Public housing residents gathered Thursday in an effort to enhance community safety and security in East Williamsburg.

Residents at the Cooper Park Houses are calling on more people in the community to join the NYCHA Resident Watch Program, and help keep the development safe.

They say for more than 40 years, tenants have been involved in the program by volunteering personal time to patrol their developments and keep their neighborhoods safe. 

Residents tell News 12 that having the program not only makes them feel more comfortable walking around alone, but they believe it keeps people who shouldn't be there far away. They say it also brings neighbors together. 

The NYCHA Resident Watch Program is in more than 40 developments in Brooklyn. Cooper Park Houses is the only development that has volunteers in all buildings. 

The program was formally known as the Tenant Patrol.