By MIKE CAPUTO
The legislator expressed hope that there is a witness who can help investigators unravel the case.
"When these cowards are out spewing their hate, we know somebody was walking by and that person saw this and probably got scared and ran the other way as fast as they could," Toback said.
Toback met with police officials and community leaders at a morning press conference held at Nassau County 4th Precinct headquarters in Hewlett on June 6.
After reviewing the incident with police, Toback said he believes the crime was beyond an act of mischief committed by children. "While we take all bias crimes and potential bias crimes seriously, some of them pan out to be mischief and some pan out to be hate crimes," Toback said. "We are pretty confident that the message being sent here is a message of intimidation and hate."
The last bias crime committed in the Five Towns occurred in October, when swastikas were written on stop signs in Cedarhurst. In September, the Inwood Country Club was vandalized with a series of swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs. Five days before the Inwood Country Club incident, a 17-year-old Hewlett girl, who police said identified herself as an "agnostic Nazi" was accused of attacking three Orthodox Jewish girls in Cedarhurst.
On Sept. 4, a week before the Jewish High Holy Days, a series of swastikas were spray-painted on two Oceanside synagogues.
"We do not tolerate this at all - people who take it upon themselves to use hateful speech and vandalism and anti-semitic or really any bias crimes are a menace to society," Toback said.
To provide extra security to those observing the Jewish holidays, the Nassau County Police Department annually increases patrols near synagogues during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
"The Nassau County Police Department takes all bias incidents seriously," said Inspector Paul Clark of the 4th Precinct. "This particular case appears to be an isolated incident and not part of any pattern."
In addition to on-duty 4th Precinct officers, an expanded auxiliary police force gives the Five Towns an increased watchdog presence in the neighborhoods. "We are out there patrolling days and night," said Lt. Danny Gluck, of the Five Towns auxiliary unit. "Now we have more officers on patrol to help fight the hate crimes."
Dorothy Jacobs, a community activist in Island Park who attended the press conference on June 6, lauded the efforts of the police department, but explained that their increased presence is not the only answer to stopping hate crimes.
"We all have to be vigilant," Jacobs said. "The police can only react. It is the families and schools and community organizations that have to be proactive to try to educate kids."
Comments about this story? Mcaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 201.
