All In A Day's Work - Ethics Board Does Not Find Sufficient Evidence

NY Times photoIn a two-paragraph letter sent to Smithtown’s Democratic Chairperson, Edward Maher, the three member Town Ethics Board stated:

“This board did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that any town employee committed a violation of the Smithtown Code of Ethics.  This board is aware of recommendations made by the grand jury with respect to amending the Town Code and will continue to consult with the town attorney regarding possible amendments.”

Smithtown’s Board of Ethics is composed of three members, Democrat Steven Sarisohn (attorney), Republican Joe Saggese (CPA) and independent Tracey Epstein (attorney). On March 30, 2012, Ed Maher requested that the Ethics Board review the 2011 Suffolk County Grand Jury Report, which examined the illegal demolition of buildings on Main Street In Smithtown.  The Grand Jury report was critical of Town Supervisor, Patrick Vecchio identified as Town Employee “A” and Greg Hild, former Town Assessor, identified as Town Employee “C.”

Although there were no criminal charges, the 40-page Grand Jury report found that “A” and “C” pressured the developer to unlawfully demolish the site, even though they were aware that the prospective demolition lacked lawful permits and had been issued a Building Department Stop Work Order.  The Grand Jury determined that the unsupervised demolition “constituted an utter disregard for the well-being of local citizens,” who were not given advance notice of the demolition. It was later determined that the commercial site was demolished with asbestos within its structures. 

The report included a detailed description of behind-the-scene involvement by “A” and “C”. The Grand Jury drew conclusions and made many recommendations.

Among the conclusions published in its report, the Grand Jury found that the Smithtown Code of Ethics fails to mandate that town employees report activities known to violate the town code to an appropriate town department or authority and that the ethics code does not adequately provide for the removal of its public servants, currently addressing the removal of “a limited category of appointed officials” upon violation of the code, “a provision that fails to cover all public servants”.  

Smithtown Democratic Chairperson, Edward MaherEd Maher issued this statement thanking the Smithtown Board of Ethics:

I want to thank the Smithtown Board of Ethics for fulfilling my request and conducting this investigation. I am sure that the ethics board did their best and I accept their conclusions. Considering the seriousness of the Grand Jury’s findings I am surprised that the Smithtown Board of Ethics found no code violations by town employees. So while no town employees have been found in violation of the Smithtown Town Code the code itself seems to be quite weak.  The result of this investigation reaffirms the Grand Jury’s recommendations to strengthen the Town Code. I hope the town officials agree with me and will continue to transform the Town Code so that the activity outlined by the District Attorney will not be considered ethical in the future.

Legislative actions recommended by the grand jury in its report include:

Smithtown must increase fines to, at a minimum, at least double a site plan application fee, to discourage developers and builders who fail to obtain site plan approval,

Smithtown must amend and increase the town’s fine schedule for demolition or construction occurring in the town without proper building department permits,

Smithtown must enact legislation establishing an independent Board of Site Plan Review to ensure “that the legal mandates of site plan review are enforced”.   Currently town board members serve in this capacity.

Smithtown must amend the town code requiring property owners adjacent to a construction or demolition project be notified to allow them to be heard.

Smithtown must amend the town’s Code of Ethics to mandate any public servant with personal knowledge of the violation of town code “has an affirmative obligation” to report it the appropriate town department.

Smithtown must adopt a statute authorizing the removal of any public servant “who engages in misconduct” consistent with the provisions of New York State’s Public Officers Law. 

Administrative changes recommended by grand jurors include requiring town building inspectors and clerical staff to receive training in asbestos inspection and abatement and establishing protocols for the building department’s notification to town officials when a Stop Work order is issued.  The report also calls on Smithtown to identify and sanction commercial demolition and construction contractors who proceed on projects without verifying the proper permits have been issued.

Calling on town officials to refrain from interceding in commercial projects “in a manner that undermines the town code”, the Grand Jury recommended the town obtain an “independent review” by the state of the Office of Town Assessor to insure all properties are assessed “on a uniform and equitable basis” and that Smithtown “audit the practices and procedures administer by the town Assessor “particularly…the assessment of commercial properties”.           

Smithtown Women Make Blankets For Veterans

click on photo to enlargeA group of senior citizens from the Smithtown Senior Citizen Department recently spent the afternoon at the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University.

According to Laura Greif, Program Director, “We have a group of very talented women who spend countless hours making quilts and lap blankets specifically for our nations’ veterans. They are a very patriotic group who want to say thank you in a personal way.”

