Trespassing Incident Sparks Concern Over Crime In Patchogue

PATCHOGUE, NY — Suffolk police are investigating an incident in which five people went inside the Conklin building in Patchogue without the owner's permission early Monday, raising concerns about criminal incidents in the village.

The five went inside the West Main Street building, which contains other businesses, through an unlocked front door at around 1:30 a.m. and they tried to access locked offices by trying door handles, according to police.

The group then fled the scene when they were unable to open any of the doors, police said.

The incident has been classified trespassing, a misdemeanor, by police.

The building's owner, attorney Joel Furman, said the door to the building had been left unlocked by a tenant on Sunday afternoon.

Furman has a habit of checking his video cameras and found that the building was entered by about five "youths" who made it up to the top steps and then proceeded to go down the hallway trying the door handles on each one of the six offices on the second floor, he said. They then made a return to the top of the steps, and repeated the same situation, but there's no apparent damage that had been incurred on the premises, according to Furman.

"But it kind of raises the hair on your back, thinking that these [people] can just take it upon themselves to enter and attempt to maybe possibly break into any one of the offices," he said.

When the group left the premises, they checked the front door of the jewelry store and jiggled it to see if it would open, then they ventured forth along South Ocean Avenue and walked eastbound on East Main Street, but the cameras did not pick up any more footage, according to Furman.

Furman, who has been on the village's Business Improvement District committee for 22 years, said that criminal incidents have become "a common factor" in Patchogue in recent years, and in the last three alone there have been around 80 windows broken.

While instances of broken windows has declined lately, there was a recent theft from one of the jewelry stores in which patrons were able to muscle their way in and take jewelry from the shelves, Furman said.

"We need to increase the communication," he said, adding that villagers should be informed of "what's going on." He believes any video or photographs should be advertised to the public.

Furman notified the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce, which alerted members to the incident by sharing video from the incident.

Patch is not publishing the video due to the fact that it concerns trespassing, which is a misdemeanor, and in the event that minors could be involved.

Chamber Executive Director David Kennedy asked chamber members to review the footage and "be aware."

Kennedy disagreed with the number of broken windows that Furman sited and attributed more problems with increases in petty theft, which, he says, has been the trend across the county and the nation.

He also noted that there has been an increase in the nightlife, which he said leads to certain behavior after hours.

"I don't think what we're going through much different than where other places that have lively late night activity," he said. "But it's something we certainly need to address — and certain behaviors should not be tolerated."

But it's something that the village, the chamber, the police, and code enforcement are working on together with strategies to address it, according to Kennedy.

One possibility for the village to look into would be to increase the constabulary powers of the village's public safety officers, he said.

"Patchogue is not wanting for more Suffolk police presence — they do an incredible job," he said. "But we have our own force here, that we can look at what we could do to kind of be supplemental and support what they do."

Patchogue Village Mayor Paul Pontieri acknowledged the increase in nightlife, while noting that the village has also seen the addition of another 1,000 residents in recent years.

He said that increasing public safety's powers would not have prevented the trespassing, and that securing Furman's property was up to him and his tenants. As far as broken windows are concerned, he attributed that to people being over-served alcohol in a bar or restaurant, and "they go out on the street and they punch a window."

"Public safety can't stop somebody from being stupid," he said. "Stupid is ingrained in people."

He addedd: "Now, if you're going to get drunk and get angry and punch a window, you're probably going to be very severely injured. That's not something public safety can stop."