Teacher and Superintendent
Astoria
Employment: Barbara, 47, works as a teacher at P.S. 11 in Woodside, teaching technology to early childhood. Jim, 58, is a superintendent of an apartment building and is self employed as a licensed locksmith.
Family: The Pollocks have two children, Peter, 25 and Frances, 19. Frances is currently a member of the 114th Civ-Op.
Residence: The Pollocks are life-long Astoria residents.
Community Organization: The Pollocks founded the 114th Civilian Observation Patrol (114th Civ-Op) in 1980, a 24-member group to patrol Astoria and deter crime.
Goals: “We just hope that we can continue to make a difference in our community, and at the same time we hope that we can get more members,” Barbara said.
Biggest Challenge: For the past 15 years, the 114th Civ-Op has worked to clean graffiti in Astoria. “We have 56 locations that we keep clean,” Barbara said. “If it ever gets re-hit or retagged, we make sure it stays clean.”
Proudest Moment: The Pollocks trained to become Certified First Responders. “If there is another terrible thing that happens, we would at least be available to help out,” Barbara said.
Rewards of the job: “We made a dent in crime so far. Barbara was responsible for over 11 arrests for graffiti so far,” Jim said. When asked if he feared retaliation from criminals that the couple put behind bars, he laughed. “It’s our neighborhood,” he said.