The group distributed fifty quilts/blankets to residents, all of whom had the opportunity to pick out one in their favorite color.   Jacqueline Bodkin, Assistant Director of Therapeutic Recreation, hosted the event and was very grateful for the donation. 

Pictured from left to right are JoAnn Loh, Teresa Foti, Christine O’Connor, Rose Garbarino, Dorothy Lehl and Carolyn Eberhardt.

For more information about the Smithtown Senior Citizen Department come visit us at 420 Middle Country Road in Smithtown, call us at 631-360-7616 or visit us at  HYPERLINK “http://www.smithtownny.gov” www.smithtownny.gov.

Photo Credit: Patty Bornhoft

Kings Park Smoke Stack Is No More

A warning at two minutes, at one minute and a few seconds later it was over. The smoke stack was no more. The crowd, and there were many watching, disbanded. The traffic jam lasted much longer than the demolition.  People seemed surprised that the demolition ended so quickly. Some were disappointed, but there seemed to be a consensus that they were glad they had witnessed the demolition of the landmark.

Kings Park's Maureen Rossi Named 2013 SC Woman of Distinction

Maureen Rossi of Kings Park Named 2013 Suffolk County Woman of Distinction

Nominated by Suffolk County Legislator Lynne C. Nowick

click on photo to enlarge(Smithtown, NY)… In recognition of Women’s History Month, at the March 19 meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature, Maureen Rossi, of Kings Parks, was recognized as the 2013 Suffolk County Woman of Distinction. She received a proclamation signed by all 18 legislators. Mrs. Rossi was nominated by Suffolk County Legislator Lynne C. Nowick, who represents the Kings Park area. Each legislator can nominate one Woman of Distinction from his/her district and one County-wide woman is then selected by the Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission as that year’s Suffolk County Woman of Distinction.

As young woman, Maureen Rossi started volunteering as a candy striper at a local hospital and has continued to be a volunteer throughout her life. Her volunteer activities range from volunteering on the PTA for her children’s school, to serving as a den mother for their scout troops, to coaching their athletic games, to establishing the Parent Resource Center in Kings Park, to teaching Catholic studies at St. Joseph’s School of Religion, to providing coffee and cheer to the rescue workers at Ground Zero, to founding Kings Park in the kNOw, to colleting and distributing items of necessity and clothes to the victims of Hurricane Sandy and others living at shelters. Maureen is married and has two children and is a part-time employee at The Balance Health & Wellness Center in Kings Park.

Legislator Nowick said, “It is my honor to know Maureen and I am proud to have a woman of this caliber as my constituent. She is most deserving of this recognition.”

Attending the presentation were from left to right, Chris Geed, chair of the Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission; Helen and Mike Ledden, Maureen’s parents; Maureen Rossi, Woman of Distinction; and Legislators Lynne C. Nowick and John M. Kennedy, Jr., who represent Smithtown.

Happy Passover!

Submitted by Barbara & Fred Kruger

The text below is from believe Judaism For Dummies:

At a Passover seder, the following traditional items are on the table:

Seder plate: The seder plate (there’s usually one per table) holds at least six of the ritual items that are talked about during the seder: the shankbone, karpas, chazeret, charoset, maror, and egg. While the booming seder plate industry would like you to buy a beautiful, ornate, and expensive plate, you can use any plate. If you have kids, get them involved by decorating a paper plate with pictures of the events or things the seder foods symbolize.

• Roasted lamb shankbone: One of the most striking symbols of Passover is the roasted lamb shankbone (called zeroah), which commemorates the paschal (lamb) sacrifice made the night the ancient Hebrews fled Egypt. Some people say it symbolizes the outstretched arm of God (the Hebrew word zeroah can mean “arm”).

  If you don’t like the idea of a bone sitting on your table, you may consider using a roasted beet instead. (That’s what vegetarians usually do.) This isn’t a new idea; the great Biblical and Talmudic commentator Rashi suggested it back in the eleventh century.   

• Roasted egg: The roasted egg (baytsah) is a symbol in many different cultures, usually signifying springtime and renewal. Here it stands in place of one of the sacrificial offerings which was performed in the days of the Second Temple. Another popular interpretation is that the egg is like the Jewish people: the hotter you make it for them, the tougher they get. This egg isn’t even eaten during the meal; the shell just needs to look really roasted.

