HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-08/19/2025 PH 1
1 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK : STATE OF NEW YORK
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3
TOWN BOARD
4 REGULAR MEETING
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7 Southold, New York
8 August 19 , 2025
7 : 00 P . M.
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14 B E F O R E :
15
16 ALBERT KRUPSKI JR, SUPERVISOR
17 LOUISA P . EVANS, JUSTICE
18 JILL DOHERTY, COUNCILWOMAN
19 GREG DOROSKI , COUNCILMAN
20 BRIAN O . MEALY, COUNCILMAN
21 ANNE H . SMITH, COUNCILWOMAN
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AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 2
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INDEX TO TESTIMONY
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3 Public Comments 3-59
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AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 3
1 PUBLIC COMMENTS
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So
3 having said all that, is there anyone
4 who ' d like to address the Board on any
5 issue at all ? Please come up to the
6 microphone and identify yourself .
7 KEVIN BYRNE : Thank you .
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And
9 your photographs .
10 KEVIN BYRNE : Thank you . My name
11 is Kevin Byrne . I am the Commissioner
12 and Chairman of the Mattituck Park
13 District . Before I start my address to
14 the Board, I ' d like to share with
15 everybody here the mission statement of
16 the Mattituck Park District so you can
17 understand where we ' re coming from .
18 The mission statement of the Mattituck
19 Park District is continuing the vision
20 commenced by its founders to protect,
21 preserve, and enhance our resources for
22 its residents and future generations ,
23 while maintaining the rural character
24 and community -- of the community and
25 the preservation of open space . So as
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 4
1 the Commissioner and Chairman of the
2 Mattituck Park District, I take this as
3 my charter . This is what I ' ve been
4 elected to do . And what I come to talk
5 to you about tonight specifically is
6 the situation at the Mattituck Inlet,
7 inside the inlet, outside the inlet,
8 and adjoining the inlet . The Mattituck
9 Park District owns two properties , one
10 on the eastern side of the inlet, which
11 is called our Bailey Beach property,
12 and one on the western side, which we
13 call Breakwater Beach . Now, if you ' re
14 familiar at all with inlets , you know
15 that, or jetties , which is what is
16 built by the inlet, you know that
17 jetties interfere with the natural flow
18 and migration of sand . In the case of
19 the North Shore of Long Island, where
20 we ' re located, the migration runs from
21 the west to the east . So there ' s a
22 constant and consistent migration of
23 sand that runs from the western side of
24 the jetty to the eastern side .
25 Unfortunately, jetties have the
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 5
1 tendency to interrupt this flow and
2 require consistent maintenance in order
3 to prevent the oversaturation of sand
4 on one side of the jetty, and to
5 prevent the depletion of sand on the
6 eastern side of the jetty . What
7 prompted -- part of what prompted this
8 evening is in -- August 5th of this
9 year, August 5th, 2025 , the Mattituck
10 Park District, along with several
11 members of the Town of Southold I see
12 here on the CC list, including the
13 Supervisor, received notification from
14 the Army Corps of Engineers that they
15 were once again delaying the dredging,
16 the scheduled dredging of the Mattituck
17 Inlet from October of this year to
18 October of 2026 . This is part of a
19 repeating pattern of negligence and
20 dereliction of duty, in my opinion, on
21 the part of the Army Corps of Engineers
22 to properly maintain the inlet and the
23 surrounding two properties on the west
24 side , and the east side . The situation
25 has gone on for so long that at this
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 6
1 point in time , the area, which we refer
2 to as Bailey Beach, has now been so
3 depleted of sand that it is no longer
4 usable in a sense as a beach . At high
5 tide , the high water line now comes up
6 to the dirt mounds and the dunes
7 themselves . This not only erodes and
8 prevents the use of the beach for us as
9 a recreational area, it creates
10 dangerous situations with respect to
11 tidal currents and other things . And
12 most importantly, perhaps places the
13 Mattituck Inlet itself at imminent
14 danger of breach . There are now three
15 identified areas that we know of that
16 are at serious jeopardy of breach . If
17 in fact that area breaches , the
18 Mattituck Inlet as we know it will
19 cease to exist . So the problem of lack
20 of sand is the direct result of the
21 Army Corps of Engineers failure to
22 maintain properly the schedule of
23 dredging and the movement of sand from
24 the west side of the jetty to the east
25 side of the jetty . And also the plan
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 7
1 for this particular project, which was
2 canceled, was to take the dredging ' s
3 from the inlet itself and place them on
4 Bailey Beach . So what we ' re here
5 tonight to ask from the Town of
6 Southold is to give us some assistance
7 as we now recognize that only through
8 political action and community action
9 will we have any possibility of getting
10 any action on this particular problem .
11 It ' s been going on for years . When the
12 jetty was built, it was originally
13 built, and the Army Corps of Engineers
14 themselves specified that every 7 to 10
15 years , it would be necessary to dredge
16 between 70 and 100 , 000 cubic yards of
17 sand from the west side of the jetty to
18 the east side of the jetty . They said
19 that amount, the longer you wait
20 between the dredging ' s , the higher the
21 amount of sand necessary to be moved .
22 The last time this jetty was , this
23 particular problem was addressed was
24 now 11 going on 12 years ago in 2014 .
25 And so it ' s this -- in fact, it is
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 8
1 exactly this failure on the part of the
2 Army Corps of Engineers to act in
3 accordance with the way that what was
4 dictated and deemed necessary and
5 responsible when the jetty was created .
6 This particular problem now threatens
7 the Mattituck Inlet, now threatens the
8 breach of Bailey Beach, and threatens
9 the complete destruction of a large
10 section of our shoreline on Bailey
11 Beach . So what we ' re asking for
12 tonight is for the Town of Southold to
13 join us by perhaps writing some letters
14 corresponding as a Board, as a
15 commission, to our elected officials ,
16 primarily in the federal government, to
17 take a look at this and please find the
18 funding necessary to do this . And the
19 other thing we would like to do, is to
20 see if the Town of Southold could
21 perhaps assign an advocate or somebody
22 in the town itself, that could
23 cooperate with us , become a contact
24 point for us to exchange information,
25 exchange ideas , and develop strategies
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 9
1 to approach our government
2 representatives to find the funding
3 necessary to save our inlet and save
4 our beach . So that ' s really my point .
5 Abigail is here . Abigail Field is our
6 secretary from the Park District . And
7 Abigail is going to give you a little
8 bit of an overview of some of the
9 things that are specifically need to be
10 addressed, and where the problems lie .
