HARLEM AND THE NYPD
HARLEM AND THE NYPD
The NYPD in Harlem has created a toxic atmosphere between themselves and many of its residents. To live in Harlem is to see NYPD towers peering down on you with Cameras pointed in all four directions. To be a young black or hispanic male in Harlem is to be treated with a total lack of respect and real expectation of being harrassed, incarcerated, or both. To live in Harlem is to watch quality of life crimes pursued only when they threaten the more affluent parts of Harlem or when they fill an economic need. To live in Harlem is to live with a police force that you neither trust or expect to serve you in a real way.
The Youth
Normally, there are two officers to greet the kids dismissing from A. Phillip Randolph Campus High School. I don’t mind this as a police presence will normally thwart the threat of violence. However, there were at least 5 officers to do so on this particular day and they were not treating these kids like Mayberry’s finest. To the contrary, they talked to these kids as if they had a committed a crime by going to school. I immediately thought of Bob Herbert of the New York Times who wrote an article earlier this month entitled “Cops v. Kids”. Indeed, NYPD needs to be reined in when comes to their treatment of young, minority, students in Harlem. The dynamic they create is an US v. THEM one in which kids are rewarded and praised amongst themselves for ignoring and/or challenging the police in a way that will almost ensure they are incarcerated, fined or both. This is wrong on so many levels. If the police want respect from the youth, it could start by showing them some.
Quality of Life
Do quality of life crimes really matter? Depends on whose quality of life you are talking about. If you live on Striver’s Row, your quality of life is of the utmost importance. None shall hangout on pain of severe punishment. However, if you live on the corner of 135th Street and Seventh Avenue, your quality of life means very little. On this particular corner there is a Popeye’s Chicken Restaurant that has become a de-facto hangout for drug dealers, gang members, and transients. In the winter months, it’s pretty benign with much of the hanging being done inside the restaurant. As the weather warms the scene gets very different. Cars blaring music park, those hanging out double both inside and outside the restaurant. It probably doesn’t help that there is a Liquor store right next door, which makes it convenient for these people to drink in public and create a public disturbance. Keep in mind that less than a half-block away is the 32nd PCT which for some reason cannot keep this corner free of such nonsense. This is the very same police station that will hide in the darkest corners of St. Nicholas Housing to harass people for leaving out of a fire exit, but when it comes to clearing off a corner turns a blind eye. I use this corner as an example, but 145th Street is probably worse, unless of course you live on or near Sugar Hill, then, and only then, will the quality of your life begin to matter. This makes me question whether the police in Harlem are more concerned with actual crimes committed, crime prevention, or economics.
When the Sun Comes Out
This past weekend gave a preview into what the Summer will be like. After a long, hard winter and temperatures nearing 70, the neighborhood understandably came outside. I could not believe how many police officers I saw. I saw cops on the street, in supermarkets, corner stores, outside of churches, department stores–I did not see them outside of Popeye’s. In other words, Harlem can expect to be over policed and underserved. The consequences of which will be dire. Of the 3700 homicides in the city from 2003-2009 61% of the victims were Black compared to 8% for White people. With the kind of policing being done in Harlem, I don’t see that trend changing at all. I see this Summer being one of the more bloodier ones–particularly if the economy does not bounce back in a real way, which from all indications it will not.
What’s the Message????
I see the criminally minded becoming more emboldened because the message is clear…it’s not a crime, until someone with money says it is. The NYPD has to create a better relationship with the people of Harlem. Right now, when I see someone getting arrested, I immediately think, “Is that justified?”. There should be no doubt about that, but there is because I truly do not trust the NYPD and that is a feeling that is shared amongst many. When a crime is clear and a neighborhood is besieged by a group of thug-wannabes and substance abusers, there should be a real response to that. When kids are being kids, i.e. being loud, maybe the response should be “Okay guys, move it along” instead of “Who’s spending the weekend with me?” or “Move your asses!”
Harlem is my home, I was raised here and know that it has gotten better in many areas. That being said, we deserve better.
