Off the record, on the QT in WHB, and very hush-hush…
On a special interest forum I visit, a certain type of participant is known as an "mwm," or a Moron with a Modem.
And The Southampton Press, which this Spring launched its 27east interactive Website, has of late been assaulted by mwms in squadrons. More...
The Mineola-based attorney who specializes in the 1983 Actions discussed earlier this Spring in A New Cloud Darkens Village Hall, E-mailed OtBB last month: More...
Updated 07/01/2008 - 07:02 pm
After a contentious re-canvas at the Suffolk County Board of Elections yesterday, it has been determined that Deputy Mayor James Kametler has won re-election to the Westhampton Beach Village Board by a slim three vote margin.
Three-hundred and twenty legal Village voters mourn.
The Press' Jessica DiNapoli has a fuller report on 27East.
And it's shining some troubling light on Mickey Chih, who has for the past three years executed an affidavit, swearing under penalty of perjury that he is a bona-fide resident of 85 Montauk Highway, Westhampton Beach, in the 500 square foot apartment above his family's restaurant. More...
Dep'ty Mayor James Kametler, that's who!
In reporting on the recent... and still undecided... Village election in the June 27th Long Island Jewish World, David Gertler notes: More...
Updated 07/01/2008 - 12:25 pm
Thursday's Planning Board meeting, Ralph Neubauer Chairman, was of interest on several counts, not the least of which was that, although the item has been on the calender for the past four years by this count, the Hampton Synagogue, Kelly and Hulme, PC, James N. Hulme appearing for the applicant, was there.
Yes, the temple is finally ready to move forward with its proposal to convert their single family Rabbi's dwelling... More...
Updated 06/28/2008 - 1:51 pm
What if someone called a Press Conference... and no one showed up?
Or, what if someone called a Press Conference... and then had to call everyone back and tell them the Press Conference was off? More...
...and that's "Jean" as in Schweibish, as opposed to "Jeanne," my wife.
Nearly 14 months after she last wrote The Southampton Press Western Edition to heap opprobrium on me, Ms. Schweibish did it again in yesterday's edition in a Letter to the Editor captioned "Cheap shot." More...
Updated 06/26/2008 - 7:08 pm
Yesterday, in pursuing a copy of the Police Report filed by restaurateur Johnny Chih on his visitation by Joanna (Mrs. John) Roland, I came across two filed on me.
One I knew about... #08-1003 was filed April 28th by one Carol S. Meyer, wife of Dep'ty Mayor Jim Kametler, and was a complaint about the photo which appeared in the OtBB entry of April 23. More...
The Supreme Court of the United States has just affirmed that the Second Amendment does protect an individual right to possess a firearm.
This decision will be met with gnashing of teeth by the Tim Bishop Liberals, and hysterical allusions to "the Wild West" by the main stream media.
Item: Tension builds as USPS again fails to deliver any delayed Absentee Ballots.
Item: On the important but nearly forgotten matter of the status of the now-former Westhampton Beach Alliance for the Separation of Church and State as an unregistered Political Action Committee, attorney David Falkner is in the process of (belatedly) handling the paperwork for the ad hoc group of anti-eruv activists who are taking credit, through their most vocal member Irene Barrett, for the First Hampton Party's success at the polls last week. More...
The back-fence rumor-mongers are hard at it, so let's put paid to one of the more egregious.
Item: No, Lucyna Pawlak has as of this hour, not expired, and while police have yet to close their investigation, only those wearing tinfoil beanies actually think that the events of last Saturday morning on Seafield were staged to look like an "Attempted Murder/Suicide," and that's there's still a maniac lurking about the area, looking to burn us in our beds. More...
And he's letting everyone at the West end of Dune Road know just how upset he is.
His name is Richard Agins, the attorney who was running unopposed for Village Justice of West Hampton Dunes last week... and lost!
There is precedent for this type of thing, even locally. A lady in Quogue lost her school board seat this way back in the '90s, and father of the current Village Justice, the late Bob Kelly ousted long-time Justice Tom Beasley in a similar manner almost 30 years ago. More...
Updated 06/23/2008 - 01:25 pm
Westhampton Beach Village Board challenger John Roland is only down by one, with undelivered absentee ballots anticipated between now and the Friday (June 27) cut-off date.
