Families of New Windsor, the City of Newburgh and Town of Newburgh enjoyed another safe and fun celebration of National Night Out under clear skies on the evening of Tuesday, August 1. Local vendors, fellow first responder agencies and community partners were welcomed on Tuesday night to take part in the evening festivities.

Each year on the first Tuesday in August, hundreds of communities across the country join together for National Night Out. This celebration was a day that brought together members of the community and their respective police departments and agencies to highlight the work they do in their everyday lives.

The City of Newburgh held their celebration from Johnston Street down the Broadway corridor to Liberty Street. The Town of Newburgh held their celebration at Chadwick Lake Park, and the Town of New Windsor held their celebration at Kristi Babcock Memorial Park. Free food, community entertainment and resources were all made available.

The National Night Out event in New Windsor marked its second year being held at Kristi Babcock and the first year for new police chief Daniel Valeri, who assumed office in February of this year. Several community partners in attendance Tuesday night included the Vails Gate Fire Department, the Town Clerk’s Office, Hope Not Handcuffs and the New Windsor Fire Department.

“I think it’s really important that we get out here and interact with the community. Not just our police officers, but you know, all our partners, the fire departments, the ambulance corps, the State Police are also out here tonight, and the FBI, and all our other partners with the county. So it’s great, we get out here together and show the community that we’re all in it together,” said Valeri.

The National Night Out event also provides a safe space for dialogue for community members and officers to see everyday work in a positive light, try out some police gear and even become inspired to join the department one day. “A lot of times people just see the police as an enforcement role,” said Valeri. “Whereas this kind of event humanizes the police a little bit more, it shows that we’re part of the community. We’re people just like they are, we have families.”

“I’m just touched and thrilled that we have all these families not just parents, but grandparents as well, that have come out here. Elder people, different of all ages, whether they’re here with children or not they come out here to support our officers, which I think is phenomenal,” said New Windsor Councilwoman Sylvia Santiago. “I hope that their [community members] takeaway is that when they see our officers whether in the school or just in any kind of setting, that these kids or community members will go up and, you know, say a kind word and say hello.”

In the Town of Newburgh, the Junior Police Academy run by the town police department allows town youth to learn more about the profession. The program is currently under the leadership of Officer Adam Geyer IV, who was also able to say hello to students and families as they walked around.

“It’s nice to be able to see the younger generation interact with law enforcement and be able to, you know, kind of get an idea of what police officers do on a daily basis,” said Geyer IV. “One of the major things that I take from this, from this night, is being able to interact with the youth and kind of putting smiles on their face.”

While the town police officers were showing off several parts of their gear, others were on the grills serving food to the community members under the park pavilion. Police Chief Bruce Campbell, Town Clerk Lisa Vance-Ayers, Councilmen Anthony LoBiondo, Scott Manley and Paul Ruggiero all made guest appearances alongside Park Commissioner James Presutti, Recreation Director Jason Szeli and his staff of young volunteers, who helped with operations. Cronomer Valley Fire Department, Town of Newburgh EMS, Orange Theory Newburgh, Keep It Moving, Resorts World Hudson Valley and Walden Savings Bank also joined in on the fun that evening.

“It’s just a great opportunity for our community to come together and I’m also super excited that we got a break in hot weather. I think that combination of having some great community events going on with spectacular weather, we can showcase our town a little bit here,” said LoBiondo. “As a town councilman, I can tell you that I’m just really super proud of our police department.”