SUFFOLK CLOSEUP : Term Limits

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

In 1993, Suffolk County became the first county in New York State to adopt term limits for county officials. Now, legislation has been introduced to alter that law to provide that the officials covered would be barred from holding the same position for 12 years “in a lifetime, regardless of whether those terms are served consecutively or non-consecutively.”

The existing Suffolk term limits law only bars the county executive, legislators and the county comptroller from holding an office for more than 12 “consecutive” years.

But a problem with this arose this spring when a former county legislator, Kate Browning (D-Shirley) received the Democratic nomination to run again for the Suffolk Legislature. Ms. Browning had served as a legislator from 2005 to 2017. Then, term-limited by the 12 “consecutive” year rule, she did not run again. 

She took a job as director of code enforcement in the Town of Babylon. This year, with the resignation of Legislator Rudy Sunderman (R-Shirley) she sought to run again for her old seat on the legislature in a special election and complete his term.

However, a lawsuit was brought by two Republican voters in the legislative district and backed by the Suffolk GOP and State Supreme Court Justice James Hudson ruled her ineligible to run for the legislature again because of the 12-year limit. He wrote that the word “consecutive” in the Suffolk term limit law should be viewed as a “word of limitation and not as an invitation to run for office in the future” for the same office. But then the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, reversed that, deciding the Suffolk term limit law “does not expressly impose any total or lifetime term limit.” 

Ms. Browning thus got back on the ballot, but lost the special election in May to Republican James Mazzarella (R-Moriches) by 3,207 to 2,106 votes. They will face each other again in the general election in November, this time running for a full two-year legislative term.

 In June, newly elected Legislator Mazzarella joined with fellow Republican Legislators Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holbrook) and Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), the GOP minority leader on the panel, in introducing the measure that would alter the wording of the county’s term limit law to say it prohibits the county executive, legislators and the comptroller from holding the same office 12 years “in a lifetime.” Their bill is now in committee.

A pamphlet titled “History of County Term Limits” published by the National Association of Counties (which is online) starts by noting, “The Ancient Greeks and Romans were the first societies to implement term limits. They believed that a change of leadership periodically was good for government.” But it was only in the 1990s that “the demand for term limits started to spread in the United States.”

On the federal level, the 22^nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1951 limiting the U.S. president to two four-year terms. This, says the National Constitution Center in its online explanation, began with a push by “a Republican-controlled Congress…after Franklin Roosevelt won four consecutive terms in the White House.” Still, there are no term limits for members of Congress or, in New York, for elected officeholders in state government.

There’s debate over term limits. A piece published by the Brookings Institution, “Five Reasons to Oppose Congressional Term Limits,” says one reason would be “large swaths of lawmakers forfeiting their hard-earned experience while simultaneously requiring that freshman members make up for the training and legislative acumen that was just forced out of the door.” Yet, as the National Association of Counties relates, in the 1990s as “discontent spread” about elected officials, many in the U.S. “began to feel that new ideas and fresh leadership on a periodic basis was a desirable aim.”

That debate came to Suffolk in 1993. The late Legislator Herb Davis (R-Yaphank) whose bill on term limits was passed by the legislature 14-3, argued that with term limits “the voters get some fresh faces after a certain number of years.” The Davis measure was approved “overwhelmingly” by Suffolk voters in a referendum later in 1993, points out the former counsel to the legislature, Paul Sabatino II, a Huntington Station lawyer, who drafted the Davis bill. He commented last week: “The voters love term limits. The establishment hates them.”  

Still, what about elected officials who are basically irreplaceable? Here, in Suffolk, as an example, there is Legislator Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue), a fourth-generation Suffolk farmer, a champion of open space and farmland preservation, former president of the Southold Trustees, a position in which he gained extensive experience in shoreline issues—with climate change more critical than ever—and he was a member of the Southold Town Board. He’s a few years away from his term limit, but how can he be replaced?

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. 

