Westhampton Beach board wants to approve an eruv deal with East End Eruv Assn. but a vote is needed at its meeting June 2. Could be a battle since an estimated 95% of residents oppose an eruv. New York Times has assigned a reporter to the story.
A court document dated May 13 said there is a “potential settlement” and that outside village legal counsel Brian Sokoloff “has indicated he expects the Board of Trustees to authorize signature at the next public meeting of the Board which will occur on June 2, 2016.”
Sokoloff spoke for 47 minutes at a WHB Trustees meeting last year, describing court decisions and saying that they are what counts and not what law professors are saying. This writer was given five minutes to rebut Sokoloff. We noted that Prof. Alexandra Susman of the UCLA Law School has called eruvim unconstitutional in a 34-page treatise.
There was no announcement of the proposed settlement on the WHB website May 13 nor any announcement since. The category “Eruv Litigation” on the site has no mention of the proposed agreement.
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Federal District Judge Kathleen Tomlinson was sent a letter that said “The parties’ counsel have worked out language they expect their clients to approve.” The letter became a court document which was obtained via a search.
Attempts to obtain the wording of the agreement from Mayor Maria Moore or Village Clerk Elizabeth Lindtvit have been unsuccessful. Asked if she had the wording via an email, Lindtvit replied, “No.” She and Mayor Moore have been asked when such wording might be available but have not responded.
JPOE, Election, NYT in Mix
While Southampton and Quogue have agreed to sign off on an eruv to avoid “millions” in penalties, lawyer costs and court fees, both agreements were made without a town hall at which residents could discuss the proposal.
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This writer is a resident of WHB, a home owner, and registered voter and has asked Mayor Moore and the Trustees not to take any vote until after the election June 17 and after there has been a “town hall” on this subject which involves the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state.
New York Times real estate reporter Matt Chaban, who joined recently from Crain’s, has been assigned to write about the eruv in WHB and has been interviewing local residents. This would be the first NYT coverage of eruvim in the Hamptons since Feb. 4, 2013.
Neither SH or Quogue had organized opposition to the eruv which is something that WHB has. That is Jewish People for the Betterment of WHB (previously known as Jewish People Opposed to the Eruv) which has more than 400 members and has been working against an eruv in WHB for more than six years. It has been involved in several court battles with the EEEA, WHB and Verizon and Long Island Power which have sided with the EEEA.
JPBWHB is a potent political force, backing two freshmen candidates last year who won election by large margins—Brian Tymann and Rob Rubio. They were elected after promising not to sign any agreement with the EEEA.
Steve Frano Runs for WHB Board
Running for the board this year is Steve Frano who is serving a five-year term on the Planning Board that expires May 31, 2017. He would replace, if elected, either Charles Palmer or Ralph Urban. Frano has been asked whether he supports the agreement with EEEA,whether he feels a Trustee vote on the agreement should be postponed until after the election, whether there should be a town hall on the eruv, and whether he favors an elected Westhampton Library board. He had not responded as of 3:40 p.m. today.
Emails have also been sent to Palmer and Urban asking if they support the proposed agreement with EEEA. Neither has responded as of press time.
The SH deal was the last of 38 motions considered by the Aug. 25 Southampton board and had not been on the agenda. It was a “walk-on” motion that passed in a few moments without discussion. Arnold Sheiffer of Jewish People for the Betterment of WHB called the action put through by Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst “shameful.”
Whether JPBWHB will take any action is not yet known.
Residents are voting today on whether the proposed $2.7 million budget of the Westhampton Library will be accepted. Citizens who want an elected board to replace the current appointed board have been passing out leaflets urging that the budget be defeated
The last two sessions of the library board were marked by shouting by both sides requiring the meetings to be suspended until order could be restored. The library board, headed by Tom Moore, husband of WHB Mayor Maria Moore, has resisted demands that it shift forthwith to elected status. Citizens at the recent meetings have been demanding the resignation of Moore and the other trustees.
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.
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