By Nicole Falco
Organized by the Valley Stream Council of PTAs, the Dec. 1 meeting was intended to be an open discussion with the community about drugs, alcohol and gangs. The message offered by officer Januszewski and two school social workers who made presentations was that drugs, alcohol and gangs do lurk in the community, but parents' influence is still strong enough to keep such "cultural stressors" out of their children's lives.
Januszewski is an 18-year veteran of the New York City and Nassau County police departments. Currently he is a member of the Fifth Precinct's Problem Oriented Police Unit. Among the many hats he wears as a POP officer, he monitors gang activity in the precinct.
"It's not Uniondale. It's not Freeport. It's not Hempstead. It's not Roosevelt," Januszewski said. "You do not have a significant problem. You don't, but we don't want it to escalate."
While Valley Stream may not be Uniondale or Roosevelt, there is evidence of gang "influence." One of the strongest indicators is graffiti, which is a form of communication among gangs members. According to Januszewski, police combat graffiti by photographing it for monitoring purposes and asking the owner of the building where the graffiti is discovered to remove it immediately. Parents should also look out for graffiti written in their children's notebooks.
Clothing is also a large part of gang culture. Each of the four major gangs on Long Island -- the Crips, the Bloods, MS-13 and 18th Street -- uses different colors and the latest clothing styles to assert its presence. Bloods, for instance, have begun wearing oversized white T-shirts and white do-rags, while the Crips are wearing light blue sports jerseys. Januszewski said that the colors change, and parents should not assume their son or daughter is in a gang, but they should be aware of the signs.
Januszewski said the average age of a youth's first contact with a gang is 13 in Nassau County. Because the age of influence is getting younger and younger, parents should monitor whom their children have as friends, he said.
As is the case with gangs, children are being exposed to drugs and alcohol at an alarmingly young age. According to Karen Ehrlich, a North High School social worker, the average age of first exposure to drugs and alcohol in Nassau County is 11 1/2.
Ehrlich and Maggie McConnell, a Memorial Junior High School social worker, spoke at the meeting about drug and alcohol use in the community. "Drugs and alcohol in Valley Stream look very much like drugs and alcohol in Lynbrook, in Rockville Centre, throughout Nassau County ... adolescents are adolescents no matter where you go," McConnell explained.
Ehrlich called marijuana and alcohol the "drugs of choice" in the community, "not to say that no other drugs exist, but those are our two gateway drugs."
Because children are being introduced to drugs and alcohol at such a young age, often through the media, parents need to be more vigilant. "The biggest influence on your children is still you as a parent," McConnell told the group.
"Even in junior high school and high school, they still need you," Ehrlich said. "They just need you in a different way than they did before."
Ehrlich and McConnell urged parents to communicate with one another. "If you do anything for yourself this evening, take the phone number of someone who has a child in the school building that you have," McConnell said.
Both women called Monday's meeting the beginning. "This is an ongoing process of keeping the lines of communication open, of educating ourselves," Ehrlich said.
Kate Freeman, PTA council president, said she hopes Monday's meeting will be the first of many in the community. Parents in attendance shared similar opinions. "I'd consider [the meeting] a start, but I'd like to see more of it," said Peggy Finnegan.
Last Wednesday, a meeting on issues of sexuality that face teens was held at Central High School. In January, South High School will host a meeting to discuss Internet safety with the community.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Central High School District's new Prevention Education Committee held its inaugural meeting. The committee's goal is to elevate the level of support available to students and to identify "stressors." After hearing about the Prevention Education Committee, at least one parent, Barbara Cestaro, wanted to hear more.
In addition, Dr. Marc Bernstein, interim superintendent of the high school district, said the district continues to hold monthly meetings with POP officers.
"It is a healthy community for you to raise your children in," Bernstein said. "It's a good community. We want to keep it that way."
