The commanding officer of the 45th Precinct recently was promoted.
Deputy Inspector Danielle Raia was promoted from captain to deputy inspector on Friday, June 24 as part of a group of NYPD promotions.
Members of the 45th Precinct Community Council and community leaders say that the promotion is well deserved, affirming confidence in her leadership of the east Bronx precinct.
Inspector Raia stated that she was humbled by the step up, and that she was glad to be at the command.
“(I) couldn’t have done it without the community’s support,” stated Raia. “Let’s continue the great work we have been doing and make the 45th that much better.”
Raia was especially helpful on a variety of issues, said Bob Bieder, 45th Community Council president, adding that she knows how to get things done.
“When there is a problem, she hits it head on,” said Bieder, adding “She is a real go getter and gets things done.”
Bieder said that Raia was especially helpful in helping to gather together all interested parties when some students at Lehman High School were pulling fire alarms to get outside the school building to have fights.
She helped arrange a sting where blue dye packs were placed on the fire alarms in the school and sprayed dye when someone pulled it, alerting cops as to the identity of the students, said Bieder.
Raia also makes herself available at odd hours, once saying at a precinct council meeting that she would respond to an inquiry in the early morning hours, with Bieder added that he personally had called her at 3 a.m. and that it was true.
45th Precinct Community Council board member, John Dolye, said that Raia was especially helpful on City Island, which is often busy during the spring and summer with visitors, creating traffic and security concerns.
Raia has thought outside of the box when it comes to the island’s traffic concerns, he said.
“She is someone who has really dedicated herself to her job,” said Doyle, adding that she has done all she can to ingratiate herself into the community, is committed to keeping precinct neighborhoods in good condition, and likes to see progress.
Raia has shown a willingness to hear people out, and it is good that the way people see her in the community is reflective of how they see her downtown at police headquarters, said Doyle.
“She doesn’t tolerate any nonsense, and she has the community’s best interests in mind,” said community activist John Marano, adding that he hopes she does not leave the precinct anytime in the near future, a sentiment echoed by Bieder and Doyle as well.
Marano said that promotions in the department are often bittersweet because they usually indicate that a move is likely.
For her part, Raia stated she is not going anywhere else (in the department) anytime soon.
