Public Safety: Patrolling and Protecting Downtown’s Streets 

For the Alliance’s 30th anniversary, we’re rolling out 30 stories about 30 of our biggest accomplishments, from our daily public safety and sanitation work, to our small business outreach, to how we helped the neighborhood navigate challenges and even tragedies. Find the whole series here.

Keeping Lower Manhattan safe is one of the most important services we provide at the Alliance. Since 1995, our public safety officers have been ambassadors for the neighborhood and are constantly on alert to help deter crime and assist our community. Sharing an office with the NYPD Downtown Center, the Downtown Alliance’s Public Safety office works closely with the 1st Precinct. Our team of 50 public safety officers patrols the streets 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure that Lower Manhattan continues to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone to live, work and play. 

Our team regularly connects many businesses, tourists, residents and community-based organizations to numerous city and non-city agencies for assistance. In 2024 alone, our officers held 172,000 interactions with the public that addressed quality-of-life conditions and community concerns. From monitoring street vendors and ticket sellers, from reporting illegal parking to making sure that our street furniture is kept in good condition, their regular surveys help keep the district in good order, ensuring that the neighborhood remains secure and enjoyable for all. 

Whether it’s reuniting a lost child with their family, assisting the NYPD in apprehending a dangerous suspect or giving directions to the millions who visit our neighborhood, our renowned Public Safety officers decked out in their recognizable red uniforms are our diplomats, ambassadors and the guardians of our streets.