Skip navigation

Monthly Archives: December 2008

Cuomos New PLan to dissolve Villages

About the Comprehensive Plan:

Feature ImageATTORNEY GENERAL’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ENABLE REFORM AND EFFICIENCY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

On December 11, 2008 Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled legislation to empower communities across the state with the ability to fundamentally reorganize and consolidate local governments.

Simply put, our system of local government is broken. It has been outpaced by globalization, regionalization, and an ever changing marketplace. The density of local government in New York is astounding. There are 10,521 overlapping government units, providing duplicative services creating needless, wasteful bureaucracies.

Given the current fiscal crisis New York is facing, reorganization of some governmental entities to more efficiently provide vital services is needed.  In some cases, consolidation or dissolution may be necessary to reorganize government to meet the needs of their communities. However, current law is unable to solve the problem for it is inconsistent, often nonsensical, poses legal barriers, and includes anachronisms that make operational reform virtually impossible.

  • The law is inconsistent regarding consolidation of local governmental entities. Under current law, there are differing rules for various types of governments.  For instance, there are specific measures to consolidate or dissolve special districts, depending on the type of special district. Moreover, there are different rules for villages, towns, and special districts. These complex set of rules that vary wildly based upon the type of government makes if virtually impossible to consolidate or dissolve governments.
  • The law is filled with anachronisms.  More disturbing is that the law contains provisions that are relics of the past that conjure up images of “poll taxes.” In some cases, an individual may vote to dissolve or consolidate governments, such as special districts, only if they own taxable real property in the area.
  • The law contains many legal barriers. For instance, town boards are powerless to consolidate or dissolve certain types of special districts, while citizens are powerless to initiate certain types of consolidation or dissolution of special districts.

The Attorney General is proposing legislation that streamlines existing processes, eliminates inane inconsistencies, and strikes from the law offensive anachronisms such as requiring property ownership in order to vote in a special town election on a proposition to consolidate water districts.

It is a system almost nobody understands, least of all the people served by it. New Yorkers have the highest local tax burden in the country that dwarfs other states and far exceeds the national average. By consolidating governments and services, taxpayers could save millions of dollars annually.

HISTORY

Special districts were created to assist towns facing population explosions caused by the migration of people away from cities after World War II. They were established to offer service delivery to properties in a specific area of a town. Special districts have grown dramatically since 1940.

In 1940, there were 2,000 special districts and by 2000, there were over 6,000.

Long Island has become a special district archipelago. Nassau and Suffolk Counties combined have over 340 special districts.  The result of the hodgepodge is multiple tax bills. A person pays county and town taxes, village taxes, school taxes and taxes for special districts.

WHY IS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL INVOLVED?

The Attorney General’s Office has been doing its part to address the problem of local government dysfunction. Over the past 19-months, the office has been conducting statewide investigations into waste, fraud and abuse at various levels of government. Those investigations have already resulted in numerous settlements and convictions that have saved taxpayers millions of dollars. Every case of fraud, no matter how small, can create big problems for the state.

As the state’s chief legal officer, Attorney General Cuomo is often tasked with advising local governments on laws regulating them. It is clear that current laws are filled with inconsistencies, complexities, and anachronisms making meaningful reform in the current environment unattainable.

NEW YORK’S PAST SUCCESS

The conventional wisdom is that government could not be reorganized. Reports were written, but nothing got done.  It has gone on for years. But, ultimately, leadership made the difference.

In the early part of the 20th century, the structure of New York State’s Government was every bit as bad as the current state of our local government system. But, what these dire times present is an opportunity.

Take for instance school districts. In 1947, a statewide Master Plan for School District Reorganization was enacted an although not a compulsory plan for reorganization, the Master Plan guided state level efforts to encourage reduction in the still-large number of school districts. The result was the reduction of the number of schools from 10,000 to less than 700 today.

