The Town of Colonie is considering a local law restricting registered sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of one another. Before the law is passed, though, the town will have a task force examine the proposal.
The Colonie Town Board voted Thursday, Feb. 12, to create the task force. The proposed law would not only restrict how far a registered sex offender can live from another, but also further restrict how far one can live from areas in which children gather.
According to the New York State Sex Offender Registry, there are about 370 registered sex offenders in Albany County. There are about 110 registered sex offenders in the Town of Colonie alone, according to Director of Town Operations Peter Gannon, many of whom reside in hotels in the western part of the town. Gannon also said there are smaller pockets where groups of registered sex offenders live throughout the town.
The western part of Colonie is also Albany County Legislator Christine Benedict’s , R, C, I-Colonie, district.
Benedict said she began working on the issue about two years ago when it began to come to light that a number of registered sex offenders lived in hotels in her district. Benedict said that realization led her to research how many sex offenders were living within proximity to families in her area.
She found five Central Avenue hotels were responsible for housing many of Colonie’s registered sex offenders.
[These] motels are deplorable and have changed the character of the neighborhood on the west end of town, Benedict said.
If Benedict’s research is correct, and the bill Colonie hopes to pass becomes law, the registered sex offenders residing in those hotels would be forced to move 1,500 feet from one another.
According to Colonie Town Supervisor Paula Mahan, the taskforce will include her and four other people: Benedict, Albany County Legislator Phil Steck, D-Colonie; and two members of the Colonie Town Board, who have yet to be determined. Originally, Albany County Legislator Tim Nichols, D-Latham, agreed to be a part of the taskforce, but has since decided not to take part.
Mahan said her administration began looking into the issue when she first took office in January 2008. She also said that creating the task force is just the beginning, and she does not know how soon a law restricting the distance registered sex offenders can live from one another could be passed.
Benedict said that other counties having created stricter restrictions on living arrangements for sex offenders, forcing them into towns with fewer restrictions, like Colonie. Benedict said that although some counties are operating with a 2,000-foot restriction, she is completely satisfied with the bill that has been drafted in Colonie that increases the county restriction of 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet.
`The local law that they introduced, I would be more than happy to support as is, without anything taken out. It is a good local law, and it would really protect our town and really would make the state and local government take a look at what is happening to our communities,` she said.
Mahan said the task force will be beneficial in making sure what becomes law is complete and accurate and will create a solution for the town. And that, she said, takes time.
`What we have in Colonie is an over-concentration of sex offenders,` sad Mahan. `It’s not something that you can just fix through one law. It’s bigger than that.`
The supervisor said, with help from the Colonie Police Department, she hopes the town can move toward a solution that offers a better quality of life for all residents in the town.
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