111th Hosts Night Out on Crime in Douglaston

Northeast Queens residents turned out in droves Tuesday night for the 111th Precinct’s annual Night Out on Crime in Douglaston.

For the past 28 years, the event has been celebrated at precincts across the five boroughs on the first Tuesday in August as a means to discourage crime.

Capt. Ronald Leyson, of the 111th Precinct, said the evening’s festivities at the Douglaston Shopping Plaza were intended for community building purposes.

“The idea is to bring the community and police together and strengthen the ties between them,” he said.

Bill Conway, the precinct’s community affairs officer, said last year’s Night Out drew as many as 1,000 participants.

At 6 p.m., a large number of residents from Douglaston, Bayside and Little Neck had already lined up for free hamburgers, hotdogs and Italian sausage and mingled with the numerous groups that set up tables at the event.

Conway said he believed this year’s turnout would likely be the largest to date.

Steve Behar, a Bayside attorney, said he drops by the event every year.

“It’s a great community outing,” he said. “It’s the best opportunity the 111th Precinct has to reach out and get involved with the community.”

Groups at the Night Out included the Little Neck Douglaston Lions, St. Anastasia Church and local Community Emergency Response Teams.

Leyson said a few new additions at the event, including a massive bouncy castle for children, were paid for through donations to the precinct’s community council.