Joye Brown: In fighting hate crime, Levy must lead the way

The encounter between Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and the family of Marcelo Lucero in church on Sunday was awkward, to say the least.

Levy had to know that both sides would be uncomfortable.

Because Levy also knows that he has been blamed for contributing to an atmosphere in Suffolk that his harshest critics contend led directly to the Ecuadorean immigrant's death.

Levy says that's unfair, and he's right. Seven teenagers - not Steve Levy - have been charged in Lucero's death.

But the killing happened at a time when Levy was being blasted for his views on illegal immigration. Some of his comments, before and after the killing, have inflamed tensions over the issue.

In some ways, that's stifled a conversation Long Island needs to have about its future, and its future workforce.

Latinos are here.

And they are not going anywhere.

While there are reports that some immigrants are leaving Long Island because there is less work, other immigrants are continuing to move here. They are changing the way the region looks.

That means that Long Islanders will have to find ways to live and work together. And it is essential that, in Suffolk, Levy lead the way.

As the county's top elected official, he also has the responsibility of healing wounds that persist after Lucero's death.

Part of that responsibility is taking the county's condolences to the family, even if it is a year late.

Levy said in an interview Monday that he has met Lucero's brother, Joselo, briefly once before and that he had tried to meet with the family earlier.

After Sunday's encounter, Joselo Lucero said he felt as if he had been ambushed by Levy because "there are people I don't want to talk to."

That's understandable, considering his brother's horrible death and the U.S. Justice Department's investigation into allegations of discriminatory policing in Suffolk.

Reflecting back on Lucero's killing, Levy said Monday, "I don't think anyone was anticipating there would be such a horrific murder, alleged by a group of teenagers who made it a sport to go out and hurt people because of the color of their skin. It was reprehensible."

Levy said that over the past year, the county has worked to build bridges with the Latino community. "We recognize that our work is not done," he said.

Still, Suffolk has started to change for the better: For one year, there were no screaming matches over immigration on the floor of the county legislature.

No introduction of laws aimed at Latinos.

In Suffolk County, Latinos are beginning - emphasis on the word beginning - to report some crimes against them to police.

And, Steve Levy, in speaking to a group of teenagers last week, used words that were as powerful as they were direct and unambiguous.

Stand up, he told high school students. "Stand up for justice."

But come next year, Suffolk will judge him more by his acts than his words.