Is incorporation in Baldwin's future?

Baldwin resident Karl Valere said the time may be right for Baldwin to become an incorporated village because it possesses enough assets and resources to make that happen.

“When any community explores the possibility of village incorporation, what they are saying is we have a right to self-determination,” Valere told the Herald in a phone interview on Sept. 18, “and we have a right to shape our own future. I do not believe that Baldwin residents have been empowered to determine their own future.”

In an op-ed piece published in the Sept. 5 issue of the Baldwin Herald, Valere highlighted long-delayed economic revitalization projects, inadequate traffic controls, aging infrastructure and untapped development as key challenges facing the hamlet. He questioned whether residents and civic leaders could directly influence these outcomes instead.

“There are incorporated villages that still experience infrastructure challenges,” he said. “I’m not suggesting that incorporation is the magic pill that will cure all of Baldwin’s problems. However, when it comes to infrastructure upgrades, municipal service, investing in our cultural institution, our young people, and the incorporated villages have more power, autonomy, and self-determination.”

Baldwin is an unincorporated census-designated hamlet within the Town of Hempstead, with its own school and fire districts, along with various civic organizations — but not its own self-governing municipality. Councilwoman Laura Ryder represents them for the town.

Residents of a hamlet have limited local decision-making power. In contrast, a village has its own local government, which includes a mayor and a village board responsible for making decisions regarding local laws, services and governance. Because Baldwin is under the Town of Hempstead, they pay their taxes to the town. Villages, however, levy their own taxes in addition to any town taxes.

According to the State Department website, the process of incorporating a new village begins when a completed petition is signed by 20 percent of its residents and submitted to the Village Incorporation Commission.

State Sen. James Skoufis of Orange County introduced legislation to update the state’s outdated village incorporation laws — which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed last Dec. 23.

This new law changed the minimum number of residents needed for a new village to be formed, raising the requirement from 500 to 1,500 residents.

According to census data for 2020, Baldwin has a population of 33,919.

The law also mandates that any proposed village undergo a study to evaluate the fiscal, service, and taxation effects on its future residents and those living in the surrounding town.

Another requirement mandates having a place of worship and a central meeting point, such as a town hall.

“Many of the people who oppose village incorporation have lived here for a very long time,” Valere said. “They’ve lived here for 20, 30, 40-plus years, and so they are very overtly against the corporation because they’re sort of comfortable, or that things won’t change.”

One resident who spoke anonymously said that he is not against the idea of Baldwin becoming a village, but he said it would be costly.

“We would need to build a town hall, pay for our own police department, pay village officials and staff for running the village government,” he told the Herald. “I wouldn’t be against it, but it won’t be cheap.”

Another resident referred to Baldwin as the “forgotten step-child.”

When asked if Valere would consider initiating the steps for incorporation, he said he’d be “interested in the conversation.”

“I don’t plan to introduce an application,” he said. “But, I’m really interested in the conversations that the article has sparked about what Baldwin deserves, and the process by which we realize Baldwin’s fullest potential.”