Lake Success fire station plan wins approval, but complaints surface about special election

Voters in the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire District approved $10 million in bonding Tuesday for the construction of an ambulance unit station in Lake Success, but the special election wasn't without controversy.

North Shore NAACP vice president Desiree Woodson said in an interview Wednesday a "good amount" of voters, mostly people of color, left polling places without casting ballots after being told they were at the wrong polling station or not on voter rolls. 

She couldn't give a better estimate Wednesday of the number of alleged disenfranchised voters.

The vote tally was 490 to 410 in favor of a 10,366-square-foot EMS facility that will be built on Cumberland Avenue, according to fire district commissioners.

The commissioners also said in a statement Wednesday that “every resident that wanted to cast a vote was able to" and noted that 13 election workers who handled the voting had undergone extensive training.

They said district residents who showed up to vote at the four polling stations and weren't listed in voter rolls, which the county Board of Elections provided, received provisional ballots and affidavits.

Officials didn't immediately answer a question about whether those ballots were included in the vote tally.

The commissioners added Wednesday that they were disheartened by “rumors and accusations" about alleged election problems and thanked the community "for its continued support of our mission."

Woodson, 49, held a news conference Tuesday night outside the Company 3 firehouse in Thomaston to express her frustration with the process.

The district resident said Wednesday it took her about 40 minutes to vote because there was confusion about what her proper polling location should be.

Woodson said some people chose to leave after a long wait because they were told they were at the wrong polling place, while others were told they weren't on the voting roll.

A group of people opposed to the facility's construction planned to meet Wednesday evening to discuss possible action, according to Woodson.

Since a May public hearing, some residents who live near the Cumberland Avenue location where the facility will be built have expressed concerns about the cost of such a facility and its potential impact on traffic.

“We’re disappointed, but after yesterday … we’re not quite sure it’s over yet,” Adrienne Vaultz, a 66-year-old Great Neck resident who stood with Woodson at Tuesday's news conference, said Wednesday.

The special election initially was slated for June, but the fire commissioners postponed it after residents called for a traffic study.

They rescheduled the vote after an August report from Woodbury-based Cameron Engineering that the fire district paid for concluded the proposed station wouldn't cause more road volume.

District officials said the volunteer outfit needed a new facility because its Company 3 station was too cramped and a dedicated ambulance station would improve operations.

The fire district covers about 10 square miles and 11 villages, according to department officials, who said the ambulance unit responded to 1,230 calls last year.

District officials said the next steps will be to work with advisers on financing and construction.