A Halloween Poster in an NYPD Precinct Depicts Violence. And It Isn't Removed.

Tales from Subterranea #6

UPDATED: Please scroll to the bottom for an update.

So many things are obvious in this city. Some aren’t. But when the obvious is overlooked and then ignored, the simple expands into Kafka-eque proportions. This is one of those times.

Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays since I was a kid. We wore flammable costumes, plastic masks, and were warned that people put razor blades inside of apples. And I love seeing imaginative costumes on the subway. 

But let’s talk about Halloween decorations. Pumpkins, skeletons, and witches are all around us, from apartment lobbies and doors, inside of apartments, houses, stores, and offices.

In just a few days, trick-or-treaters, most of them children, will be out visiting stores and other businesses in my neighborhood and around the city. A police precinct is a stop where kids, teens and parents are greeted by friendly cops with buckets of candy.

There are no boundaries for horror during this holiday. Including at my local precinct.

On a rare visit to the 34th Precinct at the end of September for the retirement of a beloved community affairs officer, a shiny poster of a shadowy figure and hands

and large splashes of blood was taped to the door of the ladies room.

I pulled aside a police officer, new at his job, and mentioned that the poster seemed out of place and could it be taken down? He said he had been thinking the same, that the person who decorated spent her own money and he would see about having it removed. 

Knowing the bureaucratic labyrinth of the NYPD, he could not take it down. It wasn’t his job. He would be questioned. He would have to answer to others. I get it. Maybe he did check and was told that it could stay. I don’t know. 

We ran into each other on Saturday, October 19 at a street naming in Washington Heights, a few blocks up and over from the station house, for disability activist Edith Prentiss. Has the poster been taken down? Yes, he said. 

Since services of a restroom were required and I was on my way to the nearby Staples, I figured I’d make use of my taxpayer monies and use the public restroom at the precinct. A police officer pointed me to the ladies’ room to the right of the 34th Precinct’s memorial wall of police officers killed in the line of duty and to the left of two large wreaths from the PBA dedicated to the memory of Officer Michael Buczek, killed on October 18, 1998. I paused to pay my respects.

The poster has been removed. The door is bare. 

But, now, it is on the door of the men’s room. The irony is that Edith Prentiss advocated for wheelchair accessible restrooms and the poster is on the door to the restroom that she fought for. One of her weapons was persistence. I listened well.

In another setting, this poster wouldn’t get a glance. But the poster takes on more ominous meaning in a police station house. 

The men and women sitting behind the front desk appeared to be busy so I didn’t point out the poster. I didn’t want to see a simple matter being turned into an argument or an incredulous ‘ma’am? We can’t do anything about that!’ and being shown the door. I can find my own way out, thank you very much. 

I emailed Inspector Aneudy Castillo on Sunday. So he didn’t have to search for something he had already missed, an image of the poster was attached for his reference. Part of the letter is included here. Pleasantries not included in order to get to the point.

It's wonderful to celebrate the holiday. However, the poster which is now on the men's bathroom door, is not appropriate in a police precinct.  It represents a far more ominous meaning, one that the NYPD has worked very hard to move away from. This poster undermines that work and has a deeper context that must have been overlooked.

The depiction of violence re-traumatizes crime victims and their families including domestic violence victims, people (including police officers) who have been shot, stabbed, or attacked who may have died (or have been injured) at the hands of neighbors, family members, strangers, and the police. 

Members of the NYPD including your officers may be too young to recall the sexual assault and brutalization of Abner Louima in the bathroom of a Brooklyn precinct. A bathroom is a location for bullying and attacks for kids and teens who are bullied for any number of reasons, including being gay and transgender. 

A reminder of this history (and I could go on about our violent world) does not serve anyone well. I did ask if this poster could be removed while at a (community affairs detective’s) retirement party. Well, it was. It moved from the door of the women's bathroom to the door of the men's bathroom.

