North Shore Sun

Suffolk County legislators will likely go back to the drawing table soon because of a federal court decision blocking a 2003 county law designed to regulate homes for recovering alcoholics.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Bianco last month ruled in favor of Oxford House, a national group of "sober home" operators who challenged the county in court after it adopted rules to restrict sober homes. The legislation has never been enforced because of the lawsuit.

Judge Bianco ruled the legislation violated the Federal Fair Housing Act and discriminated against recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, who are considered disabled individuals as long as they are in treatment.

Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley), whose district includes Gordon Heights, Coram and Ridge, where residents have complained about sober homes, called the judge's decision "ill-advised" and vowed to introduce new legislation that will be able to address community concerns.

Legis. Edward Romaine also expressed concern about the judge's decision. The community's concerns must be addressed in some way, he said.

"The fact that this judge ruled the way he did is crazy," Mr. Romaine said.

The Legislature was prompted to enact the rules after receiving complaints about too many sober homes in some hamlets, and overcrowding and unsafe conditions at some of the sober homes.

The county law set guidelines requiring applicants to get a license and pay a fee in order to become certified as sober home operators. A site selection process would have been required to take into account saturation levels in specific neighborhoods. A public hearing would have been required before a home opened.

Once a sober home was opened, only six people receiving treatment could have lived there and round-the-clock supervision by a house manager would have been required.

There are no regulations on sober homes under state law,

While the rules seemed like a good idea to county lawmakers, Judge Bianco found them discriminatory.

"In the instant case," he wrote in his Feb. 17 decision, "it is undisputed that [Suffolk County Law 450] is discriminatory on its face, in that it imposes restrictions and limitations solely upon a class of disabled individuals -- people who are seeking treatment to recover from drug and alcohol addiction -- that are not generally imposed on others seeking to live in Suffolk County."

He added, "The law does not regulate any apartment houses, multiple dwellings, fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories, or otherwise impose any restrictions on a group of unrelated individuals who are not receiving treatment for addiction from living together. Accordingly, plaintiffs have proven their prima facie case under the FHA, and the burden shifts to Suffolk County to provide adequate justification of disparate treatment of this disabled class of individuals affected by [Suffolk County Law 450]."

It is unlikely that the ruling will be challenged by county attorney Christine Malafi's office, according to county officials.

Commenting on the decision, Ms. Browning said, "The judge's decision is flawed and out of touch with the reality that persons in need of recovery are living with every day."

"This isn't a NIMBY [Not In My Back Yard] law," she said, "but rather a policy that would protect these individuals and provide them with the tools they need to be productive members of society. Judge Bianco's ruling claims that this discriminates against them, but in fact it would be a tremendous help to those in recovery."

At least 100 or more unregulated sober homes exist in the county. So many unregulated homes are not a good combination, Ms. Browning said, with a heroin epidemic sweeping the county's youth. An unsafe recovery environment is not what a mother would want for her child if he or she needed help recovering from addiction, Ms. Browning said.

"Many of these sober homes are run by legitimate agencies that provide rehabilitation and counseling; others of them have no such intention," she said. "They tend to buy a home in a low- to moderate-income area, don't fix it up, and they provide no service. Residents have complained that there is drinking and drug use. There is often fighting outside sober homes, littering, overcrowding."

Mr. Romaine, who has said his district has at least 12 sober homes, said he plans to consult with the Legislature's counsel and will likely sit down with fellow lawmakers within the next few days to discuss the issue.

peggy@northshoresun.com