Stores hit by vandal

Rockville Centre police are investigating a string of store vandalisms that occurred over the weekend.

According to police, two stores in the downtown area had front windows smashed, while another had flower planters out front damaged.

Grillfire, located at 13 North Park Ave., Lazy Daisy, at 218 Merrick Road, and IDC Medical, at 232 Sunrise Highway, were all vandalized. Police Commissioner Charles Gennario said that the police do not believe it is an ongoing problem.

“We have the feeling that it was someone who was drunk,” Gennario said. “No reason to believe that there’s any kind of pattern.”

Grillfire and Lazy Daisy had windows smashed, while IDC Medical had planters out front damaged. The vandal caused about $2,300 total in damage.

Gennario said that the best way businesses can protect themselves from vandalism like this is to install security cameras. Cameras aid police during investigations like this because they change the job from trying to learn who committed the crime to identifying someone from a picture, which greatly speeds things up.

“I’m trying to get surveillance cameras for everything I can in the community,” Gennario said. “And I’m not going to use them for anything other than tracking a crime when it happens. That’s the route policing is going.

“If a new business opens in the village or major renovation is being done to existing establishments,” he added, “I request internet-based surveillance cameras be installed by the businesses, which our personnel have access to, in order to identify subjects responsible for criminal behavior.”