Welcome To The 72nd Precinct, Captain Emmanuel Gonzalez
There’s a new captain in town.
NYPD Captain Emmanuel Gonzalez has joined the 72nd Precinct as its new commanding officer, taking over for outgoing Captain Tommy M. Ng, who is now leading the 5th Precinct in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
“I’m gonna miss Captain Ng because he was very nice and we appreciate everything that he did, especially with the elderly,” said Grisel Amador, executive director of the United Neighborhood Senior Center of Sunset Park.
“[Ng] texted me a goodbye. It was such a quick change. Hopefully I’ll see him soon,” added Renee Giordano, executive director of the Sunset Park 5th Avenue Business Improvement District (BID). “We had a very good relationship with him. He let me know many times when something was happening here and would explain things if I had an issue or was concerned about something. He didn’t try to hide what was going on in the community.”
Amador agreed, noting that “he would check to be sure that any time the precinct had information about something to protect the seniors, it would be sent to us. For example, with prevention — do not open the doors — when I tell them, they don’t do it, but when police tell them, they do it.”
But while Ng leaves behind a legacy of strong community outreach and accessibility, Gonzalez seems to already be “jumping right in,” observed Giordano, who, along with Amador, was one of four community leaders invited to an Community Partner Appreciation event at NYPD headquarters. The other two were Louie Liu, the head of the 72nd Precinct’s Asian Community Observation Patrol volunteer unit, and Rev. Felix Burgos, community liaison to the precinct.
Gonzalez is no stranger to Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace. He comes to us from the neighboring 66th Precinct, which covers Borough Park and parts of Midwood and Kensington, where he served as executive officer.
“He comes from the 66 so he understands our needs. and grew up here, living between eighth and ninth for pretty much his whole life,” said Giordano. ” i think it’s gonna be a good relationship.”
“Captain Gonzalez told me he changed the position of his office — he moved it right by the entrance of the precinct, so anything the community needs, you can go there and talk to him,” said Amador. “He wants to meet with the seniors and is very interested in working with the elderly community, as well as the whole community. I have a very nice impression about him.”
Balancing the different communities within the 72nd Precinct is important, noted Liu.
“Captain Ng is great guy. He brought a lot of new tools for respect in the community. But he not only served the Asian community, but the entire area. So of course we miss him, but we hope he gets a good path,” Liu said. “CO Gonzalez is from the 66th Precinct, so we know him and hopefully we can continue to work together and have a strong relationship for the whole of Sunset Park, whatever they need, from 15th Street to Industry City.”
Toward that end, the 72nd Precinct is one of several Brooklyn precincts that will be participating in the NYPD’s Neighborhood Community Outreach (NCO) program — an effort to bring back community policing, where officers stick with certain “beats” and build relationships with residents in a particular part of the community.