LIIA
143 Schleigel Blvd., Amityville, NY 11701 631 603-4266
Michele Lynch, Chair Pat Young, Vice-Chair, Greg Maney, Secretary, Isabel Sepulveda, Treasurer
Dear Hon. Steve Bellone, December 15, 2011
We are writing to offer our congratulations on your election to the Office of County Executive, and to follow-up with our meeting. As you may recall, the Long Island Immigrant Alliance (LIIA) was born out of the need to counter, contain, and prevent inhumane and often violent, attacks against Latino immigrants. LIIA is comprised of some 50 charitable organizations that collectively endeavor to create a Long Island that is inclusive, welcoming, and responsive to all residents. As such, the alliance is well positioned to be a resource to you and to your administration.
LIIA recognizes that elected officials often set the tone for the public and that in turbulent economic times responsible leadership requires bold action. Therefore, we are submitting a menu of actionable recommendations that are cost neutral, speak eloquently to the priorities of your administration, and that can be implemented quickly. The available resources of our alliance members may be gleaned from the selected and abridged recommendations that follow. These recommendations range from improving relations between the County government and the immigrant community, including judicious use of non-lethal weapons by the police, community policing, universal access to social benefits, the equitable distribution of opportunities, the full integration of immigrants into civic life, precluding immigrant detention, and preventing bias crimes.
Additionally, we are strongly recommending creation of a permanent Hate Crimes Task Force, and the replacement of the current members on the Suffolk County Special Task Force on Hate Crimes. Ten of the Hate Crimes Task Force members are appointed though the legislature, one (of ten) through the Office of the County Executive. Here are some names for consideration:
Dr. Greg Maney, Professor of Sociology and Hate Crimes Scholar, Hofstra University.
Diane Rulnick, Neighbors In Support of Immigrants
Minerva Pérez, Retreat Shelter
Margarita Espada, Teatro Experimental Yerbabruja
Jessica Ortiz, SEPA Mujer
Michele Lynch, 1199, LIIA Chair
Each of these individuals played a key role in the development of a comprehensive and thoroughly researched set of recommendations for both preventing and effectively responding to hate crimes in Suffolk County (see the bottom of our transition document for a summary of these recommendations).
In addition, we are recommending the following clergy for consideration in replacing the present representative for the clergy: Rev. Tom Goodhue (LICC), or Fa. Bill Brisotti (OLMM), or Rev. Charles Coverdale (First Baptist Church, Riverhead).
We look forward to working with you and to meeting with you in the next month or before if you prefer. In the meantime, we wish you and your family an enjoyable holiday season. Peace on earth and good will to all.
Sincerely Luis Valenzuela, Executive Director LIIA
LIIA TRANSITION DOCUMENT TO HON. STEVE BELLONE:
BUILDING COMMUNICATION, COOPERATION, AND TRUST BETWEEN SUFFOLK COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY
The past eight years have seen a massive breakdown in communications, cooperation, and trust between Suffolk County government and the 200,000 immigrants who live and work here. We believe that good communications practices should be put in place as soon as possible. Below we list important action steps that will go a long way towards restoring broken relations and developing mutual respect and understanding.
Immediately Appoint a Community Liaison- A liaison to the immigrant community should be appointed immediately to provide a clear signal that immigrant voices will be a part of your administration. The liaison should be a cabinet-level official who is widely known and trusted by the immigrant community and has ready access to the County Executive. Both Mayor Bloomberg and County Executive Suozzi appointed immigrant liaisons in the first year of their tenures. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2004-07- 15/news/18274462_1_mayoral-race-mayor-bloomberg-fernando-ferrer
The liaison will gather input from immigrant leaders, meet quarterly with the board of directors of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, seek advice from immigrant representatives in County appointments, and inform immigrant representatives of new County initiatives that impact the immigrant community. The liaison should also be available to immigrant leaders when emergencies develop.
Regular Meetings with Immigrant Advocates—The County Executive should meet at least twice yearly with the Long Island Immigrant Alliance. The meetings should allow a free exchange of information and feedback on County policies.
Develop Immigrant Friendly Agency Plans—When Tom Suozzi first came into office, he organized a meeting for the leadership of all county departments and agencies at which they were instructed on his new policy towards immigrants. Each agency was then tasked with preparing a plan to both make the agency more immigrant-friendly immediately and create an on-going path for immigrant input into agency planning and evaluation.A similar meeting and mandate should be organized in Suffolk.
