Nabe celebrates Night Out Against Crime

There were no palm trees to be seen, but this year, it was hula dancers who entertained the crowd gathered at 79^th Street in Shore Road Park for the 68^th Precinct’s annual Night Out Against Crime celebration.

The Beach Party/Luau put together by the precinct’s community council included a wide range of activities for event-goers young and old, from art projects, bouncy houses and hula hoops for the kids to the rollicking sound of local band Alive N Kickin, who rocked the park as the sun set dramatically over the Narrows and attendees got to their feet to dance along.

At the same time, a myriad of organizations offered information and giveaways to those who stopped by their tables at an event which the precinct’s commanding officer, Captain Richard DiBlasio, called ‘One of the best in Brooklyn and hopefully the city.”

As happens every year, Night Out provided a chance for friends and neighbors to catch up with each other and with the police officers who serve them – particularly poignant in the case of Police Officer Vito Viola, and five-year-old Christian Williams, who he helped to deliver in mom Rebecca Encalada’s home on November 26, 2007.

It’s a date that Viola isn’t likely to forget, as he not only helped bring Williams into the world but also celebrated his second wedding anniversary.

As for Encalada, she recalled, “They were so good.” Delivering five weeks early, she said her son had been born just nine minutes after she called 911.

Designed 30 years ago as an occasion for residents and police to come together to “take a stance against crime and drugs,” in the words of precinct community council President Ilene Sacco, National Night Out Against Crime has grown each year and evolved

Today, it serves as a night of fun as well as an opportunity “to make the public aware of all the initiatives that the NYPD has going on,” as DiBlasio put it.

But, he added, “Most important, it’s all about the food,” a signal to listeners that the hot dogs dished up by local activists were ready to be served.

Among the sponsors of the event were The Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator