Murphy Wants To Fence In Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls

MOUNT PLEASANT, NY — State Sen. Terrence Murphy is calling for a fence to enclose the entire campus of Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, which houses residential treatment facilities and a school for teens. Murphy called on the state Office of Community and Family Services last week to require the construction of a secure perimeter. He wants it in addition to the corrective action plan to prevent incidents by residents who have gone off-campus without leave.

He said he has the ability to require such action by legislation but is would rather work with the department without the need for statutory relief at this time.

The agency that runs three residential facilities on the Hawthorne campus said the possibility has already been discussed. "The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services and the Office of Children and Family Services have already discussed the possibility of constructing a perimeter fence around our facility in Hawthorne. We look forward to further discussions with OCFS and Sen. Murphy on this matter."

SEE: AWOL At Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls: Prevention Plan Required

Murphy said if the facilities can't stop off-campus incidents, he will try to get them closed down.

"Once again, I will state that if these corrective action plans are not properly and fully implemented these facilities should be closed," he said in a press release. "As Special Act Schools, they are created by legislation from Albany lawmakers. If necessary, we will use whatever means to amend or repeal the law if the community's security concerns are not promptly addressed and rectified."

Mount Pleasant Councilwoman Laurie Smalley wants to proceed with caution.

"We need to take a step back and put together a tough but fair plan. We have to work together with Senator Murphy, Supervisor Fulgenzi, Chief Oliva and the members of the Town Council," she said. "My first responsibility is to the safety of our residents, but we can't have a knee-jerk reaction to the incidents that have been going on. Moving forward, we have to develop a plan that will help the residents, faculty and the students."

"Last year at this time, in a response to several community concerns regarding the JCCA Pleasantville Cottage School, I felt obligated to demand a halt of patient intake and the implementation of a corrective action plan which if unsuccessful would have resulted in closure of that facility," Murphy. "Working with OCFS all of our demands were met and we continue our work on making that facility more secure for both the residents and neighbors. Now, we are faced with a similar situation at the JCFS Hawthorne Cedar Knolls School. I have made a similar request to OCFS that was promptly addressed last week. Now that patient intake has been halted, and a initial corrective action plan put forth, I feel it can be augmented to better address the community's concerns by requiring the construction of a secure perimeter fence to control access to and from the facility."

The press release included statements from other local officials:

Mt. Pleasant Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said, "Thanks to Senator Murphy, both the administration of JCCA Pleasantville Cottage School and OCFS were brought to the table to address the concerns surrounding that facility. We now find ourselves in a similar situation with JCFS Hawthorne Cedar Knolls. As I expressed to the agencies when I met with them in Albany, if corrective actions are not taken immediately I am in favor of moving toward closing the facility. Working with Senator Murphy, we hope for a similarly positive outcome and thank him for his leadership on these critical issues."

County Legislator Margaret Cunzio said, "I have lived next to one of the facilities for the past 19 years. There have been incidents at both of these facilities since we have lived there. The concerns of the citizens have previously fallen on deaf ears. I believe that there has been more movement in the past year than ever before. I further believe that we are very fortunate to have people working together to try to make our community safe."