Board votes to shutter Mastic Beach library due to concerns about criminal activity

Citing concerns over criminal activity in and around the library, the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library board of trustees voted unanimously Monday night to shut down the satellite branch in Mastic Beach to keep library users and staff safe, director Joseph A. Maiorana said.

The closure will take effect beginning Christmas Eve, and the branch will move into what Maiorana called "a transition period" before it reopens March 1.

Under the plan, the branch will no longer offer traditional services, like lending books or offering access to reading materials; instead it will be reserved for scheduled "controlled access" programs such as literacy and citizenship classes, educational workshops and other library-run programs, Maiorana said.

Maiorana said traditional library services will remain available at the main branch about 2½ miles away on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley and at the satellite branch in Moriches.

The decision comes a week after the library announced a shift in operating hours, opening weekdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. In making that announcement, the Mastic Beach branch on Oct. 21 posted a notice that read: "In light of ongoing safety and security concerns at and around the branch, particularly as daylight hours grow shorter, the Library is adjusting its operating hours to help provide a safer environment for patrons and staff."

On Tuesday, Maiorana, citing "privacy issues" of library users, told Newsday, despite staff suspicions that drug deals and other criminal activities might be taking place using public computers inside the branch, a decision was made not to file a complaint with police.

"We can't be spying on people while they're on the computer," Maiorana said.

Instead, Maiorana said, the library will close services to traditional patrons, such as book lending.

In a statement to Newsday, Suffolk County police said officers had responded to 45 service calls at the library: 16 disturbance calls, 11 for alarms, four for undefined "criminal incidents" and two for larceny offenses, between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. May through September.

One of the other calls was for graffiti, another for a domestic violence incident, police said.

The Seventh Precinct had two patrol officers assigned to foot patrol along Neighborhood Road, in the area where the library branch is located, during that time. Officers issued 15 summonses for open alcohol containers, with two arrests for criminal possession of a controlled substance. One other person was arrested and charged with second-degree assault for a shooting early on Aug. 23, police said.

Increased police patrols

A police spokeswoman told Newsday the department had not received complaints about drug dealing from the library and said officers had actively responded to all calls and enforcement issues they were made aware of, in addition to proactive measures, such as increased patrols.

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico agreed, saying, "I firmly believe that the Suffolk police have responded correctly when made aware of the issues."

Panico said town and local officials have urged the library board to take what he described as "strong action," including requesting criminal no-trespass affidavits that would allow police to arrest violators causing disruptions in the facility and threatening the safety of the public and staff, but said the board had refused to do so.

"If there's crime happening here," Panico said, "I don't understand their reticence to taking action ... Law enforcement can't do their job if it's not reported to them."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.