MORRISANIA — The 42nd Precinct in the South Bronx is getting a new commanding officer for the third time in roughly three years.
Deputy Inspector James Ryan, who took charge of the South Bronx command last summer after previously leading the 94th Precinct in Williamsburg, had his last official day at the precinct on Tuesday and has since moved onto the NYPD's Force Investigation Division, police said.
He has been replaced by Deputy Inspector Ernest Morales, who previously worked in The Bronx as the commanding officer at Transit District 12, which covers the 6 train from 138th Street/3rd Avenue to Pelham Bay Park and the 2 and 5 trains from 149th Street/Grand Concourse to 241st Street and Dyre Avenue, according to the NYPD.
The 42nd Precinct is the fourth South Bronx precinct to see a new commanding officer in 2016, as head officers at the 40th, 41st and 44th Precincts were all replaced earlier this year.
The precinct, which covers the borough's Morrisania neighborhood, had seen a decline in murders, rapes, shootings and auto thefts but an uptick in robberies, burglaries, grand larcenies and felony assaults compared to last year as of Oct. 9, according to police statistics.
