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Sadly it's not just Westbury it's all over LI. You just notice Westbury because you live there. Crimes of opportunity like this always happen. The more it's publicized in the media the way it has been for the past few weeks copy-cat crimes start. Unfortunately this is one way that the media is bad when reporting these stories. While they need to be reported so people are aware of it that same awareness causes people seeing it to say "good idea" think I'll do that. And it spreads out all over area. Several cars on my block got broken into recently as well.
Yes there is a trend of rising crime everywhere, but in Westbury it is a greater rate of increase. This site I looked at, which I cannot mention here because I think it would violate forum rules, since no links to competitor sites are allowed, said last year the chance of being a victim of violent crime in Westbury was 1 in 845 but when I looked this year it had jumped to 1 in 267.
Bellmore for instance had the chance of being a violent crime victim as 1 in 1248 (it was 1 in 1628 last year). That would be a 23% increase. But in Westbury, it is a 68% incease.
So yes crime is rising everywhere but it is worse in neighborhoods like Westbury, Uniondale, and Hempstead. No Westbury hasn't sunk to Hempstead levels but it is well on its way. You have a Village that is completely out of touch with it's population. I have written the Mayor many times, and the response is they can't do anything more to make it safer involving cracking down on the vagrancy, and always dodge the question of improving the terrible streetlighting in the town.
I mean you are not going to see MS-13 graffiti, Modelo cans and guys just hanging around everywhere in a town like Bellmore. Stuff like car breakins and property crime can happen anyway, but things like stabbings, armed robbery, etc usually dont and are more common in ghetto type neighborhoods (which Westbury is becoming).
Its also a question of economy, families and folks investing in Real Estate don't want to move somewhere with terrible schools and crappy train service. There's a reason why most of the South Shore neighborhoods along the Babylon Branch have gotten so expensive and that's because they are what decent place is left after the rest of the island gets worse. It doesn't hurt either that the LIRR President, Patrick Nowakowski, lives in Babylon, so that branch gets preferential treatment.
So you have a tough time getting businesses and people to move to (or even stay in) Westbury.
What's left are those who are poor and have no standards, esp to illegals from Central America, it has become a Haven for them, and the church has helped bring them here as well. To them it it still a vast improvement over where they came from. The recent influx of "unaccompanied children" has also means even more of them have some here (and many of these ppl aren't even children). Unfortunately they do not assimilate and turn the towns where they move back into where they came from.
It is a systematic conspiracy, the Govts want Westbury to become like Hempstead and its next door neighbor to the east, New Cassel. It will never gentrify like Patchogue has. Case in point today, the LIRR was disrupted due to the Ellison Ave bridge work. Now the last time this happened, in the spring, shuttle buses were supposed to take folks to Mineola, but they never came. Well the same thing happened this afternoon. And in normal schedules many trains just bypass Westbury despite decent ridership and demands for better service. The MTA is part of it, make it undesirable for young commuters and no one will want to buy a condo or rent an apt here.
OK I know I've said alot, but while I do feel some crimes are rising everywhere, in Westbury crime is rising at a higher rate and that reflects the changes going on in the neighborhood and it's socio-economic discrimination by Governments at various, State (MTA), County (NCPD), and Federal (Immigration) levels.
Is Westbury THAT bad?? I mean it seems like a decent place whenever i drive thru Post Ave. Crime is on the rise in most places on Long Island... My own mother was robbed two months ago in her own driveway and she lives in Garden City!
Drive through after the sun goes down. During the day it seems fine, but at night its just dead, unless there is a show at The Space (and there can be days of nothing going on for awhile).
The streetlights are poor as well. Just take a WALK down Post Ave after dark, particularly in summer, when there's no show at The Space and tell me if you'd feel safe.
Poor streetlighting and a lack of activity are what criminals take a advantage of, especially if there's already activity in the area (lots of illegals, gangs,etc).
Last week on a mild night I made the mistake of walking down Post Ave, it was only 8:30pm, and the town was deserted except for some creepy guys hanging around drinking beer out of black plastic bags. Out of nowhere a guy on a bike sneaks up on me and another lady up ahead walking back from the train station, he was flying down the sidewalk, must've been doing 30. When it first happened I was pretty shaken up because he came within inches of hitting me. But then I realized how he was swerving close to me the woman up ahead, probably looking for someone using a phone so he could snatch it.
Maybe I'm wrong, either way its scary having a bike come out nowhere on the sidewalk and almost take you out. And with few others around, nobody would come to your aid. As far as Garden City goes, that is horrible what happened, was this an armed robbery?
So after that I refuse to walk down Post after dark unless there is a show at The Space that will bring people around. I'll take the bus, and I just nope NICE doesn't cut it, otehrwise I'd have to ask for a ride or get a cab (which is not something I can really afford) Cmmon you know most people wouldn't feel safe in a dark, deserted town with creepy people just hanging around!
