Yonkers PBA's Appeal to the Citizens of Yonkers

[Guest TOYBUFF911]

AN APPEAL TO THE CITIZENS OF YONKERS

The Police Officers of the Yonkers PBA feel the need to inform the citizens of Yonkers of some very important facts. These facts relate to the current fiscal crisis facing the city, the vulnerable state of the Yonkers Police Department and how it may affect the residents of Yonkers. The Yonkers PBA understands that this city, as well as the rest of the nation, is facing tough economic times. Our families are affected by this crisis the same as every other family in this country and we are outraged that Mayor Philip Amicone is attempting to ease his deficit on the backs of our members while at the same time allowing the staffing of the YPD to be decimated. The Mayor has laid off 11 police officers, failed to fill 29 vacancies and cancelled the next police academy. All of this while he recently gave raises to many in his staff, some of which received more than a 20% increase in pay. This should be viewed as unacceptable to the tax paying citizens of Yonkers! Here are some importants facts.

• Crime in Yonkers is on the rise. In December, 2008 the Third Precinct has experienced more than a 100% increase in burglaries as compared to December 2007, yet the Burglary Unit has been completely disbanded. Citywide, in December 2008 stabbings have almost tripled as compared to December 2007 yet citywide plainclothes units have been more than cut in half. This hardly seems the time to cut units responsible for arresting violent criminals. In addition to those cuts the School Resource Officer program, which places police officers in the schools, has been eliminated as well the Yonkers PAL and DARE programs. These are all programs that have helped prevent crime and helped build bridges between Yonkers’ youth and their police officers. At a time when gang activity involving youths is on the rise, it is not the time to eliminate these programs.

• The Yonkers Police Department is dangerously undermanned, and has been for a very long time. This has often been acknowledged by Mayor Amicone, his staff and members of the City Council. Yonkers PD is budgeted for only 641 Police Officers and worse, we are currently manned by only 601 due to layoffs and retirements. In addition, several dozen officers are slated to retire within the next few months. This will leave the department staffed with levels that we haven’t seen since the 1980’s. Here are some stats from police departments from cities of comparable size to Yonkers; Rochester, NY- more than 800 employees; Richmond, VA- 880 employees; Orlando, FL- more than 1,000 employees.

• To safely protect the city, the YPD has always had to do more with less. The only way to fill all of the necessary posts is through overtime, simply because we do not have enough officers. The PBA has challenged the city on countless occasions to fix this problem by hiring a sufficient amount of police officers however we have often been told by city officials that overtime was a “cheaper” solution.

• The Mayor knowingly and inexplicably did not budget enough money for police overtime. This has happened for several years and “with a wink and a nod” has been signed off on by the City Council. Much of this deficit was predictable and has nothing to do with the subprime mortgage crisis and how it has affected the stock market. That the Mayor expects the unions to ease this deficit is outrageous.

• Statements made from the Mayor’s office saying that there will be more cops on the streets in Yonkers are not true. The decimation of many of our specialized units did add police officers to the precincts however ALL of the foot posts have been taken out of the minimum manning levels. These posts include Getty Square, McLean Ave., Elm St., Tuckahoe Rd., Lawrence St., Lake Ave., Yonkers Ave. and several others. These posts may be filled if there happens to be extra officers working on that shift however when we reach the spring time, when the posts are needed the most, most of these posts will go unfilled due to the upcoming retirements and scheduled vacations. The notion of community policing as we know it will be a thing of the past.

The Yonkers PBA has met with Mayor Amicone and his staff numerous times in the last two months in an effort to help the city out of this financial dilemma. During initial meetings the Mayor asked the PBA to find ways to save the city money in order to reduce cuts to services and to eliminate the layoffs. The PBA made several suggestions on ways to eliminate police overtime while minimizing the reduction of services to our taxpayers. Many of these suggestions were adopted, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime however the Mayor in turn INCREASED the cuts and still laid off 11 police officers. The Mayor has failed to follow through on his promise to the PBA. In fact, the initial request of a 5% cut to the YPD budget has resulted in, conservatively, more than a 7% cut! This is a much larger cut, percentage wise, than the Fire Department and DPW. At the same time the Mayor has done nothing to eliminate jobs created for political patronage. There are too many employees in City Hall making more than $100,000, who have a take home car, with no known job description.

Each and every police officer in the Yonkers PD has fought long and hard to earn the honor of keeping this city safe. Unlike many of the political hires in and around City Hall, all of the police officers in the YPD have passed written tests, met stringent physical standards and graduated from a rigorous academy. The Police Officers of the Yonkers PBA are truly honored to protect this city and we are asking you, the taxpayer, to allow us to do just that. The Yonkers PBA feels that with the current staffing levels and the drastic and unnecessary cuts that have been made to the YPD, we simply cannot deliver the level of safety that the City of Yonkers deserves! The units and posts that have been cut are an absolute necessity to the safety and security of the citizens of Yonkers. They should not be viewed as an expendable luxury. We are calling on you, the citizens of Yonkers, to contact the Mayor and ask him to cut the truly expendable luxuries such as political patronage jobs, perks and pork during this financial crisis. Most of all we are asking the residents of Yonkers to demand the adequate staffing of their Police Department and to bring back the YPD 11!

“Proud to protect, eager to serve”

Det. Eddie Lee Armour

President, Yonkers PBA