Promote Fair Access and Affordable Housing
From an historical perspective, the issue of Housing on Long Island reveals how the interplay of government policies and private practices sustain the appearance of affluence despite the reality of inequity. The inequity is embedded in the structure of Long Island and thus in the persistence of a housing crisis. Government-sanctioned discrimination coupled with the biased practices of realtors, predatory lenders, and individual landlords and developers have created and sustain a Long Island that is hyper-segregated.
Zoning ordinances are often justified as creating and maintaining economically and socially viable communities. In reality, they serve as tools for perpetuating ethnic and racial segregation. Zoning regulations affect the price of land and increase the cost of houses built on that land,. Housing becomes too costly as reasonably priced housing becomes extremely limited. Even when they can afford to live in more affluent areas, discriminatory housing code enforcement, hostilities by neighbors, and steering practices by realtors result in people of color residing in "at risk" and "weed and seed" neighborhoods. These stigmatized neighborhoods are excluded from the educational and employment opportunities found in more affluent and predominately White areas.
While the affordable housing crisis and residential segregation seem intractable, two remedial steps Suffolk County can be taken immediately. The first step is to amend the Suffolk Housing Law of 2006* to strengthen enforcement by including a private attorney general provision that grants standing to civil rights organizations that expend resources in uncovering housing discrimination and in their endeavors to remediate the problem. The second step is to accept complaints alleging that "…zoning laws, ordinances, regulation or rule duly enacted by a municipal corporation is or will be…n unlawful discriminatory practice by virtue of or as evidenced by its disparate impact on persons having a protected status."**
*Suffolk County Anti-discrimination Housing Local Law No. 51 -2006
**Nassau County Anti-discrimination Housing Local Law No. 9 – 2006
Another means to promote inclusivity and foster integration would be to amend the Suffolk County Human Rights Law to prohibit "Source of Income" discrimination. Nassau County’s Legislature unanimously passed such legislation in 2000 along with the ban on sexual orientation discrimination. The legislation defines source of Income as "any lawful source of income, including federal, state, local, non-profit, assistance or subsidy program" (Section 219.2 of Nassau County’s Local Law Human Rights Law passed [No. 9-2006 effective Jan. 2007).
Such a measure would comply with HUD’s guidance to County of Westchester to prohibit such discrimination as patterns of discrimination and lack of integration in the County are under continued challenge. The Federal government and Fair Housing Act require entities receiving federal financial assistance to ‘Affirmatively Further Fair Housing’. Recipients of such funds must examine impediments to Fair Housing choice and develop plans to remove obstacles. Locally, with Suffolk’s aging population and increased incidence of people with disabilities, many rely on social security income, SSI and SSD for subsistence. In our high cost area, working people as well as those with disabilities unable to be employed, [people of all races/ethnicities] must rely on Federal rent subsidy assistance through the Housing Choice Voucher Program [Section 8]. An increasing number are seeking support of Public Assistance as there is a dearth of lawful, affordable, decent housing. Predatory lending practices that are well documented to have targeted areas in Suffolk, highly segregated by race and national origin have resulted in increasing poverty and homelessness and abusive scams. Through your leadership, passage of source of income legislation would help to curtail this veiled form of discrimination that disproportionately impacts single parent working families, women, racial and ethnic minorities, seniors and people with disabilities struggling to secure and maintain decent housing.
As County Executive, your administration could incentivize desegregation, and increase development of truly affordable housing. Elimination of discriminatory, exclusionary residency preferences by the Town of Smithtown to be unlawful practices as well as the failure to affirmatively advertise housing opportunities in the Town of Smithtown (also part of the lawsuit brought by the Fair Housing Justice Center), Town of Oyster Bay, Town of Huntington (pending and past litigation). Furthermore, while economically beset, the County has a unique opportunity to utilize its resources (foreclosed properties reclaimed by tax liens)to promote affordable housing opportunity and integration through the Long Island Federation of Community Landtrusts as well as through the Long Island Housing Partnership.
