USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 26
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 26
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The members of the Board of Supervisors who shared the responsibility for the recodification were Hon. J. Russel Sprague, .County Executive, of Lawrence, N. Y .; A. Holly Patterson, Super- visor, Town of Hempstead; Harold P. Herman, Supervisor, Town of Hempstead; Hartford N. Gunn, Supervisor, Town of North Hemp- stead; Harry Tappen, Supervisor, Town of Oyster Bay; Horace K. T. Sherwood, Supervisor, City of Glen Cove; Jacob W. Osmann, Super- visor, City of Long Beach; Charles F. Strohson, Clerk of Board, of Lynbrook, N. Y .- as of January 1, 1938.
Taxes are of great concern to every home owner and taxpayer. The charter provided for a consolidation of the Boards of Assessors of each of the three towns into a County Board of Assessors with
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a chairman of the Board elected county-wide. Villages and cities were given the opportunity to use the county assessments or to deter- mine their own. A county program of reassessment was made mandatory by the charter designed to iron out inequalities. Emil Podeyn then residing at Freeport and experienced in real estate matters had been elected for a six year term as Chairman of the Board of Assessors. The members of the Board on January 1, 1938, were: E. M. Podeyn, Chairman of the Board, Freeport; Mrs. Morgan S. Smith, Lawrence; Mr. Henry J. Hausch, New Hyde Park; Mr. Robert E. Patterson, Freeport; Mr. James F. McCarthy, Massapequa.
Prior to the new charter there were 63 villages, 2 cities and 3 towns; each had or could have had its own health officer. These terminated when the County Board of Health was appointed and in turn appointed the County Health Commissioner. This is an example of the maintenance of the principle determined upon to give effect to the charter pattern. This proposed department was attacked by some opponents of the proposed charter. Today, it would be almost unanimously acclaimed. In selecting the first Health Commissioner, the advice and suggestions of Dr. Edward S. Godfrey, Health Commissioner of the State of New York, and of Dr. Thomas Parran, Jr., Surgeon General of the United States, the Nassau County Medical Society and others were earnestly sought. Dr. Earle G. Brown, formerly Health Commissioner of the State of Kansas, was selected and appointed on February 16, 1938. The members of the Nassau County Board of Health were: Dr. Earle G. Brown, Health Commissioner of Hempstead; Dr. Benjamin R. Allison, Chair- man of the Board, of Hewlett; Dr. Richard Derby of Oyster Bay; Mrs. Genesta Strong of Plandome; Mr. Charles Nelson of Bellerose, and Rev. Arthur B. Kinsolving, 2nd, of Garden City.
Public Welfare was made a complete county function. All offices of Commissioner of Public Welfare of Cities and Towns, the Emergency Relief Bureau, and all other Boards had their powers and duties transferred to the County Board of Public Welfare. The Board of Child Welfare was continued as a separate entity until March 31, 1946.
Originally the members of the Charter Commission had agreed to consolidate the Board of Child Welfare with the Department of Public Welfare. This was written into the earlier draft of the charter. Near the completion of the charter work two members of the Commission, also members of the Board of Child Welfare requested that it be continued intact for the best immediate needs of the county. The matter was debated. By a vote of seven to six it was decided to continue the Board of Child Welfare.
The members of the Board of Child Welfare were: William S. Pettit, Chairman, of Lawrence; the Very Reverend Charles J. Canivan of Oyster Bay; Mrs. W. Allston Flagg of Westbury; Edwin W. Hicks of Westbury; Robert K. Atkinson of Rockville Centre, and Mrs. Kenneth D. Robertson of Hewlett.
The members of the Board of Managers for the Meadowbrook Hospital at this time were: George L. Hubbell, President, of Garden
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City; Fred H. Maidment of Sea Cliff; Dr. Benjamin W. Seaman of Hempstead; Col. Arthur S. Dwight, Great Neck; Col. Joseph J. Kerrigan, Oyster Bay, and Dr. A. J. McRae, Superintendent, of Garden City.
The members of the Board of Managers for the Farmingdale or Nassau County Sanatorium at this time were: George L. Hubbell, President, of Garden City; Dr. Joseph B. Conolly of Glen Cove; Mrs. Howard Kniffin of Lawrence; Dr. Albert M. Bell of Sea Cliff; and Dr. James C. Walsh, Superintendent, of Farmingdale.
