SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Look To County History Before Changing Suffolk County Legislature

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

A resolution has been introduced at the Suffolk County Legislature to reduce the number of its members from 18 to 13. A good idea? Nope.

As the only journalist still around who covered Suffolk’s previous governing body, the Suffolk County Board of Supervisors, and then, starting in 1970, the Suffolk County Legislature, I have a perspective on the issue—and having a legislature with 18 members has been, I’d say, a good move for Suffolk.

It’s comparable to the number of members of county legislatures in nearby counties. 

Neighboring Nassau has a 19-member legislature. The Westchester County Legislature has 17. The Dutchess County Legislature has 25. 

With smaller districts, there can be elections based on personal touch—a candidate can go door-to-door to meet voters. That’s much better than being barraged, as we increasingly have been, in election campaigns for countywide, state and particularly federal offices by incessant TV commercials, impersonal and obnoxious robo-calls and the like.

There have been instances in Suffolk of extraordinarily uphill campaigns run by candidates for the Suffolk Legislature who achieved victory initially and then won re-election after going door-to-door. 

With Suffolk now having a population of 1.5 million, legislative districts each contain about 80,000 people—or approximately 20,000 households. That’s a lot of doors to knock on, but by being selective as to who is visited, it can still can be a route to winning. Upping each district’s population to 115,000 by reducing the legislature to 13 districts might seem like it could still provide for this kind of personal campaigning. I wonder.

Beyond campaigns, having relatively small legislative districts is a way citizens can have more of an impact on her or his legislator. Moreover, a legislator can represent each community in her or his district more effectively. In Suffolk County, communities—even those next to each other—are typically different. There is great variety among our hamlets and villages. Having a legislator representing too large a district would dilute her or his constituency.

The measure to reduce the number of districts to 13 has been put forward by Legislator Bill Lindsay III of Oakdale. His father, William Lindsay, was a legislator and subsequently the panel’s presiding officer, too, until his death in 2013. Bill was elected to replace him.

Mr. Lindsay cites cost-savings in his bill. It states that “reducing the number of legislative districts from 18 to 13 would produce a commensurate reduction in costs and those savings could be passed on to the county’s taxpayers.” Further, it says “while a smaller legislative body would result in districts with marginally larger populations, these districts would still be small enough to allow underfunded candidates to compete effectively.”

A countywide referendum would be required for the measure to be enacted. 

Some background. Suffolk County got a legislature after centuries of having a Board of Supervisors. The end of the board—as well as similar boards in Nassau, Westchester, Dutchess, indeed across the nation—came because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s one-person-one-vote decisions of the 1960s. They were centered on the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. In Suffolk, a lawsuit based on those rulings was brought. Highlighted was how the Suffolk board consisted of the 10 supervisors of each of Suffolk’s towns and the supervisor of a small East End town had the same one vote as the a supervisor of a significantly more populated western Suffolk town.

Thus came the Suffolk Legislature in 1970—with 18 selected as a good number.

Some aspects of the Suffolk Board of Supervisors continue with the Suffolk Legislature. The board, for example, made sure members of the public had an opportunity to speak out at its meetings. And it saw itself as a legislative body in check-and-balance with the county executive. 

The county executive used to sit with the board and then also sat with the legislature at its horseshoe table—until 1975. In that year, Democrats gained a legislative majority and the late Suffolk Democratic Chairman Dominic Baranello—in a wrong-headed move, in my view—decided that sitting in at legislative meetings provided too much attention for Suffolk County Executive John V. N. Klein, a highly articulate Republican and Smithtown resident. (As Smithtown Town supervisor, Mr. Klein represented the town on the Board of Supervisors and then, with the advent of the legislature, ran for the legislature and became its presiding officer until he was elected county executive). Mr. Baranello got the Democratic majority to kick out the county executive from legislative meetings. That system of including the county executive should be brought back and the check-and-balance between legislature and county executive in Suffolk demonstrated again out in the open and with vigor. 

