Southwest Brooklyn is seeing blue.
In light of a June, 2015 budget agreement that allotted for nearly 1,300 additional New York City police officers, one local politician says that nabes like Coney Island and Bensonhurst have already seen an influx.
“I just surveyed all the local precincts that overlap my district and I’m being told that we’ve already been given an increase in officers,” Councilmember Mark Treyger told this paper on Tuesday, January 5.
Treyger, whose district encompasses parts of Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Coney Island, Seagate and Brighton Beach, has been vocal in the last two years about the need to strengthen Southwest Brooklyn’s resiliency in terms of both natural disasters and public safety.
The 60th Precinct, he said, has already been allotted 13 new officers while the 62nd Precinct has been granted seven. Additionally, six of the 12 new officers assigned to PSA 1 (which covers public housing throughout large parts of Southern Brooklyn) have been assigned to Coney Island specifically.
“That brings us to around 32 or so new officers,” Treyger said, noting also that more will be assigned in the summer months.
“I’m just ecstatic that we are getting an increase of patrol in this neighborhood and we can always use more,” said Chair of Community Board 13 Stephen “Butch” Moran who, summer after summer, asks for increased patrol for areas like Coney Island. “You can never have enough law enforcement, just as you can never have enough emergency responders.”
Treyger agreed.
“While I welcome this news, we need to be mindful that sometimes new hires do not keep up with the number of officers who relocate or retire,” he said. “Public safety is a paramount concern for our communities and, one of the things that I have always felt and many have shared this feeling, is that sometimes our community is shortchanged.
“Sometimes, officers are pulled from other areas to try and Band-Aid problems,” Treyger went on, “and I am tired of Southern Brooklyn always being shortchanged.”
Either way, both agreed, this good news is a great start.
“The bottom line is I’m very thankful we are getting more police to help in the district,” said Moran, whose board encompasses Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Gravesend and SeaGate.
“This is definitely a step in the right direction,” added Treyger, “and a very good way to start the year.”