Reader’s Write: Manorhaven Action Committee attacks unfair

The Island Now

I am very pleased with all that the Manorhaven Board of Trustees has accomplished since I was elected Mayor last June.

The trustees and I work hard, doing our best to make the Village a great place to live and work.

Since I was elected, we have passed over 30 laws intended to improve our Village.

In just the past few months, we’ve introduced a major effort to reduce illegal over-occupancy and a pilot program to ease winter parking restrictions.  Even when the board doesn’t agree, we continue to work together productively.

Despite all that we’ve accomplished, Manorhaven’s officials and staff have been subjected to unfair and misleading criticism by the Manorhaven Action Committee (MAC).

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me; disagreements are a part of democracy.

But I seriously object to MAC’s methods.

Their statements frequently mischaracterize and misrepresent the truth, and are written by a “steering committee” of a handful of individuals who assert that they speak for hundreds, despite MAC not having open meetings or elections.

At our Nov. 30 Board of Trustees meeting, a MAC representative admitted that MAC had not held a meeting open to the public in well over a year.

Unlike a real civic organization, MAC has made political endorsements based solely on the opinion of its steering committee.

When I asked who was on this steering committee, the MAC representative refused to answer. How can an anonymous, unelected few presume to speak for our community?

Hardly a week goes by without MAC publicizing exaggerations or unfounded speculation.

Last week, MAC circulated an anonymous flyer full of hyperbole and false claims regarding Manorhaven joining the Port Washington Police District.

This was completely irresponsible.  Circulating anonymous fliers full of false rumors and speculation does not do anything positive for the Village.

Earlier this year, MAC falsely claimed that there was a fire on the Dejana property.

When they brought this up at the Board of Trustees meeting, a MAC representative admitted that they had called the press, but not the fire department.  I cannot understand how anyone who viewed this as a real danger would not call 911.

In October, MAC announced that it had filed a criminal complaint against the Village government after Village staff took down signs at a MAC member’s request.

The District Attorney’s office concluded that this complaint was without merit, yet MAC’s steering committee did not share this information with MAC members or with the public until I asked at a Board meeting.

MAC’s one-sided version of events demonstrates that it is not interested in the truth, only in political games. There are many, many more instances of similar irresponsible and harmful behavior by MAC.

The board wants to know what concerns our Village residents so that we can address those concerns.  But MAC is not helping us in our effort.

MAC is a political association working to advance the goals of a few, not a civic association working on behalf of all residents.

As there are no longer any public meetings, voting, or accountability, MAC’s opinions cannot be ascribed to the community as a whole, but instead to the clique running its steering committee.

I am not happy to have to discuss unpleasant issues like this, but MAC’s irresponsible actions and misleading claims distract our Village from the real issues.

The trustees and I want what is best for the Village of Manorhaven.  We meet twice a month, once in a work session and a second time to take action and hear public comment.

All of our meetings are open to the public.  We invite all of you to attend our monthly Board of Trustees meetings to learn the truth about what is happening in our village, to see how we work together to get things accomplished, and to make your voice heard on the issues that are important to you.

Mayor Jim Avena

Manorhaven

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