Chief Steven Silks, borough
cop, mourned after suicide
The late NYPD Deputy Chief Steven Silks.
Photo courtesy of NYPD
Longwood drug rehab plan stirs community opposition
Councilman Salamanca (c) expressed his and the community’s concerns regarding Longwood’s
proposed state rehabilitation and clinical treatment facility.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Rafael Salamanca’s Offi ce
away, and a needle exchange program
two blocks away, as evidence
that the area was saturated.
“Although…the clients will be on
24-hour lock down, the committee
strongly feels that this part of the district
is oversaturated with support
services and the committee needs to
account for the community interest,”
stated the committee in its letter to
OASAS.
Councilman Rafael Salamanca
said that he believes it is only right
that other communities in the borough
shoulder these types of programs
as well.
“Not everyone that is addicted to
opioids is from the south Bronx; it is
a borough wide and citywide issue,”
said Salamanca. “They come from
Throggs Neck, Morris Park and Riverdale,
but the programs are in my
district.”
The Light of Hope program will
operate by referral, meaning the patients
may not necessarily live in the
community or even the borough, said
Salamanca.
The councilman said that the proposed
program was already rejected
by Community Board 1 before the
new site was chosen.
Guillermina Martinez of Light of
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR UNE 14-20, 2019 3
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A plan to site an inpatient drug
rehabilitation program is sparking
controversy and concerns about
over-saturation of social programs.
Community Board 2 organized a
rally on Wednesday, June 5 to oppose
a plan by Light of Hope Services to
locate a 50-bed inpatient drug treatment
and rehabilitation program,
known as an 820 program, in a building
currently under construction at
915 Dawson Street.
CB 2 had already rejected the proposal
in a written opinion to the NYS
Offi ce of Alcoholism and Substance
Abuse Services on Friday, May 24 after
Light of Hope Services made its
presentation to CB 2’s Housing Committee
in April.
The committee felt that the number
of social programs nearby, as well
as two schools in the immediate area
made the site unsuitable and that the
area already had its fair share of programs,
said Ralph Acevedo, CB 2 district
manager.
It offered to help the provider
fi nd an alternate location, but Light
of Hope refused to change its plans,
said Acevedo.
“We were not saying ‘not in our
backyard,’” said Acevedo. “We were
tying to say let’s fi nd somewhere else
more appropriate.”
Acevedo said the board felt that
Dawson Street and Intervale Avenue,
two densely populated streets, was
the wrong location for a transitional
program.
“Light of Hope was just not willing
work with us,” said the district
manger. “We know the state makes
the ultimate call, we just hope that
everything is taken into consideration.”
The committee in its letter cited
a new senior residence in the immediate
area, four supportive housing
programs in a three-block radius, a
substance abuse provider one block
Continued on page 84
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A top NYPD chief took his life on
the verge of mandatory retirement.
Chief Steven Silks, a 62-yearold
deputy chief in charge of Patrol
Borough Queens North and a resident
of Allerton died from a self-infl
icted gunshot wound as he sat in
his vehicle in Forest Hills, Queens
on Wednesday, June 5.
Silks began his 39-year career in
the 52nd Precinct and he was a commanding
offi cer of the Rodman’s
Neck pistol range and training center
in the late 1990s, friends said.
A number of people who were
close with Silks described him as a
personable cop who was also a dedicated
athlete who once climbed to the
basecamp of Mount Everest, rowed
crew at SUNY Stony Brook, cycled
from California to New York and was
an excellent marksman.
Friend and ex-cop Bill Stanton,
from City Island, said that Silks grew
up in the Bronx and worked in multiple
commands in the borough.
Stanton, a safety and security
expert, said that he drew on Silk’s
knowledge to write a chapter in a
book he recently published.
“He cleaned out his locker, drove
two blocks, and put a gun to his head,
which is tragic,” said Stanton, adding
“His whole life was wrapped up
in the NYPD.”
Tom Fahey, a retired assistant
chief and former commanding offi cer
of Manhattan detectives, said he met
Silks about 20 years ago, and said he
was impressed by how much he cared
about the cops under his command.
“He was always watchful to keep
his cops out of trouble, and anything
he did was he did with a great deal of
energy and seriousness,” said Fahey,
adding that when Silks ran the Rodman’s
Neck facility he was always advocating
for better equipment for to
keep police offi cers safe.
Fahey said that the cause of the
chief’s action remains “a tragedy and
a mystery.”
He said he spoke to him about a
week earlier because friends told
him he had sounded depressed, and
at that point Silks indicated that he
felt he had things he still wanted to
do.
“I didn’t realize the separation
anxiety was as deep as it was,” said
Fahey.
“If you ever called him and needed
him he would be there in a heartbeat,
said Fahey, adding “We would have
loved if he had always called someone
up and said ‘look, I’m having a
problem.’”
Stephen Albanese, a second grade
detective in the NYPD’s fi rearms
unit and the former department gunsmith,
said that when Silks arrived to
command the Rodman’s Neck range
he immersed himself in learning
about fi rearms, holsters, vests, and
training in order to make police offi -
cers safer by providing them with the
best equipment possible and pushing
manufactures to correct defects.
“He was really concerned with
cops as far as training went,” said Albanese.
“He was really interested in
what was good for the police offi cer.”
He immersed himself so much,
recalled Albanese, that manufacturers
of weapons and safety gear would
seek out his advice.
He was dedicated to making sure
that if a police offi cer was involved
in a situation, his or her fi rearm
worked 100 percent of the time, said
Albanese.
Albanese said that he was devastated
by the news.
Both Silk’s friend Lou Palumbo
and Stanton said they would invite
the chief over their homes on holidays
like Thanksgiving and Christ-
Continued on page 84