Dear Editor,
How is Cedarhurst any safer?
Starting this past April, Mayor Ben Weinstock released NCPD Aux Unit 109 and installed in its place a new village unit, Aux Unit 101, headed by a former officer of 109 and most recently the East Meadow unit. This officer is also a Village of Cedarhurst employee. This employee is also the sole officer of the unit. Unit 101 has only one member.
My question is: Why?
For over 25 years, Unit 109, headed by Inspector Danny Gluck, has been selflessly serving the communities of the 4th precinct, including the Five Towns, especially the Village of Cedarhurst. Indeed, the Village was very happy with the excellent service from Danny Gluck and Unit 109. Inspector Gluck, with his devotion and leadership, has built Unit 109 into the largest and most active auxiliary police unit in the county. He has received multiple awards and honors for this service. There are over 30 officers in 109, many of whom live and work in the Five Towns, including the Village of Cedarhurst.
Since the creation of Village Unit 101, there has been a tremendous reduction of patrols and services in the village of Cedarhurst. When Unit 109 was active in the Village of Cedarhurst for details and patrol, there were many officers helping to keep Central Avenue safe, and we had intensive patrols of our Village several times a week, if not daily.
As of today, we have only one officer. She doesn’t live in the Five Towns, and she is a full-time employee of the Village. The daily patrols and Friday-afternoon/Saturday-night intensive patrols are not happening (how can we expect one officer to complete a task that is usually done with many officers?). Indeed, except for the “Lawrence Teachers Association March,” I have not personally seen any activity at all from Unit 101, which is not surprising because they have no membership. It takes years to build a unit.
As a resident who lives and works here, I don’t understand what the mayor expects to do here. In my humble opinion, this is a major safety issue. Cedarhurst has many wonderful activities, parades, park events, concerts, shuls, schools, and churches that are very active. National night out, Jewish night in the park, attracts hundreds of people. With the volunteer services of the auxiliary police unit 109, we had terrific crowd control, traffic control, and police presence, not to mention the round-the-clock patrols of the officers in uniform in a marked police car, and even when off-duty on their own personal time, who were volunteering this vital service for free.
How does the Village benefit by eliminating the manpower of Danny Gluck’s leadership and Unit 109, with dozens of trained and experienced officers, with this new unit of minimal equipment and practically no membership? I call upon my friends and neighbors to ask the mayor, who, as it seems to me, is being very quiet and secretive about this. Ask him to explain what is going on. Indeed, according to my information and belief, he formed this Village Unit without the consent or consultation of Danny Gluck or any Village trustees.
Besides the obvious questions of how this new unit makes the Village less safe, how does it make the officers of 109 feel? They selflessly volunteer and sacrifice time with their families to help the Village. It’s a slap in their face! It feels like the mayor has no appreciation for the selfless assistance that he benefited from. Not even a thank-you for decades of excellent service without complaint—volunteering, no less! It makes no sense to me.
A very concerned resident
Dear Editor,
I want to address the questions raised by “a very concerned resident.” To do that, I first need to correct the assumptions and misinformation in the letter.
Aux Unit 109 was never released from Cedarhurst by me or anyone else, nor was it replaced with Aux Unit 101. Unit 109 does a wonderful job under the leadership of Danny Gluck, its commanding officer. He has truly devoted himself to the safety of the Five Towns, Woodsburgh, the Hewletts, Oceanside, and beyond. The creation of Unit 101 was not intended to supplant anything he does or to denigrate him in any way. Rather, it is an addition to the protection of our Village, not a detraction. Its existence increases the number of patrols, special details, and vehicles that are available to service Cedarhurst. It enhances the protection we receive and does not diminish it.
The Nassau County Police Department, under the exemplary leadership of Commissioner Pat Ryder, and the Auxiliary Police Board are both making a concerted effort to revitalize and expand the number of Units and Auxiliary Officers available. They support what we are doing in the Village. By the way, when I met with the senior Police Department brass about forming our Unit, I learned that Nassau County recently put in a place a dedicated Sector Car with two uniformed officers that are specific to our area. They are tasked with providing additional coverage during nighttime hours and especially on weekends. I met with the assigned officers and they are “plugged in” and focused on what’s happening here.
The Police and the Auxiliaries all take an oath of office to serve and protect all the residents of Nassau County, not any specific precinct, village, town, or hamlet. That is precisely why our Unit, in its short existence, has already provided mutual aid outside of Cedarhurst, by escorting a funeral procession from the chapel in Oceanside to the Southern State. In the Teacher’s Union march last Sunday, our Auxiliary Officers assisted the Nassau County Police and MTA Police. They prevented any attempt to block sidewalks, streets, and intersections keeping the marchers and regular pedestrians safe. Our Unit was created to help Unit 109 and not to take anything away from it.
Yes, our Unit is small. We have two senior officers and a growing fleet of cars. Despite its size, we have had weekend and yom tov patrols ever since the Unit was activated by the Police Department on the first day of Pesach. Lt. Shari Zagorski, our commanding officer, is recruiting volunteers and I am confident that she will be successful. If anyone is interested in becoming an officer, please contact me or Shari at 516-295-5770.
With growing concerns about safety, I am proud of the efforts I made to find a solution by creating this Unit. I think it is a far better outcome than hiring private security patrols like some of our neighboring villages did—and recently fired. The Auxiliaries are hardworking and extremely dedicated. They are in direct radio communication with the Fourth Precinct. They operate in very visible cars that are striped and lit to resemble regular police cars. The cars have a significant deterrent effect, even when they are parked. This deterrent effect carries through to the uniforms the officers wear. The next time you see one of our cars or foot patrols thank the officers for their service. I always do.
Benjamin Weinstock
Mayor
Priceless
Dear Editor,
This past week I was approached to renew my subscription to a well-known magazine. When I asked the price for renewal, it was well over $300 for the year!
I thought about it for a while. Though it is a good publication, with inflation, I needed to cut back somewhere. Besides, we have local papers that are free, and, really, how much yenta news do I need? So, I canceled my subscription (after probably eight years).
This week, I sighed as I sat down Friday night without that magazine.
I picked up the 5TJT and began to read it, giving it the attention that I was unable to give it before this week.
As I began to read and continued to read your publication more in-depth, the time just passed… and passed… and passed. I was unaware of the time I spent engrossed in your publication.
When I finished reading the paper, I didn’t even miss the other magazine.
So this is just a note to thank you for the service to our community and delivering such a quality paper … and saving me over $300.
Hanna G
Far Rockaway
One Family
Dear Editor,
After the Biden administration sent one billion dollars to the PLO, Jewish murders by terrorists rose 900%.
This fact should make every one of us cringe with shame and horror. What can we do? Donate to OneFamilyFundUS.org. Help ease the trauma and the cruel injustice that so many of our precious brothers and sisters have had to endure, their families torn apart. Visit the website and read of all the time, effort, and expense needed to bring some normalcy back to each family.
As we’ve just finished the Pesach chag, we know that freedom for all Jews in our blessed Land of Israel is still a dream. In memory of Lucy, Maia, and Rena Dee, please open your wallet and give.
Am Yisrael Chai,
Rivka Olenick Gitnik
Queens
