PBA statement on social distancing enforcement

PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said:

“This situation is untenable: the NYPD needs to get cops out of the social distancing enforcement business altogether. The cowards who run this city have given us nothing but vague guidelines and mixed messages, leaving the cops on the street corners to fend for ourselves. Nobody has a right to interfere with a police action. But now that the inevitable backlash has arrived, they are once again throwing us under the bus. 

Meanwhile, those same politicians are still watering down our laws, releasing real criminals and discouraging proactive enforcement of fare evasion and quality of life issues. As a result, our subways are in chaos and we have hero nurses getting mugged on their way to our hospitals. As the weather heats up and the pandemic continues to unravel our social fabric, police officers should be allowed to focus on our core public safety mission. If we don’t, the city will fall apart before our eyes.”

CONTACT:
John Nuthall: 212-298-9187
Joseph Mancini: 212-298-9150
Michael Martin: 212-298-9195

Cops Make Special Lunch Delivery to Elmhurst Hospital

The healthcare heroes at Elmhurst Hospital took a much-needed lunch break today to the sound of police sirens and the cheers of dozens of cops, who were there to deliver food and moral support to their fellow “frontline family” members battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said:

“The entire world is in awe of the courage and strength of the nurses, doctors and staff at Elmhurst Hospital. That’s no surprise to New York City police officers, because we work alongside these heroes 365 days a year. They have taken care of us in some of our most difficult moments. Now it’s our turn to back them up.”

Panico’s Community Market in Smithtown, NY once again helped prepare more than 750 sandwiches for the hospital staff. Over the past month, the PBA has delivered more than 4,000 sandwiches and hundreds of cases of fresh fruit and water to hospitals across New York City.

CONTACT:
John Nuthall: 212-298-9187
Joseph Mancini: 212-298-9150
Michael Martin: 212-298-9195

‘Unruly Person’ Incidents Increase

Patrick Lynch, president of the New York City Police Benevolent Association, said police officers are “ending up in too many dangerous situations with unstable people. … New York’s political class chose to gut our mental health system,” Lynch told The City. “They chose to open a revolving door for dangerous repeat offenders. Now that we’re in the middle of a crisis, those failures are magnified.”

Lynch on Challenges of COVID-19

LISTEN – Pat Lynch talks to Q104.3’s Shelli Sonstein about the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for priority testing for police officers and the need for the city’s elected leaders to start preparing now for the next crisis: “This time, the promise we will not forget has to be real.”

PBA Salutes Staff at LIJMC

The media covers the PBA’s salute to the hospital staff at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where Pat Lynch spoke about the courage and compassion that the nurses, doctors and technicians have always shown police officers. Stories appeared on NBC 4 News, News 12 Long Island, PIX 11 News, CBS 2 News, ABC 7 News and Inside Edition. See full PBA-recorded video of the event and press conference.

PBA applauds Gov. Cuomo for prioritizing COVID-19 antibody testing for NYC Police Officers

”This is a smart move by Governor Cuomo that will ultimately help get our city and state back up and running. New York City police officers have been overlooked in this crisis because New Yorkers are used to seeing us everywhere. We are in the grocery stores, the subways, the hospitals and housing complexes, interacting with both the sick and the healthy. But that is precisely the reason we need more testing. We are a bell-weather: we live in the five boroughs and surrounding counties, and our work touches every aspect of society. Priority testing for police officers will provide important intelligence about how this virus has spread and who is still at risk. It will also ensure that we are not silently spreading the disease to our colleagues or the communities we serve. We thank the Governor for recognizing the unique and critical job police officers do and helping us protect ourselves and the public.”