Greenwich Village residents demand stronger police presence
GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (PIX11)—Although crime may officially be low in Greenwich Village, hundreds of residents say they feel less safe every day.
And now they are asking for a beefed up police presence.
“Every morning, we have our dogs in that area over there between 8:00 and 8:30, and there are tons of needles needles everywhere,” Monica Richards, a Greenwich Village resident, told PIX11 News. “And we’re not talking diabetes, we’re talking drug use,” she added.
Richards, like so many others who use Washington Square Park, worries about her safety and that of her beloved dog Leo, particularly when he wanders into the northwest corner of the park, which has been a mecca for drug use for years.
“In January they removed 2,262 needles from the park and that’s in the winter,” Trevor Sumner, president of the Washington Square Association, told PIX11 News. “This explodes in the spring when everyone’s outside. It’s already 70 needles a day,” he added.
Even though the official NYPD constant numbers show that major crime is down by 20 % compared to last year, a 6th Precinct Community Council poll of close to 600 residents found that the quality of life and crime concerns are up.
Eighty-four percent say it’s worse than before the pandemic, 82 % say police presence is Inadequate, 73 % say we need stiffer drug laws, and 79 % want bail reform.
“The 6th Precint five years ago had 180 police officers. They now have 90. They have 50% staffing levels so, of course, we’re going to see an explosion of crime?” Sumner told PIX11 News.
And while the community council applauds the NYPD, saying in a statement, “The Sixth Precinct is doing an outstanding job despite being severely and historically understaffed,” residents say more must be done.
“I do think that government officials can do more to limit the drug usage and get people back into Shelters so they are not in the park and on the street and suffering like that,” Richards told PIX11 News.
A community grass roots group called Neighborhood Action Group or NAG is mobilizing hundreds of village residents to act on their quality-of-life concerns, “if they see something, say something” to elected officials to demand change and a stronger police presence.