Menchaca brings NYPD and Red Hook youth together, by Nathan Weiser

The first annual Unity in the Community event with Red Hook youth and the NYPD was held in Red Hook on July 30. The day began at 3 pm with street soccer on the fields in Bush Clinton Park, and later four basketball games took place at the Miccio Community Center.

The Miccio Center was packed with both fans and players for the basketball games, moved inside due to the afternoon rains.
The Miccio Center was packed with both fans and players for the basketball games, moved inside due to the afternoon rains.

According to Councilman Carlos Menchaca, who played in both the soccer and basketball games, this celebration was put together to create more unity in the community. Some of the organizations that were represented the event included Street Soccer USA, the Old Timers’ Committee, the NYPD, the Red Hook Community Justice Center, Good Shepherd Services and Red Hook Initiative. Fairway contributed food for all the participants.

Kids from the Buena Vista Futbol Club were playing on the Street Soccer field outdoors even in the rain. Adults were playing on the newer field. Tents with food lined Bush Clinton Park. When the rain made the basketball courts not playable, everything was moved inside. Four basketball games ensued between Red Hook and the NYPD.

Menchaca and his staff began planning the event in March at the request of local youth. “This is a test, and I think we accomplished it,” he said. “We want to do it again.”

Menchaca tasked Janet Andrews, a community organizer with the councilman, with finding the kids and police to participate. According to Andrews, all of the youth at the event were either involved in programs at the Miccio Center, attend Pave Academy or are from the community.

Carlos Menchaca playing in the outdoor soccer game. (photos by Nathan Weiser)
Carlos Menchaca playing in the outdoor soccer game. (photos by Nathan Weiser)

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Andrews and Menchaca addressed the packed Miccio Center in between games after a performance by an eight-person step dance group. Andrews talked about representing peace, unity and love as well as promoting positiveness.

According to a policeman inside the Miccio, officers particpated from the 76th Precinct and from PSA 1. He said that there were 14 different officers who played basketball with the youth.

An announcer called out all of the highlights while a DJ played music during the games. People stood at the entrance to the gym along one baseline, sat on both sides, and more people from the community were sitting on the stage above the court watching the action. All of the participants in the basketball games wore Unity in the Community t-shirts in various colors of red, white or orange.

The intention of Unity in the Community is to create positive interactions between police officers and local youth. By bringing the two groups together, a more trusting understanding of each other will be fostered over time.Unity 2 Unity 3

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Comments are closed.

On Key

Related Posts

An ode to the bar at the edge of the world, theater review by Oscar Fock

It smells like harbor, I thought as I walked out to the end of the pier to which the barge now known as the Waterfront Museum was docked. Unmistakable were they, even for someone like me maybe particularly for someone like me, who’s always lived far enough from the ocean to never get used to its sensory impressions, but always

Millennial Life Hacking Late Stage Capitalism, by Giovanni M. Ravalli

Back in 2019, before COVID, there was this looming feeling of something impending. Not knowing exactly what it was, only that it was going to impact the economy for better or worse. Erring on the side of caution, I planned for the worst and hoped for the best. My mom had just lost her battle with a rare cancer (metastasized

Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club returns to it’s roots, by Brian Abate

The first Brooklyn Rotary Club was founded in 1905 and met in Brooklyn Heights. Their successor club, the Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club, is once again meeting in the Heights in a historic building at 21 Clark Street that first opened in 1928 as the exclusive Leverich Hotel. Rotary is an international organization that brings together persons dedicated to giving back