A weakness of the Board of Supervisors: the 10 supervisors of which it was made up were largely concerned with running their towns, not the county.  County oversight was a secondary duty. Suffolk legislators are there to be county lawmakers. And 18 has been a productive number. 

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.

LONG ISLAND ‘ENCORE’ THEATER AWARD WINNERS – 2016

LONG ISLAND ‘ENCORE’ THEATER AWARD WINNERS – 2016

Selected by Syndicated Reviewer, Jeb Ladouceur

Once again, Theatre Three, Gateway Playhouse, and The Engeman were equally strong in this year’s ‘Encore’ competition … each of the iconic organizations produced winners in three of the contest’s ten categories. The famed Gateway garnered its trio of winning nods for the first time since 2013… and all those awards were for the same show! Repeat successes in this, the 4th year that ‘Encore’ certificates have been awarded, were Jeffrey Sanzel (Best Actor and Best Director) and Brett Chizever (Best Featured Actor). They had been selected in the selfsame categories in previous years. Worthy of note are the standout performances of acknowledged international stars Andrea McArdle (Broadway’s original ‘Annie’) and Sally Struthers (of ‘All in the Family’ fame). They added greatly to this year’s Long Island theater scene.

Best Play or Musical

‘Anything Goes’

Gateway Performing Arts Center, Bellport

For the first time, Bellport’s Gateway Theater wins the top ‘Encore’ prize with a lively Cole Porter musical. Lighting, Costumes, Choreography, and Performing excellence combined to make ‘Anything Goes’ this season’s winner despite strong competition from a number of other memorable productions staged in Port Jefferson and Northport. 

 

Top Overall Show ‘’Anything Goes’

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Best Supporting Actress (play or musical)

Sally Struthers – (‘Anything Goes’)

Gateway Performing Arts Center, Bellport

The multiple award winning star of ‘All in the Family’ brought her considerable skills to Bellport earlier this year, and the audience at The Gateway just loved her. We got the distinct impression that Struthers is clearly familiar with ‘Anything Goes,’ so comfortable was she in her featured role. Sally and her little canine pal lit up the south shore stage.

Sally Struthers

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Best Actress (play or musical

Andrea McArdle – (‘Anything Goes’)

Gateway Performing Arts Center, Bellport

Andrea McArdle is one of those hoofers who is equally comfortable when singing, dancing, or acting. Since creating the title role in ‘Annie’ McArdle hasn’t missed a note, a beat, or an emotion. If anything the multi-talented star has only improved in her maturity, and she still looks like the kid who won our hearts with her sensational Broadway debut.

 

Andrea McArdle

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Best Supporting Actor (play or musical)

Brett Chizever – (‘Beau Jest’)

Theatre Three, Port Jefferson

Brett pulled off the comic gem of 2016 in ‘Beau Jest.’ Playing the hilarious part of ‘Bob,’ a ‘Boyfriend for Hire,’ Chizever teamed up with Jenna Kavaler and kept the Theatre Three audience in stitches for two hours. Brett’s job was all the more impressive because his role was so distinct from the sympathetic character he played in 2015’s gut-wrenching ‘The Boy from Oz.’

 

Brett Chizever (standing)

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Best Actor (play or musical)

Jeffrey Sanzel - (‘A Christmas Carol’)

Theatre Three, Port Jefferson

There should be a special acting category for Jeffrey Sanzel, if for no other reason than to be fair to his fellow thespians. It’s hard to imagine a role in any play or musical that can match Sanzel’s adaptation of Dickens’s immortal classic ‘A Christmas Carol,’ nor are we likely ever to find a role as compelling as that of ‘Ebenezer Scrooge.’ No one has interpreted the part as well as Sanzel.

Jeffrey Sanzel

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Best Scenic Design (play or musical)

Jonathan Collins – (‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’)

John W. Engeman Theater, Northport

Jon Collins is one of those theatrical masters who has become the very best at his craft. As soon as we enter Northport’s snazzy Engeman Theater, we’re breathtaken by Jon’s magnificent sets, and they prepare us for an even higher level of satisfaction. Collins has an inate sense of the optimum use of space within the proscenium. He is literally unmatched at the game.

