New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill is making a lot of personnel changes to start 2018, as 29 captains were reassigned this week. Here on the Lower East Side, the 7th Precinct will be seeing new leadership.
After about two-and-a-half years on the job, Deputy Inspector Steven Hellman is moving up to the 13th Precinct, which covers Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village, Gramercy and Union Square. His replacement as commanding officer at the 7th is Deputy Inspector Rhonda O’Reilly-Bovell, who most recently was in charge of Transit District 2. Previously she was captain at the 30th Precinct in Harlem and served in the 63rd Precinct in Brooklyn (Bergen Beach/Flabush/Marine Park).
We would like to wish Deputy Inspector Hellman good luck on his transfer to the 13th Precinct and we would also like to welcome Deputy Inspector O’reilly Bovell to the @NYPD7Pct Community!
— NYPD 7th Precinct (@NYPD7Pct) January 17, 2018
The Daily News earlier today reported on the NYPD’s reshuffling:
The 23rd Precinct, 25th Precinct and 30th Precinct in Harlem and the 7th Precinct on the Lower East Side all lost their current commanding officers in favor of new blood, sources said. The transfers also moved three women into more high-profile leadership positions.
It’s not the first time in recent years that the 7th Precinct has had a woman as commanding officer. Captain Nancy Barry was the top cop in the 7th from the middle of 2009 until August of 2011.
