Forest Hills Elected Asks $700K To Buy Precincts Cop Cars, Cameras

FOREST HILLS – A Queens lawmaker wants the city spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on cop cars and cameras for Forest Hills and Kew Gardens police precincts.

New York state Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. — running to keep his seat in the upcoming midterm election — asked for more than $700,000 to fund Queens' 102th, 103rd, 106th, and 112th precincts.

The move, announced Tuesday, aims to promote community policing by providing better access to communities across the borough.

“When citizens know who their community officers are, it plays a major role in boosting police-community relationships,” said Addabbo in a statement. “That type of relationship is crucial in helping to solve crimes and preventing crimes from happening in the first place.”

The allocated funds would allow each precinct to buy one $50,000 midsize sedan or crossover vehicle for use by the Community Affairs Officers. The rest of the funds would be used to purchase two Argus cameras, with each package costing $65,000, for each precinct.

The project now moves for approval from the State Senate leadership.

In October, the city’s Police Benevolent Association announced that they would endorse Addabbo for his reelection run in District 15 on Nov. 8.