Cop issue focus of Oyster Bay elections

Muttontown's exit from the seven-village partnership that funded Old Brookville police brought uncertainty and -- ultimately -- downsizing.

Now, for two of the six remaining villages, that turmoil has manifested itself in unexpectedly heated politics.

Old Brookville and Upper Brookville will hold the only contested elections in Oyster Bay Town on Tuesday, and challengers in each village have made the handling of the police their prime focus.

In Old Brookville, the mayor and two trustees touted their loyalty to the department, even as neighboring villages wavered. Their opponents, however, criticize the establishment's transparency as the process unfolded.

Upper Brookville's two incumbent trustees said they had taxpayers in mind when they advocated controlling long-term police costs. Challengers say they forced larger cuts than necessary -- even with Muttontown removing its 26 percent funding share in favor of starting its own force.

No matter how the elections play out, residents of these bucolic, affluent villages aren't used to campaigns featuring challengers video-recording trustee meetings to post online, or incumbents calling challengers an arm of the police union.

"What really galvanized this entire situation," said Upper Brookville Trustee Barbara Kelston, "is the police issue."

Old Brookville

Mayor Bernard Ryba called it "unprecedented." When Muttontown voted in March to depart the Old Brookville police pact, he and his village trustees began holding three-hour meetings as often as four nights a week.

The 2,300-resident village devotes 55 percent of its $3.6-million budget to police. Ryba, a business and commercial development adviser seeking his second term, was faced with minimizing cuts to a 40-member force, while satisfying calls for long-term cost control.

In late May, just before the current police contract expired, an agreement was reached to hold costs for another year while a lengthier solution is debated.

"I was one of the mayors who was going to stick with the Old Brookville Police Department," said Ryba, 63, an 18-year village resident. "There's really a feeling of satisfaction that everything has worked out to the benefit of the village."

But how Old Brookville arrived at that decision did not satisfy Ariel Aminov. Ryba's mayoral challenger, a 39-year-old attorney, said Old Brookville's official communications with residents -- through its website, at meetings and in the mail -- was lacking.

As Muttontown and Upper Brookville posted online letters to residents, and Brookville took questions on a virtual bulletin board, Old Brookville's web portal stayed stale. Aminov vowed to better use technology as a communication tool.

"I think the police issue really opened the eyes of the residents to the lack of transparency," he said. "People didn't know what was going on in the village."

The two trustees up for re-election, and their two challengers, mostly echoed the mayoral platforms. Michael DerGarabedian, 47, a criminal defense attorney seeking his second term, said the current administration's work ethic shouldn't be questioned.

"If these [challengers] came in and were going to do as much as the mayor, whether it's fixing roads and dedicating this much time to police, I'd be fine with them," he said. "I just think there's no way they can."

No matter the amount of time volunteered, another challenger said the board's dealings with the public could improve. Michael Izzo, a retired amusement center owner, pointed to a recent public meeting where residents were asked to sign in at the door, regardless of whether they spoke.

"We'd like to be more open and friendly," said the 61-year-old former roads commissioner, "where you come into village hall and you don't feel as if you're going into a courtroom to be interrogated."

Incumbent Marilyn Genoa, a commercial real estate attorney who has lived in the village for 30 years, said she felt the current administration had succeeded in making Old Brookville more accessible to residents. She noted a continuing review of village codes and ordinances for ways to make them more user-friendly.

"It's a work in progress," Genoa said. "As for putting things on the website, maybe it could be better. But we will be working on that, too."

Partially restoring Old Brookville police's detective bureau -- eliminated in the recent restructuring -- was something both sides agreed on.

"We have to get that back to where it was," said the other trustee challenger, William "P.J." Gooth, 65, a retired New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation manager. "Now, they can only do so much."

Voting is Tuesday from noon to 9 p.m. at village hall, 201 McCoun's Lane.

Upper Brookville

Trustee Michael Schwerin, a financial adviser seeking his second elected term, advocated restructuring the Old Brookville Police Department, both before and after Muttontown departed. The one-year police agreement he helped broker took a new $5-million headquarters off the table, and reduced the 38-member force to 26: 18 patrol officers, six sergeants and two administrators.

Ten percent annual increases, with growing unfunded liabilities like termination pay, couldn't be kept up, he said. Upper Brookville already puts 58 percent of its $3.1-million budget toward police.

"We're proud that, by our openness and willingness to identify issues," said Schwerin, 54, "we've put the department on a path of sustainability."

One challenger, Peter J. Pappas Jr., said trustees were not in line with residents when they considered asking Nassau police to replace Old Brookville officers in the village.

"There's a tremendous feeling of safety and personal service with them," said the 48-year-old construction executive. "We have to trim, but these crazy cuts? No resident wants them."

Incumbent Barbara Kelston, an 11-year village resident, said Schwerin and the other trustees did a "yeoman's job" handling complex financial matters in a short time. She doesn't believe cuts were excessive.

"This was simply the most efficient and financially prudent way to approach this," said Kelston, 69, a Locust Valley general store owner seeking her first elected term. "It was time to wake up. We couldn't keep business as usual."

But as in Old Brookville, there is an element of dissatisfaction among challengers regarding how the village handled the process. While Upper Brookville trustees posted online updates, and held two town hall meetings, one candidate said it appeared to be window dressing.

"I felt the meetings were more of them telling us what they wanted," said challenger Bradley Marsh, 47, a commercial real estate broker, "and not really them taking the temperature of the residents."

Like everyone else, what motivated him to run was clear: "The police issue," Marsh said. "It was the straw that broke the camel's back."

Voting is Tuesday from noon to 9 p.m. at village hall, Planting Fields Annex, 1395 Planting Fields Rd.