• Maror (“bitter herb”): Any bitter herb will work, though horseradish is the most common. Bitter herbs bring tears to the eyes and recall the bitterness of slavery. The seder refers to the slavery in Egypt, but people are called to look at their own bitter enslavements, whether addiction or habit.

• Charoset: There’s nothing further from maror than charoset (“kha-ROH-set”), that sweet salad of apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon that represents the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to make bricks.

• Karpas: Karpas is a green vegetable, usually parsley (though any spring green will do). While karpas may symbolize the freshness of spring, others say people eat it to make them feel like nobility or aristocracy. Some families still use boiled potatoes for karpas, continuing a tradition from Eastern Europe where it was difficult to obtain fresh green vegetables.

• Chazeret: The chazeret (“khah-ZER-et”) is a second bitter herb, most often romaine lettuce, but people also use the leafy greens of a horseradish or carrot plant. The symbolism is the same as that of maror.

• Salt water: Salt water symbolizes the tears and sweat of enslavement, though paradoxically, it’s also a symbol for purity, springtime, and the sea, the mother of all life. Often a single bowl of salt water sits on the table into which each person dips their karpas during the seder. Then, it’s traditional to begin the actual seder meal with each person eating a hardboiled egg (not the roasted egg!) dipped in the bowl of salt water.

• Matzah: Perhaps the most important symbol on the seder table is a plate that has a stack of three pieces of matzah (unleavened bread) on it. The matzot (that’s plural for matzah) are typically covered with a cloth. People have come up with numerous interpretations for the three matzot. Some say they represent the Kohen class (the Jewish priests in ancient times), the Levis (who supported the priests), and the Israelites (the rest of the Jews). What symbolism you attribute to this trinity isn’t all that important, as long as you’re thinking about it.

  During the struggles of Soviet Jewry, a fourth piece of matzah was added to the seder plate to symbolize the struggles of Jews who were not yet free enough to celebrate the Passover. Today, some families still use that fourth matzah as a way of remembering all people who are not yet free to celebrate as they wish.

• Wine cups and wine (or grape juice): Everyone at the seder has a (usually very small) cup or glass from which they drink four cups of wine. Traditionally, the four cups represent the four biblical promises of redemption: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people …” Others say the four cups represent the four letters in the unspeakable Name of God.

Some of the symbols aren’t eaten, such as the roasted lamb shankbone and the roasted egg. However, when it comes time to eat the karpas, the charoset, and the other symbols, different families have different traditions. Some eat the symbols from the seder plate; others give each person their own mini-seder plate to eat from; at larger events, these items may be served family style, with large bowls being passed around so that people can serve themselves.

The Seder Service in a Nutshell http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1751/jewish/The-Seder-in-a-Nutshell.htm

A quick, one-page overview of the Passover Meal’s steps

A quick overview of the Seder’s steps; click on the print button and it becomes a quick reference during the Seder.

In Our Forefathers’ Footsteps

At the Seder, every person should see himself as if he were going out of Egypt. Beginning with our Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we recount the Jewish people’s descent into Egypt and recall their suffering and persecution. We are with them as G‑d sends the Ten Plagues to punish Pharaoh and his nation, and follow along as they leave Egypt and cross the Sea of Reeds. We witness the miraculous hand of G‑d as the waters part to allow the Israelites to pass, then return to inundate the Egyptian legions.

Kadesh—the Benediction

The Seder service begins with the recitation of kiddush, proclaiming the holiness of the holiday. This is done over a cup of wine, the first of the four cups we will drink (while reclining) at the Seder.

The Four Cups of Wine

Why four cups? The Torah uses four expressions of freedom or deliverance in connection with our liberation from Egypt (see Exodus 6:6–7). Also, the Children of Israel had four great merits even while in exile: (1) They did not change their Hebrew names; (2) they continued to speak their own language, Hebrew; (3) they remained highly moral; (4) they remained loyal to one another.

Wine is used because it is a symbol of joy and happiness.

Why We Recline

When drinking the four cups and eating the matzah, we lean on our left side to accentuate the fact that we are free people. In ancient times only free people had the luxury of reclining while eating.

Urchatz—Purification

We wash our hands in the usual, ritually prescribed manner as is done before a meal, but without the customary blessing.

The next step in the Seder, Karpas, requires dipping food into water, which in turn mandates, according to Jewish law, that either the food be eaten with a utensil or that one’s hands be purified by washing. On the Seder eve we choose the less common observance to arouse the child’s curiosity.

