The River Reporter
Thursday, November 6, 1997

"Don't push us out," NAACP asks

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Asking not to be tossed into the street, the leader of the Sullivan County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) spoke at a November 3 village board meeting against a lawyer's recommendation that private organizations using the Monticello Neighborhood Facility provide proof of public liability insurance.

The local civil rights group has held membership meetings and youth activities at the facility for 15 years, president Thomas Mack said. Other nonprofit groups also routinely use the Neighborhood Facility. Certificates of insurance have not been required in the past.

"This board became united to work with the NAACP, not to push the NAACP out into the street, not to take our children and push them out into the street," Mack told village officials.

Davidoff suggested the NAACP get guarantees from its national or state branches. Mack said he already tried this, to no avail. "This organization is a volunteer organization. I am not paid," he added.

Outside groups using the facility should protect the village against negligence by the organization or its agents, Davidoff counseled. Mack said his group can not afford to buy coverage.

Asked by trustee David Rosenberg whether organizations could sign waivers of liability, Davidoff replied that "A waiver of negligence in advance is not effective. That's not the issue."

In the face of the controversy, mayor James Kenny tabled the matter. "I think we're just going to have to pursue it further," he said.