In September 2003, Commissioner Patricia L. Gatling officially opened the Staten Island Community Service Center, marking the first time in the 48-year history of the Commission that every borough has its own permanent field office.

The Staten Island Community Service Center is located in the St. George section of Staten Island at 60 Bay Street and is easily accessible by public transportation. The Service Center has a multi-lingual staff that can respond to the rapidly diversifying population on Staten Island. It is the first field office to have a staff attorney assigned, which allows the office to handle the intake and the investigation of complaints.

"Mayor Bloomberg and the Commission are committed to using all of our resources to ensure that the people of this City do not become hostages to prejudice," said Commissioner Gatling. "This new office will be used to educate, mediate and enforce the strongest anti-bias law in the country. Our message is a simple one: “Discrimination will not be tolerated in our City."

Upon arriving at CCHR, Commissioner Gatling quickly identified a need for a field office in Staten Island and began planning for it immediately. For years, the borough fell under the jurisdiction of the Manhattan field office.

Top: Commissioner Gatling, joined by Councilmenber Michael McMahon (left) and SI Borough President James Molinaro, at office opening. Above: Staten Island office Director Roy Pingel (left) and Deputy Director Alex Korkhov.

 

Since its opening, the office has offered all of the Commission's services including: the investigation and intake of discrimination complaints; Mortgage Foreclosure and Pre-Purchase Counseling; Human Rights and Conflict Resolution workshops in school and community settings; Peer Mediation training in selected schools; Community Mediation; Project Equal Access, an investigation and intervention program for those with disabilities; and Immigrant Employment Rights Training.

"The Service Center, with all the programs the Commission offers, will be a touchstone for social change and cultural awareness on Staten Island," said Commissioner Gatling. At the opening of the new office, Commissioner Gatling quoted Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a prominent journalist and the first African-American woman to gain admission and graduate from the University of Georgia, who said “If people are informed, they will do the right thing. It is when they are not informed that they become hostages to prejudice.”

The Staten Island staff includes some of the Commission's most experienced and multi-lingual members: Director Roy Pingel, Deputy Director Alex Korkhov, Staff Attorney Paul Labossiere and Human Rights Specialists David Lopez and Mark Heron.