There are plenty of things happening in Times Square, at any given time, so visitors may not immediately notice Sgt. Baldwin Davis.

“I like to work with people, help people, talk to people. This is a place where you get to know people from all over the world,” said Davis.

Davis’ uniform includes a hat, similar to those worn by New York State Park Police or New York State Troopers, and a gold badge which both let visitors know that he’s a member of law enforcement.

Those visiting Times Square from other countries may not even realize, however, that he’s not a member of the NYPD.

Davis is a member of the Times Square Alliance Public Safety Department, that while separate from the NYPD, works with NYPD officers to keep Times Square safe.

“A lot of times, the NYPD is too busy doing other things. So, we’re a secondary [person] who they can come to for help,” said Sgt. Davis of the people who come to Times Square.

The Times Square Alliance Public Safety Department employs 26 Public Safety Officers that patrol roughly 14 blocks around Times Square between 6th and 8th Avenues.

There are public safety officers with the department patrolling Times Square 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Davis said that because every day is different, work is actually fun for him.

When NY1 followed him around during a shift, he aided tourists with directions, checked in with the owners of two businesses and said hello to many of the entertainers who come to Times Square to make money.  

He likes his job so much that he’s been walking the beat now for 19 years.

He said that he still loves his job but admitted that the last year has been the hardest of his career.

When New York City was in lockdown, Davis said he almost didn’t recognize the place he’s worked for nearly two decades.

“It was sad here. It was like there was nobody out here. It was miserable. It didn’t look right. It didn’t feel right to me,” said Davis.

The pandemic has also changed how some who work in the area feel about the overall safety of the neighborhood.

On Monday, NY1 spoke with two restaurant employees who said that they only started to worry about their safety after the pandemic began.

They said that without the tourists in Times Square or the theater patrons coming to see Broadway shows that they noticed a more nefarious group of people move into the neighborhood.

Davis addressed their concerns and said that those people have always been around, but are more noticeable now because tourism is still low.

NY1 did do an analysis of crimes in and around Times Square while reporting on neighborhood concerns about safety.

Times Square is within the NYPD’s Midtown South precinct, which also includes Madison Square Garden and Penn Station.

NY1 found a significant increase in both robberies and felonious assaults within the the precinct when comparing numbers recorded this year to numbers from the same time period in 2020.

Times Square Public Safety Officers, however, have little to no control over these statistics as they don’t make arrests.

Davis, however, does believe that their presence alone does help deter any additional crimes from taking place.

He also addressed any lingering concerns amongst the public following last weekend’s shooting in Times Square which injured three nnocent bystanders, including a 4-year-old girl.

“Times Square is safe. Like all over the world, things happen but if something does happen just know that you have people here to help you,” said Davis.  

Davis added that things are getting better and for the first time in many months, he’s seeing the old Times Square coming back to life.

“We got New York here. This is New York people want. To come here and live the dream,” said Davis.