LOWER MANHATTAN — Downtown's First Precinct has a new top cop.
Capt. Brendan Timoney, most recently the executive officer for the East Village's Ninth Precinct, has taken the helm as commanding officer of the First Precinct, which covers a square mile that includes lower Manhattan, SoHo and Hudson Square.
"I'm very excited to be joining the precinct," said Timoney, 37. "I"m looking forward to working with the community to keep this neighborhood safe."
Timoney, who's been with the NYPD for 15 years, also has policing in his blood — he's the nephew of the NYPD's former First Deputy Commissioner John Timoney.
He takes over for Deputy Inspector Edward Winski, 46, who had served as commanding officer since 2010.
Winski, whose busy tenure Downtown included the tense demonstrations of Occupy Wall Street, was promoted from captain to deputy inspector while working as commanding officer.
The 46-year-old has now taken over the commanding officer spot at the Midtown South precinct. It's familiar territory for WInski, a 20-year veteran of the NYPD, as he served as executive officer of Midtown South before heading Downtown.
Timoney's new position officially started Tuesday, the precinct confirmed.
"Captain Timoney will continue to foster the solid relationships in the 1st Precinct as he has done in his previous command," the precinct's community council said in a statement.