Group, town rights eyed in eruv dispute

A court hearing on whether Orthodox Jews can erect an eruv that would touch on three East End communities Tuesday focused on whether town officials would have the right to interfere with the placement of a key part of the religious area's boundaries.

The area encircled by an eruv border -- marked, in part, by plastic strips called lechis -- allows Orthodox Jews to perform tasks that would ordinarily be forbidden on their Sabbath, such as pushing baby carriages and carrying objects.

The East End Eruv Association, a group of local residents, is seeking a preliminary injunction in federal court in Central Islip to bar Southampton Town and the villages of Westhampton Beach and Quogue from taking any action that would block the eruv. They are claiming they are being discriminated against on the basis of religion.

If erected, the eruv would encircle the two villages and parts of the unincorporated area of Southampton.

East End officials have said the issue is not religion, but the right of municipalities to enforce ordinances that assure "quality of life." They argued that these include banning the posting of advertising signs or placement of other unauthorized objects, even ones without words, such as lechis, on utility poles.

The proposed eruv is more a symbolic religious barrier than an actual physical one, but it is delineated by encircling wires strung from utility poles, on which are attached narrow, vertical 3-foot-tall lechis colored to match the poles.

Trying to buttress the claim that the municipalities had been lax in enforcing signage regulations in the past, Clinton Greenbaum, a member of the eruv association, testified Tuesday about a series of pictures he had taken from December 2010 to June of 2011, showing signs that had been placed on utility poles in the area. Greenberg's pictures included signs for a local fraternal organization and a lawn service.

Southampton Police Chief of Patrol Lt. Lawrence Schurek brought in a box of signs that he personally pulled down. Schurek said the department has an aggressive policy of removing signs from utility poles.

"I use a hammer, I use a crow bar," said Schurek, who had signs for snow removal and property sales.

The hearing is expected to continue Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler.