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General News: Village Residents Upset About Teen Trouble
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| Is skateboarding the problem? |
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| Teens want to see and be seen |
October 17, 2006
Skateboarders or out-of-towners, who creates the biggest threat to maintaining the peace in the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson?
That was the hot topic Monday night at the Village Board of Trustee meeting when some 40 residents presented their concerns about what they see as an escalating problem of unruly teenagers in the village.
Skateboarders and Unruly Teens at the Elementary School
People talked about the damage done to the elementary school steps by groups of teens skateboarding there. Others expressed concern that the skateboarders will injure others or themselves by recklessly running into the streets.
Emily Russell, a mother and member of the elementary school PTO, says that groups of teens congregate behind the school “making out” and creating a scary atmosphere for young children.
“Our children should not be afraid to go to their playground after school,” she said.
A Place of Our Own
Three teenaged skateboarders also came to the meeting to express their interest in having a place where they could safely skateboard.
“Everyone looks at us like we are the scum of the earth,” said a teen named Jim. “If you gave us a place to go to skateboard, you’ll see it is not us.”
Most people at the meeting agreed that the skateboarders were not the problem.
The Real Threat
“The danger to this community is not the skateboarders, but older kids who come from out-of-town,” said Deke Hazirjian, a local resident and businessman. “I don’t know if they’re dealing drugs,” he commented, “but our kids are in danger of these outside influences.”
In the monthly police department report presented at the meeting, 56 incidents were reported and, of those, 48 were for disorderly conducts. Police records show repeated incidents of teens hanging out in the municipal parking lot where summonses for drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana have been handed out in recent days.
Gene Duignan, of Idlewild Avenue, described “kids hanging out right in front of my house, being rude and disruptive,” adding that someone “walked right over my car, leaving frontprints.” Last month, three residents of the Idlewild Avenue area reported thefts from their parked cars overnight and one eyewitness said he saw teens going into a car whose owner later reported a minor theft.
Village Police Respond
The police department’s Sargeant Park explained some of the difficulties of dealing with the issues the teens raise. “If kids don’t commit a crime, we can’t lock them up,” he said.
He said that loitering is not a violation of the law and it was up to the school to prosecute people who trespass on its property.
“The chief has had several meetings with school officials and they don’t want to press charges,” he said, leaving fewer options for the police department.
Park told the residents that the police department had increased its presence on the streets this summer, with two vehicle patrols and an undercover officer on weekend nights.
A Problem of Out-of-towners
Mayor Ed Moulton, who presided over the meeting, told the crowd that two out-of-town teens from New Jersey, who had been the focus of community ire since they started living out of their SUV this summer, were no longer in town. He said one of the teens was in the Orange County jail and the other moved to New Windsor.
The jailed teen, 18-year-old Daniel Vieth of Seaville, New Jersey, was arrested on Sunday, October 15 for unlawful weapon possession and possession of stolen property in the town of Cornwall. He posted $1500 bail on Monday and was released.
Parents Can Be Part of the Problem
If there was agreement among those at the meeting, it was about the need for parents to be held accountable for their children’s behavior. Sergeant Park described the poor response officers get from some parents when their children are picked up for disorderly conduct. One suggestion to levy a fine against parents whose children commit multiple infractions was endorsed by others.
Village trustee Mark Edsall told the residents at the meeting that “by coming here tonight you are sending a message to us and to the school board that something has to be done.”
More Discussion Awaits
Mayor Moulton reported that he had taken the first step into looking for a solution to the skateboarding problem, calling Town of Cornwall officials to set up a meeting to “probe the interest in the communities” for a skate park.
Emily Russell presented a petition to the mayor asking for the summer playground to expand to include 7th and 8th grade students, who currently have few options during the summer school break. She collected 81 signatures on the petition.
Later this month, on October 24, the public is invited to a community meeting that “continues a conversation about strategic planning for the future of Cornwall’s youth.” The forum, organized by the community prevention coordinator of the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Council of Orange County, runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Village Hall.
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