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Letter to County Executive Steve Levy
February 20, 2007
County Executive Steve Levy
H. Lee Dennison Bldg.
100 Veterans Memorial Highway
PO Box 6100
Hauppauge, NY 11788-0099
Dear County Executive Levy,
As President of the South Yaphank Civic Association, I feel I must
respond to the statements you made in your letter to the editor that
appeared in the February 14, 2007 edition of the South Shore Press. On
June 6, 2005, ten members of the Civic Association attended a meeting
with you to discuss our concerns about what we considered quality of
life issues in the Yaphank area. Also in attendance at the meeting, were
Connie Kepert, candidate for Brookhaven’s 4th council district, Don
Seubert from the Medford Taxpayers and Civic Association and Terry
Maccarrone, Director of Community Relations. During the meeting, a
member of the SYCA specifically asked you about re-opening the Trap & Skeet, and
expressed his concern about the noise problem. He suggested that a
possible solution was to dig the “floor” of the range deeper into the
ground. You responded that the county “…would not spend any more money
on the range, until there was an agreement between the Town and the
County concerning the noise issue”. This response comes directly from
the notes I took at the meeting.
You further state in your letter that the resolutions to reopen the
range were started by the Legislature prior to you taking office. What
is not mentioned is that the sole applicant to respond to the Request
For Proposal (RFP) in 2003, Campsite Store, who entered into
negotiations with the county to reopen the range eventually backed out
citing the following reasons; the problems with the sound mitigation,
environmental issues, and the possible lawsuits as a result of opening
the range. (Park Trustee minutes, April 17, 2003). To get more vendors
involved in the process, then Legislator Ginny Fields introduced
legislation (May 13, 2003) which was passed, to exempt the range from
the county noise law – the very law you introduced in 1999. I believe
the first Whereas of the resolution reads “a proposed local law
entitled. ‘ A LOCAL LAW TO REGULATE BOOM BOX AND OTHER NOISE IN SUFFOLK
COUNTY’. Again if we refer to the resolution, section E) “Impulsive
sound” shall mean a sound characterized by brief excursions of peak
sound pressure which significantly exceed the ambient sound. This is the
perfect definition of what happens each time a shotgun is fired. Section
F) “Noise Disturbance” shall mean any sound that: 1) endangers the
safety or health of any person 2) disturbs a reasonable person of normal
sensitivities; and /or 3) endangers personal or real property. The sound
coming off the range definitely meets number 1 and number 2. During
discussion of this legislation before the Parks, Sports & Cultural
Affairs Committee on May 8, 2003, you actually apologized publicly to
the sportsman’s groups for having sponsored this law and for any
inconvenience it may have caused. It was then, after you took office
that yet another RFP was issued and the search for a new vendor
continued. This time, all of the Resolutions passed by the Legislature,
(Resolutions 277/278 in 2004, Resolutions 1375/1376 in 2004, and
Resolutions 1266/1267 in 2005) providing $800,000 for noise moderation,
environmental restoration and other improvements were 1) introduced by
the Presiding Officer at the request of County Executive Levy and 2)
were signed and approved by Steve Levy.
Are these the actions of someone who had no involvement with the
reopening of this range?
Our Civic Association never asked you to “unilaterally reverse the
decision made by the Legislature”. We asked that you work with us to
find a solution to the noise problem, to meet with the community, and
was there any possibility that the range could be relocated. To this
day, you have never met with the community, and have yet to suggest a
solution to the noise problem.
Johan McConnell
President
South Yaphank Civic Association
Cc: Councilwoman Connie Kepert
D. Robinson, Brookhaven Town Attorney
Kate Browning, Legislator 3rd District
Presiding Officer William Lindsay
Richard Johannesen, Esq.
Dick Amper, Executive Director Pine Barrens Society
Terry Maccarrone, Director Community Relations
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