New Law Requires Reporting

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone signed Legislator Susan Berland’s legislation requiring amusement parks and water park operators immediately report criminal conduct on their property.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The Suffolk County Legislature passed last month a law requiring amusement parks and water parks to immediately report any criminal conduct, including sex offenses, on their property to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

The bill, sponsored by Legislator Susan Berland (D- Dix Hills), is the result of an incident at Splish Splash Water Park in Calverton last summer where young girls were allegedly groped by a group of men in the wave pool. Park staff failed to immediately notify local law enforcement agencies of the incident or obtain identifying information from the alleged perpetrators, according to county documents.

“I was troubled by the water park incident and introduced this legislation to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Berland said. “The operators of water and amusement parks now need to notify the appropriate authorities when they are told of an alleged criminal act.”

The bill was passed unanimously by the Suffolk County Legislature on Dec. 4, and signed into law by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Jan. 14.

Bellone said the law ensures the procedures for reporting crimes at amusement and water parks “are crystal clear.”

Mike Bengtson, general manager of Splish Splash, said the company is “absolutely supportive of any new legislation which may improve guest safety and security at theme parks."

If the owner, operator, employee or agent of an amusement park or water park fails to report a criminal act, the park will be hit with a fine of up to $5,000 for the first violation and a $10,000 penalty for subsequent violations, according to the new law.

The law goes into effect 90 days after it is filed with New York State.

Answering The Call To Service

Sigma Psi Omega sisters commemorated Dr. Martin Luther King Day by answering the civil right’s leader’s call to service. 

Members of Sigma Psi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority took to the stoves to mark Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day. The sorority sisters gathered at a local church to prepare chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwiches to feed 200 children who reside in shelters.

The Jan. 21 event memorialized the legacy of Dr. King through service, Michelle Richards, the chapter’s president, said.

Richards said there is a correlation between children who receive free and reduced meals in school and food security, and many families rely on the well-balanced meal provided in school to meet the nutritional needs of their children.

“When these children are not in school they run the risk of barely having one well-balanced home-cooked meal,” Richards said. “It is our goal to provide children who are residing in shelters with a warm, home-cooked lunch to ensure they receive at least one well-balanced meal on this day off from school.”

The food was donated by the chapter and prepared at a Wyandanch church, which donated use of its facilities. The soup and sandwiches were later delivered to a shelter in the Town of Huntington.

“Dr. King left us with this quote to ponder: ‘Life's most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?'  So, on this day we celebrate the gifts that Dr. King gave to mankind through our service to our children in need,” Richards said.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is the nation’s oldest Greek letter sorority founded by black, college-educated women. It was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington D.C. on Jan. 15, 1908, and since then has flourished into a globally-impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college-trained members. Sigma Psi Omega chapter was founded June 23, 1990 in Hauppauge, and is based in Bay Shore.

Community Collects Some Relief For Coasties

US Coast Guard Station Eatons Neck.

By Peter Sloggatt
psloggatt@longislandergroup.com

As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, private sector relief is finding its way to furloughed federal workers, inclunding local Coast Guardsmen stationed at Eaton’s Neck.

A drive hastily organized by Seymour’s Boatyard owner Dave Weber with help from Northport Fire Department brought in thousands in donated gas and grocery store cards along with monetary donations over the course of a weekend.

Weber said he initially tried to help out by offering part time employment at his boatyard to the Coast Guard members who have been working without pay since the shutdown began Dec. 22, 2018. Many face long commutes to the station where they work a four-day shift. Weber found federal rules prohibit Coasties from taking outside work at local marinas.

Weber said Eatons Neck Commanding Officer Anthony Martinez steered him to the non-profit Long Island Chief Petty Officers’ Association which can take monetary donations, and the Greater Huntington Council of Yacht and Boating Clubs, which turned over $2,200 worth of cards early this week, according to its executive officer Jackie Martin.

“My husband came up with the idea because he was in the navy and knew some of them must be living paycheck to paycheck,” said Martin.

To make it convenient for donors, Weber arranged for a box to be put at Northport Fire Department’s Main Street headquarters where people can drop donated cards or checks made out to the LI Chief Petty Officers Assocation.

“Here’s a group of men and women carrying out some of the biggest drug busts in the country,” Weber said of the Coasties. “And they’re working without getting paid.”