Another function transferred to the county was that of the inferior courts. Prior to the charter there were Justices of the Peace Courts in each of the three towns. Villages had or could have had Village Police Courts. The Justices of the Peace were abolished and their powers, duties and jurisdiction were transferred to the District Court of the county and the judges thereof. The Police Justices of the villages were not abolished. However, their powers, duties and jurisdiction were transferred to the county with the exception of jurisdiction over violations of village ordinances and village regula- tions and the violations of the Vehicle and Traffic Law committed within the limits of the village with the exception of the cases in which the charge may be Operating a Motor Vehicle or Motorcycle while in an intoxicated condition.
The member of the Commission who had been advocating the abolition of the offices of Justice of the Peace and Coroner had prepared a draft which also included the abolition of Village Police Justices. Another member then spoke up and said he hoped this charter would go before the voters and that Police Justices in many villages had friends and if their jobs were abolished they would all vote against the charter. Finally, it was agreed to take away all jurisdiction and powers except as noted in the above paragraph. No Village Police Justice raised an objection to the curtailment of juris- diction until after the charter became effective on January 1, 1938.
Judges of the District Court were to be lawyers and not to have other business. Leslie J. Ekenberg, Esq. of Lawrence was elected county-wide as President of the Board of Judges of the District Court. George S. Johnson, Esq. of Bellmore, Norman Lent, Esq. of Lynbrook, (Major, World War II), and Samuel Greason, Esq. of Garden City (Colonel, World War II) were elected Judges from the Town of Hempstead. Albert Moore, Esq. of Williston Park and Cyril Brown, Esq. of Great Neck were elected Judges from the Town of North Hempstead. Joseph Lebkeucher, Esq. of Hicksville was elected Judge from the Town of Oyster Bay. Together, they com- prised the Board of Judges.
The transfers of the powers, duties and jurisdiction of the Justices of the Peace and of the Village Police Justices as above described were not perfunctory transfers. Advancements or reforms accompanied the transfer. New qualifications were demanded and new prohibitions were imposed upon those who might become judges of the County District Court. No judge of the District Court may engage in the practice of law nor hold any other public office in the
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county. His salary was determined by the charter which also set forth that a complete rotation in the assignment of the judges shall be made at least annually . ." The theory behind this last provision was that the judges should be afforded an oppor- tunity to move about the entire county, to be given broader horizons and contacts and have an opportunity to observe the people through- out the entire county.
The office of Coroner was abolished and the office of County Medical Examiner was created by the new County Charter. Dr. Theodore Curphey of Garden City was appointed to the new office.
A Civil Service Commission was likewise created for the County. It was given an herculean task. Qualifications for service were tediously set forth. The duties under the charter to begin with the new consolidations and transfers and to continue thereafter were set forth. This commission was composed of Richard H. Brown, Esq., of Valley Stream, Chairman; Charles S. Wright of Woodmere, and George D. Smith of Manhasset. They appointed William O. Frech of Williston Park as Executive Secretary.
A County Fire Prevention Commission proposed by Volunteer Firemen of Nassau County was created. The County, generally speaking, is divided into nine Fire Battalion Districts to which delegates are elected to the departments and companies within those respective districts. The delegates of each Fire Battalion District elect a Chairman and it is this Chairman who becomes one of the nine members of the County Fire Prevention Commission. This Com- mission studies the firemanic needs of the County and makes recom- mendations to the County Board of Supervisors. The Commission actively investigates the causes of fires and in cooperation with the Police Department investigates all cases of suspected arson.
The Fire Prevention Commission members were: Wilbur R. Seaman, Chairman, of Hempstead; Frank J. Gilliar, Vice Chairman, of Great Neck; Harry R. Gleckler of Hicksville; LeRoy Kinsey of Mineola; Mario A. Pollini of Malverne; Joseph J. Scully of Point Lookout; William Henshall of Valley Stream; James McInnes, Jr. of Syosset, and Henry Schaardt of Bellmore. These fire prevention provisions were presented by the volunteer firemen . themselves. In addition to most of the above Commissioners, others who participated in this work were: W. Harry Lister of Rockville Centre; Charles Nimmich of Garden City; George Trigg of East Rockaway, and George Clough of Hempstead. George Clough was later appointed County Fire Marshal and Peter Lynch of Glenwood Landing was appointed Assistant County Fire Marshal.
