NYC council member calls for more cops in his Bronx district to deal with rising violent crime: ‘Left behind’
The Bronx is being “left behind” as shootings soar across the borough – and one councilman is calling for more cops to clean up violent crime in the Boogie Down.
City Council member Oswald Feliz (D) made a plea for help in a letter to interim police Commissioner Thomas Donlon after three police precincts in his district reported double-digit increases in shooting incidents.
“While the NYPD has made progress over the past year in reducing crime, communities in the Bronx have been left behind,” Feliz said, saying it was clear the NYPD’s 46th, 48th and 62nd precincts need “additional resources.”
“Public safety is not an exclusive responsibility of law enforcement, and there is no single remedy for reducing crime, but there are important actions we can take to ensure safety-related progress reaches every community,” Feliz said in the letter, dated Monday. “As we know, police presence can play an important role, especially on the issue of crime deterrence.”
An NYPD spokesperson told The Post the NYPD will review the letter.
“However, each precinct in the city receives an equitable distribution of personnel and resources based on staffing needs and crime trends,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“As police recruits graduate from the Police Academy, deployment is determined by numerous factors, including population, call volume and levels of crime within each police precinct.”
Bronx businesses said Wednesday they would welcome the increased presence.
“More police patrolling would be great,” said Joe, manager of clothing story Bon Bini. “I honestly feel like when [would-be criminals] see a presence everything stays calm.”
A worker at Best Italian Pizza said violence is common in the area.
“It’s always been like that. A lot of violence,” he said. “There’s always something going on — people fighting, bats, knives, whatever.”
Citywide shooting-related incidences are down 9.4% so far this year compared to the same time last year, according to NYPD data. But in the 52nd precinct in the northern part of the Bronx, NYPD data shows shooting incidences are up a whopping 54.5% so far this year compared to the same time last year.
In the 48th precinct, shootings are up 19% this year compared to the same time last year, according to stats from the NYPD.
In the 46th precinct, NYPD data shows shooting incidences are up 18.2% so far this year compared to the same time last year.
Data from NYPD also showed murder in Bronx’s 46th precinct wass up 33.3% year over year. That area in the West Bronx saw four murders so far in 2024, compared to three murders for the same time period last year. Citywide murder is down 11.1% so far this year compared to the same time last year.
In one shocking attack on Sept. 12, local Leslie Sanchez, 56, was brutally beaten to death with a metal baseball bat while walking to his work in the 46th precinct on Fordham Road near Grand Concourse, according to police sources.
Two men, Romel Jarret, 37, and Terrence Downes, 44, were arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault in the first degree in the apparently unprovoked attack, according to the NYPD.
The Bronx DA’s office said they expect the charges to be updated when the two men are arraigned on a new indictment Oct.15.
The other two Bronx precincts Feliz mentioned in the letter have not seen an increase in murders compared to citywide. Murder stats in the 52nd precinct are par with murder stats citywide that show murder is down 11.1% year over year.
Murder in the 48th precinct is trending better than citywide numbers — down nearly 50% year over year, with six murders so far this year compared to 12 murders last year during the same time period.
