With an eye toward enhanced communication, the Greenport Village board of trustees invited Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flately to their monthly work session last night, something they plan to do perhaps quarterly to keep abreast of the issues.
Flatley began by addressing a series of robberies in the village but said the main concerns over the past days have been the “big concerns” generated by the recent Tall Ships event regarding traffic and parking, as well as ongoing issues related to the crowds of summer visitors.
At the Adams Street parking lot, for example, Flatley said, “We continue to have large groups of people that our out of the bars at 3 and 4 a.m. and we need manpower to keep the peace. That’s been an ongoing issue for several years.”
Traffic woes
Trustee Mary Bess Phillips addressed the traffic issues near the North Ferry station, and the turnaround issue that’s escalated with the influx of visitors to the area.
There should be a no U-turn policy adopted for Front and Main Streets, she said.
Flatley said police had to shut down part of 3rd Street for safety during the Tall Ships festival
Phillips said perhaps since Southold Town is going into budget mode, a meeting of the minds between the village board, town and police might happen so that new signage could be set up to direct motorists heading to the ferry, either from Route 25 or the North Road; traffic woes were especially egregious after the recent July 4 fireworks and Tall Ships,with many cars headed from Orient west, she said.
“Those are part of larger traffic issues,” Flatley said, adding that the town’s transportation commission and the village have had issues with that area for some time. During the Tall Ships festival, he said, traffic at the foot of 3rd Street was cut off because so many were trying to access the ferry from the east. “I don’t think there’s adequate signage to direct them through the village to the beginning of the ferry line,” he said.
Phillips said maybe the village could go to the New York State Department of Transportation.
The bigger issue, Flatley said, is that everyone uses navigation systems today and most direct motorists down 3rd Street, with people disregarding signs for 6th Street and following GPS directions.
The police chief said there had once been a discussion of a roundabout to filter traffic coming from the east more effectively, something he would totally support. But with a state road meeting a county and town road, challenges arise, and it’s difficult to secure funding for a roundabout, he said.
Phillips said she hoped the town and village could come together and then speak with state representatives to weigh solutions.
Trustee Doug Roberts asked if there were channels Flatley could pursue to change routing on GPS systems. Flatley said he believed you could make an application to change a route and he’d look into the possibility, especially after watching the traffic issue unfold after five days spent in Greenport during the Tall Ships festival.
Gang issues
Months after a gang forum was held to address a shooting and machete attack that included a Greenport MS-13 member, Roberts asked if there had been any recent gang-related crimes.
“It’s definitely calmed down. There have been no further instances. However, we’d have to be naive to think it would never happen again,” Flatley said.
To that end, he said law enforcement continues to do its part to keep abreast of gang affiliations and attended intel meetings on the county level to remain informed of gang activity on Long Island.
Flatley said the goal is to host local level, grass roots meetings with the village and different Southold Town hamlets to keep residents up to date and share information.
“It feels calmer, but it was pretty calm last year before that horrible shooting,” Roberts said, asking about specific methodology and practices by police to keep gangs at bay.
Flatley said Nassau and Suffolk Counties share gang activity databases; the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, he said, established a contact on their level with the East End Drug Task Force to serve as a liasion between the DA’s office and towns and village, compiling informaton on gang affiliates and members.
Gang activity, he said, is “transient,” with a gang member possibly engaged in a criminal act in Riverhead but living in Greenport or vice versa, so the shared database is critical.
Roberts said he’s heard from locals that there is a “lot of stuff going on around here that everyone knows about and no one wants to deal with.”
Such concerns include individuals carrying guns, minor drug dealing, and residents afraid to take their kids to the 3rd Street Park because of adults sitting in the park all day. “No one knows what they’re up to,” he said.
Resident David Corwin said motorcycles without mufflers is another issue he feels police do not address.
“We need to investigate,” Flatley said, adding that police “can’t just walk up to someone and accuse them of dealing drugs without some reasonable suspicion that that are involved.”
Anyone with suspicions, he said, should contact police; they can do so anonymously, he said, and all tips are investigated, he said.
Robert also asked about Spanish-speaking officers. Flatley said a recent sexual assault case was being invested with a Spanish speaking officer; the department has added three to four officers fluent in Spanish and there are at least two to three officers in the Greenport sector, Flatley said, that speak fluent Spanish.
Job well done
Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard thanked Flatley for the amazing job he and his force did during the Tall Ships festival.
Flatley thanked the village board and the Tall Ships steering committee and said any fears of a “completely gridlocked village were allayed” due to the cooperation from all involved.
Village attorney Joseph Prokop also thanked Flatley and said he very much appreciated the work of the Southold Town police department, which follows every incident through to its full conclusion.
Flatley said he was happy to meet with the village board and will continue to do so in the future.