There were other changes brought about by the charter, for example, all fees and sums received or collected by any employee of the county must be paid without any deduction to the County Treasurer and a report must be made to the County Comptroller on such forms as he shall require. This provision finally did away with all fees.
Still other changes were made effective. The County Treasurer was not to be elected but was to be appointed. Harry L. Hedger of the City of Glen Cove was appointed to this office.
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The County Department of Purchase was given additional respon- sibilities. E. Stanley Bosanko of Floral Park was appointed Pur- chasing Agent.
Other appointments and administrative positions were John C. Guibert of Oceanside, Commissioner of Public Works; Abram W. Skidmore of Hewlett, Commissioner of Police; Robert Williams of Roosevelt, Sealer of Weights and Measures.
At this time Hon. Leone D. Howell, of Mineola, was Surrogate; Hon. Cortland A. Johnson of Lawrence, County Judge; Edward J. Neary, Esq. of Westbury, District Attorney; Charles E. Ransom, of Sea Cliff, County Clerk; Gustave Mederer of Valley Stream, Sheriff; Edward S. Betts of East Rockaway, Confidential Investi- gator, and Joseph H. McCloskey of Freeport, Superintendent of Buildings.
VI. RESULTS OF CHANGES UNDER CHARTER
Since January 1, 1938, to the date of this writing, ten years have elapsed. We may now review this period of ten years and report upon those achievements which became possible by means of the new Nassau County Charter.
So far as County Government was concerned the new charter was to set up a modern business mechanism to get county govern- mental services and improvements at reasonable cost, and also fairly to distribute that cost.
The bonded debt and bond anticipation notes of the county were decreased from a peak of $57,584,000 to $34,316,000. This is a reduc- tion of $23,268,000, or 40.4 percent.
Tax anticipation loans have been eliminated. One not versed in the finances of the county may rightly inquire: What are they? Simply this: The county has to pay in cash to the towns, schools and special districts each year the sum total of their uncollected taxes. In many years this has been 25 percent more than the county took in by means of tax payments, so that Nassau County had to issue tax anticipation notes to make up the deficits. The county government borrowed the money until it could collect the unpaid taxes. Borrowing of this character totalled in 1935 as much as $10,450,000. These notes have all been paid off and the current budgets are on a strictly cash basis. These figures should be sufficient, in a chapter of this character, to convey the picture of the healthy financial condition of the county.
The Charter made mandatory a county-wide reassessment of real property. The Charter Commission found as facts that a $10,000 house was not assessed for the same amount in each school district of a given town, nor in each town or municipality; and that inequality of assessments resulted in unequal tax burdens. An illus- tration of this problem was given in the County Executive's message to the Board of Supervisors in February of 1938, as follows :
Now, what is our tax problem? Our tax problem is to distribute fairly and justly the cost of government. Does a high assessment mean that taxes will be higher? No. Does
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a high rate of tax mean that taxes will be higher? No. The amount of tax is determined by the cost of government, not by assessed valuation of property. Let me emphasize and illustrate my point. Suppose, for example, that there is a taxpayer, by the name of Mr. X, and that Mr. X's home and lots should justly share in the cost of government to the amount of One Hundred Dollars. How might Mr. X's $100 share be levied? If Mr. X's home and lots were assessed at $2,000, then the rate of tax would be five (.05) percent because five percent of $2,000 would be $100, or Mr. X's share in the cost of government. If Mr. X's home and lots were assessed at $5,000, then the rate would have to be two (.02) percent because it would take two percent of $5,000 to raise $100, or Mr. X's share in the cost of government. If Mr. X's home and lots were assessed at $10,000 then the rate would be one (.01) percent because it would only take one percent of $10,000 to raise $100, or Mr. X's share in the cost of government. Mr. X's share in the cost of government remains the same when the assessed value is low and the tax rate high, as when the assessed value is high and the tax rate is low. The essential thing is that if Mr. X's home and lots are assessed at either $2,000 or $5,000 or $10,000 then every other home and lot of equal value should be assessed at the same amount. Before leaving this example, let me say, that if the true value of assessment for Mr. X's home is $5,000, then I am for placing that true value upon the tax books, because of the many benefits to be derived. True assessments of themselves do not mean high taxes. This is my point.
