By Stephanie Petrellese

The Garden City Police Department and Mayor Robert Rothschild are concerned by the increase in mischief crimes committed by local youths in the 14- to-18-year-old age range this summer.

"It seems like it is more prevalent this year," Inspector Kenneth Jackson of the Garden City Police Dept. told The Garden City News. "There seems to be a lot of kids out late at night."

Mayor Robert Rothschild said at the July 16th meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees that he is "amazed" at the number of youth offenses that have recently appeared in Garden City Police Department reports, as well as, "the hours of the night that kids are out, the hours of the night that kids are doing things that I find mind-boggling, destroying Village property, graffiti, getting into St. Paul's, getting into the restroom at St. Paul's, getting locked in, getting locked out, climbing in and climbing out."

Inspector Jackson told The Garden City News that the department has issued numerous citations for alcohol consumption, and many of the crimes that are occurring appear to be alcohol related. In the last week, derogatory and racial slurs, including swastikas, were written in chalk on sidewalks, driveways and streets in eight Village locations, primarily in the vicinity of Westbury Road and Wetherill Road. No arrests had been made as of press time.

Inspector Jackson said the police department has stepped up patrols, but emphasized the importance of community and parental involvement. Residents who hear suspicious noises should immediately call 911. Parents should also be aware of their child's whereabouts, especially later in the evening.

Mayor Rothschild also called upon parents to more closely monitor their teens. "I'm a parent too," he continued, "and I'm sure my kids weren't always the best either, but 15 years old and being out at 1:30 a.m. is something that I would hope parents in this Village would be able to control. I'm not sitting here telling you that I have all of the answers, but all I ask is that we shouldn't be getting this many police reports about kids who are under the age of 15 or 16."

Trustee Dennis Donnelly, who serves as the Board's liaison to the local business community, suggested that the use of surveillance cameras should be investigated at a number of locations where there has been a problem with vandalism, graffiti and loitering. One example he gave was at the Chamber of Commerce building. Robert Mangan, the Village's superintendent of Public Works, said his department has recently had to fix a number of street signs that have been vandalized.

"I don't have any question about at least looking into this," the Mayor responded. He will meet with Village department heads and Village Counsel Gerard Fishberg before the next Garden City Board of Trustees meeting on August 13th to discuss the issue.