HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB-02/10/2026 PH 1
1 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK : STATE OF NEW YORK
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SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD
4 REGULAR MEETING
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7 Southold, New York
8 February 10 , 2026
6 : 00 P . M .
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14 B E F 0 R E :
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16 ALBERT KRUPSKI JR, SUPERVISOR
17 KATE STEVENS , JUSTICE
18 JILL DOHERTY, COUNCILWOMAN
19 BRIAN MEALY, COUNCILMAN
20 ANNE SMITH, COUNCILWOMAN
21 ALEXA SUESS , COUNCILWOMAN
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FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 2
1 INDEX TO TESTIMONY
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3 Public Comments 3- 66
4 85-103
5 Public Hearing
Chapter 280 , Wireless Communication 66-85
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FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 3
1 PUBLIC COMMENTS
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Is
3 there anyone who would like to make
4 any comment on any agenda item, and
5 please when you come up just identify
6 yourself and your hamlet .
7 ABIGAIL FIELD : Hi . It ' s
8 Abigail Field, in Cutchogue . And
9 frankly, I have no idea if my
10 comments have to do with the agenda
11 because the agenda has -- discussion
12 items are found on the 2 /10 Work
13 Session Agenda and then Number 2 ,
14 Open Discussion items and that is on
15 the agenda for tonight, and I have no
16 idea what that content is . There had
17 to talk about there being a draft
18 resolution being considered that
19 related to immigration enforcement
20 that was discussed at today ' s work
21 session or at least for some based
22 work session to be discussed . So
23 having it on your agenda for tonight ,
24 Item 5 discussion with those two
25 sub-items makes it completely unclear
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 4
1 whether or not it ' s appropriate to
2 talk about that draft resolution or
3 not . If it ' s not, I ' m happy to sit
4 down . If it is , then I have
5 comments .
6 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
7 Which item?
8 ABIGAIL FIELD : Item 5 on your
9 agenda --
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So
11 normally, when I say "people can
12 comment on any agenda item, " I ' m
13 referring to the resolutions that are
14 up for a vote . So we want to hear
15 comments before we vote on the
16 resolutions . And that ' s why we have
17 that public comment before getting
18 it . So Item 167 , at the work session
19 today, there was a suggestion that we
20 establish a Public Safety Task Force .
21 That is going to address the various
22 proposed local laws that have come
23 across our desks lately . This one
24 here, that doesn ' t have a number .
25 And then there are , I think, three
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 5
1 from New York State that are being
2 proposed . And because we can ' t
3 consider everything immediately,
4 we ' ve found it more prudent to
5 develop a task force that will take a
6 deep dive into the details , and see
7 how they affect our community .
8 ABIGAIL FIELD : So then I will
9 sit down and wait till the end of the
10 meeting because my time --
11 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So
12 you can talk about the task force .
13 ABIGAIL FIELD : I don ' t know
14 anything about the task force . I ' m
15 happy to just make my comments at the
16 end of the meeting . But I ask you as
17 a citizen to please fix your agendas
18 because this is your agenda . It
19 starts with Number 1 , "Call to Order,
20 6 : 00 P . M . " So it is fair for the
21 public to assume that every other
22 item on your agenda is something that
23 is up for grabs for discussion when
24 it is appearing on your agenda . So
25 please revise your agendas to make
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 6
1 clear that your agenda starts with
2 the resolutions , because that ' s what
3 you ' re talking about . Thank you .
4 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : You
5 don ' t have to hold your comment to
6 the end, if it ' s about the proposed
7 Immigration Public Law, that is on
8 the agenda . So you can go ahead .
9 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Go
10 ahead -- let me -- just stay there .
11 Just wait one second . So the task
12 force that we are considering forming
13 will be two Town Board members , two
14 members in the Police Department, one
15 member from the Police Advisory
16 Committee , one member from the
17 Anti-Bias Task Force, a
18 representative from one of our
19 schools . We ' re going to ask
20 Greenport Village for an official
21 representative . We would like an
22 elected official from Greenport
23 Village, and then we ' re going to
24 appoint a community member . And the
25 task force would be charged with
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING
1 reviewing the proposed legislation,
2 not only the legislation that ' s been
3 circulated locally, but also the
4 legislation that New York State ,
5 there ' s -- I think there is three
6 other laws that New York State ' s
7 considering . And we need someone , we
8 need a kind of cross-section to take
9 a good look at these, because we need
10 to see how it ' s going to affect our
11 public safety . So go right ahead,
12 Abigail .
13 ABIGAIL FIELD : All right . So
14 because the actual resolution wasn ' t
15 on that I was going to address , I
16 won ' t make comments about specific
17 revisions to that, because I thought
18 that it could get much stronger, I ' ll
19 just make the points without the
20 actual language I was going to
21 suggest . The first is that any
22 resolution that you guys end up doing
23 on immigration, I think, needs to
24 state some of the obvious as a
25 legislative finding, which is that
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 8
1 reviewing footage of Federal
2 Immigration agents in other
3 jurisdictions , you can see them
4 wearing masks , failing to display
5 badges and name tags , swapping
6 license plates , driving unmarked
7 vehicles , and generally trying to
8 conceal their identity . That creates
9 the ability for people to try and
10 impersonate Federal agents . That
11 makes people feel unsafe and not know
12 what ' s going on . It is incredibly
13 important when the State gives people
14 guns , it gives them badges , and those
15 badges are visible . It is also clear
16 that we have seen around the country,
17 Federal agents committing crimes .
18 There are local prosecutors around
19 the nation who have agreed that they
20 are going to start prosecuting them
21 if it happens where they are . By
22 crimes , I mean criminal trespass ,
23 entering homes without warrants .
24 That is actually criminal trespass .
25 I mean assault, throwing people to
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 9
1 the ground unprovoked . I mean
2 unlawful killing, shooting people in
3 the back . That ' s not allowed . It ' s
4 just not . Our police force is way
5 more professional than that . You
6 will never see our cops doing the
7 kind of stuff we have all witnessed
8 happen . Now, those things may not
9 have happened in Southold, but you
10 can only say that as yet . The
11 Federal agents have a track record,
12 and they are endangering our public
13 safety . One of the things that was
14 nice about the draft resolution is it
15 praised our local cops , and it talked
16 about the police power in Southold ' s
17 commitment to public safety . And it
18 is the fact that the Federal agents
19 are not, they have snatched citizens .
20 We all witnessed them drag somebody
21 out of his house in his underwear who
22 is a citizen . It is not okay for law
23 enforcement to behave this way, and
24 it makes us all unsafe . And this
25 Town has its duty to protect us , and
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 10
1 we have no reason to believe that ICE
2 won ' t -- or any Federal law
3 enforcement, or so many agency ' s
4 advocates . And they ' re hiring
5 willy-nilly to do this . We have no
6 reason to feel that we can be
7 consistently safe . So I appreciate
8 some of the stuff that was in the
9 draft resolution . And I would
10 encourage you guys to make very clear
11 legislative findings about what it is
12 that you guys are worried about,
13 which should be lawless Federal
14 agents , not professional agents doing
15 their jobs under constitutionally,
16 and legally correct ways . Right?
17 The draft resolution recognized the
18 Federal power to enforce immigration
19 law . You recognize the supremacy
20 clause and your inability to get in
21 the way of that . We are not worried
22 about lawful immigration enforcement .
23 We are worried about gangs of people .
24 And they are gangs because they ' re
25 masked and they ' re not showing
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 11
1 badges . Putting us all at risk .
2 Then the next -- my other comment
3 is -- see , this is why we get to sit
4 down and come up because it ' s related
5 to that resolution . It addressed
6 running license plates and stuff .
7 And I was shocked to find out that
8 we ' ve got flat cameras going on that
9 I want to take every time I leave and
10 enter the town . Nobody told us that .
11 It ' s not cool to be surveilling us
12 all the time as we go about our
13 lawful lives . So that Section VI had
14 really good protections and whether
15 or not we do anything on immigration .
16 Of course , I obviously have opinions
17 about whether you should, please
18 adopt some rules about how that
19 footage is stored, how that footage
20 can be used . Like , it ' s not cool to
21 have us all under surveillance all
22 the time , but those cameras can be
23 incredibly useful in the sorts of
24 situations that were in that Section
25 VI . And with that, I ' ll sit down .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 12
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
2 right . So we are going to make
3 notes . And we ' re not going to
4 obviously answer everyone, but the
5 camera question is a very good one .
6 But we want to make sure we have all
7 the facts right because then people
8 will know whose cameras they are, how
9 that information is used, who gets
10 it, review it and how long it ' s
11 stored for . Thank you .
12 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : So
13 those answers are posted on our
14 website .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Go
16 right head .
17 TED THIRLBY : Hi . My name is Ed
18 Thirbly from Southold . Thank you
19 Town Board --
20 AUDIENCE : We can ' t hear you .
21 TED THIRLBY : Thank you Town
22 Board for hearing my comments today .
23 This is going to be brief --
24 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY :
25 Mr . Thirbly, can you just announce --
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 13
1 we want to keep a clean record .
2 Mr . Thirbly from --
3 TED THIRLBY : Southold .
4 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Thank
5 you very much .
6 TED THIRLBY : We ' ve all
7 witnessed the unlawful and tragic
8 events here and in other parts of the
9 country . People taken and detained
10 without due process . American
11 citizens killed by Federal agents .
12 People terrorized because of the
13 color of their skin . ICE agents are
14 armed, masked, poorly trained and
15 without ID . Yet they have been told
16 by their supervisors that they have
17 immunity for their actions . In
18 Minnesota, Federal agents violated
19 over 100 court orders during a brief
20 two week period . These Federal
21 forces are aggressively operating
22 outside the law and without regard to
23 public safety . In Southold Town,
24 these agents are terrorizing our
25 neighborhoods . And if you want to
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 14
1 think about that, you can look at
2 what happened on the Ludlam Avenue
3 last week . It threatened individuals
4 who were simply watching the
5 recording, and taking people without
6 due process . We can ' t be naive .
7 There is absolutely no reason to
8 think that someone won ' t be killed
9 here in Southold Town . We must take
10 steps to protect ourselves from this
11 threat from the Federal Government .
12 We are blessed to have a wonderful
13 and well-trained police force in
14 Southold Town . Giving them the power
15 to obtain identification, and observe
16 and investigate ICE operations would
17 provide some measure of protection
18 against violent accidents and
19 increase the safety and well-being in
20 Southold Town . So we urge you to
21 explore every available option to
22 protect us .
23 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
24 Thank you .
25 RANDY WADE : I ' m jumping in
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 15
1 because you didn ' t have that many
2 people in the audience when I heard
3 you talk today . And I was so
4 impressed by the way you approached
5 this problem . And I was thrilled
6 that not only are you looking
7 seriously into the legality of
8 establishing a new law, but you were
9 treating it like the emergency, that
10 it is like a storm, like a flood, and
11 appointing this task force . And I am
12 really thrilled you ' re doing this .
13 And to come up with policy, because
14 the law -- everybody knows it ' s going
15 to take a long time . But as some
16 people on the board talked about, you
17 can actually implement an emergency
18 plan policy very quickly . And I look
19 forward to your next Town Board
20 Meeting to find out what progress has
21 been made on that . Thanks , really,
22 you ' re doing a great job . And we
23 just can ' t let it take as long as ,
24 say, gas powered leaf blowers for the
25 same workers , who are going out,
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 16
1 breathing this and getting emphysema,
2 and hearing loss and heart attacks .
3 So hopefully this is gonna be
4 expeditious . Thank you . Thank you .
5 Oh, Randy Wade, Greenport .
6 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
7 Thank you . We do take it seriously,
8 but we appreciate that .
9 ELLEN NEFF : Good evening .
10 Thank you very much for hearing us .
11 I ' m Dinni Gordon from Greenport, 6th
12 Street in Greenport . I wanna comment
13 specifically on the OLA developed
14 proposal that the resolution that you
15 have been reviewing, or that you are
16 starting to review . And I did watch
17 this discussion this morning, and I
18 am grateful that you are planning to
19 do a sort of deep dive into this with
20 a group of people who will be
21 knowledgeable enough, and concerned
22 enough, to put something together
23 that really sends the strongest
24 possible message . I do have a
25 statement to make here . I ' m deeply
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 17
1 grateful for the role that OLA plays
2 in actively supporting the well-being
3 and safety of the Latin American
4 communities of the East End . And I
5 have the greatest respect for the
6 organization ' s two immediately
7 relevant players in this discussion .
8 It ' s Director Minerva Perez and the
9 Board Member former Assemblyman Dean .
10 But I think this resolution is
11 misguided . And I urge the Board
12 members not to sign on to it . People
13 who know me might think that my
14 opposition is based on a view that it
15 doesn ' t go far enough to call out the
16 illegalities of ICE and other Federal
17 agencies . Since I was part of what
18 the East End Beacon called community
19 grumbling about the proposed downtown
20 statement at the January 27th meeting
21 of this Board, that is not my
22 objection . While the resolution you
23 are discussing does urge effective
24 involvement of the community when
25 Federal Immigration enforcement
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 18
1 occurs , and the proposed Community
2 Task Force is a fine idea, it focuses
3 almost exclusively on impersonating
4 ICE officers and vehicles . And
5 admittedly, evil and illegal practice
6 presumably intended to spread fear
7 and incentivize self-deportation .
