{"id":314466,"date":"2026-08-05T17:41:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/314466\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:41:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:41:03","slug":"brooklyn-communities-and-cops-build-bonds-at-national-night-out-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/314466\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn communities and cops build bonds at National Night Out \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brooklynites met and mingled with law enforcement officers on National Night Out<\/a> on Aug. 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Launched in 1985 as a way for people to meet and get to know their local precincts in an informal setting, the event is held nationwide on the first Tuesday of August. The goal is to strengthen the partnership<\/a> and trust between law enforcement and the community, thereby creating safer neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

The NYPD hosted the annual community-building campaign at more than 70 locations citywide, including the cul-de-sac on 4th Street next to J.J. Byrne Park in Park Slope. There, officers of the 78th Precinct, local lawmakers, and community members celebrated with free pizza, cotton candy, hot dogs, brownies and cookies from Invictus Bakery, a climbing wall, and a basketball clinic hosted by Brooklyn Basketball while DJ Stevie kept the crowd entertained.<\/p>\n

\"DJDJ Steve provided live music all night long. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Community members celebrated National Night Out with free pizza and other treats in the 78th Precinct. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Erika Clark, the president of the 78th Precinct Community Council and the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District, said National Night Out is an opportunity for cops and the community to build trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the relationship with the NYPD throughout the city has deteriorated. So the opportunity to build this kind of community relationship to allow people to see the cops as people and as part of the community is very helpful,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

The commanding officer of the 78th Precinct, Deputy Inspector Billy J. Morales thanked everyone for their support and noted that the precinct couldn\u2019t do its work without the community\u2019s help. He honored four community members: D\u2019Angelo Brown, manager at Target and one of the event\u2019s sponsors; Kim Maier, executive director of the Old Stone House; Mickey Heller, chair of Brooklyn Pride; and Rani Debi with a certificate of appreciation.<\/p>\n

Heller, who also portrays Santa Claus at the annual Park Slope holiday tree-lighting event, was honored that his contributions to the community were recognized.<\/p>\n

\"\"Brooklyn Basketball held a basketball clinic at the event. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"The 78th Precinct Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Billy J. Morales accepts the Mayor\u2019s Proclamation. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we do here, whether it\u2019s Brooklyn Pride or as Santa, it is done for the community to lift spirits [and] to bring joy, and when people recognize you for things like that, it\u2019s an honor,\u201d Heller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kay and Shernon Henry had never heard of National Night Out before, but their interest piqued when they heard the music while walking down Fifth Avenue.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just walking, and I happened to hear the music,\u201d Shernon said. \u201cI said, \u2018Listen, let me make my way over there.\u2019 Came for some park excitement, just relaxation. And look around: it\u2019s a beautiful scene. You know what I\u2019m saying? Officers are out here. The kids are out here. Everybody\u2019s enjoying themselves. It\u2019s a fantastic day.<\/p>\n

Events like National Night Out were \u201cdefinitely\u201d needed, he added.\u00a0
\n\"\"Kay and Shernon Henry said event like National Night Out were needed. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann\n<\/p>\n

Terrence Alexander, treasurer of the 78th Precinct Community Council, said National Night Out also sends a message to \u201cbad actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get the community together, and they show up, it sends a message that we\u2019re united and we\u2019re willing to kind of take our community back. That\u2019s sort of the origins of [National Night Out],\u201d Alexander explained.<\/p>\n

\"\"State Senator Andrew Gounardes attended the 78th Precinct National Night Out. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople see the police department out here. They see the district attorney\u2019s office out here. They see their local community groups out here, and we just remind ourselves that we\u2019re all neighbors, and we build that trust together. That\u2019s why National Night Out is so important,\u201d Gounardes explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that I always say is the National Night Out is about community. It\u2019s about bringing people together with law enforcement because when we work together, everyone is safer, and that\u2019s the most important message here,\u201d Simon noted.<\/p>\n

\"coneySandy the Seagull made an appearance at the 60th Precinct\u2019s NNO event.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Law enforcement officials and elected officials recognized the contributions of residents and officers.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta<\/p>\n

Further south, Coney Islanders flocked to the 60th Precinct\u2019s annual block party-style celebration, complete this year with carnival games, performances and a visit from Cyclones mascot Sandy the Seagull.<\/p>\n

Elected officials like state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso stopped by too as local residents and officers were honored for their contributions to the community. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Additional reporting by Arthur de Gaeta\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooklynites met and mingled with law enforcement officers on National Night Out on Aug. 4.\u00a0 Launched in 1985…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[65624,19423,118722,48431,98,100,99,1882,7426,118723,118724,108815,118725,117004,9,24,2215,12,370,63,103,646],"class_list":["post-314466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-60th-precinct","tag-78th-precinct","tag-billy-j-morales","tag-bonding","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-community","tag-cops","tag-erika-clark","tag-jj-byrne-park","tag-kim-maier","tag-mickey-heller","tag-national-night-out","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-police-department","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-nypd","tag-police-and-fire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}