11 ABIGAIL FIELD : Thank you, Kevin .
12 I mean, Kevin gave you the big picture,
13 right? The bottom line is there ' s two
14 dimensions to the issue . One is just
15 the navigability of the inside channel ,
16 and that was all the Army Corps was
17 willing to deal with this Fall . But
18 the bigger problem is the erosion that
19 the jetties create, and this risk,
20 right? And we have some aerials we can
21 show you . Just last year, just last
22 year, Bailey Beach had meaningfully
23 more sand . This is from 2024 . And you
24 can see there was more sand just ' 24 .
25 Like it ' s really getting back . So one
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 10
1 of the Army Corps duties that they ' re
2 not doing is the jetty . So one of the
3 issues is just taking sand out of
4 there . And the Army Corps is like
5 acknowledging that ' s their duty, but
6 that ' s what they postpone this year .
7 The bigger issue is what ' s called their
8 Section 111 duty, and that ' s to repair
9 the erosional damage that is created .
10 There was a study in like ' 08 that
11 documented that these jetties are
12 creating much more erosion by like 500
13 a year . It ' s like a big deal . That ' s
14 why in 2014 , they completed putting
15 100 , 000 cubic yards of sand on Bailey
16 Beach, which is all now gone . I mean,
17 you can see there ' s no beach left .
18 This is from this year, this photo .
19 This is now, give or take . And there
20 is a little bit, there is both unity
21 from the homeowners here and here, and
22 a little bit of conflict that we take
23 no official position on . But we want
24 to give you guys the full picture
25 because we ' re asking for your help .
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 11
1 Everyone agrees that Bailey Beach needs
2 a ton of sand because as you can see,
3 it needs a ton of sand . A few tons . A
4 few tons , right? Because , I mean, I
5 guess sand ' s heavy, right? Like
6 100 , 000 cubic cards or more . But the
7 homeowners on this side look at the
8 jetty and they say it ' s full , because
9 it is , and you should take some of this
10 sand, because that ' s the sort of normal
11 engineering, and take sand from
12 wherever else and put it over there .
13 The homeowners on this side, while they
14 agree you need to put more than 100 , 000
15 cubic yards of sand over there, they
16 don ' t want to take it from here . The
17 homeowners point to the sand over here .
18 They want to take it from here . Sorry .
19 Sorry . They want to take it from --
20 you can see the sand through the water
21 here . And they want to take it from --
22 That ' s the old one . This one? Yeah,
23 this one . They want to take it from
24 here , right? So you can see , we had
25 these very specialized aerial photos
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 12
1 taken last year so that you can see
2 through the water to see all the sand .
3 However, they do it, you ' ll have to
4 certainly take some of that and sand,
5 this area is DEC, right? This is a
6 complicated project . We have to get
7 the DEC ' s permission . We have to get
8 the Army Corps involved . The only way
9 to get the Army Corps to do anything is
10 to get the congressmen and the two
11 senators involved . The only way to get
12 them involved is , if everybody takes a
13 stand . We ' ve got letters of support
14 from homeowner groups , from the
15 Chambers of Commerce in Mattituck
16 because it ' s big economic . We need
17 your guys ' help to create sufficient .
18 We have a petition going . We have
19 hundreds of people who have signed the
20 petition already . 335 at the moment
21 and growing, right? We need to put
22 tremendous political pressure to get it
23 done because if this breaches , it ' s a
24 disaster . And even if it doesn ' t
25 breach, this erosion all the way along,
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 13
1 it goes all the way down to homeowners .
2 Homeowners are at risk . I mean, it ' s a
3 really -- we cannot overstate the
4 urgency . And so we need your help .
5 And so like our Chairman said, we want
6 a letter, but we also want a point
7 person . We can --
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So
9 thank you . Thank you for coming in .
10 So wonderfully well prepared . This is
11 something I ' m very familiar with . And
12 I see Doris McGreevy in the audience
13 here . I know she was very active in
14 the last dredging effort here in the
15 inlet, which was very successful and
16 spread the sand where it belongs on the
17 east side . And that one picture that
18 demonstrates the sand coming offshore
19 there, off the jetty, when the Army
20 Corps dredged that -- and they went --
21 and their permit says they don ' t go
22 outside of the breakwaters , but
23 actually that ' s where the sandbar
24 accumulates and that ' s where the boats
25 will hit outside of the breakwater .
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 14
1 And they went and they did clear that
2 whole area the last time they dredged .
3 Now, just to know that their
4 navigational channel , and it ' s a
5 federal anchorage, which is why Army
6 Corps of Engineer has to dredge it .
7 It ' s their responsibility . All the
8 creeks along the bay, Peconic Bay, are
9 dredged by Suffolk County . It ' s in
10 their charter to dredge those for
11 navigation . And they dredge those
12 based on the five towns
13 recommendations . They go out, they
14 send their surveyors out, they look at
15 conditions , and then they work within
16 their very narrow dredge window from
17 September all the way through to the
18 end of the year . They used to be able
19 to dredge all the way to the end of
20 March . Unfortunately, that dredge
21 window was closed by regulatory
22 closures by Federal Official Wildlife ,
23 which makes it very difficult because
24 if you dredge something inlet in
25 September or October, you can get all
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 15
1 those Nor ' easters that can easily close
2 it up again by April or May . So it
3 puts the County in a tough position
4 because they ' re trying to balance all
5 those needs of all those creeks in the
6 Peconic Bay in five towns . This is an
7 Army Corps Engineer federal channel .
8 There ' s a federal anchorage right by
9 the North Road . There ' s two ramps
10 there . There ' s a lot of public access
11 here . The Federal Channel is not
12 between the breakwaters . It is much
13 narrower all the way through the creek .
14 Last year, it was kind of unbelievable
15 that the Army Corps of Engineers came
16 in and dredged the interior part of the
17 channel . From there all the way to the
18 North Road . And it was all fine
19 material . What would be dredged out of
20 the mouth here is compatible for beach
21 nourishment . It ' s the same . It ' s
22 something that the DEC and the Town
23 would approve of . What came out of the
24 channel there was just like black
25 mayonnaise . It ' s that muck that ' s
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 16
1 accumulated over decades and that fine
2 material , it ' s sediment . It settles
3 into that deeper channel . They barged
4 it out to the mouth, transferred it
5 from one barge to another, and shipped
6 it off to, I think, New Jersey, because
7 it ' s not compatible with any kind of
8 beach nourishment . And it ' s not
9 material that would be used for it .
