The director of the Manhasset Public Library is under fire after allegedly making comments perceived as racially insensitive at a recital for students from the North Shore.
Margaret “Maggie” Gough, who took office as library director in 2011, is now the subject of a petition on Change.org entitled “Eradicate Racism from the Manhasset Public Library,” which accuses her of dealing in racist stereotypes against Asians in comments made during the recital.
Gough said in a statement that the matter is under investigation by the library’s Board of Trustees and denied that she had done anything improper.
Professional violinist Roslyn Huang conducts the Long Island Camerata, which sees students from the Manhasset, Roslyn, Port Washington, Herricks and Great Neck school districts play in string orchestras.
Their Dec. 14 recital for an audience of friends and family members began in the library’s community room at 1:30 p.m. and ended at 2:45, after which Huang held separate rehearsals with the Camerata’s two groups. Over 100 people were present, Huang said.
It was while working with third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students that she says Gough came down the stairs to the community room with two members of the library’s custodial staff and started “gesturing angrily with her hands.”
Those present told Huang that Gough said she doubted the students were from Manhasset, and called them “foreigners.”
“It is believed since many of the students were of Asian descent, she assumed that they are not from Manhasset,” the petition reads. “On the contrary, more than 80% of the families are tax-paying residents of Manhasset. The students were a mix of all ethnic groups including Jewish, Christian, white and from all diverse backgrounds.”
“The parents who overheard were on a warpath. I was like, ‘What the hell’s going on?'” Huang said.
Huang says her business partner then spoke to Gough, who allegedly told the partner that they had “violated [their] contract” by serving food.
Huang’s mother owns the Pearl East Restaurant in Manhasset, and the restaurant has catered every recital, joined in later years by local restaurants like Villa Monaco and Buttercooky Bakery.
Huang says she then left the students to rehearse alone, and walked to Gough.
“I asked, ‘What seems to be the problem?'” Huang said. “She said to me, ‘It’s the food. It’s not finger food.’ We were serving pastries, dim sum and sushi. We only had utensils because there was a stomach flu running around the schools; some of our students had already called out sick because of it. She said, ‘Chinese food is different, it smells and it’s messy. Monday morning, the people from the yoga class have to lie on your rice.'”
Huang said that the director said they “were trying to promote [Pearl East],” and that she “threatened to fine my mother because she said we were cooking.” Huang also said that the director threatened to fine them $20,000 to replace the carpet after water was spilled.
“In the last two or three years she’s been giving us a lot of restrictions,” Huang said. “At first, she said no food because we damage the carpet, which isn’t true. We’re diligent. I have high school volunteers who sweep and make sure we leave the room as we found it, or cleaner than we found it. We were told we could only drink water, that we couldn’t use sauce, OK.”
Huang says that while her organization was given strict rules for food service, she has seen other groups serve meals such as ravioli and other non-finger foods.
“I just want to be treated fairly, especially since I do my due diligence,” Huang said.
One concerned parent who asked to remain anonymous said their child, who has worked with Huang for years, witnessed the incident.
“My child was there and heard the whole thing,” the parent said. “I know several of the children, parents and staff overheard it.”
“There were family members who heard her say, ‘I’m going to charge them for this, for that,'” Huang said.
“It sounded like there was unfair treatment,” the parent said. “I don’t think a library should have a representative showing preference to one organization or another.”
Another parent later told Huang of following Gough into the elevator, where she told the parent, “I’m never inviting them back.”
Huang said that she signed a contract to rent the library’s rooms for $50 an hour for five hours a day on two recital days. Combined with a $250 deposit for each day and $150 for one-time piano tuning, she spends $1,150 for what she calls a “holiday party” for her students, and had signed another contract for the spring, which she says Gough canceled the Monday after the recital.
“I paid for the time, and now I can’t use it,” Huang said. “Apparently, we’re canceled forever.”
Huang also said that Gough mandated that 50 percent of the performers be from the Manhasset area.
“She asked me for their addresses to prove residency, and I said no because that would be violating their privacy,” Huang said. “She put in a lot of rules for my group that there aren’t for other groups. I know full and well that we didn’t break any rules, because we’ve been performing there for years.”
Huang has performed at the library for over 20 years, beginning in 1997 with a memorial recital when her father died.
“Ever since then, I’ve given an annual recital at the library,” Huang said. “I was pretty much an artist in residence.”
The Camerata has performed there twice annually for several years, with recitals in the spring and winter as a way of celebrating the students’ achievements, according to Huang.
“The parents are so supportive and this is a huge event for kids. This is a way to celebrate the hard work they do together,” Huang said. “I’ve never had a real problem, and I had actually never met or spoke with Maggie until this time around.”
Despite the petition, which has seen 785 signatures since its posting two weeks ago, Huang said she has told her students not to get involved with the matter.
Calls for comment to the five members of the library’s Board of Trustees were not returned.
“The comments came out as racially charged, and there’s no place for that in front of kids,” the parent said. “I want the board to do their due diligence, and I don’t want the employees who saw it to be fearful that they may lose their jobs for telling the truth.”
“I’m not someone who sees racism in everything,” Huang said. “I don’t care what you call me, but that you’re doing it in front of children is disgusting.”
