By Karenlyn Barone and Jonann Brady
Two weeks after the brutal slaying of a neighbor, Anthony Battaglia, Lynbrook residents are still on edge.
Last Thursday, Nassau County police officers announced outside the Battaglia home on Sunset Avenue that, thanks to private donations, the initial reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Battaglia's assailants was being upped to $25,000.
At the press conference, Battaglia's widow, Caryn, stood with her two children, Richie, 14, and Stephanie, 3, and tearfully pleaded for the public's help in finding her husband's killers.
Battaglia was attacked in front of his home by three or four young men after he resisted their robbery attempt, say police. He was beaten, shot once above the left hip and stabbed twice in the lower abdomen.
Yesterday, police said that the case was "status quo," but they have linked Battaglia's murder with previous robberies in Rockville Centre, Long Beach and Oceanside. Three hours before Battaglia was murdered, a Rockville Centre couple, out for an evening walk, reported being approached by a group of three or four men in an SUV. The husband was beaten and robbed. Neighbors reported a similar SUV in the vicinity of the Battaglia home at the time of Anthony's attack.
As Nassau police look into the possibility of a link among all four crimes, residents of the villages where the crimes took place are both angry and afraid. "I am so mad those animals took the life of an innocent man," said a Lynbrook resident who was afraid to be identified. "I feel terrorized in my own town now. The death of Anthony Battaglia changed all our lives."
The transition from summer to fall would normally have residents outside walking and enjoying the last weeks of warm weather, but the crime spree has cleared the streets and neighborhood parks. People say they are especially afraid to be out at night between 8:30 and midnight, when the crimes took place.
"I am definitely afraid to go out at night," said Diane, an Oceanside resident who usually walks for miles at night through Oceanside, East Rockaway and Lynbrook. "Since the murder, I gave up my walking and have started using a treadmill instead."
Diane readily admits she fears for her safety and that of her 15-year-old daughter, Lindsay. "My mom was mad at me for walking a half-mile to church the other day," said Lindsay. "And it was still light out."
Residents and business owners alike are unsettled about the incident and its unsolved status. Gary, who asked that his last name not be used, owns a Getty gas station less than a quarter-mile from the Battaglia home. "It's bad for everyone," he said. "I've been here 16 years and I don't ever remember anything like this before. Customers are telling me that their children are afraid to stay home alone now."
Gary's employees who work the night shift were too afraid to speak to the Herald.
A couple in their 50s were walking briskly down Union Avenue at about 4:30 p.m on Monday. They say they have changed their routine since the murder. "We always walked after dinner," said the husband. "Now, since the murder, we walk before dinner. It's a terrible thing not to feel safe in your own neighborhood."
By 6 p.m. Monday evening, the streets of Lynbrook were abandoned. Commuters arriving at the Lynbrook train station ran for their parked cars or hailed waiting cabs; no one would stop to talk. There were no signs of health-conscious residents taking advantage of the good weather to walk or jog around town. The neighborhoods are eerily quiet, as a family and a community wait for Battaglia's murderers to be found.
Gas station owner Gary doesn't think the shadow cast over the village will go away anytime soon. "It will be like this until the police catch whoever did this," he said.
Police ask anyone with information regarding any of the crimes to call Crimestoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
((WEB--This goes with the VILL murder update front page, so it could be boxed off underneath the top story.))
H: Rally for safe streets
By: Karenlyn Barone
BOX OFF: Safe Streets Rally
Sunday, Oct. 12, 3 p.m.
Lynbrook LIRR station, parking field #3
Maurice Fox is tired, and he's not going to take it anymore. The Valley Stream resident has organized Nassau Citizens United for Safe Streets. In response to what Fox, 50, sees as a recent rash of local crimes, and specifically the Battaglia murder, he is preparing to stage a rally in support of safer neighborhoods.
"We want to show the local police departments that we support their fight on crime," said Fox. "We also want local politicians to know we expect them to make safer neighborhood streets their number one priority."
Fox is dismayed not only by the number of recent crimes, but by their nature. "We can't allow our neighborhoods to become the crime-ridden neighborhoods we moved to Long Island to escape," he said. "We moved here mainly because of crime in the old neighborhood."
The rally will be held on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. in municipal parking field No. 3, just north of the Lynbrook train station. Fox hopes to attract between 250 and 300 people willing to rally for the good of all South Shore neighborhoods. He plans to invite county and local politicians to join his cause of ensuring safer streets.
"If we can't walk down our streets because of crime, then we are not free human beings," said Fox. "We are prepared to let the politicians know that we will be voter friendly to those who support us in this effort."
Most important, Fox said, the rally will be a show of strength to all the "thugs" and criminals who are committing the crimes. "We are not going to sit back," he said. "Our main purpose will be to let the police and politicians and the public know that we are uniting for safer streets and safer neighborhoods."
For more information on the rally, e-mail Fox at FOXMED@optonline.net.
