Welcome to the neighborhood, Village of Mastic Beach.
In an era when upstate New York villages have been fending off proposals that they dissolve in the name of consolidation and less taxes, voters in this South Shore Suffolk County hamlet approved a measure this week to incorporate their hometown. Advocates say the goal is to crack down on absentee landlords with blighted properties in the community, while opponents rallied against the new taxes that will come with the added layer of government.
“The election was an example of democracy at work,” said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Mark Lesko, who approved the vote after the Mastic Beach Village Exploratory Committee filed a petition earlier this year. “Now that the residents have spoken, the next step will be for them to choose their elected representatives.”
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Well, sort of. There are a few legal procedures that town and state officials need to go through before the 11,500 residents on this peninsula between Bellport Bay and Forge River head to the polls again.
If by Sept. 15 opponents do not challenge in court the results of Tuesday’s election—1,797 for versus 1,385 against—Brookhaven Town Clerk Patricia Eddington must file a Report of Incorporation with the New York State Secretary of State by Sept. 22.
The village will not be legally incorporated until the Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Incorporation. Once official, Eddington will appoint a Mastic Beach resident to serve as the acting village clerk who must legally hold an election for the village’s first mayor and trustees within 60 days of appointment.
So, without any legal hang-ups, and should all those steps be taken without any delays, the election must be held by mid-December. And considering the amount of work the debut clerk will have on their plate, they will likely use the full 60-day window. Then, when the village board is elected, they will appoint the village clerk of their choosing and have to designate a village hall.
Among their first orders of business, village officials will have to decide what services they want their fledgling government to provide and what services they want the town to continue providing. But that too, will likely take time and negotiation.
Once official, Mastic Beach will be the ninth village in the Town of Brookhaven, the 33rd in Suffolk County, the 98th on Long Island and the 557th in New York State.
It is the first new village to be approved on Long Island since the Village of Sagaponack in the Town of Southampton was incorporated in 2005 by a margin of 295-11.
