The normally placid Huntington town board meeting was full of excitement for a change last night. Before a vote to discontinue health benefits for part-time board appointees, a contentious debate among board members ensued after Councilwoman Susan Berland announced she was abstaining from the vote. Berland said there had not been enough public discussion on the issue and complained she didn’t know the board had planned a vote on the issue that night.
The measure passed 4-0.
A few minutes later, on a call for a vote to schedule a public hearing to extend a moratorium on the town issuing approvals, grants and permits to private golf courses for an additional six months, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson asked for a last minute amendment to exclude the Hollow Hills Golf Course on Ryder Avenue in Dix Hills. Berland called the last-minute amendment request a “disgusting,” “blatant” surprise attack against her and voted no for the amendment.
Deborah S. Morris
Berland said she has been fighting to keep the site a golf course. A developer has plans to build 31 one-acre homes on the site but because of the moratorium, in place since 2005, and a lawsuit pending in the appellate division over development of the site, the plan has stalled.
“They decide to keep Ryder Avenue out of the moratorium as punishment for me having an opinion,” Berland said of her earlier vote. “Even though we are five Democrats we’re only allowed to have one opinion? I have my own opinion.”
The measure passed 4-1 with Berland voting no. The public hearing will be held June 19.
After the close of the meeting as Berland exited the dais, she had words with Councilwoman Glenda Jackson. Last week Berland, Jackson and receiver of taxes Ester Bivona were nominated by the Huntington Town Democratic Committee to run for re-election come November. On Monday the Huntington Town Democratic Committee announced that the three would run together as a team.
Comments (3)
I was at the Huntington Town Board meeting and witnessed what took place during and immediately following it. Mark Cuthbertson displayed his typical arrogance. Stu Besen acted self-righteous. Glenda Jackson sat quietly (rarely having anything to say, unless it is scripted for her). And Frank Petrone stated that the board has had "plenty of discussion" about the notion of tying in pay raises for appointed board members with the elimination of taxpayer-funded health benefits.
Supervisor Petrone's interjection was quite revealing since no such discussion has taken place during the public board meetings that I have attended, as is required under the state's Open Meetings Law, nor was any such language contained in the notice of public hearing and the proposed resolution that appeared on the agenda of the prior town board meeting. Incidentally, as noted in a Newsday article primarily about Islip and in a column by Joye Brown, I was the only Huntington resident to speak out in favor of eliminating taxpayer-funded health benefits during that poorly publicized public hearing.
Our so-called Democratic town board continues to display such utter contempt for the public and our right to know and participate in the affairs of our local government. Equally appalling is Newsday's failure to report within the printed pages of its paper, not merely on a blog, what goes on during and behind the scenes at Huntington Town Board meetings.
Huntington Town Hall continues to be afflicted with the arrogance of power and a pervasive culture of corruption on behalf of moneyed special interests. Yet one would never know that by reading Newsday. It seems Newsday is more interested in reporting on corruption in Republican-run towns. It’s not healthy to have complete board domination by one party, no matter which one.
Although I have some disagreements with Sue Berland on other issues, she is not part of the governing clique at Huntington Town Hall and their patrons at the Huntington Law Center who, truth be told, call many of the shots. I just wish she'd demonstrate the courage of her convictions and speak out more forcefully and publicly when she disagrees with her colleagues, and not simply abstain from time to time.
Could this all be attributable to political machinations and an evolving battle for the supervisor’s position as Frank Petrone mulls when to resign -- something he should have done long ago?
Rather than serving as watchdogs, many in the media have acted like lapdogs when it comes to covering Huntington. I have yet to see any solid investigative reporting about Huntington in Newsday.
The following are remarks that I delivered during a public hearing at Huntington Town Hall on May 22.
I’m pleased that this town board is considering eliminating health benefits for members of the zoning and planning boards. I do not believe part-time members of any board – including this town board itself – should receive taxpayer-funded health benefits. Nor should salaries for such part-time positions be raised to make up for the loss of such benefits.
Whatever happened to the notion of public service, where people volunteered to serve on boards out of civic pride and a desire to give back to their communities? Outside of Long Island , this is still the case in many communities. Even here on Long Island, our elected school board members, many of whom put considerably more time and effort into their positions than some members of our town-appointed boards, serve without pay. We need more people like them serving on our various appointed boards, rather than merely those who are chosen based on their political connections.
Michael Kornfeld
While reading Michael Kornfeld's disortation and that of others in the Spin Cycle it is obvious that the lack of concern for the voter is a " in power " problem and not the property of any party. For some reason elected officials of any party become unaware of public oppinion once they are elected. The same is happening to Levy and most others. Term limits are the most important tool the voter has.
Maybe the town board can quit giving themselves raises and praises and tell me how much of my and the town's citizens money went to the Huntington Station Enrichment Center to pay for the rent and running costs of the Day Laborer site for the last 7 years ?
The center is now closed down for lack of funds and is being investigated by the IRS. All the people who used the center's programs should know how much was used for funding a site helping contractors avoid paying taxes as they got wealthier.
Maybe the Suffolk County DA's office and the New York State Attorney's Office should see what else the town spent ( wasted ) our money on.
HUD, Community Development Agency, Housing Authority,
Donald Pius etc come to mind !