Police patrols to be increased during holidays

At the request of local religious leaders Nassau County police will intensify their patrols around synagogues, churches and other houses of worship for the upcoming Passover and Easter Holidays County Executive Ed Mangano and Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter announced at Young Israel of Woodmere synagogue Friday.

Mangano, along with police officials, stressed that while there are no specific terrorist or hate crime threats made in Nassau County currently, he wants to remind the public to report anything suspicious should they see anything such as unattended packages.

“We must be prepared for the worst, and hope for the best,” Mangano said. “We are asking residents to take part in the ‘See Something-Say Something’ initiative. Nobody knows the community better than those who live here.”

Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum of Temple Israel of Lawrence thanked Mangano for adding the increased police patrols. “Even if we are different people of different faiths, we share the same fate,” Rosenbaum said. “Security comes in pulling together as a united community.”

Habeeb Ahmed, the vice president of the Islamic Center of Long Island, said he thinks the increased patrols will keep people safe from terror threats and hate crimes. “It is very important to stand together,” Ahmed said. “We need to work together to protect people from others who do these sorts of things.”

If anyone sees an unattended package outside or near a church, temple, train station, house of worship, synagogue, mall or any other high-traffic public area, or witnesses some suspicious activity, report it by calling 911 or the hotline number at 573-7720.