The Southampton library yesterday agreed to accept an O'Dwyer exhibit of 20 items on the eruv religious boundary dispute that has cost SH, Westhampton Beach and Quogue $884,837 in legal fees thus far.
The nine trustees of the Rogers Memorial Library, headed by Sandra Klemuk, a principal in Braun Marketing, met for two hours with only one member of the public present, O'Dwyer correspondent Debora Giammarco.
 Klemuk |
She delivered a statement by Jack O'Dwyer on the eruv litigation. An attempt was made to give some O'Dwyer materials to library director Liz Burns but she said she preferred they be delivered directly to the library. A set of the items is being sent to the library. The board's meeting was in a building separate from the main library. Trustees would not allow their pictures to be taken.
Burns said that a "vertical file" would be created for a "reasonable amount of materials" which would be kept at the reference librarian's desk. A patron could ask to see them. Burns compared the file to zoning materials and discussions of school policies where information is made available to people who request it. The library can "provide information" but not "disseminate it," she said.
Asked if the library could make a display of the O'Dwyer/eruv materials, the nine trustees shook their heads. Trustee Judith Johnson said that while the information could be helpful to the public, there is the problem that it may be "political" and the library must not get involved in controversies on outside issues. She said the library might be "in the crossfire."
Other trustees are Judith Costa, Susan Jones, Frances Burns, Patricia Finocchiaro, Robert Gerbereux, Glenn Halsey and Larry Strickland.
The board had an extensive discussion of displays and decorations that would be allowed in the library next "holiday" season. A motion was passed that any observance be "secular," meaning no particular religion should be mentioned. Reference was made to a Christmas Tree being removed from the library last year.
Up until now, the library had no policy on holiday decorations. Klemuk said that a general policy of making the observance "secular" would be adopted rather than compiling a long list of items that would be allowed or not allowed.
Giammarco delivered the following statement at the point in the meeting where members of the public can speak. Library boards are required by New York State law to have a public meeting at least once a month.
O'Dwyer Statement to Library Trustees
 Giammarco |
Our company is presenting for consideration by the trustees some of the research we have done on the eruv issue in the past few months. The main body of our research is in the link.
Linked are 20 sources covering hundreds of pages and many of those links connect to other sources with numerous links of their own. They need to be studied and absorbed if there is to be an understanding of why Southampton, Westhampton Beach and Quogue have paid $884,837 to their law firms thus far and this case is far from over.
Marvin Tenzer, attorney for the East End Eruv Assn., which is pursuing the suits against the towns, said in 2011 that victory by the EEEA could bring a "multi-million dollar award." Robert Sugarman, lead attorney for Weil, Gotshal & Manges for the EEEA, told 27east.com Feb. 4 that while the firm is working "pro bono" for the EEEA there has been "a significant expenditure of time and numerous court fees and we will seek to be reimbursed for those costs."
What is involved is the claim that by not allowing an eruv boundary, SH, WHB and Quogue are, in the words of the suit, "denying plaintiffs their rights to freely practice their religion."
Plaintiff Deborah Pollack says she "cannot push her mother to synagogue, and her mother must therefore remain home on the Sabbath and Yom Kippur," which is said to be "especially painful since she cannot participate in the traditional memorial (‘Yizkor') service for her late husband."
 Burns |
Plaintiff Simcha Pollack "cannot push his elderly father to the synagogue in his wheelchair. Because he cannot attend a synagogue, Mr. Pollack's father—who is an ordained rabbi—refuses to spend the Sabbath or Yom Kippur with Mr. Pollack," says the lawsuit.
SH, WHB and Quogue residents are portrayed as mean and even anti-Semitic because they won't allow an artificial boundary called an eruv to be erected in their communities.
The only reason Deborah Pollack's mother must remain home on the Sabbath is because of Orthodox rules and not anything WHB is doing. The solution lies with the Orthodox religion and not markers on government property.
The Orthodox insist that there can be no breaches in an eruv. All parts of the barrier must be working for it to be valid. A Rabbi inspects an eruv each Friday morning to insure that all the lechis and wires are in place.
That same principle applies to our Constitution. Any breach in it is a serious matter and cannot be tolerated. The word "god" is not in the Constitution because the founders believed in the absolute separation of church and state. They wanted America to be a secular society. Allowing Orthodox symbols on public property is unconstitutional.
Maggie Moran, who is well-connected in New Jersey and New York Democratic politics, has established Moxie Strategies in Asbury Park, NJ.
Husch Blackwell Strategies has added FleishmanHillard alum Michael Slatin as a principal in its public affairs group.
Rory Cooper, a veteran Republican operative and policy specialist, has joined Teneo’s Washington office as senior managing director in its strategy & communications practice.
Brian Fallon, who served as national press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run, is signing on next month as Vice President’s Kamala Harris’ campaign communications director.
TikTok is nothing more than a Chinese propaganda tool that poses “a grave threat to America’s national security and, in particular, impressionable children and young adults,” say two Congressmen who want the platform registered as a foreign agent.
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.