While some now focus on the issue of ineligible voters being allowed to cast their ballots, the "potato farmer" backlash may have hurt Mr. Roland despite his efforts to set the record straight at the June Village Board meeting.
In speaking over the weekend with one of the last of the Grande Dames on the Village (we're talking double-digit in terms of generations), she interjected:
"And I'll never forgive that John Roland for calling us all a bunch of 'potato farmers.'"
She'd never read that, of course, but she'd heard it "over-the-back-fence" and that settled the matter as far as she was concerned.
Such is the way of Westhampton Beach.
Especially the newly resurfaced Seafield Lane. You can stop driving down to "see the place where it happened," 'cause unless you trespass, this is all there is to look at:
The is the caretaker's cottage from which the unconscious and burned Mrs. Pawlak was rescued by responding volunteers from Westhampton Beach Fire Department.
The garage from which Mr. Pawlak's body was recovered is at right.
That's all there is to see, so save your gas and the wear'n'tear on the freshly paved road, and give the neighbors some privacy… their tall hedges would, in police work, be considered a "clue."
Sunday's headline on the front page of The New York Times Long Island section reads:
Orthodox Jews' Request Divides Resort Village
The story leads with a recitation of the full page advertisement in the The Southampton Press Western Edition of June 12 taken by The Westhampton Beach Alliance for the Separation of Church and State. More...
Updated 06/22/2008 - 6:45 am
Tragedy struck Westhampton Beach for the second time in less than 12 hours Saturday morning when firematic apparatus, then ambulances, then the Suffolk County Arson Investigation Squad, the Homicide unit and finally two Crime Scene vans responded to the O'Brien Estate on Seafield Lane just above Sunswyck.
Although no one would speak on the record while police had the entire area sterilized for most of the day, OtBB has learned that the investigation involves a suspected Attempted Murder/Suicide.
Ryszard "Richie" Pawlak, 58, was found hanging in the garage. His wife, Lacyna, 54, is in critical condition with burns and a fractured skull at Stony Brook University Medical Center.
The fire apparently was started in the caretaker's cottage of the 10.37-acre estate on the edge of Quantuck Bay, and which is currently owned by Len and Kathryn Conway, and is listed for sale for $39 million.
Updated 06/21/2008 - 9:32 am
At least the preliminary ones at this point:
| Unofficial results of the 2008 Westhampton Beach Village Election |
||
| Office | Candidate | Votes |
| Mayor | Conrad Teller | 386 |
| Mayor | Tim Laube | 265 |
| Trustee | James Kametler | 323 |
| Trustee | Toni-Jo Birk | 424 |
| Trustee | John Roland | 321 |
| Trustee | Elyse Richman | 74 |
Mayor Conrad Teller managed to pull his old patrolman James Kametler through by the skin of his Village-insured teeth, with two votes separating the Deputy Mayor and challenger John Roland.
But wait!
There are four (4!) challenged voters, the Chih family who are registered from the (permitted) apartment above their restaurant on Montauk Highway, the grounds of which establishment displayed a First Hampton Party political sign.
A poll-watcher for Mayoral candidate Tim Laube said:
"All of the Chihs showed up with a lawyer and wanted to vote despite being challenged¹!"
Village Clerk Kathleen McGinnis, whose serves as the municipality's Chief Election Officer, confirmed that the Chih family was allowed to vote, but acknowledged that the ballots had all been impounded, and that there would be a re-canvas before the results were certified.
On the way out of the polling place after the unofficial results were announced, Mayor Teller was congratulated on his victory, and quipped:
"Old age and treachery will prevail over youth and enthusiasm everytime."
And while this report was being prepared, Quiogue's resident nutburger, Irene Barrett of The Westhampton Beach Alliance for the Separation of Church and State infamy, was calling around the Village announcing:
"The advertisement did it! We got them all in!"
O, well….
¹.- This marks the third year running that Johnny Chih and his son Mickey were challenged at the polls, and produced New York State Driver's Licenses showing 85 Montauk Highway, Westhampton Beach as their residence, and were allowed to vote. Last year, a Mrs. Johnny Chih was hauled in to cast a ballot, and this time a fourth "family member," a young woman, appeared as well.
