Watch out for the Mastic Beach Village Exploratory Committee and the Pattersquash Creek Civic Association floats!
Join the fun and spread the word about Mastic Beach and the Village!
This will be the 39th annual parade and it starts at 12 p.m., leaving from the Southport Shopping Center on Montauk Highway in Shirley (near Kohls, Stop'n'Shop etc.)
The parade is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of the Mastics and Shirley. If you take photos of the parade and would like to share them with others through the Mastic Beach Village Exploratory Committee website, please send them to mbvec@aol.com
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Find out more: December 1st meeting
Holiday Membership Meeting
Monday, December 1, 2008, 7pm-9pm
Mastic Beach Fire Department, Neighborhood Road , Mastic Beach, NY
Focus of the Agenda:
1. Holiday Celebration with a Wide Selection of Refreshments Prepared by Your Friends at Pattersquash Creek Civic
2. Plans for Decorating Neighborhood Road for the Holidays on Tuesday, December 2nd
3. Plans for Participating in the MBPOA Treelighting Ceremony at Neighborhood Square on Saturday, December 6th
4. Plans for Our Two Floats (PCCA & MBVEC) in the Annual Christmas Parade on Montauk Highway on Sunday, December 7th
5. Our Listings (PCCA & MBVEC) in the Community Library Link
6. Holiday $10.00 50/50 Raffle (A Great Holiday Present!)
7. The Mastic Beach Village Exploratory Committee Presents Guest Speaker Judge Howard Bergson on the topic "Code Enforcement and the Courts"
and
The Neighbor-to-Neighbor Letter-Writing Campaign
and
The Announcement that Step 2 of the Incorporation of Mastic Beach Is About to Begin!
All members are encouraged to bring a guest or guests.
Monday, December 1, 2008, 7pm-9pm
Mastic Beach Fire Department, Neighborhood Road , Mastic Beach, NY
Focus of the Agenda:
1. Holiday Celebration with a Wide Selection of Refreshments Prepared by Your Friends at Pattersquash Creek Civic
2. Plans for Decorating Neighborhood Road for the Holidays on Tuesday, December 2nd
3. Plans for Participating in the MBPOA Treelighting Ceremony at Neighborhood Square on Saturday, December 6th
4. Plans for Our Two Floats (PCCA & MBVEC) in the Annual Christmas Parade on Montauk Highway on Sunday, December 7th
5. Our Listings (PCCA & MBVEC) in the Community Library Link
6. Holiday $10.00 50/50 Raffle (A Great Holiday Present!)
7. The Mastic Beach Village Exploratory Committee Presents Guest Speaker Judge Howard Bergson on the topic "Code Enforcement and the Courts"
and
The Neighbor-to-Neighbor Letter-Writing Campaign
and
The Announcement that Step 2 of the Incorporation of Mastic Beach Is About to Begin!
All members are encouraged to bring a guest or guests.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
It worked!!! (URGENT! Read this and act! Important for our community!)
Dear Neighbors,
Thanks to all of you who responded to our urgent call for action on the proposed HUD funding of low-income rentals in Mastic, Mastic Beach and Shirley under the auspices of the Suffolk County Community Development. YOU STOPPED THEM BY YOUR ACTIONS! CONGRATULATIONS!
Our legislator responded by negotiating a halt to the rental portion of the proposal, while maintaining the home ownership portion. We can effect change when we work together.
Next step: Mastic Beach, "The Village" Imagine the possibilities!
Thank you all,
Paul Breschard
Did you read the following small print notice nestled in the entertainment section of Newsday last week:
PUBLIC NOTICE
Suffolk County Consortium
2008 Annual Action Plan Amendment
Neighborhood Stabilization Program
On September 26, 2008, HUD released the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) allocation amounts for states and local governments. The Suffolk County Consortium allocation under the NSP is $5,681,443 and these funds will be administered by the Suffolk County Community Development Office.
Mastic, Mastic Beach, and Shirley have been targeted as the areas of greatest need to be stabilized with HUD funds. Click on the following link for the plan:
http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/upload/economicdevelopment/pdfs/nsp.pdf
Please read the program specifications so that you can be aware of what people from outside your community are planning for you and your community. Whether you like or don't like what you read, be aware of what was hidden in the paper, get involved in the decision process, and respond by mailing your comments on or before Tuesday, November 25th to:
Suffolk County Community Development
PO Box 6100
Hauppauge, NY 11788
Attention: Joseph T. Sanseverino, Community Development Director
Your neighbor,
Paul Breschard
P.S. If you are opposed to more rental properties being created in our already oversaturated community, but are in favor of the rehabilitation of these derelict properties for resale to working families only (as I am), you can print the attached letter, sign and date it, and put it in the mail ASAP. Better yet, write your own comments down and mail them. In any case, have a voice!
