New Hyde Park’s Department of Public Works building has been vandalized twice in the month of June, causing damage that will likely cost the village $30,000, New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane said.
“This is intentional damage to property, and it’s twice in one month,” Devane said. “Enough is enough. This has to stop.”
The most recent incident occurred sometime over the weekend and involved glass and metal panels being broken on the building’s large garage door. Earlier in the month, someone broke a set of three additional glass panels, damaged the garage door and broke the vinyl covering of the new salt shed that had been recently installed for a costly repair.
Devane said he believed the damage was caused by someone intentionally throwing rocks at the building, which is currently an active construction site and nearing the end of a major renovation. Devane said the construction would likely be finished by the end of July, despite the additional cost and time that the damages will add to the project.
He said the village filed a police report with the Nassau County Police Department after both instances. The mayor said the village had also contacted the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and the neighboring Floral Park Police Department regarding the vandalism.
“When the person gets caught, we plan on making it well known that we don’t want any leniency here,” Devane said. “We want to see restitution paid and we want to see the person prosecuted.”
The Nassau County Police Department said the village filed reports for documentation and had not requested an investigation by the county police at this time. The department said the cases filed with them are currently closed.
The village made a post on its official Instagram account Monday evening around 9 p.m. informing the community of the damage to the building, asking anyone with information to reach out and forcefully condemning those responsible for the damages.
“To the idiots responsible for these reprehensible incidents, when you are caught, we will make sure you are held to felony charges. You will be paying every cent of restitution and it will not matter what stage of life you are in, who your parents are or what a felony conviction will do to your career,” the post reads. “This project is going forward and will be completed despite the antics of criminals.”
Devane said people have already contacted the village since the post went up. The village said it is sharing all information with the police.
The mayor said the village was considering installing security cameras at the building, has requested additional police patrols in the area, has asked those living nearby with home cameras for footage and requests that residents contact the village, the police or 911 if they happen to see someone or something they think is out of place at the building, which sits at 498 Stewart Ave., while driving past.
“If someone looks like they shouldn’t be behind the fenced-in area, they probably shouldn’t be,” Devane said. “If you see something, say something. That’s how these people will probably get caught.”
