Gillen, Dunne and King Sweeney seek to modernize public breastfeeding laws

Town of Hempstead officials are making a bipartisan push to allow public breastfeeding in any town park or facility.

Town Councilman Dennis Dunne, a Republican who represents East Meadow, and Supervisor Laura Gillen, a Democrat, were alerted to the issue in the town by a resident. The Levittown woman received a list of rules with her town pool pass indicating that breastfeeding was only permitted in designated areas.

Republican Councilwoman Erin King Sweeney, of Wantagh, was also alerted to the issue, and said last week that, as a mother who breastfed, she was alarmed.

“Breastfeeding is one of the most natural functions of a woman, and to imply in any way that it is shameful or should be hidden goes against my belief system,” King Sweeney said.

Dunne said in a statement that he immediately directed the parks department to change the rules at his district’s public pools, and the rest of the Town Board moved to make sure similar rules were not in affect at other town pools.

The next step, Gillen said, is a change at the code level, to bring Hempstead in-line with state law (see box).

“As the first mother in Town of Hempstead history to serve as supervisor, it was critically important to me that we update these outdated policies in order to reflect modern-day practice,” Gillen said. “Nursing has been shown to provide incredible health benefits to newborns, which is why I, and many women throughout the town, have made this choice.”

Dunne agreed. “I wasn’t happy to hear that this antiquated code is still on our books in the Town of Hempstead,” he said. “I feel it’s extremely important that we codify this change by updating our town code.”

Gillen said that the breastfeeding issue — which has not been addressed by the town since 1982 — is just one area of the town code that is out of date, and her administration will be “dusting off” other antiquated rules and pushing for changes.

“I’m going through the town’s code line by line to see what else needs to be updated,” Gillen said.

Democratic Town Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, of Hempstead Village, said last week that she also supported the change.

“I had a career in the medical profession as a registered dietician for decades, and I nursed both my daughters,” Goosby said. “So I know the benefits of a mother breastfeeding, and believe that women should be able to choose if, when and where they want to breastfeed their child.”

According to King Sweeney’s office, the Town Board is expected to hold a public hearing on the issue on Sept. 4.