CARROLL GARDENS — Brooklyn's 76th Precinct has a new commanding officer.
The precinct welcomed Capt. Natalie Maldonado at its community council meeting Tuesday night while saying goodbye to Capt. Justin Lenz, who left the position after less than two years.
Lenz is leaving to take over as commanding officer of the 101st Precinct, which covers the eastern end of the Rockaway peninsula, officials said.
Maldonado — who said she is "a Brooklyn girl, born and raised" — comes to the 76th Precinct after serving as the commanding officer of Transit District 32, which is based in Crown Heights. The 76th Precinct covers Red Hook, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and parts of Gowanus.
During her nearly two decades as a police officer, Maldonado oversaw the 76th Precinct's narcotics division and has conducted takedowns in Gowanus and in Red Hook public housing.
"I know we made the quality of life better in Red Hook Houses," she said.
Receiving the call to become the precinct's commanding officer represents a high point in her career, Maldonado said.
“It’s like Christmas, your birthday," she said. "You won the lottery.”
The precinct celebrated Maldonado's appointment and bid farewell to Lenz with an ice cream cake that featured the official NYPD portraits of both captains.
“You have made an impression on the community that’s going to be a little bit hard to beat," Jerry Armer, longtime president of the precinct's community council, told Lenz.
"Not that it can’t be done,” he added to Maldonado.
