No Charges Pressed in Manorhaven Village Dispute

Nassau County Police responded to a disturbance at Manorhaven Village Hall following two meetings held by the village's Board of Trustees Thursday evening. Manorhaven Mayor Michael T. Meehan called law enforcement officials after he allegedly saw one of the village residents push and threaten another attendee. Upon reviewing a videotape of the incident, however, officers determined that no such physical behavior occurred and Meehan apologized to the resident.

 "I actually saw video evidence," Meehan said. "I feel as though I should say something to him, and I told him I was sorry."

No charges were filed, but both the incident and the meetings that took place earlier in the evening left many Manorhaven residents distressed.

"I've never seen rudeness from a mayor like that," said Manorhaven resident Philip Becker. "This is my first meeting with this mayor and I haven't seen a meeting run like that."

Tensions between the Board of Trustees and some of the village residents were palpable from the start of the annual organizational meeting. In the 20 minute meeting, the board approved appointments for a number of positions including village commissioners, members of the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Waterways Commission, and the Architectural Review Board. The board also accepted the reappointment of Jonathan Fielding as village clerk treasurer; however, it failed to pass the motion to reapprove Gerard Terry as village attorney. The mayor and the trustees then went on to approve a few resolutions before closing the meeting and then reconvening 15 minutes later for the special meeting.

The special meeting, which was put in place to approve minutes of the last meeting and departmental reports, lasted less than five minutes. During that time, many attendees started voicing their frustrations about how the meeting was being run, specifically over the fact that there were no copies of the minutes for the public to follow. At one point, Dorit Zeevi-Farrington, a Revival Party member who ran for Manorhaven village trustee earlier last month, asked the board if there were copies of the minutes for any of the residents, stating that it was difficult for people to follow when they didn't have anything in front of them.

 "I'll be glad to give you my copy as soon as we're done," Meehan replied. "Then you can look at it all you want."

When Zeevi-Farrington continued to persist stating that giving her the minutes would not help her after the meeting was over, Meehan insisted on decorum in the hall.

"Alright can you be quiet now please? Thank you," he said. "We're trying to conduct business and it's not your turn to talk, so we're going to conduct business."

The board continued to approve the minutes and then moved on to approve the departmental reports. The residents' displeasure with the board only seemed to grow as the meeting was adjourned without allowing the public to comment. The mayor stated that they would be permitted to speak at the next meeting, which would be held in the last week of July.

As he left the table, Meehan was confronted by one of the village residents.  It was when the mayor turned to leave that he claimed he saw aggressive behavior from the resident.

Many residents were disappointed that they were not informed that the meetings were not meant to be an interaction between board and residents. Some felt that if Meehan had announced the protocol from the start, then much of the outcry that came after the session could have been avoided.

 "He doesn't make himself amenable and I think that these meetings would be more productive if he did that," said Manorhaven resident Ginny Pergola. "I understand that these are formal meetings, but there was no clarification of what kind of meeting it was going to be.  At least we would have more confidence as to what they have been doing and a clearer mind as to what's going on in our village."

Becker echoed Pergola's words.

"It's the issue of transparency," he said. "I've been to meetings here before this mayor [arrived], but I've never seen a five minute meeting. I've never seen the disincentive to have people not talk or ask questions. When I've seen it before, the mayor and other people would explain to me 'this is what is expected, this is what is not expected of you.' "

Some people say that the tension between some of the residents and the mayor stem from the recent election between the Environmental Party and the Revival Party for village hall as the re-elected board began their term on July 5. Members and supporters from both parties were present at the meeting.

"It's all political," Meehan said. "It's politically motivated. We're just trying to do the village's business. I'm going to continue to do the village's business whether the people that lost the last election like it or not."

Former mayoral candidate and Revival Party member Giovanna Giunta disagrees with Meehan. She says that incidents are an example of the frustration the village has with the board.

"I hope the board realizes how dissatisfied the people are with their elected officials," Giunta said in a written statement. "The residents deserve a mayor who cares about them and who will fight for them."

Manorhaven Trustee Patrick Gibson says it's not the first time drama has ensued during village hall meetings.

 "Its not uncommon for Manorhaven," he said. "It happens, there are spirited meetings. I think that emotions are running high in the wake of the recent election."