Thursday, October 1, 2026
Accompanied by four other community leaders, Mayor Francis Murray addressed a perceived increase in youth violence in the village at the Sept. 4 Board of Trustees meeting, responding to concerns raised after a group of teens allegedly attacked a resident in June, leaving him with injuries that required treatment at a local hospital.
Murray expressed his dismay at the June 18 assault on Roxen Road and described the actions he and others had taken since then to curb violence and substance abuse among village youth.
“At the last meeting, I told the many people who came to comment on the Roxen Road incident that I would be offering further initiatives to address the antisocial behavior among some of our teenagers and the risky activities that often precede such behavior,” Murray said. “We all share a common goal to stop violence and substance abuse in our community.”
The mayor met with the heads of sports organizations and schools, including representatives of South Side High School, Chaminade High School and St. Agnes Cathedral school, in the interest of beginning a collaborative effort between the village and the schools. According to Murray, the leaders of schools and sports teams have the training, experience and insight that can be beneficial in working with parents in raising their children.
The September issue of the village newsletter, he noted, will include a list of volunteer activities for both adults and children who are interested in becoming more engaged with the village.
In the schools
Noreen Leahy, the Rockville Centre school district’s assistant superintendent of pupil personnel services and special education, and Carol Roseto, the director of physical education, health and athletics, were invited to share their ideas for the coming school year with meeting attendees.
Leahy discussed plans to use the anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act, which has been implemented in district schools, to prevent substance abuse and violence. Leahy and Roseto also provided details about the Drug and Alcohol Violence Prevention Task Force Walk and Family Fitness Fair on Oct. 20, when the annual Walk for Substance Abuse Prevention will be combined with the first annual Wellness and Nutrition Fair.
“We’re going to have high school students volunteer to run activities,” Roseto said. “We’re going to bring the Wii fit system. We’re going to have hygienists and dentists, and we’ll bring other community members in.”
She went on to discuss the Athletes-Helping-Athletes program in the high school, which focuses on getting students to choose and promise not to use alcohol or drugs and encouraging them to speak out if the policy is broken.
Crime and punishment
Murray introduced Mindy Roman, a village attorney, who discussed the application of the law to incidents involving young people. “When we see young people in our court … the majority of them are for open containers, disturbing the peace, being in the park after dark and public urination,” Roman explained. “As serious as these things are, if we can make an impact on people at this court, at this level, it’s my hope, and it’s also my belief, that we are preventing more serious crimes from happening down the road.”
Roman described a variety of consequences that young residents may face in the village court system, including fines and community service. She added that many high school students go through the high school court system, which is administered by a local judge and a teacher but consists of the offender’s peers.
Police Commissioner Charles Gennario reiterated a point made by Roman, that when parents complain about the police, it does more harm than good. “Sometimes people come into the courtroom and voice their displeasure,” Gennario said. “Not only does that have an adverse affect on the whole system, but it’s setting a very poor example for the kids. The example that we’re telling the kids from the parents is that if you did something wrong, we can change it or we can beat it just by writing a check or being a little harsh on the police officers who wrote the ticket.”
Gennario also discussed the village plan to start a Neighborhood Watch in Rockville Centre, to be headed by Kathy Horace. (See front-page story, “More eyes and ears for the police.”)
“This is a direct response to some of the concerns residents have [expressed], especially after the June incident on Roxen Road,” Gennario said. “We’re hoping it will make our community safer, not only with combating alcohol abuse, but it’s a program that we hope will have a far-reaching effect and impact on the quality of life in the village.”
