Nine Arrested After Street Takeover Shuts Down Central Avenue

Nine people were arrested, 12 vehicles impounded and 46 traffic summonses issued after a street takeover brought a stretch of Central Avenue in East Farmingdale to a standstill late Friday night, Suffolk County police said.

The Suffolk County Street Takeover Task Force had advance word — gathered through intelligence work and social media surveillance — that participants were planning a gathering somewhere in the Plainview–East Farmingdale area. Officers had already taken up positions when, at approximately 11:40 p.m., drivers blocked the roadway and began performing stunts, donuts and burnouts, police said.

All nine people taken into custody faced charges of unlawful speed contest, a misdemeanor. Those arrested ranged in age from 18 to 31 and hailed from communities across Long Island and New York City, including Merrick, Deer Park, Brentwood, West Islip, Uniondale, Corona and Jamaica, police said.

The nine defendants have court dates pending at First District Court in Central Islip.

The task force was created to crack down on the organized street-racing events that have repeatedly disrupted Long Island roads. Friday's enforcement action ranked among the unit's larger single-night operations, combining criminal arrests with the seizure of nearly a dozen vehicles.

Police did not indicate whether any bystanders were injured during the event.