Brentwood shooting spurs community action

The last thing Brentwood -- or any other community on Long Island -- needs is another blood-soaked summer.

Which is why residents in Brentwood and Central Islip were right to piggyback Wednesday night an emergency gathering on top of a scheduled community watch meeting.

Over the past 12 months, Brentwood has become active, erasing 1,200 gang graffiti tags from the community and collecting more than three tons of trash.

There's a neighborhood watch now. Plus two Facebook sites and two new community organizations devoted to spurring community activism.

But Wednesday, Brentwood residents were mostly angry over Tuesday night's killing of Andrew Jones, 18, who died violently in his own backyard.

"We did have a break over the winter, but that was because of cold weather," said Len Tucker, head of the Brentwood Association of Concerned Citizens, one of many such groups birthed by a spate of local killings and shootings last year. "It's warming up and it seems like it wants to start over again."

When he heard news of Jones' death, one of the first calls Tucker made was to County Executive Steve Levy's office. Last year, Levy called a community meeting in a local church to try to dispel some residents' notions that the county wasn't working hard enough to keep local streets safe.

As the summer of 2010 wore on, they would be joined by residents complaining about killings and violent crime in North Bellport, Wyandanch and Huntington Station.

There was a significant change in Brentwood, residents agree, after county police added more patrols. They also did traffic stops in Brentwood and other communities. The county also -- after skirmishes with residents and other elected officials -- agreed to invest in technology that will help determine when and where gunshots are fired. And it continues to work with state and federal officials to fight gangs.

In Brentwood, "There was a time when everywhere I looked, I would see police," said state Assemb. Phil Ramos, whose district includes the community. But, he and others interviewed said Wednesday, "I don't see them so much anymore," Ramos said.

Levy was in Asia Wednesday, looking to bring more jobs to Suffolk. Richard Dormer, Suffolk's police commissioner, said the county has had success in reducing violent crime in Brentwood, where, he said, the violent crime rate was down 23 percent this year compared to the first five months of last year.

"We are asking that the community stay calm," he said. Dormer said that police, as the weather warms, would continue to add more patrols to Brentwood and other areas. "We are keeping and will continue to keep a close eye on this."

There are two others who ought to be keeping an eye on this as well: Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone and Treasurer Angie Carpenter, the Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively, for Levy's soon-to-be vacant seat.

How will they rid Long Island of the scourge of gangs and guns and related drug and violent crime?

Brentwood -- and the rest of us -- need to know.