Reichert Family Foundation Makes A $1,000,000 Donation To NRSP

“There’s not a lot of people in the world like Charlie Reichert. Charlie taught me that sometimes you have to take that extra step to help things move forward.”  Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta

L-R NRSP Foundation President John McQuaid, LI Region NYS Parks Director Wayne Horsley, Charles Reichert,, Legislaor Rob Trotta, Deputy Director LI Region NYS Parks Brian FoleyOn Friday, November 2, 2018 the Charles and Helen Reichert Family Foundation formalized their commitment to donate $1,000,000 to the Nissequogue River State Park (NRSP) when Charles Reichert presented LI Regional Director Wayne Horsley with a $200,000 check as the first installment of his donation. According to Nisequogue River State Park Foundation (NRSPF) board member and former president Mike Rosato this is the NRSP’s largest private donation “The donation was made in support of the NRSPF’s mission to enhance and beautify the park.”  The money will be used to help fund the renovation of the park’s Visitors Center. 

Deputy Director of LI Region Parks Brian Foley worked closely with Charles Reichert, Legislator Trotta and Mike Rosato who carefully negotiated the donation and the timeline for the project. A request for proposals (RFP) issued by NYS Parks for the Administration Building includes the remediation of  the buiding’s roof, HVAC system, addition of an elevator, restoration of windows and cupola, conference room, classroom, park displays, bathrooms and offices. The work is expected to commence in 2019 and be completed in 2020.

John McQuaid president of the NRSPF acknowledged the many contributions the Reicherts have made, “Thank you, we are so grateful for your generosity and your ten years of support for the park. Charles Reichert  is the owner the of IGA Fort Salonga and Larkfield Supermarkets as well as three IGAs. He has been a supporter of the NRSPF since its inception in 2008 and has been the foundation’s largest financial supporter. Past contributions to the foundation have provided support for the annual Turkey Trot, Regatta on the River and  Sunset Run.  

LI Regional State Parks Director Wayne Horsley was quite pleased with the donation and quite eager to get the first installment saying, “The future is bright for NRSP, thank you Charlie Reichert.” “This private/public partnership shows we are in this together to make it a premier park in the NYS Park system.” Projects in the works include a marina and bringing water into the park. He also reminded those in attendance that the added security at the park had resulted in Halloween 2018 without any complaints. Historically, the park with its blighted buildings, has had its share of mischief on Halloween.

Mike Rosato has a long relationship with Charlie Reichert and the NRSPF and offered his heartfelt appreciation, “We could not be more thankful for Charles and Helen’s support and commitment to this park, our community and its residents. We are hopeful that more public-private partnerships, such as the one we’re celebrating here today, will help transform this former state hospital into an active state park that meets the recreational and entertainment needs of our residents.”  

Calling County Budget A Political Stunt Trotta Asks NYS Comptroller To Investigate

Suffolk County Legislators Trotta, McCaffrey and Flotteron Call County Executive’s Tax Cap and Entire Budget a Political Stunt

 “There are simply too many loopholes in the State’s tax cap law when a County Executive can raise taxes by 9% over a two-year period and claim he’s operating with a 2% cap,” said Legislator Trotta.

(Smithtown, NY)… Three members of the Suffolk Legislature’s Republican Caucus, Suffolk County Legislators Rob Trotta, Kevin McCaffrey and Steven Flotteron call County Executive’s Steve Bellone’s claim that his budget is staying within the tax cap is a political stunt. “He is lowering the sewer tax for 76,000 people in the Southwest Sewer District when it should have been lowered in 2012, when the bond was paid off – but he continued to impose the tax. In addition, over 300,000 households will be above the tax cap. This is nothing but a shell game,” said Legislator Trotta.  We would like the New York State Comptroller to investigate this matter. 

The legislators noted that the action by the County Executive to continue taxing the residents of the Southwest Sewer District to pay off a debt that was already retired prompted a class of ratepayers to file suit in the New York State Supreme Court to invalidate the Executive’s illegal taxation and force the return of the funds to the ratepayers. The case is presently pending.

