Photo courtesy of NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey via Twitter
The following feature story is an extended version of the one which appeared in our recent print edition.
Growing up at 2746 197th Street and Decatur Avenue in the Bronx, Nilda Irizarry Hofmann said she had no connections with the NYPD nor any inkling that, one day, she would end up as one of the highest-ranking women in the largest police department in America. Following her retirement at the end of October, marking 30 years of service, the former chief told the Norwood News one thing she knew she never wanted to do when she grew up was bring coffee to the boss.
“The neighborhood I lived in was tough – a lot of drugs,” she said. “I remember when the police would drive by, people would say, ‘The police is coming,’ and everybody ran as a kid not really understanding that it was because they were selling drugs. I didn’t know that’s why people ran. That was really my impression of the police,” she said.
Her parents came to the U.S. from Puerto Rico when they were in their 20s and she said they didn’t speak the language. Along with her two younger brothers, the family moved around a lot during her teenage years. She worked locally at the associate supermarket on Kingsbridge Road and at Alexander, a department store on Grand Concourse and Fordham Road, while attending Walton High School.
“This used to be an all-girls school. Mainly, what they taught you there, besides your regular academic stuff, was pre-teaching, like a teacher’s aide,” she said. “They had a nursing course. They had definitely a whole typing/secretary kind of course,” she said, adding that she remembered one white person being at the school and 99.9 percent of students being Black or Hispanic.
“That was how they prepared you because, I guess, they didn’t expect us to do anything,” she said. “I never remember a conversation about college in high school, like I do now with my kids. That wasn’t the expectation.”
Nonetheless, Irizarry-Hofmann said she believes in fate, and when a new teacher arrived at the school to teach computer programming, it piqued her interest. She was told she would first have to take typing before she could join the class. “I didn’t want to take typing because I didn’t want to be a secretary,” she said. “What I thought about secretaries is them bringing coffee to the boss.”
In the end, she took the typing class and joined the programming class in which she excelled. “I really want to do this. Where can I go to do this?” she recalled asking her teacher at the time, who told her he had gone to Iona College, the only place offering the program at that time. Then came a crushing rejection. He didn’t think she would make it. “And that’s all you needed to tell me,” Irizarry-Hofmann said. “I think that throughout my career. You tell me no – I’m going to work double and triple harder.”
The same teacher did help her in the end, writing a letter to the college on her behalf. “I was very grateful to the teacher because he spoke to me about college, and then he did help me with the application,” she said. “You needed to have someone to guide you. That was the first time in my whole life I ever heard anyone talk about college, either in school, or at home,” she said. “I had nobody. My mom had a sixth-grade education, and my dad had a GED, and nobody in my family that I knew ever went to college.”
Earlier today, @NYPDTransport Chief Nilda Hofmann said goodbye as she retired after 30 years of dedicated service to our city. Whatever the future holds for her, we know she will succeed, and we wish her the very best.
Congratulations on your retirement Chief! pic.twitter.com/nlJbos8iyo
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 29, 2020
She studied computer programming for two years while working part-time locally. It was around this time that her mom asked her to go to a job agency with a neighbor to help interpret for the neighbor during a job interview. “After I finished interpreting, I could remember his face like it was yesterday,” Irizarry-Hofmann said, referring to the recruiter. “He turns to me, and he says, ‘Well, what about you, young lady? Would you like a job?’”
Still working at Alexander’s and going to school full time, she said back then she was a workaholic. She asked where the job would be, and the recruiter told her the police department. “My eyes opened up,” she said, and she asked what she would be doing. He said administrative tasks, if she knew how to type. “Yes, I know how to type!” she said.
Finally, her typing speed and proficiency would serve her well. “I remember going to the appointment,” she said referring to the police department entrant’s exam. “It must have been, like, 50 of us in the room. They said, ‘Type this,’ and then they took the papers. They came back, and they called five names and I was one of the five names and to everybody else they said, ‘Thank you very much.’”
She said they did a background check on her, and she became a police administrator in 1987 at 19 years of age, assigned to the 40th precinct at the detective bureau. Around the same time, her parents decided to move back to Puerto Rico, and she decided to stay in the U.S. but realized she needed enough money to pay her rent.
“So now, I’m working full time in the police department. I’m surrounded by cops, detectives, and they were extremely supportive, telling me, ‘You’re a young girl. Take the police test,’ and so, I did take the test and that’s how I came into the police department back in 1990,” she said. There were about 2,100 in her graduating class, the largest class at the time, which also included 40 women. They made the front page of the NY Daily News. “This was during the height of high crime,” the former chief said. “They wanted to change a little bit, hiring more cops, and yes, [there were] very little women at the time.”
