NYPD Precinct Reshuffle Set For Sept. 25

It's hard to miss most of the happenings in and around the just opened Barclays Center.

However, at least one change will be much harder for most people to detect.

On Tuesday, Sept. 25 at midnight, Park Slope's 78th Precinct will formally take over policing at the 18,000-seat arena in a rare shift that city officials said was necessary to keep visitors and residents safe.

The decision to realign the boundaries between the 78th Precinct on 6th Avenue and the Clinton Hill-based 88th Precinct, as well as portion of the 77th Precinct, came in the form of a memo written by police commissioner Ray Kelly to the City Council.

Councilwoman Letitia James, D-Brooklyn, said the 78th would be getting more officers to cover the extra territory in the form of new recruits—not by the reassignment of officers currently stationed in the 88th or 77th precinct.

The new territory to be taken over by the 78th Precinct on Tuesday includes Atlantic Terminal in the 88th and several residential blocks between Barclays Center and Vanderbilt Avenue currently policed by the 77th.

James called the move a win for residents of the blocks surrounding Barclays, particularly those living in Prospect Heights, which has seen a rash of violent attacks this summer.

"I think we're going to get more attention now, because relative to Park Slope, Prospect Heights has more incidents of crime," she said.

In Fort Greene-Clinton Hill, the change may allow for a refocusing of efforts at combatting persistent property crime and robberies mostly involving iPhones.

For those confused by all of this shifting of (mostly) invisible police boundaries—don't worry.

As is the case for incidents reported throughout the city, residents will be able to file crime reports at the precinct that is most convenient for them.

However, investigations in most cases will be led by the precinct in which the crime is alleged to have taken place.

Amy Clark contributed reporting.