FORESTBURGH- For Jim Steinberg, passing “Billy’s Law” is personal, and on what would have been his son’s 40th birthday he and his family are renewing their call to state lawmakers to pass the law named in their son’s honor that would close the “arson loophole” in the state’s bail reform law.
Forestburgh Volunteer Fire Company Firefighter William “Billy” Steinberg tragically died in the line of duty on January 15, 2022, while responding to a structure fire in Monticello. He was 37 years old. The fire that claimed Steinberg’s life was set by an arsonist who had lit two prior fires in the same area, including one on January 13, just two days before the fire that was set that claimed Billy’s life. The state’s bail reform laws required the arsonist, Mohammed Islam, 32 of Brooklyn, to be released on appearance tickets for the first two fires he set because not all felony arson charges are bail-eligible under state law.
In December of 2022, Islam pled guilty to arson and manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
Jim Steinberg believes that if it weren’t for bail reform his son would still be alive today. “It’s heartbreaking, and it’s something I don’t want any other family to have to go through,” he said.
Billy Steinberg was a fourth-generation firefighter with 22 years of service, having joined the fire company in 2000 as a junior volunteer firefighter. In the years to follow, he was elected president of the company and then worked his way up through the line to assistant chief. On his birthday in February 2022, he was posthumously promoted to chief. Billy Steinberg was also a member of Laborers’ Local 17 in Newburgh and worked for Sullivan Construction as a traffic foreman.
After his death, Billy’s family began a scholarship fund in his name. Each year, an award is made to a graduating Monticello High School student with a preference for an individual interested in a career in the building trades. Billy was also inducted into the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland as well as the State Firefighters Memorial in Albany. His fellow firefighters in Forestburgh constructed a memorial in his honor next to the firehouse on Route 42.
Following the tragedy, Jim Steinberg launched an aggressive campaign to pass “Billy’s Law” which, if enacted, would close the “arson loophole” and would grant judges the ability to set bail for defendants arrested for third and fourth-degree felony arson. “Billy’s Law” was the first bi-partisan bail reform modification bill introduced in the state legislature, crafted by former State Senator Mike Martucci (R, New Hampton) and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D, Forestburgh).
To date, the bill has advanced through the Senate Codes Committee, but has not seen a full vote in either the Senate or Assembly. State Senator Peter Oberaker (R, Schenevus) now sponsors the measure in the Senate, along with Democratic Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall) from Orange County.
In 2022, Jim Steinberg traveled the state with former Senator Martucci, who now serves as Publisher of Mid-Hudson News, to build support for “Billy’s Law” holding press events from Binghamton to Long Island. Thousands signed an online petition to support the bail reform change and in its first year, the bill garnered the formal support of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York and the New York State Police Investigators Association. In 2023, the bill failed to move in the Senate or Assembly.
In October of 2023 when Billy Steinberg was added to the state’s memorial, his father Jim spoke with Governor Kathy Hochul about “Billy’s Law” at the private family reception. Jim Steinberg said the governor expressed an interest in supporting the bill named for his late son.
“She came up to my wife and I, and immediately knew who we were,” said Jim Steinberg. “I took the few moments we had together to talk about Billy and his law. I think she was open to the idea,” he said.
Jim Steinberg said he is hopeful that the provisions of his son’s law, if not passed in a stand-alone bill, may be included in the 2024 state budget. Oftentimes, significant pieces of legislation not directly tied to fiscal matters are included in one of the state’s ten budget bills.
In the end, Jim Steinberg hopes to see the law passed to prevent tragedies like the one that took his son’s life. Jim Steinberg believes that it will be a fitting tribute to his son if “Billy’s Law” is passed and protects just one family from experiencing the pain he and his family have endured for the past three years.
“His mother and I, and our whole family miss him terribly. Ever since Billy passed away, I go visit him every day at the cemetery,” he said. “I sit there, and I talk to him, and sometimes I get signs, but that is my therapy, going to see Billy every day.”
