Advocates push Mamdani for more accountability after NYPD mishandles Rozario case

Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week rolled out new police reforms that advocates for Win Rozario’s family say don’t go far enough.  Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

By Ryan Schwach

Criminal justice advocates and Win Rozario’s family want Mayor Zohran Mamdani to go deeper on a set of police reforms he introduced on Monday, which he said were an “obligation” to the Queens teen and his family.

Mamdani announced new reforms to the NYPD’s use-of-force policies and practices in response to the department’s mishandling of the Rozario case – an officer involved in the teen’s shooting was improperly allowed to retire while still under investigation by both the NYPD and the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

However, criminal justice advocates who have represented the Rozario family since his death in a 2024 shooting involving NYPD officers said this week that the mayor’s new reforms aren’t enough.

“While we appreciate Mayor Mamdani’s intent behind these reforms, they fall far short of what New Yorkers, including Win Rozario’s family, need and deserve,” Justice Committee Executive Director Loyda Colon said in a statement. “The problem is not that the NYPD needs more training or to revise its policies, but that the Department consistently evades oversight, transparency and meaningful change, violates the law and its own rules to do so, and shields officers who harm and kill New Yorkers from facing discipline.”

Mamdani’s new policy announcement came a few days after it was reported that Salvatore Alongi, one of the officers involved in the shooting, had retired, avoiding disciplinary charges from the Civilian Complaint Review Board in an apparent violation of the watchdog group’s agreement with the NYPD.

“Alongi’s retirement with an enhanced pension and the NYPD’s failure to notify the CCRB and report him for decertification is a glaring example of this,” Colon said. “Previous administrations tried to require the NYPD to review and adjust its own policies and it has never worked.”

The Eagle reported on Friday that Alongi qualified for accidental disability retirement, which he applied for before being hit with the CCRB’s charges. Accidental disability retirement, often known as “three-quarters,” allows an officer to retire early due to a mental or physical injury sustained in the line of duty and includes a yearly pension worth 75 percent of their final salary.

The department blamed a civilian employee for failing to alert the CCRB to Alongi’s retirement so that the board could move quickly to hold a trial in the case. The employee was demoted and reassigned, according to the NYPD.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch personally apologized for the “human error” in a statement.

The family of Win Rozario is still seeking consequences for the officers involved in the shooting of the then 19-year-old at his Queens home more than two years ago.  Screenshot via New York State Attorney General’s Office

The NYPD added that following the mistake, it had strengthened its policies regarding officers facing a pending trial with the CCRB. The department said there will now be two layers of review for CCRB matters, and the department advocate will personally notify the CCRB of any retirement application by an officer with a pending CCRB case.

Mamdani’s new set of policies goes further and also intends to change the rules that police follow during incidents like the one that led to Rozario’s death in March 2024, which came while the teen was in the middle of a mental health crisis.

In the coming months, the city will review all of the NYPD’s use-of-force policies and practices.

The mayor specifically mentioned Rozario when announcing the reforms.

“When the government uses force against a New Yorker, the standard for accountability must be at its highest. Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully and only when necessary,” Mamdani said. “We have an obligation to Win’s family and to every New Yorker who calls for help in a moment of crisis. This review is about making sure our policies reflect that responsibility, that our officers have the guidance and training they need and that New Yorkers and their families can trust their city will treat them with care and dignity.”

The Mamdani administration said it will increase funding for the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD by $2.6 million to restore staffing levels at that office and help it investigate policies and practices that undermine accountability for police misconduct. The city will also formalize pre-existing policies around information sharing following incidents of police misconduct, including releasing final NYPD Force Investigation Division reports to families of victims.

The Justice Committee, which has represented the Rozario family since the shooting, said the mayor should also appoint a new inspector general to oversee the department, and publicly release information about officers involved in shooting incidents within 24 hours.

“The entire NYPD discipline process needs to be transformed to ensure that officers who kill and harm New Yorkers are fired,” Colon said.

With Alongi now retired, the other officer involved in the Rozario shooting, Matthew Cianfrocco, is still facing a CCRB investigation. A trial date has not yet been set.

Historic Queens rec center reopens after massive renovation

The Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center in Rego Park reopened last week after a four-year renovation.  Photo via the New York City Parks Department

By Ryan Schwach

A Rego Park community facility built during the Great Depression for $100,000 reopened last week following a four-year, $26 million renovation.

The Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center, once used as a firing range for Queens veterans, reopened its doors to local residents on Friday as an entirely renovated community and recreation center.

Parks Department Commissioner Tricia Shimamura and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the reopening, which brings a more accessible and modern recreation center to the middle of Central Queens.

“Every New Yorker should feel proud of their public spaces,” the mayor said. “We’re reopening Lost Battalion Hall just in time for the weather to cool down and New Yorkers to head indoors to continue playing their favorite sports all winter long.

“With new equipment, accessibility improvements and safety upgrades, Lost Battalion Hall will be even more welcoming to New Yorkers. Whether you’re here to shoot hoops, work out or hang out, this is your recreation center,” the mayor added.

The four-year, top-to-bottom renovation included the redesign of the entrance and lobby, refurbished fitness spaces, updated restrooms, a newly painted basketball court, new equipment and upgraded safety and building systems.

The center’s weightlifting area, spin room and fitness room were also upgraded, as were locker areas, storage facilities and bathrooms.

Most of the work was dedicated to increasing the accessibility and sustainability of the center.

“Rego Park children and families have long deserved high-quality recreation space to call their own, especially in a community that glaringly lacks sizable parks or playgrounds,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. “We are delivering exactly that this massive refurbishment of Lost Battalion Hall, which has been the anchor of this neighborhood for generations, ensuring our neighbors have safe spaces that support our physical and mental wellness is a top priority of my administration.”

Lost Battalion Hall has a long and fabled history in Central Queens.

It was completed in 1939 as a project for the Works Progress Administration, the New Deal program created by President Franklin Roosevelt to give jobs to Americans and improve public works and infrastructure.

Its $100,000 price tag is worth about $2.3 million in today’s buying power, less than the $26 million renovation cost.

The building was first used as a firing range and drill hall for the Queens Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, according to Forgotten New York.

It became Parks Department property in 1960.

“The Lost Battalion Hall has become a staple in Queens for 87 years,” Queens Councilmember Jim Gennaro said. “It is where neighbors come together, where kids can stay active, where seniors can socialize and where people of all ages and backgrounds can unwind. And now, with these renovations, we have a facility that's better equipped to serve the community here for generations to come.”

A new basketball court and a host of other improvements welcomed Queens locals back into the Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center in Rego Park last week.  Photo via City Hall

“I'm thrilled to see Lost Battalion Hall getting a new lease on life – especially after such a long wait,” the lawmaker said.

The facility was closed for over a year during the COVID pandemic. It reopened only to be quickly shuttered again to undergo the renovation.

“I am happy to see the return of Lost Battalion Hall, as this investment means so much to families,” Assemblymember Larinda Hooks said. “Access to and investment in youth recreation centers should be a prevalent concern. It is important that every community should have at least one recreation center for young people to enjoy as a safe space to congregate and have fun.”

The facility was named for the “Lost Battalion” of World War I, a unit of mainly New Yorkers that held its ground for five days while surrounded by German troops in the Argonne Forest in France.