Schuyler County Residents: Make your homeownership dreams a reality, with a Homebuyer Education Class

Join Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services to learn how to become a successful and happy homeowner.

The class will be held virtually on Mondays, November 2, 9, 16 and 23 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM via Zoom and will cover:

• How much money you need to buy a home
• Your credit score and how it affects you
• How much house you can afford
• What a Realtor can do for you
• How to get a mortgage
• How to pick the right home
• Home Inspections
• How to protect your investment

Participants can also get a free copy of their credit report as well as free one-on-one support.

Down payment and closing cost assistance is also available to first-time buyers — find out if you qualify: The INHS service area includes: Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties.

The registration fee is $25.00 (Virtual Special for 2020: 2/3 off).

For more information or to register, click here.

New report questions effectiveness of supervised drug consumption facilities

From the Washington Post:

(E)xisting research does not establish that drug users who access SDCFs are less likely to die of an overdose over time, or that opening an SDCF lowers a community’s rate of drug overdose fatalities...

The report found that many people use SDCFs intermittently, but do not adopt the safer use practices from SDCFs when using outside of it. An individual who injects heroin in the SDCF one day may thus avoid a fatal overdose that particular day, but have one the next day outside the SDCF. More importantly, no one knows whether becoming an SDCF user leads to longer drug use careers than do other interventions (e.g., methadone maintenance). If by making injection drug use safer and more positive (e.g., being surrounded by supportive people), SDCFs even modestly reduce the likelihood of an individual stopping injection use in the next week, or month, or year, the benefit of lower risk SDCF drug use now can be canceled out by an increased number of drug use episodes later.

Read the complete article here. Read the underlying report here.

Ithaca City Court seeking attorneys to assist pro se defendants

The Ithaca City Court is seeking attorneys willing to assist pro se defendants attempting to seal their convictions under CPL 160.59.

Under that statute, individuals who have been convicted of up to two eligible offenses, but not more than one eligible felony offense, may apply to have those convictions sealed.

Eligible offenses may be sealed only after at least 10 years have passed since the sentence was imposed on the latest conviction or, if the sentence included a period of incarceration, at least 10 years since release from incarceration. Offenses that are not eligible for sealing include sex offenses and certain other felony offenses.

Sealing is discretionary with the court and applicants are required to serve notice on the District Attorney in the county of conviction.

An information packet with forms and instructions is linked here. The packet can also be accessed on the New York State Office of Court Administration website.

Sealing does not equal expungement. Any such sealed records would remain available to the defendant, the defendant’s agent and certain various law enforcement agencies, as well as criminal background checks for firearm purchases.

For more information, click here.

Harmful Algal Blooms: What they are and how government agencies are addressing the threat

On September 30, the Community Science Institute will be hosting a public forum on harmful algal blooms in Ithaca, New York. The Forum is co-sponsored by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and the

Floating Classroom.

The forum is designed to address public concerns and provide community members with information about the ecology of harmful algal blooms, how public health officials respond to such blooms, and future monitoring initiatives.

The event is scheduled to run from 9:00 to 12:00 pm at The Space at Greenstar, 700 W Buffalo St, Ithaca, NY 14850.

Invited organizations include: Finger Lakes Institute, Tompkins County Department of Health, NYSDEC Finger Lakes Hub, Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Organization, Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission, Finger Lakes PRISM, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County.

For more on this event, click here.

Schuyler County local hotel tax on vacation rentals upheld on appeal.

Schuyler County’s local hotel tax on vacation rentals and other tourist facilities was upheld by a New York State appeals court Thursday (June 9). The tax is used to promote tourism and the local economy.

The Supreme Court, Appellate Division, ruled that the Schuyler County Treasurer properly applied the four percent local tax to these properties, rejecting an appeal filed by Thomas Schneider, owner of “Seneca Lake Vacation Rentals.”

Schneider had argued that his properties were exempt from the tax as “bungalows” under regulations of the State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance because they are furnished and do not provide housekeeping, food or other common hotel services.