It's become something of an election day tradition, the Angelo de la Fuente motor home in the front yard of Bike'n'Kite.
"It's like 'the Clampetts come to Potunk Lane,'" one Village official observed last year.
The polls are open, but the machine in use for approximately the first 75 voters, was not operating well for those wishing to cast a Write-In ballot for Elyse Richman or anyone else of their choosing.
And whatever anyone's feelings about Mayoral challenger Tim Laube, the man ran a helluva campaign: energetic, substantive and tireless. And he is now disadvantaged by having his party name butchered on the official ballot.
His the "Hurricane Party," not the "Heritage Party," and the fact that the machine strips were printed by a man with close ties to Trustee Joan Levan is likely just happenstance.
I mean, does any more of a case really need to be made?!?
Deputy Mayor James Kametler only moved into the Village four years ago to qualify for office, but still doesn't pay any taxes here because his residence at 24 Oak Street is in his wife's name... and there's a serious question as to whether she pays her fair share as a residential property running a commercial operation.
Even as a police officer here, he's never served the public, only his own interests... which have always begun and ended with James Kametler.
Knowing that he cannot defend the indefensible, he refuses to respond to questions from the public or the newspapers, counting on the Mayor to pull him through this critical time.
The polls are open at Six Corners from Noon 'til 9:00 pm. Throw the rascal out!
If anyone wondered what that strange pinkish slick was on the waters of Aspatuck Creek yesterday... on the East side half way between Turkey Bridge and Cranberry Marsh... it was the contents if Irene Barrett's skull which had exploded after she'd read Jessica DiNapoli's Alliance story in that day's Southampton Press Western Edition.
Not-for-profit registers name associated
with anti-eruv advertisement
Whoever "stole" the Alliance name right out from under the ad hoc group's collective blue noses, the Manhattan law firm of Tenzer and Lunin LLP or their client, a tip o'the OtBB tam to them.
An absolutely brilliant maneuver!
For someone who decided rather late in the process to formally run for Mayor of Westhampton Beach against popular incumbent Conrad Teller, Tim Laube has, with Mr. Teller's help, made his case fairly well. More...
It's a simple one.
First term Trustee Toni-Jo Birk was played by the two former law enforcement members of the Village Board, got in over her head with the Police Department, and is now being played by the rank'n'file. More...
Updated 06/19/2008 - 9:58 am
Not that there's not one to be made, because there is.
But it's not in the mailing piece hitting Village mailboxes today in an envelope identified only as coming from "First Hampton Party" with no return address or other markings. A 42¢ First Class stamp is affixed, so no mailing permit is utilized. More...
Updated 06/18/2008 - 12:25 PM
…the conflicted little Incorporated Village of West Hampton Dunes held their municipal elections today, and surprise! More...
What were four members of the Westhampton Beach Police Department doing behind closed doors with Mayor Conrad Teller late this afternoon when the PBA contract with the Village doesn't expire for another year?
Does it have anything to do with the fact that the Village election is three days away? What will this ultimately cost the taxpayers?
Updated 06/17/2008 - 9:56 am
It is not hard to understand the distrust many have of anything promulgated by the Hamptons Synagogue as the distaste for Rabbi Marc Schneier's ego-centric style and self-serving pronouncements have been grating on the Westhampton Beach community for the past two decades. More...
Once Trustees Joan Levan and Toni-Jo Birk decided to vie for "leadership status" on the Hampton Synagogue's request for the Village Board's "blessing" for an eruv chatzerot, that the application would become an issue of controversy was preordained. More...
…which is it?
The story you told in today's Newsday?
"Kametler admits his wife tried to run such a (bed-and-breakfast) establishment a year ago, but is no longer in the business."
Or what you told the attorney who purportedly drafted your Cease and Desist letter?
"Ms. Meyer and Mr. Kametler have never operated, nor do they currently operate, a bed & breakfast at 27{sic} Oak Street."
I mean, c'mon, Mr. Deputy Mayor… which is it?
Even though the Hampton Synagogue's application to establish an eruv chatzerot encompassing a sizable chunk of "mainland" Westhampton Beach South of the Highway, has been on-hold for the past month, thanks to a full page advertisement in the current Southampton Press Western Edition, it is again on full roil.
