Protesters call on Sabini to resign

A handful of activists - including two victims of drunk-driving crashes, a former police officer and local teenagers - protested outside of State Senator John Sabini’s Jackson Heights office recently, calling on Sabini to step down and apologize for getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.
“Just because you make the laws doesn’t mean you are above them,” former cop Al Blake said during the press conference on Tuesday, February 12 - bashing the elected official for his actions last year.
In September 2007, Sabini was arrested in Albany and charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), and a month later, he pleaded not guilty to the charge. However, on Tuesday, February 5, Sabini pleaded guilty to a lesser offense - “traffic violation” Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) — which, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles, is charged to drivers with a blood-alcohol content of between .05 and .07. A DWI offense is charged to those with blood alcohol of .08 or higher.
In a statement, Sabini had accepted “full responsibility” and asked for forgiveness from his constituents, the Albany Court, friends, colleagues and family.
However, several of the protesters said they would have liked to see harsher penalties dealt to Sabini than the ones he received - the politician had to pay $300 plus court fees and attend educational classes, according to his spokesperson.
Reading a statement that he had prepared, Thomas Cooke recalled when a car, careening at 85 miles per hour, crashed into the one he was riding in nearly 20 years ago.
Flushing resident Cooke, now a quadriplegic, said, “In the months afterward, I learned that my future, everything I had loved, had been taken away from me not just by a stroke of bad luck, but by a drunk driver.”
Following the plea-deal announcement, Cooke said he called Sabini to talk about the incident but never got a reply, and so with the support of Corona community members, he had much harsher words for the three-term senator.
“It is pure fate that you did not injure anyone with your drunken episode,” he said, later adding, “Sabini, you must step down now. We demand it, decency demands it, and as a victim of drunk driving, I demand it.”
Several local teenagers joined Cooke in knocking the politician for breaking the law.
“If he can get away with it, why can’t we?” asked 19-year-old Lawrence Toole. Toole and his 18-year-old brother Pernell, both hope to receive their licenses soon
When asked for a comment about the protest, Sabini’s Chief of Staff Katharine Pichardo-Erskine released a statement, saying, “We are not in any way trying to diminish the importance of this situation. However, it is shameful that certain individuals continue to use their political vendetta every election year to bring distress and confusion to this neighborhood. It would be interesting to know who is really orchestrating and financing these public displays.”