Dirty political tricks, including refusal to hold a town hall on the proposed eruv Jewish boundary in Westhampton Beach and hiding aims of the Maria Moore administration until just before the June 2 trustee meeting and June 17 election, mar the proposed settlement.

Mayor Moore, who defeated incumbent Mayor Conrad Teller in June 2014 by a vote of 284-187, ending an eight-year tenure, has never said anything critical of the proposal to put religious markers permanently on 48 utility poles on public property in WHB

Teller estimated on several occasions that “95%” of WHB residents oppose an eruv. Trustee Hank Tucker said in 2010, “The eruv will never happen on my watch.” Trustee Joan Levan said in the same year that “Our residents have made very clear that (an eruv) is not what they want in the village, very clear.” Trustee Sue Farrell said “the community has made it clear that it opposes the idea” (eruv). Trustee Toni-Jo Birk said she continues to oppose an eruv.

The quotes are in the Jan. 11, 2011 U.S. District Court filing (No. 58-64) by Robert Sugarman of Weil, Gotshal Manges, EEEA counsel.

Moore has been saying since last summer that the matter is “in litigation” and is not something she could comment on.

Promised “Town Hall” Being Awaited

Responding at the Aug. 6, 2015 board meeting to nearly 25 minutes of complaints of not enough information or discussion of the eruv, Moore said, “Perhaps it would be more helpful to the community to hear it at a meeting, to have an update to the extent possible.” No such meeting ever took place.

Moore told 27east.com March 31, 2016 that it is too early to tell how the board will vote on the deal proposed by EEEA and that the issue would be discussed in the next few months, according to an indirect quote in the story by Erin McKinley.

Eruv opponents say Moore has known all along that fellow Trustees Charles Palmer and Ralph Urban would vote for the EEEA deal, providing a 3-2 majority vs. trustees Ron Rubio and Brian Tymann who were elected last year on a platform of opposing any deal with EEEA.

Withholding the board’s position until just before the June 2 board meeting at which a vote would be taken, and before the June 17 election, robbed eruv opponents of time to put their own slate on the ballot, say the opponents.

Deal Announced on Last Day to Be on Ballot

They note that the memo from WHB counsel Brian Sokoloff to Federal District Judge Kathleen Tomlinson describing the proposed settlement was dated May 13 which is also the deadline for candidates getting on the WHB election ballot. Residents must now run as write-in candidates.

There is no notice of the Sokoloff letter on the WHB website under the heading, “Eruv Litigation.” The last entry is a June 30, 2015 Suffolk County Superior Court memo on the dispute.

This website came across the May 13 Sokoloff memo during a routine monitoring of court records.

Residents can write-in selections for the board but that might be after the June 2 board meeting has voted to accept the EEEA offer. A new board could overturn any deal, eruv opponents say. They are asking Moore to put off any vote on the EEEA proposal until after the election.

Relevant Documents Skipped by WHB, SH Press

Relevant documents that have not been picked up by the WHB website or the Southampton Press include the 34-page examination of the Constitutional issues involved in eruvim by Prof. Alexandra Susman of the UCLA Law School and the 18 pages of text declaring eruvim unconstitutional by law Prof. Marci Hamilton of Yeshiva University.

A link to that text is in the Aug. 17, 2015 report that Mayor Moore, responding to 25 minutes of complaints by residents that there was a failure of WHB officials to communicate about the eruv, had proposed a “community meeting” on the subject. It never happened.

There are no materials about the eruv situation in the Westhampton library.

SH Press, in an editorial July 23, 2015, expressed support for eruvim, “Nobody can see the lechis that reportedly mark the boundaries of an eruv…” It urged acceptance of the “roof” of an eruv although an eruv is supposed to be a “wall.”

SH Press, echoing court decisions, said lechis are “not signs if they are not visible.”

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 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.

Jewish Group, 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.

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 town has organized opposition to the eruv which is something that WHB has. That is Jewish People for the Betterment of WHB 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.

Steve Frano Runs for WHB Board

Running for the board this year is Steve Frano who has served on the Planning Committee. He would replace, if elected, either Charles Palmer or Ralph Urban. Frano said in an email he would not comment on the eruv issue because it is “in litigation.”

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.