Town board hearing on 1531 Straight Path in Wyandanch is adjourned after prosecution and owner present rebuttal

The Town of Babylon Town Board on March 26 heard testimony that 1531 Straight Path in Wyandanch has been the site of repeated arrests, public intoxication and other activity that town attorneys and police say meet the town’s public nuisance standard, and then adjourned the hearing to allow property-owner representatives to respond and for town staff to develop a plan.

Assistant Town Attorney Jerry Guarino opened the public hearing summary and said the town’s nuisance procedure requires two arrests within two years to issue a nuisance notice. “There was first arrest, and the board should note that there were many arrests at this location, but for the purposes of our code 165 nuisance notice, we only need 2 arrests within 2 years,” Guarino said. He identified arrests dated 11/01/2024 and 01/10/2025 as the two incidents cited in the notice.

Sgt. Daniel Nappy of the First Precinct told the board the location generates exceptionally high call volume and frequent arrests. “This particular location…has constantly been a high priority for us because there’s so many calls and…arrests that occur on this premises,” Nappy said, describing calls for drug activity, loitering, panhandling, assaults and 911 responses. He said officers made a controlled-substance arrest there on March 4 and that a three-month snapshot in the record showed seven arrests for controlled substances.

Assistant Town Attorney Jorge Rosario reviewed the arrest records and related court entries involving multiple individuals who were arrested at or in connection with the premises. Rosario said the pattern of arrests and open criminal cases supported treating the location as a nuisance under Town Code 165. “There is definitely a present theme to the location, which is a big crack problem at the location, then it turns into assaults,” Rosario said.

The property owner’s attorney, Anthony Grandinetti, told the board he received notice of the alleged violations less than 24 hours earlier and asked for time to prepare evidence and rebuttal. “I just received notice of these alleged violations, less than 24 hours ago,” Grandinetti said. He argued the store itself is maintained and that his client has repeatedly requested police assistance. Grandinetti said he intended to present evidence that the arrested individuals have no proven connection to the store and that the owner has sought police help when problems occurred.

Supervisor Schaeffer and board members pressed for a timely plan. The board directed the special prosecutor, town investigators and police to meet with owner representatives before April 3 if possible and said it wanted a concrete plan on the record at the next board meeting. The board moved to adjourn the public hearing and table related resolution 243 until the April 9 Town Board meeting at 3 p.m.

What the record shows: the town’s presentation relied on arrest and call-history records; town staff described a combination of enforcement and nuisance remedies that can include trespass notices, video surveillance and security, and, ultimately, litigation and boarding up if owners fail to control on-site activity. The property owner’s representative said the owner is willing to meet and that the owner loses business from the on-site activity; the attorney asked for time to assemble documentation and witnesses.

The board set benchmarks: it encouraged a meeting including the property owner’s counsel, the special prosecutor, town investigators and the First Precinct to develop a plan for April 9 and suggested the owner consider security cameras, signage and other measures shown in prior nuisance cases. The hearing record was continued to April 9 at 3 p.m.