Carl: It's a mix of foot and car patrols depending on the precinct area and whatever operations are going on. New joins get the foot posts, of course.

Personally I don't think the AR in a car is a good idea or necessary, though my NYPD friends probably disagree. NYC is not the kind of threat environment which requires AR firepower on a regular basis - I can see a smaller, more rural department needing that kind of instant backup, but in NYC backup comes in the form of six of your buddies in under five minutes, which most departments don't have.