Just a stone’s throw from mid-town Manhattan is an ugly brick building that resides an equal distance between two major highways, and is very ominously bordered on two sides by a pair of cemeteries. If you have ever seen the Godfather, and who hasn’t, this garage is directly across the street from where Don Corleone was buried. Sort of fitting in a way as this garage is not your ordinary garage. The tie in with crime is ever-present. Not because it resembles the garage in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, but just the opposite. This is the good guys garage. This garage, as it is known in police vernacular, is the NYPD’s Central Repair Shop, or CRS for short. And the man that oversees this facility, and 12 other similar, yet not as large, garages scattered around New York City is Deputy Commissioner Robert Martinez. The Commissioner, or Bobby to his friends, I think I can call him that, as we have known each other for over 30 years now.
I first got on the job as a Police Officer in 1983. Commissioner Martinez joined the department shortly afterwards as a civilian motorcycle mechanic hired to do oil changes in 1986. We met shortly after that. His first assignment was to inspect and put 100 miles on each of the 28-brand new Harley Davidson FLHP’s that were purchased for the Highway Patrol. For a guy who knew his way around a motorcycle pretty good, he was in heaven and couldn’t believe he was actually getting paid to do this. Over the ensuing years, Bobby steadily rose through the ranks to the position he has today. This one man is responsible for the vehicles that support a 35,000-member strong NYPD. It’s just not about police cars. Or, as the NYPD refers to theirs, RMPs, Radio Motor Patrol. That name was first given to them many moons ago, and it has stuck. Inside these walls there is every conceivable form of motor vehicle. Two wheels, three wheels, four wheels, and the count keeps going. From scooters and motorcycles, to cars, vans, trucks, tractors, and tanks. Yes, that’s right. Tanks.
Like an episode of Jay Lenos Garage, where Jay gets to drive and have fun in all the different types of vehicles, Commissioner Martinez also personally drives most of the equipment at CRS. Not to have fun, but to make sure it’s the right fit for officers to drive and to be comfortable in. Most people use a car to drive to and from work. Police vehicles are driven as work. It is their office for eight hours a day. So, these vehicles need to protect them. Not just from a collision, but from something worse.
Just before Christmas Day in 2014, Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were assassinated while sitting in their RMP. Then again, in 2017, Police Officer Miosotis Familia was assassinated while sitting in the front seat of a THV (Temporary Headquarters Vehicle). Since then, all marked police cars for the NYPD receive armoring and have ballistic panels installed. That’s why he takes a personal interest in each and every vehicle that comes through the garage.
Commissioner Martinez oversees the largest municipal fleet in the country. Life for every single vehicle in the NYPD fleet begins and ends at CRS. When it’s time to retire them, they don’t get buried across the street or crushed, they get cannibalized for parts. The parts area of the shop would make any chain of auto parts stores feel insecure. New or used, this fleet needs to operate 24/7/365. The men and women who work there take pride in what they do and in how they maintain the fleet.
During our tour of the shop we had to stop every few feet. That’s because the commissioner stopped to talk and shake the hand of every mechanic. He knew them all by name and had a story to tell me about them. His love for all things vehicular and the pride he has for the men and woman of the NYPD can’t be expressed in words.
They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Well, I’m pretty sure that Commissioner Martinez has never worked a day in his life. My editor told me I only have so many words and so much space to describe it all in, but it can’t be done. I’ll let some of the pictures and stats speak for themselves. Eat your heart out, Jay Leno.
By the Numbers
- 10,000+ vehicles
- 13 Garages
- 430 Staff: 170 Mechanics / 260 Support Staff
- 5,000 Marked RMP’s* / 3,800 Unmarked Police Cars
- 1,500 New Vehicles Purchased Annually
- 25,000 Oil Changes Yearly
- 180 Different types of vehicles fit into 40 categories:
- Sedans (Called RMP’s for Radio Motor Patrol)
- SUV’s (5,000+ Ford Explorers)
- Vans
- 2 Wheel Scooters
- 3 Wheel Scooters
- Motorcycles
- Pickup Trucks
- Horse Transporters
- Trailers
- Electric Vehicles (Chevy Volt + Tesla)
- Hybrids (Ford Fusion)
- THV’s (Temporary Headquarter Vehicles)
- Emergency Service Trucks
- Armored Personnel Carriers
- Etc, etc, etc…
