NEW YORK — As New York City officials work to build the relationship between the NYPD and communities, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced neighborhood groups will be able to play a role in electing NYPD precinct commanders.
Beginning this year, community councils will hold interviews of the NYPD’s proposed candidates for precinct commanders and provide police officials with their feedback and recommendations.
The mayor credited Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Adams, who was once a police officer, for giving him the idea.
Mayor de Blasio commended the initiative and said the process “fundamentally changes the reality for the better.”
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea also praised the idea, calling it a “win,” acknowledging that “people want to feel a connection to their NYPD.”
The process would also build trust both ways, according to the police commissioner.
“It really lends to an environment where it’s a team process” where police and the community work together.
“People want to get to know those precinct commanders as well as the police officers in those commands and they want to know that they’re working towards a common bond, if you will, to solve problems in the community,” Shea said.
