Downtown Alliance     

AWARDS FOR ALLIANCE'S FAST-ACTING PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS

Jessica Lappin, president of the Downtown Alliance, with the award-winning public safety officers. Left to Right: Lyudmila Melnik, Christopher Olivo, Paul Lapera, Luis Soto, Sylenyn Price, Steven Maldonado, Denise Blackwell, James Page (back), Alliance for Downtown New York Chairman Robert R. Douglass, and Vice President of Operations Ron Wolfgang. (Credit: Downtown Alliance)

  

The doors of a No. 4 subway train closed as a woman exited, separating her from her autistic son, who was still on the train. The frantic mother was lucky. A Downtown Alliance public safety officer was nearby. The officer, Sylenya Price, notified dispatch with a description of the boy. Officers Paul Lapera and Steven Maldonado searched the area while Officer Luis Soto got on a bicycle and rode to the next station on that train, where he found a boy who fit the description of the missing child, reuniting him with his mother.    

 

These four Downtown Alliance public safety officers were among 10 honored on March 27 for their dedication and quick thinking this past year as they worked to keep lower Manhattan safe and to assist the public with emergencies and with more routine matters such as directions and recommendations on local attractions.   

 

Last March, Security Officer Antonio Fattorusso helped a woman who had been struck by a vehicle as she crossed Trinity Place at Rector Street. Fattorusso stayed with the woman until EMS workers arrived.

 

In April, Security Officer James Paige assisted a man who had fallen on the sidewalk in front of 65 Broadway and was bleeding heavily from his face. Paige administered first aid by applying ice to the injury and stayed until EMS workers could take the man to the hospital.  

 

In July, Supervisor Denise Blackwell was conducting a public safety survey when she noticed a small black box wrapped in plastic with an antenna in an outdoor telephone booth on Broadway at Wall Street. She notified dispatch, which contacted the NYPD. Several streets were closed while the NYPD responded and removed the device without incident.   

 

In August, Security Officer Lyudmila Melnik and Security Officer Christopher Olivo apprehended a vandal who was spraying graffiti paint on a door on Wall Street and also on the entrance to the No. 2 and No. 3 subway stations. 

 

There are 57 public safety officers in lower Manhattan, all employed by the Alliance for Downtown New York and under its supervision. They are unarmed but they carry walkie talkies and have a  close working relationship with the NYPD's First Precinct.

 

They work in shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, covering the entire Business Improvement District, which stretches roughly from City Hall to the Battery and from the East River to West Street.

 

The officers receive general security guard training plus additional training from the Alliance's supervisors, who are retired from the NYPD.  

 

"They are an active presence, enhancing security and helping citizens, but also a very visible deterrent in and of themselves," said Andrew Breslau, the Alliance's vice president for communications and marketing.

 

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer

 

Bits & Bytes  

DRUG-BUSTERS AT BROOKFIELD PLACE; SETAI PENTHOUSE FOR SALE; SUMMER FERRY TO THE ROCKAWAYS; RAY KELLY GOES TO ABC; NADLER

U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who represents the 10th Congressional District, will be at Gateway Plaza in Battery Park City on Saturday, March 29 from 11 a.m. to noon.  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

 

"Drug-busting task force lands at Brookfield Place" Crain's New York Business, 3/28/14. Score
another win for Brookfield Place in Battery Park City. An elite city/state/federal drug-fighting task forces will be leasing the 19th floor at 250 Vesey St., according to Crain's New York Business. "The strike force is comprised of a partnership of federal, state and city crime-fighting organizations that was formed in 2004 by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft," Crain's explains. "Its aim is to target high-level drug trafficking organizations. The office is a who's who of law enforcement, including the DEA, NYPD, FBI, the state police, Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, and the IRS, among others. A spokeswoman for the DEA said that the group is moving from its current location at 85 10th Ave. because its lease there is expiring. The New York operations of the strike force is among the largest in the nation the spokeswoman said, largely because the city is a major hub for the import of drugs from abroad and distribution along the East Coast." For the complete article, click here.

"Birkenstock Heir Wants $13M For Lavishly Renovated Setai PH," curbed.com, 3/28/14. Alex Birkenstock, whose surname is familiar to sandal-wearers of a certain age, is selling his 2BR/2.5BA apartment at Broad Street's The Setai, says Curbed.com, "putting it on the market for $12,995,000. Shielded behind an LLC, Birkenstock bought the 30th-floor, 3,424-square foot apartment from the sponsor in 2011 for a (relatively) mere $5,867,156. But he also sunk $5 million into a massive renovation, tapping Miami-based interior designer Steve Harivel." For the complete article, with photos, click here.

Summer ferry to the Rockaways: Yes, Virginia, there is a summer and it will probably be as hot and humid as usual in New York City. The Belle Harbor Property Owners Association hopes that sweaty lower Manhattan residents will want to visit the Rockaway peninsula this summer for a refreshing day at the beach, biking, al fresco dining or a stroll on the boardwalk. Belle Harbor, one of several communities in the Rockaways, was hard hit by Superstorm Sandy and by a fire that ravaged many of its homes. In an effort to help it recover, the city authorized a subsidized, high-speed ferry service between 108th Street on the Rockaway peninsula and Pier 11 in lower Manhattan at the foot of Wall Street. The ferry has been very popular but it is set to expire at the end of April. On March 21, the Belle Harbor Property Owners Association started a petition asking Mayor Bill de Blasio to extend the service through the summer. "An affordable weekend ferry service will promote tourism in Rockaway," they say. The ferry takes around 45 minutes each way and costs $3.50. On the Rockaway peninsula, visitors will find more than five miles of beach facing the Atlantic Ocean, the remnants of the boardwalk, and many beautiful houses, some of them more than a century old. "On our block, nobody left," said Hank Iori, president of the Belle Harbor Property Owners Association. "This is the place where we want to be. This is home." So far, the petition for the ferry has garnered more than 1.500 signatures. To sign the petition, click here.

"ABC News Hires Ray Kelly, Former New York City Police Commissioner," New York Times, 3/28/14. No longer on the front lines of New York City police enforcement work, Ray Kelly gets to sit back, watch and say what he thinks. "ABC News announced Friday that it had hired the former New York City police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, as a consultant and expert commentator on law enforcement issues," says The New York Times. "He is expected to appear on all ABC News programs." Several news organizations vied for Kelly, The Times reported. "A 43-year veteran of the New York Police Department, he was the longest-serving police commissioner in the history of the city, having served two separate terms under different mayors, David Dinkins and Michael Bloomberg. He was a familiar face on television, both locally and nationally, during numerous crime and terrorism incidents." For the complete article, click here.

Meet your Congressman: U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler will be at the entrance to Gateway Plaza on Saturday, March 29 from 11 a.m. to noon, to talk with constituents. He is the ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over copyright, patent, and trademark laws, as well as regulation of information technology, administration of U.S. Courts, federal rules of evidence, civil and appellate procedure, and judicial ethics. The subcommittee has begun the first comprehensive review of the nation's copyright laws since 1976.

In addition to this work, among other things, Nadler has espoused raising the minimum wage to at least $10.10 an hour and investing in job creation and training programs. He has been a strong proponent of equal rights and protections for women. For more about Congressman Nadler and his positions on various issues affecting the 10th Congressional District and the country, click here.