Fifth Town Council District

Fifth district council member Cullin faces off against Young

By Hector Flores
      Seven-year incumbent Angie Cullin, a Republican from Freeport, and challenger Bob Young, a Democrat from Merrick, are vying to represent the Town of Hempstead's 5th Council District, which encompasses Barnum Island, Bellmore, Lido Beach, Merrick, Point Lookout and parts of Freeport, North Bellmore, North Merrick, Seaford and Wantagh.
      The Herald sat down with both candidates last week as they discussed the issues they felt were most important to their constituents.

Angie Cullin
      Cullin, 80, said that residents of her district are mainly concerned with overbuilding, taxes, affordable housing and government accessibility.
      "This year alone we have placed restrictions on McMansions," Cullin said, explaining that, in June, the town amended its building ordinances, reducing the percentage of a parcel of land a home can occupy from 30 to 27.5 percent. It also set the maximum height of a home at 30 feet, and increased the side yard setback, ensuring that new homes will be built farther away from side yard property lines.
      "We lowered the height of homes and increased the space between the homes," Cullin said. "I don't want houses on top of each other."
      When it comes to property taxes, Cullin pointed out that the town has not raised them for the past three years, and blamed reassessment for the spike in taxes some homeowners have experienced. "The value of a home has not been fixed in the last five years," she said. "Reassessments should only be done every five years, instead of every year."
      As for illegal housing, Cullin said that the town has a system in place to ensure that all homes and dwellings are legal. "When I get a complaint about an illegal dwelling, I check on it," she said.
      When a home is suspected of having an illegal apartment, Cullin explained, building inspectors check for extra doorbells or mailboxes. "That is why we need affordable housing," she said. "We encourage applications for mother-and-daughter home conversions, but you must be related."
      Cullin praised the town's building department, despite the discovery in February that the department's commissioner at the time, John Loeffel, had failed to apply for the necessary permits needed to convert his Levittown cape into a three-story colonial. Making matters worse, Loeffel lived on the same block as Town Supervisor Kate Murray, who never noticed the illegal conversion. "We didn't know about it," Cullin said of the scandal.
      Asked about her accessibility, Cullin said that she is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "We do 'Ask Angie' two or three times a year, where we go visit our towns," she said. "We're going to Point Look and visiting Seaford."
      In addition to connecting with her constituents by way of her visits, Cullin said she works closely with schools tackling important safety issues. "We do traffic and safety signs and school zones," she said. "We are also very involved in Little Leagues and encourage children to use our parks."

Bob Young
      Young, 53, believes that his volunteerism and efforts to improve the environment will garner him the support he needs to win the 5th Council seat.
      Once elected, Young said, he promises to be a leader for the district and proactive in bringing issues to the forefront. In addition, he said, he will work to improve residents' quality of life, and hold monthly meetings with constituents.
      The issues Young wants to tackle head-on are overdevelopment and affordable housing. "The town has no plan for the 21st century," he said. "We have a situation here where you have builder pitted against homeowner."
      Young has seen this firsthand in St. Marks Place in Bellmore. "The builders are being squeezed," he said. "They have to build and repair. All they want to do is survive, but not at the cost of the homeowner."
      In order for residents to preserve their community and put an end to overbuilding, Young believes, they must stay informed. "The only way homeowners can stop overdevelopment is by getting involved," he said. "People must protect the character of their community. If they can get 30 to 40 people to a zoning board meeting, they can put an end to these projects."
      Young likens the current struggle between homeowners and builders to a war, and said he would work to come up with a solution. "We need to bind people to an agreement," he said. "I would use my office as a public forum and get people to fix this problem."
      The heart of the problems facing his district, Young says, is the town's one-party rule. "We need diversity of opinion," he said. "A hundred years is enough. Whether I win or lose, I want to end this one party system."
      Young intends to do this by getting the public more involved in local government. "We have a garbage collection fee of $212 and North Hempstead has no fee," he said. "Why is that? If elected to the council, I will fight to bring these issues to the public."
      Another of Young's major concerns is the lack of oversight in the town's Building Department. "In Merrick, I've sent complaints regarding building inspectors, and these complaints were ignored," he said. "What is really going on in the Building Department? I don't know, but we need to know.
      Young believes he has the credentials to lead the district into the 21 century. "I was a key organizer against the Freeport Power Plant," he said. "And I initiated the cleanup of the entire western side of the Meadowbrook Parkway, and we have removed tons of garbage.
      "We have brought attention to the Meadowbrook, wildlife has returned and water is flowing," Young said. "If I have done this by myself as a volunteer, imagine my contribution as a council member. I would make it my full-time job, because there is so much that needs to be done."

Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.