10 There ' s some reuse of dredge material ,
11 but it ' s very limited . So this is
12 something I ' ve talked to this
13 congressman about . I ' ve talked to the
14 congressman before him, and the
15 congressman before him and the
16 congressman before him . The process is
17 not up to the -- he can ' t say to the
18 Army Corps , oh, it ' s maintenance
19 dredging . They have to be compelled to
20 do it, to do the interior . It took
21 numerous surveys over the years during
22 COVID with the Army Corps . And we
23 showed them the bad spot there that you
24 pointed out on the shoreline . We
25 showed them that, they understand that,
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 17
1 but it takes like literally an act of
2 Congress to fund this . So I did speak
3 to the Congressman recently about this ,
4 and let him know that it ' s safety . Not
5 only for navigation, but for bathers
6 because of the Park District and Town
7 property near there , that if the beach
8 forms inside of the breakwater, it ' s a
9 very dangerous place to swim .
10 ABIGAIL FIELD : Right . In here ,
11 there ' s pooling that people are
12 swimming .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And
14 it ' s not a safe place to -- Someone did
15 drown there recently, and it ' s not a
16 safe place to swim. And that sand
17 should be removed and placed on the
18 beach . So the Board --
19 ABIGAIL FIELD : Do we do this as
20 though Section 111 ? That ' s like a
21 specific statute that makes them clean
22 up the damage that their things do .
23 And that ' s why they did the 100 , 000
24 several years ago . Well , more than a
25 decade ago at this point . And they
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 18
1 have to be just forced to do their next
2 Section 111 .
3 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Oh,
4 this is very important . And it ' s
5 safety and navigation . And we had that
6 with them about the dredging last year .
7 It ' s difficult to get them to come and
8 do that maintenance work . It ' s not
9 automatic .
10 ABIGAIL FIELD : If it ' s easy, we
11 wouldn ' t be here .
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : No,
13 you ' re right . It would have been done .
14 It would have been done .
15 KEVIN BYRNE : We just want to, you
16 know, add increased community
17 awareness . We believe that the Town
18 has an equal interest in this to the
19 Park District . This is our land . We
20 live here . And I would like to thank
21 Supervisor Krupski , he has been, as
22 long as I ' ve been involved with this
23 project, a very strong supporter of the
24 efforts here . And he ' s been very, you
25 know, very helpful in trying to steer
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 19
1 things . But as we both have found out,
2 it ' s very difficult to get this thing .
3 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Please
4 send this to me tomorrow with a
5 petition, and I ' ll coordinate with the
6 Town Trustees , and we ' ll make a louder
7 appeal .
8 KEVIN BYRNE : Great .
9 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE :
10 Mr . Supervisor, I think I can add
11 something here . As you know, my office
12 has been working with the Army Corps in
13 addition to the Trustees , the Park
14 District, and several other departments
15 of the Town . And we did get an e-mail
16 August 4 , 2025 from the Army Corps . The
17 Park District got it also . I don ' t
18 know that you ' re familiar with it, but
19 it is the Army Corps , and their message
20 is this . It starts with Town Partners .
21 "Unfortunately, due to shipyard
22 maintenance delays and unforeseen
23 engine problems with the Corps '
24 multipurpose vessel Brandy Station, the
25 upcoming maintenance dredging will be
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 20
1 postponed to Fall 2026 . Fall is when
2 the environmental agencies allow
3 dredging and beach placement to occur,
4 and the Corps intends to complete the
5 work in full compliance with all State
6 and Federal resource agencies . Fall
7 2026 will also ensure that the vessel
8 and the crew are fully ready to
9 accomplish the work . " The e-mail goes
10 on . I thought that was the pertinent
11 portion . It looks as though there ' s a
12 commitment certainly to do it . The
13 timing is what we ' re talking about .
14 ABIGAIL FIELD : No, but it ' s not
15 what we ' re talking about because that ' s
16 how you want to .
17 KEVIN BYRNE : The ask we ' re
18 looking for here is an extension of
19 this project, which currently only
20 addresses the inlet itself within the
21 inlet, to address the greater issue,
22 which is the need to increase the total
23 amount of sand on the eastern side of
24 the jetty, and to utilize the excess
25 sand on the western side of the jetty
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 21
1 for that purpose . So it ' s our hope
2 that we can -- because this project has
3 been delayed, have the government, the
4 Federal government, the Army Corps of
5 Engineers re-evaluate the project to
6 expand the focus of that project to
7 include and satisfy the greater need
8 overall , and not just address that
9 inside the inlet issue .
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
11 There ' s no question we can --
12 ABIGAIL FIELD : To put the numbers
13 on it, what they ' re talking about in
14 that e-mail is about 6 , 000 to 7 , 000
15 cubic yards of sand . They ' re talking
16 about taking tops , 8 , 000 cubic yards of
17 sand out . We need 100 , 000 plus . So we
18 need them to take a lot more sand than
19 what they ' re going to come back next
20 September .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So in
22 maintenance dredging operations like
23 this , if you look on the west side , you
24 see the sand that comes around the edge
25 of the jetty and it doesn ' t get back to
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 22
1 the shoreline because it ' s going
2 offshore . So what ' s typical is that
3 they will allow for a borrow pit to be
4 dredged on the west side and that sand
5 pumped off to the east side . And then,
6 yeah, they would dredge that sand out
7 as a borrow pit . And so the sand
8 wouldn ' t fill in the jetty as quickly
9 because all that sand is going to go
10 and fill that in first . So you get
11 extra years out of the actual
12 navigational channel .
13 ABIGAIL FIELD : Point is that
14 they ' re bringing the equipment, all the
15 equipment they need to suck and move
16 it . And so we want them to move, take
17 with that equipment, not six or seven
18 thousand cubic yards .
19 KEVIN BYRNE : We want them to do
20 the correctly that they haven ' t done in
21 what will then be 12 years .
22 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : No,
23 that makes sense . And we ' ll be happy
24 to work with you on that, on that
25 different project .
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 23
1 KEVIN BYRNE : Thank you .
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Or
3 correct project .
4 ABIGAIL FIELD : And anybody who
5 hasn ' t signed the petition, they can
6 find it with your help .
7 DORIS MCGREEVY : Let me just --
8 COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY : Please just
9 state your name for the record?
