Bensonhurst’s 62nd Precinct has a new top cop

There’s been a changing of the guard at the 62nd Precinct.

The new commanding officer is Captain Anthony Longobardi, who has taken over the reins from Deputy Inspector Anthony Sanseverino, who has been transferred after a little more than two years at the helm of the 62 to Patrol Borough Brooklyn South (where, he said, he would be “broadening” his “horizons, overseeing the 13 precincts” that make it up).

Longobardi’s first day at the 62nd Precinct was September 24, and he told this paper he’s excited to be at the precinct  — which covers Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Gravesend.

“I love it — being a precinct commander,” he said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m super excited to be here. I’ve been meeting people from the community and everyone is greeting me with open arms. The cops seem to be great cops and I’m looking forward to working with everyone to make the 62 a better place.”

But, this is not his first time serving the community.

Rather, said Longobardi, he served as conditions and field training sergeant at the precinct between December, 2006 and November, 2007.

Longobardi — who joined the force in 1999 — served as well in the neighboring precinct, the 68, where he started his career as a cop, patrolling the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights from February, 2000 through November, 2002, and snagging Cop of the Year honors during his time there.

Subsequently, he worked undercover for the Vice Squad in both Manhattan and Brooklyn before being assigned as a detective to the Organized Crime Task Force, and then to the 120th Precinct Detective Squad in Staten Island before beginning his first tour at the 62.

After that, he was transferred to the Detective Bureau, and worked at the 67th Precinct in East Flatbush, the 60th Precinct in Coney Island and the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant before returning to the 120th Precinct as a platoon commander.

From there, Longobardi served a brief stint with the Staten Island Task Force before being promoted to captain and becoming the executive officer at the 67th Precinct, where he served from February, 2015 till being appointed the commanding officer of the 62nd Precinct.

He is, he acknowledged, living his dream. “I always had two goals — to become a detective and to become a precinct commander,” he said.

For residents of the neighborhoods that the 62nd Precinct serves, Longobardi has one clear message — “The members of the 62 are here to serve and protect you. If you ever need anything, feel free to stop in.”

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