Kallos was one of many elected leaders on the Council’s transportation and oversight committees to express alarm about Streetsblog’s report on the eve of Tuesday’s joint hearing on street safety, illegal parking and 311 calls on driver misconduct. I just don’t want them to make something up, which is apparently what they’re doing.” Or if it’s delayed for some reason, I want to hear that. “If they didn’t have enough personnel, I want to hear that. “I want honest reporting from not only the police but from every agency,” he said. Holden introduced a bill in 2018 that would require city agencies unable to respond to 311 complaints to report that in the 311 system. Officers have also closed his 311 complaints in just a few minutes, he said, and reported in the 311 system that they had addressed issues raised when in fact they hadn’t. “I think that’s inappropropriate,” he said. after filing a 311 complaint hours earlier.

Holden said he received phone calls from police officers at 3 a.m. Holden, a Queens Council member, called the issues documented in Streetsblog’s report “a serious problem” - an opinion shaped by his own experience using 311. “The allegations … must be investigated.” Kallos called the allegations detailed by Streetsblog “disturbing,” and he asked anyone who has received such calls to contact his office by emailing should be abusing any power that they have,” he said.

How Streetsblog covered the story last week. In Holden’s case, the police identified themselves. Two people said they believe the voicemails they received from unidentified callers were from NYPD officers seeking to intimidate them into no longer filing such complaints. People interviewed by Streetsblog - including Council Member Bob Holden of Queens - said they had received strange voicemails or phone calls in the middle of the night after filing complaints about driver misconduct to 311. A City Council member called for an investigation into harassing messages that residents said they’ve received after filing 311 reports about driver misconduct to the NYPD, while another Council member said he himself has received “inappropriate” calls from police after filing 311 complaints.Ĭouncil Member Ben Kallos of Manhattan called for the probe after allegations that cops have harassed 311 callers surfaced in two recent Streetsblog stories, as well as a deeper investigation into the Police Department’s handling of 311 reports on illegal parking, chronically reckless driving and abandoned vehicles.

Irc 311