Commissioner Bratton this week repeatedly voiced his support for removing the Times Square Plazas that have become an enormous success with all users including the real estate interests in the area. This is in response to incidents with a few topless women, draped in USA flag paint and the ever-present petty crooks now disguised as Walt Disney mascots.
While the NYC official statistics show that the plaza has reduced crashes by 40%, the Commissioner continues to quote Fox News numbers to the contrary. That may explain why CrashStats is useless in changing NYPD behavior: they keep their own set of books.
We believe that in fact, Commissioner Bratton is playing to his troops: the horrifying truth about policing Times Square is that you cannot do it with your butt glued to the seat of a White and Blue Crown Vic, using a megaphone. You actually have to WALK.
That officers would prefer cruising in their vehicles instead of stopping and frisking topless women is yet another reminder of NYPD’s irrational love story with cars.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION here to keep pedestrians first in Times Square
This is insanity