NEW YORK — With computers in hand, NYPD officers are on a mission to get as many people as possible to take the city’s police exam.

There’s a big push to get Blacks, especially Black men to apply. An NYPD recruitment unit is traveling around the city allowing people to fill out the exam application on the spot before the filing deadline of May 4.

“You talking about a lot of money,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes. “If you move up the ranks to chief you are talking about more than two hundred grand a year. That’s good money.”

The starting salary is $42,500.

Usually it’s $40 to take the exam, but now it’s free. The city has waived the fee so more people can apply.

While speaking with people at the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, the chief said the job is more than just patrolling the street.

“It's an array of opportunity. If you are a tech head and you like technology, we have people in ITB [Information Technology Bureau]," Holmes said.

With ongoing tensions between African-Americans and cops it’s not easy to get Blacks to join the police department. Since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in 2014, the NYPD has tried various ways to get more Black men on the force, but it hasn’t been successful. About 15% of the entire force remains Black with little change over the years.

At the Queensbridge Houses, officers had difficulty getting Black men interested. But some Black women were excited that officers were recruiting in their neighborhood.

“I want to be a police officer myself,” said 18-year-old Raelynn Kelsey who applied. "I know I can make a change in my community so people can stop looking at police officers as bad police officers."

Another woman said she would never join the police force. One sergeant spoke with a resident about ways officers can improve their image in communities of color.

The NYPD says it will be out on the streets around the city actively recruiting people right up until the May 4 deadline to file the application.

But, it’s not just about recruitment, it’s about getting Blacks through the background checks and psychological exam to actually be hired after passing the written exam.

Some officers have complained the NYPD’s hiring process is bias against Blacks - an issue the department says it has been looking into.