This brought its own struggles at the beginning, with male officers not wanting to work with female officers. “We had to deal with that,” she said. Officially, there was no policy that discriminated against women, and she appreciated the gender-neutral term of police officers, when firefighters back then were always referred to as firemen.
Congratulations to Chief Nilda Hofmann on her retirement after 33 years of dedicated service to this City. Her departure will leave a huge void amongst Latinos, but we still wish her the best in the next chapter of her life. 🎉🎉🎉 pic.twitter.com/ZJcL3EN8eW
— NYDominican Officers (@NYDO_1993) October 29, 2020
Unofficially, like other women and because she had previously worked as a police administrative aide, and her colleagues knew she could type, Irizarry Hofmann was sometimes asked, during staffing shortages, to cover inside work, typing up reports rather than being out in the field. She was determined not to get stuck in that cycle, however, and since then, she has not looked back.
Starting at the 43rd precinct, she went on to serve in the 23rd, 25th, 42nd, 44th and 52nd precincts, Patrol Borough Bronx, and the Bronx Task Force. She was promoted to sergeant in April 1998, lieutenant in December 2003, captain in April 2008, deputy inspector in September 2011, inspector in October 2013, deputy chief in June 2018, and chief of community affairs in January 2018.
As reported by Norwood News, on June 24, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced that Irizarry Hofmann would be designated chief of transportation, “to continue the stewardship over a series of ongoing innovations for the safe and secure movement of all New Yorkers around our city,” a position which is increasingly under the microscope of late due to the growing number of alarming, unprovoked attacks on subway riders.
During her career, at different times, Irizarry Hofmann commanded the 25th and the 52nd precincts, and served as executive officer of the Risk Management Bureau and the 42nd precinct. She would also return to formal studies, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College. She is also a 2013 graduate of the Police Management Institute at Columbia University.
She credits Gertrude Laforge, once the highest-ranking woman in the NYPD during Irizarry-Hofmann’s earlier years, with inspiring her to push forward with her career. “I think she must have been the first woman running a precinct back then. This was back in 1991,” she said. “At the time, I didn’t know what a big deal it was. Most police officers, you really didn’t interact with the commanding officer of the precinct. I just remember meeting with her once,” she added, saying Laforge offered her a role overseeing the schools.
“Looking back, and knowing a little bit about being a commanding officer and going into it myself, I think that being a woman, probably, was something that she thought was important, that it was important to work with the young kids.” The Norwood native said that in working with schools, and in an effort to try to give something back to her local community, she visited her old high school, Walton, and was saddened to discover that by then, kids had to go through metal detectors to enter the buildings.
She conducted a survey which found that while some students found them annoying and caused them to be late for class, the majority said they felt safer with them in place. She did not disregard the impact they had on students’ time and, coming from the Hispanic community, she was also careful to ensure the metal detectors were put in schools where there had been reported security incidents, rather than solely targeting minority schools.
The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, along with their youth wing, Sistas and Brothas United (SBU), have, over the last five months, been to over 30 schools in the Northwest Bronx delivering banners and calling for Police Free Schools from school administrations, saying, “after decades of invasive security measures, harsh disciplinary practices, and the criminalization of youth of color in schools, it is time that schools become free, safe and supportive environments.” The group has been calling for a full divestment of policing policies and practices, while calling for investment in counselors, social workers, restorative practices, mental health support and more.
Photo courtesy of Nilda Irizarry Hofmann
Indeed, in a year during which there has been so much focus on policing, we asked Irizarry Hofmann if she agreed that the role of chief of community affairs, a position she previously held, is now one of the most important roles within the NYPD.
“It is my view. It is important that you have to build a relationship,” she said. “But to me, it has always been my opinion that it is every police officer that works in the NYPD – it’s also their job, right? Of course, it should be everyone’s job to know that it is important to have a great relationship with the community, and it should be something that, when you hire someone, [you] make sure that they have that type of personality, and throughout the years to ensure that there continues to be whatever training is needed to ensure that each officer that had any intent, that every officer goes on and one day will deliver unity.”
We asked Irizarry Hofmann if she was or was not surprised at how quickly the Black Lives Matter protests intensified earlier this year. “I don’t know. I’ve worked for the NYPD for 30 years so I know the NYPD, and I was surprised at how it escalated here, because here in the NYPD for the last five to seven years, we, I think, ahead of many other police departments have worked very hard, especially when neighborhood policing came out under [former Police Commissioner William] Bratton, to build relationships,” she said.
“That was the whole strategy, so we knew how important that was and we were building on that neighborhood policing, on the NCO [neighborhood coordination officer] model and I believed we had great relationships in the neighborhood that we were working in and so, if I was surprised, it was in the sense of how, here in New York City, just in many, many of these communities where we thought we had built a strong relationship, we realized that, obviously, we needed to continue to work hard.”
