Personal attacks, threats disrupt town board meeting

Tuesday’s town board meeting devolves into shouting match

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The proceedings grew tense at the Oyster Bay town board meeting on Tuesday, as several speakers butted heads with Supervisor Joseph Saladino and Councilman Louis Imbroto.

Although Kevin McKenna, a blogger and self-described independent journalist from Syosset, has clashed with Saladino and Imbroto in the past, his behavior at Tuesday’s meeting was deemed disruptive, stopping the meeting from moving forward. Tempers quickly frayed during the meeting, as McKenna repeatedly accused board members and the supervisor of silencing him and denying him his rights.

This wasn’t the first time that McKenna has been at loggerheads with local politicians. His website, NassauCountyNYNews.com, is replete with videos and excerpts of him demanding answers from Saladino and other board members. While there is often tension between McKenna and officials during meetings, most of the time, they are all able to conduct at least semi-civil discussions.

On Tuesday, however, the exchanges turned particularly bitter almost immediately, as McKenna questioned the board on why information regarding one of the resolutions had not been put online, although he acknowledged that paper copies were provided in person, while livestreaming the encounter on his phone. The conversation quickly devolved into a shouting match as McKenna refused to let Saladino answer the question, while continuously claiming that the supervisor was avoiding answering.

“I just want to make the point that once again you’re violating New York State Open Meetings Law by not putting this in the backdrop, and I don’t understand why you don’t do that,” McKenna said.

The New York State Open Meetings Law does require that copies of records that are the subject of public discussion be made available and posted online at least 24-hours before the meeting. However, Saladino claimed that he and the Town Board had conferred with their legal team regarding the matter and were not in violation of the law.

McKenna did not give Saladino an opportunity to elaborate, as he also accused the supervisor of promoting drunkenness at town-sponsored events and potentially poisoning residents with lead and asbestos by failing to test for them before demolishing abandoned buildings.

While Saladino tried to answer the barrage of questions, Imbroto stepped in as well, accusing McKenna of wasting the board’s time and of being disrespectful. McKenna shot back by continuously referred to Imbroto as Saladino’s “puppet.”

Police made McKenna return to his seat when he began getting in the faces of town employees who attended the meeting. But police did not ask McKenna to leave.

“This isn’t kindergarten,” Saladino said when McKenna refused to stop talking. “Stop acting as a child, act as the adult you are, and you will get our respect.”

When McKenna was subsequently told he couldn’t speak during public comment he stormed out of the room yelling that he would sue the town for denying him his right to free speech.

Speaking after the meeting, Brian Nevin, the town’s public information officer, explained that the supervisor and board members were within their rights to deny McKenna the chance to speak again, as he had broken the rules of decorum for the meeting.

“Those rules of decorum require the speaker to not disrupt, delay or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of the meeting,” Nevin said,” and when we say disrupt, delay or impede that refers to defaming anyone, intimidating anyone, make personal insults and threats.”

McKenna wasn’t the only speaker aggravated during the meeting. Richard Einhorn, a resident of Plainview, was combative with the board when he claimed that he was being evicted from his residence by the Town of Oyster Bay Housing Authority, as he lives in a town owned property.

Einhorn expressed concern “with how (Saladino and the board) treat people,” and accused him of acting in a manner unbecoming of a supervisor. Saladino told Einhorn that they would look into the issue and Imbroto said his office would give him the information he needed but advised him to be more respectful in how he addressed the board.

Sea Cliff resident Arthur Adelman, who had asked several questions without issue during the meeting, used his time during public comment to tell the board that they could also be more respectful to town residents. He particularly referenced the fact that the meeting started roughly 50 minutes late, which he

said evinced disrespect by the board.

“All I was trying to allude to was that, if a meeting is called for 10 o’clock, we should try to convene at 10 o’clock,” Adelman said. “Respect goes both ways.”