, what do you mean? This is not a process. It’s a farce.”

The group privately submitted their votes to the police department, which did not disclose the results. The meeting ended with no clear idea of ​​how the board’s input would be taken into account.

Aviles wrote that she was “deeply dismayed” when Assistant Police Chief of New York’s South Brooklyn Police Department McEvoy informed her the next day that the public and internal selection process had been completed. At a follow-up meeting with McAvoy, Aviles and community members demanded a complete repeat of the community interview.

But by Friday, the 72nd precinct’s web page had been updated to show that Suarez had been promoted to the top job.

Asked about the meeting, an NYPD spokesman said, “The NYPD has followed a process for selecting commanders in accordance with City Council Resolution 1584.”

An ordinance passed by the city council in March 2021 formalized de Blasio’s plan for the NYPD to allow community councils to interview precinct superintendent candidates and provide advisory feedback.

“Community engagement is not something that needs to be checked,” Aviles said. “It’s actually a process. And when you insult your best allies and show them that this process was not really meant for them and their votes, it’s an insult and a breach of confidence.”

When de Blasio first introduced the policy, he credited then Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for the idea. As a mayoral candidate, Adams expressed intent to expand community influence by giving community councils supermajority veto power, but this idea was not carried through.

NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey

The city’s website says “community preferences” have been taken into account in the hiring of each precinct since the plan’s launch in April 2021.

But Aviles says attendees of the 72nd Precinct interview meeting subsequently interviewed each other and found they preferred Captain Tony Wong to Suarez.

Local residents hoped to make a real contribution to the appointment. “We’ve been looking forward to this,” said Julio Peña III, Chairman of Brooklyn Community Board 7.

“Oh, a miracle, when the process seemed to be taking place, there was no process. “You want to build trusting relationships with precincts and districts. But you can’t do that if you don’t build collaboration through the hiring process.”

With Rocco Parascandola

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