First Precinct police officers sought to calm concerns regarding drug use Wednesday night as they spoke to a crowd gathered at the North Merrick Civic Association's monthly meeting. 

"We have a small army of cops out there," said Sgt. Mike O'Mara, who added that two people had been arrested in North Merrick that day after police witnessed a "hand to hand" marijuana sale on the street. 

O'Mara would not reveal the exact location of the incident, but said police were able to recover a quantity of marijuana at the home of one of the people arrested. 

Police conducted 12 field interviews of suspicious people in North Merrick over the last month, O'Mara said. 

"That's a positive step," O'Mara said of the interviews.  "We always do them, but we had an abundance because we have been trying to flood the area the past few months." 

Police have been keeping watch near Calhoun High School to combat teens drinking alcohol or using drugs around the school, but O'Mara said the area has been quiet with no drug arrests made recently.  

In response to a question regarding a possible spike in drug use, O'Mara said it was tough to tell since most people use drugs behind closed doors. 

"The only time I know about drugs is when I make an arrest," he said.  "Other than making arrests, I can't tell you 25-100 kids are doing it."

John Lufrano, the Neighborhood Watch program director in North Merrick, suggested that the police "ramp up" patrols near Calhoun on Friday and Saturday nights, especially with the warmer months approaching. 

"There are kids drinking under the bleachers," Lufrano said.  "I'm assuming if there's smoke, there's fire.  If kids are drinking, one or two of them probably has something harder on them." 

Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick), who attended the meeting at the North Merrick Library, said he had heard of teens going into the woods behind Brookside School with "bags of 12 packs."

"What happens in the woods is they see a cop and they run away," Denenberg said of the teens.  "They leave for the night, but who knows where they land."

Around 12:30 a.m. on March 6, police responded to the woods near Brookside and found a 17-year-old girl who needed to be transported to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, police said.

In other North Merrick Civic news:

Police reported on an attempted burglary on Park Avenue on February 26 in which the homeowner spotted someone trying to "jiggle the back door."  Officer Rob Segretto said video surveillance caught the incident and it was "pretty clear as to who the individual is."

Civic association president Claudia Borecky said she had sent a letter to Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray regarding the possibility of requiring permits to park at the Merrick train station.   Borecky suggested allowing parking for only Town of Hempstead residents since currently commuters from surrounding towns are taking advantage of the free parking in the Merrick lot.

"Right now if you don't get to the train station by 7-7:30 a.m., you can't find a spot," Borecky said.  "And now that they are canceling the bus route, it will become even more of a problem."