Police in formation in NYC

June 9, 2007 7:07 PM

We were recently in NYC on vacation. We were staying in the Battery Park area and on two separate occasions, witnessed long lines of police cars with their lights flashing, occasionally "beeping" their sirens. They almost seemed to be in parade formation, traveling on the West Side highway, going quickly. Does anyone know what we were seeing?

The bartender in a local bar (decorated in much police and fireman stuff) said it was a more than daily occurance, but didn't know specifically if there was a purpose.

posted by beachhead2 to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (20 answers total)

I always assumed they were police funerals.
posted by pg at 7:10 PM on June 9, 2007

something like this or this? They do it randomly as a show of force or something.
posted by jourman2 at 7:11 PM on June 9, 2007

Best answer: Here's an article that discusses the NYPD "surges".
posted by jourman2 at 7:16 PM on June 9, 2007

Was just about to pop in and say show of force, but it's been covered. jourman2 got it.
posted by invitapriore at 7:20 PM on June 9, 2007

I always thought they were escorts for foreign diplomats, or government big wigs.
posted by overhauser at 7:37 PM on June 9, 2007

Best answer: Jourman's article is a great link. They are called the Hercules force. They are used to randomly show up in locations with an enormous display of strength. They will appear all over Manhattan at anytime. The message is that the people are safe and terrorists beware.

I have a buddy who worked for the NYPD until this year. He insisted that this display of muscle was a powerful deterrent and helped reduce everyday petty crime as well. I highly doubt that part.

You see them most downtown near the trade center site and in midtown near various embassies and the UN.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:42 PM on June 9, 2007

I know exactly what you're referring to. I worked at a museum in Battery Park for a few years and its just a weekly drill.
posted by blaneyphoto at 8:14 PM on June 9, 2007

I saw this in bryant park a few months ago too. One policewoman said the kids love it.
posted by Mach5 at 8:26 PM on June 9, 2007

He insisted that this display of muscle was a powerful deterrent and helped reduce everyday petty crime as well. I highly doubt that part.

Broken windows theory

Malcolm Gladwell on New York City crime and the broken windows theory
posted by frogan at 9:00 PM on June 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Previously on AskMe.
posted by thejoshu at 5:51 AM on June 10, 2007

The funny part is that if they wanted to stop petty crime on the streets they could do that by getting out of their cars for once.

Everyone I know feels a little uneasy if they see NYPD officers walking down the sidewalk. It's so out of place that it feels like something's going down. Meanwhile, I can walk down the sidewalk at night and dudes will offer to sell me weed, which doesn't bother me though I'm not buying. I'm quite sure their activities are not curtailed by a big police parade.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 8:47 AM on June 10, 2007

Everyone I know feels a little uneasy if they see NYPD officers walking down the sidewalk. It's so out of place that it feels like something's going down.

I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan, and I see cops on the streets all the time. Unless there are tons in a given area, it doesn't seem out of place to me.
posted by secret about box at 10:01 AM on June 10, 2007

They do this several times a week outside where I work: 1 New York Plaza and the Staten Island Ferry building. I'd like to think ithat this massive display of parallel parking force is lowering the rate of white collar crime in all the nearby banks, but I have my doubts.
posted by meehawl at 10:02 AM on June 10, 2007

I see them maybe standing on the sidewalk, within twenty feet of their car. Have to be close by in case they need to do one of these parades, I guess. Walking around? Not so much. Could be a function of neighborhood (East Village.)
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 10:03 AM on June 10, 2007

Response by poster: Alone the same lines as CoolTim, my husband was offered weed almost every time he went into Washington Square Park, mostly during the day. I imagine if someone wanted to bust these guys, it wouldn't be very hard.
posted by beachhead2 at 10:21 AM on June 10, 2007

When I was in NYC 20 years ago (*momentarily feels old*) we always assumed the dealers in Washington Square Park were cops, or informants. Either that, or the police district is all mobbed up.
posted by dhartung at 1:32 PM on June 10, 2007

I know a guy who used to buy his drugs at Washington Square Park. As I said, I'm not buying, but what I've heard about the Washington Square Park guys is that they're shady, but they are drug dealers.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 2:12 PM on June 10, 2007

Not to continue the tangent, but Washington Square Park is known for it's undercover cops.

On topic, I've wondered about those parades too. Last saw one at Grand Army Plaza.
posted by yeti at 4:07 PM on June 10, 2007

I was in NYC a few weeks ago and wondered about this exact thing. Seems pretty silly to me, but then again, so does everything about airport security and the whole culture of fear.

On the other hand, maybe these charges are just an excuse to get cops from one end of the city to the other– for no particular reason other than they have misc. business there– without having the follow normal traffic regulations.
posted by dantekgeek at 3:21 AM on June 11, 2007

If you're looking to see this, hang around Times Square. My wife works in the area, and says it happens every day, often several times.

I wonder what the NYPD gas budget is for these pointless shows of force?
posted by nevercalm at 7:08 AM on June 12, 2007