A local precinct has been recognized by New York City’s police commissioner for the success of its crime reduction and community outreach efforts.
The 70th Precinct, which covers Midwood, Flatbush and Kensington, is one of only a few precincts citywide −− and the only one in Patrol Borough Brooklyn South −− to have received the honor, known as a Unit Citation, this year.
Deputy Inspector Ralph Monteforte, the precinct’s commander, announced the news to members of Community Board 14, gathered at Edward R. Murrow High School, 1600 Avenue L, for their May meeting. “It’s a tremendous boost for the morale of the precinct for the cops,” Monteforte told his listeners.
The award reflects the success of the precinct’s efforts; in 2008, Monteforte recalled, the 70th Precinct was down nearly seven percent in crime.
Winning the award, he added, “Is a great accomplishment.” The precinct last received it in 1993.
“The better news is that we’re doing three times better this year than we did last year,” Monteforte went on. “No precinct has ever won it back−to−back. That’s our goal. That’s what I put in front of the cops, to make this community even safer.”
This year, so far, the precinct is down over 22 percent, year to date, in the seven major crime categories.
Last year, two precincts in Brooklyn South won the Unit Citation. They were the 67th Precinct, in East Flatbush, and the 69th Precinct, in Canarsie, the latter of which was led by Monteforte till he was moved to the 70th Precinct last spring.
However, Monteforte declined to take credit for the award, instead crediting the precinct’s officers with earning it.
“It’s the cops,” he said immediately when asked about the back−to−back wins for the precincts he commanded over the past two years.
