8 JANUARY 31, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
R’wood advocate declares victory after Child Victims Act passage
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
Nothing was going to stop Connie
Altamirano from being in Albany
to see the Child Victim Act
fi nally pass the state legislature aft er
years of advocating for the legislation.
The 45-year-old Ridgewood activist,
a single mother of two who suff ers
with PTSD, collected bottles in her
neighborhood to pay the $85 Amtrak
fare to the state capital.
“It was an emotional and hard day,”
Altamirano said. “It was the happiest
moment of my life and at the same time
it was the saddest moment of my life. It
was bittersweet, that’s for sure.”
She said she would never forget being
on the fl oor of the upper chamber
as the bill passed the Senate 63-0, and
Altamirano received a warm embrace
from Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz,
a fellow victim of child sex abuse.
“I thought at that moment that I stand
for all victims and I want justice for all,
I declare victory,” she said.
The passage of the Child Victims Act
Monday ended a decade-long battle between
the survivors of child sex abuse
and those that fought to block it including
the state Catholic Conference which had
lobbied against the legislation for years
before dropping its opposition last week.
The legislation will raise the criminal
statute of limitations for child sex
abuse crimes by fi ve years and raise
the civil statute of limitations for causes
of action brought by someone seeking
redress for physical, psychological
or other injury caused by child sexual
abuse to age 55. Additionally, the legislation
will create a one-year window,
starting six months from the eff ective
date of the bill, for past victims of
child sexual abuse to initiate lawsuits
against their abusers and the
public and private institutions that
let the abuse happen, The bill will
eliminate onerous “notice of claim”
requirements that create hurdles
for victims to sue public institutions
that negligently allowed the abuse
to occur, during the revival window
and going forward.
“Protecting the most vulnerable
in our society is the moral test of
leadership,” state Senator Michael
Gianaris, the Senate Deputy Leader,
said. “By passing the Child Victims
Act, the New York Senate is
standing up for people who have
been denied a chance for justice.”
The Child Victims Act will extend
the criminal statute of limitations
for child sexual abuse off enses by fi ve
years, giving survivors until age 28 to
press charges for felonies and age 25
for misdemeanors, extend the statute of
limitations in civil actions arising from
child sexual abuse, which currently
range from one to fi ve years at most, to
allow survivors to bring suits until they
reach age 55, create a one-year window
during which presently time-barred
civil claims could be received, permit
claims against both public and private
institutions by explicitly eliminating
the notice of claim requirement for
bringing suits against public institutions
both prospectively and during the
revival window and provide training
for judges handling cases involving the
sexual abuse of children.
“Childhood sexual abuse is an indescribably
traumatizing experience
that can take a lifetime to come to terms
with,” Assemblywoman Stacey Pheff er
Amato said. “In many cases, it can take
many years for a survivor to be ready
to confront their abuser. While we
cannot erased what happened, we
can give power to victims and help
them move forward with their lives
without letting the perpetrators of this
unthinkable crimes off the hook.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo has
vowed to sign the Child Victims Act
into law.
“I’m declaring victory for today but
my job is not done,” Altamirano said. “I
owe it to all survivors to get rid of the
statute of limitations and to fi ght for
a Child Victims Fund because the majority
of the victims, 80 to 90 percent,
are victims that need our assistance.”
Photo courtesy of Connie Altamirano
Katz slams Census citizenship question at State of Boro
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
Borough President Melinda
Katz said she would opt out of
responding to the 2020 Census
question regarding the documented
status of residents and advised the
crowd at her Jan. 25 State of the Borough
address to follow suit in a speech
that covered not only immigration,
but also criminal justice reform.
With up to 68,000 children in
Queens live in mixed status households,
according to Katz, policies
out of the White House administration
could impact residents
across the borough, citizen or not.
“For each person in each household
unaccounted for, that’s less federal
funding for our schools, our hospitals,
our infrastructure, even less
representation in Congress and the
state Legislature. An undercount
is something we can’t aff ord,” Katz
said during the address at LaGuardia
Community College in Long Island
City. “One way or the other, I plan to
fi ght this … and if the citizen question
appears on the survey, I will abstain.
I will refuse to answer the question.”
Katz has put in place the Queens
Complete Count Committee, which has
over 70 people signed on to go about the
borough and get real numbers on the population,
documented immigrant or not.
The 2020 federal census is still
under review by the House of Representatives
oversight committee and
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will
have to testify regarding his decision
to add the controversial question immigration
status.
Katz walked a fi ne line with some
Queens residents when she announced
that she supports the closing of Rikers
Island, on the grounds that the facility
is antiquated and reforms are needed,
but said neighborhood residents have
to be involved in the decisions regarding
the placement of community jails
to ensure a smooth transition.
A new justice system that is safer,
more humane and less costly is
something Katz advocated for on the
condition that communities have
their say, something residents have
vocalized the need for in the past year
since Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
an agreement had been struck with
the state in February 2018 to create
borough-based jails.
“The irony, however, of unveiling a
citywide plan for ‘modern community
based jails’ in the absence of community
input is not lost on the boroughs,
certainly not here in Queens,” Katz
said. “Any plan by the city – especially
the siting and design of any new jails –
must include meaningful community
engagement and input. I am deeply
disturbed by the lack of opportunity
thereof for the proposal to erect a
1.9-million-square-foot facility on 82nd
Avenue, and that’s from a supporter of
closing Rikers.”
With a projected timeline of a decade
for the closure of Rikers, Katz
said there is still time to include communities
and implement reforms that
reduce the jail population.
Katz said the continuation of warrant
forgiveness, which outgoing
District Attorney Richard Brown
has implemented, can prevent small
off enses from evolving into a life of
crime for individuals who cannot
aff ord lawyers fees and are facing
low-level off enses such as loitering.
As part of Katz’s “Know Your Rights”
week, generally intended for immigrants,
the borough president is now working
with convicted felons to seal their records
which could help pave the way to helping
them fi nd jobs and prevent recidivism.
Katz also highlighted the fact that
schools in Queens are at 106 capacity
borough-wide and schools get fewer
funds per student here than in any
other part of the city.
Although the School Construction
Authority is working to site new locations
for facilities, Katz said it will not
be enough if more funds are not added
to the $11,359 spent for very student
in Queens – a sharp contrast to the
$14,186 spent in the Bronx.
Photo: Mark Hallum/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz delivered her State of the
Borough address in Long Island
City on Jan. 25.
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