Bay Ridge Muslims reach out to the 68th Precinct

Bay Ridge Muslims reach out to the 68th Precinct

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The 68th Precinct paid a visit to the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge on the evening of Nov. 8. At a previous meeting held at the precinct for Imams, the council of the mosque invited members of the department to communicate with members of the Muslim community. Almost 1,000 people were in attendance.

Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Matthew Pontillo was introduced by Dr. Rimawi. Pontillo began by acknowledging the Ramadan month and expressing the precincts commitment to ensure that attendance at evening prayers goes smoothly.

The precincts Community Affairs Director Robert J. Pinnisi also attended. He and Pontillo listened to the communitys fears and problems, including: bias and profiling by some police officers, hate crimes and the medias portrayal of Muslims.

Both Pontillo and Pinnisi responded in detail to each of the questions asked, reiterating their commitment to keep the lines of communication open with the community.

Some attendees asked if the police could communicate with the media to express concerns about the medias distortion of the Muslim community and how this affects them.

Officer Pinnisi explained that police have also been the target of biased stories in the media and that they overcome this by developing personal relationships with community members, and allowing their good work to show that the way theyre portrayed in the media is false.

One suggestion offered by Pinnisi was to arrange a meeting between the community and local media outlets so that they could communicate directly with members of the press.

2002-11-25

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Bay Ridge Muslims reach out to the 68th Precinct

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2002-11-25