8 But impersonation is a minor problem
9 compared to the potential for abuse
10 by the real law enforcers of the
11 Federal government . As a practical
12 matter, Minerva Perez herself said
13 there aren ' t many cases of
14 impersonation on the East End,
15 according to yesterday ' s East End
16 Beacon article . What we need is a
17 resolution that commits the police to
18 active protection of the public in
19 the face of threats to their safety
20 by ICE and related agencies . That
21 doesn ' t mean obstruction of
22 constitutionally permissible measures
23 taken by Federal agencies . Efforts
24 to contain and prosecute felons in
25 our midst by legal means should not
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 19
1 be resisted . But it does mean
2 enforcing the criminal law against
3 those who violate it, including ICE
4 and its guilt . Trespass , assault ,
5 discretion of property, Abigail
6 mentioned these too . These are all
7 offenses committed by ICE within
8 community . We see it all the time .
9 And this resolution does not begin to
10 address the potential for them . It
11 doesn ' t even discourage the presence
12 of the Federal government to remove
13 community members at random, which
14 was the case for two of the three men
15 arrested last Wednesday . In case you
16 don ' t know, the target of the ICE
17 action against the workers headed for
18 their jobs at Pindar Vineyards was
19 the vehicle in front of the people
20 who were arrested . Seizing them was
21 an accidental win for the Federal
22 Government . At least the Town
23 Board ' s public statement, which is on
24 the website, which some of us found
25 fluffy at the January 27th meeting,
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 20
1 asserts that the police department
2 is , " fully committed to fair
3 enforcement of the law . " That is the
4 issue . Focusing almost solely on
5 impersonation is a distraction from
6 the real cruelties of ICE . And a
7 community that does not take a strong
8 stance against them seems to me to be
9 complicit . So I hope you will reject
10 this resolution and work with the
11 community to strengthen with some
12 specifics the public statement you
13 have already made, which I think is a
14 good beginning, just a beginning, but
15 a beginning . Thank you very much .
16 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
17 Thank you .
18 SANDRA BENEDETTO : I was going
19 to wait until the end, but I guess
20 we ' re doing public statements now .
21 Good evening, and thank you again for
22 letting me and others speak to you
23 tonight . I think in a democracy,
24 it ' s important to not take this
25 freedom for granted . It ' s also
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 21
1 important for all voices to be heard,
2 even those with whom we disagree . My
3 name is Sandra Benedetto . I live in
4 Greenport Village . I come here
5 tonight outraged and discouraged
6 again, to say the least . I ' ll speak
7 strongly here . My remarks will be
8 directed to our elected officials ,
9 but it is not a personal
10 disparagement or an attack on any one
11 individual on the dais or in this
12 room, for that matter . And I hope,
13 as I ' ve seen others , we ' ll do the
14 same . While I ' m affiliated with many
15 groups in Southold Town, I come here
16 again as an individual . I do not
17 speak for any group, but I do speak
18 as an advocate for my family, my
19 friends , and my community, who are
20 under continual threat . I speak for
21 my neighbors who are afraid to go to
22 work, afraid to go to the store ,
23 afraid to send their children to
24 school . I speak for the children who
25 are frightened and traumatized,
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 22
1 worried that their father or mother
2 may be taken from them at any time .
3 I speak for Greenport, my home , which
4 is a clear target of ICE raids .
5 Three out of the four raids in
6 Southold Town have occurred in
7 Greenport . Seven out of the eight
8 men taken were taken from Greenport .
9 This is the third time I come before
10 you to urge this body, the Southold
11 Town Council , to make a public
12 statement condemning illegal ICE
13 actions in our community and to
14 express in clear and unambiguous
15 terms that public safety for all
16 residents is paramount . Last week,
17 ICE returned to Greenport . They took
18 three men . I ' m gonna speak very
19 particular because we ' ve seen a lot
20 of things happening around the
21 country, but here, they took three
22 men . They were taken from -- in
23 front of Greenport School at the
24 North Ferry line, and then at least
25 three unmarked cars went up Ludlam
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 23
1 Street and disrupted and frightened
2 that entire neighborhood as adults
3 and children were getting ready to go
4 to work and school . The videos are
5 heartbreaking and terrifying . I want
6 to stress here that the three men
7 taken were law-abiding, hardworking
8 individuals , fathers , husbands ,
9 neighbors . They were all taken on
10 their way to work . They are not,
11 "criminal illegal aliens . " If they
12 were indeed criminal , I would
13 certainly expect that our own police
14 force would have arrested them a long
15 time ago for their crimes . They ' ve
16 lived here for years . They did not
17 commit crimes . That is why the
18 Southold Police did not arrest them .
19 Their only alleged violation is to be
20 in this country . And I say alleged
21 because nobody ' s gone through due
22 process yet . I don ' t know of their
23 personal immigration status . But
24 their only violation is to be in this
25 country without documentation . That
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 24
1 is not a criminal offense . I don ' t
2 care what the rhetoric is that ' s
3 being used . To be undocumented in
4 the United States is a civil
5 violation, and yet they were treated
6 as hardened criminals picked up
7 detained, zip tied by armed masked,
8 unidentified men in unmarked civilian
9 cars with blacked out windows . In
10 the USA, even hardened criminals have
11 the right to due process and are
12 usually arrested by trained police
13 officers in marked cars with badge
14 numbers and nameplates . What is
15 happening in our community is
16 unlawful , even though it is being
17 normalized and perpetuated and
18 sanctioned by Federal Government .
19 There are legal ways and processes to
20 detain and deport undocumented
21 individuals without terrorizing
22 communities . These processes have
23 been in place for years , but they ' re
24 not being abided . But the terror is
25 deliberate . It is done intentionally
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 25
1 to scare and threaten us . And you
2 know what? It ' s being successful .
3 People are terrified . This is
4 happening right here in your town . I
5 did not take a note to uphold the
6 U . S . Constitution and the
7 Constitution of New York State to
8 stand here and speak before you . But
9 you took that oath to sit on this
10 dais . That is a profound honor and
11 sacred pledge . I know you know that .
12 It must be extremely difficult to be
13 an elected official whose
14 jurisdiction is under siege by
15 outside actors . I have heard some of
16 you speak out against State and
17 Federal intrusion on local concerns .
18 And yet, here we are dealing with the
19 most egregious interference by the
20 Feds , which puts our community and
21 our public safety at risk . And what
22 is the stand from you? I read both
23 the Town Board statement three
24 weeks and the Police Department
25 statement released this week . I
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 26
1 found both to be unacceptable . I
2 know the statements stressed that our
3 police have not and do not assist ICE
4 raids , and that the community should
5 never be afraid to call the police
6 and feel threatened . I appreciate
7 that . I really do . But these
8 statements fail to acknowledge the
9 obvious , that the single greatest
10 threat to the safety of the residents
11 of Greenport for the last 10 months
12 is , in fact, from ICE . Greenport
13 otherwise is very safe and peaceful ,
14 as is all of Southold Town . That
15 omission on your part sends the
16 clearest message to your community,
17 that you will not help ICE, but you
18 will also not help us if we are
19 threatened by ICE . You won ' t even
20 say that their actions are wrong, and
21 they put the entire community at
22 risk . These are no ordinary times ,
23 and yet somehow your statements act
24 as if they are . I suspect to say
25 otherwise with me to acknowledge that
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 27
1 you have no power to stop them or to
2 protect the community you serve from
3 them . That has got to be a very
4 difficult and uncomfortable place to
5 be, because I know -- I know this ,
6 that all of you who sit on that dais
7 are here because you love this
8 community . I love this community
9 too, and that is why I am here for
10 the third time . There are many here
11 because they love this community, and
12 we cannot silently stand by in the
13 face of the atrocities we have
14 witnessed, and the terror and the
15 trauma we have experienced and seen
16 other experience . I know there are
17 some here who have said, because we
18 spoke out at the Town Board meeting
19 last time , that brought ICE back to
20 Greenport . I cannot say that is
21 false . That very well may be true,
22 but let ' s not kid ourselves . Being
23 silent will not protect our
24 community, nor will it keep ICE away .
25 After four raids , eight men taken, we
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 28
1 must not be intimidated or
2 complacent . We cannot remain silent .
3 I won ' t take any more of your time .
4 I know there ' s a lot of people who
5 want to speak, but I close by urging
6 you to take action . It sounds like
7 you ' re starting to do that . I was
8 not at the meeting this morning
9 because I was commuting back from New
10 York City, but I appreciate always
11 your time , and I appreciate your
12 serious consideration of my request .
13 SETH EGAN : Hello everyone . My
14 name is Seth Egan . I ' m a Greenport
15 Village resident . Two weeks ago, we
16 brought before the Board a petition
17 of 800 signatures asking for the Town
18 Board to condemn the actions of ICE,
19 and protect us from illegal ICE
20 activities . Since then, the petition
21 has grown to now over 1 , 200
22 signatures . At the end of the
23 meeting two weeks ago, a statement
24 was read by the Board that did not
25 address any of the assurances we
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 29
1 asked for . And from the reaction of
2 the people there that night, I think
3 it was pretty clear that it did not
4 sit well with us . Additionally,
5 having a prepared statement only made
6 us feel that it didn ' t really matter
7 what we said that night . And
8 finishing with a peace on earth
9 statement only brought to most of us ,
10 our minds , politicians at the
11 national level with their thoughts
12 and prayers after another mass
13 shooting while doing nothing to
14 address systemic issues . It was , in
15 my opinion, offensive , especially
16 given what transpired last week .
17 Alexandro Rivera Magana, Martine
18 Zambrano Diaz , Hugo Lionel Ardon
19 Osorio, three men that lived in our
20 community for over 20 years each, are
21 just gone . Initially, I thought
22 about talking about who these men
23 were and a way to remind us that what
24 has happened to them is inhumane, but
25 then I thought about what the hell
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 30
1 kind of world are we living in that
2 someone has to come in front of their
3 local government to try to make a
4 compelling enough case to prove that
5 someone has a right to be treated
6 humanely? This is insanity . I know
7 there are many other people that want
8 to get up here and speak, and I
9 saw -- I ' m going to finish with this ,
10 the author James Baldwin once wrote,
11 that "civilization is not destroyed
12 by wicked people . It is not
13 necessary that people be wicked, but
14 only that they be spineless , " and I
15 would ask the Board, if you decide to
16 do nothing, we should do it .
17 MINERVA PEREZ : Good evening
18 everyone . My name is Minerva Perez ,
19 and I ' m the Executive Director of
20 OLA, of Eastern Long Island . I know
21 some of you for a number of years .
22 I ' m really happy and proud to be
23 here . I want to share a bit about
24 this resolution that we are putting
25 forward . I will say that there are
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 31
1 many people who I work with, who I
2 respect greatly across this island
3 and across New York State that
4 probably don ' t think this resolution
5 is even going far enough . What we ' re
6 doing with this resolution is
7 specifically focusing on East End
8 public safety and accountability .
9 This is not a doctrine that I pretend
10 to say that I can stand in front of
11 the highway and say that ICE can ' t
12 come in because of this piece of
13 paper . This is a way for us to
14 empower and mobilize in a way that we
15 can locally in a way, that in many
16 ways that we ' re already doing . I
17 mean, there are many aspects of what
18 works well in our towns and villages
19 across the East End of Long Island .
20 OLA serves the entire East End of
21 Long Island . And so I do get to work
22 with law enforcement across 10
23 different police departments , about
24 12 or 13 different municipalities ,
25 not all that have their own police
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 32
1 departments . And what we see over
2 the years is that by and far, and
3 we ' ve got safe and peaceful
4 communities in the East End of Long
5 Island . What we ' re recognizing in
6 this resolution is that there are
7 times when the safety and the peace
8 is broken . And any town, any
9 village, when that ' s happening, it ' s
10 happening in a repeated sort of way,
11 would want to have a response to
12 that, and some sort of plan in place .
13 And not just an idea of a plan, but
14 an actual rock solid plan that says
15 this is what happens when this level
16 of disruption comes to town . We have
17 seen that these ICE raids that are
18 random ICE raids , which is very
19 different than ICE coming in for a
20 very targeted action, which we ' re not
21 always saying is up to the level of a
22 judicial warrant, but we are saying
23 that those targeted ICE actions are
24 different than these random raids ,
25 which are done in a way for a
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 33
1 particular purpose , which is fear,
2 which is causing chaos , which is
3 breaking the back of our community .
4 And as you see here, the many folks
5 that are here are not all Latino .
6 They ' re not all folks that are
7 worrying about their documentation
8 status . These are the people of your
9 town that are concerned because they
10 are concerned for what this means to
11 live, to have their children here , to
12 work here , to traverse the roads
13 here, to take their elderly parents
14 to a doctor ' s appointment here . What
15 is shaken up by these activities that
16 are coming out here in this random,
17 chaotic way is something that does
18 need to be addressed, town by town,
19 village by village . If this were
20 December, I ' d say, wait, put together
21 a task force . Learn more, think
22 more, talk more , and come back . This
23 is not December . This is right now .