 

‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’

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Best Child Actor (boy or girl – play or musical)

Sophia Eleni Kekllas - (‘Mary Poppins’)

John W. Engeman Theater, Northport

When we saw Sophia Eleni Kekllas’s winning portrayal of a ‘doll come to life’ in ‘Mary Poppins,’ it was as if the youngster was inventing the part as she went along. There was nothing contrived or artificial about her interpretation. Still, she made us believe for a few precious minutes. Bear in mind that little Sophia was playing- a character who could not exist. That’s acting!

 

Sophia Eleni Kekllas (center)

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Best Costume Design (play or musical)

Kurt Alger - (‘Mary Poppins’)

John W. Engeman Theater, Northport

Those who underestimate the importance of costumes in glitzy shows like ‘Mary Poppins’ would be overwhelmed by taking a trip backstage. There’s scarcely room to maneuver, so jammed with racks, hangers, and wig stands are the wings of the average playhouse. With this show set in Edwardian era London, the complexity of dressing its actors became routine for Kurt Alger.

 

‘Mary Poppins’

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Best Director (play or musical)

Jeffrey Sanzel - (‘Godspell’)

Theatre Three, Port Jefferson

Those of us who frequent Long Island theater haunts are familiar with the man who has become local drama’s Picasso … its Babe Ruth … its Mozart. Nothing that takes place on stage is likely to stymie this actor/writer/director. Jeffrey Sanzel took a giant step in reinforcing that reputation when he molded the cast of ‘Godspell’ into a unit where every performer seemed born to their role. 

 

Jeffrey Sanzel

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Best Newcomer (male or female – play or musical)

Jennifer Barry - (‘Spamalot’)

Star Playhouse, Commack

Barry, believe it or not, works at a diner in New York City, where she happily waits on tables, and satisfies her show business instincts by entertaining Ellen’s Stardust customers with her big voice and repertoire of show tunes. In her Star Playhouse debut, Jennifer more than met expectations, and her collegiate theater training paid off with this, her first ‘Encore’ award. Welcome!

 

Jennifer Barry

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Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of a dozen novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. His newest book, THE GHOSTWRITERS, explores the bizarre relationship between the late Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Ladouceur’s recently completed thriller, THE SOUTHWICK INCIDENT, is due next month. It involves a radicalized Yale student and his CIA pursuers. Mr. Ladouceur’s revealing website is www.JebsBooks.com

Letter To Editor - Smithtown FD Election Dec. 13 Joseph Gardella Asks For Your Vote.

To my friends and neighbors,

On December 13, there will be an election held at Smithtown FD headquarters for the purpose of filling a vacated seat for commissioner. Voting will be between the hours of 4 – 9 PM.

I am writing to inform all of you that I will be running for that seat, and I hope to gain your support.

I have been a resident of Smithtown since 1970. After joining the Smithtown Fire Department in 1977, I have aspired to and held every line officers rank in my company and twice served terms as captain. In 1995, I was elected to the position of third assistant chief and worked my way up to Chief of Department in 2001 and completed my term in 2003. During my tenure in the chief’s office, I completed training in the areas of fire command, tactics and strategy, safety, and budget and finance. I was responsible for implementing the department’s health and safety program and authored the department’s operating guidelines - both which are still in use today.

In 2007, I was elected commissioner. During my term I dealt with safety issues, and with compliance to NFPA standards, all while maintaining fiscally responsible policies and practices. I worked with the board to see the Station 1 project through from concept to construction. I was also very proud to be a part of improving our ISO rating through equipment acquisitions and training which resulted in lower fire insurance premiums for the taxpayers.

Having worked in both offices, I consider myself very detail- oriented, and I understand the needs and operations of both the department and the district.

Thank you for considering me. 

Joeseph Gardella

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP -Pine Barrens Society Lawsuit Hurts LI Farmers

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

It is shocking that a local environmental organization brought a lawsuit challenging the implementation of the Suffolk County Farmland Preservation Program, a visionary program which has been the key to saving an important and historical activity here and keeping Suffolk a top agricultural county in New York State.

