Weary of Revolving Door of Crime Initiatives, North Fordham Wants Long-Term Solutions

By HEATHER HADDON

North Fordham residents can be forgiven if they don't feel like joining in on the ongoing citywide party celebrating the drop in the crime rate. Crime was down in the area (see map) last year, but Operation Impact, the manpower-intensive initiative responsible, is leaving for a nearby neighborhood in need --  University Heights.

As Impact is scheduled to downsize from 81 to eight patrolling officers for the area, this year marks at least the fifth initiative that has come and gone from North Fordham. And if history is a guide, crime will return as the police presence wanes.

"I think [the initiatives] work when they are in progress," said Yvel Calderon, a longtime resident of Bainbridge Avenue near 193rd Street. "But after they move out, [crime] goes right back to where it started."

It remains to be seen whether the 40 percent plunge in North Fordham's crime rate last year will continue with the phase-out of Impact. But in a particularly ominous sign, a string of violent attacks occurred last month in the area since the Impact shift to University Heights.

According to Deputy Inspector Joseph Hoch, the 52nd Precinct's commanding officer, of the 81 Impact officers stationed in North Fordham last year, 29 remain. Hoch said he has yet to hear when those officers will be redeployed, but he is planning to assign eight cops in North Fordham as part of a "post-impact stabilization team" when it happens.

Msgr. John Jenik, pastor of Our Lady of Refuge Church (OLR), a Catholic parish in the middle of North Fordham, already feels like things are slipping. "Impact established some sense of order," said Jenik, who regularly speaks out --  and is often an irritant to precinct commanders --  on crime and public safety issues in North Fordham. "But it hasn't hit the roots at all."

Prescription, but no solutions
What Impact and other initiatives never destroy, say critics, are the roots of violent crime, in this case flagrant drug dealing. Though the programs may temporarily dampen criminal activity, many residents feel that they neither have the time nor specialized resources to create long-term change.

"It's like a patient with a fever," Jenik said. "Their temperature may go up or down, but they are still sick."

There has been no shortage of policing prescriptions applied to North Fordham. The short list includes the Bronx Anti-Narcotics Drive (1985), the Central Bronx Initiative (1999), a Model Block program on Valentine Avenue between Kingsbridge Road and 196th Street (1999), Operation Razor (2001), and Operation Impact (2003).

The net effect of almost 20 years of special initiatives is ambiguous. There were thousands of arrests across the borough from the Anti-Narcotics Drive, but it was eventually terminated in 1990 under allegations of mismanagement. The Model Block program succeeded in moving out criminals --  who promptly set up shop again when it ended. The Central Bronx Initiative made a bigger dent through more narcotics-related arrests, but it required lots of specialized manpower. Razor faded away when the borough commander stepped down in 2002, and while Impact did well when fully staffed, the bulk of the resources are shifting out of North Fordham this year.

"They flood the streets with a uniformed presence, and then they disappear and go to other places," said Jenik, who has been at the church through all the initiatives.

Calderon is also skeptical. "People aren't stupid," she said. "They are aware that the cops are not there permanently."

Because they are temporary, the initiatives don't allot the officers enough time or the incentive to become familiar with their environments, critics say. "The cops spend too much time talking to each other instead of talking to community residents," said Grisette Mendez, who has lived in North Fordham for 25 years.

Community policing missed
The familiar cop on the beat began on the road to extinction in the Giuliani administration when beats in the Community Policing program expanded in size to the point of irrelevance. A decade ago, Mendez used to know her two neighborhood officers by name. One of them, Officer Kevin Jett, became a national example for community policing when he was applauded by President Clinton in his 1994 State of the Union address.

"They were always patrolling in the hallways," Mendez said. "If kids were hanging out on the corner, they'd tell them to move on."

While many residents want a return to beat cops, the precinct can't spare the manpower. "I've lost many, many officers," Hoch said. In just one week, two officers went to Westchester, one to the district attorney's office, and one to Mayor Bloomberg's new school safety initiative. He's had to deploy 10 of the old Impact officers to fill holes in the regular squads.