Asked if she feels the police response to the BLM protests has been effective as regards addressing the concerns of the community in terms of reform and improving outreach, she said, “I think the NYPD is doing everything that they possibly can there. The NYPD, for really a couple of years, have been open to accepting ideas, to transforming.”
She added, “You deal with any commanding officer throughout the city, and they’re welcoming, in just every corner, the idea to build relationships and even looking at the policies to see if the policies, sometimes, are part of the process. That’s what they’re looking at, and to see how they could do it better.” We asked if she was referring to the chokehold legislation. “No, I mean that has been prohibited but just, in general, we were sued for the “stop, question and frisk,” and many policies were changed because of that, you know, policies even as recently as, now we’re not doing trespassing.”
We asked if that change was as a result of the Breonna Taylor case, and Irizarry Hofmann said, “Right, the NYPD is looking at their policies and they’re making changes. The whole idea, like a couple of years ago, with the body worn camera to become as transparent as we could. So, the NYPD, I think, for a long time, has been working on a lot of transformation, and I think it’s just a lot of things that people aren’t aware of already, of the things that have been changed.”
Photo courtesy of Nilda Irizarry Hofmann
We asked the former chief if she believes the implementation of the Civilian Complaints Review Board (CCRB) under former New York City Mayor David Dinkins ultimately served the purpose for which it was intended. “I can’t comment on that. I don’t know about that,” she said before adding that when she was in the NYPD, it was in the latter years of her career that she was in a leadership role.
“I wasn’t privy to information like this,” she added. “I don’t have much information prior on what the thoughts were about CCRB, but I know that the administration that I’ve worked for, the last two under O’Neill and Shea, have always been to try to become as transparent as possible because that’s the way we know we can build and connect.”
We also asked for her thoughts on how the June Mott Haven protests could have been handled better given the large numbers of arrests that were made that evening, and the subsequent Human Rights Watch report which issued a scathing critique of the NYPD’s handling of the protests. It was also reported at the time that police had been tracking the movements of some individuals on social media and had arrested some who were armed close to the vicinity of the end point of the rally on the same evening. Irirzarry Hofmann said, “No, I’m sorry because I wasn’t part of that position,” she said. “I don’t know. That didn’t fall under my department.”
Asked if she had any thoughts on calls from some quarters for the police commissioner to resign, she said, “I think, with the pandemic, you know, with a lot of things that we’ve [inaudible] this year, it’s been very tough on all of us but I think that, you know, Shea and the executive staff that currently exist, is working very hard. Definitely, it should be something that New Yorkers you know….they do have great people in the leadership within the NYPD.”
Looking back on her career, Irizarry said the lows have been the many police officers who were lost who she knew, knowing the work they carried out is tough work. “They put their lives [at risk] every day,” she said, adding that the intentions of police officers, when they go out each day, are to do the best they can.
“The highs have been the many friendships and relationships that I’ve had with the communities that I’ve served, and I’m very proud to also serve many of the Hispanic communities that definitely, you know, relate to me,” she said, adding that they were sometimes fearful of the police, and she was able to help break those barriers.
Image courtesy of the NYPD
On Oct. 29, as she bid farewell to the NYPD, her “walk out” out of One Police Plaza in Manhattan was met with cheers and applause as fellow police rank and file, along with family and well wishers, lined the steps to bid her farewell. She stopped for hugs and few final words with individual colleagues along the way.
Tributes later appeared on social media, with NYPD News sharing a video of her final departure and saying, “Earlier today, @NYPDChiefofTransport Chief Nilda Hofmann said goodbye as she retired after 30 years of service to our city. Whatever the future holds for her, we know she will succeed, and we wish her the very best. Congratulations on your retirement Chief!”
Prior to the day, Brenda Caldwell-Paris, president of the 52nd precinct community council, had invited residents of the community to attend Irizarry Hofmann’s walk out ceremony, saying, “It’s with great happiness, I am announcing to all the Walkout Honoring (retirement) of NYPD Chief Nilda Hofmann.” She added, “It would be awesome to have many from the community come to celebrate with her. Chief Hofmann is our Nilda from the block growing up on 196 & Decatur Ave. Please let me know if you wish to attend.”
Image courtesy of the NYPD
The police commissioner also tweeted about the occasion saying, “Congratulations to Chief Nilda Hofmann on a well-deserved retirement! After three decades of service to the people of NYC, fighting crime & strengthening relationships with the community, her impact on the department & city will continue for many years to come.” Meanwhile, Chief Terence Monahan said, “Wishing Chief of @NYPDTransit Nilda Hofmann health and happiness in her well deserved retirement. We thank Nilda for her years of service to the department and to all of New York City. Congratulations!”