Thanks to all of you who responded to our urgent call for action on the proposed HUD funding of low-income rentals in Mastic, Mastic Beach and Shirley under the auspices of the Suffolk County Community Development. YOU STOPPED THEM BY YOUR ACTIONS! CONGRATULATIONS!
Our legislator responded by negotiating a halt to the rental portion of the proposal, while maintaining the home ownership portion. We can effect change when we work together.
Next step: Mastic Beach, "The Village" Imagine the possibilities!
Thank you all,
Paul Breschard
Did you read the following small print notice nestled in the entertainment section of Newsday last week:
PUBLIC NOTICE
Suffolk County Consortium
2008 Annual Action Plan Amendment
Neighborhood Stabilization Program
On September 26, 2008, HUD released the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) allocation amounts for states and local governments. The Suffolk County Consortium allocation under the NSP is $5,681,443 and these funds will be administered by the Suffolk County Community Development Office.
Mastic, Mastic Beach, and Shirley have been targeted as the areas of greatest need to be stabilized with HUD funds. Click on the following link for the plan:
http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/upload/economicdevelopment/pdfs/nsp.pdf
Please read the program specifications so that you can be aware of what people from outside your community are planning for you and your community. Whether you like or don't like what you read, be aware of what was hidden in the paper, get involved in the decision process, and respond by mailing your comments on or before Tuesday, November 25th to:
Suffolk County Community Development
PO Box 6100
Hauppauge, NY 11788
Attention: Joseph T. Sanseverino, Community Development Director
Your neighbor,
Paul Breschard
P.S. If you are opposed to more rental properties being created in our already oversaturated community, but are in favor of the rehabilitation of these derelict properties for resale to working families only (as I am), you can print the attached letter, sign and date it, and put it in the mail ASAP. Better yet, write your own comments down and mail them. In any case, have a voice!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Village effort gets boost from mayor of Islandia
By Bryan Finlayson, Press of Manorville, Nov 7, 2008
Encouraging the residents of Mastic Beach to create an incorporated village, Islandia Village Mayor Allan Dorman said that to do so would give residents better control over their collective destiny.
Mr. Dorman made his remarks at a meeting of the the Pattersquash Creek Civic Association Monday night at the Mastic Beach Firehouse. The meeting was the latest in an effort to encourage residents to support an effort to create a village, an idea that has gained momentum in recent years.
Residents have promoted the creation of a village in Mastic Beach in order to “clean up” illegal rentals, prosecute code violators and address zoning issues, civic association member Victor Zeleny said. Property taxes for residents living in Mastic Beach are not projected to increase if incorporation occurs, he noted.
As of Monday, the civic association had raised $17,000 toward incorporation efforts, but estimates that a total of $30,000 will be needed to place the incorporation proposal on a public ballot.
“In the beginning, unless down the road the public feels different, we are doing it for planning, zoning, building, apartments and code enforcement,” Mr. Zeleny said, noting that by not seeking to provide significant services, the creation of the village wouldn’t result in high costs to residents. “We’re not going to be doing plowing in the beginning. We’re not asphalting, we’re not picking up garbage. In the beginning, to keep it where it’s not going to cost the public anything, we’re going to keeping with these small entities. We’re going to concern ourselves with cleaning up the housing issues and the code violations and the things of that nature.”
At the meeting, Mr. Dorman shared his own experiences of how incorporation changed a community. Islandia incorporated as a village in 1985. Mr. Dorman, who has been mayor of Islandia for three years, said incorporation improved the quality of life of residents.
The average homeowner in Islandia pays about $500 in property taxes. The Village of Islandia, which is located within Islip Town, provides services including garbage pick-up, code enforcement, road repair and street cleaning.
An advantage of stronger local control is that controversial issues—Mr. Dorman highlighted day laborers waiting for work and congregating on street corners as one such issue—will be addressed quicker.
He expounded on a situation where day laborers were gathering to be picked up by employers at a 7-Eleven in Islandia. “You notice the bicycles. You notice them hanging out there in the morning, all of that stuff,” Mr. Dorman said.
The issue was handled by Islandia’s code endorsement team. Code enforcement—there are five full- and part-time officers—responded by placing obstacles on the property to deter employers from picking up the workers in the parking lot, he said. “I don’t have anything against these people who want to work, I just think it has to be done in the right way. But we have to stay on top of things like that,” Mr. Dorman said. “They could be renting apartments. People like that could be renting houses, 14 or 15 of them in there, and then they go out and work their jobs in the morning—and then it creates a whole different feeling. It wasn’t the reason why I moved to Long Island.”
Another instance where village status helped root out perceived problems was when a homeless shelter opened up right across the street from his own home, Mr. Dorman said.
According to Mr. Dorman, his neighbor couldn’t sell his property, so he began to “run a business in a residential community, a homeless shelter.” Mr. Dorman, who was mayor at the time, took immediate action to oust the “14 people living across the street from me, living in a one-story ranch.” He did so by calling Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy.
