Book ‘em: Community comes together in children’s book and PJ donation drive

It was anything but an April Fool’s Day prank as hundreds of books and dozens of pairs of pajamas were piled high in the muster room at the 68th Precinct on Saturday, April 1 — destined to go to children in need in the community.

The books and pjs were the result of a donation drive spearheaded by the 68th Precinct Community Council and the Bay Ridge Community Council, to be distributed by a laundry list of local organizations — Frankie’s Mission, Grandma’s Love, The Healing Center, the Narrows Botanical Gardens, NIA, PJs for Patients and the Olivia Boccuzzi Foundation.

Items were brought to the station house that day, and collected in the weeks before the event at a variety of area venues — the Bay Ridge Jewish Center, Capital One Bank, Community Board 10, Dorsa Realty, Harbour Abstract, Investors Bank, and the offices of State Senator Marty Golden, Assemblymembers Nicole Malliotakis and Pam Harris, and City Councilmember Vincent Gentile.

A crowd of local activists was present to see the donations off, and raise more money, via raffles, to be used to purchase additional items for donation.

“I look around the room and I say to myself, I live in the greatest community in the world,” noted David Ryan, the precinct council president. “The outpouring of love and support is overwhelming. Basically, we’ve taken over the precinct today.”

“It’s such a beautiful thing,” agreed Josephine Beckmann, district manager of CB 10. “When the community comes together like this, it’s just incredible.”