A State Supreme Court justice has ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought by the Long Island Pine Barrens Society which claimed that allowing “structures” on preserved farmland, permitted by amendments to the program approved by the Suffolk Legislature, was not legal. Suffolk County is appealing this October decision by Justice Thomas Whelan. 

If the ruling is allowed to stand it would “effectively gut the Farmland Preservation Program,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “If farmers can’t do the things necessary to run a successful operation, we can’t have farming here anymore.”

At a press conference two weeks ago, outrage was expressed over what has happened. Among those present were numerous county legislators from western and central Suffolk including Leslie Kennedy of Nesconset—who represents the Town of Smithtown on the legislature, Dwayne Gregory of Amityville, the legislature’s presiding officer,  Rob Colarco  of Patchogue, Kate Browning of Shirley, Kevin McCaffrey of Lindenhurst, Dr. William Spencer of Centerport, and Sarah Anker of Mount Sinai. Their attendance demonstrated, said Rob Carpenter, administrative director of the Long Island Farm Bureau, “that this is not just about the East End—this is countywide.”

Indeed, having farms in Suffolk is integral to Suffolk County.

Also there, of course, were Legislators Al Krupski of Cutchogue and Bridget Fleming of Noyac whose districts encompass the East End. 

Mr. Carpenter, in his comments, stressed that “farmers need to have the ability to change with the times.” They need to have “structures for farm equipment, to protect animals” and greenhouses, among other buildings.

Mr. Krupski, who led the press conference and is a fourth-generation Suffolk farmer, said: “There is great diversity in agriculture, and not everyone understands what is needed to operate a productive farm or agricultural operation. Agriculture is changing. Different farming techniques, new technology and methods are emerging, along with the opportunities they present. Infrastructure needs may change. We need to adapt to accommodate these changes if we want to preserve agriculture and farming.”

John v.H.Halsey, president of the Peconic Land Trust, said the Land Trust “is very concerned about the recent court ruling and its impact on our local working farms so important to Long Island’s jobs and tourist economy.” Suffolk’s “landmark” Farm Preservation Program “is about assuring the future of farming and agricultural production first and foremost” and, “Agricultural production by definition includes structures like barns, greenhouses and fences. Such structures are essential to the business of farming, and do not just benefit the farmer, but also the public, residents and visitors alike, who are afforded access to a wide variety of locally grown products, including food, wine and horticultural products. In short, agriculture is a central component of Long Island’s history and community character from which all benefit.”

Riverhead farmer Mark Zaweski, a member of the Suffolk County Farmland Commission, said the lawsuit “has far-reaching consequences to the already burdened Suffolk County farmers. Equipment storage buildings, greenhouses to start young seedlings for early market sales as well as high tunnels to prolong the growing season are of utmost importance in today’s evolving agricultural industry….For equine and any animal production, shelters are required by law.” If the ruling sticks, “farmers who have sold their development rights will have a difficult time continuing on, and those that haven’t will not even consider entering into the program, which then leaves those farms for possible development into more homes and subdivisions.”

The Suffolk County Farmland Preservation Program, conceived by County Executive John V.N. Klein of Smithtown, is a brilliant program begun in 1974 based on what was then a first-in-the-nation idea: the purchase of “development rights” from farmers. Farmers would be paid the difference between the value of their land if kept in agriculture and what it would bring if sold off for development. In return, the land is kept in agriculture in perpetuity. Some 10,636 farmland acres have been saved in Suffolk through the program. It has been emulated across the United States. 

“The original intent of the program was to be a working land program,” notes Mr. Carpenter, a veteran of the Long Island Farm Bureau.

The lawsuit is misguided and needs to be overturned—to save Suffolk as a place of working farms. Mr. Krupski has formed a committee with among its members land preservation specialists, local officials and farm representatives which is focusing on the best ways to address the lawsuit including through new legislation on the county and state levels.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Time For A Renewed Commitment To Public Transportation

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

In my first years as a journalist on Long Island, in 1963, for a story on traffic I interviewed Austin M. Sarr, district engineer on the island for the then New York State Department of Public Works. 

