The brand new unit has been actively addressing high quality of life points within the metropolis since Mar. 1, 2022.
Steven Hirsch
The NYPD has deployed a enterprise enchancment workforce in Manhattan to deal with surging homelessness and crime in response to complaints from Midtown retailers.
The brand new unit of over 30 cops has been out on the streets addressing high quality of life points since March 1 to make the areas “clear, secure and accessible for customers, vacationers and other people going to work,” a police supply mentioned.
It was fashioned after officers from Madison Sq. Backyard, thirty fourth Avenue, Soho and Instances Sq. companies complained in regards to the deteriorating circumstances within the space.
The cops have partnered with the town’s Division of Well being, Division of Homeless Providers, Sanitation, Parks and Recreation, MTA and Shopper Affairs who all reply to complaints with the police.
The unit will try to deal with the problems plaguing the realm, together with hovering homelessness and crimes resembling shoplifting, property harm, drug use on the street, assaults, panhandling, unlawful merchandising of counterfeit merchandise, obstructing sidewalks, pedestrian pathways, bike lanes, sources mentioned.
The enterprise enchancment districts, group boards and native politicians can straight contact the unit, which might be working seven days every week dealing with 311 and 911 calls. The officers have been educated in disaster intervention and imposing vendor guidelines.
The unit has visited over 100 homeless encampments, collaborating with different businesses to take away them as Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to clear the encampments throughout the Large Apple.
They've spoken with over 300 homeless individuals individually to supply them providers, once more collaborating with different businesses, the supply mentioned. A number of went to the hospitals for medical therapy.
On Wednesday, seven individuals had been arrested when NYPD officers and metropolis sanitation employees broke up a homeless encampment within the East Village.
Most of the complaints from companies have been for individuals urinating on the street, shoplifting and utilizing medicine and ingesting in public. To this point, they've given out over 150 summonses for urinating and ingesting, a police supply mentioned.
They've additionally revamped a dozen arrests for shoplifting.
“Loads of the shoplifters are the identical individuals we see doing medicine on the street,” mentioned a Manhattan cop. “When the shops inform us about shoplifters we get their image and hand it out to the cops so once they see them they will a make an arrest”
The cops have visited over 100 distributors promoting counterfeit items with the Division of Shopper Affairs and confiscated over 40 stations, the supply mentioned.
Related police items — the homeless providers and peddler’s unit — had been disbanded in July 2020 amid the momentum of the Defund the Police motion.
Midtown companies penned a letter in late March to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul demanding state assist with the rampant homelessness and crime in Manhattan’s Midtown South district — the 14-block stretch from thirtieth to forty fourth streets between Ninth and Madison avenues — which has seen a dramatic spike in crime of over 55% yr so far, in accordance with police knowledge.
Murders within the neighborhood are up greater than 33%, rapes are up greater than 34% and robberies are up a staggering 60% in accordance with the newest figures.
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