Town of North Hempstead officials are calling on Nassau County to reinstate the Sixth Precinct in Manhasset as a fully operational precinct, echoing a letter sent to Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano by the umbrella group representing Manhasset civic associations earlier in December.
North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth called on county officials to undo the merger of the Third and Sixth precincts in 2012 in a letter to Mangano and other county officials on Dec. 24, citing increased threats to public safety and previous changes to county precinct plans.
“Knowing that the First and Seventh precinct merger never went through in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and that the Fourth and Fifth Precincts were separated after their merger, it makes sense to undo this ill-conceived merger as well,” Bosworth said in the letter.
She said she was concerned about a reduced a police presence during an “era of increasing prescription drug use and related crimes, home invasions and robberies.”
“In February 2012, I expressed my grave concern…about the County Executive’s plan calling for the elimination of four out of the eight then-operating police precincts, including the Sixth Precinct in Manhasset,” Bosworth said. “As I listen to my constituents now, almost four years later, I hear that my concerns were well-founded.”
Bosworth said “while the Third Precinct does its best to protect and serve the residents, there are some facts that are disturbing.”
She said that promises of returning a POP unit, or problem-oriented police, were not met until recently, and special patrol officers have yet to return to the Third Precinct’s North Subdivision.
Bosworth added that with recent world events, the need to increase the police presence is growing.
“In the aftermath of the recent terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, it is imminently clear that the police must have their finger on the pulse of the community to prevent such atrocities,” she continued. “With the diminished resources in the Third Precinct, that becomes less and less likely.”
Town of North Hempstead Clerk Wayne Wink said he shared the supervisor’s stance in 2012 when both he and Bosworth were county legislators and he continues to oppose the merger.
“I think a lot of what we were concerned about held true,” Wink said. “We’ve seen increases in violent crimes in the area, particularly things like bank robberies.”
“They need to reopen the Sixth as a true police precinct, with POP officers and full contingent of detectives,” Wink said. “You know there’s a reason why we were the safest large county in America before they conducted this merger, and I just believe we need to go back to that formula.”
Wink said that while the Third Precinct is doing its best, officials need to rethink the decision just as they did with the other precincts.
“Whatever the real motivation behind it, it’s pretty clear that their mission to save money did not come to fruition with the First and the Seventh, and didn’t come to fruition with the Fourth and the Fifth,” Wink said. “It seems as though everything we’re concerned about has come to bear on the county and on our constituents.”
Nassau County Police Commissioner Tom Krumpter said in an email to Blank Slate Media that there has been no change in police service since the merger.
“Crime is down 25 percent over the past five years and down 6 percent year-to-date. The Sixth Precinct serves residents as a Community Policing Center and there has been no change in the officers who patrol our communities,” Krumpter said. “The realignment of back office operations has had no impact on public safety and anyone suggesting otherwise is simply playing political games as buildings don’t protect the public, cops do.”
“Additionally, realignment made the Sixth Precinct home to Highway Patrol. As a result, there is a larger police presence at this building than ever before,” he said.
The Sixth Precinct, which was located on Community Drive in Manhasset, was consolidated with the Third Precinct, located in Williston Park, with the Williston Park location serving as its headquarters under a county-wide plan proposed by Mangano and passed in a party-line vote by Republican county legislators in March 2012, as a cost saving effort.
The Third Precinct was then split into two divisions — the Third South Subdivision and Third North Subdivision, which is currently responsible for Manhasset and Great Neck.
Bosworth, Wink and the Manhasset civic associations were joined by Village of East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz in calling for the return of a fully operational Sixth Precinct.
Koblenz said he originally opposed the merger in 2012, and thinks the Sixth Precinct would be better utilized if it was reinstated and fully staffed.
“Fully staffed, those are the key words,” he said. “You can say we’re going to move guys back to the building, but if you don’t give them the resources, what’s the difference.”
Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations President Richard Bentley expressed similar concerns in his letter to county officials from Dec. 3.
“We feel that our community is getting less police services, particularly in vehicle traffic enforcement and what we once had as a POP unit,” Bentley said in the letter. “(They) make up the fabric of the community, they reach out to civic association, and merchant association, they have a physical presence in neighborhood and can address a lot of issues we have directly with precinct’s staff.”
In response to the Manhasset Civic Association’s letter, County Legislator Richard Nicolello said the two police precincts to their original configuration would not improve police service in the North zone.
“When they changed the precinct into community policing centers what they didn’t change is the same number of police cruisers patrolling the same exact area,” he said.
“If we reopen the precinct then you have to put police officers and supervisors behind the desks who are required by contract to work in a precinct, they are not allowed to leave the building.”
