88th Precinct Welcomes Several New Officers, May Receive More

Our local 88th Precinct has received four additional sergeants and two police officers in the past month, and is slated to expect a new female captain and possibly six more officers some time around October — an increase in human resources that the precinct’s commanding officer, Captain Peter Fiorillo, calls a much-needed boon for a station that, “over years, has sustained losses” in manpower.

The news comes on the heels of a public safety town hall meeting this past August 19 where residents were surprised to learn that the 88th Precinct received only eight (8) new officers this year — compared to the neighboring 79th Precinct receiving 33 new officers in the past six months.

This imbalance of resources being allocated was intentional, said Chief Carlos Gomez, the NYPD’s Chief of Housing, who explained to the crowd that officers are “assigned to precincts with the top number of shootings,” so getting fewer new officers reflects positively on the neighborhood’s violence rates.

According to Gomez, Bed-Stuy’s 79th Precinct saw 17 shootings this year while Fort Greene-Clinton Hill’s 88th Precinct had 15 shootings. (East New York’s 75th Precinct topped the shootings list with 49 this year; Ocean Hill/Brownsville came in second with 38 shootings.)

Still, that sort-of compliment doesn’t make locals feel any safer, especially when finishing a summer that seemed to bring a steady stream of reports of shootings.

So, the additional hands on deck is welcome news, said Fiorillo, who quipped that “we could use 100 more officers,” but every little bit counts.

However, Fiorillo noted that most of these newcomers were NOT the result of the concerns expressed at the town hall. He said that the four new sergeants — which brings the 88th Precinct’s sergeant count up to 19 — were simply already in the pipeline, and the two new officers were leftover from a group allotted to our precinct back in July who hadn’t arrived yet.

The female captain — said to be an executive officer to serve as right-hand-woman for Fiorillo — IS said to have been the result of the town hall discussions, though.

As for the remaining six new recruits rumored to be coming in October, Fiorillo noted that those were a surprise to him, as well.

The 88th Precinct is located at 298 Classon Avenue, at the corner of DeKalb Avenue.