When you’re in a war, it pays to show the flag.
The NYPD helicopter seen hovering low above the trees in Prospect Park Tuesday wasn’t meant to alarm anyone.
Rather, it was Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly joining residents in Park Slope’s 78th Precinct as borough residents once again marked the 25th anniversary of National Night Out Against Crime.
Since the first National Night Out was established back in the early 1980s, thousands have gathered throughout downtown Brooklyn each year to heighten crime and drug awareness, learn about local anti-crime programs and strengthen both neighborhood spirit and the bonds between the community and their NYPD protectors.
In essence, residents partied the night away while putting criminals on notice: the community is organized and fighting back.
Dozens of residents turned out for the 78th Precinct’s annual anti-crime parade, which kicked off at Fifth Avenue and St. John’s Place and wended its way through Park Slope to Grand Army Plaza.
Upon making it to Grand Army Plaza, they were joined with Patrol Borough Brooklyn South brass and the Mayor and Police Commissioner, who touched down in a field near the park’s northern entrance.
Both Bloomberg and Kelly praised the 78th Precinct’s 9 percent drop in crime, as well as the nearly 75 percent drop in crime Patrol Borough Brooklyn South has celebrated since 1993. Crime in Patrol Borough Brooklyn North has fallen by 70 percent since 1993.
Other National Night Out Against Crime events throughout downtown Brooklyn included fun-filled kids days at Coffey Park in Red Hook, Sternberg Park in Williamsburg and Fort Greene Park and barbecues outside of Borough Hall and Meserole Avenue in front of Greenpoint’s 94th Precinct.