Hollywood community leaders, residents, and law enforcement personnel celebrated National Night Out on August 6th, 2019. National Night Out is an annual event held every first Tuesday in August to draw attention to police sponsored community programs. It also strengthens ties between local communities and police officers.
Various civic and neighborhood associations held events at 13 locations throughout Hollywood. The parties featured food, music and other fun activities. Police officers attended and had a chance to talk with residents.
Mayor Josh Levy visited the Washington Park Community Center event. “This is a great neighborhood get together. It celebrates the police and community partnership, which is important. Residents need to work together with the police to keep neighborhoods safe,” he said.
David Strauss, Hollywood’s Assistant Police Chief, was glad to see officers spending time with people in the community. “This is a fun setting for our officers to get to know residents,” he said.
Some Hollywood officers made public presentations. A crowd favorite at Boulevard Heights Community Center was Sgt. Bryan Kalish’s presentation on the K9 unit’s duties.
The police officers truly enjoyed meeting with residents. “This is a good opportunity for people in the neighborhood to get to know each other and develop relationships. We will have more eyes looking out for problems in neighborhoods,” shared Officer Anthony Gomez.
“This is a chance for neighbors to get to meet each other and get to know each other better. This will help make the neighborhood safer,” added Tom Lander, president of the Park East Civic Association.
