"They need to put some cameras up," one residents aid. "Better lighting, that's the only way your going to catch criminals."
It is just one of the suggestions given to the Orangetown Police Department, which already has a plan to tackle crime in light of the recent attacks on bar patrons in the Village of Nyack.
Starting Friday night, there will be a stronger police presence in and around Main Street, with added cops on foot patrol and on horseback between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Kari Kralik is part of the Rockland County Sheriff's mounted unit.
"We're 10-foot cops," Kralik said. "We can see more people easily, and they can see us."
Early Sunday morning, police arrested three men after two attacks in the parking lot behind the Riverspace Theater. In one of the attacks, a 25-year-old man had to get 100 stitches to close a slash on his face.
"It's shocking and upsetting that people's behavior escalates that far before there's any intervention."
Jonathan Karela is a bartender at Olive's on Main Street. He says the recent violence pushed his door bouncer to quit.
"He was outside and he watched a pretty brutal beating happen on the street,"
It's the second time Orangetown Police have called on the mounted unit for help. Just in April, cops stepped up patrol for several days after a brawl between gangs members from Spring Valley and Nyack.
"Orangetown police are doing a great job, and we're looking forward to assisting them," Kralik said. "I hope to make people feel safer."
The two incidents in question are still under investigation, and it is unclear how long the extra patrols will last.
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STORY BY: Eyewitness News reporter Thalia Patillo
WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King
