Police break up multiple underage Halloween parties, resulting in arrests and hospitalizations
Authorities report hundreds of teens at gatherings in Long Beach, Old Westbury, Mineola, East Patchogue, and Merrick, with several adults facing social host law charges
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Police across Long Island broke up multiple Halloween weekend parties that involved underage drinking, with some incidents resulting in arrests and hospitalizations.
In Long Beach on Friday night, officials said police responded to a party on East Park Avenue attended by more than 250 youths. Authorities broke up the gathering and issued summonses to multiple underage drinkers.
Old Westbury Police Chief Stuart Cameron said parents often trust that other adults will look after their children when they attend social events.
"I think it's natural for the parent that sending the child there to have a level of comfort that someone is going to be responsible for their child," he said.
A city spokesperson said the parents at the Long Beach home received a summons for social host violations, which occur when adults knowingly allow someone under the age of 21 to consume alcohol. Cameron said those violations can undermine the trust parents place in one another.
"A lot of these social housing law violations are in violation of that trust with the other parents," Cameron said.
On Saturday night, police responded to a party on Pinetree Lane in Old Westbury, where they found about 200 high school students, many showing signs of intoxication.
According to police, two teenagers were found unconscious from excessive alcohol consumption and were transported to a hospital for treatment.
Authorities said 51-year-old Efrat Fridman was arrested and charged with violating the social host law and endangering the welfare of a child.
In a separate incident, police arrested 53-year-old Thomas Quinn on Fairfield Avenue in Mineola over the weekend.
Mineola resident Tom Oswald described the scene after police arrived.
"Next thing you know that, I think the party was kind of closed and everybody was standing on the street and Nassau County police showed up and the kids just dispersed...no violence, no vandalism," Oswald said.
Police said they found a large group of people at the Mineola gathering, many of them under 21 years old, along with empty alcohol containers.
Authorities also responded to reports of parties in East Patchogue and Merrick on Saturday.
Cameron encouraged students to contact authorities if they become concerned about a party getting out of control.
"If children learn about a party or see a party that's getting out of control, they're concerned about their classmates, they should absolutely call 911. Those calls can be anonymous, but police will respond and break up the party and make sure that everybody that's at the party, that their welfare is, is seen to so that everybody is healthy and everybody is safe, " Cameron stressed.
