Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy announced the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill contained $500,000 to prevent gang violence in Nassau County.

"Gang violence is a growing problem in our schools and neighborhoods and this funding will help kids make the right decision when confronted with the false promises of gang membership," McCarthy said.

The anti-gang funding will be distributed among three projects:

* $225,000 for the Nassau County Youth Board to implement gang intervention services. The board's anti-gang services will include outreach and recruitment of young people to join the fight against gangs and networking between police, school districts and community-based organizations to develop anti-gang strategies.

* $50,000 for the Nassau County Police Department's Detective's Agency's gang awareness seminars in Nassau County school districts where gangs are targeting children. This is the first anti-gang education program ever undertaken by the Nassau County Police Department.

* $225,000 for the Grace Multi-National Development Corporation's anti-gang recruitment efforts in Uniondale.

"Each of these great programs could become a model for other suburban communities throughout the nation facing the challenge of gang violence," McCarthy added. "I look forward to helping more anti-gang initiatives secure the resources they need to be successful in the next Congress."

Gang violence has become a major concern in Nassau County. Earlier this month, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi appointed a gang czar, 30-year police veterans Robert Turk, who will chair the Nassau County Task Force Against Gangs (TAG), a government-community partnership commissioned by County Executive Suozzi in 2002.

As Gang Czar, Inspector Turk will chair the Nassau County Task Force Against Gangs (TAG), a government-community partnership commissioned by County Executive Suozzi in 2002. The Gang Czar will ensure that precinct commanding officers share information with TAG members and will also chair the Police Department's Gang Roundtable, which serves as a clearinghouse for information between law enforcement and school districts. The appointment of Inspector Turk is part of the County Executive's anti-gang strategy, which encompasses three major components: Prevention, Enforcement and Redirection.

"The appointment of Inspector Turk as the County's first-ever Gang Czar ensures that we have the resources necessary to prevent gang violence," said Suozzi. "We must use every resource at our disposal to deter and prevent kids from joining gangs while keeping parents and teachers informed about signs of gang activity in our neighborhoods."

Earlier this month, Republican senators led by Senator Michael Balboni held a press conference in which they stated that gangs were a major problem in the county.

The senators pushed for new state legislation that would allow police throughout New York to participate in the national computer gang-tracking system known as "GangNet," a database containing information on gang members, their crimes, and their affiliations, and a law that would make gang recruitment on school grounds a felony.