Brockport village operating a "zero tolerance" on loitering

Following complaints by business owners, residents and visitors, the Brockport Police Department will be operating on zero tolerance level on loitering on Main Street and other sections of the village.

Betty Rex, a town of Murray resident who is involved in the United Methodist Church located on the corner of Main and Erie Streets, addressed the village board at its regular meeting on Monday, August 18. "We (her husband Bruce and herself) are asking you to address the youth that are congregating on that corner," she said. "They are verbally offensive and are littering and making a mess of our shrubbery in front of the church." Rex and her husband are the custodians for the church's landscaping, she said.

Rex said they don't want to be unwelcoming to anyone who may want to visit the church, but the youth are continually on the church's steps, sometimes blocking the path of congregants. During her presentation to the board, Rex held up a homemade "weapon" made of lengths of rubber tubing tied together with a rock tied at the end.

"We need some signs posted and we need some help from the police department on dealing with this," she said. "I know the police are trying to address this issue and it's bad when a person walking down the sidewalk with a baby stroller is forced to walk in the road to avoid these youth."

Mayor Josephine Matela said she feels that parental responsibility for those youth is lacking. "Ultimately it's the parents who are responsible for the behavior of those kids," she said. "We have to ask those parents to assume responsibility."

Police Chief Dan Varrenti said there were arrests made that evening before the board meeting. "We had done some covert surveillance and we arrested a youth who had a pocketful of marijuana," he said. Varrenti cautioned that congregating isn't unlawful -- it's the other behaviors that cause the problem -- disrespect, vandalism and littering.

"Keeping up with this problem could involve a lot of overtime to combat," he said. "It will take an awful lot of money and then we have to make certain the judges prosecute them -- we can't have a revolving door."

Trustee Norman Knapp urged Rex and her husband to not become involved in any confrontations with the youth. "It's a frustrating situation but we don't want to see anyone in the congregation get into a confrontation," he said. "Just call 911."

Trustee Peter DeToy suggested that members of SPARTAC, a group made up of community policing volunteers, set up a video camera in one of the buildings across the street and videotape the activity. "The village is in possession of a high quality video camera," he explained. "If we get these youth on video, then we will be able to use that as evidence."