By Akeem Mellis
A report released by the office of New York State Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) on Oct. 14 uncovered how easy it is for minors to purchase fake identification cards from businesses within New York City in order to consume alcohol.
Standing outside of one of the businesses in Manhattan, Klein explained the situation further by saying that “nearly forty-four percent of high school students are drinking alcohol, and fake IDs are helping them do it.”
Joining Klein was Cecilia Wolf, a representative of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D- Manhattan).
“Too many of our city’s kids are using fake ID’s to get into bars, putting themselves and others in danger. As it stands now, state law holds adults and establishments accountable when someone is hurt drinking on their property, but businesses that sell fake ID’s get off scot free,” Quinn said.
The 37-page report, “Underage & At-Risk: Fake IDs & Underage Drinking in New York State,” was compiled in conjunction with Sens. Martin Connor (D-Brooklyn), Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington), and Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers). Throughout the summer, Klein sent interns from his office to several businesses through the city to see if they would sell the interns fake IDs. Without requesting proof of other ID, the businesses sold the minors the illegal cards.
For the vast majority of minors obtaining fake IDs, their main objective is to purchase alcohol, something the report focuses on with a plethora of statistics: 43.4 percent of New York City high school students have reported drinking alcohol; 75,000 individuals have lost their lives by abusing alcohol; and in 2005, 28.5 percent of students reported having been in a car with someone who had consumed alcohol prior to driving .
The report showed that from 2002 to 2006, the most arrests were made in the Bronx. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) made 141 arrests there, doubling the second largest number of arrests, which was 70 in Queens, followed by 53 arrests in Manhattan.
The vast majority of the establishments cited for selling such IDs were located in Manhattan and Queens, as well as Brooklyn.
The report was not limited to just the city. Among the statistics cited in the report, Westchester and Nassau County were also among the places where such establishments sold fake IDs. According to the New York State Department of Criminal Justice, Nassau County had the ninth highest number of arrests for serving alcohol to minors over the past four years by the end of 2006, with 202.
The county was also cited for having 32 fatalities in alcohol-related automobile accidents, the fourth-highest number, which made up nearly 30 percent of all car-related fatalities in Nassau County.
In a statement, Alexis Grenell, press secretary for Sen. Klein, said that the Senator is planning to submit legislation to extend the current Dram Shop laws, which currently hold bars financially liable for injuries and other damages caused by underage drinkers, to other establishments who sell fake ID cards to minors.
Grenell said the reports showed that underage drinking is a very serious issue. “The ease with which these kids were able to get these IDs is shocking,” Grenell said.
Pictures of all six fake identification cards were also printed in the report, which included basic identification information in black and white, as well as in color. Recommendations as to how to curb this problem was also included in the report.
Donna Kopec, executive director of the New York Chapter of MADD, said, “Curtailing the easy access to alcohol that currently exists through the rampant existence of fake IDs will make it significantly harder for youths to purchase and consume alcohol.”
Underage students who could previously purchase fake IDs at a number of establishments in New York City and Long Island may have a harder time after the report released by Senator Jeff Klein. (Stephen Cooney)