There are many things that New York City is well-known for. It’s electrifying atmosphere, its bright lights and its dedicated police department, to name a few. New York’s Boys in Blue, as they are so lovingly called, patrol the city’s streets, subways and sidewalks ensuring the safety and security of its citizens. They are a collective band of brothers and sisters dedicated to giving all that they can to the city. And finally, the NYPD will be receiving a much needed update to their patrol cars in order to better protect them while on duty.
According to a report from the New York Post, the de Blasio administration wants to spend $10.4 million in an effort to equip all NYPD patrol cars with bullet-resistant windows. The plan was announced on January 24 along with Mayor de Blasio’s $84.7 billion preliminary fiscal 2018 budget. That’s a 3.1 percent raise from last year’s $82.1 billion budget.
The window inserts protect the back portion of the driver and passenger-side windows. This is an incredibly crucial improvement to the city’s patrol cars, especially after the deaths of two NYPD officers in Brooklyn in 2014 and officer Brian Moore in Queens (all of whom were sitting in their patrol vehicles).
Originally, back in July, NYC officials announced their plans to allocate $6.8 million to install the bullet-resistant windows in all 3,813 patrol cars. However, they were not ready at the moment to sign off on the window inserts. Fortunately, due to asset forfeiture funds that will cover the cost of the windows, they are now ready to move forward with the installations.
In a statement regarding the plans, City Hall spokesman, Austin Finan, stated, “This is about having the backs of our men and women in blue who, with courage and commitment, don the uniform every day to protect and serve. This investment is our commitment to ensuring the safety of those officers on the beat.”
Doing everything we can to protect those who protect us is terrific and I hope that these new windows keep our boys and girls in blue safe.
