Kevin Maloney
April 22, 2015 By Michael Florio
The commanding officer of the 114th Precinct in Astoria has moved on after being in charge for just 18 months.
Deputy Inspector Kevin Maloney has been promoted to the Firearm Suppression Unit and is no longer with the precinct, according to Detective Edwin Negron of the 114 precinct.
Negron said that the firearm unit has only just been formed and that Maloney will be based out of the First Deputy Commissioners office.
Ann Bruno, President of the 114 Precinct’s Community Council, announced the news of Maloney’s departure at the community board monthly meeting last night.
“He has only been here for a year and a half,” Bruno said. “He deserves it [the promotion], but we didn’t want to lose him.”
“The community liked him very much,” she added.
The news of his departure came last Friday.
Under Maloney, crime in the precinct rose 1% in 2014 compared to 2013. However, the number of murders fell from 4 to 2 and there was a decline in the number of rapes and felony assaults.
However, there was a significant increase in the number of burglaries reported last year, increasing 17 percent compared to 2013.
Crime has dropped under Maloney this year, down nearly 19 percent through April 12th, compared to at this point last year. Every major crime is down except for murder, which has jumped from one incident at this time last year to three.
Both Bruno and Negron said that the Police Commissioner is likely to appoint a new commanding officer within the next week or two. They do not know who is likely to replace him.
In the meantime, Executive Officer Malaney is in charge of the precinct, Bruno said.
Bruno said that it is fairly common for commanding officers to stay at the 114th for short periods of time.
“The 114 is a promotion house,” she said. “The deputy inspector’s know that within two years or so they will get a promotion.”
