As violence escalates in the Bronx, a clarion call for increased police presence reverberates through the community. Oswald Feliz, a City Council member representing the Bronx, expressed his worries in a letter to interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon, urging the department to allocate more resources to precincts in his district.
In his letter to Donlon, Feliz noted that while crime across New York City has seen an overall decline, the Bronx remains a glaring exception. “While the NYPD has made progress over the past year in reducing crime, communities in the Bronx have been left behind,” he wrote, pointing specifically to the 46th, 48th, and 62nd precincts, which have all reported troubling increases in violent incidents.
Feliz argues that a stronger police presence is crucial, stating that “public safety is not an exclusive responsibility of law enforcement, but police presence can play an important role, especially on the issue of crime deterrence.”
The NYPD’s response has been measured. A spokesperson, addressing the concerns raised by Feliz, affirmed that the department is committed to equitable resource distribution across all precincts. “Each precinct in the city receives an equitable distribution of personnel and resources based on staffing needs and crime trends,” the spokesperson told The New York Post. As new officers graduate from the Police Academy, the NYPD emphasizes that their deployment depends on multiple factors, including crime statistics and population density.
While the city overall has seen a 9.4% decrease in shooting incidents this year, the Bronx presents a different narrative. In the northern part of the borough, the 52nd precinct has recorded a staggering 54.5% increase in shootings compared to last year. The 48th precinct has not fared much better, with a 19% rise, while the 46th precinct reports an 18.2% increase in violent crime.
The situation becomes even more troubling with regards to homicide rates. The 46th precinct has experienced a 33.3% increase in murders year-over-year, with four reported so far in 2024 compared to three during the same period in 2023. This stark rise contrasts sharply with the citywide murder rate, which has decreased by 11.1%. A particularly brutal incident on September 12 shocked the community when 56-year-old Leslie Sanchez was fatally attacked with a metal baseball bat while walking to work. The NYPD has arrested two suspects, Romel Jarret and Terrence Downes, both facing serious charges in connection with the unprovoked attack.
Feliz’s letter also touched upon murder rates in the other precincts he highlighted. The 52nd precinct’s statistics align closely with citywide averages, while the 48th precinct has seen marked improvement, with murders down nearly 50% compared to last year—six this year versus twelve last year.
