LOWER EAST SIDE — The NYPD joined hundreds of Lower East Side residents Tuesday to celebrate National Night Out, a nationwide gathering to connect police with the community in an effort to promote crime prevention.
Police from the Lower East Side’s 7th Precinct, the East Village’s 9th Precinct and Chinatown’s 5th Precinct hosted events in their respective neighborhoods, featuring everything from free food and music performances to carnival rides and martial-arts demonstrations.
Neighbors mingled with the 9th Precinct’s top cops just across the street from the stationhouse on East 5th Street, where free munchies were on hand and inflatable amusements were set up for local children.
At Chinatown’s Columbus Park, dozens of officers from the 5th Precinct watched a series of martial-arts and dance demonstrations in front of a crowd of hundreds that cheered the performances.
The 7th Precinct hosted what has become one of the largest National Night Out events citywide on Stanton Street, with carnival rides, a petting zoo and musical performances.
National Night Out, now in its 28th year, seeks to create better crime-prevention awareness among local residents and strengthen community-police relations. More than 37 million people celebrated the event across the country last year.
