Community Board 11 salutes 86th Street beat cop
Bensonhurst’s 86th Street shopping strip has become a testing ground for an old policing concept that is suddenly becoming new again.
Several months ago, Insp. James Rooney, commanding officer of the 62nd Precinct assigned a beat cop, P.O. John Ciarcia, to patrol the street, mingle with shopkeepers, and keep an eye out for trouble in the area. Ciarcia’s territory includes more than 250 stores. Thousands of shoppers visit 86th Street each day.
“The beat cop is something out of the past, but it worked out phenomenally well,” Rooney told Community Board 11 members at their June 18 meeting. Storeowners have come to like and trust the officer, Rooney said.