The NYPD recently entered into an agreement to provide security at more than 100 polling sites that the Dominican Republic’s government will operate in the city later this year to give expats in New York the chance to vote in the Caribbean country’s national elections, the Daily News has learned.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban traveled to the Dominican Republic last month to sign the agreement, under which NYPD officers will help guard the 110 sites set to run in the city for the country’s May 19 presidential and legislative elections, according to a press release from the country’s Central Election Board.
The release, dated Dec. 27, says Caban was joined on the trip by multiple NYPD assistants, including Det. Chad Joseph Morrit, a senior official assigned to the commissioner’s office.
There are more than 273,000 Dominican voters residing in New York City, making up 35% of all of the country’s election-eligible expats, the release also says.
It was not immediately clear how much the NYPD election security-related initiative will cost, how many officers will be involved or who will pick up the tab.
A spokesman for Mayor Adams declined to comment and referred to the NYPD press office, which would not answer questions about the details of the initiative Thursday.
The Dominican Central Election Board did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Word of the effort comes on the heels of Adams ordering deep budgets cuts across all city agencies, including the NYPD.
As part of the cuts, the Police Department is under a hiring freeze that resulted in the cancellation of five Police Academy classes, the first of which was supposed to start early this year. Adams says the belt-tightening is necessary to offset his administration’s spending on providing housing and services for newly-arrived migrants.
Tarik Sheppard, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of public information, this week said the Police Foundation, which is funded with private donations, paid for travel and lodging for the commissioner and members of his security detail on the trip.
Sheppard did not say how travel and accommodations for other NYPD officials on the trip was bankrolled or if any city taxpayer dollars were used during it.
Along with budget cuts, Adams last year instituted a freeze on city-funded out-state-travel for all agencies, with exemptions for “critical” trips related to public safety and public health.
With Rocco Parascandola and Thomas Tracy