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Friday, March 29, 2024
Vol. 73, No. 13
GRAND OPENING
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PAGES 23-62
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Major crimes drop in Nassau County in 2023 1st 11 months show 6.5% decline after 41% spike in all of 2022 Nassau County Police reported a nearly 6.5% drop in total major crimes in the first 11 months of 2023, which County Executive Bruce Blakeman is attributing to his administration’s support of the police force. Blakeman ran his 2021 election campaign on a platform that included calls for addressing the rise in crime in the county. His calls specifically targeted the state’s bail reform laws, which he previously had blamed for the 75% surge in major crime Nassau County saw in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year during an interview with Blank Slate Media. Those same calls for public safety initiatives in response to rising crimes carried into the 2023 election campaigns, with both Republican and Democratic candidates citing a need to address the safety concerns of residents. A mailer sent by Blakeman’s office touted the county’s reductions in crime “even with Cashless Bail Laws and the National Border Crisis [sic]” which have been consistently referenced as driving factors for greater crime. Blakeman attributed the drop in crimes to his administration’s financial investments in the county police department and intelligence-led policing strategies in the mailer.
The county executive also touted his program Operation Overwatch in the mailer, which is a county policing tactic that deploys a five-car patrol unit to drive throughout the county. He said this deters crime and can be a “cavalry” in responding to criminal activity. Nassau County Police crime statistics provided to Blank Slate Media only include the first 11 months of both 2022 for 2023 comparison. The data also reflects the reported crimes overall in the county and is not broken down by precincts. From Jan. 1, 2023 through Nov. 30, 6,253 major crimes were reported in the county. This was a 6.46% reduction in total major crimes compared to 2022 when 6,685, or 432 more crimes, were reported. The drop in major crimes in 2023 followed a 38% spike in crime from 2019-2022. Major crimes are broken down into 11 categories: murder, rape, criminal sexual acts, sexual abuse, commercial robberies, other robberies, felony assault, residential burglary, other burglaries, stolen vehicles and grand larceny. A majority of the crime categories had reductions in the reported crimes in 2023. Continued on Page 71
PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Center Street fifth graders and teachers welcome you to their performance of the “Kid Flix” musical revue. Pictured left to right Luke Tam-Han, Sia Philippou, Sophia Wang, Maria Alina Woods, Nicole Fortanasce, Clelia Moline and Claire Pollin. See story on page 81.
Pereira blasts Newsday story on park funding B Y T A Y L O R H E R Z L I C H Sunday was a bribe for village board million for a community benefits
support. Pereira also said Newsday misMineola Mayor Paul Pereira said Newsday incorrectly implied represented his long-time support of the community benefits fund from the project. The 3rd Track had a $2.5 billion a now-completed, years-long Third Track project in a story published budget and the MTA set aside $20
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fund. The Newsday story said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority paid $1.7 million for Wilson Park upgrades in Mineola as part of a Continued on Page 70
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