10 DORIS MCGREEVY : Doris McGreevy,
11 Mattituck . The Park District
12 representatives spoke to the problem
13 beautifully . But I wanted to just say
14 that I ' ve been working in this
15 situation for many years , and it ' s
16 difficult to work with the Army Corps
17 engineers . They don ' t live here, and
18 we do . And Brian, you live in
19 Mattituck . You ' ve probably gone to
20 Bailey Beach . Same with Anne .
21 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : My
22 favorite beach .
23 DORIS MCGREEVY : Yeah . I mean,
24 you know, everybody loves Bailey Beach .
25 Well , it ' s the Army Corps study shows
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 24
1 that they have to accept the
2 responsibility of moving the sand to
3 the eastern beaches and let it flow
4 literally down to the east . It would
5 be natural . And what you see what
6 they ' re doing is nothing . Again, they
7 delayed, even a minor dredge delayed
8 it . And when they tell us , they have
9 more important things to do . You know,
10 we have these big jobs . So I guess we
11 don ' t count in their eyes . But we do
12 count . And it depends on how strong
13 our representatives help us . I mean,
14 we ' re just, you know, the residents .
15 You know, we ' re not professionals .
16 We ' re just people who live there . And
17 it doesn ' t seem like it matters to
18 them . I ' ve tried . And, you know, they
19 literally cut us off . So what I ' m
20 asking you is -- I think you all
21 realize what ' s going on . It ' s wrong .
22 Does anybody feel like it ' s right what
23 they ' re doing? It ' s wrong . Everybody
24 knows that . So we have to get to right
25 the wrong . And we need a permanent
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 25
1 solution because I was here 2014 when
2 they did the last dredge and years
3 before 2008 when the Army Corps started
4 to investigate their mistakes , you
5 know . And this is going on and on .
6 And then they do it . And then they
7 come out and say, well , every nine
8 years , we ' ll do it . And what happens ?
9 12 years later, nothing . We ask, what
10 happened? They put an addendum on
11 everything and killed it . After all
12 this work that they did and spent
13 millions on this study and said they
14 were wrong and said they will go ahead
15 and mitigate the problem. What do they
16 do? They turn around and send an
17 addendum saying, forget it . We ' re
18 done . One time only we ' ll do it . That
19 negates all their studies , and I have a
20 mound of them . I can bring them in . I
21 mean, it goes to the ceiling how many
22 different areas they study, even to the
23 grain of sand that would be placed on
24 the beach . So, you know, I could get
25 back to we ' re taxpayers . Well , we are
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 26
1 taxpayers . The basic is you serve us .
2 And we appreciate, like you had said
3 before, Brian, we do appreciate
4 everything you do . But we ' re hurting
5 out there in Bailey Beach, and there
6 won ' t be much . And if we wait, too
7 much longer, it won ' t even be there .
8 So I appreciate the time . I hope it
9 all resolves itself quickly, because
10 longer we wait, you know, the longer
11 it ' s going to be over . So thank you
12 very much .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
14 you .
15 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Thank
16 you .
17 SANDRA BENEDETTO : Good evening,
18 and thank you for giving me the
19 opportunity to speak with you tonight .
20 My name is Sandra Benedetto . I live in
21 Greenport Village . I ' ve resided there
22 for 26 years and been paying taxes
23 there for 26 years . I am affiliated
24 with many organizations in Southold
25 Town, but I come here tonight as an
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 27
1 individual . I speak as a concerned
2 citizen, an outraged citizen, and
3 frankly, a disappointed citizen . I
4 want to make a personal statement about
5 the recent ICE raids in Greenport . I
6 will make my remarks brief, but please
7 indulge me to allow, provide some
8 personal context for you about me .
9 Many of you know me as Sandy . My full
10 name is Sandra Margarita Benedetto . I
11 do not speak English with a Spanish
12 accent, but my mother did . Her first
13 language was Spanish . She spoke
14 English impeccably, though with an
15 accent . She also spoke three other
16 languages fluently . When she moved to
17 New York, she was regrettably the
18 target of racism and bigotry . And on
19 more than one occasion throughout her
20 life , she was told to go back where she
21 came from. My mother came from Puerto
22 Rico . She was born and raised there .
23 To this day, many Americans do not know
24 that Puerto Rico is part of the United
25 States . The irony -- the sad irony of
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 28
1 that contradiction was not lost on my
2 mother . She taught my sisters and I to
3 be proud of our Puerto Rican heritage
4 and encouraged us to learn about all
5 branches of our family history . My
6 mother was a U . S . citizen from birth,
7 and so therefore I was . My father
8 spoke English with a Brooklyn accent .
9 No one ever told him to go back where
10 he came from. His parents immigrated
11 to America as children from Sicily,
12 Italy . His mother, my grandmother, was
13 five years old when she immigrated with
14 her nine-year-old sister and her
15 13-year-old brother . They were the
16 only people on that ship with the same
17 surname . Three children, no papers , no
18 visas , no documentation, just a note to
19 the people who were to meet them on the
20 other side of the Atlantic Ocean . By
21 today ' s standards , they were , " illegal
22 aliens . " But my father was born in New
23 York, and therefore he was a U . S .
24 citizen, even though his parents were
25 undocumented . Fast forward to 2025 .
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 29
1 All of that sounds very quaint and
2 nostalgic, doesn ' t it? None of it
3 matters anymore, though the bigotry and
4 racism are still firmly intact . I
5 would venture to say that many of us
6 sitting in this room have grandparents
7 or great-grandparents who immigrated to
8 this country without documents . And if
9 they came here today, they would too be
10 considered, quote, illegals . But
11 things have changed . Mass arrests ,
12 detainments , and deportations are in
13 process , and ICE raids are happening
14 around the country, and they have now
15 come to Southold Town . Two times
16 back-to-back weekends in my home,
17 Greenport . Though I have it on good
18 authority that they have been to other
19 hamlets , and I ' ve been told, and we
20 know that someone was also taken from
21 Cutchogue, but that was done quietly
22 and with little public awareness . On
23 July 26th, the first time they came to
24 Greenport, very early in the morning on
25 a Saturday, they took two men . They
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 30
1 were looking for one, they found him,
2 but they also took the person that he
3 was with . The second time they came on
4 August 3rd, ICE and their agents
5 descended on Greenport on a Sunday
6 morning and perpetrated terror and fear
7 in our village . This is not an
8 understatement . They were masked .
