High Visibility Policing

Since at least the mid-1980s when New York City police used it to disrupt drug traffic on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, law enforcement agencies have employed high visibility policing to address problem areas within their jurisdictions. This tactic is at the core of Brockport Police Chief Dan Varreti’s initiative to resolve some of the quality of life issues that seem to have arisen on Main Street this summer. And I, who spend a lot of time in the business district with my family, love it.

Basically, high visibility policing works like this: by placing officers conspicuously in spots where trouble repeatedly occurs, the chance of a person being noticed (and cited for) doing something he ought not do increases. The message this sends to those contemplating criminal activity is pretty straightforward: not here.

At heart, I’m a country boy who admires simplicity, so the Brockport Police Department’s plan makes a lot of sense to me. In fact, yesterday I smiled when, while returning from a jog along the canal, I turned off the path at Main Street to see a patrol car parked between Market Street and Water Street. Then, continuing south toward Erie Street, I chugged past by two uniformed officers walking a beat on the west side of Main. If I, trying to will my body home after a 5-mile run, noticed the police presence downtown, you can bet that others did too.

I’m not ready to try to dissuade my son, who’s 3, from repeating some of the more colorful language that I’ve heard—and therefore I’m pretty sure he’s heard—while on our way to Seaward Candies or Jimmy Z’s for a cone or a shake. Nor am I eager to see again, as I did last month, a sidewalk sideshow escalate to a point where one fella gets a baseball bat to settle a beef he has with another fella. That’s how fellas become felons. If the police can preempt situations like these from unfolding to my annoyance (which I know some may view as petty) or to a serious injury as get-back for a slight, then great, I say.

Not that Main Street in Brockport will ever compare, but the one of the effects of high visibility policing in Washington Square Park—one small piece of the New York City’s intensified effort that I mentioned above—was that arrests went up 300 percent over the course of two years. Seventy percent of those arrests resulted in convictions, curbing the activities of the Big Apple’s bad apples.

In our village there aren’t nearly as many bad apples, of course. But I know from my rural upbringing that it takes but a few to spoil the bunch.

Septemberfest

It looks like the village may be participating for the second year in what I regard as one of the most inventive events that Brockport has to offer: Septemberfest. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s probably because as annual events go, Septemberfest is in its infancy. Started in 2003, the festival has grown each year to include more and more churches, community groups and organizations.

The goal, according to coordinator Norm Frisch (who’s a heck of guy and a huge supporter of our community—I enjoyed working with him on the promotion of last summer’s visit of the canal schooner Lois McClure) is to promote fun and fellowship. Add that there’s entertainment, food, and games for kids, and it’s hard to top Septemberfest as one of summer’s final festivals.

Septemberfest activities will take place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sept. 13 outdoors at various churches, on parts of State and Erie streets, and at Sagawa Park.

This year, a tip of the hat is in order to Trustee Connie Casteñeda, who will represent the village at the event. Trustee Casteñeda also volunteered her time at Septemberfest last year. So if you’re interested in perhaps filling a vacancies on one of Brockport’s municipal boards, stop down to the village’s table and say hello.

Crosswalk Talk

Motorists in the village will have a hard time not noticing the latest additions to Main Street. That’s precisely the point of the bright yellow pedestrian crossing signs recently set in place. 

While this is not the first time such signs have been purchased and installed (thanks to your police and DPW), those of us who are safety conscious or walk Main Street a lot are glad to see them on the roadway again. We need all the help we can get to make it, for example, from Lift Bridge Book Shop over to Java Junction for a cup of coffee to complement a new paperback.

Certainly the signs are no substitute for prudence and common sense, but a federal study concluded that they do work, and better than other devices aimed at keeping pedestrians from intimate introductions to hood ornaments. There’s nothing like a reminder of the state law requiring drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks to get one’s attention behind the wheel. Perhaps that’s why you can find signs like this in some of Monroe County’s other villages, like Spencerport and Pittsford.

For Brockport, it’s a step in the right direction.

National Night Out

One of my favorite aspects of village living is that it engenders a sense of familiarity and welcome. If you like socializing as much as I do, then villages can’t be beat. Particularly through the summer it seems that opportunities to get together with neighbors and to make new acquaintances are endless. The recent National Night Out, hosted by the Brockport Police, is but one example of the many gatherings that make ours a more close-knit community.

My son, Edison, who is 3, particularly enjoyed being shown around the police station. However, now when I need on occasion to tell Edison “no” for one reason or another, he tells me that he’s going to “put me in jail.”

My 8-month-old daughter, Caelan, didn’t take the tour to heart so much. She was much too busy flashing her baby blues and making new friends, like Police Chief Dan Varrenti, with whom she and I are pictured above. Thanks to the chief and the rest of the members of our police force for an enjoyable evening.

The Farmers' Market: Building on a Good Thing

Since its inception a few years back, Carrie Maziarz has been the heart and soul of the Village of Brockport’s Farmers’ Market. She’s tackled every detail imaginable in orchestrating a relatively complex activity.

For example, shoppers probably don’t realize as they search for the perfect squash or pick a peck of peppers, but ours is one of the few local markets that’s registered with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. This is a feather in Brockport’s cap (or cart, as the case may be) because this registration requires our market to meet different—some say higher—standards than markets that are not registered. We have the former village trustee to thank for this, and for the organizational aplomb that has made it a pleasure for buyers and sellers to come out on Sundays to peruse produce.

While I’m happy to leave it to the market manager to promote the selection and quality, if I were to suggest a slogan for our market, it might be “Get Fresh!” because you likely won’t find better products anywhere around. Those who are market regulars already know this, of course!

Back in June, nearing the end of her term in elected office, Carrie submitted to the board of trustees her plan for succession of the market. Much as we’d like her to, Carrie can’t continue on at the market. With several early Sunday mornings under her belt, she decided back then that it was time for her to focus her considerable energy elsewhere.

What Carrie proposed for the market moving forward is a partnership between the Village of Brockport and the Brockport Merchants’ Association. Each would sponsor the market and contribute to its continued success. While it remains to be seen whether Carrie’s shoes can be filled, I believe as she does that her ideas form the best plan to ensure the stability of the market, and to foster even greater prosperity. I’m not anxious to see her go, but at least I can take comfort in knowing that her vision is to place the market in good hands.

So today, I send a hearty thanks to Carrie Maziarz first for setting up the farmers’ market here in Brockport and also for setting it in the right direction on the eve of her departure.

And if you haven’t already this summer, I hope this Sunday you’ll take a stroll down to Market Street between 8 a.m.-2 p.m. You’ll be glad you did.

Ian is gone, but the blog remains

Of the many efforts put forth by former Village Manager Ian Coyle, one of the most novel and perhaps even innovative was his village manager blog. The blog—the most popular contracted form of “Web log”—came into its own as a powerful way to communicate during Ian's tenure with Brockport. Why? Well, one reason may be that unlike a village, a blog is easy to administer. Another is that a blog’s cost is negligible. However, arguably the greatest strength of a blog is its immediacy: I can share my thoughts in the wink of an eye. To an interested public, I think that’s worth something.

So here I am, posting what I hope will be the first of many messages about my work as a member of the Brockport Village Board of Trustees. Stay tuned…