Hampton citizens are being terrorized by a Godzilla-like monster called the East End Eruv Assn. that spews billions of fiery words and threatens millions in legal costs.
The Godzilla image comes to mind because we cannot surf TV movie channels more than a few minutes without running into a Godzilla movie.
Twenty-eight have been made since 1954 and more are in the works. It’s the longest running franchise in movie history.
The EEEA is a frightening monster against which the normal weapons of reason and fairness have no effect. Virtually all local residents oppose any religious symbols on their telephone poles but they stand by helplessly as their institutions get flattened by the EEEA monster.
Courts, Media, Libraries, Utilities, Schools, Squashed
This includes the courts, which refuse to invoke the weapon of the web against EEEA. Court decisions buy into the claim that eruvim markers are “invisible” and therefore of no concern to the public. No decision has ever mentioned that eruvim are shown and explained in detail on Synagogue and Google websites.
Abusive behavior by lawyers was captured on videotape at the Sept. 3 meeting of the WHB board. Outside counsel Brian Sokoloff talked from 17 minutes to 1:11 without ever mentioning that eruvim have been “outed” by the web. Instead, court decisions attesting to the “unobtrusiveness” and invisibility of eruvim were quoted.
After listening to Sokoloff for about 55 minutes, we took the mike and slammed the courts for not mentioning how visible eruvim are. We slammed Southampton for agreeing on Aug. 25 to allow EEEA to place lechis on utility poles in return for not being liable for millions in legal claims and penalties. That was “extortion” and “blackmail,” we said.
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Stephen Angel, another outside lawyer for WHB, interrupted us a half dozen times during our ten-minutes at the mike, shouting “Address the board,” “this is not a soapbox for you,” “You are not saying anything of value to the board,” and “Go to Southampton and complain about your taxes there,” among other comments. Free speech was squashed at the Sept. 3 meeting. Our first words at the mike were that we were addressing the board and also the people in the room and the public which would see the videotape.
Media Mostly AWOL
Also flattened are most local and national media including the New York Times, which has not written about this multi-million-dollar dispute since Feb. 4, 2013, even though NYT political writer Nicholas Confessore is the son of Quogue Library president Lynda Confessore.
The Southampton Press, although most of its readers are probably against religious symbols on public property, on July 23 echoed the courts by editorializing, “Nobody can see the lechis that reportedly mark the boundaries of an eruv” in Westhampton Beach. Eruv opponents see a violation of the First Amendment but the SH Press says they are involved in a "foolish" battle and urged them to be "welcoming" to Orthodox Jews.
Verizon and Long Island Lighting have launched suits against WHB, SH and Quogue, demanding they allow EEEA to place lechis on utility poles that are on public property.
Standing idly by are the libraries, schools from high school on up, and local churches—Westhampton United Methodist, Beach United Methodist, St. Mark’s Episcopal, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Westhampton Presbyterian Church and St. Paul AME Zion Church.
“Mr. Sneiv,” columnist for Dan’s Papers, largest circulation weekly in the Hamptons (32,940), wrote Sept. 24 that Pope Francis should try to play a conciliatory role in the “war” over eruvim in the Hamptons.
It was a far-fetched column using the Pope’s visit as a “hook” but the concept of local churches trying to stop this onslaught is a reasonable one. One religion behaving irrationally and causing vast public ill will is bad for all religions.
Citizens Attend Meetings, Write Letters
Aroused citizens of Westhampton Beach have flocked to recent public meetings in record numbers.
Sixty-two attended a trustees’ meeting Feb. 5. Local blogger and former village official Dean Speir said it was the biggest attendance he has seen since the 1960s. The citizens trashed a plan by Mayor Maria Moore to have a “police commissioner” supervise Police Chief Trevor Gonce (at a total cost of about $350K).
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Citizens castigated the board for 25 minutes at its meeting Aug. 6, saying the board was deficient in representing citizens who oppose erection of an eruv.
There was record attendance of 35 at the Westhampton Library board meeting Sept. 15, virtually all in the room cheering approval when local resident Peter Zegler said board chair Joan Levan should resign.
Library workers, by a vote of 31-3 Aug. 21, had established a union at the Westhampton Library for the first time in more than 100 years.
A number of letters protesting government policies and actions have appeared in the Southampton Press in recent days. Sabina Trager, who claims she was unfairly fired by the library board June 23, and local resident Peter Zegler, had the lead letter-to-the-editor in the SHP Sept. 24.
It asked for citizens to press for a change from an appointed to an elected board, saying the appointed board has led to “abuses of power, firing of employees, the necessity to unionize and current employee litigation against the board.”
It urges citizens to attend the next board meeting which is Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 9:30 a.m. Citizens asked months ago that the meetings be held in the evening as are the Village board meetings but their requests have been ignored.
If the board is interested in public input, it would move its meeting to Oct. 7 and hold it at 7 p.m.
Anti-Eruv Candidates Win; Citizens Need Website
Another indication of disapproval of the conduct of WHB officials was the election of two new trustees on June 19 who replaced veteran board members. Victors Bryan Tymann and Rob Rubio had vowed to fight religious symbols on utility poles while incumbents Patricia DiBenedetto and Hank Tucker were silent on the issue.
Citizens who are seeking a greater say in how their government is run need to harness the power of the web by having their own website.
The most popular and cheap website package is WordPress, which has more than 80 million users.
Purchasing a domain name can cost anywhere from a few dollars to $30 or $40. A web hosting service can be obtained via wordpress for as little as $6.95 a month.
Web specialist Marc Jaffe explained the ins and outs of WordPress at a meeting of the Westchester/Fairfield chapter of the PR Society.
It’s a popular tool for PR firms and their clients, he said, noting the system has numerous plug-ins, options and features. Another website for beginners is hosted by wp beginner.
Thomas Moore, husband of Mayor Moore, conducts the progress4whb.com website which reflects the viewpoint of his wife. Reader comments are posted. Citizens need a website such as freepress4whb.com that would reflect citizen views and allow reader comments.
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.
Public Strategies Washington has added Abbie Sorrendino, a former aide to now Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
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