Neighbors, store owners say group of teens are vandalizing and loitering in and around Merrick

Erica Barkan, of Merrick, claims the teens smashed in her fence while riding their bikes as part of the Kool-Aid challenge on TikTok.

Joe Arena

May 2, 2023, 2:11 AM

Updated 528 days ago

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A Long Island community says a group of teenagers is terrorizing their neighborhood.
Erica Barkan, of Merrick, claims the teens smashed in her fence while riding their bikes as part of the Kool-Aid challenge on TikTok.
"It's incredible frustrating when you have your kids sleeping and it's 1 a.m. and you hear something like a bomb go off," Barkan says.
She says the group sometimes set off fireworks and loiter in people's yards. Barkan says because they are on bike, they get away fast.
The owner of a liquor store in Merrick shared surveillance video with News 12 of a large group of teens loitering outside his store. He says it happens all the time, and in some cases, they bank on his window and throw things until he has to call the police.
Local neighbors and employees also tell News 12 that some teens were kicked out of a CVS for riding their bikes in the store and causing issues at a HomeGoods store.
"We're being vandalized, we're being harassed," Barkan says.
The owner of the liquor store tells News 12 that he has given up on calling police about the teens loitering because he says it's a waste of time.
Barkan tells News 12 she will be spending hundreds of dollars to install surveillance cameras on her house.