Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
A Majority Of NYPD Officers Don't Live In New York City, New Figures Show
By
David Cruz
Published Aug 8, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
By
David Cruz
Published Aug 8, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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.
Data provided to Gothamist in 2016 showed that 58 percent of officers lived in New York City.
"We know two crucial things about today's NYPD—it is a majority people of color, and it is more and more New York City residents," de Blasio said at a press conference on Friday. "My understanding is we're getting close to a breakeven point in terms of folks who live in the city versus suburbs, but I want to get the exact numbers."
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.
A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond a request for comment asking for clarification on the mayor's comments given the data.
The NYPD’s Patrol Guide states that officers can reside in Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, and Nassau counties. Officers must provide a physical home address to the agency's operations coordinator and a landline or cell phone number connected to the address as proof of residence. Commanding officers are expected to ensure officers abide by these regulations.
NYPD officers are prohibited from working in the precinct they reside in, though 4 percent of officers received an exemption from that rule, according to the 2016 data.
A residency requirement for NYPD officers has been debated over the years, with state Senator Kevin Parkerintroducing the most recent legislation calling for such a requirement for new officers hired after December 31st, 2020.
“It's critical that we cultivate better community connections between police and residents," Parker said in a statement, when introducing the bill last month. "We have to ensure that officers who are deployed to communities throughout New York City have a better understanding and respect for the culture of those living there. Police officers who live in the city they serve and belong to that community, are more inclined to be connected to the residents and their jobs, beyond a paycheck."
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.”
Tagged
nypd
mayor bill de blasio
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .