Suffolk Closeup: 2020 A Difficult But Productive Year

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Summing up the 50^th year of the Suffolk County Legislature, its presiding officer, Rob Calarco said it was “a difficult year for everyone”—and 2020 sure was (as is 2021 so far, too)— but “despite the challenges it was a productive year.”

What were some of the accomplishments of the Suffolk Legislature in 2020?

In dealing with COVID-19 limitations, the legislature figured out how to go “virtual” using that most popular internet platform, Zoom. And the public was able to “share comments over Zoom,” noted Mr. Calarco, re-elected its presiding officer at the start of 2020. The legislature used Zoom for both its general and committee meetings.

Meetings of the Suffolk Legislature have, since it was established in 1970, always involved public participation—on a remarkable level. There’s a “public portion” at every general meeting at which people can speak on any topic, and at both the general and committee meetings the public can speak on bills being considered.

Early COVID-related legislation was to allow the hard-hit cultural and historic organizations in Suffolk as well as museums and film-related entities to receive funds from the county’s hotel/motel tax for operating expenses—to help keep them alive. This measure was put forward by Legislator Bridget Fleming of Noyac. The hotel/motel tax provides for 3% of the per-diem rate to go to the county.

Meanwhile, legislative staffers joined other county employees as “contact tracers” to investigate sources of the disease. 

Challenging discrimination and promoting diversity was a focus in 2020. 

Much had to do with the important Newsday investigation of the prior year, “Divided Long Island,” which exposed widespread racial “steering” by real estate people in both Suffolk and Nassau Counties. A Fair Housing Task Force was established and held hearings to review the county’s existing human rights law and come up with recommendations to strengthen it. “We are committed to fighting for fairness, and that includes dismantling systemic racism,” said Mr. Calarco.

As to the environment, with climate change and a consequent rise in sea levels, the legislature passed a bill creating a Coastal Resiliency and Sea Level Rise Task Force put forward by Legislator Al Krupski of Cutchogue and co-sponsored by Rudy Sunderman of Shirley, Sarah Anker of Mt. Sinai and Kara Hahn of Setauket.

The measure emphasized that “sea level rise has led to accelerated coastal erosion worldwide and is of particular concern to Long Island, with threats of destruction to Suffolk County’s 980 miles of coastline … One of the county’s main draws to tourism is its many beaches and waterfront properties, which would be ruined by coastal erosion if these environmental changes are not addressed.”

“Without any policies in place on the county level, many local municipalities are struggling to combat the accelerated erosion and sea level rise,” it said. The task force would “develop regional coastal resiliency policies to assist municipalities when making decisions that could affect Suffolk’s coastline in the future.” 

“A mix” of actions will likely be urged by the task force, said Mr. Krupski, with long experience on shoreline issues. For 20 years he served on the Southold Town Board of Trustees, which has jurisdiction over the town’s waterfront, the last 14 as its president. 

It’s expected its recommendations will include elevation of structures and roads in some areas and also moving back from the shoreline. Places in Suffolk “are so different,” Mr. Krupski said. Thus “we need local persons” to consider what can be done, why each Suffolk town has a representative on the task force. Still, it’s critical that “we all work together,” he said, 

That’s actually been a hallmark of the Suffolk Legislature—indeed, for years, it was led by a bipartisan leadership team of Republican Gregory Blass of Jamesport as presiding officer and, as deputy PO, Democrat Wayne Prospect of Dix Hills (who, so sadly, passed away last month).

Upon his re-election as PO last month, Mr. Calarco, a Patchogue Democrat, said: “We work across the aisle to get things done to protect the vulnerable, protect our environment and improve people’s lives…In a time of hyper-partisanship at other levels of government, most of the measures passed by the Suffolk County Legislature in 2020 did so on bipartisan and often unanimous votes.”

Send that message to Washington, D.C.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.