Lakeland Fire District postpones meeting amid probe

The Lakeland Fire District in Ronkonkoma has postponed its regular meeting Tuesday, the fire district’s lawyer said.

In an email, Robert Flynn, who represents the district, cited “scheduling conflicts” as the reason for the postponement and said a new date has not yet been set, but the district will not meet again until next month.

The postponement comes amid the district’s investigation into an inflammatory Facebook comment about an East Meadow mosque made by a social media user who identified himself as a Lakeland fire commissioner.

The district this month suspended one of its firefighters — Jerry O’Mara, who also serves as a fire commissioner — as it investigates the Facebook posting.

“In the interim, the Chief’s investigation continues and pending the results the member concerned remains suspended,” Flynn wrote in an email on Monday.

Flynn has not said if the suspension affects O’Mara’s duties as a fire commissioner, which is a publicly elected position.

Someone named “Jerry Omara” had identified himself on Facebook as a Lakeland commissioner and had written a response to a Newsday Facebook posting about the Long Island Muslim Society’s bid to add a second floor to its mosque in East Meadow.

The Aug. 15 comment, which since has been deleted, read: “Let them put a fifth floor on the building and then take them up to the Roof and throw them off it.”

O’Mara could not be reached for comment on Monday.