Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov receives honorary accommodation
Queens Jewish community members joined the New York Police Department’s National Night Out festivities at area precincts. I took some time to thank members of the Department at three local gatherings, where we successfully brought the police to the community, and the community to the police, as the program slogan hails.
National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community.
At the 102nd Precinct’s event held at Victory Park across from Forest Park Jewish Center by Woodhaven Boulevard and Myrtle Avenue, kosher pizza from Bravo was available for attendees. The event, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., withstood the brunt of an impending rain storm, and was fun for all! There I shared a few moments with Deputy Inspector Jeremy Kivlin, Commanding Officer; Community Affairs officer led by P.O. Scott Adelman, Auxiliary Officer, Sergeant Eli Hecht, and Dr. Moshe Ehrenpreis. Earlier, Aron Cyperstein, co-president of Khal Adas Yereim, and Pesach Osina of the NYC Speaker’s Office greeted guests. The 102nd Precinct serves the Jewish communities of Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill.
The 112th Precinct, serving the Jewish communities of Forest Hills and Rego Park, held their program at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, across from Macdonald Park, the original event site. There I spent some time with Captain David Cordano, Commanding Officer; Heidi Harrison Chain, President of the precinct’s Community Council; Rabbi Daniel Pollack, Jewish liaison to Rep. Grace Meng; and Avraham Pinkhasov, clergy liaison to the precinct. Kosher pizza from Mezze was on hand for attendees.
Representing the Jewish community of Far Rockaway at O’Donohue Park, at Beach 17th Street and the boardwalk, for the 101st Precinct’s celebration, was Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato, flanked by community partners Pesach Osina, active community member; Boruch Ber Bender, CEO, Achiezer Community Resource Center; Sholem Klein, Founder, RNSP, and Menashe Friedman of the precinct’s Community Council. Special thanks to Commanding Officer, Captain Timothy P. Schultz for his continued community engagement.
I rounded the night out against crime with my friends from the 107th Police Precinct at the Electchester Shopping Center, in Kew Gardens Hills, just up the block from the precinct house. Carolann Foley, President of the precinct’s Community Council, honored P.O. Matt Klein for his years of service, and Clergy Liaison Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov of Kehilat Sephardim for being a steadfast willing partner. Assembly member Sam Berger was counted amongst the guests and shared a special photo with Shmira safety patrol members Jack Avram and Shaya Llyod. Berger has embraced the work of Shmira with open arms and has arranged a substantial grant of $300,000 for the organization as it reaches new mediums of bringing safety and reassurance to the Jewish communities of Queens.
By Shabsie Saphirstein
