Babylon town and village swap officials to avoid conflict of interest

The Town of Babylon and the Village of Babylon swapped planning and zoning board officials in the first meetings of the new year to avoid a conflict of interest among people serving on unelected municipal boards.

The town recently hired attorney Rachel Scelfo to replace Tom Young as commissioner of its department of planning and development after Young retired.

Scelfo left her job at the legal firm Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP, and vacated her unpaid seat on the Village of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals for the $103,000-per-year job with the town.

The village board of trustees appointed John Farrell to the zoning board to replace Scelfo. Until last week, Farrell was a member of the Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals,

The town appointed Steven Dellavecchia, a town employee, to its zoning board to replace Farrell.

Scelfo worked for the town from 2003 to 2005 as a senior assistant town attorney and was also counsel to the town Zoning Board of Appeals.

Supervisor Rich Schaffer described Scelfo as “proficient in land use.”

She is also president of the West Babylon Public Library board of trustees. Scelfo was also of counsel to the zoning boards for the Villages of East Rockaway, Old Field and Plandome Manor, and to Plandome Manor’s Design Review Board.