New Haven Independent

Casanova credited not only the cops “stepping up to the plate,” but the community becoming increasingly involved.

To help maintain these trends, Casanova and the Fair Haven management team organized a picnic on the oasis of green between the substation on Blatchley at Clay and the new Christopher Columbus Family Academy. It was billed as united celebration of community safety.

More than 100 kids and grownups showed up to eat, receive free books from New Haven Reads, and get to know their local officers.

Ruffina Durrazo (pictured with eighth-grader Nichelle Hobby) oversaw organizing the picnic. The management team and the police wanted to demonstrate “the positive aspects of our neighborhood,” she said.

“Kids see us in a different way,” said Casanova. He was delighted that kids like (pictured left to right with Casanova) Christina Hernandez, Shaniqe Niles, and Kiara Woods could view him behind the grill for a change, instead of behind the wheel of his cruiser.

Several gave him a high five for his cooking. “You can’t underestimate the value of that,” he said.

Other stats that Casanova was particularly proud of included motor vehicle enforcement (tickets issued) up 150 percent. Those stops help bring down crime and produce weapons, he said. They also “send a message to the criminals: if you drive through here, you might get stopped.”

Quality of life enforcement, meaning citations for public drinking and loitering, also rose dramatically from 2,064 to 3,995 year to date.

“We’re sending a message as a department,” Casanova said after his tour of duty behind the grill concluded. “We’re taking this community back.”

Just in case the NHPD needed some backup, a 15-foot Rambo, courtesy of the National Guard, was also present.

Management team co-chair Diane Ecton said the event will be annual, if not more frequent. She said it grew out of the urging of Police Chief James Lewis at citywide brainstorming gatherings of management teams.

Lewis has also been active in launching youth programs through the police department. They include the Police Explorers, the law enforcement career club that Sgt. Ricardo Rodriguez was explaining at the picnic to Tanya Ibrhim. She said her daughter Luz, now a seventh- grader, wants to become a cop.

The two-pronged approach — enforcement and outreach to neighbors — was evident earlier Thursday on Poplar Street as organizers were pulling together the picnic. Casanova said the narcotics squad served three warrants on that block. “They broke down some doors,” he said. “Later, when the dust settled, we went back there and invited some neighbors to come to the event. Some showed up.”

Another statistic that Casanova was proud of: No fewer than 200 burgers cooked and consumed. Likewise with the hot dogs.

Among the many contributors of funds or services were the Mary Wade Home, C-Town, Supermarqueta, the parks department, and, of course, the police officers, and schools’ staff.