Resolution calling upon the Mayor and the Police Commissioner of the City of New York to create a new police precinct in Queens by dividing the 105th Precinct into two separate precincts.

Res. No. 1030

Resolution calling upon the Mayor and the Police Commissioner of the City of New York to create a new police precinct in Queens by dividing the 105^th Precinct into two separate precincts.

By Council Members Grodenchik, Richards, Lancman and Dromm

                     Whereas, The New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) has 77 police precincts; and

                     Whereas, According to the NYPD, the 105^th Precinct is New York City’s fourth largest precinct and encompasses 12.67 square miles and includes 354 miles of roadway; and

Whereas, The 105^th Precinct covers most of the eastern border of Queens, running from the Grand Central Parkway in the north to the John F. Kennedy International Airport in the south; and                     

                     Whereas, According to the Expense and Capital Priorities Report for the Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 from the Queens Borough President, Melinda Katz, police vehicles serving the 105^th Precinct currently travel more than 1,000 miles per week as a result of the distance within the precinct boundaries; and

                     Whereas, Using precinct population data compiled by WNYC radio, the average population of all New York City precincts is 106,171, whereas the population of the 105^th Precinct is 188,582; and

Whereas, According to a November 2013 NYPD press release, former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, citing population increase as a reason, created the newest precinct in the city, the 121^st Precinct on Staten Island; and

                     Whereas, Since January 2014, when Borough President Melinda Katz came into office, she and the Queens Borough Board have repeatedly included in their annual budget recommendations to the City a request to create a new precinct in southern Queens; and

                     Whereas, According to the Queens Chronicle, Community Board 13 in Queens has advocated for such a change since 1977; and

                     Whereas, Dividing the 105^th Precinct into two precincts continues to be Community Board 13’s top priority on its annual list of budget requests; and

Whereas, According to Community Board 13, a satellite station was opened in the southern part of the 105^th Precinct in 2007, but residents contend it is inadequate because it does not  have the resources of a full precinct; and

Whereas, Asserting that it is not receiving its fair share of resources, Community Board 13 advocates for a full, new precinct in order to increase personnel and reduce response times to emergency 911 calls; and

                     Whereas, Compared to the neighboring 103^rd, 107^th, 111^th, and 113^th Precincts, the 105^th Precinct has the slowest response time to 911 calls reporting a serious crime in progress, and the second slowest response time to calls reporting a critical crime in progress; and

Whereas, In March 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William J. Bratton announced that the 105^th Precinct’s satellite station was expanding to provide 24-hour coverage, with an additional 18 officers and two sergeants; and

                     Whereas, As do all New Yorkers, the residents of eastern Queens deserve adequate police resources to ensure their safety; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Mayor and the Police Commissioner of the City of New York to create a new police precinct in Queens by dividing the 105^th Precinct into two separate precincts.

LS# 7265

3/16/2016

LW