Sunday, April 29, 2018

thou shall laugh or...

nassau otb did operate with only two directors when ny pml sec 502 said there shall be three

the study of the wordshall will be added to the currivulum st hempstead high school

Hempstead trustee questions village IDA members’ legality

Jeffery Daniels contends that the lack of a village board trustee among the appointees violates state law.

Karla Guerra, second from left, Reginald Lucas and Franz Nicolas attend a Hempstead Town IDA special meeting on March 13. Photo Credit: Howard Schnapp

By Stefanie Daziostefanie.dazio@newsday.com @StefanieDazio Updated April 25, 2018 7:43 PM

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A new Hempstead Village trustee said he believes any votes taken since June by village members of the Hempstead Town Industrial Development Agency may not have been in compliance with state law.

Trustee Jeffery Daniels introduced emergency legislation last week for the village board of trustees to seek outside counsel “for the sole purpose” of representing the village against the town’s IDA regarding deals since June 6, 2017. The board passed the proposal with a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Don Ryan voting against it.

Daniels contends that the four village residents’ appointments — Stacey Hargraves, Karla Guerra, Franz Nicolas and Reginald Lucas — who sit on the IDA board and vote on projects in the village violate state law. Hargraves is the village assessor, and community members Guerra, Nicolas and Lucas were appointed in June when Ryan took over as mayor.

State law allows Hempstead Village and Freeport to appoint their own members to the town’s IDA and states the appointees “shall include at least one member of such village’s governing body and at least three at large members drawn from a cross section of the village community.”

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Daniels said during the board meeting last week that because the four IDA appointees do not include a member of the village board of trustees, every IDA agreement involving the village since the June appointments “should be reversed.” He has been outspoken in opposing the recent approvals for IDA tax benefits for FDR Services Corp. and Garden City Mazda, both of which are in the village. Ryan wrote letters to the agency in support of both projects.

The state comptroller’s office referred a media inquiry to the town IDA.

IDA attorney John Ryan declined to comment to Newsday on Monday.

Thomas Wassel, chairman of the Nassau County Bar Association’s municipal law committee, said the state law’s use of “shall” typically means that a member of the village board would be required to sit on the IDA.

“Generally speaking, ‘shall’ is mandatory,” he said. “As opposed to ‘may,’ which is somewhat equivocal and somewhat optional.”

Wassel said a court might not overturn deals that have already gone through, but could affect projects in the future.

Celebrating dandelions’ benefits at Southhold event

The Farm’s annual festival aims to raise awareness about the flower’s uses and to encourage LIers to avoid herbicides that might affect the water supply.

Ira Haspel, owner of The Farm in Southold, in a dandelion patch on Tuesday. Photo Credit: Randee Daddona

By Vera Chinesevera.chinese@newsday.com @VeraChinese Updated April 26, 2018 12:10 PM

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One gardener’s weeds are another’s gardener’s vibrant flowers and food source.

Ira Haspel falls decidedly in the latter camp on the subject of dandelions. And he wants Long Islanders to accentuate the positive when they think of the yellow flowers, too.

Haspel, owner of The Farm in Southold, will host the third annual Dandelion Festival on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to celebrate the much-maligned flower. The free event at 59945 Main Rd. aims to educate people on dandelions’ benefits: They are one of the first food sources for pollinators in the spring, and have long been used in medicines and tonics. Haspel also hopes people will rethink applying synthetic herbicides to their lawns, and learn to live with the prolific plants.

“My purpose is educational. To inform people of the beneficial aspects of dandelion — the root, the leaf and the flower, both as food and medicine,” Haspel said. “And to encourage people not to put any toxic materials on the ground.”

Synthetic chemicals can make their way into the groundwater, he said, and because Long Islanders live above a single source aquifer, this means those compounds could affect drinking water. Dandelions, which are loaded with calcium and other nutrients, can be used in salads, tea and even to make wine, he said. Though there is little scientific evidence of the plant’s benefits, many herbalists vouch for its healing properties and use it as a diuretic.

The Farm follows a biodynamic philosophy, meaning it embraces an organic and holistic approach to farming. Haspel stressed the importance of healthy soil in growing food and said he feeds his crops only with compost made on the farm. He employs techniques like dense plantings to crowd out weeds — or what he calls unwanted plants — rather than applying herbicides.

Haspel and others will deliver dandelion-themed lectures during the event, which has drawn several hundred people in past years. Also expect face painting, dandelion poems, a dandelion crown making station, food vendors, live music and more.

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