109th Cops are tops

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has partnered with New York Cares since they began their December Coat Drives 19 years ago. In 2006, the NYPD collected 33,000 coats for needy men, women and children in the five boroughs, nearly 40 percent of the total.
Of the top three precincts in the entire city, two are in Queens. It turns out that the 109th in Flushing led all police commands, by collecting 1,300 coats. Ridgewood’s 104th precinct came in third, with 1,000 coats collected last December.
In this recent photo, Deputy Inspector Matthew Whelan (white shirt) stands with Community affairs officers Kelly Glennon (2nd from left), and Kevin O’Donnell (5th from left), by just a few of the coats they’ve already collected. They’re backed up by some of the men and women in blue preparing to go out on the night tour, on Friday, December 7.
“It’s a very great honor,” Whelan said of their accomplishment. “But it really belongs to the caring people who brought in all the coats,” he stressed.
The drive runs until December 31. “Hopefully, we’ll do a little better this year,” Whelan said.