Rockland Public Nuisance Settles For $10K

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County officials came up with an innovative way to deal with a public nuisance. The Nyack Motor Lodge has paid $10,000 to the Center for Safety and Change.

District Attorney Tom Zugibe and County Attorney Tom Humbach used Rockland’s Public Nuisance Law to go after the motel owners for allowing illegal activity, including prostitution and drug dealing, on their property.

Humbach has successfully applied this law on several occasions since 2015, shutting down four massage parlors that acted as fronts for prostitution and obtaining judgments for fines against the operators that exceeded $800,000.

“Owners of the hotel agreed to give this $10,000 to the Center for Safety and Change instead of paying a civil penalty,” said County Executive Ed Day in an announcement. “What better way to respond to the exploitation of women than to further empower an organization that serves victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.”

Humbach reminded residents that they are the first line of defense against these crimes taking place, “if people out there know that these kinds of crimes that we can do something about under this program, prostitution, drug dealing and gambling are happening consistently at a building or facility let us know. If we don’t know that it’s out there we can’t go out and get them.”

“We went after the people that were facilitating the crime. We weren’t accusing the owners of participating in it or committing any of the crimes themselves but of facilitating the crime all because they wanted to increase their profit,” said Zugibe. “We decided to hit them in the pocketbook to try and make a difference and that process worked.”

“This is another example of our commitment to community collaboration with the District Attorney and County Attorney Offices,” said Elizabeth Santiago, Executive Director of Center for Safety & Change, located in New City. “In 2016, we helped 56 victims of human trafficking, half under the age of 18. In 2017, the number of victims we served nearly doubled to 97, more than half under the age of 18. This will allow us to strengthen our programs and services that support victims of rape, abuse, human trafficking and all crimes in Rockland County.”

“This is an excellent outcome of this case. We stopped illegal activity at a motel and helped a not-for-profit continue to do its good work,” concluded Day.

About the Center for Safety & Change

The Center for Safety & Change is a nonprofit organization that serves victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and all crimes in Rockland County. Established in 1979 as an emergency residential shelter with a 24-hour hotline, it has grown into an agency that offers a vast array of comprehensive services to victims and survivors and their families. These services include advocacy; support and empowerment groups; therapy and counseling; legal services; children’s services; supportive accompaniment to hospitals, police and courts; sexual trauma services and special victim’s advocacy with the Rockland County District Attorney’s office, as well as education programs such as the Center’s Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program. Center for Safety & Change holds a four-star rating, the highest possible rating, from Charity Navigator, the largest and most-utilized charity evaluator in the country. For more information, call 845-634-3391 or visit www.centerforsafetyandchange.org.

PHOTO: District Attorney Tom Zugibe, County Executive Ed Day, Center for Safety and Change Executive Director Elizabeth Santiago, CSC Deputy Executive Director Amy Siniscalchi and County Attorney Tom Humbach pose with the $10,000 donation check. / Rockland County Executive's Office

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