While only WCBS-TV covered it with a snide and superficial story a month ago, a number of others, from Newsday to Dan's to Jewish Week, are now all over it, with more to come.
"I've even been interviewed by Al Jazeera," said Richard Haefeli, who represents the Temple in their application before the Village.
Rabbi Marc Schneier's stated purpose in suspending the process, was….
"I shall use this summer to extend the hands of friendship across the faiths and educate all segments of the Westhampton Beach community to precisely what the eruv " is, and what it is not and should not represent to its detractors.
While he was firming up his strategy, an ad hoc group calling themselves "Westhampton Beach¹ Alliance for the Separation of Church and State" has stolen a march on him with their full page adv., and the Rabbi's avowed task could now become that much harder.
Or not.
Initial feedback suggests that the Alliance's media campaign… more messages are planned according to the the adv.'s author, Craig Middleton… is not playing well² with a number of residents, so there could be a backlash.
The most interesting part here is how the current Village Board is positioned on the matter.
Trustees Joan Levan and Toni-Jo Birk, vying for "leadership status" on the issue since it was first formally presented to the Board, are tersely opposed, both voting "No" when Mayor Conrad Teller unexpectedly called the vote at the May 1st meeting.
Trustee Hank Tucker still seems open on the matter, voting against the Mayor's motion on procedural grounds, but past performance suggests that he will follow Mrs. Levan's lead.
That leaves the Mayor and Deputy Mayor James Kametler, both of whom were unequivocally in support of the eruv at that meeting, as confirmed by the video record.
But then at an Alliance meeting at Irene Barrett's Quiogue home, Mr. Kametler must have succeeded in convincing those assembled that he was actually against the eruv, because the bottom half of the advertisement³ was by default, in support of his re-election.
In addition to raising alarums and scarums about an opponent of the Deputy Mayor, John Roland, so too was Mayor Teller's opponent, Tim Laube, tarred with the "a vote for either is a vote for the eruv" brush.
Which leads to the question of how the Alliance reconciles its hostility to Mr. Laube's candidacy with this message from Mayor Teller in Jewish Week:
"I have no objection if the public isn't 100 percent against it. I mean I work for the public, but right now I still don't see any major fault with it. I probably won't get elected for saying that. I don't see any fault with it."
While there are signs of a certain amount of "wiggle room" in that statement, unless Mr. Kametler and Administration flunky Ralph Newbauer carried a private "I'm with you!" message from the Mayor to the Alliance, the group has caused itself significant credibility problems.
But in that same Jewish Week article is found crafty Con Teller's ultimate solution to whether or not the Synagogue gets its eruv in Westhampton Beach:
"Teller didn't rule out placing the matter before the voters in the form of a referendum…."
With the guidance of the vox populi, it would absolve Village Government of responsibility for the decision, something the Administration could point to if legal action ensues.
It would also suit Jacqueline Sprotte, an early eruv questioner, who urged such an approach at the Village Board's April Work Session.
Which would leave the Synagogue and the Alliance battling it out for the voters' hearts and minds until a referendum would be held later this Summer.
¹.- The actual membership of the Alliance seems to be less Westhampton Beach residents than non-residents or second home owners who vote elsewhere.
².- But then, it is unknown how many new supporters have contacted co-chairs Middleton and Els Rentmeister, or their nutburger associate, Irene Barrett, who's been at the front of the anti-eruv charge from the jump.
³.- Since it is an overtly political advertisement, some are wondering if the Alliance had pre-registered as a Political Action Committee, as required by law, with the Suffolk County Board of Elections.
…O, the shame!
The Southampton Press Western Edition's Jessica DiNapoli has beaten OtBB on a story about itself.
What are we to make of this?
Another frequent OtBB reader has posed a fairly good inquiry, certainly good enough to take some time to explore.
"It is not within the purview of the Village Board to deny the eruv, is it? The first newspaper articles about the eruv stated words to the effect that it was Jewish tradition to ask the municipality for permission but the Village didn't require it. Or did I misunderstand? Could you clear up this question for us? If the Village has no say one way or the other, then it doesn't make sense to use the eruv question as an instrument for or against any of the candidates."
Having attended all the meetings on the eruv… not the ad hoc Christian Citizens' Council ones in Quiogue, but the public ones in Village Hall… More...