9 They were armed with guns strapped to
10 their thighs . They were in unmarked
11 cars . They did not have visible badges
12 or ID ' s . And they refused to identify
13 themselves . These law enforcement
14 agents brought lawlessness and chaos
15 into the village , putting the entire
16 community at risk . If you don ' t
17 believe me , we have videos and
18 witnesses . They were looking for one
19 person who they did not find, but they
20 took two others , wreaking havoc in the
21 Greenport Laundromat parking lot,
22 terrorizing people, then questioning
23 and threatening a man with his
24 10-year-old twin son screaming and
25 traumatized in the parking lot . I was
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 31
1 present at the aftermath that Sunday .
2 People were devastated . It was a
3 travesty . The families and children
4 who are left behind are traumatized .
5 Our neighbors are afraid to go
6 shopping, do laundry, send their
7 children to school . Non-immigrant
8 residents are concerned for their
9 neighbors and also their own safety .
10 This should not be happening in
11 Southold Town . I have a great deal of
12 respect for this body, and I cannot
13 imagine any of you condone such
14 tactics , regardless of your personal
15 opinions about immigration and
16 immigrants . I know Southold officials
17 did not invite ICE and their agents
18 here . Neither did our police or
19 Southold community . But the threat has
20 been looming over us for months , and
21 now there ' s no escaping it . They have
22 come and they can and will come again .
23 As I said when I started, I am
24 concerned, outraged, and disappointed .
25 But I am not naive . I realize there is
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 32
1 little you or any of us can do to
2 change this at the federal level . But
3 we can take actions and steps at the
4 local level . It has been over four
5 weeks since the second raid in
6 Greenport, and I am quite frankly
7 shocked that this body, our Town
8 Council , those who have been charged to
9 uphold the law and public safety and
10 protect our community, has not issued a
11 public statement . It ' s complicated, I
12 know, but I doubt this body would be
13 silent if this egregious conduct was
14 perpetrated upon our community by any
15 other group . I also acknowledge that
16 some individual officials have made
17 public statements and have made other
18 individual acts , and that is
19 appreciated . But I urge you to issue a
20 public statement from the Town Council
21 stating that this type of lawlessness
22 and chaos is not acceptable in Southold
23 Town and that you are doing everything
24 to ensure peace and safety for all
25 residents . The people need to hear
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 33
1 from you . It will not stop ICE from
2 coming back, but it will give the
3 community some assurances that you too
4 are concerned . And I ' m not just
5 referring to the immigrant community or
6 the Latino community . I ' m talking
7 about the whole goddamn Village of
8 Greenport, quite frankly . We do not
9 feel safe . And I think this is also
10 true for other residents throughout
11 Southold Town . I urge you also to
12 investigate other steps you can take to
13 inform and ensure community safety .
14 This is a trying time for all of us ,
15 private residents and public officials
16 alike . We must protect each other and
17 act in good faith and solidarity .
18 That ' s what I urge you to do . Thank
19 you again for the opportunity to speak
20 with you .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
22 you, Sandy .
23 MS . SHERRY : My name is Sherry
24 ( inaudible ) . I live in Southold .
25 First I want to thank you, each and
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 34
1 every one of you who serves for the
2 tireless work that you do . Okay . Did
3 you get any of that? Okay . I think
4 the council heard me . So again, thank
5 you for everything that you do for us
6 tirelessly . So I ' m here because I am
7 concerned about the events that have
8 taken place in Greenport . Residents
9 were terrorized . The people who came
10 here were armed and masked . They
11 didn ' t show identification or warrants .
12 And we haven ' t heard a statement from
13 you, Mr . Krupski , Supervisor Krupski ,
14 and the rest of the Town Council . You
15 know, the United States had to fight
16 against this tyranny in World War II
17 because a police state was not stopped .
18 What is that? Is that my watch?
19 Talking to me . Okay . The United
20 States had to fight against this kind
21 of tyranny in World War II because the
22 police state was not stopped . People
23 were complicit, and we will be judged
24 if we do not take a stand . We will be
25 judged because we are acquiescing to
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 35
1 the elimination of guaranteed rights
2 under our legal system . You know, this
3 was racial profiling, and sadly, my
4 family was subject to that during World
5 War II , and I lost them all . At this
6 point here in Southold, all of us with
7 histories , not just the immigrant
8 community that ' s Hispanic, we ' re
9 concerned and quite frankly,
10 frightened . And we believe that masked
11 and armed agents are not acceptable in
12 Southold Town . And please let us hear
13 from you . The citizenry really awaits
14 a comment from Supervisor Krupski , and
15 the Town Council .
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
17 you .
18 TED THIRLBY : My name is Ted
19 Thirlby . I ' m a Southold resident since
20 1986 . And I ' m here to elaborate on
21 what Sherry just said . I don ' t need to
22 review what happened other than to say
23 that armed, unidentified men with no
24 warrants randomly questioning people is
25 not acceptable in Southold Town . But
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 36
1 beyond that, according to Tommy John
2 Schiavoni , who ' s our State Assemblyman,
3 our Federal government has approved a
4 massive increase in the budget to
5 immigration enforcement, $ 132 billion .
6 That ' s more than we pay for the entire
7 budget of the Marine Corps . This budget
8 includes hiring 10 , 000 additional
9 agents . The federal plan is for a
10 dramatic increase in the frequency and
11 intensity of these police-type,
12 state-type raids . Many people are
13 going to be taken . Most of them will
14 have no criminal record . In this
15 scenario, Southold will be deeply
16 affected . Southold Town needs to
17 prepare for this eventuality . So I ' m
18 asking you to let your constituents
19 know what your position is in these
20 activities and let us know what steps
21 you can take towards protecting
22 residents of Southold .
23 MATTHEW WEIR : Good evening . My
24 name is Matthew Weir, a resident of
25 Southold, and I ' m here tonight to go on
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 37
1 the public record with respect to the
2 ongoing issues at the Dog Town property
3 located at 40385 County Road 48 in the
4 town of Southold . Official complaints
5 against the business date back over six
6 years . The most recent complaint was
7 filed in May 2024 , over 15 months ago .
