UNION, NJ — On behalf of the Union Police Department, the township of Union recently invited the community to celebrate National Night Out.
National Night Out is an annual community event that attempts to strengthen police and community relationships. Originally scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6, when much of the country celebrated NNO, rain forced the township of Union to delay its observation of the event until last week. The event was hosted at Union police headquarters, 981 Caldwell Ave. More than 1,000 people came to enjoy food, games, face painting and music provided by a DJ. Local restaurants donated food and water.
Sgt. Michael Loguidice said, “The main purpose is to have an open public forum for our residents to come out, meet and greet officers and express concerns, to meet and greet others from the town and reinstitute our Neighborhood Watch program.”
The Neighborhood Watch Program involves citizens being trained to recognize and report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods.
Continuing, he said, “Every year, we like to have fun events. For kids, we have bounce houses, a new gaming truck, a 360 photo booth, vendors from town, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, the Department of Public Works for street complaints, and New Jersey education welcomes kids back to school.”
Loguidice has been involved with National Night Out since 2017.
Officer Robert Honeymar said, “It’s a great event. It gets us close with the community, building a rapport.”
Deputy Chief Scott Breslow of the Union Police Department said, “It’s always good to meet with residents.”
Officer Nicole Pinho was participating in Dunk-A-Cop, where children would throw a ball to dunk a cop into a dunk tank. On this super-hot August day, it was the perfect job for Pinho, and many children scored in dunking her.
Firefighter Orlando Guzman, said the Union Fire Department was there to talk about fire safety.
Jim Racanelli, coordinator of the NJ Department of Transportation’s Office of EMG Management, was there to let the Union County region know it is now the law to move over for everyone on the side of the road, not just police officers.
Ceasar Gomen, a banker at Citizens Bank, said, “This is a great community event for police and businesses in town.”
Justin McDaniel, student ambassador for Kean University, said, “I love to see the community get together in a way we thought we might not do again,” referring to the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Union resident Vicky Bellamy said she was there enjoying the music, adding, “The people are friendly. The food is good.” She said she had pizza and a hoagie.
Photos by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta