OB, Saltaire: November in Summer
By David Crohn

Fire Island’s two incorporated villages are heading to the polls in the coming week, with every candidate—four trustees and two mayors—running unopposed.

On June 2, Ocean Beach will welcome a new mayor and bring back two incumbent trustees.

But Saltaire, which holds its elections May 26, managed to find a way to liven things up, even without anyone challenging the mayor and two trustees who are seeking reelection. Because of a lawsuit that hasn’t been settled at press time, voters may find a series of blank lines on their ballots.

Save a last-minute write-in campaign from Ocean Beachers, Joe Loeffler will be promoted from trustee to mayor. The former fire commissioner will replace Natalie Rogers, who is stepping down during her eighth year as mayor.

“I think I’ve had eight great years and after fifteen years of intensive years [of serving as a trustee before that] I just thought it was the right time,” she said, adding that she fully endorses Loeffler’s candidacy.

One of Loefller’s first mayoral duties will be to appoint a new trustee to fill the chair he is vacating. He has chosen who that person will be, but wouldn’t reveal him or her to The News.

Bringing village infrastructure “into the 21st Century” and revamping police procedures would be top on his agenda when he takes over later this summer, Loeffler said.

He also said the village codes, rife with confusing and ambiguous language, needed a serious overhaul—especially since they are all now available online at OBVillage.com, a large audience has access to them.

“Since everyone is reading the code it’s brought a lot of things to light,” he said, adding that he hopes to encourage constituents to take an active role in village affairs. “The more people get involved the better. There are people here from all walks of life who are experts in different fields.”

Also on the spare summer ballot are Steve Einig and Jimmy Mallott, both returning trustees.

Einig, a Manhattan-based real estate lawyer, is looking forward to his second term as a village trustee. When he first ran for office, he positioned himself as a representative of the village’s homeowners. He sought to bring balance to a board that he felt acted too heavily in favor of Ocean Beach’s commercial interests.

Years ago I thought [homeowners] were getting the short end of the stick,” Einig said. “I think the makeup of the board and other boards [such as the planning board] have changed and we have a more even-keeled position.”

In the future, he said, he looks forward to protecting Ocean Beach as a family-oriented vacation spot. “We’ve reached our saturation point as a community,” he said.

Mallott, who owns the Albatross restaurant, will begin his third four-year term as village trustee. In coming years he said he hopes to update the village infrastructure—sidewalks, water lines, the ferry terminal and more—while hoping to convince people that change is not a bad thing, “as long as it’s done carefully. We will continue with the flavor of the village and preserve it as a place where you can kick your shoes off.”

 

November 2000 in Saltaire?

Things aren’t going quite as smoothly in Saltaire, where incumbents Hugh O’Brien and Bruce Rich are running to keep their seats as trustees as Scott Rosenblum is seeking his second mayoral term.

Saltaire resident Noel Feustel recently filed a lawsuit challenging both the validity of the individuals as candidates and their nominating petitions, saying their names were written incorrectly.

As of press time the suit was being heard in Suffolk County Supreme Court.

At last Saturday’s Saltaire Citizens' Advisory Association (SCAA) candidates’ forum, village officials said they expected to retain their ability to run for office but that there was a possibility their names would be taken off the ballot. If that happens, they are asking voters to write their names in—complete with the exact spelling of each candidate’s name—and said they would provide fliers explaining how to do so on election day.

Rosenblum, a resident since 1978, was chairman of the SCAA before being elected trustee in 1993. In 2003, he became mayor.

Speaking on behalf of himself and the board in a statement submitted to The News, Rosenblum said: “During the past two years, we have helped shape and bring about such things as the reconstruction of the village marina, currently underway; the replenishment of the beach and the resodding of the ballfield; and the legalization of outdoor cooking in the village. We have maintained and improved recreational, public safety and other services and have done all this without any increase in our taxes.”

Bruce Rich was elected to his first term on the board in 2004 after a decade as chairman of the board of assessment review. Bruce has been a Saltairian since 1978.

Speaking to village residents at the forum, he said refurbishing the incinerator would be the next major capital project that will be faced by the village, and that monitoring finances during that period will be a “major challenge.”

“We’re planning to have budget deficits,” he said.

O’Brien, in his opening statement at the forum, chose to stress what he hadn’t done during his current term, which has lasted since 2004, and the term before that, from 1987 to 2001.

“I’ve never deceived you. I’ve never used public office for any personal benefit. Which puts me in with 99.9 percent of everyone else in this village,” he said. “In that sense, I am not exceptional.”