By Mary Malloy
With that pronouncement, Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Santino opened his annual "Town Hall comes to East Rockaway" meeting, speaking to a packed house at Village Hall Monday night. The gathering was co-hosted by East Rockaway Mayor Ed Sieban.
Santino was referring to his recent battle against the proposed consolidation of Lawrence and Cedarhurst sewage into the county's sewage plant at Bay Park. The vote on the proposal in the Nassau County Legislature was 10-9, and 13 votes were required for it to pass, so the county was forced to withdraw it from the capital budget plan, Santino explained. "The Nassau County executive had no choice but to withdraw it so the budget would not be held up," he said, referring to Tom Suozzi. "We are waiting for their Plan B, but we're ready to fight."
In recent months, Santino - backed by Sieban, Legislator Fran Becker and many residents - has been vocal about his opposition to the sewage consolidation plan. "They tell us that eventually they will put in a $200 million ocean outfall pipe from Bay Park," Santino said. "We know that will never happen."
The cost of living
Resident Jean Mulroy voiced concerns about the cost of living in East Rockaway. "You tell us about your beautiful new senior complex," she said, addressing Sieban. "But the minimum rent there is $1,600. Suffolk County has offered its residents programs for its first-time buyers. Please help me find a way to stay here ... I can't afford to stay."
Sieban agreed with what he called the "brain drain" - young people leaving the area because of the cost of living - and said that the board is looking into the idea of a first-time buyer plan. "But," he said, "it won't happen overnight."
Santino said that the Town of Hempstead has a lottery in place for home buyers. "Town and village programs are a drop in the bucket," he said. "The root [of the problem] is the high cost of living and property taxes."
Skateboarding park
Boy Scout Thomas Collins, 14, a member of Troop 121, read a statement to the officials, asking them to consider building a skate park in the area, similar to those in Baldwin and Nickerson Parks. Collins suggesting the John Street Sports Complex as a possibility. "I am prepared to present this as my Eagle Project next year to benefit the East Rockaway Recreation Department and the youth in our community," he said, and suggested possible locations: the new parking lot at the waterfront, the John Street Complex area behind the basketball courts, or anywhere in Bay Park. "I am prepared to get petitions if needed, donations and volunteers to complete this project with the help of the Village and Town of Hempstead," Collins said.
Sieban responded that the village is currently looking into the idea, and that Tim O'Hagan, director of the Recreation Department, is also interested.
Litterbugs
East Rockaway resident Jim Cafferty said he is appalled by the litter in the streets, especially at the intersection of Main Street and Lawson Avenue. "More summonses should be issued, and the rules strictly enforced," Cafferty said.
Sieban said that code enforcement will remind businesses to take care of their immediate sidewalks, and that it is their responsibility to do so. "I worked in a deli years ago, and I was out there two or three times a day, sweeping," he said, adding that a summons is like a lightning rod. "They'll get the message."
Among the other concerns raised at the meeting were the sink holes along the Grand Canal in Bay Park, which, Sieban said, would be a "massive project" to fill. Until then, he said, village officials would be in the area once a week to check on the conditions.
One 40-year resident, who had recently been to Florida, suggested that residents travel locally by golf cart to ease congestion and save on gas. "Only during the warmer months, of course," she said.
Early in the meeting, Santino explained that more than 60 percent of homeowners' taxes are school taxes, and he added later that everyone benefits from a good school district. "The Nassau County reassessment system is wrong, and it's broken," he said. "I would freeze reassessments for five years."
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