In a tantrum far beneath the dignity of his office, Village of Plandome Heights Mayor Kenneth Riscica first scolded and then flipped off our reporter as he took photographs of board members at a public meeting.
Looking more like a naughty schoolboy than an elected official, Kenny repeatedly raised the middle finger of his right hand and pointed to his cheek just below his glasses. It almost seemed that he didn’t want anyone to see what he was doing, which is strange since he was gesturing to a photographer who was taking his picture.
Another board member, like a suspect in a perp walk, covered his face when his picture was being taken. What part of public official does he not understand?
We’d rather not have our reporters insulted by a vulgar gesture, but if you’re going to do it, Kenny, do it right.
Here’s the way it’s done: Stick out your right arm, grab your right bicep with your left hand and project the middle finger of the right hand for everyone to see. And don’t smirk. Snarl. Look like you mean it.
We have to wonder why Kenny objected so strongly to our reporter taking his picture.
Maybe he was having a bad hair day – that happens to the best of us. Maybe it was his time of the month – meeting night that is. Or maybe Kenny and other Plandome Heights officials have no appreciation for the value that journalists play in a democracy, even at the village level.
Our reporter was at the meeting to take headshots of various Manhasset village government, school district and civic officials for use in our “Guide to Manhasset” that was included in last week’s Manhasset Times. This is a service to local residents that Kenny and his friends should have welcomed and encouraged.
In the interest of full disclosure, we note that we were informed before the meeting by Plandome Heights Clerk-Treasurer Arlene Drucker that the trustees had opted not to participate in the guide and requested that we respect their “rights as private citizens” and not use their photographs.
But they were not there as “private citizens.” They were there as public officials attending a public meeting.
According to New York State’s Open Meetings Law, we had the right to take the photographs and record the words of anyone attending that meeting.
In an e-mail, Drucker told Blank Slate Media Publisher Steven Blank the newspaper would be violating state law if it published photographs of trustees without their consent. We disagree.
Robert Freeman, the executive director of the New York State Department’s Committee on Open Government, reaffirmed what we already knew to be true: “When records are disclosed under the Freedom of Information Law, or when an individual records an open meeting, that person may do with the photographs or the video as he or she sees fit. There is no limitation on the use of the material.”
Freeman called Kenny’s behavior “ridiculous” and encouraged us to publish the photograph of Kenny giving us the bird. Which we did.
But even their limited understanding of First Amendment freedom of the press doesn’t explain why Kenny and others objected to our reporter taking their photographs at a public meeting.
After learning of the incident, an official for the New York Press Association said, “The people’s right to know about their elected officials and their decision-making processes is basic to our society. Government is the public’s business. Any information provided to the public, that reminds them who their elected officials are, what they look like, and how they can be reached, contributes to good government. That elected officials think otherwise, is disturbing.”
At one point Kenny said our reporter was “disturbing” the meeting.
The only disturbance came when he made a obscene gesture and loudly objected to a journalist doing a job he had every right to do.