8 And despite repeated requests for
9 meetings and clarification on the
10 town ' s position, the Town has
11 effectively shut us out and has refused
12 to take enforcement action . I am here
13 tonight to publicly call for
14 enforcement against the apparent
15 violations by the business . And if the
16 Town refuses or continues to refuse to
17 enforce these laws , I request that the
18 Town Board go on the record as to why .
19 As many of you may know, as some of you
20 were involved in 2008 when the new law
21 allowing this use was passed, Dog Town
22 is located in a Limited Business
23 District . The district allows for
24 indoor, emphasis on indoor, dog and cat
25 care facilities . The definition is
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 38
1 quite clear . It references indoor
2 several times . Just a quote from the
3 definition . "An indoor dog and cat care
4 facility will provide certain
5 services . " It must be , quote, "must be
6 inside of a building . " "All dogs and
7 cats must be kept inside the building
8 at all times , except for transfer to
9 and from transportation . " Meaning
10 they ' re not allowed to go out for a
11 walk or a wee or to relieve themselves ,
12 only when they ' re coming to and from
13 their owner ' s vehicle . And lastly, and
14 most importantly, "no outdoor kennels
15 or pens are permitted . " Further, in the
16 legal framework, the limited business
17 zone is somewhat unique, as you may
18 know, in that the preamble states that
19 all uses approved within limited
20 business zone other than residential
21 shall file for site plan approval .
22 Additional framework exists in the town
23 code as to dogs . Chapter 83 , Article 2 ,
24 it shall be unlawful for any person to
25 allow dogs to engage in habitual
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 39
1 howling or barking in such a manner as
2 to habitually annoy any person . These
3 are just some of the legal framework,
4 not meant to be exhaustive . As some of
5 you may know, the reality is that Dog
6 Town keeps many dogs outside . For the
7 record, I ' m holding a photograph that
8 the business posted themselves showing
9 26 dogs in one of three dog pens at one
10 time on a given day . The severity of
11 this needs to be underscored . Can you
12 imagine if this existed next to your
13 property where you live with your
14 family? The noise from this is not to
15 be trivialized . We have documented in
16 writing that the barking begins as
17 early as 5 : 30 in the morning on some
18 cases . The noise continues throughout
19 the day until the business closes
20 around 7 : 00 p . m. They operate 365 days
21 a year, including holidays , meaning
22 there is no relief from the noise ever .
23 As stated, the noise wakes neighbors
24 early . It ' s a disturbance all day
25 while trying to enjoy time in the yard
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 40
1 or the garden, and is sometimes audible
2 on conference calls or Zoom meetings
3 when occasionally working from home .
4 Once again, the adverse impacts of this
5 should not be trivialized . The
6 business clearly disregards zoning and
7 code . How is this allowed to happen?
8 How is this allowed to continue ? Just
9 to go through the background and
10 timeline quickly for the record . The
11 business was originally established in
12 2008 , shortly after the new local law
13 was passed, about a month later .
14 Notwithstanding the clear requirement
15 that LB zone businesses receive site
16 plan approval , one month after it was
17 passed, it somehow did not go through
18 the site plan review . Somehow, plans
19 were approved . It ' s unclear whether a
20 Certificate of Occupancy was issued,
21 but if there was , it should not have
22 been pursuant to the code . In 2019,
23 the business was sold to the current
24 owners , and this is when the problems
25 began . The current owners , among other
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 41
1 offenses , expanded the use without site
2 plan approval , and again, it didn ' t
3 have it to begin with . It altered the
4 building without building permits . It
5 added a door out to several outdoor dog
6 pens that were built, notwithstanding
7 the very clear prohibition . As a
8 result of this , a third-party neighbor
9 filed a complaint September 2019 . An
10 inspection report also in September
11 2019 by the town documented the
12 violations . A Stop Work Order was
13 filed in September 2019 . It stated
14 that the basis of the Stop Work Order
15 was the expansion of the business ,
16 specifically referencing the outdoor
17 dog pens , without Planning Board or
18 Zoning Board of Approvals . Excuse me ,
19 the Zoning Board of Appeals approvals .
20 Conditions upon which the work may be
21 resumed when the Planning Board and
22 Zoning Board have issued approvals .
23 None of these have happened, yet this
24 business has been operating outdoors
25 for over six years . Since 2021 , my
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 42
1 family and I have been trying to deal
2 directly with the business rather than
3 bringing it to this body . The business
4 has no regard for the laws or for their
5 neighbors . And so as a result of three
6 years with no progress in the
7 operation, we filed a complaint with
8 the town in May of 2024 . It ' s over 15
9 months ago . For over a year, for over
10 a year, there has been no progress .
11 I ' m not going to comment tonight on
12 individual discussions or the tact that
13 some of the Town staff have taken with
14 us . I just want to focus on the
15 timeline and the facts . So over a
16 year, no progress , despite the apparent
17 on its face, quite clear violations .
18 And by the way, this was posted by the
19 business . They ' re not hiding this . On
20 April 15th of this year, several
21 neighbors , along with us , banded
22 together and sent the Town a letter
23 documenting the violations with code
24 references , backup photos , etcetera .
25 Almost a dozen individuals , including
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 43
1 this board, were copied on the letter .
2 We have not received a single response,
3 not even the courtesy of a receipt . In
4 our most recent attempt to get clarity
5 on the issue in June, we asked
6 Supervisor Krupski to intervene . It
7 was only after doing this that after 15
8 months , we finally received our first
9 official correspondence from the Town .
10 In an e-mail dated August lst, the Town
11 Attorney ' s Office stated, "the Town is
12 addressing this issue . Requiring the
13 property owner in question to file for
14 site plan approval . " We find this
15 response completely inappropriate, and
16 we strongly disagree that the Town has
17 done anything to, "address the issue . "
18 Site plan review, as you all know
19 better than I , will take several years .
20 Will potentially take several years .
21 It does nothing to address the harm
22 that is caused daily from this
23 business . To use an analogy, site plan
24 review is akin to prevention, whereas
25 enforcement is the cure . Would you
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 44
1 suggest a smoke alarm to someone whose
2 house is on fire ? Would you suggest
3 sunscreen as a cure to someone with
4 skin cancer? I think the answer to
5 both of these is no . It ' s the case of
6 too little , too late . Dog Town is
7 causing real harm today, as evidenced
8 by the letter from several neighbors .
9 It ' s not just us , and we are seeking a
10 cure today . Lastly, to the Town ' s
11 position that someone seeking site plan
12 approval is an appropriate response,
13 why would anyone , least of all the
14 town, believe what the business tells
15 you? This has been going on for six
16 years . They ' ve skirted almost every
17 code that the business should be
18 following . Would the Town allow a
19 winery to open without permits based on
20 the promise they ' ll seek them later?
