At ‘National Night Out,’ 84th Precinct celebrates partnership with community
Crime has dived 78 percent in the 84th Precinct over the last two decades, Deputy Inspector Mark Di Paolo said at Tuesday’s National Night Out Against Crime celebration at Brooklyn Borough Hall, where neighbors cheered the success of the partnership between the precinct and the community.
Old-timers commented on how much the neighborhoods in the precinct — including Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, DUMBO and Vinegar Hill — have changed over the years.
“We’re literally here to celebrate the success of the partnership between the community and the police,” said Leslie Lewis, president of the 84th Precinct Community Council for 22 years. “When this all started, it was too dangerous to walk around at night; nobody was on the streets. Now there are people on the streets, development everywhere. It’s a very different world because of the work we’ve all done. Because of the success of the partnership, developers started to spend money and encourage people to move here. It’s directly related.”