At least one Greenport village trustee believes the wait has gone on long enough — and said that a moratorium on mass public assembly permits in Mitchell Park should be lifted.
At Monday’s night’s December village board meeting, Trustee Mary Bess Phillips said the board had discussed moving forward toward some decision regarding the moratorium on mass public assembly permits.
Village residents, she said, still need to weigh in on the issue. “We still need to hear comments. I think it’s important,” she said.
Greenport Mayor David Nyce said the issue has been on the table since July, and the public was invited to share their views at every village board meeting.
“I would like to remind people that they have that opportunity,” Phillips said.
Resident Bill Swiskey said he believed a series of public hearings on the Mitchell Park issue should have been scheduled. To the mayor, he said, “You said the public had the time to comment, but that just doesn’t cut it. You have a major decision you have to make and we need more public input.” Swiskey recommended two public hearings moving forward.
While the issue was discussed at a recent work session, Swiskey said those in attendance were not permitted to speak because it wasn’t the public village board meeting.
He suggested the board look at communities such as Glen Cove, Riverhead, and Southampton, where there are public parks, to consider options.
“The mayor is looking to push this through,” he said. “What’s the rush?”
“The use of Mitchell Park is not being rushed,” Nyce responded. “From the start, we have been and will continue to, elicit public comment. We are not making a decision tonight.”
The mayor said the matter would be discussed by the board at future work sessions. He added that he’d asked for an opinion from Village Attorney Joe Prokop about the legalities of the matter.
“We have been dealing with this for awhile,” Phillips said. “People want mass assembly permits.” She suggested that the moratorium be lifted so that mass public assembly permits could be issued while the village board continued its fact finding and review. “If we don’t decide to do something by February, I fear some of the business community will lose the opportunity to have events in the park that are approved by us and that will bring customers to storefronts.”
Phillips said she has continually asked for public comment and said she didn’t want the issue to escalate into the “parking meter situation” two years ago that brought out a crowd of concerned residents. “We need to keep moving this forward,” she said.
Nyce said the board would consider to gather information and assured Phillips the matter would continue to move forward.
Doug Roberts, running for a seat on the village board in the 2015 election, agreed with Phillips. “We have been talking about Mitchell Park for months and months. When a project has no published end date, it tends to get forgotten. I’m not sure why this board feels it needs to operate in such secrecy about something as important as determining the right direction for permitted public assemblies in our village’s greatest asset. And at this point, with a new mayor and trustees about to take office, each of whom will bring mandates from the villagers who support them about this important issue, I would strongly urge this current board to consider a temporary policy that gets us to April. The new board can take up this issue and I will work with my colleagues to make sure we prioritize Mitchell Park to be resolved by our May meeting. This will include well publicized opportunities for Greenporters to weigh in on the subject in-person and online. We will focus and get this done expeditiously.”
Nyce said there were two options, deciding not to issue mass public assembly permits, and allow only village-sponsored events, or setting an “exorbitantly high fee” for the permits that would put the brakes on a flood of applicants.
Village-sponsored events would include community-driven activities that the village either initiated, or for which they provided staff and in-kind services, such as Dances in the Park, the Maritime Festival, the Tall Ships Festival, Relay for Life and Shakespeare in the Park, he said.
Trustee David Murray suggested a committee be appointed to study the issue and said that he believed there was a need to “stop the permits altogether,” except for village-sponsored events. “If we don’t we will have something every Saturday and Sunday,” he said. “And we will have to allow them.”
If the board decided not to issue the mass public assembly permit, Nyce said, Mitchell Park would be an open public park, and the village would not be able to deny anyone access, but if a group were denying someone else’s use of the park, they would be asked to disperse. Also, no amplified music, tents, tables, chairs, or electric would be allowed.
Trustee Julia Robins said she agreed with Murray and said she believed the park was meant for open space and people’s enjoyment of the waterfront, not a “proliferation of events. I can only see that this will continue to happen if we don’t put an end to it,” she said.
Nyce asked Village Attorney Joe Prokop if there would be legal ramifications to the other option, setting an exorbitantly high for the permits.
Prokop said fees cannot be the mechanism to regulate use of the park. “Fees can’t be set at a level that’s prohibitive,” he said, adding that there would need to be a reasonable explanation for a high fee, such as the need to recoup monies spent by the village for the event or for services rendered by the village.
Also, Robins said, those who could not afford the fee might commence lawsuits; Prokop agreed that could happen, with individuals fighting for their right to assemble and freedom of speech.
Also, Nyce said, guests of the marina would be allowed to use a section of the park in front of the marina office and on the observation deck above the office.
Phillips said she believed the original concept of providing waterfront access to the public was critical.
Nyce asked the board to think about it before a vote.
After the meeting, resident John Saladino asked why the public present at the meeting was not allowed to offer their opinions.
This spring, the board looked to deny several events “due to extended use of the park.” When controversy ensued over restriction of two religious events at the park, that were denied because the board “though they were not appropriate,” the board “had to backtrack”, and allow the events, Nyce said.
In July, the public weighed in: Greenport village resident Mike Osinski read the First Amendment, reminding of the “right of the people to peaceably assembly,” under the governing law of the land. “I think this board should tread very lightly on the amount of restrictions it wants to place on public property. We as residents of this nation have that right to assemble.”
Those that are rowdy or drunk are a different story, he said.
Osinski reminded of the many events that take place already in the park, including the Maritime Festival, and lightings of the village Christmas tree and menorah.
Nyce reminded that mass public assembly permits give applicants rights to specific portions of the park for their event. “If we don’t grant that, the park is what Mr. Osinski said, an open space for everyone to assemble. All the permit process will allow us to do is to authorize use of a specific structure, or deal with amplification. We cannot limit people’s right to assemble based on who they are.”
Osinski said he was in favor of the permit process.
Joanne McEntee asked who would be making decisions as to who would be granted use of the park; Nyce said that was the village board’s decision.
“I do believe that Mitchell Park needs to bring in a lot more money. We are in a deficit right now,” she said.
Resident Bill Swiskey said charging for use of public space that was funded with state and federal monies could result in a lawsuit. He also believes village debt needs to be paid by the marina.
“To generate enough money out of that park for the debt is a pipe dream, and the park would be destroyed,” he said.
In addition, he said, the village must to decide to allow permit all events, or nothing, except village-sponsored events such as Dances in the Park.
Swiskey added that a recent religious event in the park sparked complaints from merchants about noise and a rowdy crowd. At that point, he said, a village official should have told the group they were “out of bounds and disturbing the peace.” Enforcement, he said, is critical. “We can stop them from screaming but not from congregating,” he said.
“The success of the park has caused the problem,” Doug Moore, resident and zoning board of appeals chair, said. He said the public has generally supported village-sponsored activities and he believed a determined number of events could be allowed, through application and based on merit, public interest and benefit to the community.
Saladino said the public’s right to assemble cannot be limited, but other limitations could be placed on amplified music, especially when an event was scheduled near another village facility where people might be expecting “peace and quiet”.
He added, “They have the right to religious freedom but they don’t have the right to be disruptive.”
Saladino added that in New York, “everything is for rent”, but special event permits are necessary and high fees are charged.
Currently, the Friends of Mitchell Park exists; the organization’s purpose includes supporting cultural and artistic events at Mitchell Park
