Sadly, it should be the purpose of our Manorhaven’s village government to see resident civic groups as an asset they are answerable to, not an impediment that they attack.
Respectfully, as the Village Board and residents know, MAC has a strong proven track record as an advocacy civic group for Manorhaven residents.
They have done that in numerous ways; by asking for waterfront building moratoriums and village impact studies to be done, by standing up so that residents be given the right to vote on a four year mayoral term, by asking that safety and health issues be investigated regarding toxic village sites, by asking for public hearings to be held regarding changes to the village police force, by insuring accountability and transparency in government through requested FOILS and by informing residents through email of upcoming village events and issues and by creating both a public and online forum for residents to share their concerns and ideas and by the myriad of useful proposals members of Mac have sent to the village board from overbuilding to street safety .
It is not “roadblocks” for Mac to support these resident issues as some village board members have “actually” suggested.
But it is responsible efforts by Mac and its residents to be sure the village does it’s due diligence and to not push through resolutions without public votes, higher budget changes, building on toxic sites, undisclosed village salaries and overtime and higher taxes without investigating and considering how these and other issues impact residents and our village’s future.
As all civic groups, we are all fellow residents whose only mission has been to advocate for citizens rights and to insure the health and safety of our families and the welfare of our village and to shine a light for open and transparent government and its accountability to residents.
For elected officials, Mayor Avena and his Board of Trustees at the 11/30 Board of Trustees meeting to publicly demean and dismiss the efforts of residents and to attempt to discredit a village civic group for speaking out and advocating for residents rights and open government does not serve our Village well, nor the elected office they hold.
MAC has successfully worked for resident’s rights and will continue to do so.
Lucretia Steele
Manorhaven
