Not on their watch

The same week that County Executive Edward Mangano proposed downscaling the police presence in Baldwin, a group of around 45 residents

volunteered to become members of a Neighborhood Watch.

The formation of the group was not tied to the proposed adjustments to the 1st Precinct, and Richard Perez, who organized and publicized the formation of the new group, was quick to point that out. “It’s ironic, but we had planned to form well before Mangano’s announcement,” Perez told the Herald. “I’m sure the police will handle things on their end. We’re just here to serve as an additional set of eyes and ears for the law enforcement community.”

Perez described himself as a “newbie” when it comes to neighborhood watching, but he added that many who attended the group’s first meeting, on Jan. 31 at Baldwin Middle School, had been members of other watches. “There have been a couple Neighborhood Watches in Baldwin before,” Perez said. “I don’t know the exact number. Some are dormant. Some of the people who came to our meeting expressed misgivings because they’d been involved before with things that died out in the past. I assured them I was in this for the long run.”

Perez went on to describe the group’s mandate. “We’re not deputized,” he said. “We won’t be given any special legal standing. We’re simply a group of residents who will be added to a database as being part of a Neighborhood Watch. That will mean that when we call something in to the police, our names will be flagged. That should ensure that our calls are given a special priority.”

Perez said that group members would use 911 to make their reports, and that the emergency number “wasn’t the blood-and-guts thing it used to be. It’s got a broader range now.”

He told the Herald he would serve as a coordinator for one arm of the Watch — a section of Baldwin “north of Seamen, west of Grand right up to the Rockville Centre border” — and added that another contingent would be covering Baldwin Harbor and South Baldwin.

The residents who attended the meeting last week watched an hour-long PowerPoint presentation on the principles of Neighborhood Watch given by Officer Sharon Galvin of the Nassau County Police Department’s Public Affairs Division. Those who wanted to participate then added their names to a list compiled by Linda Reed of Town Councilman Anthony Santino’s office.

Perez said that anyone seeking more information on the Watch should visit the Greater Baldwin LI Neighborhood Watch Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/GBLINW/ or email GBLINW@facebook.groups.com.