While camping is usually synonymous with Upstate New York, the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau of Patrol Borough Queens South set up camp in Baisley Pond Park in Jamaica on Thursday, Aug. 22, for its annual “NYPD Camping in the Park” event.
The NYPD Community Affairs Bureau partnered with the New York City Police Foundation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the New York State Police, the NYC Department of Sanitation and the FDNY, hosting an evening of music, games and fun for parents and their kids.
NYPD Assistant Chief Kevin Williams, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, told QNS the community looked forward to the event every year.
“Anytime we get the chance to bring the community and law enforcement together because it’s just not the NYPD. We have our partners from Customs and Border Protection [and] the fire department out here, the State Troopers. It’s just to show law enforcement is just like everybody else in the community,” Williams shared.
Kids had an array of fun activities to choose from. Some tested their strength and agility at the NYPD rock climbing wall; a retired NYPD officer taught some Taekwondo moves and the FDNY provided hands-on CPR training. Other activities included the NYPD game truck, a “Hummer Truck” bouncing castle and a mechanical bull donated by Beyond the Blue, a reading corner, kayaking and fishing. At the same time, D.J. Shug provided the music entertainment, spinning the records. Others hung out in one of the 70 colorful kids’ tents the New York City Police Foundation donated, and the kids were allowed to take them home at the end of the evening.
The highlights of the evening were a flyover of an NYPD helicopter showcasing maneuvers over Baisley Pond and a tug-of-war between the NYPD and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which the NYPD won without any effort.
For Det. Tanya Duhaney of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau of Patrol Borough Queens South, events like “Camping in the Park” provide pure “happiness” for the community and cops to come together.
“I wanted everything in the park to be educational but also fun for our young people,” said Duhaney, who has been organizing the event since 2018.
Duhaney, who, along with Nicole Dorsey, received a Citation of Honor from the NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ office, shared it was the second time the NYPD Aviation Unit showed off their flying talents.
“I want the kids to see the certain things the job has to offer. These kids hear our helicopters, but they’ve never seen our helicopters come that low,” Duhaney explained. “It gives them an opportunity to see the different careers the NYPD has to offer.”
Laron Boyd and Sharmeika Davis-Boyd run Q.I.K.Y.K.I.D.Z, which stands for Quality In Keeping Your Kids In Da Zone. They hosted a reading corner for the kids.
Sharmeika Davis-Boyd, who has written multiple children’s books, including “Grandma Has A Mouse In The House,” told QNS that Det. Duhaney was going “above and beyond” for the community.
“We need this out here,” Davis-Boyd said. “Because the children need to know that we all care. Once you put things in the community, people can see that we care, then they’ll start caring. We can’t go nowhere, nowhere but up.”
Mom and daughter team Dorothea and Christianna from Laurelton, Queens, said the event was great for the community.
“It’s a really good experience because I’m able to make different friends, see different things and learn certain things about the police department,” said Christianna, who recently signed up with the NYPD Law Enforcement Explorer program.
“I’m looking forward to understanding what the police is [about]. I want to be a criminal psychologist,” the 14-year-old told QNS.
Friends Brooke Anderson and Jamie Smith, also known as Tuffy, from Far Rockaway, enjoyed the theme and the location.
“It’s nice that [the NYPD] is doing something like this for the community,” 17-year-old Brooke Anderson said. “[Though] it’s a shame they don’t have horses, but you know, that’s just a personal issue I have.”
While Tuffy liked the event, he expressed the helicopter was a tad “anti-climatic.”
“I just thought they’d stick around a little longer. It was way too short-lived, in my opinion,” Tuffy shared.
Cassia Thomas and Chanel Stevens attended the event with their kids.
Cassia Thomas told QNS that she picked up the job flier from U.S. Border and Protection.
“I’ve wanted to work for them for a long time,” Thomas shared. “It’s with the government. Who doesn’t want to work with Customs and Border Protection?”
Chanel Stevens’ three-year-old son Gen loved the helicopter.
“He was right under it, literally,” Stevens said. “He’s having a great time, and the other kids are having a great time. And I think that’s what’s important; the kids are being developed, encouraged and taken care of.”
