Chapter Presses Nassau County to Improve Jail Oversight

The Nassau County Chapter and our coalition partners rallied in front of the Nassau County Legislative Building on Monday to urge the County to restore a legally required oversight committee at the county jail.

Five inmates have died at the Nassau Jail since Jan, 2010 and the number of inmates complaining about inadequate medical and mental health care has skyrocketed. A charter-mandated oversight committee, called the Board of Visitors, has never formally operated, though it is badly needed.

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Following the DREAM: Practical Suggestions for Working with Immigrant Students

On October 27more than 30 educators from across Long Island packed the Christ Church of Oyster Bay to discuss immigrants’ rights in the classroom.

Teachers, administrators and social workers shared their concerns and suggestions about working with immigrant students. The educators received guidance on how to teach students about immigrants’ rights and how to encourage tolerance toward immigrants.

Liz Marcuci and Rachel Baskin from the American Immigration Lawyers Association gave a rundown on basic immigration law and the difficulty of immigrating to the United States. Nassau Chapter Director Samantha Fredrickson addressed the Dignity Act, a new anti-bullying law, and the constitutional rights of immigrants. Maria Contreras, an immigrants’ rights advocate, guided teachers in how to work with immigrant students during the transition from high school to college.

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Advocates Urge Nassau Legislature to Restore Jail Oversight Committee

October 17, 2011 -- A coalition of inmate advocates and civil rights groups today urged the Nassau County Legislature to restore a long-dormant oversight committee to address inadequate medical and mental health services at the Nassau County Correctional Center. The committee, the Board of Visitors, is mandated by the County Charter, but apparently it has never fully operated since being established in 1990. The charter authorizes the seven-member committee to respond to inmate grievances and advise the sheriff on programs that would improve the care and treatment of people housed at the jail.

“The county is not meeting its constitutional obligation to ensure safe and humane conditions at the jail,” said Samantha Fredrickson, director of the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Nassau County Chapter. “The Board of Visitors would provide badly needed oversight and help ensure that people housed at the jail are receiving the health care they need.”

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Advocating for LGBT Immigrants

Keynote speaker Victoria Neilson.

On Thursday, October 6, 2011, the Nassau and Suffolk County chapters co-sponsored The Other Side of the Rainbow, a public education event geared toward advocating for the rights of LGBT immigrants. The workshop took place at Nassau Community College and was the latest event in our year-long immigrants’ rights campaign which is being funded by a grant from the Hagedorn Foundation.

At the event, advocates learned about the implications of immigration laws that tear apart bi-national same-sex couples and received guidance on how to incorporate immigrants’ rights work into their LGBT advocacy.

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Celebrating 50 Years of Landmark Victories

NYCLU Nassau Chapter founders Don Shaffer and Don Parker.

The Nassau County Chapter’s 50th Anniversary Gala was a smashing success!

More than 100 members and supporters attended the Gala, held Sunday, Sept. 25 at the Jolly Fisherman Restaurant in Roslyn.

To celebrate 50 years of defending civil liberties, the chapter honored some of our earliest champions of liberty.

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Thanks to NYCLU, Hempstead Fire Dept. Opens Doors to Non-Citizen Volunteers

September 12, 2011 — Following New York Civil Liberties Union advocacy, the Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department has amended its admission requirements to allow non-citizens to serve as volunteer firefighters. The admissions policy, which previously required that only U.S. citizens could be considered to serve as volunteers, was recently revised by the Fire Department’s governing council.

In March, the NYCLU wrote to the Fire Department on behalf of Oscar Parraga, a legal resident of Hempstead and an Ecuadorian immigrant with extensive firefighting experience in his native country. Parraga was told that he was not eligible to serve as a volunteer firefighter because of his citizenship status.

“We are gratified that the Fire Department has recognized that discriminatory citizenship requirements pointlessly exclude highly qualified and motivated people from service,” said Samantha Fredrickson, chapter director of the NYCLU’s Nassau County Chapter. “Hempstead and other communities with large immigrant populations should encourage all residents to participate in civic life.”

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Civil Liberties: Ten Years After 9/11

The Nassau County and Suffolk County chapters participated in a well-attended event on Thursday, Sept. 8 at Touro Law School that honored those who died on 9/11 and assessed the impact of the terrorist attacks on civil liberties over the past decade.