Instead of having immediately returned all that improperly raised money to ratepayers, the County Executive has played a cute game of selectively returning only enough money from the illegally created fund to offset the huge tax increases he has proposed in the police district over the past several years. All this so he can make the bogus claim in his campaign literature that he is living within the 2% property tax cap.

“His mismanagement of county government is evident by the five bond downgrades during his administration,” added Trotta.

“County Executive Bellone is up to his deceitful practices again. I am outraged that the County Executive would single out and abuse the rate payers of the Southwest Sewer District by overtaxing them millions of dollars. This is the same shell game that he played in Babylon with the garbage tax,” said Legislator Steven J. Flotteron.

Bellone’s critics point to multiple audits by the New York State Comptroller, who excoriated  Bellone’s practices as Babylon Town Supervisor in improperly overtaxing garbage district taxpayers in order to create a slush fund that would later be used to offset a 13% general fund property tax increase.

“This is about transparency, or the lack of it. The County Executive is claiming to lower the taxes for the ratepayers of the Southwest Sewer District to help them but in only so the decrease can be used as an offset to raise your taxes elsewhere and stay under the tax cap. The truth is the ratepayers of the sewer district were overcharged and our sewer taxes shouldn’t be as high as they are,” said Legislator Kevin McCaffrey.

The legislators demand that the County Executive give the taxpayers back all of the money he improperly took from them and give it back now, and not through drips that help paper over his huge tax increases in other parts of the budget,

Vigil For Pittsburgh Jewish Community "There Are No Words"

By Karl Grossman 

Reprint The Times of Israel

“There are no words,” said Rabbi Daniel Geffen to the overflow throng of people—Jews and those of other faiths—gathered last week for a “Vigil For The Pittsburgh Jewish Community.”

“I have uttered this phrase many times in my life, but never more than I have over the last few days,” said Rabbi Geffen at the vigil at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton, New York.

Rabbi Geffen, of Temple Adas Israel in nearby Sag Harbor, Long Island’s oldest synagogue, continued: “Although it is unquestionably trite, and unabashedly unhelpful, these are the words I return to because they speak a sad truth. There are no words to describe what took place at The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last Shabbat. There are no words to define the anguish and pain that we are feeling. No words capable of offering the kind of comfort all of us so desperately need,”

“And yet, here we are,” he went on, “searching precisely for the orchestrated locutions that will somehow both console and inspire us; to reflect and refract the complexity of both our emotional and rational states of mind.”

“First and foremost, we think of the lives that have been taken. We think of 11 individuals, each with their own story. Each with families and friends and a community that will never see them again. They are not numbers or means for political fodder, they were human beings whose lives were extinguished solely for the fact that they were Jews.”

“Though few, if any of us here tonight knew them, we feel as if we did. Such is the remarkable bond that connects us all in times of loss. The wounds feel gaping tonight; beyond the ability for any salve or suture to seal with ease,” he went on, sometimes his voice breaking with emotion.

“I also know that pain is often followed by fear; and surely many of us tonight are scared. Some of us are feeling that fear only now, shocked that such an act could take place in this country, in this era and in a house of worship. Others of us have been feeling this fear for some time, as we have observed the tides of hatred, racism, sexism, bigotry and anti-Semitism rising in front of us.”

“Certainly, this fear is understandable,” he said. “On the one hand, Pittsburgh feels 500 miles and a world away, and yet at the same time it feels like it is just down the road. I would be lying if I said I have not been jolted awake in the darkest moments of the night, with the thought of my own family, my own community in the crosshairs. These fears are visceral and they touch the very deepest recesses of our minds and hearts. It does not take much for that fear to grow and to feel like a boulder resting upon the chest.”

“To fear is human,” Rabbi Geffen said, “And in our most fearful moments, a voice inside cries out to us to hide. To put up bigger walls, to surround ourselves with sword and shield and to view our neighbors and strangers alike with suspicion and apprehension. It is a natural response. One that can easily be justified by circumstance as much as emotion.”

“But,” he stressed, “despite all its rationality and acceptable cause, fear is not what we need right now. Fear will not help us to remember the victims, nor console their families and friends. Fear will not help us to rebuild the Tree of Life, nor will it help us to counter hatred. Fear did not keep us home tonight and it cannot be allowed to keep us from returning to our synagogues, our churches, mosques, temples and schools.”

“What is needed tonight and tomorrow and the day after,” Rabbi Geffen declared, “is love, compassion, understanding and, ultimately, action.”

“After we have grieved and shed all the tears we possess, then we must concern ourselves with combating both the ways and the means by which hatred is spread. We must address the ways in which we allow our society and our world to hate with such ferocity and the means by which a single person can act on their hate with such unchecked devastation.”

“Yes,” the rabbi continued, “we must first grieve and, yes, we must first heal; no one is debating these necessities. Indeed, this is the primary reason we have gathered here tonight. But our tradition does not allow us to grieve forever. And when we eventually rise up from the floor, remove our sackcloth and dust off the ashes, we must be prepared to combat the evil that is growing right under our noses. If we do not, it is a question of when, not if another attack will come. And that is simply unacceptable.”

“Sadly,” Rabbi Geffen said, “for many of us it took this heinous act to force us to pay attention to what is happening in our world. But it is essential that we not just pay attention to the threats around us, but also to the opportunities for healing and bridge-building. Not just to the dangers, and the hatred, and the evil, but also to pay attention to the outpouring of love and support in the wake of this tragedy—exemplified by our gathering here tonight.”

The vigil on November 1st was sponsored by the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, Temple Adas Israel and the Conservative Synagogue of the Hamptons.

It opened with a welcome from Rabbi Joshua Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons. The sanctuary was packed with people, all seats were taken and many people stood along the sides of the synagogue and many in the hall outside and in the synagogue’s basement who watched the vigil on television. There were 800 or more people there.

“Wow,” said Rabbi Franklin about the attendance. He said he was “quite blown away” by the turnout. “The world is much smaller than we think, and I think that’s why we’re all here,” Rabbi Franklin said. “Being here, we get to see the beauty of community.”

East Hampton Mayor Paul Rickenbach, Jr. then spoke, telling of how “eleven lives were snuffed out because of bigotry….This has to change and it’s going to take each and every one of us.”

“East Hampton stands in solidarity with the Jewish community,” declared the mayor, a Christian and former police officer.

There were other public officials at the vigil including New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. of Sag Harbor and candidates for public office including Perry Gershon, the Democratic nominee to run for Congress from eastern Long Island and a member of Temple Adas Israel.

Cantor/Rabbi Debra Stein of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons led the singing of “Let There Be Love.”

Rabbi Franklin then spoke again telling how what happened in Pittsburgh “could happen to any of us.”

“Jews have a long history of being hated, persecuted,” said Rabbi Franklin.

He asked whether anti-Semitism “is the new normal once again.” The answer, he said, is “no—look around the room, this is the new normal”—Jews with people of other faiths “coming together…supporting one another. This is our new normal,” said Rabbi Franklin.

But, he said, anti-Semitism is afoot, “loud and extreme” in the United States. Acts of anti-Semitism in the U.S. rose 57 percent in 2017, he noted. He spoke of the “neo-Nazi group” that marched last year in a torchlight parade in Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting “Jews will not replace us.”

“It reminded us,” he said, “of Nazi Germany.”

Rabbi Franklin said “we must make sure that anti-Semitism and racism of all kinds stay on the margins.”

Then there was the lighting of candles for the eleven Jews murdered in Pittsburgh. Christian ministers lit the candles. And then East Hampton Village Police Chief Michael Tracey lit a candle for the six Pittsburgh police officers shot and wounded by the Pittsburgh killer, a Nazi sympathizer.

