Before Great Neck Library Board of Trustees President Rory Lancman could issue a statement on an incident between Trustee Donald Panetta and library director Denise Corcoran at a September meeting, Panetta asked to read something of his own.

“Don’t make me regret it,” Lancman said.

Then, Panetta quit effective immediately and walked out of the meeting less than 10 minutes in, citing frustration with the board and health concerns.

“I’ve already apologized and I think what you’re doing is harassment,” Panetta said, “You can admonish and harass me as much as you want. I still believe that the Parkville closure was handled incorrectly. The residents in the south, like it or not, are still part of this community and deserve to be treated better.”

During the Sept. 19 Great Neck Library board meeting, Panetta expressed anger with Corcoran and the handling of the temporary closure of the Parkville library branch due to construction.

He said Tuesday there were many things the board doesn’t know about it, “mostly because you simply never asked or took the time. As a group, you have spent too much time bickering and dividing the community instead of moving forward. One thing about me that you do not know is that I’m a cancer survivor. More importantly than that, cancer has recently been detected in my body for the second time in 10 years.”

“After thought and consideration, I have decided that I have more important things in my life that are more deserving of my attention,” he said, “Therefore, effective immediately, I am resigning my seat at the Great Neck Library.”

He then folded his paper, stood up, said “have a good meeting, goodbye” and walked out of the room.

“The Great Neck library policy manual includes a number of provisions to protect library staff, trustees, and patrons from inappropriate conduct,” Lancman read from a prepared statement after Panetta exited. “Harassment is detrimental to the library environment. It interferes with the mission of the library and disrupts its operations. Such behavior affects not only the patrons or the employees who are the targets, but also those individuals who participate in and witness such acts.”

He went on to say that Panetta “arguably violated” the harassment policy and that communications, “whether in public or in private, must be made in a civil and professional tone. Moreover, any critique of an employee’s performance should be confined to an executive session.”

Lancman said what happened at the Sept. 19 board meeting cannot happen again and that, “I know I speak on behalf of the board when I express our confidence in the director’s performance and leading our library, including the extraordinary efforts that she has made to ensure that patrons of the Parkville branch have a fully renovated library.”

Panetta criticized the board for not seeking an alternative location to the Parkville Branch earlier, singling out Corcoran, who attempted to address Panetta’s concerns, asserting that the library’s feedback differed from what he was hearing.

Corcoran said it was Panetta’s role as a trustee to explain alternatives to the patrons as Panetta interrupted during her response.

Lancman urged Panetta to allow Corcoran to reply to his shouted concerns.

Corcoran said Parkville branch patrons could use any library in Nassau County with their Great Neck library card without additional costs. She said she had tried to find a suitable alternative spaces, but none were available.