Mastic Beach votes on whether to become village

Mastic Beach residents will vote Tuesday on whether the 11,500-resident hamlet will become the ninth incorporated village in Brookhaven Town.

The election will be held from noon to 9 p.m. at the Mastic Beach Fire Department at 265 Neighborhood Rd. in Mastic Beach.

Anyone registered to vote who resides within the proposed village's boundaries is eligible to vote in the election, town officials have said. Absentee ballots are not allowed in village incorporation elections, officials have said.

Incorporating would establish local government services and allow Mastic Beach residents to elect their own mayor and trustees.

Supporters of the village say the new layer of government would crack down on absentee landlords and code violators, who they say have caused property values in their community to decline.

"It's the last hope for our area," said resident Anne Snyder. "We have all these absentee landlords, these slumlords."

Other residents fear more government would mean higher taxes.

"It's the tax concern, because I know they are going to raise them," said resident Frank Cucchiara, who accused village supporters of "preying on fears" about absentee landlords and abandoned properties.

Brookhaven Councilman Daniel Panico, who represents the area, said he has "no official position" on the proposed village. Panico grew up in Mastic Beach but now lives in Manorville and cannot vote in the election.

"I do believe it's the people's right to decide an issue like this for themselves," he said.

Mastic Beach has about 7,500 registered voters, said Paul Breschard, chairman of the Mastic Beach Village Exploratory Committee, a citizens group that supports the village proposal. Breschard says he expects turnout to be high.

Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko ruled in March that voters in Mastic Beach should be allowed to vote on the issue after members of the exploratory committee submitted a petition for incorporation.

The election will take place using the same voting machines that Mastic Beach voters have used for several years, town officials said. Electioneering will be banned within 100 feet of the polling place, officials said.