Mother Nature couldn’t rain on their parade. 

Despite intermittent precipitation throughout the day and night Tuesday, the show, National Night Out (NNO), an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie, persisted.  

Millions of neighbors participate in NNO across thousands of communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August. Texas and other select areas celebrate the first Tuesday in October.

Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and more.

The event was first introduced in August 1984 through an already established network of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations and volunteers across the nation. 

The first annual National Night Out involved 2.5 million neighbors across 400 communities in 23 states. This year, 70 precincts in New York participated, including 23 from Brooklyn.   

The value of relationships 

Matt Peskin, NNO’s executive director, told the Brooklyn Eagle, “Neighborhoods are not the same as they were in the 1940s and 1950s when you knew your neighbor, and you knew the cop on the beat. That said, it’s essential to display the value of relationships between neighborhood people and the police.” 

Peskin said it’s all about having a positive experience with first responders and humanizing the police.

“Hopefully, that will make the community more comfortable with them and strengthen their relationships,” Peskin said.

Sheila Doherty, president of Brooklyn’s 68th Precinct Community Council, pointed out that the rain kept many people away, but it did not dampen the spirit of the yearly gathering.

“We expected to have the event at Shore Road Park, but as the day went on, and the weather got worse, we realized that was an impossibility,” Doherty said. “We feverishly searched for another spot last-minute and ultimately ended up having a barbecue with a small crowd at the precinct. Considering everything, it was a respectable turnout.”

Doherty said she considered canceling, but knowing how many people look forward to this event every year, that quickly became an afterthought.  

“The community here in Bay Ridge loves their police,” Doherty said.