NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – City officials on Thursday announced a new Quality of Life Division within the NYPD that will focus on addressing everyday non-emergency issues like noise complaints, illegal parking and out-of-control moped riders.
The division will start with a pilot program in five precincts—the 13th, 40th, 60th, 75th, and 101st—over the next two months. It will then be rolled out in phases, eventually going citywide, Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference in Gramercy.
“We will not tolerate an atmosphere of anything goes,” Adams said. “Every place, everywhere we’re going to have a city that is clean and safe.”
Quality of Life Teams, or Q-Teams, will be made up of specially trained officers from existing community-based units. They’ll work with local precincts and the 311 system to address complaints.
A new data-driven system, Q-Stat, modeled after the NYPD’s crime data tracker CompStat, will track complaints and guide the teams. Deputy Chief William Glynn will lead the division.
Just like CompStat, the members will have monthly meetings with top brass to report progress. Those meetings begin in May and will work to identify problem areas and work towards solutions.
There will be no additional cost, as the division is being formed from internal restructuring at the NYPD, officials said.
Among the issues that will be addressed are encampments; derelict vehicles; traffic conditions; reckless driving; outdoor drug use; aggressive panhandling; and the enforcement of alternative vehicles like e-bikes and scooters. The teams will also use sound metering devices for noise complaints.
“The vast majority of New Yorkers have never been the victim of a crime,” Tisch said. “In fact, most of them have never even witnessed a crime. But many of them have struggled to find parking because abandoned vehicles are taking up spots in the neighborhood, or to jump out of the way for an e-bike.”