By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — Police say more than two dozen drug dealers are selling crack inside Frederick Douglass Houses, an Upper West Side public housing complex.
Deputy Inspector Kathleen O'Reilly said at a 24th Precinct Community Council meeting Wednesday that police have identified 20 to 25 dealers who they're targeting with a long-term investigation.
"We're focusing on Douglass Houses because we know there's a lot of activity there," said O'Reilly, the 24th Precinct's commanding officer. "We're hoping to wrap them up in one big case."
O'Reilly told Douglass Houses residents at the meeting that police would need time to build the case. The dealers are in a loosely affiliated group, but they're not considered to be an organized criminal gang, O'Reilly said.
O'Reilly said Wednesday that police were aware that dealers sometimes return to their apartments after they're arrested and would work with the New York City Housing Authority to evict tenants caught selling drugs, a violation of public housing rules