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New top cop appointed to run Brooklyn’s 84th Precinct

February 22, 2017 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The 84th Precinct has a new commanding officer — Capt. Roberto Melendez. Pictured from left: Tony Ibelli, Capt. Roberto Melendez, John Kenny, Diana Torres and Julius Hudson. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese
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After two and a half years under deputy inspector Sergio Centa, the NYPD’s 84th Precinct is getting a new commanding officer — Capt. Roberto Melendez — who introduced himself at Tuesday’s community council meeting held at Borough Hall.

Melendez, a native of Puerto Rico, grew up in Brooklyn and went to Franklin K. Lane High School and Empire State College before he graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He has been with the NYPD for nearly 26 years, including a five-month stint as executive officer in 2013.

“I’m glad to be here in the 84. It’s a great community, a great place to work,” Melendez said. “I was here back in 2013 from May until October, I was assigned here as a captain. I moved on to the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, and that’s where I’ve been the past couple of years. The 75 is a big precinct. I dealt with traffic, domestic violence, shootings and gang violence. This is obviously different. In April, I’ll have 26 years in the department. I’ve worked most of my career in Brooklyn in Brooklyn North so I’m familiar with the area.”

Melendez takes over for Centa, who took over command at the 84th Precinct in September 2014. Centa was popular with many community members for his willingness to speak frankly during community council meetings and for his support of the precinct following the deaths of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in December 2014. Centa was assigned to the command at the 83rd Precinct in Bushwick.

This change within the precinct comes as the 84th Precinct Community Council is still without a president since the death of Leslie Lewis, who served as president of that council for 25 years. Longtime vice president Tony Ibelli is acting president for now, as elections to officially replace Lewis won’t happen until the spring.

Community affairs officers Detective Freddy Mitchell also retired in early 2016 and Detective Sal Ferrante was promoted in December and now works at 1 Police Plaza. They have been replaced by community affairs officers John Kenny, Diana Torres and Julius Hudson.

Melendez inherits a precinct that has seen a steady rise in crime so far in 2017. Through Feb. 12, the area has seen a 34.9 percent rise in the major index crimes including a 145.5 percent jump in burglaries in the area. Melendez, who officially took over the department on Thursday, Feb. 16, said the precinct is currently putting plans in place to reduce crime, but noted that they recently made some big arrests that should help ease the burden.

“Crime is up right now, especially burglaries,” Melendez said. “We’re putting together a plan right now, but they also made a lot of good arrests right before I came on so we expect the next couple of weeks we’ll see crime go down a little.”

Melendez said that he plans on relying on the Neighborhood Coordinating Officer program, which began last October under Centa. The program assigns Neighborhood Coordinating Officers (NCOs) to certain sectors of the precinct and encourages them to interact with the community.

“I want you to get to know the NCOs in your zone,” Melendez said at the meeting during which he introduced five of the eight NCOs to the attendees. “We have eight officers assigned to the program right now. In the last couple of days, I’ve seen success stories with the NCOs. They have been successful in getting intel and apprehending some criminals.”

The new captain also spoke about focusing on pedestrian and bike safety within the precinct.

 

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