NY Dominican Officers also tweeted well wishes, saying, “Congratulations to Chief Nilda Hofmann after 33 years of dedicated service to this city. Her departure will leave a huge void amongst Latinos, but we still wish her the best in the next chapter of her life!”
In terms of promotion within the NYPD, and diversity within the senior ranks, we asked Irizarry-Hofmann if she feels she was ever held back, given that former Chief Lori Pollock has taken a gender discrimination case against the NYPD. Irizarry Hofmann said, “You need to have a diverse executive staff.” She said it is, of course, important, to promote diversity, adding that she also understands that it takes time to build a wider pool of minority candidates from which to select for senior positions. “It’s tough,” she said. “It’s public information. In the last couple of years, they’ve been trying to be very transparent. If you look on there, you can tell the number of women in the higher ranked positions, and you can see what that is up to the rank of captain.”
She said that up to the rank of captain, promotion is based on a promotional exam and anything past that is discretional promotion by the police commissioner. “So, you know, I see both sides, in the sense of the pool for women gets very small after captain so there is a very limited number of women to choose from as you go up the line.”
She added that, in the last couple of years, the NYPD has been attempting, and not just for women, to implement a mentoring type of program for lieutenants and captains on how to mentor the next generation. “They’ve been many attempts and many iterations of the mentoring program which have had great reviews,” she said. “There’s been a lot of work put in to attempt to make things fair.”
Asked if there was ever any question of being promoted based on physical strength or ability, she said, “Oh no, not at all. It’s all on your merit and background. I’ll give an example. Let’s say the detective bureau, right? I mean, it wouldn’t be something that I would be interested in to be the Chief of Detectives because I’ve had no experience. I was never a detective. I was never a detective sergeant. That wasn’t my area of interest,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Nilda Irizarry Hofmann
Explaining that while she had some knowledge of detective work, to become a detective requires a whole area of training. “I mean, you work with the detective bureau as cases are being investigated, but there’s certain things you do not know, with the exception of when I was a commanding officer, I would speak with my detectives on their cases, you know, ‘Where is it at?’ That was my access to detective knowledge,” she said.
In terms of the pandemic and the impact it has had on domestic violence rates across the city, we asked Hofmann for her views on how domestic violence is being handled by the NYPD, and if she feels that the NYPD’s language access program, implemented following the Padilla v The City of New York case, is effective.
The 2013 case involved a Spanish speaking domestic violence victim whose complaints were not recorded accurately by a series of responding officers, despite her request to speak with a Spanish speaking officer. Instead, the officers took the statement of the English-speaking perpetrator as the true account of the incident. The victim ended up being arrested and was later chained to a hospital bed while she was later treated for her injuries. In the intervening years, the NYPD has now started using a language app which is available on their phones so that anyone who needs it can be placed in immediate contact with a certified translator in order to help record statements / complaints.
“I remember the case,” said Irizarry Hofmann. “And definitely, I have to tell you, the domestic violence officers that work in the precincts, they’re one of the, probably, top notch officers and work incredibly hard to keep them [victims] safe. There’s been so many changes to the language line. I think it always existed, you know, differently but your writing [of a complaint] is so important. It does not matter what language someone speaks. They could get someone at any time to speak to them in their language.”
She added, “I think the NYPD has done incredible when it comes to that. I’ve seen so much oversight over that unit and constant checks to ensure that every regulation that needs to be followed is followed, and usually, that’s why they’re the top notch officers that are assigned to domestic violence. I mean, besides, they do that job because they care about people. They want to keep people safe. I cannot say anything more highly about them and the work that they do during these difficult times.”
As reported by Norwood News, news of Hofmann’s retirement in October as chief of transportation and the resignation of the then chief of patrol, former Chief Fausto Pichardo, who was subsequently replaced by Chief Juanita Holmes, prompted Bronx City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, representing the 14th City Council District, to issue a statement voicing his concern about the apparent depletion of Latinx leadership within the NYPD. Asked about this, in the context of her own retirement, Irizarry Hofmann said she was ready for retirement, adding that she wants to spend more time with her daughter at the age she’s at right now as she was unable to do so for her sons when they were at the same age.
Now, reflecting on her earlier days in Norwood, Irizarry Hofmann said anything is possible. “I was very happy to have reached a three star [rank] within the police department. If you would have asked me when I was living there at Decatur Avenue, would I have ever dreamt [this]? This was not even a dream I could have ever dreamt, what I have accomplished,” she said. “There was no way for me to ever have dreamt this, and if it just inspires even one young person, I would be happy.”
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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