Crime is Crime, It Can Happen Anywhere (1)
15 May 2014 By Abi Giwa
Wayne Hall (Courtesy:newsday.com)
Mayor Wayne Hall of Hempstead in New York says the Hempstead village is safe, but that the community has its own share of crime. The mayor's assertion is a response to a question whether it is true that the high rate of crime in Hempstead is contributory to online discussions with some people decrying what they call Hempstead's crime rate, and for that reason, they would not allow their children attend a school located in the village.
"Columbia University is in Harlem. There was a crime rate somewhere in Harlem. I just think that anywhere we go, there is crime. I mean for example, what happened in Connecticut. People got killed there. What I am saying is that crime do happen anywhere and not only in Hempstead." The mayor added, "Some crime have dropped; some have moved up, but when everything is tallied together, the overall crime we have in this recession has decline and that seems to be the trend all Long Island."
Mayor Wayne agreed that a place called Terrace Avenue had contributed to the high rate of crime in Hempstead in the past, but said it was not the only source of crime in the village against general impression. He said there were other places on Main Street and Linden Place that were magnets of trouble. People got shot, students could not go to school that challenged his office, the district's attorney and the police to battle against the crime rate. He said the battle against crime by his office had cleaned up the dangerous areas in Hempstead. "Is it perfect? I don't think so. But is it better better than it was? Yes, much better than it was."
Mayor Wayne in an answer to a question about how Andrea Rebello, a Hofstra University student who was killed in her home by an ex-convict, whether she was a victim of an ex-convicts who had access to guns, he said that Rebello's death happened in Uniondale and part of crime sprees that people mistakenly accounted for Hempstead.
In an emotional recall of what reportedly led to Rebello's death, the mayor suggests to students to be conscious of what is going on around them when they go out, not to travel alone… be with a friend, and not leave the door open for men who are already bad persons or crooks, to avoid preventable crime.
"Columbia University is in Harlem. There was a crime rate somewhere in Harlem. I just think that anywhere we go, there is crime. I mean for example, what happened in Connecticut. People got killed there. What I am saying is that crime do happen anywhere and not only in Hempstead." The mayor added, "Some crime have dropped; some have moved up, but when everything is tallied together, the overall crime we have in this recession has decline and that seems to be the trend all Long Island."
Mayor Wayne agreed that a place called Terrace Avenue had contributed to the high rate of crime in Hempstead in the past, but said it was not the only source of crime in the village against general impression. He said there were other places on Main Street and Linden Place that were magnets of trouble. People got shot, students could not go to school that challenged his office, the district's attorney and the police to battle against the crime rate. He said the battle against crime by his office had cleaned up the dangerous areas in Hempstead. "Is it perfect? I don't think so. But is it better better than it was? Yes, much better than it was."
Mayor Wayne in an answer to a question about how Andrea Rebello, a Hofstra University student who was killed in her home by an ex-convict, whether she was a victim of an ex-convicts who had access to guns, he said that Rebello's death happened in Uniondale and part of crime sprees that people mistakenly accounted for Hempstead.
In an emotional recall of what reportedly led to Rebello's death, the mayor suggests to students to be conscious of what is going on around them when they go out, not to travel alone… be with a friend, and not leave the door open for men who are already bad persons or crooks, to avoid preventable crime.
