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Commanding Officer Leaves First Precinct After Five Years of Service

Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna is leaving the first precinct after serving as commanding officer for five years.
Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna is leaving the first precinct after serving as commanding officer for five years.
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DNAinfo/Julie Shapiro

By Julie Shapiro

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

LOWER MANHATTAN — After leading Lower Manhattan’s police precinct for five years, Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna will start a new job this week at Patrol Borough Manhattan South.

“Change is always interesting,” Bologna told DNAinfo Tuesday morning in between packing boxes at his office in the first precinct. “You do what they give you and you do your best. I’m looking forward to new challenges.”

Bologna’s replacement is Capt. Edward Winski, most recently the executive officer of the Midtown South Precinct. Winski starts Wed., May 5.

An NYPD spokesman declined to comment on the change, besides saying it was “a routine transfer.”

Commanding officers rarely stay in a precinct as long as Bologna served the first, and local residents said they were sad to hear he was leaving.

“He’s done a wonderful job,” said Anthony Notaro, president of the First Precinct Community Council. “Whenever residents came and asked for his help, he always helped out.”

Bologna, 56, a Staten Island resident, said he was proud to have reduced crime in the precinct, which covers the Lower West Side south of Houston Street and the Lower East Side south of the Brooklyn Bridge.

“I’m leaving on a good note — every year crime has gone down,” Bologna said.

Bologna’s new job as a borough executive in Manhattan South does not automatically mean a promotion in rank, but it could lead to one, Bologna said.

Bologna has worked with Capt. Winski and said he would do a good job for downtown.

While Winski will be a new face in the neighborhood, his last name may be familiar: Winski’s brother is retired Inspector Peter Winski, who led the first precinct from 2001 to 2003.

“I’m leaving the first precinct in good hands,” Bologna said. “But I’m going to miss the first, no question.”