49th Precinct welcomes new
commander, Captain Natiw
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
There is a new commander
at the helm of the 49th Precinct.
Captain Andrew Natiw,
who was assigned to the precinct
at the start of his 22-year
NYPD career, returns to the
command, bringing extensive
experience in narcotics enforcement
and investigations.
Natiw, who grew up on City
Island, has been a captain
since 2008, and previously
oversaw a group of detective
squads in the northwest Bronx
precincts.
He also served as the executive
offi cer of a narcotics operation
that sought to link the
sellers of drugs, including opioids
and heroin, to buyers who
had overdosed, he said.
The captain said he expects
to use contacts he made during
his NYPD career to hone
in on narcotics crime in the
command, and will also seek
to have needed community
support of the command’s policing.
“The community is out
there and can be our eyes and
ears,” said Natiw. “They can
help us by providing timely
information as to when and
where crimes are occurring.”
He added: “From what I
have seen so far, the community
in the 49th Precinct will
do anything they can to help
us, and vice versa: we will do
anything we can do for them.”
Natiw said he hopes to continue
the community outreach
of his predecessors.
Natiw told the Bronx Times
that his father, a retired NYPD
detective, encouraged him to
take the civil service exam
for the NYPD while he was attending
S.U.N.Y. Binghamton.
The captain was initially
considering a career in business
or fi nance, and was
studying Economics at the
time, a degree he ultimately
completed at Lehman College
after he was already on the
police force. He also earned a
Masters In Public Administration
from Mercy College.
The commanding offi cer
stated that when he was a
newly-minted sergeant working
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 16 ECEMBER 7-13, 2018 BTR
with families to identify
remains at ‘ground zero’ after
the terrorist attacks on September
11th 2001, he fully realized,
as a police offi cer how
much he can really help.
“I know it sounds cliché,
but that is what we are doing:
helping people,” said Natiw.
Natiw worked in various
commands in what was mostly
a swift rise through the ranks,
including the 41st Precinct in
Hunts Point, 44th Precinct in
Highbridge and the 26th Precinct
in Manhattan, in addition
to special assignments
and operations.
When assigned to the 26th
Precinct in Harlem, Natiw
said he worked in schools,
which he found a rewarding
experience.
He said he learned some
valuable lessons in policing
along the way, including the
need to be supportive of both
his rank and fi le cops and the
community when he was a patrol
sergeant.
He made a number of nationwide
Captain Andrew Natiw, a 22 year NYPD veteran, is the new commanding
offi cer of the 49th Precinct.
Schneps Community News Group / Patrick Rocchio
law enforcement
contacts that led him to be selected
for the prestigious FBI
National Academy training in
Virginia, and this experience
has also served him well in
his policing protocol.
At the precinct, Natiw
replaced Deputy Inspector
Thomas Alps, who was transferred
to the 52nd Precinct
where he will be its new commanding
offi cer.