Short on details, two longtime commissioners quietly exit Rockland County government

Two top Rockland County officials have left their jobs with the county, with little detail as to why.

Rockland County Office for the Aging Director Tina Cardoza-Izquierdo and Human Rights Commissioner Constance L. Frazier are no longer with the county.

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County officials declined to provide details, saying personnel matters could not be discussed publicly.

Both commissioners had been appointed by Rockland County Executive Ed Day and had served for several years.

County spokesperson Beth Cefalu said Friday that the Day administration is looking for replacements.

Messages left with Frazier were not immediately returned.

Cardoza-Izquiero could not be reached for comment.

Big role in COVID vaccine rollout

Cardoza-Izquierdo was appointed by Day in 2016, replacing June Molof, who retired after 41 years.

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During the early days of COVID vaccination rollout, the Office for the Aging took a key role in managing appointments at the county’s Yeager Health Complex.

In the early phase-in for vaccinations, county pharmacies were assigned to vaccinating people age 65 and over and the county was charged with providing vaccines for medical workers and first responders.

But with scant supplies heading to Rockland pharmacies, the state sent extra supply to the county to help vaccinate seniors. Getting an appointment, though, involved quickly navigating an online system that some seniors said was perplexing.

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The county’s Office for the Aging set up a Senior Call Center to assist with signups for vaccination appointments. Those who sign up will be called when the county is restocked.

But seniors reported the phones wouldn’t be answered. Cardoza-Izquierdo said in the first week, the Office for the Aging received about 700 calls for help arranging vaccination appointments.

Addressing community tensions

Frazier, a retired schools administrator, became commissioner in 2017.

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She was the third person to head the human rights commission during Day’s eight-year tenure as county executive.

In 2016, Ram Nagubandi, who had been human rights commissioner for 16 years, quit under tense circumstances. Nagubandi had filed legal action alleging that Day and five others violated his civil rights by attempting to fire him for arbitrary and capricious reasons. The day after Nagubandi dropped the legal action, the county withdrew the charges and announced his resignation.

Day then appointed an acting commissioner, Penny Jennings, but the Rockland County Legislature rejected the permanent appointment.

Frazier was then appointed and approved by the Legislature.

Frazier had pushed for the removal of the Community Development Office, which oversees federal funding, from the Human Rights umbrella. She quit in 2018, but returned to the human rights commissioner post after the county split the jobs.

In Rockland, the human rights commission has long searched for ways to address rising tensions that often focus on the Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish community, especially areas like Ramapo, Spring Valley and the intertwined East Ramapo school district.

In 2019, the county withdrew from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Assistance Program after funds after HUD has suspended payments. HUD said the Human Rights Commission had violated requirements of the program, but Day called the program’s requirements “onerous to say the least and not the best fit for our county and many other municipalities.”

Frazier in 2020 announced a series of meeting and community outreach focusing on building bridges among the various communities in Rockland. This came on the heels of a fatal machete attack at a Hanukkah party in December 2021 at Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg’s Forshay Road home. The month before, a rabbi walking to morning prayers in Monsey was the victim of a still-unsolved knife assault and beating.

Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Click here for her latest stories. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.

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