Captain Joseph Simonetti is the New 7th Precinct CO

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Capt. Simonetti during his days as CO of 71st Pct. in Brooklyn, Photo: Collive

There’s a new sheriff running this a-here ponderosa, so to speak. As of approximately three weeks ago, the Seventh Precinct is now under the command of Captain Joseph Simonetti. Peter Venice is history, and there’s been a shakeup.

Last Thursday, the CO held a meet-and-greet at the Pitt Street precinct with local bar owners. It was a packed room jammed with a veritable who’s who of local proprietors. All were there to hear out the new crew on the nighttime beat.

The straight-talking (and Tony Soprano sounding) Simonetti laid down the law, and his desire to clean up the mess of petty crime rife in watering holes on the Lower East Side.

A good portion of the meeting was spent discussing the rise in grand larceny within the distric confines. That was the main thrust of the meeting – to impress the importance of lowering numbers and produce results. At various points in the discussion, he quipped “I need results!” That means greater vigilance in keeping track of patrons’  belongings.

Noise complaints played second fiddle to the grand larceny, though. Simonetti urged the owners to work with affected residents to solve the issues. That it was up to them to achieve resolution, and not the NYPD.

Word on the street is that bar owners are not happy with the change in brass. Some are worried that the bark will actually be equivalent to the bite, and that Simonetti will crack down tougher than previous COs. That could be better for quality of life concerns.

And for good measure, below is the Compstat report for April 14-20:

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