Crown Heights, NY — A new civilian watch group in Crown Heights is bringing together blacks and Jews in a neighborhood once synonymous with racial tension.
If all goes as planned, a Caribbean-American pastor could share a car with an Orthodox Jew on the NYPD Civilian Observation Patrol - or blacks might volunteer for Friday night shifts, when their Jewish neighbors can't work.
Blacks and Jews Signing Up for New NYPD Multicultural Civilian Patrol
Crown Heights, NY — A new civilian watch group in Crown Heights is bringing together blacks and Jews in a neighborhood once synonymous with racial tension.
If all goes as planned, a Caribbean-American pastor could share a car with an Orthodox Jew on the NYPD Civilian Observation Patrol – or blacks might volunteer for Friday night shifts, when their Jewish neighbors can’t work.
“It’s a quantum leap beyond what it was in 1991,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, referring to the riots that rocked the community nearly two decades ago.
About 50 residents have signed up for the police-sponsored group, completing 60 hours of training before they got black jackets, ID cards and hybrid cars with NYPD emblems.
“You are now officially the eyes and ears of the department,” Kelly told them in a dedication ceremony outside the 71st Precinct.
There already are Jewish patrols in the area, Shomrim and Shmira. In the past, there’s been friction between the two – and with the black community.
In April, off-duty Shmira members allegedly beat a black man, the 20-year-old son of a cop – sparking a police investigation and fanning racial tensions.
Members of the Shomrim and Shmira groups said they welcome the NYPD-backed patrol in the neighborhood.
But while several Shmira volunteers have joined, Shomrim members have shunned it so far.
Shmira member [and lead perpetrator in the Messira against 7 Shomrim members who are each facing a possible 5 year jail term if convicted] Levi Huebner , 40, signed up and said the NYPD is “giving us resources and training to do the job properly.”
The job may be more important than ever with budget cutbacks translating into fewer police officers on the streets.
Richard Green, director of the Crown Heights Youth Collective and a patrol organizer, said he hopes to make it “a massive movement.”
Police brass hope it will be a unifying one.
“Ideally, we’ll have one patrol that incorporates everybody,” Kelly said.
Crown Heights resident Alexis Kennedy, 25, a Brooklyn College student, was surprised – and slightly skeptical – to hear about the multicultural patrol.
“To have the two communities working together is an awesome idea,” she said. “Will it work? I don’t know.”
In a statement regarding the new patrol initiated by the NYPD, the Crown Heights division of Shomrim said on Friday, June 5, “When a multi-cultural patrol was introduced in the 1980s, the race riots of ’91 ensued. We welcome the idea of a multi-cultural patrol, but will maintain our independence by adhering to our mandate of providing assistance to the Jewish community and serving as an intermediary between the Jewish community and the police department.”
non CHer
awesome idea…
ch resident
I am happy to see this BUT
the macabees first started due to lack of responsibility and sensitivity from the NYPD
Yes we came along way since then
But i feel that the NYPD having a joint patrol of all comunities will do benifit only from the political point of view but as soon as a real issue arises, a ratial one…. we are ALL up a creek.
i have no idea what is going on between between these 2 patrols nor do i care even though i live here… the fact that one patrol has joined its own members in such a patrol with its risks does say somthing about them that i personally dont like.
i think even though from its looks that they will remain a seperate entity from the current shmira patrol it will politicly make the shmira patrole binding to the NYPD in the long run, something with there current rack record… eclosed in this artcile is a bad idea.
CH member
can we get some more info on this messira, huebner thing ive heard a bit but nothing concrete…
Ummm
So this is just another NYPD Auxiliary right?
Really what is the difference between the two?
71 NYPD Auxiliary
Auxiliaries are part of NYPD, they wear NYPD uniforms, carry police radios, and have night sticks. They wear bullet resistant vests. Auxiliaries also have Auxiliary Member of Service status.
Ummmm
To 71 NYPD Auxiliary.
This new force is now pretty much under the NYPD.
What do you mean Auxiliary member of service status?
Auxiliary and these guys have no more power than a regular dude on the street, a civilians arrest is a civilians arrest.
These guys have jackets with “NYPD Civilian Patrol” written on it. And the cars have the NYPD official logo.
I don’t see the point, they should just join auxiliary.
Could be Vaudeville
Sounds good on paper but I can see all these wanna be cops clashing at an incident site and fighting each other over who will get the credit while the perp escapes laughing.
71 NYPD Auxiliary
Ummmm has to understand police procedure, you can Ask PO Vinny or Sgt Troise: auxiliaries are cops w/o pay and guns. The volunteers are just that..less power of police, they don’;t work out of police station and are not paramilitary as are auxiliary,
Auxiliaries have to work minimum hours and are subject to NYPD rules that the volunteers are not. Emes, you got to understand better. again, ask the 71 cops.
Leib Skoblo
yes
i have seen mr skoblo driving that car with his family
to his sister in law’s party last week and parked the car
on the sidewalk at albany avenue corner Crown st for
4 hours is that what nypd got this cars for ?
for the criminals to drive for personal use ?
rush limbaugh
I hope the Shmira/COP fails!
We better ALL hope and pray they fail!
They where bad enough without the special ID’s, I don’t want to imagine what will be now!
Thugs are thugs!
Bullies will always be bullies!
They beat up the smaller kids on the bus etc…
and now they moved on to bigger toys!
arthur robins
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God.” People working together for the safety and unity of peace loving people in a community will always be a good thing.
NYPDAUX
LISTEN WE AUXILIARIES ARE PROUD OF WHAT WE DO. AND YOU CAN TALK NEGATIVE A BOUT US AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. BUT IF YOUR EVER IN A PROBLEM GUESS WHO YOU WILL WANT TO HELP YOU.AND AS FAR AS US MAKING ARRESTS I THINK YOU SHOULD DO MORE RESEARCH BEFORE YOU SPEAK LOW OF US.