Lastly, the Suffolk County Workforce Housing Endorsement Process and Guidelines should be amended to include a stipulation precluding developers found to have violated Suffolk County Housing Law 51- 2006 from receiving any grants, loans, subsidies (or permits and licenses, if applicable) from the Suffolk County Workforce Housing Commission until such time as corrective action has been applied and the grievant made whole.
Regulate the Use of Tasers--More than a dozen New Yorkers have died as a result of Taser shocks by law enforcement, some in police custody and others with mental illness whose family turned to law enforcement for help. Since February 2004, news reports have documented five of these deaths Suffolk County alone. Scores more in Suffolk and across the state have been hurt or humiliated when officers, lacking consistent guidelines and thorough training, deployed Tasers inappropriately.
A November 2009 Newsday article reported that Suffolk County police officers use Tasers with an alarming frequency.1 As reported, Suffolk police have 669 Tasers in use, and "supervisors hope to arm most patrol cops with one." The article reported that Taser usage in Suffolk has been steadily increasing over the past several years: in 2006, Tasers were used 44 times; they were used 53 times in 2007; 65 times in 2008 and 146 times by November 2009. Compare this to Nassau police, which used Tasers six times in 2006, seven times in 2007, eight times in 2008 and five times by November 2009.
1 Bart Jones, "Taser approaches in Nassau, Suffolk sharply split," Newsday 17 Nov. 2009. Available at http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/taser-approaches-in-nassau-suffolk-sharply-split-1.1592813.
2 New York Civil Liberties Union, "Taking Tasers Seriously: The Need for Better Regulation of Stun Guns in New York," October 2011. Available at http://www.nyclu.org/publications/report-taking-tasers-seriously-need-better-regulation-of-stun-guns-new-york-2011.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) recently issued a report called Taking Tasers Seriously: The Need for Better Regulation of Stun Guns in New York.2 In it, the NYCLU has outlined several recommendations that local law enforcement agencies, including the Suffolk County Police Department, should enact in order to better ensure safe handling of Tasers.
In short, the Suffolk County Police Department must:
Reform use-of-force policies and Taser training programs to come into compliance with recommendations of national law enforcement experts such as the guidelines created by the United States Department of Justice and the Police Executive Research Forum.
Provide thorough training for officers on patrol, including the circumstances in which Tasers may be used, restrictions on areas of the body on which Tasers may be used, and strict limitations on the number of times a Taser may be used on an individual.
Require accurate, complete reporting and robust monitoring of Taser use by police officers. Such reporting should be made available to the elected officials responsible for oversight of law enforcement agencies and to the residents whose taxes support them.
Refuse to Participate in "Secure Communities"--Secure Communities, or S-Comm, is a Federal immigration enforcement program that requires local law enforcement agencies to check the fingerprint data of all arrestees against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) database. If there is a match (whether correct or not), that individual will likely be subject to immigration detention, potentially hundreds of miles from home.
ICE maintains that the program targets dangerous criminals, but according to ICE data, the vast majority of people deported under the program had no criminal records or had been arrested for low-level offenses, like traffic violations.
In June 2011, Governor Andrew Cuomo, along with the governors of Illinois and Massachusetts, suspended New York State's participation in S-Comm. Gov. Cuomo recognized that rather than deporting high-level offenders, the program has the opposite effect of "compromising public safety by deterring witnesses to crime and others from working with law enforcement."
However, the jurisdictions which were activated, including Suffolk County, remain activated. Suffolk must stop enforcing Secure Communities as soon as possible, as it leads to unsafe communities, invites racial profiling, and presents an unfair burden for taxpayers.
S-Comm leads to unsafe communities. When local police enforce federal immigration law, they are diverted from pursuing violent crimes and lose community trust. Immigrant communities, including legal residents, are shying away from cooperating with law enforcement for the fear of being detained or deported. As a result, crimes go unreported and witnesses refuse to come forward.
S-Comm invites racial profiling. Law enforcement agents may also target people who look or sound "foreign" for minor offenses, like traffic stops, as a pretext to check immigration status. Such racial profiling is contrary to American ideals of fairness and equality under the law.
S-Comm is an unfair burden on taxpayers.
Taxpayers will have to pay for the extra time arrestees spend in jail waiting for immigration checks, and Suffolk County will NOT be reimbursed by the federal government if it is sued for illegal S-Comm detentions.
