Two views of Huntington Station's crime danger

Luciana Johnson walked with her four children along Lowndes Avenue and Tower Street through her Huntington Station neighborhood as she has all her life. But these days, she is looking over her shoulder a little more.

"I don't feel as comfortable, even from just a few years ago, especially as it gets later," Johnson, 34, said as she strolled past the now-closed Jack Abrams School, her children wistfully looking at an unused swing set on the school grounds. "I don't take my children to the park . . . as much because I worry about shootings."

But Adrian Jarvis, 56, who has lived in Huntington Station since 1963, has a different view. She considers the neighborhood "as safe as any other. I have no problem going out day or night."

Johnson and Jarvis represent the divide in attitude among Huntington Station residents, especially those who - like the two women - live in one of three new "enforcement zones" where police have increased patrols and community contact.

Some say increased gang activity has made the area unsafe and residents fearful of speaking out. Others say the community has been unfairly tagged as crime-infested and unsafe for children.

"These are the times we live in," Jarvis said while picking up Chinese food from a restaurant at the Big H Shopping Center.

"Some people are facing hard times, some people are in gangs, others are not. But our problems here are no different than in any other place, and people should not give up hope."

Several recent shootings in Huntington Station, a collection of small shopping centers, apartments and modest single-family homes, drew attention from county and town officials and the police. The concerns spurred the school board in July to close the Abrams School.

"There are real issues here, but closing the school was not going to help," Johnson said. "But as long as the police stick around, I'll be OK with it We'll see about these impact zones and the increase in officers. They'll have to show and prove.."

On the other side of Huntington Station, on First Avenue, Cheryl Davis, 54, prepared for a fundraising fish fry at her church and bemoaned what she called a decline in the quality of life in the past 25 years.

She still walks around at night and feels safe, she said, and finds the increased police presence comforting. But for Davis, real change needs to come from more than just additional law enforcement.

"What they need is a 24-hour community center," she said. "The extra police is good, but if the kids don't have anything to do, they get into trouble."

Police officers need to do as much outreach as enforcement for the community to change, said Davis' son Rob, 26.