Patrolling Safer Upper West Side Streets

By Emma Thorne

Detective Domenick Vassallo is gearing up for his busiest time of the year. Come November, he’s responsible for implementing safety measures on the Upper West Side for two of the city’s biggest annual events: the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the New York City Marathon. “Once the marathon comes, you know the holidays have started,” said Vassallo, who works in the 20th Precinct.

Originally from Brooklyn, Vassallo has been on the force for almost 23 years. He always wanted to be a cop, following in his grandfather’s footsteps. “It skips a generation,” Vassallo said of the family impulse toward a career in law enforcement.

From 1989 to 1993, Vassallo was a patrol cop. Since 1993 he’s been in the Community Affairs department, a role he described as “the liaison between the police department and the private sector.”

Siblings Ellen Gabe, Bruce Stark, right, and their brother Steve with Beacon’s store dog, Bru. andrew schwartz

He works with all types of neighborhood residents, from clergymen to business owners. The questions people most frequently bring to him involve quality-of-life issues, like noise complaints and menu dumping, but can extend into different areas—for example, the neighborhood’s many film and television shoots. “You name it, we deal with it,” said Vassallo, 49.

The detective said the Upper West Side he began policing more than two decades ago isn’t the same as the one he works in today.

“There’ve been a lot of changes in the last 20 years—it went from a bad neighborhood to a good one,” he said. Robberies and drugs in the neighborhood have gone way down since he became a cop, he added, though there’s still the more-than-occasional Starbucks laptop or purse theft—which is itself indicative of how the neighborhood has changed. “People feel pretty safe here so they leave their stuff unattended.” Twenty years ago, that wouldn’t have been the case. But, Vassallo said, “If that’s all the crime we have, that’s great.”

He credits the neighborhood’s deeply involved residents with the safer atmosphere. “It’s a very hands-on community,” the detective said, noting that many of the locals show up at the 20th Precinct’s monthly Community Council meetings to raise questions, suggest improvements and air grievances. After more than 20 years looking after these Upper West Siders, Vassallo has gotten to know many of them—and they know him.

“He’s omnipresent in the neighborhood. Everyone knows him,” said Barbara Adler, executive director of the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District.

For Vassallo, the close-knit community is a perk of the job. “That’s one of the advantages of working here for so long—you get to know the families,” he said.

Vassallo’s own family—his 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter—is his main focus when he’s not on the job.  He also owns an extermination company. “Having your own business, spending time with your kids—it’s the American dream, isn’t it?”