On appeal, the court agreed with the county’s argument that state regulations only applied to state- administered taxes, not locally-administered taxes such as Schuyler County’s.

Schneider was represented by Ithaca attorneys Schlather, Stumbar, Parks & Salk.

Schuyler County was represented by county attorney Steven Getman.

Ithaca man sentenced for failure to pay child support

Fingerlakes1.com:

An Ithaca man is facing a thirty-day jail sentence for not paying past due child support, following an appearance in Schuyler County Family Court on Tuesday (October 7, 2014).

[T]he man was found in willful violation of a prior court order, due to his failure to pay nearly $1200.00 for the support of his teenage child. The last payment was made in April 2014, according to the Schuyler County Support Collection Unit.

The case was prosecuted by assistant County Attorney Steven Getman. Getman argued that a sentence of jail was appropriate, given the failure to make payments for approximately six months. Earlier this year, the child had been on public assistance in Schuyler County, Getman noted.

The sentence was imposed by Family Court Judge Dennis Morris. Morris did not order the man immediately incarcerated, but suspended the jail term to give the man time to pay the back support.

If the man fails to begin making payments by November 1 he can be returned to court and jailed at that time, Morris held.

For more information, click on the link above.

Getman reappointed to ethics board

Steven J. Getman has been reappointed to serve as a member of the Tompkins County Ethics Advisory Board.

Getman was reappointed to the board by the Tompkins County legislature at its meeting December 17, 2013. His term expires December 31, 2017.

Under provisions of the County Code of Ethics, the five-member board meets at least once a year and at other times, as convened by the Chair. Among its responsibilities, the board takes testimony and receives complaints concerning alleged unethical practices, which may be submitted by any individual. It also reviews financial disclosure statements filed by County officials and recommends the manner in which any conflicts of interest may be resolved.

An attorney, Getman is of counsel to the law firm of Franklin & Gabriel, in Ovid, New York, where he represents a wide variety of clients on civil and criminal matters, including municipal law and criminal law. He also serves part-time as an assistant county attorney in the Schuyler County Attorney’s office, located in Watkins Glen, New York.

In addition to his law practice, Getman is an adjunct professor in the Keuka College Criminal Justice program.

Presentation: avoiding online consumer headaches

Cornell Cooperative Extension will be hosting a Consumer Issues program on Thursday, December 12 at 11:00 am.

The topic will be Avoiding Consumer Problems on the Internet. Speakers will explore ways for consumers to protect their identity, financial accounts, and personal information, and what to do to resolve problems if they occur.

Cornell Cooperative Extension is located at 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca, New York. The program is free and open to the public; no registration is necessary.

For more information, click here or call the Consumer HelpLine at 607-272-2292 weekdays between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.

New York State Court of Appeals to Decide Tompkins County School Harassment Case

From the Ithaca Journal:

ALBANY -- The state's highest court has agreed to hear the Ithaca City School District's appeal of a finding that it failed to adequately address racial harassment and threats of violence against a black middle-school student....

The state Division of Human Rights decided in May 2009 that the school district engaged in unlawful discriminatory practice by failing to protect the girl from a group of white students' harassment and threats in the 2005-06 school year....

Ithaca City schools have maintained that the Division of Human Rights does not have jurisdiction over public school districts. The state Supreme Court in Tompkins County agreed with the district in a 2009 decision.

The state Appellate Division, 3rd Department disagreed in a June 30, 2011, ruling. It reduced awards of $200,000 each for the mother and daughter to $200,000 for the daughter and $50,000 for Amelia Kearney.

But Ithaca City schools point to a case on Long Island that was dismissed by the mid-level state court, which said school districts don't come under the state human-rights law, which applies to education corporations and associations.

It has been reported that fewer than one out of ten applications for leave to appeal are granted.

The existence of conflicting rulings among the Appellate Divisions, as is apparently the case here, is one of the factors that will sometimes convince the state's high court to hear an appeal.