By Doug Miller
Laffey's top job in the NYPD was as commanding officer of the department's operations division from 1991 to 1994 - the on-site manager for all major emergencies and occurrences within the five boroughs, he explained. He oversaw the police response to the first World Trade Center attack as well as managing the police presence at the 1992 Democratic National Convention and the 1994 World Cup soccer tournament.
"All of these were relevant experiences," Laffey said, "as now I am responsible for all services in the City of Long Beach."
Laffey is the husband of Judy and the father of grown twin sons. After his retirement from the NYPD, the Neptune Boulevard resident was hired as a deputy police commissioner in Long Beach under then Commissioner Ken Cohen, whom he succeeded in December 2001.
"He's got a very steady management style," said City Council President Leonard Remo. "He's an executive officer, he's a manager, he's an administrator. He's not there to micro-manage or do the jobs of the department heads for them. He's a facilitator. He makes it possible for the people with the expertise to do their jobs to the best of their abilities."
Laffey's term as commissioner in Long Beach included one tumultuous period in which he was sued by one of his top lieutenants, Tom Sofield Sr., whom Laffey had transferred from the detective division to patrol. Sofield alleged in a suit, which was finally settled last week, that Laffey transferred him as retribution for Tom Sofield Jr.'s City Council campaign against the Democrats in 2001. Sofield went on to replace Laffey as commissioner in March 2004.
That drama notwithstanding, Laffey pointed with pride to the drop in major crime in the city during his tenure.
Since leaving the city, he has taught as an adjunct professor of criminal justice in the masters programs at both St. John's University and John Jay College.
As city manager, he said, he plans to hit the ground running. "My immediate plans involve assessment of all parts of the city government," he said. "I'm concerned about our finances and I'm concerned about our infrastructure.
"As [former City Manager] Harry Porr used to say, 'There's a great city beneath this city.'"
