By Doug Miller
The ordinance, which was written by minority coalition Councilman Tom Sofield, mirrors an existing law on the books in Nassau County that is unenforceable by Long Beach police. This bill would close that loophole, Sofield said.
The ordinance also differs from the county law in that it compels Long Beach police to inform the community of the presence of Level 2 and 3 sex offenders, whereas the county law only suggests it.
And perhaps the law's most radical departure from the county ordinance is its inclusion of schools bus stops - of which there are many - as restricted centers, making the possibility of finding an apartment within the city limits even more unlikely for a sex offender.
The ordinance has received tepid support from members of the Democratic council majority. Robert Tepper, an attorney and former prosecutor who is the council's vice president, said he doubted the loophole Sofield cited truly existed, and suggested that the ordinance carried a whiff of grandstanding. "Ninety-nine percent of the ordinance is already in effect," he said. "More is being made of this because it's become a political thing. But I'm all for being tough on sex offenders, and I'll be as tough on them as the law allows. You're talking to a guy who once put an offender in jail for two years because he failed to register."
But Sofield said that because the county law is an administrative statute and not a criminal one, it can not be enforced by local police. "I expect public support for this, because the purpose of the law is to protect our most precious resource, our children," he said. "I think the majority, if not all, of our community is in favor of protecting the community."
The version of the ordinance that is up for review may not be the one that is voted on, however. Council President Leonard Remo said that while he is in favor of the law as a whole, he is troubled by some of the restrictions. In an interview on Tuesday, Remo said that he was pleased that the county/city loophole would be eliminated, and that he supported the mandatory notification provisions of the bill.
But Remo said he wanted to take a hard look at including school bus stops, which are both ubiquitous and easily changed, and could create the possibility of the Board of Education one day gerrymandering sex offenders off a certain block.
"I think that's a little excessive," Remo said. "That's every corner on Walnut Street and Olive Street ... That essentially legislates them out of Long Beach. Do I have a problem with that? No, but I don't think it would withstand a legal challenge."
Tepper agreed. "The more restrictive you get, the more likely you are to violate its constitutionality," he said.
But Sofield responded that it was the Democrats who were looking to score points. "I'm extremely disappointed that Mr. Tepper would politicize such an important issue," he said.
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
