NYS Police Investigating Hate Crime At Nissequogue River State Park

The New York State Police Troop L BCI, with the assistance of the State Police Hate Crimes Unit, are investigating the discovery of a swastika along the bike path at the Nissequogue River State Park in Kings Park, Suffolk County. Governor Cuomo directed the State Police to investigate the vandalism, which was discovered on Sunday, February 10.

Senator John Flanagan issued the following statement:

“Over the weekend, hate-filled anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered in the Nissequogue River State Park.  The message is deeply troubling to those who live in the Kings Park community and all who continue the fight against hatred.  I want to make it clear that all elected officials and community leaders are united in saying that hateful symbols must never be tolerated and those responsible must and will be held accountable for their actions.

While some may try to divide us, this nation was built to protect and respect our differences and we will stand stronger together in the face of those who look to divide us.  We must use this as another opportunity to become stronger.

Everyone has the right to live free of fear and oppression and those who feel otherwise have no place in our community.  That stands truer today than it ever has and those who test our resolve on this will find that they are the ones who are not welcome.”

State Police is asking anyone who may have any information about the vandalism to contact investigators at 631-756-3300.

Comments

[LIslander]

Yet unfortunately another criminal activity that has happened in the Kings Park community as hate crime symbols were found last Sunday.

Unbelievable.

A bit surprised that there hasn't been more attention/focus being placed (as needed) on how this most recent incident that happened over last weekend on the bike path in the Nissequogue River State Park (NRSP) is indicative and reflective of a scary trend.

First it was a woman that was raped on the bike path back in 2011, then 2 teens were robbed by two men last June while walking in NRSP, now this crap.
Plus, nearby Rite Aid was recently robbed at gunpoint too.
What the heck is going on?

People need to be made aware of things that are going on in their own community instead of things being easily forgotten about.

Never used to have to worry about such nonsense, however, sadly not surprised that many of these incidents (as well as other numerous things that have in fact taken place over the years since the closing of the Psych Center in 1997 which have not been reported on) has occurred and is obviously still continuing.
All (or most) of which can easily be attributed to and associated with the dangers brought about, and more than likely due to, the nature of isolation that comes with abandoned buildings of the NRSP, which are effectively a nuisance attraction to undesirable individuals and illegal activities that many are either not aware of, or may choose to act with blinders on, in order to try to keep things brushed under the rug.

As much as it may be a surprise to some (or many), but here’s a news flash - for those choosing to risk going onto the grounds of the NRSP, including the bike path, it’s apparently not as safe as many would like to think or believe it is, regardless of whatever NYS officials or others may allege or wish to otherwise say to downplay, minimalize, trivialize and gloss over the seriousness of the type of criminal activity that goes on.

Not to mention the ongoing and only increasing amount of graffiti on various NRSP buildings, which just only continue to get worse - all because the NYS Parks Department, in their infallible wisdom, still willfully and egregiously chooses to continue to not make it a point to make the necessary administrative and budgetary decisions required to take steps to get the buildings cleaned up and secured properly and adequately as needed, as should have been done years and years ago.

Twenty-two years have passed since the closing of the Psych Center operations, which, by the way was done so that the state could save tons of money, but yet state officials do not have the capability or foresight to allocate any of those savings year after year after year towards sufficiently securing their own buildings that they were choosing to vacate and leave abandoned in the first place!!!
What a pathetic joke and is reflective of their ineptitude and incompetence over all the years to this day!!

As is already known and acknowledged by everyone that is familiar with the property, the fact is that the abandoned, unsecured and hazardous buildings are dangerous and unsafe, and merely serve as a magnet for criminal activities, but yet despite being cognizant of this, NYS elected officials and NYS Parks Dept administrators still knowingly choose to continue to be negligent with their own property even though still being responsible and liable for whatever transpires on their unsecured property.

Gov. Cuomo talks about going after landlords of zombie properties in NY State, which the NY State Senate and NY State Assembly pass legislation on, while yet NYS elected officials and administrators themselves acting on behalf of the State are guilty of being the owner of one of the largest zombie properties in the state.
Talk about being disingenuous and hypocritical!!

Nevertheless, none of this changes the fact that those in elected and administrative positions in NY STATE government (i.e. Governor Cuomo, NYS Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey, NYS Parks LI Regional Director Wayne Horsley, NYS Parks NRSP Manager Bill Purtill AND Senator Flanagan and Assemblyman Fitzpatrick) are in fact all involved, culpable, complicit and associated with the legislative, administrative and/or budgetary decisions made (and not made) regarding what ultimately does and does not take place with this property.
How much more time needs to elapse before/until these legitimate but unresolved issues are finally addressed and rectified as needed by the NYS Parks Dept and NYS elected officials?

Nothing short of a dereliction of duty by these individuals in the offices/positions they hold by virtue of being cognizant of and complicit with their decisions to not take appropriate actions required to resolve the known open, ongoing issues properly and adequately in an effective manner, and as such, thereby choosing to allow their own dangerous and hazardous property to continue to be left unsecured in an unsafe and negligent condition.

Apparently never a shortage of ethically challenged individuals as demonstrated by their inappropriate decisions to not ensure taking steps to properly address the problems associated with and caused by this property that they are fully aware of.

Morally reprehensible for any of these people to somehow erroneously choose to think and believe as if there has been nothing wrong with how they choose to operate to date.
Malfeasance at its finest, as if all of the aspects with how they have chosen to operate with regards to their own decisions pertaining to the neglected and unsecured property is somehow supposed to be OK, when in fact it’s not OK nor appropriate, regardless if they may erroneously wish to choose, think or believe otherwise.

Real nice.

[Forrest Gump]

'And that's all I have to say about that.'

[LIslander]

And that's that.
Observation of facts.
It is what it is.

[Just saying]

I was a child when this closed and knew nothing. Now I see family after family struggling with mental illness in a system fraught with difficulty. Closing it saved us ZERO it just pushed costs to out patient visits, therapies, medications (some taken by family members left to care for these patients 24/7 with no skills), police, fire, and rescue costs, and jail and prison costs. Now all our Environmental laws have rendered this property almost economically impossible to develope or even demolish. The one entity that may have use for it, the state to buikd a tunnel or bride to Connecticut is blocked by the very residents that want it gone. The Town of Smithtown taxes are so high I for one cannot imagine what would happen if we were asked to pay for it.