For John Avlon, showing up in Coram made a difference

Daily Point

Coram residents endorse candidates, raise concerns

Current polling in the 2024 election shows tight contests across the country in both national and local races. Same for the Coram Civic Association which has now weighed in with its candidate recommendations after holding a meet-the-candidates night at the Coram Fire Department on Sept. 23

This hamlet of more than 40,000 residents in the center of Brookhaven Town has an active community association and in the past few years has taken to endorsing candidates to get some attention to its concerns. The group’s website has the typical local news and comments — the coming arrival of a Popeyes fast food restaurant, the blight of abandoned shopping carts, the lack of code enforcement by the town, and the desire for an upscale supermarket such as Whole Foods.

It also announced Thursday that the civic association was endorsing Republican Donald Trump for president, Democrat John Avlon for Congress, two incumbent Republican state senators who represent the district, Dean Murray and Anthony Palumbo, as well as Democrat Rebecca Kassay who is seeking to flip an Assembly seat.

That must have been one heck of a meeting, so The Point set out to learn more about what went down at one of the most elemental levels of representative democracy. It seems about 70 residents of the nonpartisan group’s 500 members showed up and were given sheets to score their impressions of the candidates. The group’s board held its own vote for president.

All the candidates showed up except, obviously, Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris and CD1 Rep. Nick LaLota, who was voting on the House floor in Washington. Kareem Nugdalla, president of the association’s board of directors, noted that Kassay was given the nod even before Assembly GOP incumbent Ed Flood, an attorney, was disbarred. "She has been coming to our meetings for two years," he said.

Nugdalla said the members asked the candidates what could be done about empty storefronts in the area, how to get hiking trails in the abandoned Coram Airfield that is now a passive park, and perhaps attract a fitness facility. "There is nothing here for us to get healthy," said Nugdalla.

Avlon’s attendance was a surprise, said Nugdalla and even more so were his answers. "He knew our area and told us that one of the things that stood out was that there were no governmental offices in Coram to build our identity," said Nugdalla. "Avlon said that on Day 2 he would move one of the CD1’s two district offices from Hauppauge to Coram." He added that Avlon seems to have a good working knowledge of how federal grants are awarded and that he promised to deliver one as well.

A senior adviser to the LaLota campaign told The Point that LaLota was voting in the House that day and could not have attended anyway but said they were never made aware of the meeting. "We are still checking but we haven’t found an invitation," said Will Kiley. When there is a conflict, Kiley said "we ask them to reschedule or we try to work something out."

Nugdalla acknowledged there wasn’t a formal invitation but that a member had reached out to LaLota’s office and was told about the scheduling conflict. "In any case, we will work with LaLota if he wins and we wish him well," he said.

— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Pricey and dicey

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Final Point

Southampton sued over fair housing complaint

The developer behind a proposed Southampton residential complex geared for veteran and workforce housing that the town board rejected is taking the Town of Southampton and the town board to court.

Concern for Independent Living Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that the town violated the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the state’s Human Rights Law when the town board blocked the proposal for a development known as Liberty Gardens. The lawsuit alleges that the town "blocked Concern’s housing because many of the units would be set aside for veterans and others with mental health disabilities and would provide supportive services to them."

Liberty Gardens would have included 50 units of housing — 25 earmarked for workforce housing and 25 for veterans — on the Southampton Full Gospel Church property on County Road 39.

The lawsuit notes that as of now, the Town of Southampton lacks any supportive housing for those with disabilities, "effectively precluding many of Concern’s prospective residents from living in the community."

"Defendants’ actual reasons for blocking Liberty Gardens arise out of their discriminatory views toward people with mental health disabilities and the resistance to lower-cost housing for such residents in a ‘high-end resort community’ and/or their adoption of, or acquiescence in, those discriminatory views held by community opponents," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit goes through Liberty Gardens’ lengthy history and particularly cites comments from town board member Cyndi McNamara, whose objections to the development included concerns about the relatively low income thresholds, the potential that veterans with significant psychiatric needs would be included, and the notion that veterans who were not honorably discharged could be among the residents.

Concern’s executive director, Ralph Fasano, told The Point that any resolution to the lawsuit would provide a path to "being able to develop this."

"Our mission and our ultimate goal is to get housing for the people who need it," he said.

Both Fasano and Southampton Town Attorney James Burke told The Point they were open to additional conversations to attempt to resolve the dispute.

Burke told The Point he has known Fasano "for decades" and has worked on the Liberty Gardens proposal since town officials first approached Fasano in 2017 about developing an affordable housing project at the church site.

"I’ve seen the great projects that he does," Burke said. "He’s got his heart in the right place and we’d love to be able to work with them on how to fix this ... We’re absolutely willing to talk with him."

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore declined to comment Thursday.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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