HUD comments on Rockville Centre housing board

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has weighed in on the dispute over the makeup of the Rockville Centre Housing Authority board.

The quarrel began after a decision last month by the board chairman to remove tenant board members Cynthia Fielder-Boyd and Herbert Coleman, residents of the authority's Old Mill Court complex, an action that upset some residents.

"We are trying to find out what the law is," Fielder-Boyd said. "It is not only for me, it is about my whole community."

HUD officials notified authority executive director Jamie Morrison in a letter dated Aug. 1 that under federal law the board must include at least one resident member who receives direct assistance from the housing authority. For Rockville Centre, that means one representative must come from HUD-subsidized Rockville Manor, which serves seniors and the disabled. But HUD also said the housing authority would be exempt from the requirement if after a 30-day notice process no tenants express interest in being on the board.

HUD officials also directed the housing authority to consult with its attorneys to determine whether state law requires two resident board members. They also asked to determine the validity of the election of Coleman and Fielder-Boyd since their residence, Old Mill Court, is considered private and no longer is subsidized by HUD, but instead receives assistance from the Nassau County Section 8 program.

"All we are doing is waiting for the state's response," board chairman Gary Kondor said of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal. "I just want the right thing to be done."