A Street View: NYPD Precincts
On June 12, 2020 I set out to run to 16 Manhattan NYPD precincts. The longer goal is eventually to see them all, but for the morning I only planned on covering about 18 miles, so I mapped out a path and headed out.
Before I tell you more about what I saw this morning, I’ll note that once the COVID-19 NYC pause went into effect I set out a few fitness goals. Goal 1 was running to and across all the bridges connecting Manhattan to the other boroughs and New Jersey. Goal 2 was running to all the Manhattan cemeteries. Meeting those goals was an awesome experience — the bridges took a lot of time to do, but I got to see so much of the city and really built up my ability to go farther in a day. I did all the cemeteries in one day and they were quiet and beautiful in their own ways. Looking for a new set of places to see on foot, I determined that I’d do the police precincts as places I’ve never visited.
I didn’t really have a lots of expectations for the precincts. I figured they’d be pretty standard buildings, some might be more grand than others in the ways that some libraries and post offices stand out. I guessed that some might have had some graffiti given the past few weeks NYC had seen. I hoped I’d be able to talk to some officers and ask how it’s been, but how the morning actually unfolded was a little…bizarre.
The first stop was the 19th precinct on 153 East 67th Street. When I approached I saw barricades and two officers out front. I asked where the precinct was and the officers told me it was downs the barricaded street. I asked if I could go there, and was told unless I had business there or lived on that block I would not be permitted; because of the recent protests the block that the precinct existed on would not permit pedestrian traffic. I thought this was a little odd, but given that this was on the Upper East Side, and that the UES had seen some building damage as I detailed on my June 2 run, I thought maybe that was reasonable and I moved on. The next precinct was 17th at 167 East 51st Street. Same story, talked to the officers, was told I couldn’t run through and that 51st between 3rd and Lexington would be blocked from pedestrians for the foreseeable future.
For people not from NYC, this all might seem like no big deal. But as an NYCer who has been in an apartment since March 16, with multiple, unfulfilled promises to open up streets to pedestrians so that residents may be able to move about while following social distancing guidelines, something about my first two interactions felt off. But I pressed on.
At the 13th precinct at 21st street I was greeted by an officer and allowed to pass through. Ok, I thought, maybe this was just and uptown thing. But when I got to the 9th precinct on east 5th I was told there would be no foot traffic “until further notice”, at the 7th precinct at 19 1/2 Pitt Street, I was whistled at and then an officer repeatedly pointed towards me and then towards a different street. After I asked what he meant by the whistling and pointing, he told me the streets that police precincts are on will be closed until the protests are over.
I started my loop over toward the west side of the island and stopped at the 5th precinct at Canal and Elizabeth, despite looking blocked off the officers told me, “of course, you can run through this street!” and waved me on. That was quite a treat because that meant I got to pass Jing Fong, a restaurant that holds many memories for me. I went on, ate my first running gummy and then turned to the west side.
At the 1st precinct 16 Ericsson Pl the officers wouldn’t even talk to me, they simply pointed to to go around, so I moved on to the 6th precinct and was surprised to be able to move around freely and not even have an officer stop me at all. Thus far three stops allowed foot traffic, four didn’t and I felt reinvigorated to head uptown and see what Midtown West, the Upper West Side, and Harlem had in store. The 10th precinct street at 20th and 8th was blocked off and the officers just told me matter of factly, the Midtown North precinct street was closed, but then at 82nd and Columbus, the 20th precinct street was accessible.
I only had 5 more to go at this point, but something was really not sitting well with me. I appreciate police. I understand policing is a part of a functional society. But I don’t think it helps police-community relations for police to be able to just close the streets their buildings are built on from the other people who live in, and fund city government. When police can wall themselves off with fiat power over publicly owned streets, they turn their role into something that requires a fortress, versus something that is a part of a greater whole. It’s clear that the NYPD and Mayor Bill De Blasio have issues with each other, but police are protectors and enforcers, not self-governing agents. Police ought to be accountable to democratically elected officials, not the other way around. And by permitting or not challenging the precinct by precinct style of commandeering public, shared streets this balance is off. I resolved to see my final destinations for the day, but also to reach out to my city officials, Councilman Ben Kallos and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer when I was done.
The final stops were the 24th precinct on 100th, which was open, with awesome, chatty officers outside who talked with me about inconsistencies I had seen earlier in the morning. The 26th precinct at 126th and Amsterdam was closed to pedestrians, as was the 28th precinct at Frederick Douglass and 123rd. But the 25th precinct at 119th and Park was open as was my final stop, the 23rd precinct on 102 and 3rd. At both the 25th and the 23rd officers talked with people passing by about their dogs and their days — these locations and the 24th precinct had the best pro-community feelings of the day.
All in all the experience of seeing these places on foot was worthwhile. I was able to see how local policing strategies differ, how police cultures and officers have different approaches to the communities they serve. As some may note from the pictures, face masks were very infrequently on officers. I understand that masks are a pain, it’s hot, it’s hard to talk to people, etc. But this again come back to serving versus dictating policy. If residents of NYC are supposed to cover up, so should our police. It lends legitimacy to the overall effort, and shows that police are a part of the community, rather than outside enforcers. This was my longest run, and while not as pretty as the bridge runs, I did learn a little bit more about my city.