24 A number of actions have already
25 happened . They have not happened
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 34
1 because of the simple conversations
2 or statements that are being made .
3 That ' s a mind game to play that we
4 cannot afford to play . The idea that
5 any given thought that we might have
6 -- might upset a certain entity to
7 say, now you ' re doing the wrong thing
8 and we ' re coming after you . It might
9 be a real fear . It might be a valid
10 fear, but it ' s not the way that you
11 lead . You don ' t lead with that kind
12 of amorphous fear and that amorphous
13 threat . You lead by leading . You
14 lead by saying, what do we do well ?
15 You have a great law enforcement
16 department . What do we do well ? You
17 probably have an Emergency Management
18 Team and a committee . What do you do
19 well ? We ' ll keep doing that , but
20 apply this resolution to what you ' ve
21 got in the terms of these random ICE
22 raids are bringing a certain level of
23 disruption and breakage of public
24 safety out here . And the
25 accountability feature is not for the
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 35
1 East End towns and villages to be --
2 to make ICE accountable for their
3 actions . The main focus here is what
4 are we accountable for? And I ' m not
5 going to put that only on your
6 shoulders . I ' m going to say as a
7 nonprofit we ' re going to continue to
8 be accountable in every way that we
9 can . Every way that we can .
10 Churches , houses of faith, schools ,
11 other leaders , business owners .
12 Everyone ' s going to take a piece of
13 this , but it should also be on the
14 shoulders of towns and villages . I
15 don ' t want to be the one called when
16 a superintendent wants to know who
17 was taken during a raid, but I am .
18 They ' re calling my cellphone to find
19 out what I know . We need to have a
20 collaborative and very specific
21 response so that every town, every
22 village, with all the special things
23 that make up those towns and
24 villages , they know what they ' re
25 going to do, how they ' re going to do
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 36
1 it, and who ' s responsible for what .
2 And I look forward to working also
3 with law enforcement on this and you
4 all on this as well . Thank you to
5 this community, this amazing
6 community, for coming out tonight to
7 you all for listening . Thank you .
8 MAGDA RODRIGUEZ : Firstly, I
9 just wanted to thank you guys for
10 taking your time and good evening,
11 everyone . My name is Magda
12 Rodriguez . And I am not just
13 speaking to you today as a resident
14 of Southold . I am speaking as
15 someone who grew up in the kind of
16 households many families in our
17 community are living in right now .
18 Growing up as an immigrant, my life
19 was far from what many people would
20 call normal . I didn ' t grow up with
21 luxury, a big house, or connections .
22 Everything I have today, I have
23 fought for . My parents are good,
24 hardworking people who were never
25 dealt with the best cards . But they
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 37
1 worked with what they had to give me
2 the life that they never had . In
3 many ways , I was their American
4 dream . By the age of 9 , I was
5 translating government documents for
6 my family, and I was the one speaking
7 for my parents at appointments .
8 Explaining letters that they were too
9 afraid to open, and carrying
10 responsibilities many kids might age
11 never even knew existed . I learned
12 from a very early what it meant to
13 grow up fast . Resilience isn ' t
14 something that you can teach a child .
15 Sometimes life forces it onto you . I
16 remember watching my parents work
17 long hours , coming home exhausted,
18 and still having the energy to ask me
19 about my homework, my future , my
20 dreams . Dreams that they didn ' t have
21 the chance to chase themselves .
22 Everything that they sacrificed was
23 so that I could have choices that
24 they never did . That stays with you .
25 I carried that mindset into
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 38
1 everything that I did . When I became
2 Varsity Captain at my High School
3 Field Hockey Team, as a sophomore , it
4 wasn ' t because things came easy . It
5 was because I stayed after practice
6 when everyone went home, I studied
7 other players , I asked for advice ,
8 and I worked on every weakness . And
9 I even hosted free Summer clinics so
10 other students could have access to
11 opportunities I didn ' t always have .
12 I pushed myself because I knew what
13 it meant not to have doors
14 automatically open for you . Being a
15 first-generation American, I stand
16 here as proof of what hard work and
17 opportunities can create . I ' ve taken
18 difficult and sometimes painful
19 experiences and turned them into
20 something meaningful . Not just for
21 myself, but to show other young
22 people who feel invisible that they
23 are capable of more than they think .
24 There ' s a question that someone wants
25 to ask me . If we don ' t, then who
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 39
1 will ? At that time, I didn ' t answer,
2 so I stayed quiet because I wasn ' t
3 sure how to answer it or if I was
4 even strong enough to answer it . But
5 over time , every moment I doubted
6 myself, every room where I felt like
7 I did not belong, I asked myself that
8 same question . And my answer became
9 simple . I can do it . Today I ' m here
10 because many families in our Latino
11 community are living with the kind of
12 fear that I recognize . The kind that
13 sits at your dinner table . The kind
14 that makes parents hesitate before
15 answering a knock at the door . The
16 kind that makes children worry about
17 whenever their parents will come
18 home . No child should grow up
19 wondering if their family will still
20 be there tomorrow . And my families
21 are afraid to go to work, afraid to
22 send their children to school , afraid
23 to even ask for help . That fear
24 doesn ' t stay inside one household,
25 expressed through classrooms ,
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 40
1 workplaces , and even neighborhoods .
2 Fear doesn ' t make communities safer .
3 Trust does . Through my work managing
4 youth programs , working as a
5 paralegal , and serving as
6 administrative assistant in a school
7 for children with disabilities , I ' ve
8 learned that leadership is not about
9 being the loudest person in the room .
10 It ' s about being the person others
11 feel safe coming to . And I am
12 standing here today because I refuse
13 to let fear be the loudest voice in
14 our community . We can support public
15 safety, while still protecting
16 dignity . We can follow the law while
17 still protecting families . And we
18 can choose compassion without losing
19 accountability . If we don ' t step up
20 for our families , then who will ? I
21 stand here as a first-generation
22 American and as a daughter of hard
23 working immigrants , and as someone
24 who knows what it feels like to carry
25 your family ' s hopes on your shoulders
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 41
1 at a very young age . My promise is
2 simple . I will use my voice , my
3 experience , and my resilience to help
4 build a community where no child has
5 to grow up . Fear to their parents ,
6 but instead can grow up dreaming
7 freely . Thank you .
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
9 Thank you .
10 SARAH PHILLIPS : Hi everyone ,
11 Sarah Phillips , Greenport Village ,
12 resident and business owner . Thank
13 you for having me here . For years ,
14 parents in our community have told me
15 the same thing, that they feel safe
16 knowing their children through my
17 establishment . Safe learning
18 responsibility, earning money,
19 growing up in a community that looks
20 out for them . So I want to ask a
21 very direct question, one that I
22 think our government body must answer
23 honestly . Is my responsibility to
24 keep all children who work for me
25 safe, or only white children?
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 42
1 Because right now it ' s very targeted .
2 Safety cannot be conditional , rights
3 cannot be conditional , and protection
4 under the law cannot depend on skin
5 color, accent, or immigration status .
6 Black Americans have spent
7 generations fighting for equal
8 rights , in legislation, in the
9 workplace , and in public life . Many
10 people fail to see the connection
11 between the struggle and what is
12 happening right now, but it is the
13 same fight . It is the same erosion
14 of basic human rights . It is the
15 same moralization of fear . It is the
16 same silence from people who should
17 know better . And I want to address
18 something I keep hearing . Well , half
19 of America voted for this . That ' s a
20 cop-out . Half of America voted
21 believing they were voting for lower
22 interest rates , lower grocery bills ,
23 and economic relief . They did not
24 vote to give DHS or ICE unchecked
25 power to erase constitutional rights
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 43
1 on our own properties , in our own
2 neighborhoods , in our schools , and on
3 taxpayer-funded buildings . No one
4 voted for masked individuals who
5 knock on doors at any hour . No one
6 voted for demands or identification
7 without calls . No one voted for
8 being taken from their homes ,
9 workplaces , or cars without warrants
10 or due process . I dare anyone who
11 says they agreed, and that ' s what
12 they voted for . That is not public
13 safety . That is not law and order .
14 That is intimidation . And when we
15 allow that kind of power to exist
16 without accountability, you do not
17 make sure -- you do not make your
18 community safer . You make it less
19 safe for everyone . Fear does not
20 stop at one group . Once rights are
21 eroded for some , they are weakened
22 for all . So I ' m asking you, our Town
23 Board, our local government, to step
24 up, to clearly say where you stand .
25 To defend the rights of the people
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 44
1 who live and work here, to protect
2 all families , all workers , all
3 children in this town . Silence is a
4 choice . Delay is a choice . And
5 history is very clear about how those
6 choices are remembered . Thank you .
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
8 Thank you .
9 IAN WEILL : Hi , Ian Weill ,
10 Greenport . First, I want to say that
11 I appreciate the complicated place
12 that this Board, and our police force
13 finds itself in . We ' re a very solid,
14 small town facing a national crisis ,
15 and we are quasi-inter prepared to
16 react . We ' re 100 years from the
17 meeting from last January, where we
18 all kind of set a baseline . When at
19 its best , our police department
20 represents community policing as an
21 ideal . We ' ve gotten to know them as
22 a business owner and as a resident .
23 Neighbors and faces , you know,
24 especially when it ' s a walking face .
25 In the best of times , a walking
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 45
1 patrol in Greenport is an example of
2 a de-escalating presence and one
3 which brings the hardworking police
4 department members into regular
5 non-emergency interaction with the
6 public . Students know their helpers .
7 That said, it ' s time to re-tune the
8 Board ' s and Department ' s approach to
9 meet this moment, if there ' s no other
10 reason that protect life and liberty
11 as designed . Well , I may have a
12 broader opinion on the matter, I
13 would like to see if we can achieve
14 at least a few steps that should be
15 immune to political sides . On
16 multiple occasions , I ' ve privately
17 raised a concern that persons can
18 purchase a nearly complete invitation
19 I see to form tactical vest,
20 realistic air soft pistol , et cetera
21 for less than $300 total . Scary
22 looking enough to intimidate . With
23 actual ICE and ICE deputized bounty
24 hunters refusing to identify their
25 agency in civilian vehicles with
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 46
1 mismatch outfits , often no badge
2 information, the possibility for bad
3 actors must exist . This is a
4 documented reality, even if minor .
5 Regardless of political stance , I do
6 not think it is too much to ask that
7 the Southold PD be able to respond to
8 calls of concern, and then verify it
9 longer that these people are who they
10 say they are , and inspect their
11 warrants and observe that all actions
12 are conducted within the laws of New
13 York, Suffolk County, and Southold,
14 let alone to ensure that
15 constitutional rights are not
16 violated . For about a quarter
17 century, we ' ve been told, if you see
18 something, say something . Nobody
19 should be surprised that we ' re saying
20 something . With that in mind, a few
21 notes from my logs . On 3rd, August
22 2025 , two armed men exited civilian
23 vehicles wearing jeans , Yankee hats ,
24 by the way, it ' s always Yankee hats ,
25 armored vest , and tiny white
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 47
1 sneakers . They proceeded to make
2 random vehicle stops without probable
3 cause, as well as , knocked on doors
4 with warrantless searches . When
5 pressed, they refused to identify
6 their branch, let alone any badge
7 information . On this date, I waived
8 down a patrol car that was headed out
9 of the village and it drove past me
10 without stopping . The second patrol
11 car stated that there was no police
12 department knowledge of Federal
13 activity and a call to the
14 non-emergency line reaffirmed this .
15 The following day, there was a press
16 release that said that the department
17 was aware . So we need to work on
18 that communication . One note from
19 that day, that probably brings me to
20 this podium more than anything, is if
21 you want to know how someone gets
22 radicalized, I ' ll give you my
23 personal detail from the day . The
24 following is random warrantless
25 abduction, I came upon two young boys
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 48
1 under 10 , abandoned on a curb,
2 sobbing, with a receipt for their
3 father . With no SPD available to
4 help, we did our best . If these were
5 children lost in the mall , society
6 would do better . We should do
7 better . Look for the helpers . I
8 looked . By way of contrast, on loth,
9 December, witnesses saw several mice
10 abandoned, not one block away from
11 where I found these children . This
12 resulted in a show of force by
13 multiple agencies , several PD cars ,
14 multiple officers , and an immediate
15 Go Fund Me to support the mice .
16 According to Patch, one commenter
17 wrote on Facebook, this devastates
18 me . These are still precious little
19 lives that have a purpose . That
20 cannot be . On 5th, February, just
21 recently, Southold car #806 was
22 observed leaving the Village of
23 Greenport at school drop-offs , as
24 school drop-offs were about to
25 commence . This is unusual , as that
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 49
1 car is a member of our observable
2 community policing, and is a steady
3 presence at school mornings .
4 Coincidentally, in the moments
5 following this departure , ICE actions
6 took place in front of the school .
