By MIKE RUSSO and Andrew Hackmack
In an effort to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future, Nassau County Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) is drafting legislation to ensure that "big-box" stores have the proper safety measures in place when anticipating a large turnout like Black Friday.
The legislation - currently being crafted by Scannell and his chief of staff, LuAnn Lima - will be known as the "Doorbuster Safety Bill," and while exact details are not yet confirmed, Scannell says he wants to make sure that stores do more to prepare for dangerous situations like what transpired in Valley Stream last Friday.
"[Wal-Mart] created a horrible situation without a real plan or solution as to how they were going to deal with it just to make money," said Scannell. "That's unacceptable."
State Assemblyman Tom Alfano (R-North Valley Stream) also is calling for legislation and said he will push this in the next session. Alfano said that he couldn't say exactly what the legislation would entail because the situation still needs to be studied. "Rushing to legislate isn't always the solution," he said. "It's too fast to come up with a perfect plan, but at the same point something needs to be done."
Alfano said that Wal-Mart should have been able to foresee its security needs based on past experiences with large sales and early opening events. It is possible the any law drafted could have a security requirements based on project crowds, Alfano noted. "This may guide us when we're looking at legislation," he said.
Calling the situation a tragedy, Alfano said it will happen again if nothing is done to prevent it. He said any legislation would be thoughtful and meaningful.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey, at a press conference on Monday, agreed that there shouldn't be any "knee jerk" legislation but also agrees that meaningful laws are needed. "This was a tragedy and I will support anything that subverts a future tragedy," he said.
Scannell's legislation, as it stands right now, seeks to hold the stores accountable for enacting their own security and crowd-control policies, however, Scannell said that the police could get involved should the stores feel the need for them and call for their assistance. Lima said that once it was discovered that a large number of people were standing outside the Valley Stream Wal-Mart, employees should have come up with a better plan to let people in.
If passed by the full Legislature, the bill would go into effect immediately pending County Executive Tom Suozzi's approval. The county would then have to notify the stores within the county that the new law is in place. Scannell said he wasn't sure whether or not the bill will be passed in time to regulate the stores during the remainder of this holiday shopping season.
"I think everybody's upset about what happened and that's why we all got together to make people in Nassau County safer," said Scannell.
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
