Island Park residents call for motel’s closure

Island Park resident Michelle Baratta held up a blue and red sign that read, “Close the Long Beach Motor Inn,” while others toted placards reading, “Sex Offenders & Criminals Out.” For Baratta and the other protesters gathered outside the Motor Inn on May 22, the effort to attract attention to their cause was working.

On a busy Saturday morning on Austin Boulevard, cars whizzed by the crowded sidewalk, some honking in support, others slowing down to see what the fuss was about. Tenants of the motel milled about near the lobby, not sure what to make of the demonstration — suburban mothers with baby carriages and strollers, and fathers in T-shirts and jeans, protesting what has become a sore spot in the community.

“I'm concerned for my children,” said Baratta, who had her two young kids with her. “This motel is in walking distance of the middle school, of a nursery school and of local parks. I worry about my kids all the time, mainly because of this place.”

Baratta was one of 60 or so residents who turned out for the rally, organized by the Island Park Civic Association. The motel, at 3915 Austin Blvd., is home, they claim, to sex offenders and other criminals — not far from the Lincoln Orens Middle School and a children's park, and 650 feet from the Little Village Nursery School on Broadway. For two years the civic association has been trying to move lawmakers to action and spur the motel's owner to address the issue.

“I think this protest is bringing a lot of attention to the issue and will get more people involved,” said association Vice President Laura Hassett. “I feel, for our first protest, that the turnout was great, and we intend to do it throughout the summer months. Our goal is to bring awareness and to get people to come out.”

The issue of sex offenders at the motel took on added urgency in January with the arrest of Alphonso Barnes, who was charged with raping and violently beating a woman in Long Beach. Barnes had been staying at the motel, and although he was not a registered sex offender, he had previously been arrested for manslaughter, rape, burglary and robbery.

Residents said that at one point last fall, three registered sex offenders were placed at the motel. It has become notorious not only for housing sex offenders, they said, but for incidents that have drawn police responses — drugs deals, assaults and other crimes that have drawn the ire of neighbors and local business owners.

Calls to the motel's owner and a manager were not returned.

“There's constantly different crimes being committed here,” said Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach), who attended the rally and has proposed converting the motel into senior housing. “We've looked into it, and our desire would be to convert it into much-needed senior housing. Unfortunately, the owner is not interested in selling. We've been working on this for a long time. We try to keep the numbers low and make sure sex offenders don't make their way here.”

According to civic association members, the motel functions in part as temporary government housing not only for sex offenders, but for displaced families and individuals. Many residents have said it is irresponsible of Nassau County to place sex offenders and other criminals in rooms next to families — at taxpayer expense.

Residents also claim that many of those housed by the government stay at the motel longer than the maximum 28 days, in rooms that are not properly equipped for extended stays, since they have no kitchens. Currently, six or seven families are temporary residents of the motel, according to the Nassau County Department of Social Services.

While the department is required by state law to provide temporary housing to homeless residents who request it — even sex offenders — it is up to offenders' parole officer to inform them which motels and hotels they can move into, at which point Social Services pays for the stay, Social Services Commissioner John Imhof explained. Imhof added that registered sex offenders are not allowed to live within 1,000 feet of a school, within 500 feet of a park or within 2,000 feet of a victim. According to Imhof, of the county's 500 registered sex offenders, about 15 are homeless and receive housing assistance.

And while they can legally stay at the motor inn, Imhof said that residents' voices have not fallen on deaf ears. “There are no more registered sex offenders staying there,” he said, explaining that since a community meeting organized by the civic association last October, at which state and county officials discussed the issue, the Nassau County Probation Department has made a concerted effort not to house sex offenders at the motor inn. “I think the citizens' voices were loud and clear and I think the other departments understood that,” Imhof said.

Residents acknowledged that they have not received sex offender alerts recently, but they explained that many sex offenders, such as Barnes, are not registered and that it is hard to keep track of them. They also said that the county places parolees with extensive criminal backgrounds in the motel —even sex offenders who are not obligated to register because they were convicted prior to the adoption of Megan's Law.

“The way the law works, it takes time to notify the community, so you don't know who's here,” said former Island Park Mayor Jackie Papatsos.

At one point in the demonstration, a pregnant woman who was staying at the motel walked over to engage the protesters. She said the county pays $90 per night for her stay at the motor inn, and that she is "stuck" there with nowhere to go. She wanted to know why they were protesting. After all, she said, not everyone staying at the motel is a criminal.

“We told her that we'd love to have more people like her — unfortunately, it's the other people staying here that are a problem,” one protester said.

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