At a recent Queens Borough Board meeting, representatives from Patrol Borough Queens South announced that there weren’t plans for Forest Park to have a Neighborhood Coordination Officer (NCO).
NCOs serve as liaisons between the police and the community, in addition to fighting crime, problem solving, following up on previous incidents and attending community meetings.
“It was upsetting to us because Forest Park is such an important part of the 102nd Precinct,” said MK Moore, president of Friends of Forest Park. “In the last year, we have worked very closely with the 102nd Precinct to get some heavy enforcement in the park, and we’ve seen the benefit of that with the park becoming more family-friendly.”
After the announcement, Moore wrote to Assistant Chief David Barrere, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, to consider adding an NCO to Forest Park.
Though the NCO program is usually based in neighborhoods, Resorts World Casino and Aqueduct Race Track in the 106th Precinct were given a pair of NCOs last year. Moore argued that if the casino can get the officers, Forest Park should too.
“The casino got NCOs, and they have more money than God over there,” he said. “We need our own NCO at Forest Park.”
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