By Jerry Burke
Record voter turnout favors status quo by 2 to 1 margin
The issue that has kept West Hempstead's attention for over a year came to end at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night. After the votes were tallied and rechecked, the answer was clear: the name's West Hempstead.
The numbers: 2092 against a name change, 1098 in favor. The two to one majority results will put an end to the West Hempstead Civic Association's efforts to petition government agencies in changing the name of the unincorporated four-square mile area with a population of just over 18,000.
A record-shattering number of voters came out to the public library to have their say over whether the town should keep its name or pursue the new moniker of "Mayfair Park."
Lines to sign-in toward the end of the 8 p.m. deadline, a time when many residents were just coming home from work, stretched down Chestnut Street past the Trinity Lutheran Church. Lines to actually cast votes spiraled inward in the parking lot of the library, causing waits of over an hour for many of the latecomers.
"This is inconvenient for me," said one resident, "but the issue's too important. I'll wait."
The 3,190 voters eclipsed all recent numbers for voter turnout, including last month's $36 million school budget, with just over 1,500 votes cast, and last November's presidential election that had three separate voting locations in West Hempstead.
By 8:30 p.m., a half hour after the polls officially closed, the last of three voting machines rented from the Nassau County Board of Elections were at their 995 vote capacity. Two-hundred-five paper ballots were cast in the final hour of the referendum. "We were shocked at the number of people who came out," said one of the volunteers at the polls.
According civic association officials, the organization which sponsored the vote, turnout was heavy all day, starting with a good-sized line of people waiting for the 8 a.m. opening off the polls. By 6 p.m., however, crowds almost reached uncontrollable levels. When voting officials attempted to close the doors of the library to those waiting to sign-in for the vote, the crowds began shouting.
"This is crazy," said one voter. "I got here at a quarter to eight and I want to vote." Police arrived to insure order, but other then the occasional heckler, the vote was completely civil. In fact, civic association and voting officials decided to allow all those in line as of 8 p.m. to have their say, extending their work day by almost two hours.
Despite the extension, some residents showing up after the 8 p.m. deadline became irate. "I have to leave for work in the city by 7:30 a.m.," said Dr. Bracha Stern. "I don't get home until 9 p.m. This is disenfranchising to many voters." Stern went on to point out another common problem some late arrivals had: confusing this Tuesday's 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. name change vote with next week's noon to 10 p.m. vote on the library bond referendum. Civic association president Seth Bykofsky was surprised by the confusion.
"It's not like we were springing this on people last minute. We announced the vote times months ago. It's been published and announced everywhere."
While most voters who spoke with the Herald were against the name change, some were adamantly in favor. "This town needs a change," said a young voter, whose parents were voting against the referendum. "I'm sick of my friends from other areas getting us mixed up with Hempstead." The desire to distinguish the town in name from both neighboring Village of Hempstead as well as the local governing Town of Hempstead was, according to civic association officials, the primary reason for the vote.
At the end of the day, an exhausted Bykofsky, who had championed the name change, said he was "disappointed" at the result, but not by the incredible turnout. "Tonight, West Hempstead showed the world they care about their town...whether for or against it, they came out to vote," he said, adding that he hopes these turnout numbers continue to rise. "Keep it up, West Hempstead!" he said with a tired smile.
Residents will again be called upon to perform their civic duty next Tuesday, June 19, when the $10 million library bond goes to polls. Times for the vote are noon until 10 p.m. at the West Hempstead Public Library.
