Bed-Stuy Gateway and the Fulton-Nostrand Revitalization Project

NYPD 79th Precinct Receives a Renewal of Operation Impact in Bedford-Stuyvesant

The NYPD 79th Precinct, which covers most of Bedford-Stuyvesant from Classon Avenue in the west to Marcus Garvey Boulevard to the east, has received a renewal of Operation Impact for another six month period. The next phase of Operation Impact in Bedford-Stuyvesant will dedicate approximately 46 new Police Academy recruits to foot patrol assignment on Fulton Street and an area roughly two blocks north and south of the street.

As in the last two phases of Operation Impact in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the officers will be divided into three squads which will rotate in two 8-hour shifts per day, from approximately noon to 8pm and 8pm to 4am, with one shift off per day.

Previously: Operation Impact expands on Fulton Street.

Ever Wondered How You Can Help Reduce Crime in Bedford-Stuyvesant?

• Say hi and extend a friendly greeting to a 79th Precinct Officer, especially the new Operation Impact officers

When you see an officer of the 79th Precinct around the neighborhood, don’t hesitate to extend a friendly greeting to her or him. For a business owner, the work of the 79th Precinct in making the neighborhood safe is critical to your bottom line.

It is to your benefit to develop a personal relationship with the officers and let them get to know you as a business owner. Especially in the case of the new Operation Impact officers on Fulton Street: Don’t forget that behind the imposing uniform and badge is a newly graduated Police Academy recruit who is very much still getting to know the lay of the land, the social dynamic of the business district and trying to discern between the potential criminals and his allies in the business district. Your personal introduction can help that process along.

• Sign up to participate in the NYPD’s Civilian Observer or “Ride-Along” Program

What most civilians don’t realize is that the process of an officer responding to your 911 call is much more complicated than simply picking up the phone and asking for police assistance. In a busy metropolis, the NYC 911 dispatch center receives and dispatches thousands of calls for assistance per day. Understanding the process of responding to 911 calls can help you better understand the difficult work that Police Officers do on a daily basis.

Article: "A Renaissance Comes to 'The Alamo' of Bed-Stuy" - June 5, 2006 - The New York Sun

The New York Sun has this timely article about Bed-Stuy's continuing renewal and rebirth, which the article attributes heavily to the dramatic drop in reported crime in the neighborhood's 79th and 81st precincts.

In the last four or five years, advocates and real estate experts say that market forces and a lower crime rate has sparked a renaissance driven by real estate and increased private investment. With buyers being priced out of Manhattan and even out of Brooklyn's more tony neighborhoods, Bed-Stuy's stock of more than 4,000 brownstone buildings are in increasing demand, and prices have been rising steadily.

A community leader, Colvin Grannum, who heads the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, said, "We haven't seen this level of private sector investment probably 70 years."

Much of that improvement, Mr. Grannum said, is from a precipitous decline in crime. Statistics from the two police precincts that cover the neighborhood show a drop in crime by about 70% since 1990, a percentage that is in line with a citywide crime reduction over that time period.

Link: A Renaissance Comes to 'The Alamo' of Bed-Stuy - June 5, 2006 - The New York Sun.

Smile! You're on NYPD TV

About a week after the press reported on the unveiling of the first installation of the city-wide NYPD security cameras at Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, we discovered that Bed-Stuy Gateway is the recipient of three of these camera installations - on Fulton Street at Nostrand Avenue, Arlington Place and Bedford Avenue.

Each installation appears to have two camera bulbs and the whole thing is mounted fairly conspicuously above the street on the lightpole.

Most of the businesses in the district are supportive of additional measures to reduce crime and hope that the addition of these security cameras can contribute to what has already been a pretty dramatic decrease in crime in the district in the last year.

According to the 79th Precinct, since January 1, 2006, overall crime within the Impact Zone covering Fulton Street in Bedford Stuyvesant is down 46.5% from the same period in 2005.

NYPD flips on surveillance cameras to fight crime and terror - Newsday
Operation Impact Expands on Fulton Street - Bed-Stuy Gateway

Operation Impact expands on Fulton Street

Map of the expanded Impact Zone boundaries

Operation Impact is a City Hall and NYPD initiative aimed at reducing and preventing serious and violent crimes by deploying approximately 1,500 Police Officers each day to strategically targeted locations or impact zones.  In July 2005, the NYPD designated a portion of Fulton Street in Bedford Stuyvesant and adjacent blocks an impact zone.  This designation allocated the 79th Precinct an additional 27 police officers which were specifically assigned to patrol Fulton Street from Franklin Avenue to Marcy Avenue and adjacent streets.  According to the 79th Precinct, overall crime in the Bed-Stuy Gateway business district has dropped by 60% and commercial burglaries declined by 75%  since Operation Impact was instituted in Bedford Stuyvesant,.

According to a source at the NYPD 79th Precinct, the Bedford Stuyvesant impact zone will be significantly expanded.  The new impact zone, to take effect immediately, will encompass an area stretching from Atlantic Avenue to roughly two blocks north of Fulton Street and from Classon Avenue to Marcus Garvey Boulevard.  The total number of police officers dedicated to the impact zone will increase to 54.