21 Maybe a better example is a cannabis
22 shop, which is explicitly prohibited in
23 this Town, just like dog pens are
24 explicitly prohibited . Would you allow
25 one to open if they promised later to
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 45
1 adhere to the rules ? The answer to
2 these are no, and the analogy is about
3 as ridiculous as the Town ' s position
4 that this business may be seeking
5 approval in the next couple of years
6 will satisfy the harm done to residents
7 today . In closing, I want to thank you
8 for the opportunity to finally go on
9 record . Again, this has been a long
10 time of seeking answers . We ' ve been
11 shut out . Requests for meetings have
12 been denied . Requests for
13 conversations and clarity have been
14 denied . I want to state again that the
15 evidence is clear . The disregard for
16 the neighbors and for the Town laws are
17 clear . Yet over six years , the Town
18 has failed to protect the residents
19 through enforcement . Why does the Town
20 continue to favor and enrich this
21 private business over its residents ?
22 By way of reference , the immediate
23 neighbors pay seven times the taxes
24 that this business does , yet they are
25 clearly being favored . Why aren ' t you
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 46
1 acting on officially documented
2 violations of law? Why aren ' t you
3 providing any transparency to those of
4 us seeking compliance? Why have you
5 refused multiple requests for meetings ?
6 And lastly, who on the Town Board is
7 making these decisions ? Will you go on
8 record as to why you have chosen not to
9 enforce the law and seek action? We
10 are asking for transparency, open
11 government that works for residents .
12 Most of all , we ' re seeking
13 accountability for what has been
14 happening here for six years .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
16 you for coming in tonight . I don ' t
17 think I can answer a lot of your
18 concerns right now . I ' ll be happy to
19 talk to the Town Attorney tomorrow
20 morning and get back to you .
21 MATTHEW WEIR : I would like some
22 commitment . This has been a long time .
23 This continues every day . A commitment
24 as to who the point person that I can
25 follow-up with would be and a
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 47
1 commitment to a timeframe for an
2 adequate response .
3 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE : Mr .
4 Weir, I ' ll also remind you that you are
5 represented by counsel .
6 MATTHEW WEIR : I ' m here by myself
7 tonight .
8 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE : You
9 are represented by counsel , and I am
10 obligated to speak to your counsel , and
11 not yourself .
12 MATTHEW WEIR : That ' s not true . I
13 am here to authorize you to speak to
14 me . I am representing myself . The
15 matter is quite clear . I do not want
16 any excuses as to why or why not .
17 Discussions are happening . Meeting
18 requests are being fulfilled . This is
19 very clear . This should be easy .
20 You ' ve made it very hard . That is not
21 an excuse that I ' m willing to accept .
22 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE : I ' m
23 sorry that you look at it as an excuse .
24 I have obligations , ethical
25 obligations , and those require me to
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 48
1 speak to your counsel . I know that you
2 don ' t get that, but we will continue to
3 do that . And I ' m always here to speak
4 to your counsel .
5 MATTHEW WEIR : With all due
6 respect, don ' t tell me what I do or
7 don ' t get . I ' m here to speak to my
8 elected representatives tonight . You
9 can advise them. I can speak to them .
10 If you also want to speak to my
11 counsel , I would appreciate that .
12 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE : I
13 will continue to advise them the way I
14 have . Have your attorney call me .
15 MATTHEW WEIR : We ' ve tried that,
16 Paul . We ' ve tried that . 15 months ,
17 nothing .
18 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE : Not
19 in the way you ' re suggesting .
20 MATTHEW WEIR : Tell me , and tell
21 the -- on record, what have I said
22 that ' s untrue --
23 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE : I ' m
24 not going to sit here and answer
25 questions . I ' m more than happy to
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 49
1 reach and speak to your counsel . Just
2 have them call me .
3 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I will
4 commit to meeting with the Town
5 Attorney tomorrow morning .
6 MATTHEW WEIR : When can I
7 follow-up with you, Supervisor?
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Not
9 till late in the afternoon . We ' re
10 starting budget talks from 9 in the
11 morning, but I ' ll talk to him before 9 .
12 MATTHEW WEIR : I appreciate that .
13 Thank you for your time tonight .
14 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Anyone
15 else like to address the Board?
16 Looking at the Zoom, I don ' t see any
17 hands up .
18 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : I ' d like
19 to thank everyone who came out tonight
20 on the various topics . But I would
21 like to speak to Sandy, to the
22 Thirlby ' s , to -- I know other people
23 are here for the same reason, and agree
24 that a statement should have been out
25 sooner, as we were understanding the
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 50
1 events happening in town in real-time
2 and personally making sure as best we
3 could that people were getting the
4 support they needed in big and small
5 ways . And you know, following the
6 January meeting or January statement
7 and meeting we held, we did convene
8 several groups to immediately start
9 supporting individual families who were
10 preparing for the fear that they
11 experienced in real-time in our
12 community . And so the Town Board has
13 been communicating about this and how
14 to communicate . We ' ve worked with our
15 legal counsel . I want to thank
16 Councilman Mealy for bringing it to the
17 Antibias Task Force , where we did have
18 a pretty deep and emotional
19 conversation about this issue . And
20 then today we spent quite a long time
21 on determining how we felt individually
22 about this and we ' re each happy to talk
23 about that at some point, but felt it
24 was important that we come up with a
25 statement that everyone could feel
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 51
1 comfortable making for various reasons .
2 And really to let you know, we continue
3 to lead with empathy and connection to
4 our community . On a personal note ,
5 before we read the statement, one of
6 the most important things that need to
7 happen, and it ' s happening here tonight
8 because you all came for different
9 reasons and are willing to speak to us ,
10 is that we don ' t let issues of this
11 magnitude split us as a community
12 because I believe we stand as
13 Southolder ' s with everyone who is a
14 resident here , and we see everyone who
15 is a resident here, and don ' t tolerate
16 things that even come close to looking
17 like racial profiling or creating fear
18 in our community . And I know everyone
19 here takes care of each other and their
20 neighbors . And you ' re starting to hear
21 the Superintendent/Principal come out
22 now . So, you know, family and children
23 for me, and then we take care of each
24 other . So I ' m going to ask Supervisor
25 to read what we are currently willing
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 52
1 to say in a statement . And there ' s a
2 lot more work to do .
