Discussion group forced to relocate after Hewlett-Woodmere library enforces new insurance policy

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A long-running senior discussion group has been forced to relocate to a local church after being locked out of its meeting room at the Hewlett Woodmere Public Library over insurance requirements.

The group, known as Informal Discussion, has met weekly at the library for two decades, every Friday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Members were barred from their usual room on Nov. 1, when library officials enforced recently updated facility-use policies requiring separate insurance coverage for community groups.

“We’ve met for 1,000 meetings and now, last week, we were locked out,” Jay Gold, moderator of the discussions, said. “There was a sign on the door that said no meeting, which was the library’s decision.”

Informal Discussion draws 20 to 40 participants each week, Gold said. The group tried to continue its discussion in the library’s public space after being barred from the meeting room, but members were asked to leave because they were being too disruptive, Lotte Kaplowitz, one of the members, said.

She added that library officials called the police on the group.

“These are all seniors, and they look forward to meetings,” Kaplowitz said. “They kicked us out of the library because we’re too loud.”

Library Director Michelle Young defended the policy enforcement in an emailed statement, saying the library had attempted to work with the group to meet new insurance requirements.

“The Library welcomes individuals and community groups to use its facilities and resources, provided that this use complies with Library Board policies,” Young wrote. “The group was informed that until they met these requirements, Library meeting rooms would be unavailable to them.”

According to Young, the Library board approved the policy updates on Sept. 30, and the group was formally notified by email on Oct. 8.

“Unfortunately, despite this notice, the group appeared at the Library today (Nov. 1) and caused a disturbance,” Young wrote. “The Library remains committed to welcoming all individuals and groups who are willing to abide by its policies.”

She noted that the group’s last meeting room application was dated 2019.

Leslie Eisenberg, president of the library board, explained that the policy updates were part of a broader review process.

“As some of our policies are out of date and/or have not been revised for many years,” Eisenberg wrote in an email, “the Board of Trustees has made a priority of reviewing, revising, and/or updating all of our policies, and we have been working on this for quite some time now.”

Eisenberg added that the updated regulations cover a large number of group events at the library.

“Some of the updates to this policy relate to the changes in the use of our public space (such as the use of tickets for an event), recommendations from our insurance carrier, as well as the increase in requests from many groups to utilize the limited group spaces we have in our library,” she wrote.

Gold said he had attempted to discuss the situation with library leadership, but had been unable to reach Young.

He also pointed out that Informal Discussion is simply a group that gathers to talk, not an organization — “an important distinction,” he said.

“We have no president, we have no treasurer, we have never collected any funds,” Gold said. “We were originated by people discussing current events in the library’s courtyard.”

Trinity-St. John’s Episcopal Church, in Hewlett, offered the group a temporary home, and it held its first meeting there last Friday.

The church has provided group members access to its facilities, including bathrooms and a kitchen, and community members have arranged for crossing guards to help participants get to the new location, Gold explained.

The discussion group, which saw increased attendance during the election season, continues to meet on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the church, while seeking resolution to its dispute with the library.