December 2003
Best of the Finest
and Bravest:
P.B.A. President Patrick Lynch
By Liz Goff
Welcome to New York City, home of the drive-by shooting, quality of life crime
and John Gotti.
The once-crime ridden Big Apple has been crawling with cops since 1995, when
"Team Bratton" transformed its streets into the safest, nationwide.
Behind the headlines is a force of 38,000 cops who catch the killers, crooks and
criminals who prey on New Yorkers. Patrick Lynch is one of those cops.
Lynch, 40, patrolled the streets of New York City for 16 years. He suffered
through stifling summers in sweaty precinct locker rooms, tackled bad guys to
the pavement, and developed street smarts as only NYC cops can.
But these days, Lynch has turned in his uniform for pinstripes. The Bayside
native was recently elected to his second term as president of the New York City
Patrolman's Benevolent Association (PBA). And although he walks a different beat,
Lynch is still every inch a cop. He walks the walk, talks the talk, and wields
a blend of political power — and his street smarts — to lobby for what's
best for the city's cops. Patrick Lynch is our "Best of the Finest."
Lynch went on "the job" in 1984, when violent crime had invaded
every inch of the city.
"It was tough to be on the street back then, "Lynch said. "Guns,
drugs, violence were snapping up victims left and right." Enter former New
York City Mayor Rudy Giulianni and Police Commissioner William Bratton, who computerized
crime and sent scores of cops onto the street to annihilate it. "New York
City police officers did a phenomenal job," Lynch said. "But they have
yet to reap the credit — or the reward for their accomplishments."
Lynch said the success continued until recently, when experienced cops started
to retire and the NYPD's numbers tumbled. "Policies have changed, "Lynch
said. "Working conditions are awful, and there is little or no incentive
for veteran cops to stay on the job, "he said. "And the city continues
in its refusal to pay cops what they deserve."
"NYC cops made the streets livable, "Lynch said, "but we are
now in danger of having staffing levels decrease to a point where criminals head
back to the street. "We had enough police officers to go out and overwhelm
criminals, " he said. "Enough of us to keep a lid on crime. Staffing
levels are so low now that criminals are willing to take a chance to see if they're
going to get away with it, "he said. The current "crisis situation"
could cause the city to "slide back" to levels of crime that "we
saw in the 1970's and 80's," Lynch said."Regardless of budget restraints,
the city must find money to hire more cops."
Lynch was first elected to head the PBA in 1999. Since his re-election on
June 6, he has spent more of his time trying to drive home the importance of proper
staffing levels to city and state officials. Unlike his predecessor, Lou Mattarazza,
Lynch prefers to lobby for the city's cops behind the scenes, but he is not afraid
to call on the press to demand increased wages and better working conditions for
New York's Finest. He is an intelligent, tough negotiator — and when it
comes to backing his rank and file, he isn't afraid to "get his Irish up"
to show that he means business. Insiders at City Hall refer to the PBA as "proverbial
800-pound gorilla," packing a punch with political endorsements and campaign
contributions. Lynch wields his union's power with a blend of street smarts and
political savvy, insiders said. "He is certainly not someone you are going
to be able to ignore," they said.
Roots
The seventh of seven children (six boys and one girl), Lynch attributes much
of his success to his upbringing — and to life lessons he learned as a student
at St. Robert Bellarmine School in Bayside.
Lynch's father, a Flushing native, worked for 30 years as a motorman for the
MTA, snaking the city's subway cars from station to station. He met a young woman
from Kiltimagh, Ireland, "in County Mayo," Lynch said. "She was
wooed and won over" by the motorman from Queens, Lynch said. "And the
rest is history."
A paper route, sports and school activities filled his days as a "kid
growing up in Bayside," Lynch said. He joined the school band, and met the
young woman who would be his wife, Kathleen Casey.
" I was a regular kid," he said, "checking out the local fields
for pick-up games, rooting for the Mets, and holding down a summer and after-school
jobs for pocket money."
Lynch said he became a cop because he "wanted to be a cop" and graduated
from the Police academy in 1984. He spent 15 years at the 90th Precinct in Willamsburgh,
Brooklyn — including three years as the command's community relations officer,
before his first successful bid for PBA president.
Lynch lives with his wife and sons 12- and 10-years-old, in a house located
just three blocks from the house where he was raised. H e "loves" all
of Queens, but is partial to Bayside, a "great neighborhood with a great
family atmosphere, "he said.
"It (Bayside) is diverse, but is easily accessible to the city"
and "what the city is all about," Lynch said. " And it's close
enough to Long Island for kids to get a taste of both worlds."
Lynch said he has no intention of ever living " anywhere but Queens.
This is home, "he said. And he will continue to battle for issues that affect
city cops — and the city's neighborhoods.
"The biggest concern, especially in the outer boroughs like Queens, is
to have the proper number of police officers in those neighborhoods, "Lynch
said. "We cannot overestimate the safety factor involved here.
"The city has to set its budget restraints and make cuts, "he added.
"But City Hall must put safety of its citizens first — and all else follows."
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