The New York City Police Museum (NYCPM) is a museum that has featured the history and contributions of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

since its establishment in 1845. The museum was located in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, near

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

and the

South Street Seaport The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District, in Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district ...

prior to losing its home due to Hurricane Sandy. While one of the museum's primary focuses is a memorial to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, the museum contains a wide range of information on the history of the NYPD. It also allows visitors to simulate a police firefight, and judges whether or not the shooting was correct, allowing civilians to have some understanding of situations that police face.

Planning

On February 16, 1998, plans for a police museum were unveiled when then- Police Commissioner

Howard Safir Howard Safir (born February 24, 1942) is an American law enforcement professional who served as the 39th New York City Police Commissioner from 1996 to 2000 and the 29th New York City Fire Commissioner from 1994 to 1996, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. ...

and the Alliance for Downtown New York (the local Business improvement district) made $5 million available for the museum in return for a new police substation in

. Funding for the museum was criticized and classified by some as the buying of police protection for a given area at the expense of another that could not afford to broker a similar deal. As a result,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

cancelled the funding for the museum two days later. In March of the same year, the New York City Police Museum

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

corporation was created, and in April 1999, the museum opened, although the official unveiling was not held until January 19, 2000.

Collection and Programming

Among the items in the items in the museum's collection are the original New York Yankees logo, which was designed by

Louis Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

and predates the team's existence. Throughout its history, the museum's locations have included a 1972

Plymouth Fury The Plymouth Fury is a model of automobile that was produced by Plymouth from 1955 until 1989. It was introduced for the 1956 model year as a sub-series of the Plymouth Belvedere, becoming a separate series one level above the contemporary Belved ...

, a model of a jail cell, a timeline of transportation, lock-picking tools belonging to Willie Sutton, an extensive exhibit on September 11 that occupies the museum's third floor, and a

Hall of Heroes ''Hall of Heroes'' was an American independent comic book company that existed in the mid-to-late 1990s. Based in Elkhart, Indiana, Hall of Heroes operated from 1993 to 1999. The company's longest-running titles were two volumes of the antholo ...

that includes the name and badge of every NYPD officer killed in the line of duty, starting with David Martin on August 6, 1861. The exhibit that the museum assembled for the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks allowed visitors to gain an immediate impression of the physical damage caused by the attacks and the debris that fell around

Ground Zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the grou ...

. The museum was also known for its long-running car show.

Locations

The museum, which grew from a gallery housed at the

New York City Police Academy The New York City Police Academy is the police academy of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Within the organization of the New York City Police Department, the Chief of Training oversees the Training Bureau, which includes the Police A ...

, opened at 26 Broadway at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

in January 2000 and re-opened in a new location at 100 Old Slip, former home of the First Precinct, in January 2002. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused substantial damage at 100 Old Slip, and the museum reopened on October 24, 2013 at 45 Wall Street. That location closed in 2014, and the museum's status remains unclear as of 2021. In 2019, the loss of the museum was cited as a part of the increased lack of understanding about policing in New York City and beyond.

Broadway location

From its January 2000 opening, the museum was privately run with support from the city, including more than ten years of free rent and staffing by police officers. Private donors provided more than $2 million for the construction of the museum, while the city contributed $1 million. The museum has been criticized by some who believe it glosses over some of the low moments of the department in its quest to show the good work of the Department. The new museum replaced a small gallery that had been housed in the police academy on East 20th Street. Among the exhibits at the new location were: a display of the evolution of police uniforms since their inception in 1853, a gun used by

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

's gang in the 1928 murder of

Frankie Yale Francesco Ioele (; January 22, 1893 – July 1, 1928), known as Frankie Yale or Frankie Uale, was an Italian-American gangster based in Brooklyn and second employer of Al Capone. Early life Yale was born in Longobucco, Italy, on January 22, ...

, the first machine gun used in a

gangland killing Gangland killing is a euphemism for a murder apparently connected to organized crime. According to FBI Uniform Crime Reports, in 2013 there were 138 gangland killings or 1 percent of all homicides in the United States. This does not include juve ...

in New York, and a gift from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to the City of New York following the assassination of Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

in 1909, the only member of NYPD to be killed in the line of duty on foreign soil. Other exhibits include a green and white radio car, antique

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s and a wooden desk from the 46th Precinct in Morris Heights,

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

Old Slip location

In January 2002, the museum re-opened in a new location on Old Slip, closer to

. The new premises, appropriately, were the old First Precinct Building, designed by the partnership of

Richard Howland Hunt Richard Howland Hunt (March 14, 1862 – July 12, 1931) was an American architect and member of the Hunt family of Vermont who worked with his brother Joseph Howland Hunt in New York City at Hunt & Hunt. The brothers were sons of Richard Mor ...

and Joseph Howland Hunt and built in 1909-11. The landmarked building was a model precinct house in its time.New York Architectural Images: First Precinct Building
From 1884 to 1973 this Florentine Renaissance palazzo with its bold rusticated facades was the home of the First Precinct, which one historian called "the most important police precinct in the world." That precinct closed due to a corruption scandal in 1977, and museum officials saw a move to this location as an opportunity to connect with the department's history. Construction and renovation of the new space cost more than $4 million and exhibition space grew by nearly 45%

Controversy

Although recognized for its importance in documenting NYPD's archives, the museum has been mired in controversy since its start. Then-police chief

faced criticism for a deal, later rejected, with a business group that offered to pay for renovations at the museum in exchange for a police substation in the financial district. In 2001, museum director Sgt. Thomas Gambino and a lieutenant were revealed to be driving expensive automobiles leased by the museum, a private institution. They were also using prime office space near the museum without paying rent, another violation of police regulations that prohibit officers from accepting gifts. They were, along with several officers, reassigned to other police duties.

References

Explanatory notes Citations

External links

* * {{Authority control 1999 establishments in New York City Financial District, Manhattan Government buildings completed in 1909 Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan History museums in New York City Law enforcement museums in the United States Museums established in 1999 Museums in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan New York City Police Department buildings

Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...