It was removed from a quiet first day on the job for the brand new head of the NYPD’s Housing Bureau.
Housing Chief Martine Materasso instantly needed to deal with a disaster when she stepped into the function final month — a crazed gunman had gone on a taking pictures spree that left two individuals lifeless at NYCHA developments in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
“The performing started that evening at midnight,” Materasso, 45, just lately mentioned of being named “performing chief” of the bureau on Dec. 5, when taking pictures suspect Sundance Oliver, 28, allegedly launched his rampage.
Materasso, who has since been appointed full chief, spoke to The Put up final week whereas strolling by way of NYCHA’s Smith Homes on the Decrease East Facet, the place a monument stands to 21-year-old Kevon Langston, considered one of Oliver’s alleged victims.
“Sadly, generally it simply looks as if you’ve got that darkish cloud over you once you transfer,” she mentioned. “One thing simply at all times occurs.”
The previous NYPD counterterrorism chief mentioned she plans on cleansing home — making tackling violence and high quality of life points in public housing developments amongst her prime priorities.
“I imply, violence is at all times our primary (concern), the shootings, the robberies,” she mentioned.
“However then once more, once you converse to those residents, they don’t need to must stroll over someone taking pictures up heroin of their lobbies,” Materasso mentioned. “It’s not truthful to the individuals going to work within the morning. It’s not truthful to those kids. So our focus nonetheless needs to be there. So we acquired to have the ability to do each concurrently. And we’re positively ready to do this.”
Materasso recalled beginning her first day on the subway – an task all chiefs needed to full per Mayor Eric Adams – however dashing to be together with her cops when experiences of the primary housing advanced taking pictures got here in.
“That’s once I got here into a extremely chaotic scene the place we have been searching for an individual who had simply killed one particular person and was concerned in different taking pictures incidents as nicely,” she mentioned.
Oliver, an obvious gang member with a prolonged rap sheet, had allegedly killed Langston on the improvement within the shadow of NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza.
A CitiBike, a water bottle and a black letter “Okay” nonetheless stand as a makeshift memorial to Langston outdoors the constructing the place he was gunned down.
“It was a bit chaotic,” mentioned Officer Wilber Martinez, who works within the Housing Bureau’s Public Service Space 4.
“All people was involved, the residents. They knew one thing was incorrect.”
Data was scant within the taking pictures’s instant aftermath, however Martinez, who has 10 years on the job, mentioned he and his companion tried to assist calm residents down.
After killing Langston, Oliver allegedly traveled to Brooklyn and fatally shot Keyaira Rattray-Brothers, 17, within the Kingsborough Homes in Crown Heights.
Certainly one of his bullets additionally struck a 96-year-old man who was on a motorized wheelchair at a Brooklyn bus cease. Oliver had allegedly been taking pictures at a girl and an errant bullet hit the person within the ankle.
“As this was taking place, we had officers strolling on the bridges, ensuring we had individuals in place as a result of we have been involved a few automobile he could be utilizing,” Materasso mentioned of the suspect. “He turned himself in, Thank God, earlier than anyone else misplaced their life.”
Oliver turned himself in on the 77th Precinct in Brooklyn, in a scene caught on surveillance video. Prosecutors revealed at his arraignment that he had allegedly been planning to shoot up the precinct.
The 2 killings in public housing have been a blow to Materasso — who was as soon as dubbed “Marvel Lady” by fellow officers — since it’s her aim to make sure residents are protected of their houses.
Since being assigned to her new publish, Materasso has been assembly with improvement council presidents about their issues about security and different points, she mentioned.
The bureau has handled these points by writing extra summonses, the chief defined at a current press convention.
“They are saying they need to see the cops on the market and so they need to see us addressing high quality of life points,” she mentioned on the presser at One Police Plaza.
“Because of this, our PSAs have collectively issued over 5,000 summonses and oath summonses,” she mentioned. “This can be a 164% improve from final yr. Included in these complaints are the reckless use of dust bikes and ATVs.”
Oath summonses can be written for noise and different high quality of life complaints.
Materasso additionally boasted that the Housing Bureau’s cops took 318 weapons off the streets single-handedly in 2022.
“So the blokes and ladies are on the market,” she mentioned. “They’re participating and so they’re in the precise locations.”
Whereas homicides and shootings are down, some index crimes — together with theft — are spiking in housing developments, she has acknowledged to The Put up.
“We’re spiking within the Bronx in addition to Manhattan North,” she mentioned. “Now we have our eye on these two for positive.”
As of Jan. 8, theft was up 53.3% from 15 at that time in 2022 to 23 to date in 2023 in housing citywide, NYPD knowledge present. Assault was up 10.7% from 56 to 62.
The division will transfer sources and allocate extra time beyond regulation if essential to carry these numbers down, she mentioned.
“No matter now we have to do to suppress crime, be sure that the presence is on the market,” she mentioned. “At the least that may deter for a interval, however we nonetheless must get these unhealthy guys and ladies off the road.”
She has 2,200 cops beneath her command, a small share of the 36,000 citywide.
One other main aim for Materasso is to assist win over younger individuals in public housing — one she says is being achieved by the Cornerstone Applications, which have been already in place when she began and are run out of 100 neighborhood facilities in housing.
“Now we have all these facilities which are open to actually late hours,” she mentioned. “We need to be sure that the youth aren’t saying ‘The place else am I gonna go? I gotta decide a crew or a facet.’ We don’t need them to do this. We wish them to have one other avenue.”
Materasso by no means had any doubt about what she needed to do when she was rising up. She needed to comply with within the footsteps of her father Chief Alfred Materasso.
“My brother teaches at our outdated highschool and all of the lecturers are like ‘Wow, she actually did it as a result of she mentioned the entire time that’s what she needed to do,’” she mentioned.
“I used to be at all times like, police officer, police officer, police officer,” she recalled. “It’s at all times been a ardour for me.”
For his half, her dad’s been supportive of her profession, she mentioned.
“He understands how necessary this job is to the individuals of town as a result of he noticed that turnaround,” she mentioned. “He was there within the 70s, and the 80s and the 90s.”
Materasso’s husband, Peter Fortune, can also be on the job. So when she’s out all evening for a case her household steps in, as they did throughout final month’s taking pictures rampage.
“I used to be like, ‘I’m not coming house anytime quickly,’” she recalled saying whereas ensuring her husband was accessible to maintain the women, 12 and 15.
However she managed once they have been a lot youthful. March 1 will mark her twenty third yr on the pressure, which handed “just like the blink of a watch,” she mentioned.
Again up on the ninth Ground of NYPD headquarters, Materasso’s new workplace is already decked out in police regalia, together with dozens of problem cash, the NYPD cash that commemorate officers and occasions. She additionally has household and division photographs galore — in addition to outstanding drawn depictions and a doll of Marvel Lady.
Some officers referred to Materasso as Marvel Lady when she served within the forty first Precinct within the Bronx as a result of they have been amazed by how a lot she acquired carried out, she mentioned.
She as soon as instructed “Right now Present” host Savannah Guthrie that different feminine cops additionally referred to as her Marvel Lady as a result of her rise was inspirational.
“All of them say, ‘How do you do that?” Materasso mentioned after taking on as town’s first feminine counterterrorism chief in 2000.
“‘How can you be a spouse, a mom of two children and have a place of management within the NYPD?’ and I feel that they see if I can juggle it, any of them can juggle it.”
