Village of East Williston residents should report illegal solicitors to police if they show up at their doors, village officials said.
The village sent an email Wednesday reminding residents that door-to-door soliciting is not allowed without a village license, Deputy Village Clerk Bonnie Kreisman said.
At least two residents in the past two weeks have said “seemingly properly dressed” people have approached their homes asking for charitable donations without a license, Kreisman said. That has prompted some safety concerns after a spike in burglaries in the village earlier this year, she said.
“You do have people who are a little on edge and a little more cautious because of the security issues that have been in the village, so when someone knocks on their door at 6:30 on a Sunday night, they’re a little bit curious,” Kreisman said.
Licensed door-to-door solicitors must display a yellow permit with the East Williston seal on it, the village’s Aug. 3 email says.
Residents should call 911 if they see anyone knocking on doors without a visible permit, it says.
No one has applied for the license in at least 11 years, Village Clerk Marie Hausner said. Residents will get a separate email if anyone is granted one, the village’s email said.
Nassau County police have said burglars sometimes pose as solicitors as a way to gain access to houses they later rob.
While complaints about solicitors are not new in East Williston, Mayor David Tanner said, residents may be “more sensitive or more tuned into it” following worries about burglaries earlier this year.
The village recently established a security committee of three residents to examine security measures beyond what the Nassau County Police Department provides, Tanner said. A private security officer has also patrolled the village since November.
East Williston soliciting licenses cost $25 for up to six weeks and $50 for six weeks to a year, Hausner said. Soliciting companies also have to post bonds and meet other requirements under the village code, she said.
