The umbrella group representing Manhasset civic associations is calling on Nassau County to reinstate the Sixth Precinct in Manhasset as a fully operational precinct, saying its merger with the Third Precinct has resulted in a reduction in services without a corresponding reduction in cost.
“We feel that our community is getting less police services, particularly in vehicle traffic enforcement and what we once had as a POP unit, or problem-oriented police,” Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations President Richard Bentley said in a letter sent to Nassau County officials on Dec. 3.
The letter, a copy of which was sent to Blank Slate Media, was sent to Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello and Police Commissioner Krumpter.
“We would like to re-establish the administration in the Sixth (precinct) building exactly as it was in the past and also to reassign the plain-clothes police officers we had in the past,” Manhasset Civic Association secretary Sue Auriemma said.
“They allow for targeted patrol, those are the extra bodies out there at night in plain clothes not visible to would-be burglars, and we don’t have that now.”
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.
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.
The consolidation plan called for four of the county’s police precincts into “community police centers” and have many of their duties covered by one of the four remaining fully operational precincts.
The county’s reorganization plan also called for the 4th Precinct in Hewlett, the 7th Precinct in Seaford and the 2nd Precinct in Woodbury to remain fully operational, while the 5th Precinct in Elmont, the 1st Precinct in Baldwin and the 8th Precinct in Levittown was to be designated as community policing centers.
After being consolidated, the Fourth and the Fifth precincts were returned to their original configuration, and the county abandoned the plan to merge the First and Seventh precincts.
“The merging of the precincts in Nassau County was touted in 2012 as being a huge cost saver for taxpayers with no reduction in services,” Bentley wrote in the letter. “Cost savings have not been realized, and services have been reduced.”
Bentley said the lack of savings in the consolidation plan was reflected in the county’s decision to reinstate the Fourth and Fifth precincts to their original configurations and to abandon a plan for a merger of the First and Seventh precincts.
He praised the Third Precinct’s leadership, but said the current configuration did not allow for the north zone to be properly serviced.
“While the Third Precinct leadership has done its best to be responsive to the needs of Three North, the reality is these high level officers and their staff have been asked to do more with less, which due to Three North and Three South serving different populations with different types of concerns, the needs of Three North are sacrificed, losing its resources to the higher crime areas in Three South,” Bentley said.
Nicolello said returning 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.”
Auriemma said the Sixth Precinct lost two administrative officers, plain clothes officers as well as the crucial Problem Oriented Police unit under the merger,
“We had two teams of two officers when we were the Sixth,” Auriemma said. “It was reduced to one team of two and then eliminated. So essentially we went from four to zero. To say we had no reduction in services is an untrue statement.”
Bentley said the POP officers “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 precincts staff.”
Bit Nicolello said the police “were successful in getting that POP officer program reinstalled, which is much more important to the community than reopening the building.”
The Sixth precinct building was repurposed as a Community Police Center, after the merger, for residents to file police reports and pick up accident reports.
“We were promised no reduction in services but that wasn’t true, we absolutely had reduction in services,” Auriemma said. “If you want to file a police report and they’re too busy, they instruct residents to go back to their home and call 9/11 and send an officer to get a police report. You’ve now taken a patrol car off the road. There is a reduction of service if they can’t handle walk ins.”
Auriemma said the Third Precinct has set up a community council at the Third Precinct to represent Manhasset, which will be attended by Bentley, Auriemma and Plandome Heights Civic Association president Marion Endrizzi.
Efforts to reach Mangano and the Nassau County police were unavailing.
