Mastic Beach to elect mayor, trustees by November

Mastic Beach residents will elect a mayor and trustees by November, and early contenders for the new village's top post are already expressing interest.

No one has declared a candidacy yet, but Paul Breschard, chairman of a committee that pushed for incorporation, said Wednesday, "I certainly wouldn't be adverse to it." Another resident, Frank Cucchiari, opposed incorporating the village, but said he is pondering a run for village mayor.

Regardless of who is in charge, one of the village government's first duties will be to open a village hall, Breschard said, and he anticipates that village officials will send out requests for proposals to rent a storefront.

The building will be secondary to the village's mission of cracking down on absentee landlords, derelict properties and code violations, Breschard said.

The government will need to respond to the needs of everyone, including residents who opposed its creation, he said.

Village leaders need to "make sure the people who voted 'no' get a chance to sit down and be involved in the government," he said.

Voters approved the creation of the new government - Brookhaven Town's first new village in more than 40 years - on Tuesday by an unofficial count of 1,797 to 1,385. Leaders of the Mastic Beach Property Owners Association, which organized opposition to the village, said they have no plans to file a challenge against the results.

Bob DeBona, president of the property owners association, said he opposes the new government because he believes it will raise taxes. However, he added, "The people voted, and that's what's going to happen."

The village will officially be incorporated in 10 to 15 days, when Brookhaven Clerk Patricia Eddington files a report with Secretary of State Lorraine A. Cortes-Vazquez. Eddington will then appoint a temporary village clerk to oversee the first village elections.

The election will happen within 60 days of the appointment of the village clerk. The village is scheduled to elect a mayor and two trustees to two-year terms and two trustees to one-year terms.

The village will likely use one of its first public meetings to establish the building and zoning departments essential to cracking down on quality of life issues, said attorney Joseph Prokop, who represented the pro-village committee.

"Building and zoning would be started fairly quickly," he said.

Per state law, Brookhaven Town is required to continue providing all government services in the village until June 2012.