Hewlett Harbor Dealing With Speeders and Teen Parties

The village of wants speeders to be caught and ticketed, and it doesn’t matter where they’re from, the mayor and trustees said.

“We need to enforce traffic laws. We shouldn’t tolerate speeding,” Trustee Michael Yohai said at the board of trustees meeting last Thursday. “They should be ticketed. That’s the only way to get the message across to our residents and others.”

Mayor Mark Weiss said there are usually a very low number of violations in the village in the police report, but he and other trustees have witnessed numerous cases of speeding and blowing through stop signs. Weiss said he has implored the to step up enforcement.

The mayor said that people should not get away with warnings when they are caught speeding.

“I understand the line between the police being community activists and enforcing the law,” he said. “I have to think the point is we have another issue. We are the shortest way between two points and people are using us as a cut through.”

Officer Scott Solarino, who covers Hewlett Harbor, said the precinct has put a focus on stop sign enforcement. However, he pointed out, “It’s a fine line between enforcement and having your residents up in arms. We’re trying to find a happy medium.”

Five moving violations were issued in the village over the last month, which Yohai said is more than the past few months combined.

Still, traffic enforcement in Hewlett Harbor presents a challenge to the Fourth Precinct.

“During the day, our guys are spread thin,” Solarino said. “To have a car here all the time to do that is not practical.”

The village is also dealing with numerous party houses that disturb residents.

“We are going into the warmer months and we have bands of youngsters that are going through the village,” Weiss said. “We think it’s before, during and after they’re drinking.”

Weiss cited an incident last year where 150 teens converged on a home. In many cases, he said, when police show up, many of the teens simply run away.

“Inspector [Christopher] Cleary (commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct) told me about this new technique where three cars will converge when bands of kids are spotted,” Weiss said, adding that it’s supposed to be easier to catch teens that way. But he added that during a recent incident the approach was not utilized.

“In a perfect world, that’s the plan we use,” Solarino said. “I have to get there in the quickest, safest way possible.” He pointed out that other officers are coming in from further away.

A possible solution to this issue is a closer relationship between the Fourth Precinct and Hewlett Harbor’s private security, Yohai said.

Police also struggle with stopping youth on the streets.

“If they’re going to Hewlett Harbor they have a friend here or are going to a party,” Solarino said. “They know if they get caught with alcohol they get a summonses. You can’t tell them they can’t walk around without alcohol. There’s a fine line there.”