People like Al Smith — supported by reformers, the media, and good government organizations made the impossible possible. In the 1920s, New York comprehensively reformed the structure of State government and created a model emulated by states throughout the nation. It was then one of the greatest achievements in American politics.

It has always been our mission to solve the nation’s problems first here in New York and serve as an example.

Cuomo Email

Mr. Cuomo,

Two Ideas:

Thank you for your activism in shutting
down redundant NYS Governments. Please
consider easing our burden to dissolve
our 2 square mile Inc Village of
Patchogue. I would like a 10% threshold
on the petition to dissolve and a two
year lifespan of  signatures.

Why doesn't NY have a Qui Tam law
allowing those who witness Gov't
corruption to risk coming -forward and
benefit from thier hard work of
investigating Fraud?

Henry Terry 631 335 1248

CUOMO Email

Mr. Cuomo,

Two Ideas:

Thank you for your activism in shutting
down redundant NYS Governments. Please
consider easing our burden to dissolve
our 2 square mile Inc Village of
Patchogue. I would like a 10% threshold
on the petition to dissolve and a two
year lifespan of  signatures.

Why doesn't NY have a Qui Tam law
allowing those who witness Gov't
corruption to risk coming -forward and
benefit from thier hard work of
investigating Fraud?

Henry Terry

Responding to Lawrence Downes editorial “Victim Circus” in the NY times:

Responding to Lawrence Downes’ editorial “Victim Circus” in the New York Times:

Witches hunt? None here. Nor is there any need for a “hunt.” Seventeen years of a fake police should be a hard enough fact–”probable cause” for an investigation.

Is there any proof the Village personnel impersonating peace officers did anything wrong? We don’t need proof of wrongdoing. No speculation is required. Everything that they did is morally questionable and is legally actionable.

Do the immigrant Latinos, who Wolter asked to come forward, know what happened to them? How could they when the victims come from places where police and abuse is the norm? The authority figures in Suffolk, Levy, Pontieri, and others, are no different from what they are used to. Latinos are escaping a world where the fourteenth amendment “equal protection clause” does not exist.

In “Outlier” Malcolm Gladwell talks of cultural bias and how it shapes our lives. Here the cultural bias of many who come from Latin America is to distrust government officials and the police as they are known to violate human rights. But this culture bias, while indeed present in the Latin community I speak to, is actually grounded in reality and the district of the police and government is real. It is the well-founded distrust founded upon the fact that in the Suffolk and in Patchogue there is no equal protection clause to protect Latinos. How could there be one if they have an unlawful and untrained police department who targets them?

“They are not angry” pontificates as Mr. Pontieri characterizes. Many community leaders are asking for forgiveness and reconciliation. However, forgiveness and reconciliation traditionally comes after the admission of wrong doings and as a request for forgiveness and we have yet to hear such a request. In fact, Mr. Pontieri and others have done everything they can to suppress the truth of the illegal untrained police force is doing. If the Latin population and the general population is not angry YET, it is because are not aware of what has been done to them in the name of public safety.

Here in the North we believe that only the South would have such a corrupt police force to push the “undesirables” out. It couldn’t happen in New York, not 60 miles from New York City. You couldn’t possible have an untrained, illegally armed fake police force with no “racial profiling” and no prohibitions on asking detainees their status. This isn’t Alabama after all. Right?

Fake Cops, it must be a hoax you say. Suffolk County Police Department would never go along with that! Wouldn’t they have an obligation to put a stop to it? Doesn’t the Suffolk County Police Department have to uphold the law?

From the moment this hate crime problem came up, the politicians began to clamor for immediate “healing.” They wanted the cameras and newspapers to go away. Lawrence Downes alludes that Priest Wolter is a grandstanding, because after all, the Mayor “is concerned.” Somehow we should bow down to the Mayor’s authority, as he knows best and grew up two blocks away from where Marcelo was murdered. After all, he says, “The Village of Patchogue has always taken care of its own issues.”

The question, which Mr. Downes does not ask is how does the Village of Patchogue takes care of its own issue, but I will answer him:

1) They create a fake armed and untrained police force.
2) They illegally destroy and doctor records to hide their illegal activities.
3) They defraud Suffolk County Civil Service.
4) They deprive residents of the right to speak at public meetings.
5) They destroy public meeting tapes and do not record public minutes.
3) They only allow certain business in town.
6) They use constables to target Latinos and the poor.http://villagepolicecases.com/documents/Patchogue_Fourth_Amended_Complaint.pdf
7) They exempt their friends and associates from complying with Village Law and selective enforce the laws against others.
8) They call in a fake fire alarm to search the homes of suspected immigrants.
9) They deny anything happened.

Then one would ask, what’s has been the motive? Why the fake cops in the first place? Why go through so much trouble? Why put everything, the entire Village government at risk. FEAR is the confessed answer. Fear of whom?

If you want an answer, don’t listen to me draw conclusions. It’s all in the 17 years of Village of Patchogue, Village Court records and police records that were illegally “not maintained.”

Can you imagine if the Suffolk Police Department said it didn’t have any records? Well, this is what Village of Patchogue officials, Judge McGuire, former Village Attorney J. Lee Snead, current Village Attorney Brian Egan, and current Village Clerk, Patricia Seal are telling us. The records should document the illegal detaining of motorist, and the illegal search of DMV records, and the failure to remove false convictions marked on the victim licenses–a racial profiling cocktail, but which is by no means the main course.

The fake armed untrained cops (call them what you like Village Constables, Code Enforcement Officers, Park Rangers, because the Village of Patchogue unlawfully gave all these officers policing power) reason for EXISTING can be found in the government records and “Facts are stubborn things.”

If you want to find out what is going on in Patchogue you must go to the records. Slavery has its invoices and manifests and contracts and the Village Patchogue has its minutes and department records. An inspection of these will show what the history of what Patchogue did in the name of public safety, redevelopment, and progress.

Henry R. Terry
http://www.databasejustice.com

Victims of Patchogue police dept need to come forward

http://latinoisland.blogspot.com/

 

Patchogue Church as Safe Space for Latino Hate Victims – 12/3, 6-9PM

PRESS STATEMENT OF THE REVEREND DWIGHT LEE WOLTER

The Congregational Church of Patchogue
95 East Main Street
Patchogue, New York, 11772
churchonmainstreet.org
631.891.9908

 

People who believe they are the victim of hate, harassment, injury, or attack simply because they are Latino, have the right to tell their story in a safe and supportive environment. But if such persons are afraid, for whatever reason, to report the incident to the police or other agencies, or if they did report the incident, but their statement was not accurately recorded; then the need for an alternative place and method of reporting becomes apparent.

That is why the Congregational Church of Patchogue has offered to be a sanctuary church where people are encouraged to come and be heard on Wednesday, December 3rd between 6 and 9PM at the Congregational Church of Patchogue, the site of the funeral of Marcelo Lucero.

Many who come may lack evidence or witnesses that could result in legal action. But simply telling their story, and feeling listened to, often results in an experience of healing that may never be found in a court of law. Even so, we will advocate for those who come seeking accountability and justice.

———–

The spirituality of peace and reconciliation must have an equal seat at the table of justice. May we continue with the many good things about us, face and accept the bad ~ and may we become a powerful example of a community transformed by tragedy into a place of peace and justice, so that Marcelo Lucero will not have died in vain.

Sincerely,
Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter
Congregational Church of Patchogue

Posted by Gerry Vázquez at 9:47 AM 0 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Crime, Events, Faith, Immigrants, Latinos

12/1/08

12/2/08

Patchogue Church as Safe Space for Latino Hate Victims – 12/3, 6-9PM

NY Times Article: Abuse of Law and Power

Broken Bench

In Tiny Courts of N.Y., Abuses of Law and Power

James Estrin/The New York Times

In the Town of Colchester, in the Catskills, court is in the garage.

