Suffolk County Looks to Pull Advertising from Local Newspaper

Suffolk County Looks to Pull Advertising from Local Newspaper

By Erica Jackson*

Democratic Legislators along with members of the NAACP and the Urban League of Long Island held a rally today at the The Smithtown Messenger Newspaper offices on Main Street in Smithtown to condemn the newspaper and demand an apology for an editorial montage that was published by the paper on April 29.

Photo by Erica Jackson We are not sure what they were trying to demonstrate, said Legislator Ricardo Montano (D- Brentwod).   Our opinion is that this was clearly a racial statement by a newspaper that receives county funding.

The Montage, which was acquired from the Internet, depicts President Obama and his wife as characters from the 1970s sitcom Sandford & Son. It has stirred up much controversy over the past week and prompted the The Smithtown Messenger Newspaper to run an apology in its May 6 issue.

In his apology, Philip Sciarillo, publisher and editor in chief of The Smithtown Messenger, writes that the publication, regrets any offense taken by our readers at the photographic political satire depicting the current and past presidents appearing on the editorial page in the April 29, 2010 issue.  While we have grave disagreement with the policies of the current Administration, we hold the office of the President of the United States in great respect.

The apology goes on to state, We hold dear the principles of freedom and tolerance upon which our great nation was founded. We are mindful that the satire seemed to some in poor taste. At the same time, we reject the notions that elected officials, at any level of government or of any race, creed or color, can hold themselves above the law...or immune from satire.

The apology, however, said Legislator Montano is inadequate.  He said, They have the right to say what they want, but to condemn the first African American president is quite frankly disgusting.

Photo by Erica Jackson Legislator DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville), who is the only African American legislator in Suffolk County, agreed and said, This is not about politics this is about respecting the community.  We want justice to be done.

That justice, he said will come in the form of a resolution that he will lay on the table at the county legislatures May 11th meeting and be voted on sometime in June.

The resolution, if approved, would withdraw all county support in the form of legal notice advertising from The Smithtown Messenger.

According to Legislator Gregory, the county contracted The Smithtown Messenger last year for $50,000 to print its legal notices.

He said, Suffolk County should not be subsidizing racism.

Pulling the legals, said Legislator Montano, does not infringe on the rights of free press.  Instead, he said, the legislature will be saying, you can publish this kind of trash, but it should not be government funded.

Photo by Erica JacksonRev. Roderick A. Perason, president of the Islip NAACP agreed and said, This should send a message to every publication and corporation:  We will show up at your office and let you know that this type of racism is disgusting and we will hurt you where your hurt most   your pocketbook and advertising.

Sciarillo said he stands by his apology and called the rally a political play.  He said, The government is taking the freedom of the press away from us and telling us what we can and can not print. It all stems back to a political agenda from the county.

Sciarillo further went on to defended his editorial satire, questioning why it is being deemed racist. He said, Sanford and Son was about a happy-go-lucky family.  And if you want to read into it an analyze it you could say that Sanford tried to scheme and get money to survive and that is what our President is doing to get our economy back in order and it hasnt been working.

But, those at the rally argued that the montage is clearly racist because it depicts a stereotypical African American bickering family.  Not to mention, said Legislator Montano, Sanford was a garbage man, an occupation not to be compared to the office of the President.

We have come a long way since then, said Montano, who added, racism is like porn, you know it when you see it.

*Editorial note: In the name of full-disclosure ,it should be mentioned that Erica Jackson was employed by the Smithtown Messenger from 1999-2001                                                                                 

School Budget Vote

School Budget Vote

By Erica Jackson

 

On May 18, voters from Commack, Hauppauge, Kings Park, and Smithtown will converge on their polling places to vote on their respective school budgets. With increased costs for teacher retirement funds and insurance; a new MTA tax; and nearly $1.4 billion cut in state aid this year, all local school districts are proposing to raise the tax levy to make ends meet.Photo By Shannon Troccoli

In Commack, Laura Newman, assistant superintendent for finance, said the school district is proposing a 2.56 budget to budget increase. That raise carries with it a 3.96 percent tax levy or in dollars, the average homeowner would be asked to pay an additional $330 to $360.

“We have tried to put together a budget the whole community can support,” said Newman.  “The board is aware of the economic times we are in and is trying to respond to all segments of the community by meeting all needs.”

The increase in taxes, said Newman accounts for a $1.8 million loss in state aid and an increase in pension costs.

To reduce the tax levy, Newman said the district tapped $3.2 in reserve funds and made cuts. Reductions were made in staffing, to the athletic department, to after school programs and to secondary elective programs.

Transportation will also be effected in the elementary schools. According to Newman, nearly $800,000 was saved by changing bus routes to add ten students per bus.  

“We want parents to know that this will increase buss route time by about ten minutes,” said Newman.

For more information on the Commack School District budget, please visit http://www.commack.k12.ny.us/  Photo By Shannon Troccoli

In Hauppauge, James Stucchio, assistant superintendent for finance, said the school district is putting out a budget that includes a 1.27 percent budget to budget increase.  This equates to a 3.24 percent tax levy and the average homeowner will be asked to pay an additional $148 in taxes.

The increase, says Stucchio, accounts for a $1.2 million loss in state aid and dramatic increases in payments to the MTA tax, the teachers retirement fund and insurance.

“Unfortunately, we had to make some cuts,” said Stucchio.

Among those cuts are 23.7 staff members of which 12.7 are teaching positions. Cuts were also made, said Stucchio to the district’s overtime, substitute and summer school programs. “We also reduced as much equipment as possible and capital construction costs,” said Stucchio.

In addition, Stucchio said the district utilized $700,000 in reserve funds to help lower the tax levy.

“We are fortunate to be able to put together a lean budget and keep our programs and initiatives in the district intact.” said Stucchio.

For more information on the Hauppauge School District budget, please visit http://www.hauppauge.k12.ny.us/metadot/index.pl

In Kings Park, Dr. Susan Argruso, superintendent of schools, said the district is proposing a budget increase of Photo By Shannon Troccoli 2.11 percent.  The tax levy for that increase would be 2.11 percent or $133 for the average homeowner.

“I know these are hard economic times, but the board did a good job balancing priorities and maintaining programs to provide a good education for our students,” said Dr. Argruso.  

With that, Dr. Argruso, said cuts were required to account for a $1 million loss in state aid and increased costs for salaries and benefits.

“We didn’t cut programs, but we had to eliminate double teams at the middle schools and late busses,” said Dr. Argruso.

In addition, classes sizes will increase and some teachers will be laid off, said Dr. Argruso.

For more information on the Kings Park School District budget, visit http://www.kpcsd.k12.ny.us/. Photo By Shannon Troccoli

In Smithtown, Superintendent of Schools Edward Ehmann says the school district is looking to increase its budget by .11 percent.  For taxpayers that translates into a 1.66 percent increase in taxes or $130.30 for the average assessed home.

The increase, said Ehmann, mostly accounts for a $3.6 million loss in state aid and a $400,000 payment to the new MTA tax.  

In order to keep the tax levy at bay, Ehmann said the district did need to make some cuts, but not as many as other districts. He said, “I am pleased that we didn’t have to make as many cuts as other districts, but I am still concerned about the pattern of state aid cuts each year.”

Smithtown was fortunate enough, said Ehmann that there were a number of teachers retiring. The district is also looking at a declining enrollment, which would require fewer teachers for the upcoming school year. The district, also said Ehmann is utilizing a portion of its reserve funds to hold the line on taxes.

For more information on Smithtown School District budget, please visit http://ww5.smithtown.k12.ny.us/

Cell Tower Goes Online

Cell Tower Goes Online

By Erica Jackson

As the spring golfing season gets into full-swing, golfers at the Smithtown Landing Country Club and residents of the neighboring San Remo community will finally have cell service.  Despite a snafu with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Joy Mooney, managing partner of SiteTech, of Islip, says the cell tower is online with AT&T.

According to Bill Fonda, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), SiteTech, failed to file necessary permits, which prevented the tower from going online earlier this year. “They needed a variance, which they did not get,” he said.

However, Mooney said after a meeting on April 28 between SiteTech, the Town of Smithtown and the DEC, the DEC permitted SiteTech to bring the tower online, pending the filing of proper permits.

Mooney says her company was not aware that a DEC permit was necessary.  “This has been four years in the making. The last thing I would have done is forget to file for a DEC permit,” she said, “We were not told by the town that a permit was needed.”

According to Fonda, DEC regulations require that anything constructed along a Wild and Scenic River corridor must obtain a special permit.  Since the tower was built at the country club near the Nissequogue River, which has a Wild and Scenic River designation, permits should have been obtained.

“The tower is seventy five feet tall and our standards require a variance at forty feet tall,” said Fonda.

To obtain the proper permit, SiteTech, said Fonda, must provide “justification” on why its tower must extend higher than regulations.  He said, “We then have the option to tell them to take the tower down, move the tower, or we can provide SiteTech with a permit and require them to do some kind of mitigation project that would improve a shoreline or habitat area.”

Moving the tower, however, may prove difficult. 

According to Frank DeRubeis, Smithtown town planner the location of the tower was selected after a golfer went into cardiac arrest and fellow golfers were unable to call 911 due to a lack of cell service.

“The man survived,” said DeRubeis, but town officials decided a cell tower was needed at the country club so a similar emergency wouldn’t happen.

The town requested bids via a Request For Proposal (RFP) process for a cell tower to be constructed on the town’s property at the county club.  Two were received. 

The town selected SiteTech to lease the land from the town and a 3-year planning process commenced. While SiteTech worked with the town on a lease contract and  a site plan review, the town asked the state to approve special legislation that would “alienate” the 0.7 acres of land that the cell tower sits on.  

“In other words,” said DeRubeis, the alienation legislation took the land out of the park so a private tower could be built on it. The land would revert back to the town if the cell tower ever goes out of commission.

The Smithtown Town Attorney’s office did not return repeated phone calls as of press time