Willliams – extra eyes
FALLSBURG – The population of the Town of Fallsburg increases during the summer months from the usual 22,000 to about 150,000, but Police Chief Simmie Williams said with that influx of New York City area residents comes a reduction in crime.
Williams attributes that to the extra pairs of eyes that report any potential issues back to his department.
The chief also said safety issues are discussed before the large influx of summer residents.
“We get the word out about walking. We don’t have a lot of sidewalks so the reflective gear, walking with a flashlight; a lot of summer visitors come up on Thursdays instead of Fridays so maybe there is less congestion and less traffic and less rushing trying to beat shabbos (the Sabbath) and sundown,” Williams said.
During the eight to 10 weeks of summer annually, the population of Sullivan County usually triples with the migration of summer residents from the metropolitan area.
