Babylon board hears testimony tying Copiague Red Roof Inn to trafficking concerns; decision on nuisance status reserved

Supervisor Schaeffer on Dec. 18 convened the Town of Babylon Town Board to hear a public nuisance report concerning the property identified in the hearing record as “10 34th Street, Copay, New York 11726,” presenting evidence of repeated police and EMS responses and recommending the town consider declaring the premises a public nuisance.

Assistant Town Attorney Jerry Borino told the board his report documented two arrests at the property this year and multiple emergency responses, and said, “it is my recommendation that this location be deemed a nuisance.” Borino cited an Aug. 19, 2024 arrest of Stephanie Green on prostitution- and promoting-prostitution charges and an Oct. 7, 2024 arrest of Steve Morales for criminal possession of a controlled substance, along with several EMS calls including an overdose response in early October that was pronounced dead on arrival.

Suffolk County Police Sergeant James Johnson, who was assigned to the FBI human-trafficking task force until earlier this year, described an investigation prompted by a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Johnson said investigators’ covert communications with an advertiser led them to a room at the hotel where a juvenile from Ohio was found and recovered. “The juvenile was recovered. We gave her services,” Johnson said, and the juvenile was repatriated to family in Ohio; Johnson said the active investigation into who compelled her to be at the location continues.

Johnson told the board his law-enforcement open-source search identified roughly 34 explicit online advertisements in the last 18 months that expressly listed the property address as the site of commercial sex activity, and he cautioned that many newer sites are offshore and harder to subject to legal process than legacy sites such as Backpage.

Representatives of the owner corporation, including manager Shiv Patel and owner Sarish (spelled in the record several ways) Patel, responded that they have implemented remedial measures since learning of the incidents. Patel said the company contracted Arrow Security for in-person coverage on Thursday–Saturday from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., updated camera systems, posted new house-rule signage at the front desk requiring identification for visitors and instructed housekeeping to check rooms and report illegal substances. He also provided a human-trafficking training certificate and said the franchise had been notified and that staff will undergo training.

Patel described the property’s staffing and operations, saying they operate 37 rooms with 24/7 front-desk coverage and full-time housekeeping and maintenance, and that staff are instructed to cooperate with police. Borino and Supervisor Schaeffer said the town’s investigation team of retired detectives, led by investigator Edwin (Ed) Salas, can work in conjunction with the First Precinct to support ongoing inquiries. Sergeant Johnson offered that the Suffolk County Police Department routinely provides human-trafficking awareness training to hotels and civic groups and said he would provide the owner with information about the advertising sites and methods for checking whether the address appears in current ads.

No formal action was taken at the meeting. Supervisor Schaeffer said the board would review the report and other materials and consider recommendations — which could range from continued monitoring and town-supported mitigation to a formal nuisance declaration and boarding up the premises — and he closed the hearing with decision reserved.

Next steps: the town attorney’s office and town investigation team will review evidence and may bring formal recommendations to the Town Board for action at a future meeting.