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109th Precinct gets new executive officer

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THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan

The 109th Precinct has named a new second in command, hoping the executive’s bilingual skills and immigrant roots will give the downtown Flushing-based precinct a leg up.

Captain Tommy Ng, 41, was assigned as the new executive officer of the 109th Precinct this week, after Captain Christopher Manson, the precinct’s former second in charge, was transferred to the 114th Precinct in Astoria in a routine biennial switch.

Ng, who has over 15 years with the NYPD under his belt, spent the last two years at the 111th Precinct in Bayside.

The Brooklyn resident said he’s equipped to take on the predominantly Asian communities in his new patrol digs with his previous assignments working with large Asian populations, his fluency in Chinese and English and his firsthand experience as an immigrant.

“The 109th Precinct is very diverse,” said Ng, who was born and raised in Hong Kong and moved to the United States in 1988, when he was 16 years old. “My experience growing up in another country helps me to understand what an immigrant feels like.”

The former president of the NYPD’s Asian Jade Society began his career in law enforcement in Brooklyn and was promoted to captain in 2010. He is in charge of handling grand larceny cases, burglaries, accidents and assisting the precinct’s commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Brian Maguire.

One of his first main tasks, Ng said, is to make sure pedestrians in the main downtown area cross busy streets only when it is safe to do so.

“A lot of work needs to be done in educating people on looking at the lights and not running in front of cars,” said Ng, who added that many people have been struck while jetting in front of moving vehicles. “People just have to be careful of their surroundings, especially in the downtown Flushing area, where there are a lot of car accidents.”

Officers of the 109th Precinct are also warning seniors not to fall for common con games — which are heavily circulated in China and Hong Kong and now within the confines of the precinct — that target the elderly. Some unsuspecting seniors, officials said, have lost from $7,000 to $100,000 after giving money to strangers who claim forking over the cash would ward off evil spirits. Crime prevention officers at the precinct urge victims to contact 9-1-1 as soon as they come in contact with the perps, who vary in gender and age.