Gotham's Top Cop

Much has been reported on New York City police commissioner Raymond W. Kelly in his 40-plus years in public service, yet, to the chagrin of the tabloids, he has a way of diffusing anything that could end up as front-page gossip. (Don't ask him about dealing with New York tabloids in the wake of Heath Ledger's death, or anything to do with grilling Mary-Kate Olsen.) As captain, Kelly, 66, has effectively managed the department -- improving relations with the city's black and Latino communities, sinking the crime rate to a record low, and creating the most advanced antiterrorism unit in police history. No Bernie Kerik-style ethic violations here. Gotham's reigning police chief keeps a squeaky-clean rap sheet, and is unfailingly on-message in press interviews.

As the only person to have held every single rank in the NYPD, Kelly joined the force as a police cadet in 1960 and graduated first in his class at the academy. A retired Marine commander who fought in Vietnam, the commish's resume includes top ranks in federal government posts: overseeing the Treasury Department, heading the Customs Service, and a four-year stint as vice president for the Americas of Interpol. Likewise, his personal affairs illustrate the same sense of duty he applies to his work life. Kelly lives in a modest one-bedroom apartment in Battery Park City with his high-school sweetheart, Veronica.

Often hailed as the second most powerful man in city government, the immaculately dressed crime fighter carries himself like a soldier and minds his polished image closely. Described by former boss Mayor David Dinkins as "a straight arrow," Kelly has a brusque, no-nonsense quality to him and a calm intensity even during play, as I discovered a couple years back as the top cop's Pictionary partner. (Full disclosure: His youngest son and I once dated and remain close friends.) Recently, I was reunited with the commissioner when he invited Radar to One Police Plaza for a chat about Giuliani and Bloomberg's political ambitions, the ever-present threat of nukes, and why, in New York City, big brother is always watching.

Radar: Thanks for having me in your office today, sir. Wow ... Would that be Teddy Roosevelt's desk you're sitting behind?

Kelly: Yeah, it's pretty messy right now. I apologize. Roosevelt was president of the board of police commissioners, which was the entity in existence before there was a single police commissioner. There was a lot of corruption here then, and he took on a lot of it. In 1901 the police department transitioned to one commissioner. That list over there [pointing to a plaque on the right wall of his office] is a list of all 41 of them. There's four Murphys on that list and two Kellys -- I'm both Kellys.


Radar: Did you aspire to be like Roosevelt early on?

Kelly: You know, I didn't really focus on him. I can't say I had any great role models. Maybe [John F.] Kennedy to a certain extent -- he was somebody I thought about as a young person -- but his time as president was short.


Radar: As head of the NYPD, you've improved race relations in the city, lowered the crime rate significantly, and revamped your department into a world-class counterterrorism operation. Sounds like a pretty impressive list of accomplishments. Any one you're particularly proud of?

Kelly: Well, I don't know if it's so much about being proud, but I think we had a lot of challenges when this administration came in. You'll have to remember that we were here four months after the attack of September 11. It was still literally smoking at Ground Zero when this administration came in. We were still looking for bodies. I came to Ground Zero and carried out some of these bodies myself. There were a lot of dire predictions of what was going to happen to New York City. Crime was going to go way up because it had been reduced to irreducible lows. Homelessness was going to break out. All the while, the police force had to be reduced in size because of impending budget problems brought on by 9/11.

If you look back over that period of time, a lot of good things have happened. I would submit that we've had the best relations that this department has ever had with the community that we serve. We police the most diverse community in the world, and we have increased the diversity of the department in a significant way just on this administration's watch. I think we have hired almost 40 percent new people since Michael Bloomberg's administration came in.

We have also put in the most robust, comprehensive counterterrorism program of any city in the world. We've devoted 1,000 police each day to counterterrorism work. At the same time, we're down 5,000 police officers now from where we were on September 11, 2001. In essence, a 12 percent reduction in our resources and a reduction in headcount. Yet crime has been reduced. 2007 was by far the lowest year in recorded history of homicides in New York City. We had 496 homicides. In 1990, we had 2,245 homicides. The difference is truly remarkable.


Radar: How about the lack of federal funding from Homeland Security? Has that been a challenge for the NYPD in protecting New York City?

Kelly: That's a separate issue. It is a challenge, but we've been able to do the things we think we need to do based on using city funds. We have spent anywhere from $200 to $230 million a year on our counterterrorism initiatives. The obligation falls on the mayor and to another extent others in the city government, because we have to balance our budget every year. We're getting the money to do what I believe we need to do to protect the city. Would we like more money from Washington? Yes. Do we need more money? Yes. But the money has been produced by New York City to allow us to do this -- at the expense of other city services.


Radar: Such as?

Kelly: Difficult to say, but it's coming out of the city budget.


Radar: If you had more money from the Feds, what could New York City have that it doesn't have now?

Kelly: We're looking for personnel cost. You know, the old boots on the ground. We're not able to use federal funds to any great degree to reimburse us for use of personnel. They've had a philosophical position that federal funds should not be used for personnel cost. We argue against them.


Radar: Keeping New York City safe now seems far more complex than it was before 9/11, when you served under Mayor Dinkins.

