Mineola Village Board Weighs in on Graffiti Spree

Calling the recent which cut a swatch across the Village of Mineola on the weekend of February 11 an “unfortunate event,” and the rest of the offered their thoughts on the matter during their public meeting on February 15 at the , offering reward money and asking for anyone with information about the crime to come forward.

“We’re shocked and outraged that someone could sink to such low levels of antisocial behavior that goes against the grain of everything our community represents,” Strauss said. “This was not simply a thoughtless act of a person or persons with contempt for our community nor was it just about not respecting the property of others through vandalism; this type of crime is the acting out of hateful thoughts by those who have nothing but disdain for their fellow citizens. It was disgusting and revolting to see.”

In addition to the word “Outlaws” found on numerous homes and signs, swastikas were found to be spray painted in , on several local businesses and on the grounds of , besides other locations.

“We’re all disgusted by the events,” trustee Paul Pereira said, “but I do want to assure you, we speak in a united voice and we will do everything possible on our end to find the person or persons who perpetrated this.”

The deputy mayor also thanked Superintendent of Public Works Tom Rini, Chaminade and the school district for removing the graffiti “so that these people don’t get any kind of satisfaction out of it.”

The village has been in “constant contact” with the Nassau County Police Department assisting the hate crimes unit and is also working with Chaminade and the Mineola School District. It is  asked that anyone with information about the incident contact police at 1-800-244-TIPS. All calls are anonymous. Chaminade and the village are offering a $1,000 combined reward for information leading to arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s).

“If anyone else would like to join the village in offering a reward or Chaminade we certainly want to put pressure because somebody knows who did this and so hopefully we will get those people to come out,” Pereira said.

The exact area affected by the graffiti stretched from Old Country Road and Roslyn Road northwest through Memorial Park and up to Jericho Turnpike. Police have said that the incidents occurred between Friday, February 10 at 11 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m.

“It was a large tract, it came from one side of the village to the other side of the village so that means they spent quite a bit of time in the village so if you were out walking your dog or something and you saw people that night, it might be worth a phone call to the tips line that there was a good deal of time that the perpetrators spent in the village,” trustee George Durham said.

“To have someone care so little for the community that they live in, for the community that we live in, to paint the types of things they did was totally outrageous,” trustee Lawrence Werther said. “It is my sincerest hope that anyone out there who knows anything about this crime, who loves this village as much as I’m sure we all do, will reach out to the tips hotline and bring this perpetrator to justice.”