Mr. Sarr, well-familiar with the then ever-busier highways on the island, told me at his department’s office in North Babylon of what he called “Sarr’s Law.” It stated, he shared, that whenever a highway is built to relieve traffic on a congested highway, the new road is soon discovered—and it gets congested, too.  

The lesson of this?  What Long Island needs is good public transportation—buses and trains—to move people.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the view of the state’s public works czar, Robert Moses (who resided just to the south, in Babylon Village). With his devotion to cars—although he didn’t drive one; he got chauffeured around—Mr. Moses caused transportation on Long Island to be heavily based on the auto. He built the Northern and Southern State Parkways and what is described accurately as the world’s longest parking lot: the Long Island Expressway. He stressed government funding for this. And the island didn’t get a balanced transportation system.

Suffolk County executive after executive, however, in years past, pushed for public transportation.  County Executive John V. N. Klein of Smithtown (a former Smithtown supervisor and presiding officer of the Suffolk Legislature) declared in 1979 that “if every hour deposited a bus somewhere in sprawling Suffolk, we would be well on our way to creating a public transportation system.”

County Executive Peter F. Cohalan in his 1980 annual report said that “Suffolk County must commit itself to the development of an efficient and reliable mass transportation system which meets the needs of all residents.” In that year Suffolk Transit was created and established a series of bus routes. Mr. Cohalan was soon announcing “that nearly 1.8 million passengers rode Suffolk County Transit during 1981” and stated: “I think these statistics reveal that if we provide convenient, reliable bus service at moderate cost, the public will buy it.”

But suddenly now, after years of bus service in Suffolk growing—with citizen advocacy  being critical—the administration of County Executive Steve Bellone is cutting bus routes because county government faces financial problems. 

It’s a terrible reversal of the work done to create a public transportation system in Suffolk. It’s a turn away from an overwhelmingly car-dominated system that has clogged our highways and from which there is no building new roads to relieve, as Mr. Sarr emphasized years ago.

Public transportation, moreover, is vital for people who can’t afford autos and for senior citizens who no longer drive. It should be a top priority for Suffolk County government.

Suffolk Legislators Kate Browning of Shirley and Bridget Fleming of Noyac have just introduced a measure titled “Establishing a Working Group to Maximize the Level of Transportation Services Provided by Suffolk County.” Their bill states that “Suffolk County’s budget for bus transportation is under extreme pressure and it must be adjusted either with increased revenue or reduced expenditures.”

This “Working Group” is to consist of 11 members, mostly county officials along with some town and village officials and also a bus company executive and a representative of the Long Island Bus Riders’ Union. It would “make recommendations that can serve as a basis for a new bus service plan that will reconfigure bus service where feasible to serve key ridership segments and key assets.” It would also “explore the feasibility of improving other public transportation systems in Suffolk County including railroad service.”

The measure was approved at a meeting of the Suffolk Legislature last week and now goes to Mr. Bellone for his consideration.

Would the “Working Group” be defeatist and settle for a shrinking of the county’s bus system?  Or will it stand strong for a renewed commitment? 

I grew up in Queens in the 1950s which was then not much different than western Suffolk County is now. We lived in St. Albans, all residential, and as a kid and teen I functioned easily taking buses. In high school, every weekday, I took the Q-3A bus to work at the Queensborough Public Library in Jamaica. To get to the city, I took the bus to the subway. I never drove a car and never needed to until coming to Suffolk to live in 1961. Here there was no choice then but to have and drive a car. The New York City bus system was reliable and convenient. Suffolk Transit has been moving towards a good level of service. We should not turn back now. 

A local note: my family resided in a two-family house in St. Albans and living downstairs were the newly-married Floyd and Bernice Sarisohn. Floyd became my Explorer Scout advisor. After I went off to college, he and Bernice moved to Commack where Floyd has been an attorney, judge and Smithtown Democratic leader.