Kelly: Well, the job is much more complex in the sense that every decision has to be factored against the threat of terrorism. I mean, just the fact that we are devoting 1,000 officers every day, that means there are opportunity costs to doing that, things that you can't do that you would normally do.


Radar: What are your biggest concerns as far as threats to the city?

Kelly: The biggest concern always has to be a nuclear event. Is that a possibility? Yes. Is it something we guard against? Yes. We have a new system we're putting in place in conjunction with the federal government called Securing the Cities, where they've allotted $40 million for equipment to be deployed in areas 50 miles away from New York City and in concentric circles coming into the core of New York City to help detect radiological equipment. We're working with 200 other agencies and entities that have signed on to a memorandum of agreement, so we can all work together to protect the city. That would be, of course, the highest and most drastic and devastating threat that could happen. Then there's always the dirty bomb possibility and explosive devices. And obviously you can't discount an airplane attack again.


Radar: So another terrorist attack on New York City is inevitable?

Kelly: No, I won't say an attack on New York City is inevitable. We're doing more here than in any other city in the world to protect ourselves. Nobody has a crystal ball, but I can't see us doing much more than we're already doing now to protect the city.

We're putting a system in place, the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative. It's a counterterrorism overlay that will protect the southern part of Manhattan from Canal Street south, where you see the clustering of the financial service industry. We need additional security, in my judgment, and we've put the plan in place that will consist of about 3,000 additional public- and private-sector cameras, about 130 license plate readers -- some mobile, most stationary. We will have physical barriers to wall off the area in extreme situations. We have a coordination center that we've already contracted for that will have private-sector and public-sector stakeholders working there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We hope to use predictive technology. Let's say a truck goes around the block twice, or someone appears taking pictures twice or three times in the same area, that'll set off a warning of some sort.


Radar: Sounds a little 1984. Will we soon be living in a police state?

Kelly: I don't think so, because these are all public areas, and I think the public has gotten past that. You'll hear an argument by the Civil Liberties Union about us recording these pictures and keeping them on file, but I don't think there are any significant constituencies that exist these days for that position. I think people are accepting the fact that their picture is taken in a public environment. If you go into a department store, someone is probably looking at you 30 times while you're in the store. That's the world in which we live. In London there are 500,000 cameras. People have accepted it there, and I think people have accepted it here.


Radar: Still, do you think there will be a time when intruding on one's private space will be necessary?

Kelly: No, I don't think it'll be necessary other than on a criminal case, in which you'd go to court to get a warrant to do that.


Radar: Let's move on. Do you think [former New York City police commissioner] Bernard Kerik's indictment has tarnished the reputation of the NYPD?

Kelly: I'm going to stay away from that. That's for other people to judge.


Radar: But since Kerik was Giuliani's commissioner, his scandal must have affected Giuliani's run for the presidency?

Kelly: Again, that's for the voters to judge. It's inappropriate for me to comment on his political campaign.


Radar: How about comparing and contrasting Giuliani's and Bloomberg's handling in terms of their take on terrorism? Some argue that Giuliani practices the politics of fear by hyping 9/11, while Bloomberg in comparison talks down terrorism. Do you think that's true?

Kelly: I have no reason to compare them at all.


Radar: But do you think Giuliani hypes 9/11?

Kelly: I really have no clue. I really haven't followed it that closely. It's a full-time job here. I can't tell you what's going on in the political department.


Radar: What New York papers do you read daily?

Kelly: I read all the papers, but not cover to cover. I have a bit of tunnel vision, because I look at the law enforcement news.


Radar: Do you consider yourself a workaholic?

Kelly: No, I don't. But mine is the type of job you either do it or you don't, by which I mean it's full-time, total immersion, not a job you do on a three-quarter basis. You have to be fully engaged. The job, to be done right, requires this level of commitment.


Radar: You've said that you're a great admirer of Theodore Roosevelt. As we all know, he was successful in electoral politics after leaving the crime beat. Perhaps you share Roosevelt's ambitions?

Kelly: The presidency? I'm too old for that!


Radar: I was actually referring to a run for mayor in 2009 -- or should I even ask?

Kelly: What I say to that is -- and I really mean it -- I'm totally focused on this job. I have no plans to run for elected office.


Radar: But could you be persuaded otherwise? Are there any factors that would make you want to run?

Kelly: Not so far. [Chuckles.]


Radar: But you have such a high approval rating. Everyone loves you!

Kelly: I don't know about that! This is not a job that makes everyone love you. If that were true, you're not doing your job right.


Radar: Fair enough. Speaking of New York City mayors, I read in Forbes that Bloomberg might announce he's running for president now that the Super Tuesday primaries are over. Care to comment?

Kelly: I can only take the mayor at his word, and he said that he's not running for president.


Radar: Well, then, let's speculate. Do you think an Independent could ever win the presidency?

Kelly: If ever it could happen, we have the candidate in Michael Bloomberg. He has a tremendous track record of success as mayor. Look at the conditions that he found when he came into office in January 2002. Look at his success in business. Then look at his personal resources. We've never had that confluence of talent and resources and track record coming together and working for a candidate at a time when the country is in a state of flux and following an administration that isn't popular. If ever an Independent could win -- at least in my lifetime -- this is the opportunity.

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