I realize that a Halloween poster depicting a bloody crime scene may not be a priority with a shortage of police officers, investigations into the NYPD, and the sometimes thankless job and hostile environment you and your fellow police officers undertake. The person who decorated the building, I'm sure, purchased Halloween decor with the best of intentions and without malice. Not everyone notices everything in our chaotic city. 

But this depiction of violence does not belong in a police precinct. A gory funhouse, perhaps, but not in a police context.

I am respectfully requesting that this poster (and any others, if there are) depicting violence be removed immediately.

Would you do this?

As any good and kind citizen would do, I called the general number of the precinct on Monday to alert the inspector that my email is among one of his many emails and could he take a look?  Asking for the inspector by name, a police officer/receptionist answered and said he didn’t know who he was. I said, “Well, he’s the commanding officer.” Where I come from, you make it your business to know who’s running the ship. And you answer with “Let me find out.” 

He transferred my call to a woman who verified that I had the correct email, explained that the Inspector stepped out, that he receives many emails, and that she would take down my information. Fair enough.

It’s been five days. 

Yes, I checked my spam folder and my cell for any missed calls that come up “No Caller ID.”

While I leave predictions to the many psychics around the city, I’m placing my bet that when someone finally notices, what was originally a simple thing will turn into something far more sinister.

If anyone at the NYPD reads this, perhaps the sign will finally be gone for good. The NYPD, as if there’s nothing else going on in this city. will now set specific guidelines, maybe set up a Decorating Unit. Decorations will only be permitted after filling out multiple forms. A lieutenant will be assigned to write guidelines, a captain will be required to inspect the decor, and a duty captain will drop in without warning to verify that all are in compliance. Or to avoid any mishaps, no decorations will be permitted at all. 

As for the perpetrator who requested that the offensive poster be taken down, my car will be towed and plastered with parking tickets. Nice try. I don’t own a car. Or my 15 pound tote will be inspected at subway stations. Good luck with this.  Maybe someone will find my wallet in there. I can’t. I have no weapons except for my words and my perseverance. And in some instances, this is a crime.

There are more important things going on in this city. I’ve given grace. No one notices everything. Some people notice more than others. 

One person could have taken down the poster, rolled it up, and hung it somewhere else. Now, we have two in-person conversations, one email, one Facebook post, one telephone call to the precinct, and now this.

It’s been five days since my email was written. The holiday is almost here. Maybe the NYPD is waiting for the holiday to pass. But the horrors will always be there for some.

UPDATE:

Is that poster filled with bloodstains and ominous figures still hanging at the 34th Precinct? Was it taken down?

A month ago, removing the poster, acknowledged as not the best look for an NYPD precinct by a cop working there, seemed like a simple thing. And in a city where the simple and mundane takes on bureaucratic absurdity, the poster was still there when I stopped by yesterday afternoon (Monday, October 29 at 3:30 pm-ish).

Not only was the poster still taped to the door of the men’s room but an identical one was now taped to the door of the ladies room. 

Since the commanding officer has not responded to via email or telephone, I appeared in person. He had “just left.”

And the Executive Officer (the second in command)? 

Not sure where he is. I could speak to the lieutenant. 

Fine.

To put the lieutenant at ease, I said that I’m not in trouble or here to cause trouble and that he was not in trouble. 

I explained that I and others do not feel that the poster  is appropriate for a precinct setting, it’s Domestic Violence Month, and it is now all over social media. Can you remove it? 

Without hesitation, he said he wasn’t going to do it but he would have someone remove it. 

My feet weren’t moving.

I said I would wait. 

A woman sitting next to me on the bench in the waiting area said that she, too, did not find the poster appropriate. 

About two minutes later, a female police officer took them down and out of sight. I thanked her and received a look at what can be described as - the only thing missing was an eye roll. 

But the posters are gone. Hopefully, for good. 

A friend wondered. What are the decorations like in my precinct?

This wasn’t just a poster for Halloween. It’s a trigger for those who are haunted by violence in their own lives, be it at the hands of a stranger, family member, classmate, and neighbor for the color of their skin or clothing, for what they look like and who they are.

These are dark times. People don’t need a reminder, particularly from the NYPD.

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