43.0°,
Partly Cloudy Police, officials speak in Mill Brook
Crime and road work discussed at civic association meeting
Mill Brook residents heard the latest about crime trends and planned road projects in their community on March 23 at the Mill Brook Civic Association’s first general meeting of the year.
The association is being managed by rotating presidents until someone volunteers to take the head role, so the current leaders introduced themselves and invited any interested residents to get involved.
Sgt. Ed Grim, of the 5th Precinct, was the first to address the audience of several dozen residents. He read a list of crimes reported in Mill Brook between Jan. 1 and March 17. There were 12 domestic incidents, two burglaries, two incidents of property damage, one petit larceny, three grand larcenies, one robbery and two arrests.
Grim said that tire and rim thefts have been a problem. “People are actually taking your tires and rims off your car,” he said. “We had quite a bit of it in Elmont, a little bit more of it in West Hempstead. You wake up in the morning and your car is on cinderblocks. There is a huge aftermarket for these. It’s predominantly the Japanese autos — Hondas … I suggest you get the locking nuts from the auto store … They tend to strike the cars [parked] in the street.”
Grim added that in a few instances, lug nuts were loosened but the thief left before they removed the tire, creating a “very dangerous situation” for anyone driving the car afterward.
He also cautioned residents about leaving valuables in their vehicles and leaving vehicles unlocked. He aid that the precinct gets two to three calls per day about thefts from vehicles, which he attributed to people who go up and down residential streets in the early morning hours and test door handles. He said he believes the crime is underreported due to the low value of many losses, but emphasized how common the incidents are. He said that one such incident has been reported in Mill Brook this year.
Grim wrapped up by advising residents to direct any call about anything suspicious, no matter how insignificant, to 911. “The way the system is in Nassau County, everything is computerized,” he said. “Even if you think it’s a low-priority call … you call 911. Everything is put into a priority system.”
Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino also addressed the audience. He gave an overview of what his job is and what his administration’s priorities are. Santino said that repaving a roadway costs just over $1 million per mile and is done first where it is most needed. “I’m happy to announce that in 2016, we will be taking care of Riverdale [Road] and Fieldstone [Lane], which I know that are two roads that are of great concern to this community,” he said.
“Can we get that in writing?” said one resident, to chuckles from the crowd. “We’ve heard that before.”
Santino assured him the work would be done in 2016.
