51 percent of uniformed officers—which works out to 18,360 cops—currently live outside the city,
Despite claims by Mayor Bill de Blasio that "more and more" NYPD officers live in the city they serve, new figures provided by the NYPD show that a majority of uniformed officers actually live outside of New York City. The numbers reflect a shift from four years ago, when a majority of cops lived in the five boroughs.
According to the police department, 51 percent of uniformed officers—which works out to 18,360 cops—currently live outside the city, with the rest having addresses in one of the five boroughs. The NYPD did not provide a breakdown by county.
Several weeks ago, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea claimed that "well over 50 percent" of the police department live in the city, but that percentage includes the NYPD's 19,000 civilian employees, who unlike uniformed officers, are required by law to live in the city.
Data provided to Gothamist in 2016 showed that 58 percent of officers lived in New York City. The NYPD’s Patrol Guide states that officers can reside in Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, and Nassau counties.
A residency requirement for NYPD officers has been debated over the years, with state Senator Kevin Parker [above] introducing the most recent legislation calling for such a requirement for new officers hired after December 31st, 2020.
Last month, Mayor de Blasio expressed skepticism about residency requirements for police officers. “A lot of NYPD officers who happen to be people of color are living in the suburbs for purely economic reasons, because they can’t find enough affordable housing here,” the mayor said. “We should have a real public debate about it. But we should be mindful that it’s not as easy an equation in New York city as it is in a lot of other places because of the pure cost of housing.”