Many honors were presented to officers at the 45th Precinct recently.
Both the precinct’s commander and two of the its police officers were honored for their outstanding work at the 45th Precinct Community Council meeting on Thursday, February 5, Also honored was local businessman Tommy Melendez of Master Graphics at 3159 Bruckner Boulevard.
Deputy Inspector James McGeown, commanding officer of the 45th Precinct, was honored by Senator Jeff Klein on his recent promotion from captain to his current rank, and got a day in the state ceremoniously proclaimed in his honor on February 5.
Selected as officers of the month were police officers Christopher Marks and Garrett McSweeney, who along with Melendez, were honored for donating a sign to First Lutheran Church of Throggs Neck after the officers responded to a 311 call about vandalism at that location.
Melendez donated a sign to the church after the officers alerted him of the situation, said a police source at the meeting.
Melendez and the officer were presented with citations from Klein, a representative from Assemblyman Benedetto’s office, and the community council.
At the precinct council meeting, Lt. Paul Trapani said that the officers were not unique in police service, but rather something most people would do at any time, but it does deserved to be recognized. The officers responded to First Lutheran Church of Throggs Neck several days before Christmas found graffiti everywhere.
“Instead of just taking a report and moving on to their next job, they (the officers) went down the street to Master Graphics, and asked a simple question: how can I get this fixed?” said Trapani, who added that Melendez took care of everything from there.
Klein said that as soon as McGeown was assigned to the 45th Precinct, he realized that he was a police officer who knows about how to connect with the community, and someone who commanded his precinct well.
“I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Deputy Inspector James McGeown on his recent promotion,” said Klein. “Having served in the NYPD for more than 30 years, Deputy Inspector McGeown has always gone above and beyond the call of duty – protecting his fellow policemen and women and putting his life on the line each and every day. I commend him on his steadfast dedication and service to the residents of this community.”
After receiving the honor from Klein, McGeown said that he never thought that he would have a day named after him and that the honor was impressive.
“It is nice to be recognized,” said McGeown. “I thank the officers and the community here for making that possible.”
McGeown gave credit to the hard work of the beat cops ‘who go out and do the job every day’ for helping making the day possible. He said that he hopes to stay in the precinct because he likes working with the people there and in the communities it serves.