Inquiry was made of the American Society of Civil Engineers by the Chairman of the Board of Assessors concerning the appraisal companies and the best advice and methods of reassessment. A contract was finally made with an Ohio firm. Simultaneously, there was a court action to set aside the contract. The county government was victorious in this litigation, the legal citations of which are: Queens Park Gardens, Inc. vs. County of Nassau, et al., N. Y. Law Journal, July 9, 1938, at page 81; 255 App. Div., 625; Court of Appeals, 280 N. Y., 789.
Two years after the message was given to the Board of Super- visors concerning the tax inequalities, to wit in February 1940, repre- sentatives of the County Board of Assessors attended a school con- ducted by the Municipal Training Institute of New York State under the auspices of the New York State Regents at Albany. The follow- ing is taken from the Chairman's report:
Nassau County Toledo
Population (Estimated)
415,000 400,000
300,000
No. of Parcels (Approx.)
160,000
Assessment roll
$1,135.000,000 $190,000
$500,000 000 $470,000
Cost of reassessment.
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Comparisons between municipalities are not always fair because in many cases there are elements, conditions or other factors which account for the differences in costs. The above comparison is only made for the purpose of demonstrating that the Nassau County reassessment was done at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers. The broadest publicity was sought by the Board of Assessors in their reassessment program. Numerous letters were addressed to civic and taxpayers' associations, and many hearings were held throughout the villages and communities of the county. The following extract is from the opinion of the Supreme Court Justice:
It can be seen from the foregoing that no duty of a light or perfunctory nature was laid on the incoming board. On the contrary, they were required in effect to tear up the existing method of appraisal in Nassau County by the roots and replace it by the new and improved system prescribed in the Charter. New tax maps and land value maps were to be prepared and maintained and this was to be done as promptly as possible and in no event later than three years from the effective date of this act.
Again, in conclusion, the learned Supreme Court Justice said this :
I am convinced, however, beyond any doubt that the expenditure of these moneys in the manner contracted for is legal under the Charter and within the scope of the defendant officials. Not only does it not constitute waste in the legal sense, but it is far from waste in any ordinary or every day sense, and will, to my mind, result in immeasurable benefit to the taxpayers of the County.
The Courts determined that Nassau County could proceed with its reassessment work.
Nassau County modernized the collection of delinquent real estate taxes. Under article 7-B of the General Tax Law of the State, actions were brought in which there were combined hundreds and hundreds of parcels and as many as a thousand defendants. When titles were cleared or made marketable, the county held auction sales. Thus, real estate which had been formerly "dead", in that it did not pay its share of the cost of government, was given a new life and restored to the tax rolls to pay its fair share of governmental services. I repeat, Nassau County has pioneered in this method of restoring delinquent tax property to the tax rolls.
During the early Charter days, the county acquired seventy-three acres located within Old Country Road on the north, Washington Avenue on the east, Eleventh Street on the south and the railroad on the west, at Garden City. This site establishes the new county center. Upon the northern section of this site have been erected three buildings at a cost of $2,816,188.72, and now, at this writing, occupied by the Supreme Court, the County Court, the Surrogate's Court, the
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Children's Court, the District Court (for jury trials) and various offices such as those of the District Attorney, the County Clerk, the County Treasurer, Department of Assessment and the Department of Health.
Many stories might be related concerning the institution of budget control and the modernization of administering county finances. However, the greater satisfaction should come from the results achieved in reducing the debt, in giving additional governmental services without increased costs, and in offering our taxpayers a good government.
As a whole, the new Charter and its provisions for up-to-date business administration and up-to-date budgetary control are an improvement upon the previous form of government patterned after that of the time of Oliver Cromwell. Discussions and additional refinements, or adverse opinions as to separate provisions of the law, or other elements or details of the Charter ought not to out- weigh or confuse one's mind as to the benefits which have come and may be continued under the charter form in its present entirety. Modern forms of government are useful. However, the better use comes from those individuals who are interested in good government of itself, and are able and willing to give their efforts to that end.
