Westside Crime Prevention Program records
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Date
Creator
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Abstract
This collection documents the aims, internal workings, and external outreach of the Westside Crime Prevention Program, a community-based, not-for-profit organization made up of volunteers who were dedicated to making life on the West Side (from 59th street to 110th street, from the Hudson River to Central Park) safe and secure. The material dates from 1986 to 2006. The Westside Crime Prevention Program Records consists of Board Minutes, newsletters, correspondence and press releases, photographs and ephemera collected from public educational events. In addition, the collection contains program proposals and information concerning organizations associated with the Westside Crime Prevention Program.
Historical note
Westside Crime Prevention Program (WCPP) was founded in 1981 by a group of Upper West Siders in response to a rash of street muggings, burglaries, and auto crime. Marjorie Cohen, a freelance writer who was an Upper West Side resident and witness to the crime in the neighborhood, organized and led the progam as Executive Director beginning in 1988 at the height of the crack epidemic on the Upper West Side. WCPP was a community-based, not-for-profit organization made up of volunteers who were dedicated to making life on the West Side (from 59th street to 110th street, from the Hudson River to Central Park) safe and secure. To accomplish this goal, WCPP developed both a Neighborhood Watch Program and a Safe Haven program that were so successful that they have since been used as models throughout the city. WCPP also lobbied for community policing on the Upper West Side and for increased cooperation between police and residents to address drug and crime problems.
Feeling that the core mission of the organization had been fulfilled, Marjorie Cohen and the members of the Westside Crime Prevention Program decided to disband in 2010.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged in four series, according to the type of document. Series I-III contains records concering the workings of the Westside Crime Prevention Program. Series IV contain other association records of programs that cooperated with the Westside Crime Prevention Program.
Missing Title
- Series I: Minutes and Agendas
- Series II: Printed Material and Administrative Records
- Series III: Photographic Material and Ephemera
- Series IV: Other Associations
Scope and Contents note
The Westside Crime Prevention Records consist primarily of board meeting minutes and agendas, from 1984 to 2002. The meeting minutes and agendas deal primarily with the organization's program development, financial records, and community outreach.
There is also some correspondence and press releases that document the Westside Crime Prevention Program's accomplishment and cooperation with the New York Police Department. The collection also consists of Westside Crime Prevention Program newsletters, program proposals, educational and training manuals and photographic slides of drug dealings and paraphernalia, documentation concerning the associated organizations that cooperated with the Westside Crime Prevention Program, and ephemera from coordinated neighborhood events.
Subjects
Organizations
Topics
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation note
This collection should be cited as the Records of the Westside Crime Prevention Program, MS 2914, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Marjorie Cohen for the Westside Crime Prevention Program, May 2011
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processed by Erin Shaw, 2013.
Repository
Series I: Minutes and Agendas, 1987-2002, inclusive
Scope and Contents note
Series I consists entirely of the Westside Crime Prevention Program board meeting minutes and agendas, from 1984 to 2002. The meeting minutes and agendas deal primarily with the organization's program development, financial records, and community outreach.
Arrangement note
Series I: Board Minutes and Agendas are arranged chronologically.
Westside Drug Task Force: Minutes and Agendas, 1989-1990, inclusive
Westside Drug Task Force: Minutes and Agendas, 1989-1990, inclusive
Westside Drug Task Force: Minutes and Agendas, 1989-1990, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1984, 1986, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1987, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1988, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1989, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1990, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1991, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1992, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1993, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1994, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1995, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1996, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1997, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1998, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 1999, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 2000, inclusive
Board Meetings: Minutes and Agendas, 2001-2002, inclusive
Series II: Print Material and Administrative Records, 1981-2006, inclusive
Scope and Contents note
Series II consists of Westside Crime Prevention Program newsletters, correspondence, program proposals, training materials and handbooks. Correspondence highlights include letters from Police Commissioner Benjamin Ward.
Arrangement note
Series II: Print Material and Administrative Records is arranged chronologically.
Westside Crime Prevention News, 1981-2006, inclusive
Correspondence and Press Releases, 1987-1997, inclusive
Program Proposals, 1989, undated, inclusive
Drug Watch Training Manual, 1991-1992, inclusive
Conflict Resolution Project: Final Report, 1994, inclusive
"Safe Haven" and "Resolution is the Solution" Informational Guide, 1998, inclusive
Crime Prevention Community Handbooks, undated
Series III: Photographic Material and Ephemera, 1986-2004, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents note
Series III consists mostly of educational photographic slides of drug dealings in the Upper West Side. There is also a signed photograph of executive director Marjorie Cohen and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Westside Crime Prevention Program poster and banner, and flyers concerning Westside Crime Prevention community events.
Arragement note
Series III: Photographic Material and Ephemera is arranged chronologically.
Slides of Drug Dealings, 1987, inclusive
Slides of Drug Dealings, circa 1988-1993
Slides of Drug Dealings, 1986-1989, inclusive
Signed photograph of Marjorie Cohen and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 27 February 2004, inclusive
Westside Crime Prevention Program Posters and Flyers, undated
N.Y.P.D. Gear Guard "Safe Haven" Keychain, undated
Westside Crime Prevention Program Banner, undated
Series IV: Other Associations, 1988-1997, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents note
Series IV consists of documents relating to other community organizations or programs that cooperated with the Westside Crime Prevention Program.
Arrangement note
Series IV: Other Associations is arranged alphabetically by organization.