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Officials work to keep Halloween under control in Village this year Last year, when bands of roving young people went down residential streets in Babylon Village, intimidating residents and causing vandalism, Babylon Village Mayor Ralph Scordino made a promise to himself and the residents of the Village: Never again. In keeping with that promise, Scordino said the Village has adopted a "zero" tolerance position this year, and has been working with the Babylon School District, local code enforcement and Suffolk County Police to ensure that the community remains safe and that youngsters understand that they will not get away with inappropriate and illegal behavior. "I have reached out to the school district and have been assured that the administrators and staff there will get the message out that the things that happened last year will not be tolerated," said Scordino. One resident who said he and his neighbors were the victims of a group of approximately 30 youngsters who went through the neighborhood said he is hoping that the actions of the Village, the schools and police, will make for a better and safer Halloween. "My belief is that it was a problem last year because Halloween did not not fall on a school night," he said. "This year it is on a school night but I am concerned about events the weekend before and the weekend after Halloween. First Precinct Inspector Robert Cassagne said the department is increasing the number of patrols and is working with the school district to encourage students "to make the right decisions so they don't get themselves into situations or engage in criminal behavior," he said. Cassagne said that something that many youngsters look at as innocent, such as throwing eggs at a home or at a moving vehicle, are actually crimes. "Youngsters are liable for the damage they do by throwing eggs," said Cassagne. If they break a window that is criminal mischief and even if they don't break anything, they can be charged with criminal tampering because they are responsible for the cost of clean up." More serious, said Cassagne, is the possibility that a driver could become disoriented by that kind of an incident, and an accident could occur in which the driver or other innocent people are injured. That is a more serious crime of reckless endangerment. "I think we are in a pretty good place and that things will be better this year," said Ellen Best- Laimit, superintendent of schools in Babylon. Best-Laimit said the district has taken several steps to ensure that the junior and senior high school students in particular are made aware of their civic obligations and the consequences of bad behavior. "We sent home a newsletter asking parents to support us in helping to get students to make the right decisions and all of our coaches are talking to our athletes about their responsibilities as good athletes," she said. In addition the district's DARE Officer is holding an assembly on Halloween reminding students about their obligations as good citizens of the community and impressing upon them that bad conduct has consequences. The Mayor and police are even reaching out to business owners. A County law prohibits stores from selling spray paint to anyone under 18 years of age, but there is no prohibition against selling shaving cream or eggs to youngsters at Halloween. School, Village and Town and police officials ask the cooperation of local businesses, however.
"If a group of kids walks into the store dressed in costumes and tries to buy three cans of shaving cream and three dozen eggs, it is obvious as to what is going on," said Cassagne. "That is something that the business owner should take a hard look at."
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