Mapower also declined considerably when police officers were tapped for anti-terrorism work after Sept. 11. Jenik recognizes that need --  and discontinued regular outdoor Masses at drug locations because of the police presence they required --  but thinks it nevertheless exacerbates the deficit of officers that hamstrings precinct commanders.

Narcotics teams are also sorely missed. While the precinct used to have eight narcotics units, according to Hoch, they now have three. Without the manpower dedicated to narcotics, undercover drug investigations --  and busts --  become harder to execute.

Drug trade persists
Jenik thinks that the Compstat program, which tracks crimes like murder and robbery, doesn't adequately assess the reality on the street. Compstat numbers form the basis of precinct crime statistics, and determine where cops are deployed under Impact. But drug sales are impossible to index under Compstat, as they usually go unreported. "The drop in crime is wonderful, but what are they going to do about the guy who deals on the street?" Jenik asked.

On a recent neighborhood tour, Jenik pointed to many corners where dealers stand out in the open --  often during the day --  and trade their wares. Much of this activity centers around bodegas, barber shops and other stores open late. Not much has changed since the first Mass he said out on Decatur Avenue in 1985, according to Jenik. "I can honestly say Decatur Avenue has gotten worse," he said.

Other residents say things are about the same, or marginally better. But Mendez has noticed a rise in gang activity. As if to confirm her fears, two teens were charged with gang-related assault for the death of a 19-year-old boy, who was shot on Marion Avenue last month. As of early March, there were already four murders in the precinct, compared to one in the same time period last year.

Hoch wouldn't say if North Fordham's problems are purely drug related, but he did draw a strong link between drugs and crime in general by citing precinct crime statistics. Arrests are up by seven percent (from February 2003 to 2004), with narcotics arrests up by 45 percent. And the overall crime rate is down by 22 percent in comparison to last year.

Hoch insists that residents' fears will be allayed once the eight post-Impact officers turn to community policing in North Fordham. "They will be interacting with the public and getting to know everyone in the community," he said. "It's exactly what people are clamoring for."

Despite repeated attempts, the Norwood News was not able to interview Assistant Chief Thomas Purtell, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Bronx, for this article.

Neighborhood meetings
Neighborhood residents have been bringing their concerns about specific drug "hot spots" directly to precinct commanders and other officers at monthly meetings held at the church.

Jenik started the meetings back in the 1980s to act as "a conduit of communication," and they are now sponsored by Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, a nonprofit housing and social services agency, whose board Jenik chairs. Jenik said that residents are more comfortable talking about such sensitive issues in their own neighborhood rather than at the precinct, where Precinct Community Council meetings are sometimes held.

The meetings were canceled late last year because of friction between Hoch and Jenik. But Hoch insists that he has made attempts to renew relations with OLR. "We have made repeated efforts to schedule meetings with them," Hoch said.

Community policing praised
In an ideal world, many residents would prefer to have community policing replace the initiatives altogether. Jenik would also like to see long-term narcotics investigations, where police are "trying to figure out who's who." He also praises some recent police efforts, like when former precinct commander Raymond Rooney suspended parking on 194th Street at night. "It made a big difference with people hanging out" near the cars, Jenik said. "An excellent thing he did."

While Hoch wouldn't comment on the effectiveness of different policing strategies, he strongly supported investigative narcotics work in a previous interview with the Norwood News. "It's where you can really target the bad guys," he said last September. But Hoch did emphasize that Impact is configured for close communication between the officers and the precinct's investigative units.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion voiced support for community policing during last month's State of the Borough address. While praising special investigation work, "it's more important to have a uniformed officer walking down your sidewalk and making sure you're safe," said Carrion to applause. "I will continue to urge the administration to implement a community policing strategy that puts beat cops back in the neighborhoods."

In the meantime, residents keep living their lives, but the regular ups and downs of crime in North Fordham have taken their toll on the neighborhood's civic life.

Both Calderon and Mendez are not as involved with the community meetings at OLR and elsewhere as they once were. "I stopped going because it broke my heart to hear about the same [crimes] every year," Mendez said. "I do care about my community, but I've been fighting for so long."

Ed. note: A previous article on Feb. 26 reported on the transition of Operation Impact to University Heights. It can be found on the Web at www.bronxmall.com/norwoodnews  

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