Police Pop Up At Albemarle Playground

It popped up Monday afternoon at 3pm on the Albemarle Playground, behind PS 230. With few signs of what was to come in the next five hours, the 66th Precinct Community Affairs staff arrived, unfolded a rock face, set up tables and a tent for showing movies at dusk, gave away free popcorn, bottled water, and Dalmatian painted soccer balls. Meanwhile, the Fire Department parked its “smoke house” truck on Dahill Rd so firemen could take kids on a crawl through a smoke-filled room, showing them how to escape a fire safely.

The first police outreach event staged in Kensington, it drew upward of 400 people: parents with kids eager to climb the rock and get their faces painted or hands tattooed. Teenage boys hung around, too, many playing basketball. With a captive audience, the police used the occasion to sneak in crime prevention tips.

The eight days it took Sgt. Michael Andreano to produce this event, working with school officials, sending letters home to parents, reassuring the neighbors, and arranging for all the equipment, which included, among others, police floodlights, a movie projector, and that fold-up rock, paid off handsomely.

Should the 66th Precinct hold more outreach events next spring, Sgt. Andreano may have to add “events producer” to his already jam-packed portfolio.