By WILLIAM GLABERSON
Published: September 25, 2006

Some of the courtrooms are not even courtrooms: tiny offices or basement rooms without a judge’s bench or jury box. Sometimes the public is not admitted, witnesses are not sworn to tell the truth, and there is no word-for-word record of the proceedings.

Broken Bench

“This Is Not America”
Part 1 of 3

A yearlong investigation by The New York Times of the life and history of New York State’s town and village courts found a long trail of judicial abuses and errors — and of governmental failure to curb them.

Other Articles in this series:

“Nothing Gets Done”
Part 3 of 3
“You Learn by Mistakes”
Part 2 of 3

Nearly three-quarters of the judges are not lawyers, and many — truck drivers, sewer workers or laborers — have scant grasp of the most basic legal principles. Some never got through high school, and at least one went no further than grade school.

But serious things happen in these little rooms all over New York State. People have been sent to jail without a guilty plea or a trial, or tossed from their homes without a proper proceeding. In violation of the law, defendants have been refused lawyers, or sentenced to weeks in jail because they cannot pay a fine. Frightened women have been denied protection from abuse.

These are New York’s town and village courts, or justice courts, as the 1,250 of them are widely known. In the public imagination, they are quaint holdovers from a bygone era, handling nothing weightier than traffic tickets and small claims. They get a roll of the eyes from lawyers who amuse one another with tales of incompetent small-town justices.

A woman in Malone, N.Y., was not amused. A mother of four, she went to court in that North Country village seeking an order of protection against her husband, who the police said had choked her, kicked her in the stomach and threatened to kill her. The justice, Donald R. Roberts, a former state trooper with a high school diploma, not only refused, according to state officials, but later told the court clerk, “Every woman needs a good pounding every now and then.”

A black soldier charged in a bar fight near Fort Drum became alarmed when his accuser described him in court as “that colored man.” But the village justice, Charles A. Pennington, a boat hauler and a high school graduate, denied his objections and later convicted him. “You know,” the justice said, “I could understand if he would have called you a Negro, or he had called you a nigger.”

And several people in the small town of Dannemora were intimidated by their longtime justice, Thomas R. Buckley, a phone-company repairman who cursed at defendants and jailed them without bail or a trial, state disciplinary officials found. Feuding with a neighbor over her dog’s running loose, he threatened to jail her and ordered the dog killed.

“I just follow my own common sense,” Mr. Buckley, in an interview, said of his 13 years on the bench. “And the hell with the law.”

The New York Times spent a year examining the life and history of this largely hidden world, a constellation of 1,971 part-time justices, from the suburbs of New York City to the farm towns near Niagara Falls.

It is impossible to say just how many of those justices are ill-informed or abusive. Officially a part of the state court system, yet financed by the towns and villages, the justice courts are essentially unsupervised by either. State court officials know little about the justices, and cannot reliably say how many cases they handle or how many are appealed. Even the agency charged with disciplining them, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, is not equipped to fully police their vast numbers.

But The Times reviewed public documents dating back decades and, unannounced, visited courts in every part of the state. It examined records of closed disciplinary hearings. It tracked down defendants, and interviewed prosecutors and defense lawyers, plaintiffs and bystanders.

The examination found overwhelming evidence that decade after decade and up to this day, people have often been denied fundamental legal rights. Defendants have been jailed illegally. Others have been subjected to racial and sexual bigotry so explicit it seems to come from some other place and time. People have been denied the right to a trial, an impartial judge and the presumption of innocence.

In 2003 alone, justices disciplined by the state included one in Montgomery County who had closed his court to the public and let prosecutors run the proceedings during 20 years in office. Another, in Westchester County, had warned the police not to arrest his political cronies for drunken driving, and asked a Lebanese-American with a parking ticket if she was a terrorist. A third, in Delaware County, had been convicted of having sex with a mentally retarded woman in his care.

Http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/nyregion/25courts.html

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

%d bloggers like this: