Prosecutor: Gangs a county, state problem
Says redevelopment contributes to gang presence
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

SCOTT PILLING staff Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin speaks with Colleen Meyer (l) and Long Branch Concordance Director Terri Blair (r) at a meeting in Long Branch about gangs.

Fifty street gangs are active in Monmouth County, according to the county's top law enforcement official.

Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin told a meeting called to address concerns over gangs and incidents of violence in Long Branch last week that his office has documented the presence of gangs in the county - with with more than 200 members identified - including the Bloods, Crips and Latin King Nation in areas including Long Branch, Asbury Park, Red Bank, Freehold and Keansburg.

"How do we attack and address this problem?" Valentin asked the crowd, before answering, "We have to have an honest appreciation for what the problem is, by looking at facts and looking at trends.

"Since the very first day I came into this office, I have acknowledged that there is not only a gang problem in the county, but a problem across the state," he said.

Valentin said at the Oct. 11 meeting of the Long Branch Concordance (LBC) that a factor contributing to gang presence in the county is economic development and eminent domain.

"These developers have to have some economic responsibility," Valentin told the meeting at which representatives of the Greater Long Branch NAACP, Long Branch Police Department, were present.

"I think in addressing this problem, we must work with local legislative leaders, as well as state leader," he continued.

"I think it is incumbent upon out leaders to impress this upon these developers. We can not allow leaders to escape what is a fundamental, moral responsibility."

According to Valentin, developers come into communities and take the homes of residents to construct million dollar complexes that do not include activity centers for the town's youth.

"We need community strength and outreach," Valentin said. "The only way to preserve the sanctity of our neighborhoods is by working together to eradicate violence of all types.

"We all want our community to be safer for one another and our children," he said.

Valentin, along with a group of panelists who spoke on gangs at the meeting, held at Brookdale Community College on Broadway, agreed that preventing gang activity begins at home.

"The answer is in this room," Valentin told a crowd of some 20 community leaders and concerned residents at the LBC's monthly meeting.

Parental and family involvement is the key to keeping kids in school and preventing them from looking to gangs for a place to belong, Valentin said.

"We need to impress upon our parents that they have to speak to their children and advocate the importance of education and working hard," Valentin said.

"It is important for parents ... or an aunt, uncle or grandparent to step in," he said. "Our young ones should not look for father figures in gangs."

Valentin was asked to speak at the meeting by the LBC along with a panel that included Long Branch Police Lt. Robert Sama, Detectives Juan Vasquez and Charles Simonelli, United Neighbors Inc. Executive Director Ronald Cox and Shannon Pantaleo, a member of the National Crime Prevention Council.

"Gangs exist in the Long Branch community," Vasquez said, adding, "I have spotted gang members from the northern part of Long Branch all the way to the southern part of Long Branch. Gang members are all over."

"What is the Long Branch Police Department doing about it?" Vasquez asked. "We are trying to figure out the structure [of gang activity] and how it got here." "[Gangs] are here and they are here to stay.

"We are identifying gang members and we do a good job keeping a lid on it," he added.

Vasquez said this year alone, there have been two major acts of violence in Long Branch but added that neither of them were gang-related instances.

"Could they have involved gang members, yes," he said. "But it was not gang motivated."

The LBC is a grassroots collaborative that formed in March 2004 to address the needs of Long Branch, as well as Monmouth County residents.

This month's topic, "Guarding Our Youth: Adults Are the Key to Changing Gang Influence in Our Communities" is a step in the right direction, LBC Executive Director Terri Blair said.

"If there are 200 gang members in or around our community, who are they talking to?" Blair asked at the meeting.

Panelist Tonya Badillo said the gangs are talking to "our youth."

Badillo has opened her home to a group of 30 Long Branch teens who call themselves "Team Jump Off."

The youths come to her home for recreation, food, a place to sleep or just to talk, she explained.

"Do we have an outrageous gang problem?" she asked before answering, "No, but we have an increasing one."

She agreed with Valentin that the solution "starts at home. It starts with us."

Simonelli added that one reason there has been an increase in gangs is that it has become culturally acceptable.

"It is in our music, it is in our sports and it is in dress trends," he said.

"We need help from our parents," Simonelli said. "We are asking the community to help."

Sama added, "You have to know where your kids are and what they are doing."

Blair said she plans to compile a list that identifies activities that presently exist for youth in the community and also a list of things the community would like to see become available.

The lists will be forwarded to Valentin, she added.

The next LBC meeting is scheduled to be held Nov. 8, 2-4 p.m., at Brookdale Community College annex on Broadway. For more information, call the LBC at (732) 571-1670.