Theater Review - 'The Million Dollar Quartet'

The Gateway Has a “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”

On December 4, 1956, a twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together at Sun Records’ modest storefront studio in Memphis, Tennessee, for an impromptu jam session.  What came out of that serendipitous encounter was a mind-blowing recording dubbed The Million Dollar Quartet. Sam Phillips, the undisputed “Father of Rock’ n’ Roll,” launched the careers of each of these musical icons and was instrumental in getting these four legendary performers together for this once-in-a-lifetime event known as the “Mount Rushmore of Rock’ n’ Roll.”

Million Dollar Quartet, an award-winning jukebox musical written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, brings that historical moment to life.  In many ways, this show is a tribute to the creative genius of Sam Phillips, who discovered and nurtured these four exceptional performers and many others. The show takes place in one day, giving this musical a certain intimacy that makes you feel like you were there watching the event unfold. 

The plot itself is a bit on the flimsy side, consisting of a lot of bantering among the boys, revealing their insecurities, petty rivalries, and ego-driven ambitions. However, the rapid-fire energy of the musicians, combined with their strong vocals, and the songbook which includes the chart-toppers “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Hound Dog,” “Who Do You Love,” “That’s All Right,” “Sixteen Tons,” and “Matchbox,” all come together to create a fantastic night of theatre.

The very talented Sean Casey Flanagan gave a strong performance as Sam Phillips.  Mr. Flanagan’s high voltage rocking out during the finale song, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” revealed Sam Phillips’s instinctual sense of rhythm and his undying passion and appreciation for the music he helped create.

As the King of Rock’ n’ Roll, Jacob Barton’s gyrating hip movements, expert guitar playing, and impressive singing made the audience feel that Elvis was indeed alive and well and strutting his stuff in Bellport.

Steven Lasiter was believable as Johnny Cash, and his soulful renditions of “Ghost Riders” and “Down by the Riverside” were two of the show’s high points.

Trevor Dorner as Jerry Lee Lewis blew the audience away with his exceptional piano-playing and high-energy performance of “Great Balls of Fire.” Mr. Dorner had some of the funniest lines in the show, and he delivered them with perfect timing. His physical comedy bits, including pounding the keyboard with his foot, raking his hands up and down the keyboard, and standing on top of the piano, received some of the biggest laughs of the evening.  

Nathan Burke gave a nuanced performance as Carl Perkins, a talented performer with a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder.  Mr. Burke rocked the house as he belted out, “See You Later Alligator.” Justin Bendel portrayed the bassist, Jay Perkins, Carl’s older brother.  He delighted the audience with his incredible musical talents and performed some entertaining tricks with his bass, including flipping the instrument and playing it while lying down!  

Mike Lucchetti, as Fluke, proved himself to be a most accomplished drummer, one who never missed a beat. 

Taylor Kraft as Dyanne, the girlfriend who accompanies Elvis to the recording studio, lit up the stage with her charismatic presence and gave a showstopping performance with her sultry rendition of “Fever.”

The show is directed with expert precision by Tim Seib and produced by Gershwin Entertainment. Kirk Bookman’s lighting design, Adam Koch and Steven Royal’s set design, and Jeffrey Meek’s costume design all added to the overall success of this show.

Music is a time machine, and this energetic musical will transport you back to the early days of Rock’ n’ Roll.  This show captured the essence of the spontaneity, fun, and uninhibited exuberance that characterized this musical genre.  

The US National Tour Million Dollar Quartet runs from now until Saturday, August 21. Tickets start at $49. Teen and youth prices are available for select shows. For more information, contact the Box Office at (631) 286-1133, or visit the website at TheGateway.org. 

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She has a BFA in Theatre from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatist Guilds. She is the author of two self-help books, Grant Me a Higher Love and Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP : Legislature Approves Housing Advisory Board

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

The Suffolk County Legislature last week approved the creation of a Permanent Housing Advisory Board to focus on housing discrimination here. The formation of a 15-person board follows a three-year investigation by Newsday which, as the measure establishing the board noted, “uncovered extensive evidence of impermissible steering of consumers seeking to purchase a home” and this “on the basis of race” and “throughout Long Island.”

“This practice,” it went on, “has reinforced racial divides throughout communities, despite fair housing laws which prohibit such pernicious discrimination.”

Among members of the board: the presiding officer of the Suffolk Legislature who would be its chair; the executive director and also chair of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission; representatives of organizations including: the NAACP; Latino Justice; Long Island Board of Realtors; Erase Racism; Long Island Builders Institute; Long Island Hispanic Bar Association; and Long Island Housing Services.

