Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Friday afternoon that the city will invest $7.3 million to buy 13,000 bullet-resistant vests for NYPD officers. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

The 13,000 new bullet-resistant vests the city is buying for the NYPD are designed to save lives. They may also have the added bonus of saving Mayor Bill de Blasio from the bitter fight the police unions have been waging against his administration. 

They have argued that the mayor does not support police. The vest purchase, though, appears to be an easy way for City Hall to undercut that argument.

"This is something we do to make sure that all the men and women of the NYPD are safe, to honor the work they do," de Blasio said.

The mayor said the city will spend $7.3 million on the vests this year. 

"Within two weeks of this issue being raised by the unions, the mayor and the Council responded very quickly," said Police Commissioner William Bratton.

Demand for the vests grew after two police officers were shot execution-style in Brooklyn in December. Some officers reportedly raised the issue internally with union leadership, pushing for concrete concessions from City Hall at the height of the recent tension between police and the mayor.

Approximately 21,000 vests used by the police department are older than the five-year warranty for the protective gear. 

Since 1978, bullet-resistant vests are believed to have saved 87 NYPD officers' lives.

The move seems to have gone a long way toward improving relations between the mayor and police. Pat Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association said in a statement, "We are grateful that the Mayor and Speaker heard our urgent call to purchase the vests immediately rather than to delay their purchase until FY 16, which is months away. We hope this represents the first of many actions that demonstrate City Hall's true support for New York City police officers."

The first 6,400 officers will be fitted for the new vests in March. They are expected to get them in mid-May.