SULLIVAN COUNTY –– “Violent crime is up … it’s way up,” said Sullivan County District Attorney Meagan Galligan to legislators at Thursday’s Public Safety and Law Enforcement Committee meeting.

She added that their first quarter numbers from the Division of Criminal Justice Services are in, and felony arrests are up 35 percent (year-over-year) compared to 2020.

While Sullivan County is seeing an uptick, Galligan explained some surrounding counties have actually seen a downtick. She said, with respect to violent crime, what they’re seeing is that it’s not necessarily spread throughout the county, but instead, in significant pockets.

Galligan said her office has responded to the violent crime uptick, particularly in the Village of Monticello, with at least two of her investigators having responded to every shooting incident.

Later on in the committee, Captain Reva Navarro, NYS Police Troop F Zone Commander, said they’ve also been actively engaged in investigating the shooting incidents in Monticello.

“State Police are working hand-in-hand with them to help solve those incidents,” she said. “We also have troopers assigned to work with Monticello [PD], so you'll see them in the village, especially on the weekends to help combat that crime. Normally, we just ride with them throughout the summer, but we’re going to continue through October to assist with that.”

Back on the topic of felony arrests, Galligan was asked by Legislative Chairman Rob Doherty if she thinks the increase has something to do with bail reform, to which she replied that she thinks it does, giving the example of an individual who currently has 16 open cases in the county.

Galligan said the individual’s family also recognizes the need for them to be in a position where they have little to no choice but to go to treatment.

“That individual wasn't committing the violent crimes but was committing serious offenses throughout the county,” said Galligan, who added that between their first mugshot and the 16th one, there is a noticeable difference.

“You can just see the deterioration of that person ... the loss to his family and loved ones ... of a functional individual to someone who is just ravaged by substance use and mental health problems,” said Galligan. “I do think that bail reform has had a serious negative impact on criminal justice in Sullivan County.”

SUNY Sullivan enrollment
Last week, SUNY Sullivan opened for in-person classes for the first time in 17.5 months.

During the Government Services Committee meeting, SUNY Sullivan President Jay Quaintance gave an update on Fall 2021 enrollment, noting that the college is about 24 percent down from where they wanted to be at this time.

“Our numbers aren't final yet,” said Quaintance. “We're still getting students rolling in this week, and that doesn't include any of the Hudson Link prison program and any of the [early] college and the high school program [numbers], so we'll still see some pretty strong upticks as we move through the next couple of weeks.”

He added that the college will be running late start classes for late deciders, hoping to capture some of them as well.

When asked about other enrollment numbers across the state, Quaintance said colleges are holding their cards very close, but said he’s seen some down as much as 40 percent and others less than the 24 percent they are. He said until they get past the Census date later this month, they’re not really going to have a solid number.

Real estate and  employment growth
In his report to legislators during the Economic Development Committee, Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development President/CEO Marc Baez said, on the real estate front, total sales in the county (year-over-year) are up 47 percent. He added that the median home price is up from $150,000 to $214,000.

On a separate note, Baez said Sullivan County is second in the state in year-over-year employment growth at 12.3 percent.