Sharing stories were six speakers, including Suffolk Chapter Director Amol Sinha; Habeeb Ahmed of the Islamic Center of Long Island; Bob Nuxoll of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Long Island Chapter; Arshad Majid, civil rights attorney and adjunct professor at Touro Law; and Nancy Dwyer of Pax Christi Long Island.

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NYCLU Study Examines Rise of Anti-Mosque Activities in New York State

August 24, 2011 — The New York Civil Liberties Union today released a briefing paper examining the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment and anti-mosque activities throughout New York State.

The briefing paper, Religious Freedom Under Attack: the Rise of Anti-Mosque Activities in New York State, explores the legal and cultural background against which mosque controversies have unfolded across the state over the past year. It calls on public officials to promote intercultural understanding of Muslim New Yorkers while respecting the First Amendment rights of those who oppose mosque projects.

The paper provides nine examples of incidents across the state in which Muslim communities were targeted for their beliefs and practices by their neighbors and/or local governments. It chronicles the fierce opposition to the proposed Park51 Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan, and details heated opposition to mosques and proposed mosque projects in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn; Midland beach, Staten Island; and three communities in Long Island. It also covers three incidents in upstate New York in which mosques were subjected to harassment and attacks.

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New Coalition Takes on Congressman King

NYCLU supporter and member Dr. Joe Volker.

The Nassau County and Suffolk County chapters on Saturday, May 21 joined their partners in the Long Island Neighbors for American Values coalition to rally against Rep. Peter King's anti-Muslim hearings.

About 60 supporters rallied in front of King's Massapequa Park office for religious freedom and against singling out Muslims for suspicion. They carried signs that read: "Let Freedom Ring, Stop the Hearings King!" and "Stop the Hearings, Stop the Hate."

In March, King made headlines when he called hearings in the House of Representatives on the so-called "radicalization" of the Muslim American community.

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Nassau County Gets it Rally On

March for Immigrants’ Rights in Hempstead, May 1, 2011.

It was a week of rallying!

Nassau Chapter members and volunteers spent Sunday, May 1 at the March for Immigrants’ Rights in Hempstead. The march was organized by The Workplace Project and co-sponsored by the NYCLU and many other immigrants’ rights organizations.

On Thursday, May 5, the Nassau Chapter participated in a Rally for Social Justice at Nassau Community College, a rally for immigrants’ rights and LGBT equality.

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Federal Appeals Court Affirms Injunction Against Unconstitutional Long Island Ordinance Targeting Day Laborers

April 26, 2011 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today upheld a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of an ordinance in Oyster Bay, Long Island that violates day laborers’ core constitutional right to free speech. As a result of the ruling, day laborers whose livelihoods were threatened because of the ordinance can continue to exercise their First Amendment rights and look for work without being ticketed or fined.

“This ruling is a great victory for the First Amendment and for the day laborers who can continue to work and support their families,” said Corey Stoughton, senior staff attorney for the New York Civil Liberties Union who argued the case before the Second Circuit. “Standing on the sidewalk to let people know that you are available for work is not a crime. The Constitution protects all people in this country, regardless of their background.”

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Public Forum Kicks Off Immigrants' Rights Campaign

Erin Mansfield, NYCLU community organizer for Long Island (middle), with Activist Task Force members April Winecke and Omar Henriquez.

March 31, 2011 -- On Monday night in Manhasset, the Nassau and Suffolk County chapters of the NYCLU kicked off a Long-Island-wide immigrants' rights campaign with a public forum that encouraged the community to break myths about immigrants. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock's Social Justice Committee co-sponsored the event.

From Nassau to the North Fork: Immigrants' Rights on 21st Century Long Island was led by the co-chapter Immigrants' Rights Activist Task Force, a group of volunteers of all ages that creates curriculum and events to engage the public in advocacy and educate the community about the constitutional rights of immigrants.

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Assessing the Political Landscape for Civil Liberties

The Nassau Chapter held its Annual Winter Meeting on March 3, 2011 at Hofstra Law School. The program, titled "Civil Liberties After the Fall: A discussion about the state of civil liberties and the landscape of state and federal politics after the midterm elections," featured NYCLU Legislative Director Robert Perry and Hofstra University Political Science Professor Rebecca Curry. Nassau County Chapter President Roy Klein moderated.

Nassau Chapter President Roy Klein, NYCLU Legislative Director Robert Perry, Chapter Director Samantha Fredrickson, NYCLU Board President Jonathan Horn and Hofstra Professor Rebecca Curry.

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