The vigil ended with the Mourner’s Kaddish and many wet eyes.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Gardiner's Island LI's Ecological And Historical Jewel

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman 

I’ve been to many beautiful islands—Bora Bora, Mykonos, Nantucket, Cuttyhunk, Tahiti,  Virgin Gorda, Tobago. But just off Long Island’s shores is a gem, splendorous, an exquisite island that excels any. Gardiner’s Island is an ecological and historical jewel. 

But what will its future be? 

The 3,300 acre island is home to hundreds of bird species, freshwater ponds, lagoons, and a 1,000-acre white oak forest, Bostwick Woods, the largest stand of White Oak in the Northeast. It is the oldest English settlement in New York.

I first went to Gardiner’s Island nearly 50 years ago. Robert David Lion Gardiner, who described himself as the “16^th Lord of the Manor” of the island, for nearly 400 years privately held by his family, welcomed a large camp-out of Boy Scouts on it in 1971. I visited, interviewed Mr. Gardiner on the island, and wrote about the camp-out.

The next year, 1972, I got to know Mr. Gardiner pretty well—when he ran for Congress in the lst C.D. on the Conservative Party ticket against incumbent Otis Pike of Riverhead as a protest to Pike’s effort for federal acquisition of the island. 

Gardiner was no Conservative. Indeed, he ran for the State Senate in 1960 as a Democrat. It was quite a scene when he ran—this kind of an American aristocrat. As Mr. Gardiner told American Heritage magazine in 1975: “The DuPonts, Rockefellers and Fords, they are nouveaux riche. The DuPonts came in 1800; they’re not even a colonial family.”

Gardiner lost, of course, but there was also a letter-writing campaign—80,000 letters opposing Pike’s bill were sent to the House Committee on the Interior—and Pike withdrew it.

Mr. Gardiner was subsequently a guest on my weekly TV show, “Long Island World,” on WLIW/21, the Long Island PBS station. And I did more interviews with him for print. 

Meanwhile, in 1974, thinking about the eastward move of development in Suffolk, I embarked on a TV documentary with my crew from WLIW titled “Can Suffolk Be Saved?”

It was ten half-hour programs broadcast on WLIW and WPIX/11 in New York City. 

I started the series on Gardiner’s Island describing it in a “stand-up” as a “time capsule.” I ask whether Suffolk can avoid being swallowed in the swath of sprawl from Boston running through New York down to Washington. Then Mr. Gardiner speaks of the island as a “paradise” and gave a tour. The Gardiner’s Island segment can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiayfbQKOTY

Lion Gardiner acquired the island from the Montaukett Indians in 1639. Among its structures is a windmill, brilliant white, constructed in 1795 by Nathaniel Dominy 5th of East Hampton that’s on the National Historic Register. There’s a carpenter’s shed, built in 1639, the oldest surviving wood-frame structure in New York State. 

In the tour, Mr. Gardiner—standing in a truck bed—told of how Captain Kidd came to the island in 1699 and buried treasure. Kidd then headed off to Boston where he was captured, tried for piracy and executed. The Gardiners were ordered to return the treasure. He spoke about Julia Gardiner, born on the island, who became President John Tyler’s wife in 1844.

Subsequently, a feud developed between Mr. Gardiner and his niece, Alexandra Creel Goelet, who stood to inherit the half-share of the island held by Gardiner’s sister, Alexandra Gardiner Creel. It went on for years. Gardiner accused his niece and her husband, Robert Goulet, of planning to sell the island for development. He switched and said he was not opposed to ownership of the island by government or a private conservation group. Mrs. Creel’s ownership went to her daughter when she died in 1990. Mr. Gardiner died in 2004.

A few months later, the Goelets arranged with the Town of East Hampton for a 20-year conservation easement covering more than 95% of the island. It was contingent on a promise from the town that it would not further upzone the island, change its assessment, or attempt to acquire it by condemnation.

