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Beachside patrol takes backseat – Questions about security linger as feud continues

A string of rapid-fire robberies in normally sedate Manhattan Beach last week has left members of the neighborhood’s private security force feeling a bit more than red-faced.

That’s according to the Beachside Neighborhood Patrol’s coordinator, Albert Hasson.

Hasson talked about the effects of the surprising robberies and his own decision to officially sever ties with the Manhattan Beach Community Group (MBCG) at the last meeting of rival civic Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association (MBNA) held at P.S. 195 on Irwin Street.

“We should not be victims,” Hasson said. “We have to be able to go to the supermarket without being afraid. These crimes are embarrassing security guards.”

Traditionally, members of the Manhattan Beach Community Group have spent an extra $3,000 each year to beef up the neighborhood’s private security patrols for the summer.

This year the money isn’t there, however. Beachside is struggling to attract new members willing to cough up $400 a year to fund the program, and the organization’s coordinator and its traditional benefactor are at odds.

According to Hasson, had the money been put in place as in years past the supplemental Beachside patrols could have been rolling through the community by Memorial Day weekend – well before the first shocking robbery took place on May 29.

“Our safety and security should be above politics,” MBNA President Alan Ditchek told members.

Both Ditchek and fellow MBNA member Al Smaldone sniped at MBCG President Ira Zalcman, alternately accusing him of forcing out Hasson and encouraging Manhattan Beach residents to boycott the Beachside Neighborhood Patrol.

Ditchek also blamed Zalcman and the MBCG leadership for last year’s failure to convince Manhattan Beach residents that installing surveillance cameras throughout their neighborhood was a good idea.

“Those security cameras were a gift from [State Senator Carl] Kruger and [City Councilman Mike] Nelson,” Ditchek said. “They turned it down. Was it a wise decision? I don’t think so.”

Zalcman did not want to respond to the attacks, saying only that his ultimate goal was “to have this neighborhood as safe as possible.”

With regard to the future of the Beachside Neighborhood Patrol, Zalcman said, “This will all be sorted out when cooler heads prevail.”

Edmund Dweck, spokesperson for the MBNA, told the Bay News that his group has reached out to Zalcman and his vice-president Bunny Fleischer in hopes of working together collaboratively on the safety issues facing Manhattan Beach.

“I’m always willing to talk,” Zalcman said. “My door is always open.”

Hasson, meanwhile, could not say exactly how many MBNA members were currently dues-paying members of the Beachside Neighborhood Patrol.

“I cannot speak for the entire membership of the MBNA as I have not compared their membership list with that of Beachside, but I can confirm that the entire board of the MBNA are all members of Beachside without exception,” he said.