Huntington Station security program

By Michael R. Ebert
michael.ebert@newsday.com

Since its installation in 2004, Huntington Station’s security program has expanded from a modest three-camera system to 10 cameras worth over $60,000. It’s also assisted the Second Precinct in several car crash investigations, stolen credit card cases, stabbings and even a shooting.

The success hasn’t gone unnoticed. Early last month, the Suffolk County Legislature joined the effort by launching a pilot program to study the town’s model and determine just how effective the security cameras are in reducing crime and apprehending criminals. If all goes according to plan, the Huntington Station prototype could later be implemented in other high-crime areas throughout the county.

“If we want to combat crime from Melville to Montauk with our limited resources, we need to think outside the box,” said Legislative Majority Leader Jon Cooper (D-Huntington). “I’m thrilled that the task force choose an area representative of Suffolk’s urban character.”

Created by the Huntington Station Business Improvement District Association (BID), the existing program has the $6,000 cameras affixed to buildings on the New York Avenue and Depot Road corridors linked to a computer monitoring station at the BID headquarters. Each location has an indoor digital video recorder (DVR), which saves all captured images.

The high-tech cameras are programmed to record 24 hours a day while regularly sweeping 50-yard sections of their assigned locale.

“Initially, I thought of hiring an off-duty police officer to patrol the district in a car,” explained BID Treasurer Brad Rosen, who developed the organization’s security plan. “But I saw no end to the funding that requires, so I decided to look into installing cameras.”

Cameras and support equipment are financed from a property tax levy on businesses within the Huntington Station district. One business owner is William Ahern, president of Ahern’s Landscape Company on Pulaski Road.

“In Huntington Station, there’s a lot of crime,” he stated. “I really believe this pilot program will be vital to helping the police keep an eye on things and keep people in line.”

According to Cooper’s office, the “Safe Communities Initiative” will last 18 months. To launch the pilot program, Cooper created a 12-member task force of experts from the police department, the district attorney’s office and civic leaders in early 2006. The pilot program officially launched on July 1.

The Second Precinct’s Crime Section and Detective Squad will document the number, types and locations of recorded crimes for a final report completed sometime in early 2009.