The day after Greenport Mayor David Nyce said a private meeting would be held Thursday on the issue of gang activity on the North Fork, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell explained why he said the gathering would be held behind closed doors — and said he’d welcome the Guardian Angels to the area.
“The meeting is closed because it involves an update regarding ongoing criminal activities. The chief and the town board are anxious to include the general public in discussions so they know the efforts underway to address gang activity. We will be having discussions with the community shortly.”
When asked about help from the Guardian Angels, Russell said, “I think that if the Guardian Angels can galvanize the community into a productive action plan, that would be great. Gang activity is never a ‘local’ issue. The transient nature of the members very much makes it a regional challenge. I know that the local police department is working with other law enforcement agencies to try to address the issues involved. This approach should be very effective, not just for the pooling of resources, but for the expert insight of other agents that have specialized training and years of experience in gang activity.”
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa applauded Russell’s outlook: “The Southhold supervisor is very pragmatic. He understands the regional stretch of these gang activities. He knows that resources are limited locally to do battle with the growth and expansion of MS-13. Most importantly he accepts that other departments may be more experienced in combating MS-13 and 18th Street gangs. The important focus he has is mutual sharing of information and tracking the problem as it re-locates within the same region. I can easily see how our Guardian Angel plan can fit right in to this existing strategy. I look forward to meeting with the Southhold supervisor and sharing our strategies and experiences with him.”
At Tuesday’s town board meeting, Cutchogue resident Benja Schwartz also spoke out in support of the Guardian Angels and urged the town board to allocate some of community development block grant to the group. He said first, even $1 pledged would be a symbolic gesture in support of bringing the Guardian Angels to Southold, and later, $1,000 or more could be used to help the Guardian Angels in their efforts.
Russell’s latest, welcoming comments reflect a new, broader outlook: In past weeks, Russell has said efforts to address the gang situation after an alleged brutal gang attack on South Harbor Road could be handled locally. Last month, Russell said he had “full faith and confidence in the Southold Town Police Department and the department’s leadership to address issues regarding public safety and gang activity.”
At Tuesday’s board meeting, as the board voted unanimously to hire eight new police officers, Russell noted that one hired is Latino, to help with the changing face and issues in the community.
But despite Russell’s welcoming stance, Greenport Village Mayor David Nyce said on Monday that a community meeting held last Tuesday with Sliwa to discuss gang issues after a brutal attack in Southold was “putting the cart before the horse.”
At Monday’s village board work session, the mayor explained his position. “I’m not going to make my personal feelings for Mr. Sliwa known, because they are neither here nor there. But I feel that the meeting was premature.”
Nyce said he reached out to Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley the day after the gang attack and was happy to hear that he was already in contact with Greenport and Southold School Superintendent David Gamberg, “where I think these discussions should, and did start.”
Meanwhile, the Greenport Board of Education met Tuesday night and no mention was made of the Guardian Angels, and no public discussion was held, although BOE member Heather Wolf attended last week’s meeting and personally supported the idea of bringing the group to Greenport.
Several weeks later, Nyce said, “Obviously, the community is very much concerned. But my feeling about how this process worked — it’s fine for a consultant to come and have a meeting, but, ultimately, this process is best served if the community gathers to first determine what the problem is. First, the school, the police department, and municipal officials should meet,” he said.
Nyce said he organized a private meeting for Thursday — the meeting will be held at 4 p.m. — with Flatley, Gamberg, and Russell. Out of that, he said, could come a “large public meeting” to discuss what the police department and school officials see as the “way forward.” After that, Nyce said, “Should we need additional help, we’ll call a consultant.”
When asked what he thought of Nyce’s stance, Sliwa responded to Nyce’s comments Monday night: “The mayor should have, instead, earlier tonight praised the efforts of Sister Margret Smyth last Tuesday when she hosted an old-fashioned open community meeting at St. Agnes Church. It provided a great civics lesson for all as a diverse group of men and women came together to try and come up with solutions to what is obviously a growing gang problem. Nobody came with a political ax to grind and potential solutions were proposed. Some local officials chose to partake and others chose to sit it out. People were there who could trace their lineage to the arrival of the first Puritans, while others were new arrivals from Central America.”
He added, “Sister Margaret made sure that everyone knew this would not just end up a feel-good meeting. Followup work would have to take place. This was the basis to the birth of our nation over 300 years ago throughout these parts. People are criticized nowadays for not voting, being apathetic and expecting government to take care of all things from the cradle to the grave. Too many of us don’t believe in the value of self-help. So here residents of Greenport and surrounding communities decided to preemptively get involved — and the mayor calls it premature.”
At last week’s meeting, organized by Sister Margaret, Sliwa said there were questions and many concerns raised by those in attendance. “I understand that tonight’s meeting of village trustees did not permit questions or statements from the general public. The mayor then said there would be a closed door meeting this Thursday of officials and then, and only then, at some date in the future,” a community meeting, “where citizens could participate. Sister Margaret’s meeting was transparent. The officials meetings are clandestine.”
