Antonio Bolfo

This photography project follows one IMPACT unit in particular, consisting of thirty novices assigned to housing projects in the South Bronx, one of the poorest, most notorious neighborhoods in America. The PSA 7 precinct serves as headquarters for this unit, which falls under the umbrella of the unique NYPD Housing Bureau. This Bureau’s IMPACT cops are notable for their distinctive policy of having to patrol by foot in and around the buildings, without access to police vehicles. The jurisdiction of this 30-man unit consists of four Housing Project Developments: Patterson, Mott Haven, Mitchell and Millbrook Houses. It is impossible to say how many residents there really are because of the large number of illegal tenants, but some estimates are as high as 15 000. With one-third of the 30-man IMPACT team having a day off at any given time, that leaves only twenty cops to patrol this enormous community on a daily basis. But with the current economic crisis forcing the NYPD to slash overall budgets and resulting in dwindling resources, IMPACT has been forced to recycle these demoralized officers, extending the remaining policemen in the unit indefinitely. Because advancement is usually possible only after an IMPACT period has been completed, the situation makes already low morale even worse. And yet the bosses at IMPACT have demanded an increase in arrests, asking discontented officers to do more with less. Despite their raw status and conflicting responsibilities, these young officers have brought crime to record lows. But the focus on arrests comes at a price: sacrificing community policing, and therefore creating a tense relationship between the neighborhood’s beleaguered residents and the overstrained cops.

Antonio Bolfo