It takes an immigrant to know an immigrant community.
That was the thrust of last week’s Friends United Block Association, as members of the mostly Caribbean community group welcomed Captain Milt Marmara as the new commanding officer of the 69th Precinct.
Marmara, who explained to the Association, better known as FUBA that he was born in Romania, was well received, President Gardy Brazela told this paper.
“Most of the audience was Caribbean-American, and they liked the fact that he wanted to work with them,” Brazela explained. “He understands where they’re coming from.”
“I came to this country just like a lot of people here in Canarsie came to this country,” said Marmara who explained to Association members that he and his community affairs staff is always accessible. “Canarsie has a big immigrant community , but at the same time it has a very diverse community.”
“But Canarsie is also a community that really takes a lot of interest in what’s going on in the neighborhood,” he continued.
Marmara said that in most immigrant communities, residents aren’t familiar with the laws of the land as well as police procedures.
“That’s why we want everyone to know that they have access to us at any time,” he said. “If they feel that they can’t come to us, then they can come to Gardy [Brazela] who has direct access to us. He’ll be a familiar face who knows how to reach us at any time.”
As of June 8, felony crime in Canarsie had dropped by five percent.
Residents attending the meeting didn’t have major crime concerns to address, but they did have a small list of quality of life concerns regarding blocked driveways and traffic enforcement that Marmara and his team said they would look into.
Association members also spoke about neighborhood gang members, which Marmara said he has no tolerance for.
On Memorial Day weekend, cops were called to the Canarsie Pier to quell a gang initiation conference. Hundreds of would-be gang members converged on the pier for a meeting.
“This is the first time that something like this happened in the park,” he said. “We have zero tolerance for any organized gang activity.”
The police are on track with FUBA, who last month secured $25,000 New York State funding for the Association’s anti-gang initiative.
Brazela said that the funding will be used in a variety of ways to interface with the organization’s anti-gang efforts, which include lectures on gang prevention, “signs parents have to look for, colors they wear and stuff like that.”
FUBA will also use the money for intervention and behavior modification, he explained.
