Rash Of Break-Ins Has Tiny Long Island Village On Edge

WILLISTON PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Some Nassau County homeowners are being advised to lock their doors and windows in the wake of a string of home break-ins.

Nerves are frayed in Williston Park, a tiny suburban village of 7,200, due to reports of unsolved burglaries, CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported Thursday.

"There's not a lot of crime at all in Williston Park. They call it 'Mayberry.' It's very quiet and calm. That's why we have the four burglaries in one weekend has everybody nervous. They need to be alert, pay attention," Mayor Paul Ehrbar said.

The spree began Memorial Day weekend. No one was hurt. The suspect or suspects crawled through windows in some cases, police said.

Since then, the community Neighborhood Watch has posted homeowner reports of additional break-ins, and civic leaders are asking residents to keep porch lights on day or night.

"We actually have a local Facebook group and so it's been posted on that group quite a bit," homeowner Stephanie Visconti said. "This way people can find out what's going on and what we can do to protect ourselves."

Residents are clearly concerned.

"All of a sudden there's been a lot of it. Nobody really knows why," one resident said.

"Everybody's a little concerned about it," another said.

"The house across the street was broken into. So they say keep your windows closed, locked," another added.

The village auxiliary police are boosting their presence and video doorbells are becoming more prevalent. The Nassau County Police Department has been reminding residents that this type of crime has been dropping because the Burglary Task Force has made a huge dent across the area, claiming a 37 percent reduction in burglaries.

On Saturday at 9 a.m., the community will gather with the village mayor and Nassau County police for updates on the burglary spree and advice on how to stay safe.