Dumping charges dismissed in Asharoken

Charges against Asharoken resident Drew Mendelsohn were dropped Wednesday night, nine months after he was summonsed twice after he took garbage and other debris from a wetland during a volunteer coastal cleanup and left it on his property for pick up.

"All I wanted to do was participate in the clean up . . . and they persecuted me," Mendelsohn said outside of village hall, shortly after the dismissal.

The village was represented by Laure Nolan, who is temporarily working for Asharoken while it decides on a new attorney. Nolan asked Murray Schwartz, the village's acting justice, to dismiss the case. Mendelsohn agreed to withdraw his notice of claim against the village. The notice of claim preserves someone's right to sue, said his Northport-based attorney, Ed Yule.

Last Oct. 1, Mendelsohn participated in the village's Coastal Cleanup Day by wading in Duck Island Cove, and removing large pieces of plastic webbing, boat parts and an old village sign. He placed the debris on his personal beach parking lot to be picked up by the village. He was served with two summonses the next day for depositing garbage on his lot and for leaving garbage out the night before a collection, each carrying a maximum $250 fine.