7 Again, conducting warrantless traffic
8 stops . While ICE has the authority
9 to conduct a traffic stop with
10 probable cause, it may not conduct
11 random stops . Notable on this same
12 day, a vehicle with ICE markings was
13 believed to have been seen . But it
14 is suspected to be a fake and for
15 just terror . Just yesterday, on 9th,
16 February, a masked man in a civilian
17 SUV resembling a police interceptor
18 was observed in Greenport . When a
19 member of a neighborhood watch group
20 asked us to their purpose, they
21 stated that they were "volunteer
22 police" and they drove off . This
23 cannot be a police behavior in this
24 climate . That report was later to
25 the -- I ' m sorry, I must give credit
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 50
1 to the two officers who responded .
2 And they did understand that other
3 ICE on the roads might be helpful and
4 gave instruction to me to get license
5 plates and photos , if possible . This
6 is a good start in terms of community
7 policing . The response later from
8 the department stated that this was a
9 police chaplain, not our police
10 chaplain, but a police chaplain from
11 somewhere else . A police chaplain
12 driving down the street with a mask
13 on, who does not identify themselves
14 as a police chaplain, is not a police
15 chaplain . I ' m sorry . Whether by
16 habit, stance, or policy, we ' re
17 seeing a pattern of Southold PD
18 pulling resources ahead of incidents ,
19 this must be reversed before somebody
20 gets hurt . If people do not know if
21 a force is legitimate and carries on
22 with civil rights violations ,
23 confrontations will begin from a
24 state of panic and fear and not
25 respect . To be clear, I understand
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 51
1 that no action may be taken . I ' m
2 simply here to document my concerns
3 and that I ask that we record whether
4 action will be taken or not . Someday
5 we ' ll all pit against this and the
6 record will be important . Thank you
7 very much . In fact, I have two
8 things . I now carry in my pocket two
9 documents at all times . I carry my
10 United States Passport . I made a
11 United States Constitution . And I
12 would like to know if everybody here
13 is holding their United States
14 Passport so that they may prove by
15 unreasonable doubt that they are
16 citizens when pulled over by a random
17 force? And if not, should prepared
18 to do so .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
20 We ' re here to listen to the comments ,
21 not comment on it . You can come up .
22 But to your point, thank you for
23 bringing that up . If someone sees
24 someone that you don ' t believe is a
25 legitimate law enforcement, please
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 52
1 call Southold Town Police Department ,
2 period . Do not hesitate .
3 CHRISTINE MCCALL : Yeah, hi . Is
4 that working? Yeah, thanks for
5 listening to everybody . I ' ll be
6 brief . I know it ' s been long . My
7 name is Christine McCall . I ' m a
8 resident of Ludlam Place in
9 Greenport . And I just want to share
10 the experience that I had on
11 Wednesday morning as I was pulling
12 out of my driveway . It ' s a narrow
13 street . It ' s got a lot of snow and
14 ice . There are cars parked on one
15 side . It ' s not the safest for
16 traveling on the best of days . There
17 were men and women leaving for work,
18 and children walking to the bus stop .
19 As I was pulling out of my driveway,
20 five cars came flying down the road .
21 Probably going 50 miles an hour on
22 that dangerous circumstance with kids
23 walking to school . I stopped my car
24 before they hit me , and I didn ' t get
25 out and film what happened on the
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 53
1 street . I can tell you they were not
2 targeted raids . They jumped out of
3 their cars and started chasing
4 people . They left . They came back
5 three times . The third time they
6 came back, I was leaving my street .
7 There wasn ' t enough room for me to
8 pull out and for them to pull in .
9 They put on their lights and they
10 forced me to drive in reverse , back
11 down the street , in the icy snow
12 conditions , and pull into my driveway
13 so they could, once again jump out of
14 their cars and descend upon someone
15 else ' s truck . The two little boys
16 that were just mentioned witnessed
17 their father be kidnapped not that
18 long ago . Those two little boys were
19 present on Wednesday to watch this
20 happen again . They were terrorized .
21 I walked them to the bus stop and
22 watched over them until the bus came
23 to get them . I have videos of
24 everything that happened on Ludlam
25 place on Wednesday . I also have
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 54
1 videos of another kidnapping of two
2 community members on 5th Avenue . So
3 I have those videos available to
4 anybody . These are friends and
5 co-workers . I ' ve been working in the
6 immigrant community for almost 30
7 years teaching English . People from
8 all over the world in this community,
9 and I know that many of our business
10 people have built their businesses on
11 the backs of people working here .
12 Many local people, would no longer be
13 able to live here if they haven ' t
14 been able to build middle class
15 incomes , and businesses that support
16 them and their families , and allow
17 them to remain here . I really
18 appreciate you listening, and I ' m
19 going to stop . Thanks .
20 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
21 Thank you .
22 STELLA KAMAKARIS KEATING :
23 Hello . My name is Stella Kamakaris
24 Keating . I reside in Orient with my
25 husband Joseph . I am the child .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 55
1 Damn . I am the child of grandchild
2 immigrants . English was not my first
3 language . I wrote the following
4 observation up in response to the
5 January 27th Southold Town meeting
6 and in light of the ICE reeds and
7 abductions in our community . It is
8 dated Thursday, January 29 , 2026 .
9 For the record, those of us at the
10 Southold Town meeting there about
11 keeping our community safe, by
12 denouncing ICE and all it stands for
13 and asking that our local
14 representatives do the same , did not
15 expect miracles . No, we simply hoped
16 for the bare minimum . Show us your
17 humanity, your morality . Give us the
18 chance to catch our breath in our
19 streets and our homes . Don ' t tell us
20 you wish for Peace on Earth and think
21 that will satisfy us as the witnesses
22 of the act of disintegration of our
23 collective civil rights and the
24 atrocities laid bare before us .
25 SAMANTHA PAYNE-MARKEL : Hi guys ,
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 56
1 how are you? Welcome -- not welcome .
2 My name is Samantha Payne-Markel .
3 And two weeks ago, I made the mistake
4 of calling your statement " fluffy, "
5 taunted me . I was trying not to
6 curse, let ' s be clear . What the
7 statement was , was Republican light .
8 I don ' t know who you ' re scared of
9 right now . I don ' t know if you ' re
10 afraid of the racists in the
11 comments , the good old boys next
12 door, people you do business with,
13 whatever it is . The statement was
14 beyond disappointing . And the fact
15 that now two weeks later, you still
16 haven ' t put out anything stronger to
17 show us that you support your
18 community who ' s terrified . I mean,
19 do you still hope -- you hope that
20 they ' re not, people are not scared
21 for them to go to school? We hope
22 you ' re not scared to go to the
23 supermarket . They are, we are . So
24 it ' s time to put something out
25 stronger . Otherwise, I mean, what ' s
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 57
1 the point? Next time , maybe I should
2 switch my vote because then I
3 won ' t -- at least I won ' t be
4 surprised and disappointed about how
5 this has been responded to . I ' ll
6 have expected it .
