By Anthony Rifilato
Police arrested the owners of three Baldwin businesses: Grand Avenue Deli at 1654 Grand Ave., Baldwin Beverage at 22 N. Grand Ave., and One Stop at 985 Atlantic Avenue for allegedly selling alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets to teenagers.
Police said they began investigating the businesses following community complaints.
"We're very proactive and react to community complaints as best as we can," said Police Officer Glenn Neuman, a member of the First's Problem Oriented Police (POP) unit.
Neuman said that Project 21 - where teenagers volunteer to work undercover with the police department - has proved beneficial in terms of penalizing those businesses that sell alcohol to underage kids. The program has been around for over 10 years, and many are students from Baldwin High School.
"A lot of them have an interest in law enforcement," said Neuman. "It's good because we go back to the community and get a positive reaction. We are able to think outside the box and we have the freedom to say we want to get this stuff solved."
Neuman added that volunteers go undercover four of five times a year in the First. They are given funds to purchase the items and an undercover police officer (or officers) is present during the operation to ensure the safety of the teens.
"Once the sale is made, we go right in and take the kid out," said Neuman.
In many cases, however, Neuman said that they have found businesses that maintain a strict policy of not serving underage kids.
"We keep a record of the places we go to who actually ID and let business owners know," said Neuman. "If businesses pass, we'll let them know and there are many businesses that do pass."
The arrests come after First Precinct Inspector Rick Capece vowed to take a tough stance against teenage drinking, especially around prom season. Capece said he would aggressively pursue parents and businesses that provide underage kids with alcohol, and commended the program's viability.
"We find it to be a successful program," Capece said. "We'll continue to enforce regularly."
The owners can face up to a year in jail and could face fines or have their liquor licenses revoked by the State Liquor Authority.
"You don't sell to kids, that's the bottom line," said Neuman. "Whether it's greed or ignorance, when you sign up for your [liquor] license you have to understand the rules."
