Welcome to SoHo Broadway: Neighborhood Coordination Officers

Date Started: April 2018

Organization: New York Police Department, 5th Precinct

Address: 19 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10013

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter 

Contact: Officer Poon at Jeffrey.Poon@NYPD.org or Officer Cobaj at Sejdi.Cobaj@NYPD.org.

Say hello to your new Neighborhood Coordination Officers, Officer Poon and Officer Cobaj.

Officer Poon and Officer Cobaj have been with the NYPD for 4 years. Before becoming Neighborhood Coordination Officers (NCOs), they served in the 5th Precinct’s Conditions Unit. Today, these NCOs serve as liaisons between the police and the community, but also as key crime-fighters and problem-solvers in their desgnated sector. NCOs familiarize themselves with residents and their problems by attending community meetings with neighborhood leaders and clergy, visiting schools, following up on previous incidents, and using creative problem solving techniques and adaptive skills.

Under the Neighborhood Policing Plan which divides precincts into four or five fully staffed sectors that correspond, as much as possible, to the boundaries of actual existing neighborhoods, sector officers are assigned to these sectors to work the same neighborhoods on the same shifts to increase their familiarity with the local residents and local problems. The radio dispatchers, supervisors, and sector officers work together to maintain “sector integrity,” meaning that the sector officers and sector cars do not leave the boundaries of their assigned sectors, except in genuine emergencies. The plan seeks to foster a sense of ownership among sector officers for the people, the problems, and even the perpetrators in a particular sector; a sense of geographic responsibility and accountability.

Officer Poon and Officer Cobaj both cover Broadway as part of the 5th Precinct’s Sector C. Poon is a U.S. Navy Reservist and enjoys traveling. Cobaj is a die-hard NY Giants fan and enjoys spending time with his family. Both are excited about their new assignment and are ready to help create a better quality of life for the community. For further contact information about the NYPD 5th Precinct Neighborhood Coordination Officer Program, click here.