Roughly 150 cars packed the parking lot at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale on Tuesday night, and by the time Nassau County police finished sorting it out, six people were under arrest, 22 vehicles were impounded, and officers had pulled a loaded handgun out of a car carrying five people, including two minors.
Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the cars filled the parking lot around 10 p.m., turning the county-owned sports complex into an impromptu, unpermitted gathering, according to News 12 Long Island. Officers moved to shut down all the roads leading to the complex to keep the cars from leaving, and Nassau County Police reported that 22 vehicles were ultimately impounded after what they described as a large, disorderly and unpermitted car meetup. The department also issued around 100 summonses at the scene. Mitchel Athletic Complex, at 1 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, is a county-owned facility whose indoor arena and fields typically host youth leagues, college games and community events, according to Molloy University Athletics.
Loaded Gun Found in Car With Two Minors
Nassau County Police said six people were arrested following the investigation, including 20-year-old Nya Reeves, 18-year-old Joshlynn Almonte, and 18-year-old Maleyna Galeano. Investigators recovered a handgun from a car containing five people, two of whom were minors, per the same police account relayed by the station. The firearm was later identified as a loaded .22LR-caliber German Sport Gun 1911, which led to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon charges against all five occupants of that vehicle, according to Daily Voice.
Some participants reportedly lost their bumpers as vehicles jumped curbs and drove over the grass, the outlet's report notes. Police obtained license plates from vehicles at the meetup and said more arrests were expected. Investigators also found a forged inspection sticker and a baton inside a car belonging to 28-year-old Jordi Perez, who was arrested as a result. The Long Island Herald reported that Perez was pulled over near Charles Lindbergh Boulevard and West Road by Nassau Police's Criminal Intelligence Rapid Response Team, a specialized unit, when officers made that discovery.
Neighbors Say the Location Is What Worries Them
Christian Turizo, of Franklin Square, said finding the meetup staged at a sports complex was worrying, according to the News 12 report. It's a location where families bring kids for youth games and community events, which is part of why the scene alarmed nearby residents. Ryder said the activity would not be tolerated going forward.
This is not the first time Uniondale has drawn police attention for illegal car gatherings. Nassau County police previously shut down a large illegal street takeover at 711 Stewart Avenue in Uniondale in November 2024, issuing 31 summonses, impounding two vehicles and arresting one driver, per News 12 Long Island's earlier coverage. The Nassau County Police Department, led by Ryder, serves more than 1.3 million residents and ranks among the largest municipal police departments in the country, according to an interview published on Spreaker.
Part of a Wider Long Island Crackdown
The Uniondale gathering came just three days after a separate street takeover in Suffolk County, where police tracked a coordinated group across Islip and Patchogue before surrounding vehicles at Sawgrass Drive in Medford on August 14, according to The Auto Wire. That incident resulted in 15 arrests and seven vehicles seized, a bust Hoodline covered in a recent Suffolk crackdown story.
Suffolk County's Street Takeover Task Force shut down 91 street takeovers, issued 8,130 traffic summonses, made 59 arrests and impounded 97 vehicles during its first full year of operations through November 2025, the Suffolk County Police Department has said. In December 2024, the Suffolk County Legislature passed a local ordinance making it illegal to be a spectator within 200 feet of an unpermitted street takeover or speed contest, according to News 12 Long Island. Statewide, New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1182 currently treats participating in an unauthorized speed contest as a class A misdemeanor, carrying up to 30 days in jail, fines between $300 and $525, and potential license revocation, per Rosenblum Law.
Lawmakers in Albany are pushing to go further. New York Assembly Bill A06986A, known as Brendon's Law, would impose statewide penalties for street takeovers, including vehicle forfeiture and criminal liability for spectators within 200 feet, according to the New York State Assembly. For now, the six people arrested in Uniondale face charges stemming from Tuesday night's gathering as police continue reviewing license plates gathered at the scene, with the department signaling that additional arrests could still follow.
