Crime Deterrent in Huntington Station Gets One Step Closer To Becoming Reality

On the heels of a fatal shooting in Huntington Station on Tuesday, Suffolk County Legislature's Ways and Means Committee passed a resolution on Wednesday to help deter crime in the area.

The resolution, which was brought to the table by the committee's vice chair, Legis. Jon Cooper, D-Lloyd Harbor, would find a location to house a police substation near Jack Abrams Intermediate School.

Cooper acknowledged that the community in Huntington Station has been in turmoil over increased crime and something must be done now.

"Over the past several weeks approximately 12 crimes have been committed in Huntington Station, some appear to be gang-related," Cooper said. "There is very large support from local public officials and community residents I have spoken with to open a police annex in the area that would be manned by light duty officers. It would operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week. There was a previous police annex that closed in 2006."

Housing Authority Chair Dr. Robert Spencer offered office space within the Housing Authority building for free to house the annex at one of his offices, according to Cooper who is considering this option.

"By having more surveillance cameras in high-crime areas and a substation, this would allow police officers respond more quickly to high crime areas within Huntington Station," Cooper said.

The bill will now come up for a final vote by the Suffolk County Legislature at its Sept. 16 general meeting.

Legis. Kate Browning said that she feels more officers need to be put on the street and in patrol cars in Huntington Station and that substations do not automatically fix the problem.

"We need to think of being pro-active, not reactive and we need strong police presence to deter crime in Huntington Station," Browning said. "The only way to fix the problem is by putting more officers on the street."

Legis. William Lindsay agreed that there aren't enough cops on the street and we need to combine both increased police presence and a substation with additional cameras for monitoring crimes.

"When we don't have enough cops on the street, then the bad guys take over," Lindsay said. "But by hiring more cops we should not have increased layoffs and closure of nursing homes in the area. Something is wrong with this equation."

Cooper explained that the officers in the substation will provide emergency services, they will be armed and the cameras will provide live monitoring on the street that will catch a crime as it happens.

"Folks in Huntington Station are so used to gun violence that four out of five times no one even calls 911 if they see a shooting on the street," Cooper said. "I believe we do need more police presence, but I also feel that a substation along with additional cameras with definitely improve these rash of crimes."