Melinda Tuhus Photo
Lt. Jeff Hoffman (pictured) was not just a good cop while serving as the district manager for the sprawling East Shore police district. For the two dozen residents at a picnic in his honor Tuesday night, he embodied Officer Friendly — a super-efficient, can-do top cop.
Hoffman stepped down on Monday from his old job to step into his new one as supervisor of narcotics in the police department’s detective bureau. His hand-picked and chief-approved successor, Sgt. Vinnie Anastasio, was also at the picnic at the home of QEMT chairman George Page. (That’s Page’s wife, Barbara, behind Hoffman.)
Over and over, East Side A ldermen Al Paolillo, Arlene DePino and Maureen O’Sullivan-Best, as well as community activists, praised Hoffman as responsive and results-oriented.
“When you call him, he answers, and he solves the problem,” said Tina Jendrzewski, an active member of the management team.
“He’s always available when we have a concern, and he acts on our concerns,” was the way George Page (on right in photo with Anastasio in the middle) put it. Like when motorists were blowing through the four stop signs on Smith Avenue, near his house and right by the neighborhood playground. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in traffic enforcement,” Page said.
Alderwoman DePino was effusive in her praise of Hoffman’s handling of the estimated 8,000 to 10,000 visitors to Lighthouse Point Park for the July 4th fireworks. “He did an outstanding job,” she said. “Everything was calm and organized.”
Paolillo said he would miss Hoffman being in charge of the area, both professionally and personally, but added that New Haven as a whole will gain from Hoffman’s new position.
Everyone welcomed Anastasio to the job. Hoffman said he and his replacement both grew up in the area; his dad was a New Haven firefighter, while Anastasio’s dad was a cop. So both men have civil service in their blood.