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BY SCOTT STIFFLER | For their June 4 full board meeting, Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4) gathered at a location on the Uptown extreme of its border. In rotation with other sites including the classrooms at Pier 57 and Fulton Auditorium, host venue duties for June 4 fell to second floor Conference Room B at Mount Sinai West (1000 10th Ave. btw. W. 58th & 59th Sts.).

Rotation also accounted for the presence of an NYPD representative appearing atop the evening’s agenda. Midtown North Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Robert Gault was present as part of MCB4’s ongoing series welcoming leadership from precincts within its coverage area (see map to your left). Note: Midtown North, according to its nyc.gov page (click here to visit), “serves the area of Midtown, Manhattan, just south of Central Park. The precinct encompasses the Diamond District, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Theatre District, Restaurant Row, Radio City Music Hall, and Rockefeller Plaza.”

If the name of Midtown North’s CO rings a bell, it’s for good reason: Deputy Inspector Robert Gault served as CO of Chelsea’s 10th Precinct during the pandemic era. Chelsea Community News noted his arrival with this October 23, 2020 Q&A and followed CO Gault’s time at the 10th via his regular attendance at monthly Community Council meetings (click here and here for some of that coverage).

CO Gault began his remarks with a nod to MCB4’s newly appointed members, for whom this was their first full board meeting. “I want to give a shout out specifically to Brian Sloan, who I have the utmost respect for.” noted the CO, adding, “We worked on numerous community issues when I was previously the precinct commander at the 10th Precinct–and a lot of the issues that we’re dealing with in the Hell’s Kitchen community are very much similar to the ones in Chelsea. So I look forward to working with him and the rest of the board to keep improving the quality of life and crime conditions in the neighborhood.”

CO Gault noted that within his coverage area would be a heightened NYPD presence throughout the summer, via a Summer Crime Reduction Plan detailed here by NYC Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD reps. It involves assigning additional officers to problem areas and boosting police presence on the subway–as well as, Mayor Adams notes, “tackling the quality of life offenses that New York has continued to tell us about all the time” by working alongside “the new Quality of LIfe Unit [Division] that is extremely important.”

Said CO Gault, “We have a number of added resources” including “foot posts about the Hell’s Kitchen and Times Square area… A lot of people that are familiar with the neighborhood know that there’s a Times Square unit that deploys officers in Time Square. But what we’ve done for the summer violence [strategy] is, we’ve expanded that zone. Historically, it only went up to 49th Street. We expanded it up to approximately 51st Street. And outward, it used to go over to Eighth Avenue. We [go] as far over as Ninth Avenue now…and as far as Sixth Avenue on the east side.”

CO Gault also spoke about enforcement efforts on a number of “problem blocks” including one on West 49th Street, noting it “came up numerous times in the Community Council meetings” via concerns about “squatters and drug dealing and all sorts of nefarious activities…We’ve seen some great improvement based on the increased resources that we’ve sent to 49th Street. We’ve got some cameras set up over there; We’ve got some high-powered light posts set up on Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue, and we’ve been working closely with the narcotics division.” Additionally, noted the CO, several “successful search warrants resulted in not only arrests of the drug dealers but seizures of large amounts of narcotics.”

When MCB4 Chair Jessica Chait opened the proceedings up to questions from board members, Leslie Boghosian Murphy expressed her concerns about Ramon Aponte Park (W. 47th St. btw. 8th & 9th Aves.). “There have been a number of parents [from nearby PS 212] who have been calling me regarding a marijuana dealer that’s sitting outside the park, complete with a whiteboard that lists their products and their prices,” Boghosian Murphy said, noting that the park fills with kids once school is out. She also referenced having sent an email asking Midtown North “to  have someone maybe take a look… and just give a little bit of attention over there.”

CO Gault responded frankly, saying, “I’m not familiar with that email,” asking for it to be resent and vowing, “We’ll follow up…maybe I’ll have somebody from Community Affairs reach out to you.”

Elsewhere during his June 4 appearance, CO Gault suggested those with Midtown North concerns become regular attendees of its Community Council. Meetings are typically held on the third Tuesday of the month. In another acknowledgment of Midtown North and MCB4 convergence, CO Gault noted that Community Council President Delores Rubin is also a member of MCB4.

NOTE: To view the June 4 full board meeting of MCB4, click here. For Midtown North Precinct info online (including downloadable crime and traffic stats), click here. To access the Midtown North Community Council via Facebook, click here.

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