Bradley Holds Press Conference with Mayor Ganim, Councilman Newton, II
and Community Leaders to Address Opening East End Police Substation

State Senator Dennis Bradley (D-Bridgeport) stands alongside Mayor Joe Ganim and City Councilman Ernest Newton, II in front of the closed East End Police Substation. (Thursday, March 28, 2019)

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Today, State Senator Dennis Bradley (D-Bridgeport) held a press conference with Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, Bridgeport City Councilman Ernest Newton, II and community leaders to discuss the urgent need to open the Police Substation on the East End of the city. Sen. Bradley said preventative measures need to be implemented to stop violent crime and gun violence in the city. He said he would like to see the East End Police Substation open before the beginning of the summer.

“We have a substation here that we’ve built, and as chair of the Public Safety and Security Committee, I want to make sure we work with the mayor and City Council to get the funding necessary to have this substation open,” said Sen. Bradley. “We cannot stop at the substation however; we need to see foot patrol here from our Bridgeport Police Department. This requires a team effort and I am committed to working collaboratively to ensure every Bridgeport individual and family is safe.”

“I appreciate the leadership provided by Sen. Bradley to make public safety a top priority in Bridgeport’s East End and to seek funding to sustain a substation in this community,” said Mayor Ganim. “I look forward to supporting these efforts with Chief Armando “AJ” Perez to provide an increased police presence in this neighborhood as soon as possible.”

Mayor Ganim and Councilman Newton, II agreed the substation would help immensely in stopping violent crime and gun violence in the East End. Sen. Bradley added community policing, with officers who know and care for the neighborhoods they patrol, are imperative to creating a safer East End.

“We need people who don’t just look like us, but also understand us and our community,” said Sen. Bradley. “This requires officers getting out of their police vehicles and getting to know the people of the East End. It is time for us to lock arms as a community and say enough is enough. We don’t want to have any more memorials or marches. We need to put an end to this.”

Sen. Bradley, Mayor Ganim and Councilman Newton, II were joined by members of the community in front of the now closed East End Police Substation on the corner of Stratford Ave and Sixth Street. Sen. Bradley and Councilman Newton, II agreed that with improvements being made in the city and East End, safety must be a top priority in order to ensure these improvements can have a lasting positive impact on the city.

“We will never attract businesses if they do not feel safe. If they feel the community is not safe, they will not invest in it. We need to give them the assurance we will not tolerate unsafe streets in Bridgeport,” said Councilman Newton, II. “I want to thank Sen. Dennis Bradley for taking time out of his schedule to come and support this community,”

“We know we are going to make great strides here in the East End and a large part of this progress has to require safety,” said Sen. Bradley. “We need to ensure that our residents and businesses here are safe in order to enable people from outside of our community to join us in enjoying the progress we’ve made in Bridgeport.”