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Borough Commander Assistant Chief Edward Delatorre with Police Commissioner William J. Bratton at National Night Out Against Crime event in 2014.
(Advance file photo)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Tuesday is National Night Out Against Crime.
For Staten Island, it's about more than fun and games this year.
With the continuing heroin plague, plus frayed NYPD relations with the community and a recent spate of armed robberies and other incidents that have the borough on edge, the event couldn't arrive at a better time here.
Normally, these Night Out events are more about having some fun. They are held at Midland Beach. There are games and live entertainment. There are visits from the mayor and police brass.
But this year, Staten Island has some serious issues to discuss.
While crime has not exploded to 1970s levels, certain crime numbers have been ticking up across the city. Primarily, numbers associated with murders and shootings. And those are the kind of numbers you don't want to see ticking up.
This past weekend, three people were murdered and 19 people injured by gunfire in the city.
Staten Island has seen its share of murders, shootings and other mayhem this year as well.
There was also a spate of six armed robberies of delis and gas stations here in July. Cops attribute four of the episodes to the same suspect, who remains at large.
That's the kind of crime that makes all of us a little bit nervous. It could be our favorite deli or gas station that gets hit next. It could be us or a loved one standing in line, or filling up at the pump, when the gunman arrives. The thought occurs.
It's also making the Island's night workers jittery. These are folks who are just trying to make a living. But now they're starting to feel like targets.
And there have been other incidents: A stabbing outside a nightclub in Arden Heights. A man shot to death in Sunnyside. A man dies after jumping on the hood of a car.
Some of those incidents could be drug-related, cops said.
Given the heroin epidemic, it wouldn't be a surprise if a lot of crimes were somehow drug-related. Arguments over drug deals gone wrong that flare into violence. Addicts who are in need of some quick money knock over a store.
And it's not just the usual "bad" neighborhoods on the North Shore that are being hit with the crime wave. It's out there in usually safe Mid-Island and South Shore too. You can't take anything for granted.
Night Out also gives police officers an opportunity to interact with members of the community. Both sides could use some one-on-one after the death of Eric Garner and other incidents put the NYPD and the communities it serves at odds with each other. Hopefully, folks from those affected communities will take the opportunity to get some face time with the NYPD.
It's also a good time for Night Out because Islanders and some police officers have questioned Mayor Bill de Blasio's personal commitment to the NYPD, and critics have also questioned the mayor's crime-fighting strategies.
Fulfilling a campaign promise, de Blasio has reformed stop-and-frisk, which some have blamed for the murder and shooting numbers.
And while de Blasio has continued to firmly support "broken windows" policing, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and other City Council members have looked to de-criminalize some quality-of-life offenses.
We don't have to drain all the fun out of Night Out. But we also have to be serious about the crime issues that face Staten Island, and the city, here in 2015.