At a town hall meeting on Thursday, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., New York county’s district attorney, spoke to West Harlem residents about his office’s work with neighborhood crime.
About 80 residents packed into the NYCHA Manhattanville Community Center to hear out the district attorney, and raised concerns that ranging from housing to harming of public property and drug trade and centering around problems of local safety and crime.
At the event, Vance stressed the importance of working with the neighborhood.
“We cannot do our job unless we work on the partnership with the communities we represent,” Vance said to the attendees.
Vance mentioned the projects his office has been working on in the 10 months since he’s been elected—one of which was the recently implemented Crime Strategies Unit, a computer system that tracks and analyzes patterns in crimes.
David O’Keefe, chief of the Crime Strategies Unit, said the system had successfully involved locals in its efforts to combat crime.
“Within the community, they also know that they can reach out to us,” O’Keefe said. “The Community Affairs unit already has a really strong place in the community, but now on top of it were joining the community aspect with the prosecution aspect, and it’s been, I think, wildly effective and I think it will be more effective as we go forward.”
Vance also discussed the possibility of setting up a Family Justice Center: Special Victim Bureau for the neighborhood. He urged residents to insist on one, as it would focus on helping the elderly as well as victims of domestic violence.
In response, George Espinal, a Washington Heights resident and a research technician for the Columbia Center for Youth Violence Protection, suggested establishing a community court in Harlem. His idea was met with applause.
Although Vance replied that they’re far from having a community court in West Harlem, the midtown community court on 144th Street may soon be available to West Harlem.
Vance and CB9 members said their goal for the town hall was to foster dialogue between the residents and the D.A.’s office, which they felt was accomplished.
“It’s always a good thing for an elected official, let alone a prosecutor, to come up and explain what he or she is doing, why, where we’re going and to get input from the community and I think we had that kind of exchange,” Vance said in an interview after the event.
“I was impressed by him [Vance]. I think he was sincere,” Larry English, Chairman of CB9 said. “I think he’s trying to keep us safe, but with an understanding—there has to be a more complex response than locking people up.”
The audience seemed to receive Vance positively. A few of the residents who questioned him during the town hall later thanked him for his investment in West Harlem.
“I thought it was great that District Attorney Vance came up here and showed an interest in the community,” said Gwihevere von Ludwis, who is a member of the West 144th Street block association. “I feel like we get ignored by lots of city agencies.”
Still, some thought there could have been a more diverse turnout.
“Having youth in the audience,” Espinal said, would have helped reach different demographics. “All the adults in the room talk about their concerns—housing, elderly abuse—but no one’s talking about youth abuse.”
Vance said he could foresee sponsoring more town halls.
“We really want to do these in all corners of the county. It helps people understand who we are. There’s a bridge, a divide between the law enforcement community and the communities we serve,” Vance said. “I think that’s a bridge we can cross easily.”
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