Long Island, NY: The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and the Long Island Language Advocates Coalition (LILAC) have sent a letter signed by elected officials on Long Island to the Nassau County Executive, Bruce Blakeman, demanding compliance with the existing language access policy by the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD).
The move comes after the NYIC and LILAC released a report in September detailing the systemic neglect of people living in Nassau County who have limited English proficiency. The report revealed that 46.8 percent of volunteers were unable to obtain language assistance or get the requested information, and another 16 percent were intentionally hung up on by the NCPD.
The signatories included Senator Kevin Thomas, Senator John Brooks, Senator Anna Kaplan, Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre, Assemblymember Taylor Darling, and Assemblymember Michaelle Solages.
“It is essential that all residents have unfettered access to, and the ability to use emergency assistance services when they reach out for help regardless of their fluency in English. Everyone deserves to be safe. I applaud LILAC for their advocacy to implement a comprehensive language access plan in Nassau County and support their efforts to put the safety and well-being of all our community members first.” said New York State Senator Kevin Thomas.
