The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.
To the editor:
2020 was a constant barrage of reminders that politicians believe the laws do not apply to them. Mr. Masur’s letter (The Gazette, Dec. 17/23) is a fitting coda to a cynical year.
I have long been a critic of the Croton Board of Trustees abuse of the NYS Open Meetings Law, and of their view that the public trust doctrine set forth in NYS case law is not binding on the Board of Trustees. Mr. Masur’s response is that the Croton Board of Trustees won election and are getting on “about the business of governing.”
Mr. Masur and the Croton Board of Trustees have a fundamental misunderstanding—if not outright contempt—for our system of government.
Image by Tayeb Mezahdia from Pixabay
“Mr. Masur and the Croton Board of Trustees have a fundamental misunderstanding—if not outright contempt—for our system of government. We are a nation of laws. Simply because you are an elected official does not place you above the law. Simply because you are part of a governing body (such as a Board of Trustees) does not mean that you collectively are above the law. The viewpoint of Mr. Masur is gaining widespread acceptance in our nation, but that does not make it any less repugnant and dangerous.”
We are a nation of laws. Simply because you are an elected official does not place you above the law. Simply because you are part of a governing body (such as a Board of Trustees) does not mean that you collectively are above the law. The viewpoint of Mr. Masur is gaining widespread acceptance in our nation, but that does not make it any less repugnant and dangerous.
Contrary to Mr. Masur’s mischaracterization of my position, readers of my original letter (The Gazette, Dec. 10/16) know that I support Option #2 (rent Gouveia as business office) and Option #3 (sell the house and chunk of surrounding land to private buyer). In fact, I was explicit in my support of Mr. Lippolis, saying that he “has offered the Croton Board of Trustees an exit strategy, and they would do well to consider it.”
I agree with Mr. Masur as to the end goal. Unlike Mr. Masur, I believe that even politicians need to obey the law.
It says something about our society in 2021 that this is actually a point of disagreement. Even if every single resident of Croton voted to ignore state law, it would not be proper. Even if every single resident voted to ignore decisions rendered by the courts of this state, it would not be proper.
The Open Meetings Law is a statute which sets forth the very limited number of exceptions to the presumption of transparency, including a 2-prong test for going into executive session to discuss real property matters. If Mr. Masur and the Croton Board of Trustees wish to hold meetings in secret, then they can ask the state legislature to change the law and they can have all the executive sessions that they want. The public trust doctrine is established in the case law of this state, and provides a mechanism for the Croton Board of Trustees to lawfully accomplish any of the three options set forth in the Lippolis report.
Mr. Masur frames this as a partisan political issue. It is not: our neighbors to the north in Cortlandt and our neighbors to the south in Ossining are both governed by Democratic Party officials and they manage to obey the law.
The state legislature can grant permission for the Croton Board of Trustees to dispose of the Gouveia property in compliance with the public trust doctrine. Since both Senator Harckham and Assembly member Galef are members of the Democratic Party and since both the Senate and Assembly are controlled by the Democratic Party, they can pass a bill and send it to the Democratic Governor for signature.
The Croton Board of Trustees could accomplish their goal in accord with the laws. They choose not to do so because they believe themselves to be above the law. That should bother all of us regardless of our political affiliation, or lack thereof.
Paul Steinberg