The North Shore Sun/Grant Parpan
Coram residents concerned with the number of registered sex offenders living in their
community may have the answer to some of their problems with a new bill being considered in
Brookhaven . The resolution, which was proposed by Councilwoman Kathy Walsh and will be aired
by the Town Board at a public hearing August 5, expands the town's child Protection Act to include
a provision that would limit the number of sex offenders allowed to reside in a single-family home
to just two. There are currently nine homes in the Coram zip code, all in Gordon Heights,
housing three or more sex offenders. Each of those homes is owned by the family of the late
Mary Dodson. Fourteen homes owned by the Dodsons have been cited for not having rental
permits the past several years. Twelve of those homes have come into compliance.
"[Gordon Heights] is a nationally known saturation area," said Laura Ahearn , executive director of
Parents for Megan's Law, a Stony Brook based not-for-profit. "This has been a problem for
more than a decade. We've been working on getting a bill like this passed for a long
time." Eventually, Ms. Ahearn believes, the number of sex offenders living in Coram will
dramatically decrease. "It won't take long at all," she said. "We've seen a lot of
shuffling. I'd imagine you'll see a difference after the first quarter...and after a year
you'll see a real significant improvement." Ms. Ahearn said her organization has previously
lobbied for similar legislation at the state and county level, but was unsuccessful because such
zoning issues are handled at the town level. Ms. Walsh said that even though she doesn't
represent the Gordon Heights area, the legislation is important to her in her role as the Town
Board liaison to the Brookhaven Youth Bureau. "I feel this is part of my responsibility," Ms.
Walsh said. "This town-wide quality-of-life issue crosses all Town Council lines." In
all, there are 73 sex offenders living in Coram, more than any other hamlet in Suffolk County.
Homes in Coram where two or more offenders reside:
78 Carr Lane - 4
82 Carr Lane - 3
15 Fife Drive - 6
18 Fife Drive - 2
85 Homestead Drive - 3
86 Homestead Drive - 5
92 Homestead Drive - 4
92B Homestead Drive - 7
95 Homestead Drive - 2
98 Homestead Drive - 3
84 Norfleet Lane - 3
(New York)