Formation of the board was recommended in a report of a Fair Housing Task Force, formed in the wake of the Newsday series, which recommended such a “standing” panel. It was was submitted to the legislature in June.

The Newsday series was titled “Long Island Divided.” As Newsday investigative reporter Keith Herbert wrote in a piece on “How We Did It”—“Two testers of the same gender and age bracket—but of different races or ethnicities—are given matching personas. The profiles typically include the same family status, education level, type of job, level of income and credit score. After being matched in a pair, the testers tell a real estate agent that they are searching for houses with identical qualities, prices and locations.”

What was documented: the “steering” of testers to houses for sale based on their race or ethnicity. This is a key to how through the years minority people have ended up in ghettos on Long Island.

As declares the Fair Housing Task Force report in an opening “Background” section, “Suffolk County has a long history of redlining and other housing policies that have led to segregation. A 2010 study conducted by Brown University Professor John Logan showed that Suffolk County was the 10^th most segregated county in the nation among similarly sized counties.”

What’s to be done?

Among the many recommendations of the Fair Housing Task Force is “increased support for the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission.” It says: “In particular, increased funding and support for the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission was identified as an area where the county could take immediate steps to further the goals of ensuring fair and equitable access to housing. Support for the Human Rights Commission is critical, not only to ensure they may continue their work well into the future” but “without having to rely on grant funding.”

It urged “fair housing testing” by the Human Rights Commission.

And, it recommended “increased funding for administrative law judges” of the commission to “strengthen its enforcement ability.”

The Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, created in 1963, is now down to an executive director, attorney Dawn Lott, and three investigators. As a reporter, I covered the commission in the 1960s. Its staff years ago was larger than it is today.

There have been attacks on the commission through the decades. Suffolk County’s first county executive, H. Lee Dennison, fired the commission’s dedicated executive director, George Pettingill. Anthony Noto, presiding officer of the Suffolk Legislature, was later to call for abolition of the commission after it pressed against discrimination by police. There have been other political assaults. Meanwhile, the population of Suffolk has increased and racism continues as the Newsday investigation showed. 

In my Investigative Reporting class which I’ve taught for 43 years as a journalism professor at SUNY/College at Old Westbury, as part of students actually doing investigative reporting, every semester some students seek to go out in Suffolk and Nassau Counties in mixed pairs racially or ethnically to look for apartments or jobs. I tell students that I wish by now they wouldn’t find discrimination. But they always do. 

To read the report of the Fair Housing Task Force, chaired by Legislator Sam Gonzalez, go to https://www.scnylegislature.us/DocumentCenter/View/78262/2021-Suffolk-County-Fair-Housing-Task-Force-Report-PDF

One of its conclusions: “Suffolk County communities clearly have been afflicted by steering and other unlawful discriminatory housing practices.”

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. 

Golf News: MGA/MET Two-Man Better Ball

By Jerry Gentile

On the very pleasant weekend of July 31-August 1, The MGA/MET Two-Man Better Ball was played.

Golfers Guy Allen (16) and Tom Elliot (9) took honors with a (-9) from Ryan Hillen (11) and Andy Kovacs (5) in a match of cards. Ryan shot a very fine (79).

Other competition news: The SLMGA Two-Man Better Ball tournament was contended.

Tom McCrave (27) and Ray Winslow (18) shot an amazing -13 under for a (59) and the win.

“Tip of the Cap” goes out to Ed Haliasz and David Capo who both shot (75) for their respective partners. This could be a preview of the Club Championship Final!!

