Advocates and police partner at Night Out Against Crime
By Kathy Conkwright
The first time Angel Irizarry and Danny Barber met one another six years ago, they butted heads.
”I didn’t really like Danny,” said Irizarry, the community affairs officer for PSA-7, the NYPD branch assigned to patrol public housing complexes in Melrose.
“I’m not sure why. I think we were just coming from two different positions,” he said, recalling their first tense exchange at a local meeting between community and police.
So he thought at the time.
Barber, an outspoken tenant advocate from the Andrew Jackson Houses in Melrose, had his own less-than-flattering opinion of anyone in a blue uniform with an NYPD badge at the time. To him, Irizarry was no different than the others.
Now close friends, Barber and Irizarry joined forces to organize National Night Out on Crime, an annual event held to strengthen police-community partnerships. This year’s Night Out was held at the Andrew Jackson Homes on Aug. 2nd.
Serving up free food, drink, music, a large Spiderman contraption for kids and the spectacle of police officers break dancing, Barber and Irizarry hoped to help thaw relations between residents of Mott Haven and Melrose and local law enforcement.
Although they represent different sides of the community, Barber and Irizarry have tried to bridge the growing divide between cops and residents by getting the two to talk to one another.
“For some reason we’ve lost that connection,” Irizarry said, “especially here in the South Bronx where there’s a real ‘us against them’ mentality.”
“We do have officers who get crazy and overreact,” said Barber’s brother, event organizer Russell Alston. “But we also have young men, young women and old men who give police a hard time. It goes both ways.”
Irizarry takes rookies on a tour of the neighborhood when they join the department, to meet shop owners, clergy, elected officials and local organizers – all in an effort to learn the neighborhood and forge bonds.
Irizarry’s path to policing started in an unlikely place. He grew up five blocks from Yankee Stadium, and began his career as a community organizer working for a non-profit organization in Highbridge. By the age of 21 he was coordinating an anti-violence program in the Dinkins administration.
“I didn’t have opportunities. I didn’t have a father,” he said. “I understand that state of confusion and no sense of direction.”
“I want the community to see that we are people, not just robots,” Captain Erik Hernandez, Executive Officer for PSA-7, explained after finishing an impressive round of line dancing alongside community members and police officers.
“A lot of times, he said, “we are just seen as law enforcement and not helping people. I want them to see the human side of crime reduction.”
While flipping hundreds of burgers for residents and police at National Night Out, a soaked towel covering his head to block the smoke and sweat, Alston pointed out that the event gives police a chance to meet people on neutral ground and learn who lives in the neighborhood.
“It makes me feel safer,” said an Andrew Jackson Houses resident named Gerri, “because any other time when the police are around I don’t feel that safe. We really need this to bring the community together.”
But one young man who wouldn’t give his name said the once-a-year outdoor event didn’t change his mind about police. “This is just one day,” he said. “Tomorrow they’ll be back at it the same way.”
“We won’t be here dancing, kids won’t be jumping,” Hernandez responded, admitting that it’s impossible for the police to have a great relationship with the community every day. “There is crime and it is a necessity to enforce the law. Our biggest challenge is to keep this momentum going after today.”
The day before the event there was a homicide just down the street, he pointed out.
“Violent crime happens every day,” Hernandez said, “particularly in this neighborhood. Sometimes people can feel helpless. We hope this event can give them a sense of hope.”
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