Brooklyn Blocks Turn “Police-Free” Amid Trump Crime Push

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A troubled stretch of Brooklyn has become the center of a controversial experiment: a two-block area of Brownsville is being managed as a “police-free zone,” with community groups taking the lead on low-level crime while uniformed NYPD officers stay on the sidelines. The initiative, run by the Brownsville Safety Alliance (BSA), operates four times a year and was expanded from an earlier twice-annual schedule under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. During the program, police remain on standby but allow community groups to address minor disputes and disturbances. Serious incidents like shootings or stabbings still prompt a police response.

Officers give us our room to control the block, emphasized Dushoun Almond, director of Brownsville In Violence Out, the community organization behind the initiative. Zohran Mamdani, a socialist assemblyman and the front-runner for mayor, has openly supported the initiative and even visited one of the zones in April of last year.

While some residents praised the approach, others remain skeptical. Jose, a local hardware store worker, said community patrols “do a better job because they talk to people,” while Cricket Wireless employee Jamixa Alvarez insisted that the area still needs police protection, noting the challenges officers face in today’s urban environment.

NYPD officials confirmed that nothing has changed about formal police operations but acknowledged that a flyer claiming cops were banned from the zone was posted without authorization and later removed. A police source warned the initiative “has the potential to go sideways quickly,” underscoring the risks of reducing law enforcement presence in a high-crime area.

Crime statistics show the stakes are high: robbery is up 23%, felony assault 26%, burglary 40%, and grand larceny 30% this year compared to 2024. John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and former NYPD supervisor Christopher Hermann called Brownsville “one of the most dangerous parts of New York City” and questioned the safety of a police-free model.

Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa criticized the program as a reckless experiment that invites chaos. He added that community groups can and should partner with the NYPD, but sidelining cops in a high-crime area is exactly the backwards approach Zohran Mamdani is cheering on — and I’ll end it on Day One.” As New York City continues to wrestle with rising crime rates, the Brownsville experiment is likely to draw increasing scrutiny from both residents and political leaders

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