It’s ironic that the four residents quoted in the article Residents speak out on lack of public input during Village of Great Neck meetings are actually recorded on the video of the Board of Trustees meeting provided by the village. Those quoted malign the mayor over his lack of transparency and speak falsely about a “gag order.” Yet, the video shows they each exceeded their 3-minute time limit, some of them speaking multiple times.
Unfortunately, there is a small group of people who often hijack these meetings by injecting their comments and arguing throughout the meetings, preventing all agenda items from being heard and providing little constructive input.
Watch the video https://youtu.be/oqFbRI3vNbU after the 2:51 mark – you will see that there was plenty of public comment.
Another preposterous allegation of one of the residents quoted is that when the public’s comments are registered it is too late for any serious revision of any project to be made. This could not be further from the truth.
She made her public comments at this meeting and the last meeting. This is one of the few municipalities that have a board that does listen. This resident administers a Great Neck Facebook group that regularly smears and misstates many of the village’s initiatives and has a clear bias against this Village government.
Listening to the small group of ill-informed but oft-quoted naysayers narrows all the thinking in this Village to what a select few unelected individuals care to think and disseminate to others.
Many of the rude interruptions that occur during these meetings are at the hand of these self-appointed radicals. They complain about the process, and when that process is followed to a tee, they argue that it has not been followed.
The people quoted in the article don’t represent the thinking of the residents of our great Village, even though they may think they do.
Facts matter, and if this publication had any sense of journalistic integrity, it would check the video before spreading falsehoods spoken in bad faith.
Dr. Joshua Ishal
Great Neck
While it’s very convenient to click on a link and jump to the end of the third hour of the meeting (ca. 10:30 pm), it’s pretty hard for residents who want to comment to wait for these three hours till they’re allowed to speak. Town of North Hempstead, for example, moved public comments to the beginning of the meetings, demonstrating the interest to its resident’s opinions.
Another problem with this is that many residents who want to comment, want to ask questions or give comments to architects and developers who’re seeking to come to the community and present their projects. They are already gone by the time of the public comments and unable to respond or take into consideration the resident’s comments.
The Board of Education has just recently moved their public comment to the end of their meetings. Did you or anyone complain to them about that? One has to sit through them congratulating themselves before anyone gets a chance to hear a question. Many parents have to put kids to sleep and similarly can’t stay that late. And often with the presentations and late starts, there is hardly anyone left to listen to the public comment.
I attended the last meeting and there was a sign on screen that invited residents to contact village official to comment at the beginning of the meeting on any pressing issue.
Kate- you and your very few followers lied and said there’s a “gag order”. You’re exposed. Now you try to change the subject.
This isn’t different than the lies you spread about the religious Jew demanding that stores close on Saturday or carry only kosher food. We all also remember the constant lies about LED lights. You’re against literally everything this administration does. You have Bral Derangement Syndrome.