Oceanside Sanitation District No. 7 gets a new commissioner

Oceanside Sanitation District No. 7 underwent a shake-up recently, as Commissioner Matthew Horowitz resigned and Ryan Hemsley was appointed as his replacement.

Hemsley, 37, a lifelong Ocean-side resident, was approved, 3-0, by the board of commissioners on Jan. 21, and then was unanimously voted into the position by the Hempstead Town Board. Sanitation Commissioner Pat Doherty was unable to vote due to illness.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to help Oceanside, and to represent the men and women who live and work there,” Hemsley said. “. . . I just want to continue to help Oceanside through work or volunteering.”

Horowitz’s resignation from the board was approved on Jan. 16. He did not return a call requesting comment about his decision.

Hemsley said that board members contacted him to gauge his interest in taking Horowitz’s place shortly after his resignation. Horowitz did not attend the board’s Jan. 4 meeting. Chairman Austin Graff said the commissioners spoke to and met with several candidates before deciding that Hemsley was the best fit, though many residents criticized the board for staying quiet about Horowitz’s resignation and the process of replacing him until Hemsley was appointed. Graff said the board wanted to avoid any outside interference.

“We wanted to make sure that the vetting process and the process to fill the position was not infected with politics,” he said. “We wanted to keep it quiet, because sanitation gets crazy, so we were afraid we would run into some issues. . . . It wasn’t like we were trying to keep it a secret. We were trying to protect the integrity of the process.”

Graff said that a pair of lawsuits against the board — including one claiming sexual harassment — were not the reason behind Horowitz’s decision to resign. Graff said Horowitz was recently promoted at his full-time job, and would not have been able to balance both positions.

In February 2019, Jacqueline Urli, a district secretary, brought a sexual harassment lawsuit against the board, alleging that the commissioners permitted a “hostile, toxic” work environment. The district’s former general supervisor, Dan Faust, and former Treasurer Doug Hernandez also sued the board for wrongful termination after they were fired in December 2018 for allegedly permitting former Commissioner Joe Cibellis to remain on the district’s dental plan even though he was no longer an employee. Hernandez and Faust both denied the allegations after being terminated for “scandalous conduct.” They each corroborated Urli’s claims, and attorney Frederick Brewington is representing all three plaintiffs.

In October, the New York State Division of Human Rights ruled that it had found probable cause to proceed with a hearing to determine whether Urli was sexually harassed, and if Faust and Hernandez faced discrimination, retaliation, intimidation and unlawful termination from the board because they supported her. A date for the hearing had not been set as of press time.

Graff said he could not comment on the lawsuit, but noted that the board members released a statement when the charges were first filed. “The district denies all allegations of wrongdoing,” the statement read. “Since this matter is still pending in litigation, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Hemsley said he was aware of the lawsuits and controversies that have surrounded the district in past years, but added that he was looking to move ahead and stay out of those issues.

“There’s a lot of stuff and I’m trying to keep an open mind, move forward and veer away from that,” Hemsley said. “I’m really not interested in that, nor am I involved in that. I don’t want to be too connected to what has happened.”

Hemsley participates in many community efforts, and helps spearhead the Oceanside Cleanup Warriors initiative, a group of volunteers who spruce up the community. He said they have helped Boy Scouts earn community service hours and hosted toy drives during the holidays, while also switching out old American flags for new ones at Oceanside schools and cleaning different areas around the hamlet each Sunday. “It’s pretty helpful,” Hemsley said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Hemsley is a sheet metal worker in Queens, and is a member of the Local 28 union. He lives in Oceanside with his wife, a member of one of the district’s PTAs, and three children, who attend Oceanside schools. but he said he did not want to provide their names.

Graff said he got to know Hemsley through working with the Warriors, which gathers anywhere from 10 to 40 volunteers each week.

“He’s well known in the community,” Graff said, “and after speaking with him, I saw his enthusiasm to join the Sanitation Department, so I thought he was a good candidate.”

Because Hemsley was appointed and not voted in by district residents, he will have to run in a special election in June. If he wins, he will have to run again in June 2022, when Horowitz’s seat is up, for a full five-year term. Commissioner John Mannone’s seat will also be up in June.

“I think having met him and spoken to him about sanitation, I think he’s going to do an excellent job,” Graff said of Hemsley. “He brings some fresh ideas and a new perspective, and I think he’s going to make a great commissioner.”