KLEIN PASSES BILL BANNING VIOLENT SEX OFFENDERS FROM FAMILY SHELTERS

Five violent offenders still remain in shelters near families, young children
throughout New York City

ALBANY, NY - State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) passed legislation today (S.851) that would ban violent sex offenders from temporary emergency housing and family homeless shelters.

The bill, which would require that Level 2 and 3 sex offenders be placed in adult-only housing, passed the Senate unanimously (62-0), and would bring the shelter system up to speed with current public housing law, where sex offenders are already prohibited from residing.

“The city’s most vulnerable - children and young families seeking shelter - shouldn’t have to worry that they are at risk. While these families try to get back on their feet, the City is housing known violent offenders who have been convicted of preying on children – some as young as five and seven-years-old – right next door. If the city’s Department of Homeless Services continues to refuse to protect those most in need, then we will do so through state law. This legislation is necessary to ensure that our homeless families are not being preyed upon by sex offenders allowed to reside with them,” said Senator Klein.

After the release of a disturbing report last year, “Uncovering Sex Offenders in the New York City Family Shelter System,” Senator Klein revealed that nearly a dozen violent Level 2 and 3 offenders were residing in family shelters across the city. The report revealed that each offender had been hiding in plain sight - the offender’s publicly listed address was a family shelter. In one case, after a community in The Bronx railed against the residence of a sex offender in their family shelter, the offender was moved to another family shelter in Queens.

In February of 2015, the NYC Department of Homeless Services rushed to make a public announcement that the agency would move these dangerous individuals from housing where children reside. Despite this commitment, Senator Klein’s office recently learned that five of the offenders brought to light by his report continue to reside in the same family shelter they lived in last year, including the pedophile convicted of assaulting two young children.

Level 2 and 3 Offenders Still Residing in Family Homeless Shelters

Despite the fact that this vital legislation passed the Senate in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Assembly has failed to pass it any year.