Suffolk Notebook: Police Give Schools Security Primer; Land Bank Eyed

The Suffolk County police are set to host a school safety seminar for district officials on Jan. 23, where they said they will discuss notorious school shootings to inform schools on how to ramp up safety.

The seminar will come just a little over a month since a shooter killed 20 students and 6 staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

According to the police, the seminar, which will take place at 9 a.m. at the Suffolk County Community College Brentwood campus, will look at the Newtown shooting as well as break down the deadly shootings at Columbine and Virginia Tech.

Police will also offer security guidance for schools looking to ramp-up security and will explain how the police are trained to react to a school shooting.

County Eyes Land Bank

Suffolk County is looking into creating a land bank, a list of blighted properties that it hopes it can remediate before the properties contaminate the environment.

But before it can take steps on the 124 properties it has slated for the land bank, the county needs the backing of all the town governments.

In 2011, New York passed legislation that allowed for the creation of 10 land banks across the state. Suffolk's application was denied in 2012 but the county plans to file a fresh application to New York’s Empire State Development Corp.

For more information on Broohkaven's response, click here.

For more on Smithtown's response, click here.

Bellone Backs Gun Law

Following New York state's passage this week of one of the toughest gun control laws in the country, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone send out this statement in support of the measure.

"I applaud Governor Cuomo’s NY SAFE ACT which provides comprehensive gun control measures assisting in making our schools and communities safer. Governor Cuomo focused on common sense strategies to address the epidemic of gun violence, tackling this complex problem with real solutions. I’m proud that New York State is a national leader on this issue."