Deputy police commish addresses precinct plan

Nassau County Deputy Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter fielded a litany of questions about the police department’s proposed realignment plan, which would merge the county’s eight precincts into four, during a March 6 meeting of the South Merrick Community Civic Association.

The county Legislature was scheduled to vote on the plan Feb. 27, but the vote was put off to March 5 to give legislators and the public more time to digest it. Republicans, who have generally supported the plan, control the Legislature 10-9.

Krumpter said the meeting was postponed because the police department is “currently engaged in a lot of communication and ongoing discussions with all the stakeholders,” adding, “What we're currently doing is trying to mitigate some of concerns” shared by the parties involved.

Krumpter said that “stakeholders” include county legislators and union representatives. When asked whether details of the plan might change before the March 5 vote, however, he said, “At this point, the discussions are ongoing and continuing."

The plan would merge the 8th Precinct in Wantagh with the 2nd in Woodbury, the 6th in Manhasset with the 3rd in Williston Park, the 5th in Elmont with the 4th in Hewlett and the 1st in Baldwin with the 7th in Seaford. The remaining four precincts would become community policing centers, which would be manned by two police officers around the clock.

Currently, residents north of Sunrise Highway in Merrick and Bellmore fall in the 1st Precinct, and those south of Sunrise Highway, in the 7th Precinct. If the plan passes, all Merrick and Bellmore residents would fall in the 1st Precinct, with its headquarters in Seaford.

If passed, the realignment plan would be phased in over eight months, with the 1st and 7th precincts merging last.

On Feb. 16, Legislator Dave Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick, co-hosted a meeting with the North and Central Merrick Civic Association, to discuss the precinct plan. Though Denenberg said he invited officials from Nassau County and the police department, neither sent a representative to the meeting.