26 AUGUST 22, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Two groups that kept Greater
Ridgewood area thriving in the 1970s
BY THE OLD TIMER
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Anyone who lived in Ridgewood
or Glendale during the 1970s
and witnessed the city falling
apart all around them like dominoes
probably wondered, at some point,
when the tumble would begin in
their backyard.
Looking west into Bushwick
filled one with great despair. The
community had been ravaged by
blockbusting and red-lining — two
unscrupulous real estate tactics
that destroyed property values.
The end result: Abandoned homes,
and almost nightly acts of arson
that reduced entire blocks of the
neighborhood to ashes. It would
take Bushwick decades to recover
from the damage.
Looking further west and
across the river to Manhattan,
and one wondered just how much
longer the city government would
survive. Mired in debt, the city
teetered on the brink of bankruptcy,
requiring financial help from the
state and federal governments
and a good dose of cost-cutting to
pare expenses.
Vital services were reduced. The
city had to do more with less. But
that also meant every community
had less places to turn to in city
government to deal with the needs
they had — including education and
public safety.
In the face of all these problems,
residents in the Greater Ridgewood
area rose to the occasion, rolled up
their sleeves and did what they
could to prevent the ravages of
urban decay from spreading into
their communities.
Eyes and ears for Glendale
In 1976, Glendale residents banded
together to form the Glendale
Civilian Observation Patrol (GCOP).
Over the next 40 years and beyond,
the organization would work closely
with the 104th Precinct, serving
primarily as extra sets of eyes and
ears patrolling the streets to guard
against any criminal activity.
Their efforts were highlighted in
the July 28, 1977, Ridgewood Times
with a front page story about the
then-Queens district attorney,
John Santucci, participating in a
ride-along with GCOP members.
Santucci wanted “to see first
hand how the volunteer watchers
program works, and to encourage
more Queens residents to join such
programs in support of local law
enforcement authorities,” according
to the report.
Here’s a further excerpt of
the story:
DA Santucci met Glendale patrol
members at 9 p.m. on July 22 at
McDonald’s, Cooper and Myrtle
Avenues. The patrol was then
presented with two checks — $1,400
from McDonald’s and $500 from
the Glendale Chamber of Commerce
— toward the purchase of FM
communications equipment.
After the presentation, and a
regular briefing of patrol members
by their leaders, DA Santucci rode
in one of the watcher’s cars. Earlier
in the evening, the DA met with
members of the 119 Block Association
and the 79th Street Block Association
on street crime-related problems.
The car toured the 280 block
area in the 104th and 102nd
Precincts, as it would on any of its
runs. Members keep watch for any
dangerous, emergency or criminal
situations and promptly report the
conditions to police via mobile CB
radio transmitters to home base
receivers where other members relay
the message by phone to the proper
police precinct station.
The patrols also report on nonpolice
related conditions to other
public agencies such as defective
lights, potholes, missing traffic signs
and the like.
Santucci said, “I welcome the
opportunity to go on a patrol tour
with the Glendale civilian observers
because I want to see the operation
from the inside, and because I
hope my participation can serve as
encouragement to others to join such
efforts in their communities.”
Even as the city improved in the
decades to come, GCOP remained
a vital part of the community,
continuing and broadening its
mission of public service to the
areas of Ridgewood, Glendale,
Maspeth and Middle Village.
In the last decade, the patrol
changed its name to the 104th
Precinct Civilian Observation
Patrol (104COP) to better reflect its
coverage area.
Along with regular overnight
patrols, you’re likely to find
104COP members assisting the
NYPD in providing crowd control at
local parades.
Keeping business thriving
Beyond public safety, another
great concern for the Greater
Ridgewood area during the summer
of 1977 was the vibrancy of the
Myrtle Avenue business strip.
The Aug. 4, 1977, Ridgewood
Times featured a front page story
on a meeting of a special committee
formed within Community Board 5,
The front page of the July 28, 1977 Ridgewood Times documented not
only the need for emergency assistance in arson-scorched Bushwick, but
also the eff orts of the Glendale Civilian Observation Patrol, a neighborhood
watch program which provided help to local police during a trying time for
New York City. Photos from Ridgewood Times archives
Members of the Glendale Civilian Observation Patrol in a photo used for a
Ridgewood Times advertisement back in 2008
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