Karpas—the “Appetizer”

A small piece of onion or boiled potato is dipped into saltwater and eaten (after reciting the blessing over vegetables).

Dipping the karpas in saltwater is an act of pleasure and freedom, which further arouses the child’s curiosity.

The Hebrew word karpas, when read backwards, alludes to the backbreaking labor performed by the 600,000 Jews in Egypt. [Samech has the numerical equivalent of 60 (representing 60 times 10,000), while the last three Hebrew letters spell perech, hard work.]

The saltwater represents the tears of our ancestors in Egypt.

Yachatz—Breaking the Matzah

The middle matzah on the Seder plate is broken in two. The larger part is put aside for later use as the afikoman. This unusual action not only attracts the child’s attention once again, but also recalls G‑d’s splitting of the Sea of Reeds to allow the Children of Israel to cross on dry land. The smaller part of the middle matzah is returned to the Seder plate. This broken middle matzah symbolizes humility, and will be eaten later as the “bread of poverty.”

Maggid—the Haggadah

At this point, the poor are invited to join the Seder. The Seder tray is moved aside, a second cup of wine is poured, and the child, who by now is bursting with curiosity, asks the time-honored question: “Mah nishtanah ha-lailah hazeh mikol ha-leilot? Why is this night different from all other nights?” Why only matzah? Why the dipping? Why the bitter herbs? Why are we relaxing and leaning on cushions as if we were kings?

The child’s questioning triggers one of the most significant mitzvot of Passover, which is the highlight of the Seder ceremony: the haggadah, telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The answer includes a brief review of history, a description of the suffering imposed upon the Israelites, a listing of the plagues visited on the Egyptians, and an enumeration of the miracles performed by the Almighty for the redemption of His people.

Rochtzah—Washing Before the Meal

After concluding the first part of the haggadah by drinking the second cup of wine (while reclining), the hands are washed again, this time with the customary blessings, as is usually done before eating bread.

Motzi Matzah—We Eat the Matzah

Taking hold of the three matzot (with the broken one between the two whole ones), recite the customary blessing before bread. Then, letting the bottom matzah drop back onto the plate, and holding the top whole matzah with the broken middle one, recite the special blessing “al achilat matzah.” Then break at least one ounce from each matzah and eat the two pieces together, while reclining.

Maror—the Bitter Herbs

Take at least one ounce of the bitter herbs. Dip it in the charoset, then shake the latter off and make the blessing “al achilat maror.” Eat without reclining.

Korech—the Sandwich

In keeping with the custom instituted by Hillel, the great Talmudic sage, a sandwich of matzah and maror is eaten. Break off two pieces of the bottom matzah, which together should be at least one ounce. Again, take at least one ounce of bitter herbs and dip them in the charoset. Place this between the two pieces of matzah, say “kein asah Hillel . . .” and eat the sandwich while reclining.

Shulchan Orech—the Feast

The holiday meal is now served. We begin the meal with a hard-boiled egg dipped into saltwater.

A rabbi was once asked why Jews eat eggs on Passover. “Because eggs symbolize the Jew,” the rabbi answered. “The more an egg is burned or boiled, the harder it gets.”

Note: The chicken neck is not eaten at the Seder.

Tzafun—Out of Hiding

After the meal, the half-matzah which had been “hidden,” set aside for the afikoman (“dessert”), is taken out and eaten. It symbolizes the Paschal lamb, which was eaten at the end of the meal.

Everyone should eat at least 1½ ounces of matzah, reclining, before midnight. After eating the afikoman, we do not eat or drink anything except for the two remaining cups of wine.

Berach—Blessings After the Meal

A third cup of wine is filled and Grace is recited. After the Grace we recite the blessing over wine and drink the third cup while reclining.

Now we fill the cup of Elijah and our own cups with wine. We open the door and recite the passage which is an invitation to the Prophet Elijah, the harbinger of the coming of Moshiach, our righteous Messiah.

Hallel—Songs of Praise

At this point, having recognized the Almighty and His unique guidance of the Jewish people, we go still further and sing His praises as L‑rd of the entire universe.

After reciting the Hallel, we again recite the blessing over wine and drink the fourth cup, reclining.

Nirtzah—Acceptance

Having carried out the Seder service properly, we are sure that it has been well received by the Almighty. We then say “Leshanah haba’ah bee-rushalayim—Next year in Jerusalem.”