Patrick Lynch, the longtime top boss of New York City’s Police Benevolent Association, will face off against a challenger this year who says he wants to revamp the largest police union in the city amid crime concerns and a staffing crisis.
PBA presidential candidate Corey Grable said he is also promising to secure a new police contract as officers work under the terms of a deal that expired six years ago.
"I appreciate Pat Lynch's service. But after 23 years and counting, it’s time to inject new blood," Grable told Fox News Digital in a recent phone interview. "As we've been going into the different police commands ... that's a very, very strong prevailing thought, that it's time for change and maybe Pat Lynch has lost his political will."
Grable, a Brooklyn native, joined the New York City Transit Police back in 1992 and later became an NYPD officer in 1995 when the two departments merged. He has a decades-long history with the PBA, first serving as a delegate at Transit District 32 in 2002, before he was elected to his current role as the Transit Bureau’s financial secretary in 2011.
Lynch was elected PBA president in 1999, and has won every election since. He ran unopposed back in 2019, and handedly defeated his opponent by a 70% margin in 2015.
To Grable, he’s on the campaign trail to win and says his platform on breathing new life into the union with updated initiatives, making the union more transparent, and most importantly, promising to secure a police contract, will get him there.
New York City police officers have been working under an expired contract for the last six years, and it is currently tied up in arbitration. Grable said the fallout for officers has been huge, and has even left some cops in financial limbo as they try to figure out if they can afford a down payment on a home or make other investments.
"A lot of guys are looking to make certain financial decisions, buy a home and perhaps other investments," Grable said. "But right now, the interest rate is 7% … but a few months ago, give or take, you were able to get a 3% interest rate."
"It just felt that maybe the current president … didn't recognize that you have to look at all the aspects of a cop's life," he said, referring to measures that also affect cops' pocketbooks.
When reaching out to Lynch's office for comment on Monday, Fox News Digital was told that the PBA boss was currently in the hospital with the 5-year NYPD vet who was shot over the weekend and fighting for his life.
"Right now, we are focused on securing a contract for our members. We are also standing vigil at a hospital with a critically injured police officer. The time for politics is later," Lynch said.
NYC DETECTIVES STRUGGLE TO KEEP THE PEACE AMID LOW STAFFING, LACK OF SUPPORT
Grable said that beyond securing the contract, the entire union needs to be modernized and that he would be more transparent with members about programs they have at their disposal.
"[We need to] try to offer new services such as on financial literacy, creating a wealth-building type of scenario where guys can understand … how these things work, that maybe in addition to getting these raises, you could be in better position for when you retire," he said.
Grable’s candidacy comes as the department has faced constant resignations and retirements from police officers following the anti-cop rhetoric that swept the nation in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd. The NYPD saw its largest exodus of officers since 2002 last year, when 3,701 officers left the ranks.
Morale at the department has also plummeted as officers work overtime to fill in the gaps, while also dealing with a crime wave that has persisted in the city in the last three years.
Grable added that he would also promote mental health and wellness services that would likely bolster morale at the department.
"These guys go to work every single day. They put their lives on the line. They're working extremely long hours, they're trying to kind of fill the void for the shortage and the mass exodus cops. And that can create a toll," he said. "But sometimes the services that the department provides … sometimes police officers don't trust it."
He said he wants to deliver such services straight to officers so they know exactly what resources they have on their hands, and to sustain the services for future NYPD officers.
"Every little thing will help in terms of building morale. And cops have clearly expressed to me that on patrol, they're not happy. And they're leaving this job to work for Best Buy and these other kinds of employment opportunities that that is outside of policing," he said.
Grable said he has been visiting commands across the city since announcing his campaign last month, and has received a warm welcome from many officers who have voiced to him they are ready for a union change.
"As the platform has been established, and as we again just really pounding the pavement, if you will, to get out to these commands and going out to different details, walking up to cops on the street, introducing myself. Guys have been very, very responsive and very optimistic," Grable said.
The PBA will hold its nomination process for elections in May, followed by the official vote in June.
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