L. I .- II-16
CHAPTER XXXII
History of Long Island State Parks CHESTER R. BLAKELOCK Executive Secretary, Long Island State Park Commission
T HE first State Park Commission on Long Island met and organ- ized on June 2, 1902, pursuant to Chapter 260 of the Laws of 1902 and although this fact may be of historical interest it is of little importance because from that time until 1924 there is little evidence of any state park activity on Long Island. No worth-while state park plan, program or progress was made until the present Long Island State Park Commission was organized on April 10, 1924, under the leadership of Robert Moses.
The first Long Island State Park Commissioners held a number of meetings and hearings and in 1903 made a report to the Legislature recommending that at least three park areas be acquired by the State-one at Wading River of about 5000 acres on Long Island Sound, one on the Connetquot River in the Town of Islip with a small frontage on Lake Ronkonkoma and one in Southampton Township of about 7000 acres on Peconic Bay.
The Law creating the Park Commission authorized it to acquire 5000 acres of land for state park purposes. After making its sugges- tions which contained no request for funds to accomplish its purpose, it died of inertia in 1904 without having acquired a single acre of land by purchase, gift or otherwise.
Shortly after the First World War, there was a tremendous new interest shown in outdoor recreation of all kinds. At that time throughout the State of New York there were, in addition to the large forest preserve which is highly restricted by law for most recreational uses, only a few large state parks and a number of scattered small historic sites and places of scenic interest which made up the state park system. Actually it was not a system at all. Practically every park was administered by a separate board or commission with no unified plan and without any means of coordination. Because of this Mr. Moses drew up a plan of unification of state park facilities by dividing the state into ten park regions, each to be administered by a regional state park commission within the State Conservation Department. The head of each regional commission was to be a mem- ber of a central coordinating body known as the State Council of Parks. Governor Alfred E. Smith enthusiastically endorsed and sup- ported Mr. Moses' recommendations which were enacted into law and the whole theory of a broader park program was approved by the people of the state by an overwhelming vote on a state bond issue for park and parkway improvements.
The State Park Council plan provided for a regional state park commission on Long Island with jurisdiction over all parks and park-
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LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
ways acquired by the State in the Counties of Nassau and Suffolk. The present Commission which organized in 1924 pursuant to this plan with Mr. Moses as President and Townsend Scudder and Clifford L. Jackson, Commissioners, inherited absolutely nothing from its. predecessor of twenty years before. The only state park lands on Long Island that came under the jurisdiction of the present Commis-
Laying Cornerstone at Nassau County line, marking start of construction of Northern State Parkway in 1931
(Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt; Arthur E. Howland, chief engineer of Long Island State Park Com- mission; Charles P. Powell, Borough of Queens engineer; Robert Moses, president of Long Island State Park Commission.)
sion consisted of less than 200 acres on Fire Island which had orig- inally been acquired by the State in 1893 as a quarantine station.
There are now fifteen state parks in the Counties of Nassau and Suffolk, twelve of which have been developed with a variety of facilities for healthful outdoor recreation. There are also ninety-three miles of completed parkways under the jurisdiction of the Commission and rights of way have been acquired for the construction of an addi- tional thirty-nine miles, making a total of one hundred and thirty-two miles of landscaped parkways without crossings at grade, reaching from the New York City line to Sunken Meadow State Park near Smithtown and Heckscher State Park at East Islip, with connecting parkways at Wantagh in Nassau County and Brightwaters in Suf-
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folk County. Funds are available for the major portion of the uncom- pleted program and all of it is designed or being designed for future construction. Of the total of 21,838 acres of land now comprising the State Park and Parkway system on Long Island, 15,036 acres were acquired by donations and the balance by purchase and by entry and appropriation.
This record was not made without difficulties which at the time to many seemed insurmountable. Commissioner Moses' first attempt to secure land from the Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay for Jones Beach State Park was voted down in 1925. His plan for the Northern State Parkway was fought by the large estate owners on the North Shore and in the Wheatley Hills section. From 1924 until 1929 a large New York City newspaper published scores of editorials, sometimes as many as four a week, denouncing Mr. Moses and the Commission. The opposition organized committees for protest and campaigns against the Commission's plans, they belabored Governor Smith to remove Commissioner Moses and they had bills introduced in the Legislature to abolish the Commission. Through all these trials and troubles Governor Smith stood by the Commission and saw the plan carried out as originally proposed by Mr. Moses. The form of this opposition is related in more detail in the history of some of the parks which follows :
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