Renewed Calls For Federal Funding In Wake Of Recent Long Island Gang Slayings

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The recent murders of several young men and women have renewed calls on Long Island to fight the war on gangs.

Officials in Suffolk County pledged Monday to fight the war on several fronts, as County Executive Steve Bellone pleaded for more federal resources to deal with the flood of unaccompanied immigrant children who are often recruited by gangs.

"We are going to do what it takes to make sure we are able to protect our kids," he said.

Bellone says the war on gangs needs new ammunition. On Monday he launched what he calls a comprehensive approach to wiping out the cold blooded MS-13 gang, beginning with a plea for more federal funding.

"If we can't make this a priority then I don't know what we can do," he said. "This should be at all levels of government."

This, in the wake of the recent brutal killings of young people struggling to avoid gangs. Four young men were lured to the woods then slashed to death in a Central Islip park earlier this month. Last fall, best friends Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas were chased down and slaughtered in Brentwood.

Cuevas' parents were in attendance Monday to support better tracking of unaccompanied minors flooding Long Island neighborhoods.

Specifically, Bellone's plan calls for bi-partisan immigration reform, notification when unaccompanied minors arrive, and federal money for gang prevention.

"If we don't provide the structure, MS-13 will," he said. "If we don't provide the resources, MS-13 will."

As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reports, children fleeing violence in Central America arrive without parents, overwhelming schools like Brentwood with over 400 unaccompanied minors in just the last two school years.

"Very early when they get to us we need the counselors, we need the social workers to constantly fill a gap," Brentwood School Superintendent Dr. Levi McIntyre said, "so when the gang calls they can resist the gang temptation."

Central Islip School Superintendent Dr. Howard Koenig echoed McIntyre's sentiments.

"The easiest targets for MS-13 are people who are isolated, who don't have a support system," he said.

Bellone also pleaded for federal dollars for law enforcement, adding that fighting gangs is a national problem that local taxpayers can't solve by themselves.

His plan has not outlined a specific dollar amount at this time.