The Suffolk County Police Department must stop enforcing Secure Communities if we are to expect a safer and more just Suffolk County for all residents.
Improve Jail Conditions--In the past six months, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip has received several pro se complaints from over 80 prisoners, formerly or currently incarcerated in Riverhead or Yaphank. The prisoners complain of unsanitary and unhealthy conditions in the jails, including but not limited to:
Rusty drinking water in cells
Fungus, rust, mold and mildew covering showers and floors
Toilets, when flushed, send waste from one cell to another or do not work altogether
Rats and spiders in the jails
Air ventilation blowing cold air, dust and asbestos, causing skin rashes, chest and nasal colds, constant headaches and breathing problems
These conditions potentially present violations of constitutional rights for both pretrial detainees and convicted inmates.
In order to comply with constitutional rights and basic elements of human dignity, the Suffolk County Executive and the Sheriff’s office must investigate these allegations and correct any unsanitary conditions that may exist in the jails. This would also help alleviate the County from the burden of litigating potentially dozens of lawsuits.
Additionally, the County should provide for an unbiased civilian review board and oversight committee to handle complaints regarding jail conditions and mistreatment of inmates. In 2000, former Sheriff Patrick Mahoney unveiled a plan to form an oversight committee, however prisoners’ rights advocates complain that there is no such committee, and no accessible body to file complaints with. Suffolk County must create such a committee and include community advocates on it.
Rescind Wyandanch Banishment Injunction
The Suffolk County Executive and the Suffolk County Police Department have filed for an injunction in New York State Supreme Court against 37 individuals that they allege are gang members. If the injunction is approved, these individuals would be prohibited from congregating in public areas in Wyandanch, which is defined as "standing, sitting, walking, driving, gathering or appearing, anywhere in public view or any place accessible to the public."
The police have every right to engage in effective law enforcement tactics and arrest individuals if they are committing crimes, however, it is unconstitutional and unwise to arrest people simply for entering public places. The Constitution does not permit the government from banishing people from public streets, and it is fundamentally inconsistent with our justice system to assume that someone will commit a crime and punish them before any wrongdoing.
The County’s proposal is unconstitutional because it would permit the police to arrest individuals for entering public places when there is no evidence of any criminal activity – a clear violation of the constitutional right to freedom of movement and the most basic restrictions on governmental authority.
Punitive, restrictive measures such as this one do not address the root causes of gang violence, but instead target immigrants, people of color, and young black and Latino men in particular, even when they are not engaged in criminal activity.
Suffolk County should immediately withdraw its application for an injunction and utilize effective law enforcement tools and tactics that do not infringe upon the constitutional rights of residents.
Increase Language Access to All County-Funded Programs--Language access is a critical issue for the large number of Suffolk County residents who have limited or no ability to read, speak or write English. Particularly in times of crisis, it is extremely difficult for a person with limited English proficiency (LEP) to adequately express himself or herself to a doctor, a police officer, a social service examiner or other community service provider. As recipients of federal and state financial assistance, these agencies and departments have an affirmative duty to provide meaningful access to LEP individuals [1]. Meaningful access includes being prepared to respond to the LEP community’s needs without delay and to ensure that they are provided with screened, trained, and qualified interpreters and quality translation of vital written documents[2]. Those services provided to the LEP population should be culturally sensitive and should not be inferior to those provided to the rest of Suffolk County’s residents. Language assistance services, such as competent bilingual staff or telephonic interpretation services, must always be available to LEP individuals seeking services at any county agency or by a contracting agency of the country to ensure effective communication.
Consistent with the recommendations of the United States Department of Justice letter to County Executive Steve Levy on September 13th, 2011, community members have found that Suffolk Police Department policies are divorced from the practice of its policing. In order to ensure the health and safety of all community members, all county-funded programs must be brought into immediate compliance with Title VI requirements.
We call upon you to immediately take the following three steps. First, a senior level member of the County Executive’s staff shall be designated the county-wide Language Access Director. The Language Access Director shall provide oversight, central coordination and technical assistance to County agencies and their subcontractors to ensure that the provision of services by these Agencies meets acceptable standards of translation or interpretation in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Presidential Executive Order 13166..