Followed home from the bank and held at gun point. Two incidences within two weeks of one another and both in the same town.
Wow...that is indeed scary. Would this be the section closer to Hempstead?
Unfortunately living next to a very dangerous area like Hempstead has it's risk, but violent crime can happen anywhere. Remember that MS-13 gangbanger that murdered a guy walking home from the train in Lynbrook?
Nowhere is completely safe, I know that, but there is more crime in certain areas than others. Places like Hempstead, Uniondale, Roosevelt, and parts of Westbury are more dangerous than other areas.
I always try and look and make sure no one is following me, no matter where I am.
You have to be prepared. Isn't it interesting crime is rising after Cuomo passed the SAFE act? Crime rises when crooks know the population is unarmed...something to think about!
Wow...that is indeed scary. Would this be the section closer to Hempstead?
Unfortunately living next to a very dangerous area like Hempstead has it's risk, but violent crime can happen anywhere. Remember that MS-13 gangbanger that murdered a guy walking home from the train in Lynbrook?
Nowhere is completely safe, I know that, but there is more crime in certain areas than others. Places like Hempstead, Uniondale, Roosevelt, and parts of Westbury are more dangerous than other areas.
I always try and look and make sure no one is following me, no matter where I am.
You have to be prepared. Isn't it interesting crime is rising after Cuomo passed the SAFE act? Crime rises when crooks know the population is unarmed...something to think about!
Yes there is a trend of rising crime everywhere, but in Westbury it is a greater rate of increase.
So yes crime is rising everywhere but it is worse in neighborhoods like Westbury, Uniondale, and Hempstead.
Yet if the situation improves the same people complaining about high crime will then complain about high cost of living. Can't really please them no matter what.
Wow...that is indeed scary. Would this be the section closer to Hempstead?
Unfortunately living next to a very dangerous area like Hempstead has it's risk, but violent crime can happen anywhere. Remember that MS-13 gangbanger that murdered a guy walking home from the train in Lynbrook?
Nowhere is completely safe, I know that, but there is more crime in certain areas than others. Places like Hempstead, Uniondale, Roosevelt, and parts of Westbury are more dangerous than other areas.
I always try and look and make sure no one is following me, no matter where I am.
You have to be prepared. Isn't it interesting crime is rising after Cuomo passed the SAFE act? Crime rises when crooks know the population is unarmed...something to think about!
I'm no fan of the useless SAFE Act, but that has little to do with rising crime - criminals weren't using "assault weapons" and guys selling pistols to their gangbanger buddies aren't doing background checks no matter what the law says.
No, the rise in crime has two main causes - one, the steady flood of third-world immigrants, legal and illegal, pouring into the country, and particularly into places like Westbury, Hempstead, etc. that are already depressed. Two, liberal politicians have been pushing to reduce the kind of aggressive, broken windows policing that made the drop in crime possible in the first place. These things are cyclical - it'll get worse until the people have had enough, and then someone new will come to power on an anti-crime platform. That is, if the immigration spigot gets shut, otherwise we'll start to resemble Brazil.
Why is all the crime being blamed on illegals immigrants? It's most likely being committed mainly by other groups.
And before we (or should I say OP and Interlude) blame Latinos or whatever, my hamlet has a higher percentage of Latinos than Westbury and it's very safe. And for the occasional murder that happens, none of them that I can remember involved Latinos. And it's not true that immigration is behind a widespread increase in crime, for instance there are a lot of neighborhoods in Queens comprised of mainly Latino immigrants and their children, and these neighborhoods are generally safe and getting even safer.
I don't live in Westbury and I don't spend time there often, but when I drive through it it doesn't look bad. It just looks really industrial in some parts. If it is true that crime went up, that's unfortunate, but Westbury is definitely not at the point of no return and things can change for the better.
Why is all the crime being blamed on illegals immigrants? It's most likely being committed mainly by other groups.
And before we (or should I say OP and Interlude) blame Latinos or whatever, my hamlet has a higher percentage of Latinos than Westbury and it's very safe. And for the occasional murder that happens, none of them that I can remember involved Latinos. And it's not true that immigration is behind a widespread increase in crime, for instance there are a lot of neighborhoods in Queens comprised of mainly Latino immigrants and their children, and these neighborhoods are generally safe and getting even safer.
I don't live in Westbury and I don't spend time there often, but when I drive through it it doesn't look bad. It just looks really industrial in some parts. If it is true that crime went up, that's unfortunate, but Westbury is definitely not at the point of no return and things can change for the better.
Where did interlude even say Latinos (which would include us citizens) He said illegal third world immigrants. Once again trying to make it into a racial thing. Nope murders never involve Illegals. Like the MS13 scum that shot that woman in the head several years back then executed her toddler son. Nah never happens.
I will give you this though, it is of course silly to blame all crimes in westbury on illegals, but some certainly do their share. Do you really believe everyone illegally crossing the border and dirt poor is a model human being? If you do then you are hopelessly naive.
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