Eyes on the Street: The 78th Precinct Gets Its Bike Corral

Photo: N. Wayne Bailey
Photo: N. Wayne Bailey

After a request from 78th Precinct commanding officer Captain Frank DiGiacomo, DOT has installed a four-rack bike corral in front of the precinct house on Bergen Street in Prospect Heights. N. Wayne Bailey, chair of the precinct’s community council, snapped photos of the new bike parking yesterday.

The 78th Precinct has established a reputation for supporting livable streets, from making a guerrilla protected bike lane permanent to targeting drivers who fail to yield and hosting monthly traffic safety meetings.

Despite the precinct’s groundbreaking moves, there is still lots of room for improvement. As the photo shows, the 7-8 engages in a behavior that’s all too common at precinct houses across the city: using sidewalks for parking. The precinct did clear its cars from two blocks but continues the practice along both Bergen Street and Sixth Avenue.

Getting officers to obey parking rules? Now that would be revolutionary.

Photo: N. Wayne Bailey/Twitter
←  Older Comments
 →
  • JamesR

    Not everyone has family close by, and most adults (as in, people over 30) don’t want to deal with a roommate situation. I totally get why the police seek housing up in Dutchess or Rockland. They make middle class money, and this city is actively hostile to middle class people. Beside, in blue collar cop culture, ownership of a detached home is an aspirational goal. Dense, apartment living is not.

  • Bolwerk

    “Nice things” = suburban trappings that don’t even make sense in most of NYC (cars, yards, several bedrooms)?

    Even that’s only true of Manhattan and a few prime neighborhoods. Overall,
    they can live in NYC and be better off than most of the USA if they
    aren’t car-dependent. Many, if not most, mid-career police are pulling
    in six figures, which ought to be enough to even afford a house in the
    boroughs. With a working middle income spouse, that’s even more certain to be the case.

  • Bolwerk

    Policing has probably become so thankless nobody who has a choice wants to do it. They are abused by their superiors much the same way they abuse the public. Shit travels down.

    OTOH, it’s probably one of the last sure ways for people with moderate-high intelligence but little education to get a dignified wage.

  • Bolwerk

    Diversity is probably good with police though. It’s not bad to have people who live close working with people in other neighborhoods. It’s not bad to have some outsiders, different personality types, etc..

    I don’t think very many people want to precisely answer, “What do we expect police to do?” Figuring that out would probably make a good first step. And next is, how do we police the police? Because we don’t, and they are clearly too corrupt to police themselves.

    We can’t ask the PBA, since they don’t think the police should be policed or should be listening to the public they are allegedly protecting.

  • Bolwerk

    The loan on a new $40k car is probably about $900/month. At most such a car costs probably 20% of their income, assuming the officers in question are making six figures or better.

  • JamesR

    Depends how much they are putting down on the car up front. Again, the cars are most likely leases or are used/certified pre owned models. Aside from the folks at the top tier, civil servants don’t make enough money to afford $40k cars. Some detectives may make six figures, but beat cops? No way.

  • Cold Shoaler

    NYPD could have parking anywhere along the 2, 3 for officers who work here.

  • Cold Shoaler

    Right. And that bike lane is NEVER blocked.

  • Bolwerk

    I generously assumed no down payment and the high-ish side of prevailing interest rates (4% APR). Becoming a detective requires some seniority, and with seniority comes higher pay, but a detective doesn’t exactly rank above an officer. Not sure how that impacts being a “beat cop.”

  • AnoNYC

    There are plenty of neighborhoods in the 5 boroughs that are not noisy nor lack space. Traffic is a reality throughout the metro area.

←  Older Comments
 →

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Eyes on the Street: Sidewalks for Pedestrians at the 78th Precinct

By Ben Fried |
Props to the 78th Precinct and commanding officer Michael Ameri for this one. Reader Wayne Bailey sends photos showing that the 78th is starting to get the sidewalk parking situation under control near the precinct house. Previously this block of Sixth Avenue was occupied by officers’ personal vehicles: It might seem like a small thing, […]

78th Precinct Honors Mike Ameri’s Commitment to Safe Streets

By David Meyer |
The Bergen Street bike lane between Sixth Avenue and Flatbush was unofficially christened the “Inspector Michael Ameri Bike Lane” yesterday in honor of the late commander of NYPD Highway Patrol. Outside the 78th Precinct, police officers, Public Advocate Letitia James, and local residents honored Ameri, who took his own life on May 13, for his commitment to safe streets. Ameri […]

Bergen Street Cyclists Thank NYPD Precinct for Protected Bike Lane

By Stephen Miller |
Bergen Street near Flatbush Avenue used to be a trouble spot for cyclists going from Prospect Heights to Park Slope, with one segment of the bike lane frequently obstructed by police vehicles. Last summer, a guerrilla protected lane appeared, buffered by orange cones, then disappeared, then reappeared, incredibly, in the form of metal crowd control barriers from the NYPD’s […]

New 78th Precinct Council Leader Has a Passion for Safe Streets

By Brad Aaron |
Last month, Wayne Bailey was elected to head the community council for NYPD’s 78th Precinct, which covers Park Slope, Prospect Park, and parts of adjacent neighborhoods. Bailey is a veteran neighborhood advocate and a long-time volunteer with Transportation Alternatives who has been involved with the precinct community council for years. As Streetsblog readers know, under […]