Second, the Countywide Language Access Director shall meet with members of the Long Island Civic Engagement Table (of which LIIA is a member) and the Long Island Language Advocates Coalition to develop a plan addressing the needs of Suffolk’s LEP communities. These meetings will take place at least quarterly.
Third, when a person with limited English proficiency who is in need of emergency housing or heating assistance calls the Department of Social Services emergency hotline, he or she is often turned away and told to call back with an interpreter. LEP crime victims often encounter a similar response. The County Executive shall issue an immediate directive to any county program providing emergency services, such as police, fire or social services, prohibiting these agencies from delaying or denying services due to the individual’s inability to communicate in English.
Within three months, we call for four additional action steps. First, the County Executive shall pass a countywide Language Access Executive Order which would, among other things, require all county-funded entities to develop and implement comprehensive language access plans within their departments and to properly train their staff. This order would be similar to the Executive Order recently passed by Governor Cuomo but contain additional enforcement on the county level. We call for the full implementation of the County Executive Language Access Order.within one year of its issuance.
Second, when conducting public meetings, provide advance notice to the public in appropriate languages including notice of the availability of language assistance services to ensure meaningful participation.
Third, the County should provide fully trained interpreters at community meetings and, where possible the use of headsets for the LEP community at meetings of school boards, police precincts, town boards and legislative meetings and hearings.
Fourth, all County agencies and affiliated programs should post signs advising the public of the availability of interpreter services at all county agencies and affiliated programs..
[1] Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.,
[2] 28 C.F.R. § 42.405(d).
Fully implement LIIA’s Recommendations to the Suffolk County Legislature’s Hate Crimes Taskforce that are within the Purview of the County Executive—Three years have passed since the brutal hate murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero. Still the Suffolk County Legislature’s Hate Crimes Taskforce has yet to issue its recommendations. We cannot wait any longer for positive leadership. We call upon the Executive to implement our thoroughly researched recommendations that are within your purview. A summary of the recommendations are below.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE SUFFOLK COUNTY HATE CRIMES TASKFORCE
Section I: Recommendations for Elected Public Officials
Recommendation #1: Refrain from Introducing Anti-Immigrant Legislation
Recommendation #2: Pass a Welcoming Resolution with a Civility Statement
Recommendation #3: Create Official Hiring Sites
Recommendation #4: Create a Permanent Suffolk County Hate Crimes Taskforce
Recommendation #5: Form Partnerships with Immigrant Organizations and Houses of Worship
Recommendation #6: Create an Agency that Integrates Immigrants into County Affairs
Recommendation #7: Launch a Positive Relations Campaign
Section II: Recommendations for Law Enforcement Officers
Recommendation #8: Do Not Participate in Sweeping, Indiscriminate ICE Raids or 287(g) Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)
Recommendation #9: Demonstrate that Hate Crime Enforcement Is a Top Priority
Recommendation #10: Fully Implement and Promote New Protocol for Identifying and Responding to Hate Crimes
Recommendation #11: Adopt, Publicize, and Strictly Enforce a Clear Confidentiality Policy
Recommendation #12: Ensure Cross-Cultural Competence in Law Enforcement
Recommendation #13: Establish Valid Measures of Hate Crimes and Hate Incidents
Recommendation #14: Publish Hate Statistics on a Monthly Basis LIIA 143 Schleigel Blvd., Amityville, NY 11701 631 603-4266 Michele Lynch, Chair Pat Young, Vice-Chair, Greg Maney, Secretary, Isabel Sepulveda, Treasurer
Recommendation #15: Distribute Hate Crimes Pamphlet to All County Personnel
Recommendation #16: Create a Mandated Reporter System
Recommendation #17: Educate the Public on Hate Crimes and Document Efforts
Recommendation #18: Recognize Officers Who Fight Hate Effectively
Recommendation #19: Utilize Immigrant Advocacy Organizations for Monitoring, Reporting, and Responding to Hate Crimes
Recommendation #20: Take Steps to Protect the Rights of Immigrant Women
Recommendations for Educators
Recommendation #21: Create a County-Wide Conflict Resolution Curriculum
Recommendation #22: Sponsor "Crossing Great Divides" and other Events that Serve as Rituals of Inclusion
Accountability Mechanisms
Recommendation #23: Goals, Timelines, and Ongoing Evaluation
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