3 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
4 you . Anne , you ' re right, there is a
5 lot more work to do . And this is , we
6 feel like as police commissioners , this
7 is ongoing . In view of the community ' s
8 concern, the Town wants to send a clear
9 message in the Town ' s role on our
10 recent federal immigration work in our
11 community . Immigration policies and
12 enforcement remain a Federal matter,
13 handled by the appropriate Federal
14 agencies , not the Southold Town Police
15 Department . In fact, neither
16 immigration enforcement, nor
17 deportation proceedings are legally
18 permissible functions of the police
19 department unless there are criminal
20 charges pending . The Town will
21 continue to work with the Antibias Task
22 Force and the Police Advisory Committee
23 and the community on all public safety
24 matters . We are taking this all very
25 seriously and we ' re trying to work as a
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 53
1 Board with the community .
2 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : I think
3 if I can add one thing that ' s become
4 very clear to me over time, is how our
5 failure to address it as a Board has
6 led to increased uncertainty . And I
7 think we as a Board appreciate that and
8 recognize just the difficulty, and the
9 magnitude of this matter . And also,
10 quite frankly, the powerlessness that
11 all of us feel right now related to
12 this . And I think there is real value
13 in stating our position . That ' s one of
14 the reasons I personally put together
15 an opinion piece about this , just
16 outlining what I thought were very
17 important points . And as Councilwoman
18 Smith points out, we need to treat
19 everyone with dignity, with respect .
20 We need to uphold everyone ' s civil
21 rights . And this is something that all
22 of us , citizens alike, have an
23 obligation to . And the idea that these
24 efforts are splitting our community
25 apart are appalling . And the impact
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 54
1 that they ' re having on members of our
2 community is appalling . I was out
3 there with Councilwoman Smith after the
4 second enforcement action in Greenport,
5 speaking with the family, witnessing
6 the impact on the children . And that
7 I ' ve heard from a number of different
8 people in our community is just
9 unacceptable . I believe that ' s
10 unacceptable . And I think for me, the
11 real concern here is that things are
12 likely to escalate over time . And any
13 statement we make today, or a statement
14 that I made, what, six weeks ago, is
15 almost outdated by a new executive
16 order, new executive action . And I
17 think the real problem here is a
18 Congress who has not taken their
19 responsibility seriously as a co-equal
20 branch of government . And members of
21 local municipalities , local members of
22 community groups are forced to step
23 into this void and operate in this
24 space where we ' re not meant to operate .
25 And it ' s just with profound
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 55
1 frustration that I am contending with
2 this and that this Board contends with
3 it as Board members , as police
4 commissioners , as members of this
5 community . I think we all appreciate
6 the moral obligation that we have just
7 as human beings . And that ' s something
8 that we take very, very seriously . And
9 something that I personally ask for
10 your help to continue in this journey
11 to finding what the correct answer is ,
12 both now and in the future, which I ' m
13 fearful of is likely to get worse .
14 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Don ' t
15 call it in .
16 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Yep .
17 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
18 right . Any other --
19 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : I ' m the
20 Town board crybaby, so forgive me if I
21 become emotional , but I ' m trying to say
22 a few things . Let me get some water .
23 Hold on . It ' s just important to me as
24 a person of color who ' s an elected as a
25 police commissioner and to see that
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 56
1 people of color in our community are
2 targeted by the national immigration
3 policy, if you want to call it that .
4 So I ' m particularly sensitive to that,
5 that people of color are in danger .
6 And myself as a person of color, trying
7 to make sure I don ' t complicate it and
8 make it worse . So forgive us if we
9 haven ' t been quick to the punch to
10 respond . My background is education
11 and defending working families and
12 people in harms away . My father, Otha
13 Mealy, was a trailblazer in law
14 enforcement at the County jail . He was
15 one of the first sergeants to be as an
16 African American, and he trailblazed
17 for Sheriff Toulin, who ' s the current
18 sheriff . He would be disgusted to see
19 what ' s going on in our community . I
20 can only say my library work has been
21 community-centered, my school board
22 work has been community-centered, and
23 as the only person who is on an
24 educational board and a municipal
25 board, I ' m a BOCES member . The BOCES
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 57
1 budget is $ 600 million . And there ' s a
2 good portion that is donated to the
3 support of immigrant families . And I
4 can ' t say more than that for the
5 protection of immigrant families , but I
6 want you to know there are operating
7 networks to protect the people in our
8 community . And all of us are scared to
9 what could happen to the members of our
10 community . But I refuse to let fear
11 dominate our community . But we can ' t
12 do that alone . Everyone in this
13 audience has to be a part of that, to
14 say we ' re not taking it . And we can do
15 what we can as individuals , but
16 collectively saying, we don ' t do that
17 in Southold and Greenport . This Board
18 member makes a declarative statement
19 that he will do everything he can to
20 protect the members of our community .
21 Now, that ' s limited . I have no
22 authority over federal immigration
23 policy, but I ' m a human being . Maya
24 Angelou said, "nothing human is alien
25 to me . " So I have to respond . When
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 58
1 people ask me , I need help or I need
2 groceries . I ' m a mild-mannered library
3 worker . I sign people up for ESL
4 classes . I sign people up for English
5 as a second language and citizenship .
6 So everything I hold dear is being
7 threatened . And I know each and every
8 one of the people in this audience have
9 the same thought and feeling . Some of
10 it because we ' re immigrants . I ' m the
11 only Board member that is First Nation .
12 I come from enslaved people . And 250
13 of my heritage is European . So I ' m
14 America . And America is disgusted with
15 what ' s going on . And this body, this
16 governing body, for what it can do, we
17 promise to do the best we can .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Thank
19 you, Brian .
20 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : I ' ll
21 make a motion to adjourn .
22 COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY : Second .
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All in
24 favor?
25 COUNCILWOMAN DOHERTY : Aye .
AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 59
1 COUNCILMAN GREG DOROSKI : Aye .
2 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye .
3 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Aye .
4 JUSTICE LOUISA EVANS : Aye .
5 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Aye .
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7 (Whereupon, the meeting was
8 adjourned . )
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AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR MEETING 60
1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
2
3 I , Jessica DiLallo, a Notary
4 Public for and within the State of New
5 York, do hereby certify :
6 THAT, the within transcript is a
7 true record of said Board Meeting .
8 I further certify that I am not
9 related either by blood or marriage to
10 any of the parties to this action; and
11 that I am in no way interested in the
12 outcome of this matter .
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have
14 hereunto set my hand this day,
15 August 19, 2025 .
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