Letter: Open Letter to County Executive on Proposed Community Policing Plan

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Letter: Open Letter to County Executive on Proposed Community Policing Plan

Friday, 17 February 2012 00:00

(This letter was sent to County Executive Edward Mangano and to this paper for publication.)

This letter is being submitted to you on behalf of the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations (Greater Council), comprising the leadership of civic organizations in the Manhasset area, including the participation from the incorporated villages and other prominent community organizations, as reflected below.

Our members have reviewed information currently available to the public and attended the hearings and/or briefings offered to explain the proposed Community Policing Plan (the “Plan”) to reorganize the Nassau County Police Department (“NCPD”). For the majority of specific detail questions at said briefings, the County Executive’s office response has too frequently been that details are still being formulated and are fluid as days pass. The resounding concern is that the Plan moves police supervision and leadership farther from the residents they serve in precincts planned for conversion to Community Policing Centers, utilizing NCPD personnel on restricted duties staffed at two per Center, 24/7.

Based on the current lack of substantive Plan details, and information currently available, it is far too premature to even consider enacting the Plan as presented. Few, and at times conflicting, details of the current Plan have been documented and uniformly released to the public. A briefing normally starts with a fact sheet and plan details, which were unavailable at some briefings. A morning briefing on 2/8/12 to Mayors reported current police staffing at 2,500, yet the same day evening briefing to civics reported the same as 2,379, a difference of 122. Thus on the same day the data at County Executive briefings wrongly suggests the County has already achieved its target reduction of 108 positions. Policing is a great concern to Nassau County residents not to be taken lightly. It is unconscionable to expect support for such substantial change when the plan details have not been fully determined. Upon being questioned at the civic meeting I attended, the Deputy Police Commissioner hit the nail on the head in response to a detailed question raised … “Our biggest fear and concern is whether the Commanding Officer at the new expanded precincts will be able to control its entire Precinct”. This mirrors the civic fear that the County Executive has released this plan prematurely without sufficient details to assure it success. The community expects the County Executive to first fully develop and document the plan, engage discussion and disseminate Plan changes as they are refined, and to clearly demonstrate how NCPD can administer and police these markedly larger precinct areas. Without these important details, it is impossible to make an informed decision as to the merits of the Plan. To then plan a legislative vote on Feb 27, 2012 is simply promulgating public fear and great concern.

Notwithstanding these above rudimentary concerns, there are clear positive aspects of the Plan, including (1) policing technology upgrades for greater NCPD administrative efficiency while improving its administrative services to residents, and (2) the reinstatement of the Problem Oriented Policing (PO) units that both should be advanced without haste, irrespective of whether or not this entire Plan is implemented. Holding such well supported changes hostage to the legislative consideration of the entire Plan scheduled is ill conceived.

For reasons stated above, the Greater Council cannot support the Plan as proposed in its current form and urge all legislators to reject the plan if an imminent vote on the plan is advanced. We further urge you to forego any imminent vote on the Plan until such time as all of the details can be properly vetted and presented to the public, giving all stakeholders ample opportunity to study the Plan and comment. Moreover, we recommend that, given that Policing is a Number 1 priority County service to its residents, once the county has more fully developed a viable Plan that meets the approval of its residents, that such Plan be implemented on a pilot basis to confirm the merits and correct any negative consequences before it is instituted county wide.

Richard J Bentley, President
Council of Greater Manhasset
Civic Associations

News

School District Election Results

Thursday, 17 May 2012 00:00

On Tuesday, May 15, the 2012-2013 Manhasset Public School District budget vote results were:

Yes
1235

No
539

The trustee election results were:

Ann Marie Curd Fruhauf
1300

Carlo Prinzo
1269

Fracking: What We Don’t Know May Hurt Us

Friday, 18 May 2012 00:00

Speakers agree an army of New Yorkers is needed to ban fracking

The purpose of the gathering at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Shelter Rock on April 23 was to educate and encourage Long Islanders to take action against hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. And Sam Bernhardt, Long Island organizer of the national organization Food & Water Watch, wasted no time providing an explanation of fracking, saying it is a relatively new procedure for extracting natural gas through the process of pumping water and chemicals into the ground to crack open the rock that contains the natural gas. The process, he added, can contaminate water, produce large amounts of air pollution, cause earthquakes, crumble roads and deplete the water supply. Despite these concerns, Bernhardt indicated, Governor Cuomo and the department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are drafting regulations to allow fracking in New York. Maybe even sometime this year, if they act expeditiously.

Sports

Manhasset Boys Varsity Baseball Clinches Conference Championship

Friday, 18 May 2012 00:00

The Manhasset High School Boys’ Varsity Baseball team clinched the Conference A-IV championship with an 11-5-1 conference record. The boys ended the season strongly by winning eight of their last nine games, including sweeps in their last two series against Lynbrook and Great Neck North. The boys’ play throughout the season showed their endurance and versatility, and several dramatic come-from-behind wins demonstrated their drive to win. Head Coach Brian Corbo and Assistant Coach Chris Keen are readying the team for what they hope will be a strong playoff run.

In addition to the strong team play, several individual players received Conference A-IV post-season awards: James Carr and Tyler Juliano were recognized as All County, while All Conference recognition went to Dan Connolly, Ryan Lennon, Ryan Murray and Lukas Pracher. All League honors went to Charles Mack, and Coach Brian Corbo received Conference Coach of the Year.