WaHi, Inwood See Most Social Distancing Complaints In Manhattan

UPTOWN, MANHATTAN — Washington Heights and Inwood's 34th Precinct has seen the most social distancing complaints during the coronavirus crisis in the borough, according to a new study.

The uptown precinct received 790 calls to 311 about social distancing between March 28 and May 12, the fourth most of any precinct in the city and more than any other precinct in Manhattan, according to a Legal Aid Society study of the calls.

The ranking of 311 calls is part of an analysis showing that black and Latino New Yorkers are experiencing more aggressive enforcement — tickets and arrests — of social distancing rules, despite a roughly equal distribution of calls across white and minority neighborhoods.

"Over the time period reviewed, NYPD responses to 311 complaints for social distancing violations were considerably more likely to result in a summons or arrest in majority Black or Latino precincts," a release states.

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Though not the most egregious example, the 34th Precinct's data did seem to show this disparity when compared to precincts with a similar number of calls.

311 calls in the 34th Precinct — the only predominantly black and Latino neighborhood in the five precincts with the most complaints — ended in a ticket or arrest at more than twice the rate of other, predominantly white precincts on the list.

Calls ended in a ticket or arrest .5 percent of the time in the 34th Precinct, while precincts on the Upper East Side or Kensington, which had roughly the same or more calls, there were no arrests or tickets. Long Island City's 114th Precinct, which had the most social distancing complaints, only saw a ticket or arrest .22 percent of the time, the data shows.

The only exception in the precincts with the most calls was Williamsburg's 90th Precinct, whose calls ended in a summons or arrest 1.38 percent of the time.

The disparity in enforcement was even more obvious in other neighborhoods, though.

The majority black and Latino precinct that covers southern Crown Heights had the highest rate of enforcement, with 3.3 percent of calls ending in arrest of a summons. 13 people were given tickets or arrested in this precinct while there were no arrests or summonses in neighboring areas like Park Slope, despite a similar number of calls.

Overall, 18 of the 20 precincts with the highest rates of known COVID-19 related arrests or summonses per 10,000 people occurred in majority black or Latino precincts, Legal Aid found.

About 79 percent of COVID-19 related summonses and 74 percent of COVID-19 related arrests for which the Legal Aid Society was able to identify a precinct occurred in majority black or Latino precincts.

The full study can be read here.

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