Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

No Shootings This Year In Three Harlem Precincts

By Gustavo Solis | March 2, 2015 7:53pm
 There have been zero shootings in three uptown precincts. 
There have been zero shootings in three uptown precincts. 
View Full Caption
NYPD

HARLEM — No one has been shot in Harlem's three precincts in 2015, bucking a 21 percent citywide spike in shootings this year, NYPD statistics show.

There have been 139 shootings throughout the city this year compared to 114 last year, records show, but it's been quiet in the 25th Precinct (East Harlem north of 115th Street) the 28th Precinct (Central Harlem south of 127th Street) and the 26th Precinct (Morningside Heights and part of West Harlem).

“It’s a combination of everything,” said Deputy Inspector Olufunmilola Obe of the 28th Precinct. “I really can’t say, it’s just so hard to pinpoint it.”

Two contributing factors have been the weather and the precinct’s changing landscape. Rain, show and cold temperatures keep the bad guys indoors, and the area's new businesses and gentrification especially along Fredrick Douglass Boulevard, are having an impact on the neighborhood, Obe said.

Although she is pleased with the numbers, the deputy inspector is not getting carried away, saying while there also weren't any January and February shootings in 2014, the year eventually ended with seven incidents.

“It’s still very early in the year,” Obe said. “I don’t know that we can actually pat ourselves on the back because one shooting is too many. One shooting rattles the community.”

In 2013, the precinct had 13 shootings, she said.

Although shootings are down this year, burglaries and assaults are up slightly from last year, statistics show.

In the 25th Precinct, Captain Thomas Harnisch attributed this year's lack of shootings to police work.

“I think some of it is the weather, I think a lot of it is some of the good police work that went into making some arrests for last year’s shootings" he said. "We had some shootings that were related to crews going back and forth and I think we did some good police work and rounded up some of those shooters pretty quickly.”

Speedy arrests, gang takedowns and federal prosecutions also contribute to the decline in shootings, Harnisch said, citing last year's historic takedown in the Manhattanville and Grant Houses. 

Potential shooters take note of who has been arrested and how long they are going to prison for, he added.

Although there haven't been any shootings in the 25th Precinct, there has been a slight increase in grand larceny incidents, statistics show.