The Mastic Beach branch of Mastics Moriches Shirley Community Library will close on Christmas Eve, Newsday reported.
Last week, the library had announced a reduction in hours due to “ongoing safety and security concerns at and around the branch.”
But library leaders took a big additional step Monday, Oct. 26 and voted to close the branch on Dec. 24, according to News 12 Long Island. Officials said they’re planning a different, though still community-oriented, use for the building, which will begin March 1, 2027.
Library leaders have not gone into detail publicly about the “security concerns.” Suffolk County police told Newsday they’d assigned two officers to patrol the area on foot between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. from May into September.
The patrol led to 15 open-container summonses, two drug possession arrests, and an assault charge for a shooting in August, Newsday reported. Cops also responded to 45 service calls at the library.
State Senator Dan Murray, whose district includes Mastic Beach, blamed statewide crime policies for the closure.
“Continued reports of drug dealing, prostitution, violence, and vandalism at or near this location have created an environment that has undermined the library’s ability to safely serve the community as it was intended,” Murray said. “No neighborhood is immune when public safety is compromised.”
To read the full story from Newsday, click here.
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