78th Precinct Honors Late Commanding Officer Michael Ameri

The 78 Precinct Community Council and local politicians gathered to honor former commanding officer Michael Ameri by unveiling a new bike lane in his name in Park Slope on Tuesday.

The new Michael Ameri bike lane on Bergen Street and 6th Avenue came after he was found dead in his car on May 13 in Babylon, NY, caused by a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, police said.

At the same time, a corruption scandal rocked the NYPD – that allegedly tied Ameri, 44, with two Orthodox Jewish businessmen — Jeremy Reichberg from Borough Park and Jona Rechnitz who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Investigators accuse them of bribing cops with luxury vacation trips and lavish gifts in exchange for security.

The FBI questioned Ameri as part of its investigation, but reports say he was not one of the nine high-ranking police officer stripped of their badges.

Ameri served as 78th Precinct commanding officer from 2011 to 2014 and left to head the NYPD’s Highway Patrol Division where he oversaw traffic regulations.

“He embraced Vision Zero and how he took it to heart meant so much to the community,” said Eric McLure, campaign coordinator of Park Slope Neighbors. “May he rest in peace. He will be gravely missed by all of us.”

Residents say Ameri genuinely cared about public safety, and when people wanted to talk about crime, shootings, and bicyclist concerns, he was there for his community.

And under his leadership Ameri spearheaded New York City’s Vision Zero initiative to protect riders and pedestrians in his community and across the city.

Public Advocate Leticia James remembers Ameri as a “gentleman” and a “beloved deputy inspector in the precinct,” while New York City Council Member Brad Lander said he considers him “a real friend.”

“He had a gift. It’s not easy to rise through the ranks of the NYPD, and understand what officer are looking for, help officers to be better, think about what safety is and relate it to the community in an open way,” Lander noted. “He was inspirational.”

During the meeting, one resident raised a concern Ameri would’ve acted immediately to: the issue of cyclists disobeying streetlights and rules altogether.

78th Community Council President Wayne Bailey acknowledged that they are working with the Department of Transportation and NYPD to sponsor open sessions for bicyclists to attend to learn the rules of the road.

“These couple of months, we’re going to have bike initiatives,” said Deputy Inspector Frank DiGiacomo and Commanding Officer of the 78th Precinct. “Instead of going right into enforcement, we want to educate first.”

DiGiacomo plans to work with the community to bring bicycle groups to educate and provide free reflectors and lights to people who don’t have the proper safety resources.

Crime-wise, DiGiacomo mentioned several incidents the NYPD has on its radar.

The 78th precinct recognized police officers Raquel Correa and Jose de Leon for responding to a robbery of a 91-year-old woman on April 25.

Police identified the suspect as Clarence Jones, 64, and arrested him for the robbery of numerous elderly women in Park Slope and other locations throughout Brooklyn and other areas of New York City.

Another NYPD case involves the sexual assault of a 24-year-old woman groped by a man in broad daylight inside Prospect Park at Mount Prospect Park on May 25.

DiGiacomo said police are still searching for the perpetrator and are working with museum workers who know him by face, but not by name.

“He is a local guy,” DiGiacomo said. “If he’s hanging out there, somebody has to know.” In addition, an attempted rape took place near Prospect Park on 2nd Street on May 23.

In recent weeks, we’ve reported on a number of crimes that hit Park Slope, including the attack of a transgender victim near 8th Street and 7th Avenue on May 13.

“The Special Victims Unit did identify people, I don’t know if they’re arrested, but they have two identified,” DiGiacomo said. “They know who did it.”

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.