Sunset Park in The News: New Asian Patrol in Chinatown

Image New York Post.

The New York Post has a story on a new Asian Patrol that has recently appeared in Sunset Park. I have seen the cars cruising around the neighborhood for the last month or so. I have a few reservations about this new patrol. Modeled on the Shomrin that patrols Borough Park this patrol cruises with it's cars in Chinatown and it's fringes. I am a little Leary because it has the makeups of an ethnically exclusive patrol in the neighborhood and that is a recipe fro friction especially since the Asian, White and Hispanic communities overlap each other and though the black population is small in Sunset Park they are bound to be the target of suspicion as a result of stereotypes that are bound to come up and stoke friction. The other point I have to make is that we already have an auxiliary police in this city and they operate out of our local precinct which serves the same purpose. These guys could just as well have joined the Auxiliary Police which is under closer supervision by the NYPD. I predict that somewhere down the line there will be an incident just as there have been incidents with the Shomrin in the areas where they operate. The other point I would like to find out about is whether they have a right to use blue or red colored flashing lights on their cars. I was under the impression that there is a state law that such lights are for use only by official emergency vehicles and all other vehicles where restricted to using yellow flashing lights. I could be wrong on this, but I will have to look into it. It all sounds great on paper but I think this is a recipe for trouble down the line. It would have been better if the Chinese had gotten together with other groups in the neighborhood and started a community patrol rather than a separate entity which is based on ethnicity. The fact they are getting away with it, is a testament to the political pull that the Chinese are having and they are starting to flex their muscles. I am speaking from a point of reality on the way life is and the perceptions that people are bound to have. We shall see what happens from here on, but I am just a little cautious about all the negatives. I don't think this was really thought through by either the guys at the local precinct or officials in city government...