The New York Penal law, Section 220.44 Criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds (PEN), discusses top priority issues concerning drug *sales on the grounds of a child day care or educational facility; specifically in or on, or within any building, structure, athletic playing field, a playground, land contained within the real property boundary line of a public or private child day care center, or on a school bus. 

While this sounds okay, there are *no existing laws in New York, more specifically New York City, that protect our children from any other drug related use, drug related facility, or criminal status of a person.  (Methadone clinics, out patient drug and mental health facilities, homeless shelters, troubled teen/troubled adult group home, jails, needle exchange facility, panhandling, etc)

Moreover, nowhere in this penal law does it even mention High Schools or Colleges; who’s population is the most influenced.  Our laws also fail to mention any other child accompanied facilities, such as sports facilities/dance/baseball fields etc. that are not associated with, or on elementary school  property. How can this be?  Why are we not protecting our children?! Why are criminals, addicts, pedophiles, and registered sex offenders held to a higher standard of rights than our most vulnerable, innocent, and defenseless children?! (All of whom do not even reside in our residential neighborhoods)

I have addressed this petition to all of our NYS senators, governor Cuomo, and mayor DiBlasio, because we *need to put our children’s safety and quality of life above ALL ELSE! This critical quality of life tailspin, communicable disease risk, rise in crime/theft and all other threatening immediate dangers are now the daily norm exposures my 2.5 year old toddler, and every other child living here is forced to live with.  It is especially of great concern here in the Bronx; more specifically Pelham Bay, Morris Park, Throggs Neck, Pelham Parkway, And all other neighboring branches here in DISTRICT 34. These neighborhoods have been over concentrated with drug facilities and mental health facilities for years now.  With evident and admitted plans to silence and ignore constituents, along with their children’s human rights and basic safety, the plans only appear to focus on further *growing these problems, *not helping to alleviate us, or even listen to our justified concerns as residents and parents.  WHERE ARE OUR RIGHTS?! The tax paying, grade A citizens who just want to protect our children from harm when they go to school, or to the playground.  We seem to be the ones having to pay the price [literally] for the choices made by people who chose the wrong path.  For a society so concerned with people rights, take a look at who’s rights your actually taking away and the families your punishing.  What ever happened to our human moral values? 

Our children’s lives are in immediate danger every single day, we have massive outpatient methadone clinics within only a few *FEET or IN THE SAME BUILDINGS as our DAYCARES and SCHOOLS! There are NO regulations as to sex offenders, pedophiles, or criminal history of a person attending these already controversial synthetic heroin dispensing facilities.  The majority of children in the Bronx and NYC can not afford, or do not take private school buses, and walk alone to public transportation.  This puts them in the direct line of danger and susceptibility to a horrific tragedy.  There is significant data proving that crimes, drug use, and drug sales elevate significantly around these facilities, so again, WHY ARE WE NOT PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN?! 

This community and all of New York State demand that there be an immediate revision of this law, to include not just the drug sale, but the drug use, drug associated facilities, mental health facilities, shelters, troubled population group homes, and especially the public listings of ALL sex offenders/pedophiles/criminals Attending these outpatient programs.   WE and ESPECIALLY OUR CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW, and have the right to choose!  This law also MUST include surrounding areas (few block radius at least) of ALL city schools, not just the building/property itself.

• Here is the current, and *only law that discusses   drugs/criminal activity & our children’s schools. 

• Section 220.44 Criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds
  Penal (PEN)
  
  § 220.44 Criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds.
•   A person is guilty of criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds when he knowingly and unlawfully sells:
•   1. a controlled substance in violation of any one of subdivisions one through six-a of section 220.34 of this article, when such sale takes place upon school grounds or on a school bus; or
•   2. a controlled substance in violation of any one of subdivisions one through eight of section 220.39 of this article, when such sale takes place upon school grounds or on a school bus; or
•   3. a controlled substance in violation of any one of subdivisions one through six of section 220.34 of this article, when such sale takes place upon the grounds of a child day care or educational facility under circumstances evincing knowledge by the defendant that such sale is taking place upon such grounds; or
•   4. a controlled substance in violation of any one of subdivisions one through eight of section 220.39 of this article, when such sale takes place upon the grounds of a child day care or educational facility under circumstances evincing knowledge by the defendant that such sale is taking place upon such grounds.
•   5. For purposes of subdivisions three and four of this section, "the grounds of a child day care or educational facility" means (a) in or on or within any building, structure, athletic playing field, a playground or land contained within the real property boundary line of a public or private child day care center as such term is defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section three hundred ninety of the social services law, or nursery, pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, or (b) any area accessible to the public located within one thousand feet of the real property boundary line comprising any such facility or any parked automobile or other parked vehicle located within one thousand feet of the real property boundary line comprising any such facility. For the purposes of this section an "area accessible to the public" shall mean sidewalks, streets, parking lots, parks, playgrounds, stores and restaurants.
•   6. For the purposes of this section, a rebuttable presumption shall be established that a person has knowledge that they are within the grounds of a child day care or educational facility when notice is conspicuously posted of the presence or proximity of such facility.
•   Criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds is a class B felony.
  
  SECTION 220.43
  SECTION 220.45
  NYSENATE.GOV