Why create the incorporated village of Mastic Beach?

"The View from Pattersquash Creek" by Paul Breschard reprinted from The South Shore Press, February 27, 2008.

I see lawns littered with household debris and yard waste. I know that summonses are written, but the debris and waste are still there.

I see unregistered cars and boats in back yards, driveways, and front yards. I know that cases against code violators are piling up on court dockets, but the unregistered vehicles are still there.

I see single family homes divided into two or more apartments with no owner-occupant. I know that inspectors have responded to written complaints, but the apartments are still there.

I see needy families forced to live in substandard, dilapidated apartments and houses that their DSS handlers would never think of calling home. I know that there was a bill in the county legislature to require that the needy be placed in housing that meets local codes, but the bill failed and the needy are still there.

You see these affronts to your community, too, every day if you live in Mastic, Mastic Beach, or Shirley; but, most elected and government officials who are responsible for correcting these abuses and code violations don't see them because they live somewhere else. And, most don't care because these problems aren't in their neighborhoods.

Let's face it - except for a couple of conscientious officials, we're on our own, my friends and neighbors! There is one consolation, however, in that 230 years ago our forebears who lived in the Mastics were subject to similar neglect by a faraway government. It was a government that cared little for their quality of life and that rarely represented their interests in that government's legislature. So, they rose as a united people and declared their intention to set up a home government with leaders of their own choosing. One man, born and raised in Mastic Beach, was a signer to that declaration which identified the rights to which we all are born, namely "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." William Floyd of Mastic Beach signed the Declaration of Independence which explained:

  • That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
We live in a "home rule" state which would allow us to insure our own safety and happiness by setting up our own government, an incorporated village. We would be able to elect our own legislative board of trustees who would write our own codes and zoning laws. These would be enforced by our own inspectors under the direction of our own village mayor. The cases of violators would be heard in our own village court by our own village justice. We would be able to correct the abuses and code violations in our own village in a timely fashion.

Look at the incorporated villages around you - Patchogue, Bellport, West Hampton Dunes, Islandia, Lake Grove, to name a few. Villages prosper because they can clean up their own communities. Villages prosper because they attract working families that take pride in their homes and neighborhoods, families who know where their children are at night and who care about their education. Villages prosper because they attract businesses into a thriving and safe downtown. And, the residents of villages prosper with increased home values and a place to proudly raise a family.