Congratulations to all participants and good luck to Guy and Tom, as they move to the next round of the MGA/MET tournament. See you 

Theater Review - 'Songs For A New World'

By Cindi Sansone-Braff

You would be hard-pressed to find a more talented group of performers or a more polished production than Gateway’s opening show of the season, Songs for a New World.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this show, it is a well-composed collection of songs that deliver some powerful messages. Jason Robert Brown, a 25-year-old composer/lyricist, pieced together 16 of his songs written for other creative projects, added a few new songs, linked them together thematically, and created Songs for a New World.  Originally produced off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in 1995, this theatrical song cycle was directed by Daisy Prince, the daughter of Broadway legend Hal Prince. With this in mind, don’t come expecting the traditional musical show with recurring characters and a plot structure that has a beginning, middle, and end. It’s similar in format to Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, the 1968 musical revue that eschewed conventional narrative storytelling and just allowed each song to tell its tale. However, in Songs for a New World, the musical numbers in this show are loosely thematically connected, thus creating an overarching narrative for the show. 

I have seen other productions of this show that have left the audience baffled as to what they just saw because it has no script, a bare set, and nameless characters. Kudos to Gateway’s directors, Michael Baker and Danny Loftus George, for their creative decision to use the first act as a testament to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a salute to essential workers, a nod to the isolation of quarantine, and a musical memorial to those souls lost along the way. From the moment the talented Mary Kate Moore entered all masked up, took center stage, and then ever so slowly lifted off her mask, this highly emotionally charged, theatrical sojourn began. The second act traveled back in time to 1979, when the AIDS crisis first hit.  

The poignant lyrics in the opening number, “The New World,” let the audience know from the get-go what this song cycle is all about: “It’s about one moment … when you’re on the verge of success, the sky starts to change, and the wind starts to blow.” In this show, as in life, some people survive the life-changing jolt. Sadly, some succumb; nonetheless, faith, hope, and a belief in the wisdom, mercy, and goodness of God give many of these characters the strength to get through the dark night of the soul.

Each of the songs, in this two-act musical collection of stories, features a character who is in the midst of a life-changing event. These diverse characters are all struggling to survive these life-altering moments and must make choices as to how they want to live the rest of their lives in the context of this new world. This is a very timely sentiment as we all struggle to adjust to the new normal created from the COVID-19 pandemic. The takeaway message of hope for the audience is to simply remember the adage: When one door closes, another opens.

Caleb Mitchell, dressed like a minister, gave a powerful performance as he belted out the song, “On the Deck of a Sailing Ship, 1492,” begging God for mercy and the strength to go on. Mr. Mitchell has an incredible voice and a commanding stage presence. The audience was visibly moved during his soulful rendition of the spiritually uplifting song, “Flying Home.”

Alyssa Wray, fresh off of her recent appearance on American Idol as one of the top ten finalists, is a natural on stage, with the most captivating of voices. Dressed in scrubs, wearing PPE, she left the audience in tears with her soulful delivery of “I’m Not Afraid of Anything.”  

Christian Douglas is an energetic, versatile performer, who can sing, dance, and act, and his acrobatic skills thrilled the audience. He stole the show with his drag queen rendition of “Surabaya-Santa,” which is a parody of Kurt Weill’s torch song, “Surabaya Johnny.” 

Jordan Goodsell gave a standout performance in one of my favorite musical numbers of the evening, “The River Won’t Flow.”  

Mary Kate Moore has an angelic voice and moved around the stage with lightness and grace as she delivered the breathtakingly beautiful song, “Christmas Lullaby.”

Morgan Billings Smith displayed her comedic talents and her strong vocals with the song, “Just One Step,” where a wealthy, neurotic woman threatens to jump off of a building in a futile attempt to get her husband’s attention.

The knockout performances from this talented cast, the expert staging, the live orchestra, and the riveting songs all came together to make this an unforgettable night of theatre. At times, you will feel like you’re in the middle of a gospel revival meeting, and other times you will feel like you’re sitting in an intimate jazz club or hanging out at a comedy club. These thought-provoking, heartrending, and often funny songs remind us that even in the midst of life’s tragedies and disasters, there are always moments of humor that lighten our load. With all that said, the bottom line is this: You will be thoroughly entertained.

Without powerful, charismatic singers, great direction, and a professional orchestra, this show would be a hard one to pull off, but Gateway’s performers did not disappoint, and the show was a smashing success. Tickets start at $49. Teen and youth prices are available for select shows. For more information, contact the Box Office at (631) 286-1133, or visit the website at TheGateway.org. 

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She has a BFA in Theatre from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatist Guilds. She is the author of two self-help books, Grant Me a Higher Love and Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships.