President’s Message | June 1, 2023

Dear Fellow Sergeant,

We hope that you are all looking forward to the joys of summer and spending much well-deserved leisure time with your loved ones. While it appears that we are close to obtaining a new contract, there are still issues to be addressed such as 12-hour tours.

Being an NYPD Sergeant is one of the most challenging but fulfilling positions in all of law enforcement. No other rank in any police department wears two hats like Sergeants do. Besides policing the most culturally, ethnically, economically, and politically diverse city in the world, we are regularly called upon to be both a “Worker” and a “Supervisor” or “Boss.”

We are inveterately second guessed and Monday morning “quarterbacked” for our split-second decisions, as well as the decisions of those we oversee. It is the nature of our job, but we perform our duties with eagerness and enthusiasm.

As things are now, depending on your promotion date, you and newly promoted sergeants could be earning between $15,000 and $20,000 less than the Police Officers and Detectives that you supervise.

These disproportions are the result of what is called “attrition bargaining,” a disingenuous and reprehensible municipal maneuver that is all too common. We assure you that we are fighting hard to right this wrong but fully understand the sting that many of you are experiencing. We have sent a letter to those currently on the Sergeant’s list explaining this injustice and advising them on various options.

To everyone who currently serves in the rank of Sergeant, we are working hard to make your salaries commensurate with the hard work you do.

The daily challenges we face were magnified recently with the arrest of a female Hunter College professor who cursed out a group of students with whom she did not share an opinion on a controversial topic. When a newspaper reporter visited her home for an interview, she responded by menacing him with a machete.

In another incident, a commencement speaker at City University of New York (CUNY) called for “rage” to tackle the “fascist NYPD.” This occurred at the same graduation ceremony where Mayor Adams was booed when he mentioned his previous career as an NYPD member.

While we as police officers believe in free speech and honest discourse, it is not appropriate for such toxic words to be spewed at publicly funded educational institutions.

If law enforcement is getting this type of blowback from the perceived intelligentsia, it stands to reason that the climate in the streets is equally volatile. Criminals are more emboldened by the day, and there is no doubt that the city is more dangerous than it has been in decades.

On a happier note, we will be holding the annual SBA Family Picnic on Friday, June 30, 2023, at Nansen Park in Staten Island. It is a great time for families to bring their children and for past and present SBA members to reconnect. We have been hosting the picnic for over 20 years, and many attendees regularly tell us it is a highlight of their year.

We hope to see you there. In the meantime, please continue to perform your duties with unrivaled excellence. Despite many daunting challenges, you are the finest frontline supervisors in the world, and it is a privilege and a pleasure to serve as your President.

Fraternally,

Vincent J. Vallelong
President
Sergeants Benevolent Association

• Category: President's Message