Old Field justice candidates in runoff after election tie

The race for Old Field’s only village justice seat has been marked by accusations that the incumbent failed to obtain permits for a swimming pool at his house and that the challenger lacks the proper temperament to be a judge.

Incumbent Ron LaVita of the Justice Party and challenger Ted Rosenberg of the Lighthouse Party began trading barbs before they finished in a 114-114 tie during village elections on March 20. A runoff will be held Tuesday to determine the winner.

Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. at Keeper’s Cottage, 207 Old Field Rd., adjacent to Old Field Village Hall.

Village justices serve four-year terms and are not paid. Old Field, a small village on the North Shore of Brookhaven Town, has 918 residents, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

LaVita, 60, a lawyer in private practice, is completing his fifth term as justice. Rosenberg, 64, a former village trustee, is a partner with Rosenberg and Gluck in Holtsville. He serves as associate village justice in case LaVita is unable to work.

In an interview and in a mailing sent to village residents before last week’s election, Rosenberg said LaVita failed to obtain a permit for his swimming pool, which lacked a required fence, and agreed in 2002 to leave his home until he obtained a certificate of occupancy, but failed to do so.

“He’s the judge,” Rosenberg said in an interview Wednesday. “He got away with it for 15 years. Anyone else would have been raked over the coals. . . . Meanwhile, he is sitting in judgment of everyone else. That’s what has me incensed.”

LaVita blamed the permit problem on a contractor, but said he is in compliance with village code and paid permit fees last year. Records show he obtained an extension of his building permit that expires on July 6.

“If this was such an egregious violation, my opponent was a trustee,” LaVita said in an interview last week. “Why did he overlook them while he was a trustee?”

Mayor Michael Levine declined to comment.

LaVita, in a mailing he sent to village residents, questioned Rosenberg’s suitability for the job. He said Rosenberg has misused his role as associate justice by seeking favors and hosting a political fundraiser at his home. Rosenberg denied those allegations.

LaVita, in his mailing, said Rosenberg, at a public meeting, shouted “This is America” in the direction of speakers who had spoken with what LaVita described as “Eastern European accents.”

Rosenberg did not deny making the statement, but said he was not commenting on the speakers’ nationalities.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.