When Mark Tannenbaum, the executive vice president of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, rose to question why many business people could not vote, he was told to sit down. Some Ingoglia supporters in the crowd began chanting, “Go back to Long Beach, you’re a disgrace,” and “Leave, leave.”

But when Ingoglia, who is bald, told Tannenbaum to sit down and be quiet, one person in the audience yelled, “Relax, baldy!”

Tommy Asher, a New York City firefighter who shares a child care business in Island Park with his wife, Maria, held up some envelopes and said that he had the applications of 12 business in Island Park that applied to join the chamber but were rejected because the board had moved the cutoff date for membership up to Nov. 21 from Dec. 1.

“You had a secret meeting and changed the membership date and the bylaws,” Asher charged, pointing at Ingoglia. “There are a lot of businesses in hardship because of Sandy. They’re struggling, and you cut them off. That is beyond unfair. You’re doing this for political reasons and it’s not right.”

After the meeting, Maria Asher showed the contents of the envelopes to the Herald. They contained applications and checks from businesses such as Starbucks, JSJ Child Care, SOS Long Island, Ralph’s and the Jewish Community Center, all of which had been rejected: A letter in each envelope explained that the applications had been submitted after the new deadline was set at the Nov. 21 board meeting.

A business owner who declined to give his name, but said he was the owner of the Reichel Corp., a company involved in education, asked the questions that were no doubt on the minds of many of those who were not allowed to vote. “Why were our checks returned? Why would the chamber want fewer members?” he asked. “The only thing I could think of is that [Ingoglia] is trying to suppress the vote tonight. What is happening tonight is not good for my business or anybody’s business.”

Ingoglia responded by saying that the entire board had voted unanimously to change the bylaws and the membership cutoff date, and that those who were rejected had applied for membership after the cutoff date. He added that they could reapply in January.