There’s a new top cop at the 76th Precinct.
Capt. Justin Lenz recently took over command of the precinct, which patrols Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, Cobble Hill, and parts of Gowanus, after its former commanding officer was reassigned to head the Ozone Park beat in Queens.
Lenz, 49, of Nassau County, said that his goal for the 76th Precinct, which he says is one of the safest in the city, is to maintain its steady record and to tackle property theft – the area’s biggest crime concern.
“My two main goals are addressing some of the grand larceny crime issues that have affected the neighborhood in terms of unattended property and vehicle break-ins, and maintaining just the incredible dramatic decrease in violence that is turning us into one of the safest neighborhood’s in the city,” said Lenz, who officially took over the post three weeks ago.
Lenz, a 23-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, picked up the reigns from Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff, who headed the precinct for a year and a half. Schiff is now the commanding officer of the 106th Precinct in Queens, a neighboring borough.
Before taking over the 76th Precinct, Lenz served as the executive officer of the 24th Precinct in Manhattan, and previously served at the 112th Precinct in Queens. The 30-year member of the New York Army National Guard spent the last three years heading the NYPD’s Brooklyn North Narcotics squad where he covered narcotics operations in East New York and Brownsville.
Lenz said that he’s very excited to take on his new beat and get to know the neighborhoods, residents, and the issues.
“It’s a great experience to me and a great opportunity,” he said at Community Board 6’s Transportation and Public Safety Committee meeting on Wednesday night. “I really like to get out and about in the community and talk to people one-on-one out in the street.”
Lenz took over the seven-six post on the heels of an early evening shooting and brawl that occurred just hours apart in Carroll Park last month that had Carroll Gardeners extremely rattled.
The fight, which sent one 17-year-old boy to the hospital, erupted between groups of teens at 3:30 pm on Sept. 16, just hours before several gunshots were squeezed off.
Lenz said that an arrest was made in connection to the 7:30 pm shooting that he said happened after “there was an initial confrontation in the Red Hook Houses where somebody felt disrespected and they saw the person later on in the day and fired a couple of shots in the air to scare them.”
No one was injured, and no property was damaged by he shooting, and Lenz said the brawl was unrelated, adding that there have not been any more incidents in the beloved playground since.
“We have increased patrols and, thankfully, it has been quiet,” he said.
Shooting incidents are down about 90 percent this year in the 76th Precinct. There were no murders reported in 2012 and none have been recorded this year so far.
