Months later, Merrick-Bellmore community still fighting hate

Bellmore and Merrick residents gathered once more last week, in response to the discovery of swastikas spray-painted on the playground of Chatterton Elementary School in late July.

Two 14-year-olds, one from Bellmore and one from Freeport, were arrested in connection with the incident in August.

At a Sept. 26 meeting at the Merrick Golf Course, led by the South Merrick Community Civic Association, community members met with rabbis, law enforcement officials and school superintendents to discuss what has been done since the incident — and what might come next.

Among the attendees were representatives of the Nassau County Peer Diversion Court, a diversion program run by the Department of Probation that is made available to juveniles involved in such incidents.

Arianne Reyer, special counsel for adolescent and juvenile justice, and Michael Jasmin, Peer Diversion Court coordinator, told the gathering about the organization’s education, intervention and prevention tactics.

This was presented as an option for the 14-year-olds arrested in the Merrick incident.

Those who are charged with crimes but are 17 or younger, referred to as respondents, are eligible for Peer Division Court. Its cases are referred by the county’s family and district courts, as well as the probation department.

Once the case is deemed appropriate to be heard by Peer Diversion Court the parent or guardian of a respondent can volunteer their child to be adjudicated before one of its judges and a jury of young people. The court system is meant as an alternative to juvenile court proceedings.

The respondent also has the opportunity to present what he or she has learned from their actions and its impact on their families and community.

After the case is deliberated by the peer jury, respondents receive sanctions they must complete, which may include writing essays, making public apologies or serving on a peer jury, to help another young person through the program. In an act of restorative justice and self-improvement, respondents take responsibility for their actions, and have a chance at a positive experience that is intended to make an impact on their lives.

Dealing with bias incidents

The Nassau County Police Department currently has a hotline, (516) 500-0657, on which the public can report bias incidents. People can call or text the number anonymously, or email combatbias@pdcn.org.

School officials said the Bellmore and Merrick communities are no strangers to these incidents. Students at the districts’ high schools, including Calhoun, Mepham and Kennedy, have worked with area religious leaders to discuss what they’ve seen.

Attendees made it clear that the acts of hate and bias in the school districts and beyond will not be tolerated.

Local school administration spoke on what is being done in the schools’ curriculums to help prevent these acts, starting with young students.

“This issue is a part of a larger issue of people feeling that they don’t belong in a community, or other people don’t belong in a community,” Dominick Palma, superintendent of the Merrick Union Free School said. “So we start kindergarten now, and we have pre-K students. So when a 4-year-old walks in our building, we start working with them on developing appropriate social skills, developing respect for others, and understanding that they’re responsible for making everyone feel like they belong in our schools and in our greater community.”

Scott Bersin, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, said that all six local district schools have “no Place for Hate” status, recognized by the Anti-Defamation League.

“That’s an honor given to only a select group of schools from the ADL,” Bersin said.

The schools regularly welcome Holocaust survivors to speak to students, and students visit the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County in Glen Cove.

“I can tell you that there is no interest in not taking a hard stance,” Bersin said. “We also educate, we send students, including these two students involved, to the (center) to meet with survivors and to be educated. We do that in every single hate situation. They’re willing to work with us.”