By Libby Herz
NYPD Sergeant Mike Baratta was driving around Crown Heights when he saw a young mother on the floor. Surrounded by four small children, all below the age of six and one in a stroller, she was in the midst of a seizure.
Baratta raced out of his patrol car and called for an ambulance. He waited and waited while trying to console the children, but the ambulance did not arrive.
Suddenly, he remembered his police orientation; Yingy Bistritzky was there, and he gave out Hatzalah’s number. Quickly, Baratta dialed the number. “A gentleman was there in thirty seconds,” he says.
That was the first time Baratta called Hatzalah, and it brought him a new understanding of the Jewish community of Crown Heights. “It was eye-opening for me to see what a tight-knit community this was. I saw the resources they had to help one another. That’s how my relationship started.”
As Hatzalah gave the young mother medical assistance, Baratta took the children into a deli, consoling them as they waited for their father to arrive. A few weeks later, Baratta was invited to the Seudas Hodaah for the recovered mother. “It was a kind gesture,” he says. “It opened my eyes to the gratitude and respect (of the community).”
Baratta has been with the 71st precinct for the past eleven years, where he has been promoted twice. From the rank of Officer, he has risen to Detective and finally to Sergeant. His unique position as Community Affairs Officer makes him responsible for developing solutions to challenges arising from diverse communities.
Although each of the seventy-six precincts of the New York Police Department holds at least one officer with that title, the responsibility in Crown Heights is greater than most. “I’m in a unique position,” Baratta says. “No other area has such a Caribbean and Chassidic mix. We are pretty exclusive that way.”
While the infamous Crown Heights riots took place thirty years ago, it is clear to Baratta that the memory is still fresh in people’s minds. Still, he says, “There have been great strides between local clergy members and electives to try to open the lines of communication between the two communities.”
Baratta is responsible for keeping open communication between communities. He works to build relationships between leaders and residents. “I’ve done a lot to build relationships with Shomrim, Shmira, Hatzalah, leadership in 770, the Crown Heights Community Council, and local public schools, Medgar Evers College, and Community Board 9.”
Baratta deals with major public events in his job to keep the peace. For example, when there is a Hachnosas Sefer Torah, Baratta helps coordinate the scheduling. In his role as community liaison, he asks all parties who might be affected if the day and timing work for them. Then, he finds the best time for all involved.
Baratta is a Staten Island native and he lives there to this day. He tries to connect with Crown Heights residents by thinking of shared experiences. “Growing up around here,” he says, “you understand some of the same concerns and feelings of residents. For example, going to the park and running into a tough crowd. I feel like I can use my own life experiences to understand how people feel in tragic moments or happy moments.”
Most of all, the Sergeant is proud to have familiarized himself with Chassidic customs and culture. “I have a bunch of friends who call me Rabbi,” he says with a grin. “They’ll say, hold on, I need to ask the Rabbi.”
“It’s important for me to understand Jewish customs. Sometimes I’ll say something to Chassidim like, ‘the fast ends at 7:23.’ They’ll smile and be like, ‘you’re right.”
Baratta is very involved with Tishrei, Simchas Beis Hashoeva, Chanukah, and the Mivtza Tank parade. “Kaporas can be tough because you get outside agitators trying to prevent people from practicing their rights,” he says. “An awesome event is Simchas Beis Hashoeva – Succos dancing. That’s awesome. But some of the trouble with that is crowd control. There’s a dense crowd in a small geographical area. Still, there are really very few incidences of violence and that is excellent. Some of the challenges there are keeping people off the rooftops. People don’t understand that it’s not safe to have 50 to 100 people on a rooftop.”
During large events like this, Baratta is thankful for the community support. “There’s a lot of fine-tuning between Shmira, Shomrim, and the community members. Devorah Halberstam, who is an NYPD Honorary Safety Commissioner and community liaison, works closely with the police department, as well as Chanina Sperlin of the CHJCC, activist Mendel Mintz and many others. We try to identify, fix, or eliminate things that aren’t safe or running efficiently. We think of ideas and find a better way to do it.”
Baratta admires the high level of caring that he sees amongst members of Crown Heights. “There’s a saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child,'” he says. “Here, the village is willing to raise the children. When there is an issue within the Chassidic community, they have the Rabbinical court and community organizations who help them mediate. So much gets worked out between members before anything ever needs to have the police involved.”
When he isn’t busy handling events, the Sergeant feels at home strolling down the streets of Crown Heights. “I’ve been around long enough that even people who don’t know my name will recognize my face.”
Does the officer enjoy kosher food? “I like kosher sushi,” he says. “That’s something I would eat on a regular basis. I try not to eat donuts on the job, because police don’t actually eat donuts all the time in real life. But it can get difficult around Chanukah. Gombo’s is delicious, and community members bring donuts to the precinct to show appreciation for the police officers.”
When asked if there is one important message that he would like to leave the Crown Heights community, Baratta smiles broadly. “Boruch Hashem,” he says. “My message is Boruch Hashem.”
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This article first appeared in the COLlive Magazine for Adar 5782. Read the magazine online: https://issuu.com/collive.com/docs/collive_magazine_tishrei_5783
Thanks Mike for all you do!
🫶