FROM TOWN HALL ..by Thom Kleiner, Orangetown Superviser

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From Town Hall
by Thom Kleiner, Orangetown Supervisor and
Kevin Nulty, Orangetown Chief of Police

Nyack Drug and Weapons Bust
a Big Deal

The recent drug and weapons raid in Nyack was an unusual and critically important law enforcement initiative benefiting residents and businesses of Nyack, Orangetown and all of Rockland. Nyack and Orangetown, like most of Rockland County, are safe places to live, work and raise our families. For years, however, as most residents are aware, there has been a pocket of illegal activity that has been difficult to eradicate.

Fortunately, this illegal activity has essentially been confined to a very small geographic area. Most people were able to go about their business and there were very few instances of violent activity. (In fact, the biggest challenge for Orangetown police has been controlling the behavior of mostly out-of-town visitors in the Main Street bars on weekend nights.)

Recently, however, the loose band of drug dealers developed into something resembling a street gang. It had a name: the Building 3 Crew and its tentacles even reached into the local high schools. The explosion of the Internet- particularly My Space and other social networking sites-facilitated their operation and drew in younger, more susceptible "volunteers." A more creative approach to law enforcement was clearly needed.

Orangetown police, working in close and essential collaboration with the Rockland County Narcotics Task Force and other law enforcement entities within Rockland County, mounted a concerted effort to address the problem. First, there was an effort to better understand the gang activity and their means of communication. This was followed by the early morning raid of April 9, involving 80 law enforcement professionals that resulted in 24 arrests that day and several more in the days following. This dealt a significant blow to the gang and drug trade in Nyack. It was the successful conclusion of more than 50,000 cell phone taps, resulting in the seizure of seven guns, nine pounds of uncut cocaine valued in excess of $400,000, with a much higher street value and other drugs.

But this is not the end of our work. When at the press conference Steve Lieberman of the Journal-News asked whether community complaints about the lack of recreational and community activities for our youth was a factor in their illegal activity, the temptation was to dismiss the question as beside the point. After all, some of the most difficult members of our community had just been removed from our streets, making not only the community at large safer, but particularly those who live in the immediate neighborhood, closest to the drug activity.

But Lieberman's question must surely be addressed, Law enforcement will continue to do its job, but all of us must work together to identify the means and lessen the liklihood of this activity in the future.

District Attorney Tom Zugibe, who was a key player in the raid, has also spoken forcefully about the importance of prevention as a critical aspect of law enforcement, and he will be an important partner in these efforts.

For now, we particularly want to thank the officers and detectives of the Orangetown Police Department, the Rockland County Narcotics Task Force and other members of law enforcement who participated in this collaborative effort and unquestionably made our community safer.

[Editor's note: due to Villager deadlines, Supervisor Kleiner filed this story before the disturbance in downtown Nyack on April 16. He plans to write about that next time.]

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Supervisor Kleiner welcomes e-mailed questions directed to him or to info@nyackvillager.com

e-mail To info@nyackvillager.com



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