They’re commanders in cheer!
New York’s Finest doubled as Santa’s helpers on Thursday, handing out gifts to youngsters during Patrol Borough Brooklyn North’s second-annual toy giveaway at the Bushwick station house. And the jolly old elf himself showed up to surprise the lucky tots, who were elated to see the man in red after some heavy traffic presumably delayed his arrival from the North Pole, according to a man in blue.
“Everyone was excited when we made the announcement that Santa was a couple minutes out, despite the long wait,” said Oscar Lopez, a community-affairs officer from the 83rd Precinct. “It was very nice.”
Officers from precincts across North Brooklyn teamed up to collect hundreds of presents that they doled out to more than 3,000 underprivileged and sick kids.
The local heroes invited some of their more famous, super counterparts including Superman and Spiderman to the shindig, where they played with the tots, hoisted them up on Santa’s sleigh for a ride, and passed out tasty snacks and hot chocolate, Lopez said.
One tyke who unwrapped a scrapbooking kit at the drive couldn’t wait to get home and start crafting, according to her mom.
“She’s been playing with it,” Lynette Pearson said of her 8-year-old daughter Jamani Pearson-Dudley. “It was nice.”
