After series of suits, Sani2 is left in limbo

A flurry of lawsuits and appeals last week left a referendum on the dissolution of Sanitary District 2 in limbo.

Before the litigation began, the commissioners of Sani2 were scheduled to set a date for the referendum on Aug. 31. On Aug 28, however, North Baldwin resident Patricia Cabram filed suit in Nassau County Court, asking judge Michele Woodard to block the dissolution effort on the grounds that the signatures collected to initiate the referendum could not be verified.

The history of the dissolution effort

The referendum originated with a group called Residents for Efficient Special Districts, who claim that Sani2 is run poorly. They want the Town of Hempstead to take over the collection of garbage, which the town has said it would do if the public voted for it. RESD claims that approximately 50,000 residents of Baldwin, Roosevelt, South Hempstead and parts of other communities served by Sani2 now pay an average of $500 for garbage collection, and that those costs could be reduced significantly under new management.

The district commissioners deny those claims, and add that the quality of service would drop if the town took over.

In order to compel a vote on the matter, RESD, working with the Long Island Progressive Coalition, collected more than 5,300 signatures from residents in Sani2. (Under the New York Citizens Empowerment Act, a special taxing district may be challenged if 5,000 signatures, or those of 10 percent of a community, are collected, whichever number is smaller.) When the organizations delivered the petitions to Hempstead Town Clerk Mark Bonilla’s office, a referendum on Sani2’s future seemed inevitable.