__________________________________________Ask the DA
 

I believe that the kids who hang out in the lobby of my apartment building are selling drugs.  I am a single mother raising a young son, and I fear for his safety.  What can be done about this?

Law-abiding tenants often feel powerless to rid their buildings of drug trafficking and the criminal activity that accompanies it.  Now, tenants and landlords can team up with my office and their local police precinct to combat this behavior through the Formal Trespass Affidavit Program, or, F-TAP. 

In last week’s column, I made reference to the F-TAP program as one example of my office’s response to citizen complaints regarding illegal drug sales in public areas of apartment buildings.  F-TAP is a partnership between the District Attorney’s Office, tenants, building owners and the New York City Police Department.   In order to participate, landlords or managing agents are asked to sign an affidavit authorizing their local police to perform “vertical” patrols in their buildings.  They must provide police with an up-to-date list of tenant residents and keys to the common areas of the building.  Landlords and managing agents are required to prominently post throughout their building signs which read “TENANTS AND THEIR GUESTS ONLY.” 

Local police must then photograph the signs in place, keeping a set of photographs at the precinct and sending copies of the photos to the District Attorney’s Office, along with copies of affidavits and tenant listings.  With all of the above in place, local precincts can then schedule vertical patrols in buildings that are experiencing drug-related crime problems. 

Our homes are our sanctuaries.  It is unacceptable that you should be forced to live in fear in your own home while criminal activity is being conducted outside your front door.  These criminal behaviors negatively impact the quality of life for all residents. By integrating the resources of the District Attorney’s Office, building owners/managers, tenants, and local law enforcement, entrenched criminal activity in multi-family dwellings can be successfully combated.