One Police Plaza

He Ain't No Larry

March 25, 2019

Call him the antithesis of Larry Byrne.

That is Ernest Hart’s perhaps most distinctive qualification as the NYPD’s new deputy commissioner for legal matters.

As for Byrne, Hart’s predecessor, he is best known for his novel interpretation of state law 50-a, which Byrne maintained limits the disclosure of disciplinary records of NYPD officers. His determination has been upheld by state courts, including the state’s highest, the Court of Appeals. But it has created a public relations nightmare for the police department and the de Blasio administration — infuriating politicians, civil rights advocates and much of the media.

Not that the NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio were blindsided. Former Commissioner Bill Bratton, Byrne’s boss at the time, could have told Byrne to keep his opinions to himself, and buried the matter, allowing the NYPD to continue to release the disciplinary records as the department had done for 40 years. De Blasio could have also ordered Bratton to deep-six Byrne’s determination. Instead, they and Bratton’s successor, Commissioner Jim O’Neill, allowed Byrne’s interpretation to become department policy.

In February, seven months after Byrne’s retirement, NYPD spokesman Philip Walzak said the department “engaged in a comprehensive process to identify the best person for the DCLM position.” But early on, say department sources, O’Neill was amenable to appointing Byrne’s acting successor, Ann Prunty, or a former federal prosecutor with a police background. Both, said a department source, “were ready, willing and able.”

According to numerous department sources, City Corporation Counsel Zachary Carter put on the brakes, seeking someone of his own choosing.

That person is Hart. In announcing Hart’s appointment earlier this month, O’Neill said he has “vast legal and public service experience.” Assistant Chief Pat Conry chimed to NYPD Confidential that O’Neill chose Hart because Hart “is widely respected in the legal community, the law enforcement community, and the community in general.”

With all respect to Hart, who is said to be a decent guy, those descriptions are a stretch.

Hart served as a civil court judge, which is considered the tryout bench in New York for State Supreme Court. He also served as chairman of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, where one civil rights attorney said his best recollection of Hart was that he was “a low-key person. No fireworks.” According to his department resume, he also served as associate dean and chief operating officer of the Columbia University Medical Center/ Affiliation at Harlem Hospital, where he was responsible for supervising academic and clinical service operations and strategic planning.

That represents “widely respected in the legal community, the law enforcement community, and the community in general”? Or as a department source put it: “He [Hart] is not a relative unknown. He is a complete unknown.”

How much influence Hart will exert in the NYPD remains problematic. Like the impressive-sounding civilian position of first deputy commissioner, Hart’s position is as important and as powerful as the commissioner allows it to be.

While plenty of nonentities have headed DCLM over the years, there have been heavy hitters. George Grasso, who served under former Commissioner Howard Safir before becoming first deputy and then a State Supreme Court judge in the Bronx, left a heavy footprint at DCLM. So did Byrne.

Byrne was part of Bratton and O’Neill’s inner circle, along with such other guys as Terence Monahan, who is now chief of department; and Dermot Shea, who is chief of detectives. If Hart seeks to be relevant at the NYPD, he must ensure he is not marginalized, as has happened to others with equally important sounding titles.