Controversial Plainclothes NYPD Units To Return To Crown Heights

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Controversial plainclothes police units that will be revived under Mayor Eric Adams' sweeping plan to fight gun violence are on their way to Crown Heights.

Both Crown Heights' 77th and 71st precincts were included this week on a list of 30 New York City commands that will get the anti-crime units, which were previously disbanded under Mayor Bill de Blasio during a reckoning on police brutality in 2020.

The list, first reported by the New York Post, was confirmed by police on Tuesday. It comes after Adams vowed to revive the units in 30 precincts that account for 80 percent of the city's gun violence.

The plan has already drawn criticism from advocates who point to its history of excessive force, specifically for Black and brown New Yorkers. In Brooklyn, all the neighborhoods where the anti-crime units will be reinstated are majority-Black, according to census data.

"Today’s announcement gives the community members who live with the legacy of hyper-aggressive policing no comfort that Mayor Adams’s Anti-Crime Unit will be different from its predecessors," The Legal Aid Society and other groups said in a joint statement. "The Mayor must focus on addressing long standing problems with NYPD’s culture of impunity before he doubles down on strategies that will only perpetuate the harms of that culture."

Adams contended Monday that changes to the anti-crime units will help address issues from the past, including having them wear more identifiable clothing, though they will still be in unmarked police cars.

The mayor also pointed to the importance of ensuring the "right" officers are chosen for the job and the use of body cameras.

"You must have the right training the right mindset, the right disposition and be...emotionally intelligent that you are getting ready to engage with someone on the street," he said.

There are more than 400 cops "in the pipeline" to join the new teams, which Adams said will be put in place in about three weeks.

Here's a look at all Brooklyn precincts where the units will be assigned, according to the Post:

• Brooklyn South Precincts: 67, 69 and 71
• Brooklyn North Precincts: 73, 75, 77, 79, 81 and 83