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Politics & Government

Community Board 6 Hosts Final Meeting Of Summer

Speakers bring attention to FBI programs, local safety concerns.

Community Board 6 met Thursday night for its last meeting of the summer, and the topics presented were wide-ranging as a result.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent James Capozzi talked to residents about the reality of terror threats, both locally and across the city.

Capozzi urged residents to take the city’s safety into their own hands by being vigilant and creating cooperation with experts in private industries in banking, financial services, transportation, chemical manufacturing, food services, and water supply.

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“Let us know things that we need to know,” Capozzi said. “We want people involved in these industries to identify themselves.”

The FBI has a program called Infragard with a website at www.infragard.net, where residents can apply, join and become a partner with the FBI in preventing terror attacks.

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Capozzi said the program has existed for 15 years and has 40,000 members. The group is important, he said, because while the New York Police Department has more than 30,000 officers, the FBI’s complement in New York City is just 1,200.

Chairman Joseph Hennessy gave his last report of the summer, highlighting the coming end of the city’s budget negotiations, and putting in his own two cents on the city’s current financial situation.

Specifically, Hennessy decried the city’s plan to cut library services and teaching jobs while installing bike lanes in all five boroughs.

“I’m not against bicycles,” said Hennessy.  “I was born in Ireland in cycled 10 miles a day to school and back, [but] how much does it cost to pave that line?”

 Hennessy also recognized the career of

“You have to give credit to a person who is willing to sit down with his constituents and is willing to explain what is happening in Washington,” said Hennessy. 

Before the board wrapped up it’s final meeting, Community Affairs Officer Enisa Redzematovic gave residents a rundown of the recent crime numbers in the 112 Precinct, and advised people to closely watch their belongings this summer.

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