According to Mr. Dorman, within a week, Suffolk County code enforcement officers shut down the home and evicted the tenants.
“I have to be honest with you,” Mr. Dorman said. “The fact that I am the mayor, and the fact that I do live across the street from the house, and the fact that I picked up the phone and called Steve Levy, all kinda helped.”
Throughout his 90-minute talk, Mr. Dorman came back his belief that the reason for incorporation was to increase local control and use that control to improve quality of life for property owners.
“A village government is not another layer of government. I’m here to tell you it is the layer of government,” Mr. Dorman said. “There isn’t anybody in Suffolk County or anyone in the towns that are going to help you. When you’re in a village, you help yourself.
“You control your destiny. You control everything in your neighborhood,” Mr. Dorman continued. “You don’t want to incorporate for any other reason than the fact that you want to control your destiny. If you have some other reason—you don’t want to be part of something or you hate somebody or whatever—that’s not the reason to do it. The reason is you want to control your destiny.”
Encouraging the residents of Mastic Beach to create an incorporated village, Islandia Village Mayor Allan Dorman said that to do so would give residents better control over their collective destiny.
Mr. Dorman made his remarks at a meeting of the the Pattersquash Creek Civic Association Monday night at the Mastic Beach Firehouse. The meeting was the latest in an effort to encourage residents to support an effort to create a village, an idea that has gained momentum in recent years.
Residents have promoted the creation of a village in Mastic Beach in order to “clean up” illegal rentals, prosecute code violators and address zoning issues, civic association member Victor Zeleny said. Property taxes for residents living in Mastic Beach are not projected to increase if incorporation occurs, he noted.
As of Monday, the civic association had raised $17,000 toward incorporation efforts, but estimates that a total of $30,000 will be needed to place the incorporation proposal on a public ballot.
“In the beginning, unless down the road the public feels different, we are doing it for planning, zoning, building, apartments and code enforcement,” Mr. Zeleny said, noting that by not seeking to provide significant services, the creation of the village wouldn’t result in high costs to residents. “We’re not going to be doing plowing in the beginning. We’re not asphalting, we’re not picking up garbage. In the beginning, to keep it where it’s not going to cost the public anything, we’re going to keeping with these small entities. We’re going to concern ourselves with cleaning up the housing issues and the code violations and the things of that nature.”
At the meeting, Mr. Dorman shared his own experiences of how incorporation changed a community. Islandia incorporated as a village in 1985. Mr. Dorman, who has been mayor of Islandia for three years, said incorporation improved the quality of life of residents.
The average homeowner in Islandia pays about $500 in property taxes. The Village of Islandia, which is located within Islip Town, provides services including garbage pick-up, code enforcement, road repair and street cleaning.
An advantage of stronger local control is that controversial issues—Mr. Dorman highlighted day laborers waiting for work and congregating on street corners as one such issue—will be addressed quicker.
He expounded on a situation where day laborers were gathering to be picked up by employers at a 7-Eleven in Islandia. “You notice the bicycles. You notice them hanging out there in the morning, all of that stuff,” Mr. Dorman said.
The issue was handled by Islandia’s code endorsement team. Code enforcement—there are five full- and part-time officers—responded by placing obstacles on the property to deter employers from picking up the workers in the parking lot, he said. “I don’t have anything against these people who want to work, I just think it has to be done in the right way. But we have to stay on top of things like that,” Mr. Dorman said. “They could be renting apartments. People like that could be renting houses, 14 or 15 of them in there, and then they go out and work their jobs in the morning—and then it creates a whole different feeling. It wasn’t the reason why I moved to Long Island.”
Another instance where village status helped root out perceived problems was when a homeless shelter opened up right across the street from his own home, Mr. Dorman said.
According to Mr. Dorman, his neighbor couldn’t sell his property, so he began to “run a business in a residential community, a homeless shelter.” Mr. Dorman, who was mayor at the time, took immediate action to oust the “14 people living across the street from me, living in a one-story ranch.” He did so by calling Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy.
According to Mr. Dorman, within a week, Suffolk County code enforcement officers shut down the home and evicted the tenants.
“I have to be honest with you,” Mr. Dorman said. “The fact that I am the mayor, and the fact that I do live across the street from the house, and the fact that I picked up the phone and called Steve Levy, all kinda helped.”
Throughout his 90-minute talk, Mr. Dorman came back his belief that the reason for incorporation was to increase local control and use that control to improve quality of life for property owners.
“A village government is not another layer of government. I’m here to tell you it is the layer of government,” Mr. Dorman said. “There isn’t anybody in Suffolk County or anyone in the towns that are going to help you. When you’re in a village, you help yourself.
“You control your destiny. You control everything in your neighborhood,” Mr. Dorman continued. “You don’t want to incorporate for any other reason than the fact that you want to control your destiny. If you have some other reason—you don’t want to be part of something or you hate somebody or whatever—that’s not the reason to do it. The reason is you want to control your destiny.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)