108 WWW.BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
The New Faces of Public Safety
Borough President Adams has dedicated
his career to advancing community
police relations, dating back to his
days serving as a New York City Police
Department (NYPD) captain while working
for institutional reform as head of
100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who
Care. In recent years, his efforts have
been critical to ending the City’s abuses
of stop and frisk as well as ushering in
a new era of neighborhood policing focused
on building mutual trust and collaboration.
In partnership with innovative
non-profit NYC Together, he is now
helping to write this next bright chapter
of this relationship.
Launched as a partnership between
the NYPD’s 90th Precinct, which spans
East Williamsburg and Williamsburg,
and two local schools — Grand Street
Campus and Greenpoint Art and Technical
High School— this comprehensive
alternative-to-suspension program
pairs police officers with students facing
school disciplinary action. In lieu of
traditional corrective measures, participants
engage in skill-building sessions
and community service projects that
are culturally varied and challenging,
all supported by police officers who act
as mentors and tutors. Healthy dialogue
is centered around the daily challenges
they are facing, building conflict-resolution
skills and emotional intelligence.
Barriers are broken down, and oftentimes
the root causes of a young person’s
disciplinary issues emerge.
“It was because of close contact I had
with police officers when I was young
that I was able to turn my life around
and get on the right track,” said Borough
President Adams. “We have young
people that have not had the opportunity
to use their full personhood to achieve
great things. Through NYC Together, our
police officers are empowering them to
do that.”
Last November, Borough President
Adams visited the 90th Precinct stationhouse
in Williamsburg to announce a
$37,000 capital allocation for the outfitting
of a multimedia learning center for
use inside the precinct. NYC Together will
use this new technology for their program
so students can complete homework
and other school responsibilities,
as well as to engage in greater depth with
the program curriculum by watching videos,
taking surveys, and responding to issues
addressed online in real-time.
“Because of Borough President Adams’
commitment to forward-thinking
programming that engages the community
and tackles problems that others
deem too tough — like disengagement
from school and the achievement gap —
NYC Together is implementing state-ofthe
art technology to bolster its alternative
to-suspension intervention,” said
Dana Rachlin, founder of NYC Together.
“Coupled with our unique collaboration
with the NYPD in Brooklyn, there is no
other precinct in the city that will have
a program like this or technology integrated
in this manner, and we firmly believe
that this should be the model for
the rest of the city.”
According to data from NYC Together’s
pilot program, participant grade averages
rose 3.1 percent across all subjects,
while school absences dropped
36.5 percent. Additionally, there are a
number of success stories that highlight
the depth of the change that is taking
place. For example, a young man’s
home in Williamsburg was burglarized
several months ago. Responding police
officers tried to question him, but he
was hesitant to cooperate. They then
recognized that he was a participant in
NYC Together. After the responding police
officers called their colleague who
volunteers in the program, the young
man was relieved and eager to assist
in efforts to apprehend the person who
stole his mother’s rent money. In addition
to improving mutual trust, this relationship
prevented the youth from taking
on the problem himself.
NYC Together has expanded to work
in three additional precincts across
Brooklyn, pairing local cops with youth
who live in the neighborhoods they
serve. In the 73rd Precinct, which covers
Brownsville and Ocean Hill, police officers
are teaming up with students who
commute to William E. Grady Career
and Technical High School in Brighton
Beach. Teens attending W.E.B. Dubois
Academic High School in Crown Heights
have been paired with members of
the 77th Precinct, which serves Crown
Heights and Prospect Heights. Additionally,
cops from the 79th Precinct, based
in Bedford-Stuyvesant, are working with
young people who study at Northside
Charter High School in Williamsburg.
It is Borough President Adams’ hope
that this approach is replicated citywide
as a cost-effective way to enhance the
broader approach to combating the
roots of crime and inequality, as well
as a supplement to academy training
for police officers that gives them firsthand
knowledge of community issues.
“NYC Together holds young people
accountable, but does so in the most
supportive manner possible,” said Borough
President Adams. “Police officers
have an opportunity to intervene before
handcuffs are necessary. It makes perfect
sense to train and utilize New York’s
Finest to fill this more robust, holistic
role. This is a transformational method
that changes the way we look at policing
for the better, while building lasting
relationships that make a lasting impact
on public safety.”
Photo Credit: Stefan Ringel/Brooklyn BP’s Office
Borough President Adams meets with young participants of the NYC Together
program inside the 90th Precinct stationhouse in Williamsburg.
EXPERIENCE SPRING AT
Green-Wood’s 478 spectacular acres offer a peaceful oasis to visitors, as well
as to its 560,000 permanent residents, including Leonard Bernstein, Boss
Tweed, Charles Ebbetts, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louis Comfort Tiffany,
Civil War generals, baseball legends, inventors and many more.
Join us for guided tours on Green-Wood’s historic trolley; try Green-Wood
Discover, our mobile app; or just wander on your own. We’re open 365 days
a year and admission is always free.
Green-Wood is located at 500 25th Street, (at 5th Avenue) in Brooklyn.
Take the R train to the 25th Street station.
BROOKLYN NEWS