Earlier, in 2001, Lee Koppelman, long-time Suffolk County planner, recommended that “development rights” for the island be purchased or it becoming a limited access national park or national wildlife refuge. He described Gardiner’s Island as “perhaps the most important offshore island on the entire Atlantic seashore from Maine to Florida….The overriding concern is for the long term future.” Dr. Koppelman in 2004 commented that the Goelets “cannot perceive what their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren will decide to do. And what if the line itself passes from history, as many families do?”

Mrs. Goelet is an environmentalist. She has a master’s degree from the Yale School of Forestry. Mr. Goelet is former chairman of the American Museum of Natural History. The Goelet family has enormous wealth.  

The Goelets have been, as was Mr. Gardiner, excellent stewards of Gardiner’s Island. But the conservation easement expires in a few short years. Will unique and wonderful Gardiner’s Island in future years, in the long term, in 50, 100, 200, another 400 years, be saved?

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. 

LWV Debate County Comptroller Candidates John Kennedy And Jay Schneiderman

Part II 

Suffolk County Comptroller candidates John Kennedy and Jay Schneiderman

John Kennedy has lived in Smithtown most of his adult life. He is seeking a second term as Suffolk County comptroller. Prior to getting elected comptroller, he served on the Suffolk County legislature in 12th LD for 10 years   Kennedy has an MBA in business Administration from Adelphi, a JD from St. Johns and a BA in psychology from Stony Brook. When he ran for the office of comptroller his platform was for more audits, less debt and better service. He believes that he has fulfilled that platform saying, “promises made promises kept.” 

Jay Schneiderman grew up in Hauppauge. He has a bachelor of arts from Ithaca and a masters from Cortland University. He is the Supervisor of the town of Southampton and in the town of East Hampton, and served as a Suffolk County Legislator for 12 years. Schneiderman emphasizes his strong fiscal management in both towns that have received Triple A bond ratings. He sees himself as a strong independent watchdog and touts his 19 year record in elected office of having never raised property taxes. Schneiderman said that he is running to help resolve some of the county’s fiscal challenges.

Complete guestions and answers can be found on the League Of Women Voter YouTube page

There were seven questions asked of the candidates. 

Question #1 Suffolk County recently suffered a downgrade in its credit rating from Moody’s Investment Services and the NYS Comptroller rated the county’s finances as suffering from “significant stress.” What impact does this have on the citizens of Suffolk County and as comptroller what impact can you have?

Both candidates explained the role of Suffolk County Comptroller as being that of a chief fiscal officer having the responsibility for providing oversight, but having no policy function. Kennedy expressed the sentiment that the downgrade would have no impact on the interest the county is paying on prior debt. He said that it was a “very ominous warning” that the county is in dire financial strains and that the 2019 budget presented by County Executive Bellone “included shaky and problematic estimates.” Schneidermann  was a more concerned about the Moody’s downgrade. He said the county has borrowed a lot including $300 million to cover pension costs and he explained that the debt service on that money amounts to $41 million a year. He expressed the sentiment that the downgrade should be revisited since the proposed 2019 budget was sound with no one shot revenue generators and that the sales tax revenue had increased. 

Question #2 - What is status of Suffolk County revenues and projections and do we get our share of online sales tax revenues? Schneiderman - Was a bit optimistic when talking about county sales tax revenue which generates $1.5 billion for the county. He pointed out that recently there was 5% growth amounting to $30 million more in sales tax revenue than projected. He added that the county needed do everything possible to support small business and to avoid making policy that might adversely affect them and reduce sales tax. Saying revenue suffered with the growth of the internet, he acknowledged that Amazon and other major retailers were now collecting sales tax.  He agreed with John Kennedy that the 2019 projections for sales tax revenue might be ambitious. Kennedy - Called Suffolk County a $3 billion municipal corporation. Kennedy said the projected 3.5% increase in projected tax revenue is higher than Nassau’s 2.5%, “we’re trying to gauge what impact would be on consumption.” He pointed to $32.9 million transfer being used to plug a 2018 hole in the budget. “We have to have a smaller budget, we have to spend less that is what the majority refuses to accept.”

