For the first time ever, the 45th Precinct Community Council and the 43rd Precinct Community Council will hold a joint meeting to discuss how best to fight crime.
The meeting will be held at the Unionport American Legion Post 1015 at 2151 Newbold Avenue at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 1, said 45th Precinct Community Council president Robert Bieder.
Free parking will be provided courtesy of Citibank, located at 1265 Castle Hill Avenue just off Newbold Avenue.
A joint meeting between the two precinct councils was suggested by NYPD community affairs chief Philip Banks, Bieder said. The precincts share a large common boundary along the Castle Hill Avenue commercial corridor, as well as on Waterbury Avenue and in the Zerega Industrial Business Zone, Bieder stated.
“We both have a lot of the same type of issues in the neighborhood, and we share the Zerega and Castle Hill communities,” said Bieder of the two precincts and precinct councils. “We are dealing with the same graffiti and drug issues that come up on a regular basis, and there is a lot of crossover among the residents and police, so we have a lot in common and a lot to discuss.”
The Zerega community is at the far western end of the 45th Precinct, and is part of Sector King, widely recognized as the highest crime area in the 45th Precinct’s service area, the council president said. On the other hand, the area that borders Castle Hill Avenue in the 43rd Precinct has one of the lowest crime rates in that command, Bieder stated.
Chief Banks wants to see how a joint precinct council meeting could address the needs of both precincts, said 43rd Precinct Community Council president Tanjee Lingard.
“If it turns out to be successful, we will consider doing it again in the future,” Lingard said. “This is something that has never been done before, and we want to get input from both sides.”
Issues that are important to the entire 43rd Precinct service area include quality of life issues, as well as concerns about grand theft auto and robbery, a source said.
Both Deputy Inspector Charles Ortiz and Captain Russell Green are expected to attend the joint meeting, Bieder said.
In addition to the joint meeting, the 45th Precinct Community Council is celebrating another first: its first 45th Precinct Council Breakfast on Wednesday, May 9 at Villa Barone Manor, located at 737 Throgs Neck Expressway, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The council is looking for 10 event sponsors at $500 apiece.
Tickets will be on sale soon and cost $15. The funds raised will not only be used to pay for the breakfast but also to run events throughout the course of the year, said Bieder, who is getting a great deal of assistance in organizing the breakfast from Joseph Boiko, the council’s vice-president, and Michelle Sajous, the council’s treasurer, he said.
For further information regarding sponsorship opportunities at the precinct breakfast, contact Robert Bieder at (718) 828-4400.
