Mount Kisco village eyes treatment court for drug, alcohol offenders

By MARTIN WILBUR

Mount Kisco officials are exploring the launch of a drug treatment court to help many of the offenders of low-level offenses that negatively impact quality of life but questions about funding remain unanswered.

The village, which has seen an explosion in recent years of public drinking and urination, intoxicated individuals and trespassing, among other offenses, would hold a monthly court session where most of the offenders could be sentenced to drug or alcohol treatment programs and community service rather than fines or other punishments that fail to address addiction.

Trustee Tom Luzio said the model he envisions is similar to what he helped establish and oversaw at the county level about 25 years ago when he was a prosecutor at the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. He said many of Mount Kisco’s culprits are part of a group of about 20 to 30 repeat offenders. Many have addictions, mental illness or are homeless or a combination of those or other problems.

Rather than have the defendants get caught up in the criminal justice system, the goal is for them to receive treatment so they are no longer a burden to the community. Mount Kisco’s two village justices, Anthony Markus and Mark Farrell, would preside over the court.

“So, it’s really not just about the individuals that are complained about regularly by a certain group of people in town, it’s really about having compassion for anyone — anyone — who has any type of addiction or mental health problem that as a result of that ends up in the judicial system,” Luzio said. 

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said this week he is supportive of the effort but more information needs to be collected about how the court would operate, including the personnel required to ensure the people who are sentenced attend treatment sessions and community service, and how much it would cost.

“I do think it has some merit, but it’s going to take an effort of all individuals, the personnel that are going to monitor the people that do the community service,” Cindrich said. “It works very well in places like New York City, people that have community service, they’re assigned to the Parks Department. The therapy or the help they need for mental illness is another issue that has to be addressed, and that comes with a price tag.”

Community Support

Last month, the village convened a meeting that included officials and representatives from various agencies and organizations that could assist in the court’s operation. Among the outfits represented were the Lexington Center for Recovery, Neighbor’s Link, Northern Westchester Hospital, the Emergency Shelter Partnership and various county officials. All were supportive of assisting the village toward establishing a drug treatment court.

James Hughes, program director for the Lexington Center for Recovery Mount Kisco clinic, said he has worked with the drug courts in Putnam County and Peekskill and has found that it has helped many individuals who are assigned to treatment. However, success is sometimes difficult to measure because of the wide range of problems a person may face, including many who have co-occurring issues, he said. 

“For some individuals, we see a lot of success,” Hughes said. “It gives them that opportunity to receive help and get treatment and not go into the criminal justice system. We see a good partnership with the courts, and I think we’re seeing from the court’s side a better understanding of what recovery looks like for a person and how recovery and mental health can sometimes go hand in hand and try to reduce some of the stigma about substance use.”

Cindrich said the flare-up of incidents in Mount Kisco is not unprecedented. The first episodes occurred in the early 1990s, when it coincided with an influx of day laborers gathering in certain parts of the village, he said. Many of them found work in the construction of new condominium developments in the area.

The issue surged again a few years ago when police were instructed to move loiterers from the downtown to Leonard Park that touched off a firestorm of criticism, the mayor said. 

People who are suffering from drug and alcohol addiction are suffering from a disease and need help, said Professor Richard Adamson, curriculum chair of Westchester Community College’s addiction studies. Interns in WCC’s program could also help the village.

“I think that this partnership is needed, and, of course, it’s going to take some effort,” Adamson said. “But I definitely see it working, just from experience.”

Carola Bracco, the executive director at Neighbors Link, the nonprofit that provides various services to immigrants, said their staff is familiar with many of the people that have been picked up for drug and alcohol-related offenses. Like the other organizations involved in the initial discussion, Bracco said Neighbors Link is interested in helping in the formation of a court. Ultimately, however, the decision is up to the person to seek help and follow through.

“The program that we’re talking about, we are very interested in providing support and being a part of,” she said. “To be more specific about it, we do have social workers in our organization and we do have those who have been peer counselors at some point in their lives. That’s not most of the work that we do but we do have some expertise in it.”

The Westchester County Department Public Safety did not take a position on whether Mount Kisco should start a treatment court, but police patrol Capt. Michael Cindrich (the mayor’s son) applauded the efforts to try something new. He said a different approach such as treatment and community service could be a viable option.

“Our goal is not to issue summonses, our goal is not to make arrests because that’s the model we’ve been following since the get-go and it is clearly not working because behavior hasn’t changed,” Cindrich said during last month’s meeting.

Along with drug abuse and alcoholism, Farrell, one of the village justices, said many of the offenders are homeless. But one of the biggest challenges would be to whom the individuals would be referred. He said many of the defendants that come into his courtroom are honorable people but have few resources, and if they find employment, they will go to work.

“If you’re asking them to come to court during the day, they will not show up,” Farrell said during last month’s meeting. “If you’re expecting them to come the next day for community service, many of them will not show up. That’s just a pragmatic issue.”

Funding a Key 

It is unclear what the cost for establishing the court would be. Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said until there are some estimates and where the money would come from, it’s difficult to know how it would proceed. He said Luzio is working on finding funding sources.

There is also federal money available from the Department of Justice, but it’s unclear whether Westchester or Mount Kisco would be eligible because of language that mentions the money would be available to communities that share the federal government’s objectives related to immigration. The village has reached out to the county attorney for more information, Cindrich said. County grants are also available.

“If somebody comes up with an exact number and tells me what the money is going to be used for, we’ll judge it on its merit,” the mayor said. “But according to the manager, this is a very tight year for us, but there’s always money from different budget lines.”

However, reducing the number of emergency service calls to the police and volunteer ambulance corps would also improve quality of life, he said.

Luzio has proposed the Village Board use a portion of a $100,000 grant from state Sen. Pete Harckham to help offset some of the start-up costs. There is some uncertainty what that money can be used for, but it appears it cannot go toward salaries, since that is a recurring expense.

Other expenses could include hiring a second bilingual social worker for the Lexington Center for Recovery, police and DPW overtime and people to oversee the community service, he said.

Luzio said while many of the parameters still must be worked out, the community would benefit from a drug treatment court.

“Obviously the long-term goal is to keep them out of jail, keep them out of the criminal justice system, keep them from being a burden, a financial burden to the community,” Luzio said.