New York Times, September 5, 2004, Sunday

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
The New York Times

September 5, 2004 Sunday
Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section 4; Column 6; Editorial Desk; Pg. 8

HEADLINE: Police Officers' Salaries

BODY:
To the Editor:
Mitchell L. Moss's claim (''Finest, Bravest, Greediest?,'' Op-Ed, Aug. 24) that ''New York City pays its police and firefighters fairly'' is contradicted by our research showing that New York cops are paid on average 30 percent less than officers in other local and national municipalities.
For example, in Manhattan, a typical fifth-year officer assigned to protect the Stock Exchange and Citigroup facilities earns $47,367 a year. A Newark officer with the same experience, assigned to protect the Prudential building, typically earns $74,959 a year (58 percent more).
We also disagree with Professor Moss's claim that the Police Department ''has an abundance of qualified applicants.'' New Yorkers need to ponder whether the costs associated with a reasonable increase in police pay won't, in the long run, be lower than the costs associated with the steady erosion of the city's public safety.

Harry C. Katz
David B. Lipsky
Ithaca, N.Y., Sept. 2, 2004

The writers are professors of, respectively, collective bargaining and industrial and labor relations at Cornell University, and are consultants to the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.