Hell's Kitchen Board Drops Public Safety Letter After Pushback

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A Hell's Kitchen community board moved to revise a letter about public safety in the neighborhood Wednesday after members objected to an earlier version that called for more policing.

The letter, which would have been sent to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, was referred back to the committee that wrote it, even after its more controversial elements were struck.

An initial draft letter by a Community Board 4 committee described "untenable" situation on neighborhood streets, where residents have described physical attacks, open drug use and "aggressive verbal harassment."

The draft blamed the disorder on drug dealers who target "some of our most vulnerable community members" — namely, the several hundred people living in the temporary homeless shelters set up in nearby hotels.

It went on to suggest adding police patrols to the areas with the most drug activity, asking shelter security staff to do more outdoor patrols, and creating community block patrols or public safety corridors.

Board members reacted coolly to that set of policy prescriptions.

"What this sounds like is policing of poor people and people of color," member Josephine Ishman said.

"This adds more policing to the neighborhood. It's outrageous," said fellow member Leslie Williams.

Board chair Lowell Kern said that initial draft had been mistakenly circulated to members, and that the letter no longer contained any mention of new policing. Instead, the version before the board simply asked elected officials to meet with the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Coalition to brainstorm solutions about how to improve public safety.

Joe Restuccia, a CB4 member and leader of the Neighborhood Coalition, defended the letter's intentions, asking the board to "stop the knee-jerk reactions" and describing it as an earnest effort to engage with the neighborhood's public safety issues.

Not all were convinced.

"Stop gaslighting us," member Dale Corvino replied.

Ultimately, Restuccia and other members agreed to refer the letter back to CB4's housing, health and human services committee.

Overall crime has dropped in the three police precincts covering Hell's Kitchen through the first few weeks of January compared to the same period last year, according to NYPD data.

Related coverage:

• City To Move Hell's Kitchen Shelter After Neighborhood Pushback
• Another Shelter Battle Brews In Hell's Kitchen As New Group Forms
• Hell's Kitchen Board Implores City To Reduce Hotel Shelters