Question #3- Suffolk County Comptroller is elected directly by voters and should be independent of county executive yet it is vital to have good communication and align on goals. Is it a partisan or nonpartisan office? Kennedy -  No, there is no democratic, republican, or minor party way to audit the audit function, vouchers for payment of vendors, payroll, plug every there is no politics associated in a ministerial function. “Some might say there appears to be a push and tug, I say bravo, that’s the way the charter was set up.” The comptroller needs to be independent, arms length, it is a non-policy office charged with verifying financial transactions. Schneiderman- A comptroller needs to put party behind, be party blind, go where trail leads. You are charged with rooting out corruption, fraud and misappropriation and you need to do that without favoritism and animosity. I will be vigilant in rooting out corruption.  I will be an independent watch dog not a political attack dog.

Question #4 -A new Deputy police commissioner and Deputy DA were appointed after they retired (from their county positions) some legislators say this is another product of the broken system. Can you clarify how this occurs?  Is there any role for the comptroller or audits? Is this something that can be fixed in someway? Schneiderman - The comptroller does not negotiate contracts. He stated that in terms of payouts, all the comptroller can do is make sure that it is accurate based on hours served, look at time sheets and make sure protections are in place. If they’re due the money, they’re due the money. Schneiderman believes that a comptroller can have an elevated role in advising policy, “say if I believe that it’s a risky scheme that might undermine county’s financial position going forward. If they are going into a contract and i have some concerns about outlying years that might lead to tax increases and other ways they are going to have to generate the revenue.” Kennedy - Addressing the issue of waivers under which these appointments were made. Kennedy said the enity must make the case to NYS Civil Service, that this individual is the only individual that can perform that particular function.  “I think that we have to be mindful of the fact that each one of these individuals is collecting their pension and did so at the time they were picked”.  he question the position that out of 1.5 million people they are the only two with the skills to do the job.

Question #5 - LWV observes the SC Waiver Committee. Some legislators say it is a way not to use the RFP for bid process, to go around the bidding process. Does the comptroller have imput or a fiscal responsibllity, imput here and where does it fit together? Both candidates expressed concern about the waiver process. Kennedy explained that the waiver committee is a mechanism to relieve the county from the obligations of the rfp process and its requirement to engage in the solicitation of bids obligation which is  to select the lowest most qualified bidder. When waiver committee either there were not three bids submitted or extra necessary or urgency. Kennedy was emphatic in his belief that there are abuses in the waiver process. Schneiderman concurred  and said he also has concerns with the process. He explained how he has, in his role as town supervisor, discarded bids and began a new rfp to get better results and stressed the need to be more aggressive in outreach.  “if you don’t like the numbers you have to go out again, not skip the harder step and issue a waiver.” 

Question #6 We have a NYS comptroller office that sends out weekly emails that summarize and presents the audits The League wants to see transparency and sunlight in county government. Is this something that would be useful? Does the county work with state comptroller? Both Schneiderman and Kennedy expressed support for NYS Comptroller Tom Dinapoli, the information his office provides and the helpful assistance they receive. Both indicated that they would continue to work with NYS on auditing and other projects.

Question #7- How do you do more with less in comptroller office? Kennedy-  I’ve kept the comptroller’s budget static. Combining the two offices of  treasurer and comptroller through the accelerated consolidation we have saved $1 million salary savings having five less positions a year. Comptroller’s office has brought in  $8 million in audit recovery reduced $35 million in interest debt by refinancing debt.  Schneiderman - Can’t always do more with less, sometimes you do less. He sited work being done in the health dept where less is being done and the county’s public transportation system (less bus routes) as an examples of not being able to do more with less. Schneiderman talked about the difficult decisions that are required when the funding is not available. Sometimes doing less means layoffs and closing a nursing home, you can’t always do more with less sometimes you have to make tough choices.