Precinct continues in the pink

The “pinkest precinct in America” – so dubbed by its commanding officer, Captain Raymond Festino — has taken its efforts on behalf of Breast Cancer Awareness a few steps further.

The 68^th Precinct on 65^th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues, whose exterior has been painted and taped pink since earlier this month, invited area residents in on Sunday, October 18, to join in commemorating those who have battled the disease.

To that end, those who attended the event were urged to add names and photos of loved ones who lost their battle with the disease to a memorial wall on the precinct’s exterior, as well as adding names of survivors to another wall, all just a few feet away from a grouping of life-size mannequins, dressed and posed to simulate a doctor’s office.

The precinct also has sent its young Law Explorers out into the community to distribute flyers to residents informing them where they could obtain potentially life-saving mammograms, said Police Officer Susan Porcello, who oversees the Explorers. They will be out again, she added, on Halloween, giving out information as Breast Cancer Awareness Month winds to a close for 2015.