After two Board of Trustees meetings where public comments were limited, Village of Great Neck residents complained about what some are referring to as a “gag order” from Mayor Pedram Bral.
The two board meetings on Dec. 3 and 17 spanned more than eight hours combined. Presentations on proposed mixed-use properties along Middle Neck Road were conducted at both meetings.
During the Dec. 3 meeting, a presentation, as it was listed on the meeting’s agenda, for a proposed mixed-use development at 777 Middle Neck Road spanned over two hours, with input from residents peppered throughout.
The proposed complex consists of 44 units, 13 of which are one-bedroom units, and the other 31 being two or more bedrooms. There will also be 80 parking spaces on the ground floor and below, which include four ADA-handicap accessible spots.
After the presentation, Bral promptly ended the meeting at roughly a quarter to midnight, eliminating the public comment portion that the village usually conducts at the end of each meeting.
Angered residents left with their questions and comments on the remaining four items on the agenda unanswered.
During the most recent meeting on Dec. 17, two building proposals were presented to the board and the public. Both were listed as hearings on the agenda, which, according to the village’s definition during the meeting, classifies them as a developer or owner seeking approval for an aspect of the proposal, rather than a presentation of plans.
The first hearing was for 733 Middle Neck Road, a four-story, 25-unit apartment complex that would replace the European Shoe Center. During the hearing, residents tried to offer their views, but Bral and the board did not allow them to.
Village Attorney Peter Bee informed the public, “There is a call for a hearing in front of the public to hear the applicant. This board hears the applicant and therefore it is called a hearing. A public hearing is where the input of the public is solicited. That is not required by the code for these types of applications.”
Residents voiced their anger and attempted to tell the mayor that the village has never used that type of protocol before.
The next hearing was on 523-31 Middle Neck Road as a mixed-use development with a first floor allocated for three retail spaces and the two upper levels dedicated to 10 apartments. The building will also have a cellar for storage, seven parking spaces and a residential terrace on the roof.
This hearing allowed residents to voice their opinions because “this developer was seeking approval for their project,” Bral said.
A longtime resident of the village, Jean Pierce, said that this is not how the village has been run in all her time living there.
“We used to have a dialogue in this village,” Pierce said. “I do not hate the mayor, but I certainly have problems with the way he is running our village right now. We have always had discussions on presentations and hearings.”
Bral said that the hearing on 733 Middle Neck Road did not require comment from the public “since the application was not primed and ready to be approved, and most of the application would see changes anyway.”
“This move by the least informed and worst prepared mayor in village history is guaranteed to insure even more mistakes down the line,” resident David Zielenziger said.
“Allowing no one to have an opinion or make an observation is harmful enough. Allowing no one to pose a question is a harm too far,” resident Rebecca Gilliar said. “This narrows all the thinking to what those five people care to think. The Board of Trustees has decimated what we understand to be the separation of powers and the balance of power in American government. And now he has eliminated public discussion and dissent, better known as the rigor of public scrutiny.”
“If the board is making the official decision and votes, it is definitely too late for any serious revision of any project on the base of residents‘ comments,” resident Kate Goldberg said. “The developers already invested too much time and money to drop the project and the board members already made the decision for themselves. This new rule is a clear signal that the board doesn’t care about our opinion and doesn’t take it into account.”
Bral said he was disheartened to hear that residents feel that their input is not being heard, and said that these meetings are recorded and documented properly to ensure full transparency for the village.
Residents said they will continue to make their grievances with Bral and the board known.
