WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 22, 2019 17
Kids enjoy R’wood cops’ backpack party
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Ridgewood’s 104th Precinct held a
back-to-school party on Tuesday
in front of their stationhouse to
help local students get through their
end-of-summer blues.
The block party featured a
rockwall, the NYPD Mounted
Unit, a live DJ, barbecue and a
backpack giveaway.
While Captain Victoria Perry, the
precinct’s commander, got mixed
answers when she asked a group
of several hundred children and
parents whether they were ready to
go back to school, the kids showed
unmitigated excitement about
getting a new backpack, provided
in part by the Greater Ridgewood
Youth Council.
A line of children, including
dozens of campers from the YMCA
summer camp, wrapped around
the block to get their hands on new
backpacks, which the officers filled
with school supplies.
The event also featured a booth
from ModernMD, an urgent
care clinic, with a branch on
Knickerbocker Avenue. Claribel
Gonzalez, one of the clinic’s
community relations managers,
came to educate residents about
the benefits of going to an urgent
care clinic rather as opposed to the
emergency room.
“Even if you’re uninsured, you can
go see a doctor for around $100. The
ER’s are overburdened and underresourced,”
Gonzalez said.
The event flexed the 104th
Precinct’s standing as a hub of
community outreach in the greater
Ridgewood area.
The mounted units were a perfect
example of this tendency. Largely,
the unit represents the public-facing
part within the NYPD branch.
As a group of children petted the
snouts of the horses, one resident
asked the mounted policeman what
their purpose was on the force.
“It gives us a high vantage point.
Like I can see all the way down the
street from here. And it makes it
easier for the public to approach us.
People are much more likely to want
to talk to an officer on a horse,” said
Officer Youssef.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Captain Victoria Perry, commander of the 104th Precinct, greets children during the command’s inaugural backpack
giveaway in Ridgewood on Aug. 20. Photos: Max Parrott/QNS
An auxiliary offi cer hands out a bag.
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