Can Crazy People Really Say That During Public Comment?

Transcript

(A note to readers: The Transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity. We’ve also added a few things, such as the new super sketchy Protect Monroe-Woodbury mailers that State Senator Skoufis is responsible for. If you’ve missed our coverage of Mr. Skoufis’s violation of New York State Election law as it relates to Woodbury, you can read our most recent story on it here.)

Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of The Monroe Gazette brought to you from the George Carlin Memorial Podcast Studio. I'm your host, BJ Mendelson. You know, I was watching the June 5th Town of Woodbury Board Meeting and I wanted to share something with all of you.

While it's true I don't live in Southern Orange County half the year, for example — the George Carlin Memorial Podcast Studio is based in Los Angeles — When I am here, I help take care of three disabled adults. They all live here and what happens in Monroe, Woodbury, Chester, and Blooming Grove impacts them. So every time you see someone, like the unelected Woodbury Village trustee, Rhonda Fabbro, tell people “He doesn't even live here." I want you to know something. She's right. But my family does. They've been here since 1988 and we can't all be as fortunate as Rhonda. You see, Mrs. Fabro has a son over on the Woodbury Village board and she tells him how to vote. Isn’t that special?

I'll also point out to you that over in Monroe, former State Senator Skoufis intern, Brandon Bernard, is running for town board and he also doesn't live here half the year.

Pictured Above: Fellow Part-Time Monroe resident, Brandon Bernard, stands in the center. Next to him is the weird a*****e who won't get off people’s lawns, Paul Phelan. On the right is David Rabbitts, looking at the one person in the room who could still have a successful political career after the Town of Monroe Democratic Primary is over.

So, someone should tell the local Democrats that you can't have it both ways. You can have people use their voice to speak up for those who are unable, regardless of where they may be, or you can't. Before we move on, I just want to say, I'm sure Woodbury voters this November will make the right choice and send both Fabbros packing.

That said, I was a little disturbed by what happened during the public comment portion of this Town of Woodbury meeting.

The Monroe Gazette consulted with multiple attorneys, including the town of Woodbury’s attorney, for this story. Here's what we were able to learn.

Yes. A Town Attorney Can Shut You Down.

-A town attorney can cut you off during public comment and they can also remove public comment entirely. That's what happened over in South Blooming Grove.

That doesn't make it right. We don't think it's right. But in New York, it's important for residents to know that public comment is a privilege, not a right. That said, if you're like me and don't like the Town of Woodbury forcing you to speak for only three minutes, you can and should absolutely run every candidate out of town who refuses to fix that. If you are running for town board, you can and should tell people you want the public to be able to speak their mind. Preferably in more time than it takes to show commercials between innings at a Mets game.

We hope, and I don't think it's out of line to state this, that the Woodbury Town Attorney agrees that these rules and guidelines can be explained better, and we hope that at an upcoming town board meeting, they will be clarified respectfully by the Town of Woodbury. For example, you CAN record Town of Woodbury Board meetings. As long as you don’t get in Brandon Calore’s face, for example, and