‘Officer Joel,’ who kept watch over Sayville for 25 years, retires

For 25 years, Officer Joel, as everybody called him, helped keep a sense of small town in the waterfront hamlet of Sayville.

Foot patrol officer Joel Reines would stay late on the beat to make sure the shops closed up safe and sound. He’d roust the teens who hung out behind the high school but not bust them. People say he seemed to be everywhere at all times.

On Wednesday, the town stopped to honor the officer upon his retirement from the Suffolk County Police Department, where he served 38 years. All sorts of officials — police and politicians, school and service leaders — all gathered at the Sayville Plaza parking lot, just below the clock tower, to hand him an armful of plaques and proclamations.

But it was the residents of this town of 16,000 people beside the Great South Bay, some who grew up under his watch, who seemed to move him the most.

Patrick Rueb is 35 now, but he was among those “loitering” teens behind the high school when Officer Joel showed up. And years later, he appreciated Reines checking on the gift store where Rueb’s wife worked.

“Everyone knew him,” said Rueb, who brought his daughter Maria, 4, so she could see Officer Joel. “There was a sense of respect both ways, and I think some of that has been lost on both sides these days.”

Reines’ commanding officer at the Fifth Precinct, Insp. William Silva, called him a “roving City Hall.” He’d station himself at the Starbucks and the people came, sometimes four or five an hour, with all kinds of complaints and concerns.

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“I once said to him, ‘Isn’t it great to serve a community?’” Silva said. “He said to me, ‘It’s better to be part of the community.’”

Joe Conron said the officer, who lived in the area, made it easy for the historical society to register its alarm system at the precinct.

Janet Berger, who owns the Century 21 real estate office in Sayville, said Reines was a big help when the town was planning its Summerfest, working out all kinds of safety measures. And she recalled his kindness, years ago, when he caught her son with some beers when he was a teen.

“I know you — you’re Janet and Phil’s son,” Reines said to the youth. He added, “You’ll be leaving those right at my feet. Get going.”

Standing to address the crowd, Reines retained a commanding presence — tall, broad-shouldered, with salt-and-pepper hair and what one woman there called “the best mustache in town.”

But he’s hit 70 years of age, so he must retire, according to state retirement and social security law.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Reines said, though he remained pretty cool behind his dark aviator-style sunglasses. “I worked hard. I know I’ve worked hard.”

What he didn’t know, he said, at least until this day, was how much people appreciated him.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.