BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Officers from Bedford-Stuyvesant’s 79th Precinct may soon become familiar faces around the block with the introduction of the NYPD’s community policing model.
Specially trained officers will be assigned to sectors in western Bed-Stuy starting on June 27 and will engage the community in addressing crime and quality of life issues in their specific area, police said.
A total of eight Neighborhood Coordination Officers, or NCOs, will be permanently assigned to each of the sectors, participating in community meetings and getting to know residents.
“It’s just going to create a better relationship with the people block by block, church by church, with all the leaders, with all the elected officials, it’s just going to continue the relationship,” said Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North.
Bed-Stuy’s 79th Precinct, which spans from Classon to Lewis avenues and Flushing to Atlantic avenues, was previously divided into 16 sectors and is now split up into four, according to Deputy Inspector John Chell.
Sector A stretches from Putnam to Atlantic avenues between Classon Avenue and Marcus Garvey Boulevard; Sector B is between DeKalb Avenue and Hancock Street; Sector C runs from Lexington to Myrtle avenues between Bedford Avenue and Marcus Garvey Boulevard; and Sector D spans from DeKalb to Flushing avenues.
Chell announced the new model last week at an NYPD and clergy breakfast, in which he also helped unveil a precinct pilot program focusing on security in houses of worship.
As of June 27, 30 precincts around the city will be taking part in the community policing model, officials said.
In addition to two NCOs, each sector will receive two patrol cars assigned to the blocks during every shift, so the same officers will travel the area.
NCOs will also set up neighborhood work groups in which they will collaborate with residents and stakeholders to identify problems and develop strategies to solve them on a “micro-level.”
“I challenge myself to make the 79 NCO program the best in the city,” Chell told community members. “And I challenge you to help me get that done.”
