In the wake of the tragic disappearance and subsequent murder of eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky, Councilman David Greenfield announced a bill today to create a ‘Safe Haven Program’ for children. This initiative would aim to create safe places on every block in New York City for children to seek help and shelter if they are lost or afraid.
Under the program, lost children would be able to seek help at participating businesses or homes that display a bright green, city-issued ‘Safe Haven’ sticker in their window. The businesses and homeowners would then call the police while providing safe shelter for the lost child.
“I haven’t been able to sleep since the terrible tragedy that befell Leiby Kletzky,” explained Councilman David Greenfield. “This bill is a simple and low-cost way to create safe havens for children across New York City. What’s more, store-owners and residents who participate will send a clear message that they care about New York’s children.”
The volunteer program for businesses and individuals would require the business owner or community resident to undergo a basic background check to verify that their establishments or homes are safe for children. After being approved for the program, the location would receive a bright green sticker that would indicate to children that this is a safe place to get help.
“Residents of New York City need peace of mind. Leiby’s Law would provide a better option for children than simply asking strangers for directions,” concluded Greenfield.
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27 Responses
Great idea! If I may add a suggestion; There are many medical offices (Doctors, Dentists Eye etc) and Hospitals/ Nursing Homes that can be included as they are open late and some even 24 hours.
Nothing would have stopped Levi Aron from participating and placing a “Safe Haven’ sticker” on his door.
Great idea, but wouldn’t those stickers be easy for forge for someone looking to do so?
I love this idea. I am happy to see all these elected officials finally waking up and doing something. Sad that it took a tragedy but better late than never. Lets try and prevent it from happening again…
this is a very smart idea! the only problem is,is that the residential volunteers may also be child molesters or other crazy ppl. how will the city make sure they dont make it easier for such ppl to lure kids into theyr homes?
what a cool idea. we dont want to suffocate our children but this world is so dangerous. hatzlachah.
what will stop someone from replicating the “bright green sticker”???
Great idea! There needs to be a stronger screening procedure to certify a green sticker. A basic background check is not sufficient, unfortunately there are many sickos out there that can apply for this. David, please try to make it more stringent to apply for the safe haven sticker
If I were a child molester the first thing I’d do is go out and get one of those bright green stickers. I guess if I’d never been caught doing anything wrong, except maybe once urinating in public, they’d probably give me one.
I think instead of concentrating on the specifics of this one case, asking the wrong person for directions, perhaps more thought could be given to preventing child abuse in general. Cameras in every class room and anyplace else kids and adults mix would be a start. Stanley Patz project of a phone with GPS and maybe a small number (one?) of numbers that could be called in an emergency is another start. More cameras on the street are another. But remember, this is the first case like this in thirty years. There are other cases of child abuse going on every day that should be stopped.
Horrible idea! So the molesters can hang one also? A lost kid can tell a fake from a real? Who will determine if a business owner is trusted or not? Our great government who can’t get anything else right?
Aron probably would have passed the basic back round check.
How many frum families would rather have a lost child seek out a goy with a sticker rather than a frum family without a sticker?
This sort of thing should be done internally by our community, but is not something we want the government to be involved in .
Little Leiby A”H didn’t know he was lost until he hit Dahill…we have to think of a way to communicate with our children BEFORE they’re lost or think they may be lost..the safe haven is good only if the child is already lost and wants to get home or to school!!
to #12 … there is a bar in our neighborhood that is frequented by off-duty police officers among others. I spent a lot of hours convincing my kids that it was a good place to run to if they were in the vicinity and someone was following them or harassing them in any way. I also always told my kids to go to any parent (preferably a mother) with children in tow if they needed help. Better to go to a non-Jewish woman with children than a man they didn’t know even if he looked frum. These are basics of street safety. Yes, many goyim are a safer bet than a random frum male today. Sorry to say.
How about reinstating the red emergency callers on the corners?
Obviously someone cant replicate a bright green sticker because than there’d be 2 on the same block and people on the block would know that one is a fake. The guy who has the real one could report it right away…
“How many frum families would rather have a lost child seek out a goy with a sticker rather than a frum family without a sticker?”
I would say your right…but Aron was “frum”….
Sounds good at first glance, but its a bad idea.
As many commenters have pointed out, molesters will try to get their hands on these stickers and background checks will not be sufficient to weed them all out. This law may very well cause more problems than it prevents.
Moreover, this once again doesn’t get to the root of the problem – which is turning a blind eye to or even covering up for molesters. While this particular extremely rare and isolated tragedy could possibly have been averted with a “safe haven program”, there are many, many more ongoing abuses that could be averted by addressing the underlying problem.
crazy idea!!
levi aron probably could of gotten approved or gotten his fathers sticker.
David, I am not with you on this one… makes NO sense at all – period!
Sorry, but if police officers can spot an expired car inspection from 50 meters they can spot a fake Safe Haven sticker. And Aron was not a business owner so I don’t see how it’s relevant whether he could have passed a background check or not.
Kids should be told to go to the nearest shul or beis medrash, STAY THERE in a well-lit area and don’t leave with anyone.
Kaveh, really? They can spot expired stickers from such a distance? So can anyone else looking out! The color changes every year! Can they spot a fake inspection sticker? Can they even spot any of the over 80,000 fake driving permits? No way! There is no way they will be able to prevent a determind person from getting this sticker.
While Aron wasn’t a business owner, he did work by a place that I’m sure would be able to get this sticker ‘legally’. There are also plenty of molesters that own busnisses and would gladly hold such stickers on their door.
The worst thing for a lost child to do is go inside an unfamiliar store or get into someone else’s car. He should stay out in the open so all can watch what happens until help arrives.
This is a typical political response without much thought.
Bystanders “out in the open” are more likely than not to do absolutely nothing. This is what drove him to ask help from the guy in the first place. Yes police can keep track of phony stickers. Anyway I still hold a shul is a better place to go than a store if you can find one.
all parents ahould have a 1 800 number that their kids can call from any phone. (while payphones are still around)
I can’t see how a stcker would be visible to a child who’s lost and walking. How big is this sticker and where will it be placed? What if the child is on the opposite side of the street and doesn’t see it? Is he supposed to walk up to each door and look for a sticker? I like the red emergency telephone box idea that was once in place.
Kol HaKavod!