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Overcast Tilrose residents content with officials¹ response Police make presence known on Oceanside street, three arrests made
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³We¹ve seen a definite difference,² said one of the 25 residents who attended last Thursday¹s meeting, which was held once again at the Rescue Co. firehouse at the end of Tilrose Avenue. Also attending the meeting were Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach), 4th Precinct Capt. Kenneth Hettler and Linda Reed, who was representing Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Santino (R-East Rockaway).
³There¹s been a marked improvement,² a second man said.
The gathering was a follow-up that Ford promised after first meeting with residents on Sept. 5, in response to an Aug. 14 incident in which about eight to 10 boys assaulted Tilrose Avenue resident Peter Deering, his son and three of his son¹s friends with bats, pipes and belts outside his home. Responding police officers that night made no arrests, which were carried out days later and only after Deering called the Nassau County District Attorney¹s Office. He and his neighbors then met with Ford, Hettler and Santino to address the neighborhood¹s ongoing crime-related problems, from illegal parking to gang activity and drug sales.
One of their main complaints was that police failed to address their concerns, and often were part of the problem, showing disrespect to the victims and those who filed complaints, the residents charged loudly at that first meeting.
At last Thursday¹s gathering, after Ford, Santino and Hettler promised a plan of action to correct these problems, Hettler reported that since the Aug. 14 incident three arrests were made on Tilrose ‹ one for assault, another for violating an order of protection and a third for drug and marijuana possession. The captain also reported that there were 25 calls made to 911 from the area in September, down from 40 in August, and noted that there has been a greater police presence, particularly in unmarked cars, on and around Tilrose.
Both Hettler and Ford stressed that calls should go to 911 rather than directly to the 4th Precinct. ³It¹s the dispatch number that gets the police there as quickly as possible,² Hettler said. ³It¹s a way of having a record of everything,² Ford noted.
Residents, however, were quick to point out that a majority of the criminal activity in the neighborhood occurs during the spring and summer months, and that they don¹t want to be an afterthought once the warm weather arrives next year.
³It really is the best it¹s ever been on this block,² one man said, ³and we don¹t want to lose that momentum.²
³We¹re not going to give up,² Hettler said.
Much of the hour-long meeting revolved around traffic issues, from motorists who speed down residents¹ blocks or use them as a shortcut to Woods Avenue, and some residents noted that most of the culprits live elsewhere. ³That¹s the problem with this block, the troublemakers come from other towns,² one woman said. ³They¹ve found a nice niche to hang out where they think no one can bother them.²
³Yeah, but they hang out with the kids on this block,² said one of her neighbors.
Another resident said that when looking out his window one day, he saw a police officer stop and question someone on Tilrose. ³Just having others see this is itself a deterrent,² he said.
³It¹s important to have a police presence because that is a deterrent,² Ford said later in the meeting. ³Unfortunately, we¹re understaffed.² The legislator said that, come January 2007, 120 more officers may be added to the county¹s eight precincts including the 4th Precinct, which covers Oceanside. ³So hopefully by next summer we¹ll have more officers patrolling our streets here,² she said.
Some residents suggested that the police booth on Davison Avenue, across from the Oceanside Library, should be moved to the Great Lincoln Shopping Center at the corner of Long Beach Road and Atlantic Avenue to give police a greater visibility in town.
Both Hettler and Ford said they would look into the possibility of moving the booth to the busier location, and, along with Reed, they said they will consider making some traffic changes, including posting signs, to improve traffic issues in the area.
Reed, who was speaking on behalf of Santino, told the residents that the owner of the long-vacant Periwinkle¹s restaurant on Long Beach Road, across from Tilrose, ³is very, very aggressively trying to sell the building.² Reed said that the town got the owner to perform some maintenance to his building to keep it in compliance with town code, such as cutting the tall grass that was growing. ³Until he sells his building,² she said, ³we¹ll keep on top of him.²
Comments? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
³There¹s been a marked improvement,² a second man said.
The gathering was a follow-up that Ford promised after first meeting with residents on Sept. 5, in response to an Aug. 14 incident in which about eight to 10 boys assaulted Tilrose Avenue resident Peter Deering, his son and three of his son¹s friends with bats, pipes and belts outside his home. Responding police officers that night made no arrests, which were carried out days later and only after Deering called the Nassau County District Attorney¹s Office. He and his neighbors then met with Ford, Hettler and Santino to address the neighborhood¹s ongoing crime-related problems, from illegal parking to gang activity and drug sales.
One of their main complaints was that police failed to address their concerns, and often were part of the problem, showing disrespect to the victims and those who filed complaints, the residents charged loudly at that first meeting.
At last Thursday¹s gathering, after Ford, Santino and Hettler promised a plan of action to correct these problems, Hettler reported that since the Aug. 14 incident three arrests were made on Tilrose ‹ one for assault, another for violating an order of protection and a third for drug and marijuana possession. The captain also reported that there were 25 calls made to 911 from the area in September, down from 40 in August, and noted that there has been a greater police presence, particularly in unmarked cars, on and around Tilrose.
Residents, however, were quick to point out that a majority of the criminal activity in the neighborhood occurs during the spring and summer months, and that they don¹t want to be an afterthought once the warm weather arrives next year.
³It really is the best it¹s ever been on this block,² one man said, ³and we don¹t want to lose that momentum.²
³We¹re not going to give up,² Hettler said.
Much of the hour-long meeting revolved around traffic issues, from motorists who speed down residents¹ blocks or use them as a shortcut to Woods Avenue, and some residents noted that most of the culprits live elsewhere. ³That¹s the problem with this block, the troublemakers come from other towns,² one woman said. ³They¹ve found a nice niche to hang out where they think no one can bother them.²
³Yeah, but they hang out with the kids on this block,² said one of her neighbors.
Another resident said that when looking out his window one day, he saw a police officer stop and question someone on Tilrose. ³Just having others see this is itself a deterrent,² he said.
³It¹s important to have a police presence because that is a deterrent,² Ford said later in the meeting. ³Unfortunately, we¹re understaffed.² The legislator said that, come January 2007, 120 more officers may be added to the county¹s eight precincts including the 4th Precinct, which covers Oceanside. ³So hopefully by next summer we¹ll have more officers patrolling our streets here,² she said.
Some residents suggested that the police booth on Davison Avenue, across from the Oceanside Library, should be moved to the Great Lincoln Shopping Center at the corner of Long Beach Road and Atlantic Avenue to give police a greater visibility in town.
Both Hettler and Ford said they would look into the possibility of moving the booth to the busier location, and, along with Reed, they said they will consider making some traffic changes, including posting signs, to improve traffic issues in the area.
Reed, who was speaking on behalf of Santino, told the residents that the owner of the long-vacant Periwinkle¹s restaurant on Long Beach Road, across from Tilrose, ³is very, very aggressively trying to sell the building.² Reed said that the town got the owner to perform some maintenance to his building to keep it in compliance with town code, such as cutting the tall grass that was growing. ³Until he sells his building,² she said, ³we¹ll keep on top of him.²
Comments? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
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