SPANO STARTS LOBBY CAMPAIGN FOR STATE HATE CRIMES LAW

"New York State is one of only nine states in the country that still does not have a hate crimes law and only one of two on the East Coast. The other is South Carolina, which still flies a Confederate flag over its capitol," said Spano. "When it comes to hate crimes, New York does not want to be associated with South Carolina. It is the year 2000 now and we must show Albany that the people will not stand for another year without this law."

Spano was addressing a group of 23 community leaders representing a wide range of groups from the American Jewish Committee to the Chinese American Organization who attended the frst meeting of a task force brought together by the County Executive to address hate crimes. The group's first order of business will be to lobby for a hate crimes law and then follow up with educational and outreach programs including a website to monitor and counteract hate propaganda on the Internet.

Spano and Westchester County have taken a leadership role in fighting intolerance and discrimination. Westchester is the only County in the state to require reporting of hate crimes and recently created a Human Rights Commission to give residents seeking redress to discrimination an alternative to the overburdened state commission. Spano recently returned from the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, the foremost center for tolerance training in the nation.

A team of five law enforcement officials from Westchester attended an intensive training seminar there in November at the County Executive's behest. The new Anti-Hate Crimes Citizens Task Force is an outgrowth of those two initiatives.

Mark Weitzman, director of the Task Force Against Hate for the Simon Wiesenthal Center and a member of the task force, said that two of the County's representatives on that trip were asked to become members of the Wiesenthal Center's national Board of Directors.

"The leadership that the County Executive and Westchester have shown in fighting hate crimes is getting national attention," said Weitzman.

The task force today agreed to begin a full-scale lobbying campaign which would include an Albany Day to be held sometime in May. The County Board of Legislators, represented by Legislator Andrea StewartCousins at the meeting, is expected to pass a joint resolution with the County Executive calling for Albany to pass a hate crimes law and to urge all municipalities in Westchester to pass similar resolutions. The task force also intends to recruit the help of labor, religious leaders, business and educational leaders.

Howie Katz, director of the New York Metropolitan Anti-Defamation League who attended today's task force meeting, said the state has been trying to pass a Hate Crimes law since Howard Beach in 1986 but the Senate and Assembly have been unable to agree upon a bill. The main stumbling block has been the inclusion of sexual orientation as a group protected under the law. He said, however, that the two sides have never been closer and that public pressure could result in passage this year.

John Zuroski, Chief of Westchester County's Bias Crimes Unit who represented District Attorney Jeanine Pirro at today's meeting, said that while the Senate and Assembly bills differed in their approach, the idea behind the law was to enhance penalties for crimes motivated by bias. Under the current law, someone who paints a swastika on a home or school would receive the same penalty as someone who paints a peace sign. "We know these are not the same types of crimes," he said. "A law will allow us to have appropriate penalties." Zuroski said there were 250 reported bias crimes investigated in Westchester last year, but Katz pointed out that hundreds of crimes go unreported because victims fear retaliation.

Spano said that the group would form a subcommittee and with the help of administration officials would come up with a timetable for actions over the next two months aimed at getting a law passed.

"We all know what we need to do," said Spano. "Let's get it done."

Members of the Anti-Hate Crimes Citizens Task Force are as follows:

• Rabbi Amiel Wohl, Coalition for Mutual Respect;Temple Israel, New Rochelle,

• Janette Wang, Chinese .American Organization; Irvington.

• Zelle Andrews, Liaison to the Gay and Lesbian Community.

• Francisco Ortiz, Sr., President of the Westchester Hispanic Law Enforcement Association.

• Ruby Birt Sherwood, Esq., New Rochelle.

• James Garfein, Court Attorney Referee.

• Rita Brown, CEO of the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester.

• Christina Mortell Plazas, founder of the Interracial Women's Leadership Roundtable.

• Graciela Heyman, Executive Director of the Westchester Hispanic Coalition.

• Ann Schaffer, Area. Director of The American Jewish Committee;

• Professor Charles Sclafani, professor at Westchester Community College.

• Glen Hockley, B'nai Brith, White Plains.

• Amy Paulin, Vice President of the NYS League of Women Voters and President of the Westchester Women's Agenda.

• Barbara Edwards, Co-Chair of the Westchester County African American Advisory Board.

• Winston Ross, Regional Director of NAACP.

• Reverend Rose Niles McCray, Presbyterian Church of Mount Vernon; United Black Clergy.

• Stanley Kalathara, Esq., East Indian American Community.

• Reverend Peter Wilson, United Black Clergy.

• Dr. Joseph F. Sayegh, Yonkers.

• Mark Weiztman, Director, Task Force Against Hate, The Simon Wiesenthal Center;

• Nelson Peitz, Chairman and CEO, The Triarc Companies,

• James J. Houlihan, Scarsdale.

• Daisy Yau, Westchester County Office of Economic Development.