20th Precinct Discusses Crime Rise, Bike Lane at Monthly Meeting

The UWS NYPD 20th Precinct informed residents of monthly crime statistics and responded to community issues, including the controversial 72nd street bike lane, at their monthly community council meeting.

The 20th Precinct monthly community council meeting was presided over by Commanding Officer Inspector Candida Pun-Sullivan, who ran down trends in recent major crimes, June 22. For the UWS precinct, Pun-Sullivan described a spike in assaults and auto theft within the neighborhood.

Overall, there has been a slight increase in crime within the precinct’s jurisdiction. From May 25th to June 21st, Pun-Sullivan reported 0 murders, 3 rapes (all related to domestic violence), 7 robberies, 11 burglaries, 54 grand larcenies, and 15 traffic collisions. Pun-Sullivan especially warned community members about increases in assaults and thefts as Summer began. The precinct has seen an overall increase of 128.6% in felony assaults since the beginning of this year to June 14 — with 64 in 2026 vs. 28 at this time in 2025 — according to an NYPD database. In another area of concern, Pun-Sullivan described an uptake in stolen cars within the area.

Part of the meeting included segments from two special guests: Detective Specialist Kyle Mclaughlin with the NYPD’s mounted unit, as well as NYC Council Member Gale Brewer.

Brewer, who represents district 6 in the UWS, focused on a few issues during her debrief: including cleaning out mailboxes, proposing voting booths at Rikers Island for inmates, and trying to pass a sticker bill for double-parked, unmoving cars.

Most prominently, Brewer delved into a discussion about the upcoming, approved 72nd bike lane. The lane, which was put forth by NYC Department of Transportation, will span Manhattan’s 72nd street river to river and have lanes going both ways for bicycles. A primary neighborhood concern, as discussed at the precinct meeting, was accessibility for stores to unload and residents with limited mobility/disabilities with the bike lane in place.

One man at the meeting described how the lane would be discriminatory for members of the community who need to be able to enter Access-A-Ride services from curbside. Brewer agreed, noting how other bike lanes in the city do not have similar problems because they are not in prominently residential areas with elderly populations.

Two other meeting participants — Steve Anderson, president of the UWS Coalition of Block Associations, and Dale Brown, president of the West 79th Street Block Association — brought up their concerns over block events to Pun-Sullivan. In particular, they asked about police presence on Sundays when Columbus Ave. is blocked off. Pun-Sullivan responded by saying presence at community events is determined by the availability of volunteer Auxiliary Officers and requests after permits.

The 20th Precinct hosts community council meetings on the fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m.