Cops, MTA eye bias in 5 Towns

The Nassau County Police Department and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have joined forces on an initiative to fight the recurring anti-Semitic graffiti found at two Long Island Rail Road train stations in the Five Towns.

“The initiative was prompted because the Nassau County Police Department always attacks crime trends,” said Melissa Marciano, a spokeswoman for County Executive Ed Mangano. “They offered this assistance to the MTA, who ultimately has jurisdiction.” The NCPD will install remotely monitored video surveillance cameras on the station platforms.

There have been 11 incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti at various LIRR stations in 2013 and last month, according to MTA officials. “Seven incidents happened at Cedarhurst, three at Lawrence and one at Hewlett,” said Meredith Daniels, an MTA spokeswoman. “We are offering our own additional uniformed and plainclothes patrols to the investigation.”

Cedarhurst resident Jeffrey Leb, who commutes to Manhattan on the LIRR, began posting photos of the anti-Semitic writing and images, which alerted other concerned community members to the incidents. “I’ve been following it through social media,” said Abe Wexler, who also lives in Cedarhurst. “Jeff Leb was posting it on Facebook and Twitter. It’s just outrageous.”

Avi Dreyfuss, an accountant from Cedarhurst who also commutes to the city, did not see Leb’s postings online but, like Leb, has seen the graffiti firsthand on the platforms at the Cedarhurst station. “I’ve been a Cedarhurst resident since 2002,” Dreyfuss said. “Demographics in a neighborhood change, and the minority left get upset. They’re just frustrated, not terrible people.”

Michael Lorch is a Woodmere resident who saw the graffiti photos Leb took posted on Facebook, then heard people talking about the incidents. An MTA tweet addressing the incidents followed. “I never saw it at my train station, just on Facebook,” Lorch said. “I know it happened at Cedarhurst, one train stop over from mine. I’ve been living for two and a half years in Woodmere, and always had nice relations in my neighborhood, especially with my neighbors.”

Installing the surveillance cameras could be the best way to catch the person or people who are leaving the messages, Wexler said. “Unless they have a person 24 hours, it’s not going to do anything,” he said. “The number one idea is cameras. I think it’s the only way to catch them. Since this is usually happening at night, putting cameras at the stations is a great idea. They’re also not expensive.”

Dreyfuss said he thinks increased awareness of what is occurring at the train stations is needed, along with police staking out the stations in the early-morning hours. “Since this is only on LIRR trains, I think only a certain amount of people know about it,” he said. “I think that to catch the perpetrators, it’s best to do it through a sting operation. Have patrols early in the morning, around 3 to 4 a.m. It’s a great idea, this initiative, if there are enough resources to do so.”

From the Nassau Herald