Manhattan Police Chief Issues Warning Over Tripled Traffic Accidents, Installs New Security System

Village of Manhattan Meeting | March 16, 2026

Article Summary: Manhattan Police Chief Jeff Gulli raised serious alarms about a severe spike in local traffic accidents driven by reckless driving, while also announcing security upgrades at Village Hall.

Manhattan Public Safety Key Points:

• Traffic accidents in Manhattan tripled in January and doubled in February compared to the same months in 2025.

• Chief Gulli attributed the sharp increase to drivers rushing and running through traffic signals.

• The police department’s overtime hours have trended upward, partially due to reimbursable task force officer assignments.

• A new security buzzer system has been installed at the front door of the Village Hall to enhance staff safety.

The Manhattan Village Board on Monday, March 16, 2026, received a stark public safety warning from Police Chief Jeff Gulli, who reported a drastic and dangerous spike in vehicle collisions throughout the community over the first two months of the year.

During his monthly departmental report, Chief Gulli drew the board’s attention to the accident statistics, which showed an alarming upward trajectory. According to the February 2026 monthly report included in the agenda packet, the village recorded 15 traffic accidents in January—triple the five accidents recorded in January 2025. In February, the department recorded six accidents, double the three incidents from the previous year.

“We’re not headed in the right direction,” Gulli warned the board. “We’re ticketing people, we’re stopping them, we’re trying to slow them down. People just need to slow down. They’re in a rush to get to the next red light or stop sign, and it’s literally killing people.”

Gulli expressed hope that the deployment of a dedicated traffic unit or similar interventions might help curb the dangerous driving behavior. However, he emphasized that the rising accident numbers are “terrible” and the resulting injuries are “even worse.”

Addressing the department’s financials, Gulli noted that police overtime hours were trending upward, with 186.5 overtime hours logged in January and 88 in February. He clarified that the increase is tied to the department’s use of task force officers, noting that a portion of those specific overtime costs is reimbursable to the village.

In a separate security update, Gulli informed the board and Village Administrator Rosemaria DiBenedetto that a new electronic buzzer system has been successfully installed at the front door of the Village Hall to provide an added layer of security for village staff.