Nassau Notebook: Precinct Restructuring, Isles to Play in Brooklyn

Nassau Restructures Police Precincts

In an effort to cut back on spending, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Police Commissioner Thomas Dale announced Monday that four of the county's eight police precincts will be restructured.

Four precincts will remain intact while the remaining four will be transformed into new Community Policing Centers, Mangano said.

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Auxiliary Police Officers Needed

The Nassau County Auxiliary Police is looking for residents to volunteer and serve as members of the Auxiliary Police. The Auxiliary Police are volunteers dedicated to making their community a safe place to live. Members patrol in marked cars equipped with a two-way radio and emergency equipment.

Auxiliary Police Officers patrol seven days per week in our community in addition to assisting the Nassau Police (NCPD) with crowd control and traffic at community events. Another function of the Auxiliary Police is to assist the NCPD at any disaster scene or during any countywide emergency.

Applicants must be between 18-55, a Nassau County resident, a U.S. citizen and have a high school diploma or G.E.D. All applicants must also have a valid New York State drivers license. A 29-session training course held at the Nassau County Police Academy must be completed. For additional information, please call 573-8830 or email recruit@pdcnaux.org.

Islanders to Play Preseason Game in Brooklyn

The can't escape their dilapidated Long Island home until 2015, but the National Hockey League team will play a preseason game at the Barclays Center this October.

The Isles said on Tuesday that they will play the at the new building when they take on the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Hempstead Village Awarded $1.2 Million for Downtown Revitalization

Mangano announced Tuesday the allocation of a nearly $1.2 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the Village of Hempstead – the largest grant made to any incorporated Village in this year. The grant will fund a variety of projects in the Village, including improvements to streets and sidewalks in both the downtown business district and residential neighborhoods.

The CDBG will also help fund a variety of after school programs, including the Hempstead PAL recreational activities, PeeWee Football/Cheerleading Program, At-Risk Youth Basketball Program, and the EOC Soccer program. The allocation also includes funds for the Village’s Safe Routes to School program, a New York State Department of Transportation initiative that enables and encourages children to adapt to healthy and active lifestyles by promoting transportation alternatives and implementing projects that improve traffic safety.

Foster Care Audit Recoups More Than $50,000

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos released a Department of Social Services Foster Care Payments audit which found 76 duplicate or overlapping payments totaling $78,334 and led to the recovery of $52,475. The audit reviewed payments from January 2008 through December 2009 during which 15,000 claims were processed.

In one case, a service provider reported a child as being present in two facilities for the same time period for the purposes of billing. As of the end of 2011, DSS had implemented many of the comptroller’s recommendations and reduced the number of errors even further.

Nassau County Auxiliary Police Executive Board Elected

Inspector Neal Rosenblatt, Commanding Officer of Nassau County Auxiliary Police Unit 116 -- which serves the Fifth Precinct with the exception of the Valley Stream and Elmont -- was reelected at the January 2012 executive board meeting held at the Nassau County Public Safety Center in Westbury. It is Rosenblatt's second term as chairman of the Nassau County Auxiliary Police Executive Board.

The executive board oversees the daily operations of the Auxiliary Police Program in Nassau County in conjunction with the NCPD. Other members serving on the board for 2012 are:

• Vice Chairman; Lt. Kevin Meller of Syosset
• Treasurer; Inspector Joanne Edling of Farmingdale
• Secretary; Deputy Inspector Michael Bier of Hicksville
• Lt. Raymond Montalvo of South Hempstead
• Inspector Michael Spae of Mineola
• Deputy Inspector Diane Laukaitus of Lynbrook
• Lt. Thomas Field of Levittown

Malverne Mel Gives Nassau Residents Six More Weeks of Winter

Malverne Mel made his Groundhog Day forecast for Nassau County residents Thursday morning at 7 a.m. at Reese Park. Click here for Patch's .