Neiswanger, 48, said he will spend the early part of his tenure getting to know police officers and members of the community
Holyoke's new Police Chief ames M. Neiswange is introducted to the public by Mayor Elaine Pluta.HOLYOKE - Mayor Elaine A. Pluta introduced new police chief James M. Neiswanger to the city Friday morning, saying she was confident she made a good choice.
“I am very excited and pleased that we have a good candidate for chief and if he accomplishes what’s in his three-year plan for the police department, we will have a good well-rounded police chief. He will not only be chief of the department but a leader in the community,” Pluta said.
Neiswanger, 48, a captain with the Manchester, Conn. Police Department, discussed his plans and spoke with city officials, police officers, the public and the media in the mayor’s office.
Neiswanger was asked about his philosophy of police work.
“It’s about service, it’s about service to the community. You may not be able to save the world, but can you make your community better, can you make things better here,” Neiswanger said.
Neiswanger, accompanied by his wife, Carla, and one of their three daughters, said he will spend the early part of his tenure getting to know police officers and people in the community.
Neiswanger was asked about replacing retired police Chief Anthony R. Scott, who was very popular in some quarters of the city.
“I am going to have to make my own mark. Chief Scott set some great initiatives,” said Neiswanger, who said a key for him will be getting out into the community.
“I am very approachable. I am here to listen. I need their input in what’s going on in the city,” he said.
The mayor said she will be negotiating a contract with Neiswanger and neither said that they expect there will be any problems.
The job was advertised with a salary range of $120,00 to $135,000.
It turns out, Neiswanger already had a Holyoke connection. Joseph Gattinella, Neiswangerr's brother-in-law, has lived in a former fire station at Hampden and Oliver streets for six years. He works for a restaurant equipment company, said Carla Neiswanger, the new chief's wife.
Neiswanger spent a few hours in the mayor's office talking and exchanging phone numbers with the public and city officials and employees.
"I'm actually excited about the new chief," said Sandra Zieminski, city public health nurse.
"'Continue to make it a safe city,'" Zieminski said she told the new chief, "especially for those like us from the Board of Health who have to go into the bowels of the city every day. I'm really excited. I hope everything works out well. I trust the mayor's judgment."
Christine M. Alger, who belongs to Friends of the Holyoke Library among other groups, said she would tell Neiswanger she would like to see more of a police presence on foot and bicycle patrols. She wants her two children to know police officers by name, she said.
"You're more likely to talk to someone you know," Alger said.
Neiswanger, speaking to a small group that included Alger and mayoral candidate Alex B. Morse, said he understands the need to have police and young people interact.
"I'm scheduled to attend a youth violence conference in Hartford, which is good because maybe some of what I find there I can apply here," Neiswanger said.
More details coming in The Republican.