Suffolk unveils plan to bar gang members in 'safety zone'

In a first-of-its-kind maneuver in Long Island targeting violent gangs, Suffolk County officials will ask a judge to bar gang members from congregating in a designated "safety zone" in Wyandanch and West Babylon.

A preliminary draft of the request to be presented to a civil Supreme Court justice in the coming months will ask that identified gang members be barred from "standing, sitting, walking, driving, gathering and appearing" with other gang members in the zone. It also requests they be ordered not to intimidate anyone, including victims or witnesses to crime or anyone who assists police, or try to recruit new members.

Still, critics say the plan - announced yesterday by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy - will be difficult to enforce. Others question whether it will withstand legal challenges and some say it could lead to potential racial profiling.

A similar effort to get court injunctions against gang members and prostitutes in New York City a decade ago was overturned after a court challenge.

"We are going to use every tool in our arsenal" to stop gang members from menacing residents, Levy said.

Drawing from about 50 possible targets, the initial list will be limited to as few as a dozen "of the most active and most violent" members of the Wyandanch Bloods and a subgroup known as the Braveheart Bloods, said Deputy Insp. Gerard Gigante of Suffolk police's Gang Suppression Unit.

"This isn't about race or age or anything but being a violent gang member," he said, adding that most of the likely group have "been shot or have been involved in shootings," among other violent crimes. All have criminal records.

Among critics of the plan were Sergio Argueta of Strong Youth Inc., a Hempstead group that works with troubled youth and gangs. "Profiling is a very serious issue. How do you identify a gang member?" he said.

But Jim Avery, a community liaison with the police in Wyandanch, said he is worried less about profiling and more about residents being intimidated in their own neighborhoods. "I'm worried about the senior citizen who can't go to the store," he said.

Spurred by recent killing

Just over a week ago, three teenagers were shot - one fatally - in separate shootings in a Wyandanch neighborhood that is covered by the proposed two-square-mile "safety zone."

The so-called "safety zone" includes three district schools as well as a main commercial strip along Straight Path. The area has seen a rise in gang-related violence this year. Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said, if successful, the initiative could be expanded to Huntington Station, Brentwood and other areas with entrenched gangs.

Suffolk police Sgt. Christopher Love said the county district attorney's office was not consulted because "moving this forward is strictly a civil matter." But he acknowledged that the initiative would have implications for the DA by triggering "hybrid" civil and criminal cases.

Love, a department attorney who prepared the draft, said the plan was designed to discourage gang intimidation and overall behavior rather than punish individual members. Gang members could not be criminally charged with violating the court order, although a civil judge could fine or jail them.

"If [gang members] decide to congregate behind closed doors, that's something we can't reach," he said. "But while that's not good, it's not creating the climate of fear that's causing such a problem in this community."

Amol Sinha, director of the Suffolk County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said he would monitor the progress of the plan and determine at a later time if it would be challenged.

Progress will be watched

But Sinha said such injunctions have obvious constitutional implications. "Being a member of something is not in itself illegal, and anyone has the right to freedom of association under the First Amendment," he said.

The plan drew largely positive response from residents Monday. "This community is now under siege," said Anne Stewart, who works for the county Weed & Seed program and attended the announcement. "Right now, there are certain stores you cannot go into. They have literally taken over the front of those stores."

A similar attempt by New York City officials to bar identified prostitutes and gang members from Queens Plaza in 2000 did not stand up in court. But Suffolk officials say their plan is based on anti-gang initiatives in California, where similar initiatives in San Diego and San Jose have survived legal challenges by civil liberties advocates.

In Suffolk, police identify gang members with a protocol developed by the federal Department of Justice, Gigante said. It typically involved a person meeting several criteria, including association with other members, gang tattoos and attendance at gang functions.

Levy said gang members would receive "full due process in court."

HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSED INITIATIVE

Making case:

Arguing gang members in Wyandanch present a public nuisance, a county attorney will ask a Supreme Court judge to issue injunctions barring them from congregating in public in a designated 2-square-mile "safety zone," engaging in intimidating behavior, or recruiting.

The inquiry:

Gang members would be notified of the hearing but do not need to be present.

The decision:

If the judge orders the injunctions, the gang members would be served with the court orders.

Appeals policy:

Gang members would be given the option to have a hearing to argue to be removed from the list.

The penalties:

Anyone found violating the order would be detained and presented in a civil court; a judge would have the option of ordering a fine of up to $1000 or a jail term of up to 3 months.