Usually, New York politicians are loathe to criticize members of their own party. But not Gov. David Paterson, at least not when immigrant rights are at issue. According to today’s El Diario La Prensa, Paterson reportedly lashed out this weekend at a prominent fellow New York Democrat, Steve Levy, for failing to adequately address the hateful anti-immigrant climate in Suffolk County, Long Island, where Levy serves as the top elected official.

Paterson’s remarks were made at a Latino conference called “Somos” held this weekend on Long Island. Here’s the relevant part of El Diario’s story (my translation):

Among the participants was New York Gov. David Paterson, who criticized Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy for creating a racist atmosphere in that jurisdiction.

Suffolk County has gained national attention in recent years because of the criminal acts against Hispanic immigrants, such as the murder of Ecuadorean Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue last year. Paterson said the law has to defend minorities.

“These savage attacks against Latino have to end, we’re not going to allow them to take place, all human beings are created equal, independently of their immigration status,” affirmed the governor.

Levy has indeed been the focus of attention from immigrant and civil rights groups after an ongoing series of anti-immigrant hate crimes in Suffolk, culminating with the killing late last year of Lucero, stabbed by a gang of local teenagers who, as it turned out, routinely beat up Latino immigrants for fun.

The Southern Poverty Law Center recently dubbed Levy the “enabler-in-chief” of the ugly nativist atmosphere in Suffolk. Levy’s office says the center’s characterizations of the situation in Suffolk are one-sided, and fail to take into account Levy’s anti-hate initiatives.

Paterson, for his part, has been at the center of political buzz in New York, ever since it was reported over the weekend the White House asked him to step aside in the 2010 governor’s race to clear the way for a stronger candidate. Among those who may run for statewide office if Paterson steps aside? Steve Levy—who’s rumored to be considering a candidacy for the attorney general’s job. If he does, he may need to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of immigrants, just as the former immigration hardliner Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had to do when picked to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate.

Meanwhile, Long Island Wins, a pro-immigrant group, has begun circulating a petition asking Levy to read the Southern Poverty Law Center report and act on its recommendations.

Click here to see the Long Island Wins petition.

Click here to read the Southern Poverty Law Center report.