By Hank Russell
The Oyster Bay Town Board joined the 10 towns in Suffolk County in backing Suffolk DA Ray Tieney’s efforts to amend New York State laws related to deadly substances such as fentanyl and xylazine.
On March 20, the town board approved a resolution that formally declares its support for Tierney’s advocacy efforts to amend state law relating to these deadly substances and recognizes that drug dealers who peddle this poison are, in fact, dealing death to its residents.
Under current New York State law, individuals can possess up to eight ounces of fentanyl before bail can be set, a quantity capable of killing over 100,000 people. Additionally, the law does not recognize families of those lost to fentanyl as “victims” and prevents these families from receiving financial compensation. Moreover, the use of xylazine — a tranquilizer used to sedate large livestock animals — by drug dealers exacerbates the crisis, yet it remains legal to possess in New York State.
“As the opioid crisis continues to devastate families across our nation and in our community, with fatalities increasing across all communities and among all people, it is imperative that we take decisive action to save lives,” said Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joe Saladino. “The Oyster Bay Town Board and I are proud to support the Suffolk County District Attorney’s demands to amend state laws to increase punishment for drug dealers and ensure victims get the support they deserve. Together, we are sending a clear message that those who peddle deadly poison will be held accountable for their actions.”
Upon learning of this news, Tierney stated, “I am grateful that the Town of Oyster Bay, as well as all ten town boards in Suffolk County, have now passed resolutions in support of our efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. New York State needs to make these common sense changes to save lives.”
In January, Tierney joined New York State Assemblyman Steve Stern (D-Melville) at a press conference in Albany where Stern introduced a legislative package addressing the deadly drug crisis. When told by Long Island Life & Politics of the recent passage of the Oyster Bay resolution, Stern said he was “pleased” that the town joined the Suffolk County towns in this call to fight the scourge of fentanyl and xylazine, which has led to countless deaths.
“[The Oyster Bay Town Board has] made their voices heard loud and clear with these legislative initiatives,” Stern said. “These efforts are absolutely critical in the fight against opioid and fentanyl abuse and to ensure that our district attorneys throughout New York State work to keep us all safe and certainly save lives.”
Stern said there were many “high-level” and “critically important discussions” on March 20 in which state Assembly leaders discussed the drug epidemic. They also met with the family of Chelsey Murray, who died of a fentanyl overdose at the hands of a drug dealer. (One of the bills in the package is “Chelsey’s Law,” also known as the “death by dealer” law, which would punish drug dealers who knowingly sell drugs laced with fentanyl and cause that person’s death.)
“Their story took us way beyond the statistics,” Stern said, calling their story of Chelsey’s death “most compelling.”
The legislative package — which also calls for financial compensation for the families of overdose victims, making the sale of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids bail-eligible and criminalizing the illegal use of xylazine — is still in committee and has yet to come up for a vote.
Oyster Bay Town Councilman Lou Imbroto praised Tierney for his “campaign to save lives and keep families whole.,” adding, “The Oyster Bay Town Board is committed to taking decisive action to combat the opioid epidemic and protect the well-being of our residents.”