7 JEREMY GARRETSON : Jeremy
8 Garretson, Southold . I am going to
9 keep it very short . I am going to
10 piggy-back onto what Ian said . I ' d
11 like to see more community outreach
12 from the police . I e-mailed you all
13 last weekend, I think I got all of
14 you, but you know, certain
15 departments are taking this as an
16 opportunity to educate the public on
17 what they look like, their uniforms ,
18 they ' re making social media posts
19 explaining their obligation to
20 protect the public and I think
21 Southold should do the same . I think
22 right now the oneness of people
23 knowing the Constitution, if you ' re
24 not in high school or something, is
25 on the individual and I think it
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 58
1 would be really beneficial if it came
2 from Southold Police . Especially if
3 it was towards , let ' s just say
4 Greenport, if you know what I mean .
5 I ' m incredibly proud of my neighbors
6 that I ' ve gotten to know over the
7 last couple months , that ' s the one
8 good thing that ' s come out of this ,
9 is -- I mean a lot of us feel the
10 oneness of protecting the people out
11 here is on us now, which it shouldn ' t
12 be, but because of that, I ' ve gotten
13 to know my neighbors and I ' m grateful
14 for that . Yeah, I mean, Ian said
15 most of what I was going to say, so
16 thank you .
17 MAYOR KEVIN STUESSI : Good
18 evening, everybody . I walked to the
19 podium without crutches for the first
20 time, which is nice . I want to thank
21 the Board for today, and the work
22 session earlier . I had the
23 opportunity to meet with Councilwoman
24 Anne Smith and Kate Stevens
25 yesterday, together with Trustee Lily
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 59
1 Doherty-Johnson, who ' s here with me .
2 We had a very spirited conversation,
3 and we shared yet again how afraid we
4 are in Greenport . I ' m the second
5 biggest guy in the room behind
6 Jeremy . And I ' ve stood next to him
7 when this is going on while he is
8 documenting and photographing this ,
9 and two big white guys who are 6 ' 3
10 and 6 ' 5 , if we ' re scared, I can only
11 imagine what it ' s like for a lot of
12 the others . We heard a young woman
13 this evening talk about her
14 experiences and what she ' s dealing
15 with . In the last meeting, we heard
16 a wonderful high school senior, Rod
17 C, talk about her experience . I ' m
18 not going to say her name because I
19 don ' t want to make her a bigger
20 target than she already is , but she ' s
21 terrified . After this recent
22 incident , I managed to get over to
23 the school after I finally got in
24 because they were on lockdown, and I
25 didn ' t have my ID or anything on me
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 60
1 and somebody finally let me in . I
2 went over to meet with Beth, our
3 Superintendent, and we called the
4 Supervisor . Thank you for taking our
5 call . And expressing how terrified
6 we were with what ' s going on . This
7 has been ongoing . And much like our
8 conversation we had yesterday with
9 Kate and Anne, and I very much
10 appreciate the two of you in
11 particular today in the work session
12 and I wish everybody else could have
13 seen it . And I would encourage
14 everybody to watch it . Both of you
15 in particular really spoke very
16 clearly about the need for some
17 immediate help . I think the task
18 force is one thing, but I ' m asking
19 this Board to immediately implement
20 some emergency provisions for public
21 safety in our community, in the
22 Village of Greenport in particular,
23 and make certain that you work with
24 our police to get us the help that we
25 need, look at overtime, whatever you
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 61
1 need to do to get us a full-time
2 officer in the Village immediately .
3 We need to know that there are people
4 there to protect us . They want to .
5 We ' re understaffed in the police
6 department . This is something the
7 Village has been talking about now
8 for a few years . The police study
9 that went to former Governor Cuomo
10 back in 2021 advocated for more
11 officers . The Village has been
12 advocating for more officers . I hate
13 to say, Kate , I said it to you
14 yesterday, a hundred people that are
15 gonna go to sleep on Fishers Island
16 tonight have two police officers .
17 The 2 , 000 souls in Greenport who are
18 going to sleep tonight have half a
19 police officer . We need coverage ,
20 and we need them as a part of the
21 community, and we need them deployed
22 when these incidents are happening as
23 best as possible . And whatever that
24 takes with overtime, we need this
25 help . Because people are afraid, and
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 62
1 this is the beginning . All you need
2 to do is follow the dollars and look
3 at what ' s happening to understand
4 that we ' re going to see a lot more of
5 this . As it relates to surveillance
6 that was mentioned earlier, I urged
7 the Board to consider potentially
8 dropping the Flock system
9 immediately . All you need to do is
10 read a number of articles about how
11 this is being abused in top end
12 publications . It ' s been studied .
13 And I think you need to look at it
14 very quickly, because the benefits of
15 it are far outweighed by the negative
16 consequences of it . We need your
17 help . I appreciate everybody ' s
18 attention to this issue, and thank
19 you, Kate and Anne , in particular .
20 KAREN MAGARO : Hello . My name
21 is Karen Magaro from Greenport, New
22 York . I ' m not going to take a lot of
23 time repeating what everybody has
24 already said . But I think you
25 understand how dire the situation is .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 63
1 What I want to say is it ' s not just
2 Greenport . I talk to a lot of people
3 in Southold, particularly in the farm
4 community . And they are afraid for
5 their employees . They are very
6 worried that they are going to have
7 ICE come on their property and take
8 their employees who are here, like
9 everybody else has been taken . They
10 are not criminals . They are just
11 hardworking people . And so I think
12 the task force is fine, but I think
13 we ' re going to have to have more
14 immediate action if we ' re going to
15 have a level of comfort in our town
16 and know that our -- all of our
17 residents are protected . Thank you .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
19 Karen is a former president of Long
20 Island Farm Bureau, so thank you .
21 I don ' t see any other hands
22 raised, and I don ' t know if there ' s
23 anyone on Zoom, I don ' t see anyone
24 there . Then we will start with
25 our -- what we ' re going to -- go
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 64
1 right ahead before we start our
2 agenda .
3 COUNCILWOMAN ALEXA SUESS : Hello
4 everybody . I ' d like to make a
5 personal statement , if I may . I do
6 have notes because like many of you,
7 this is an emotional topic for me . I
8 want to thank everybody who has
9 spoken about your concerns for our
10 new neighbors . This is what makes us
11 a community . We look out for one
12 another . And I want to make it clear
13 that I ' m speaking only for myself,
14 and not on behalf of this Board . But
15 I , too, am disgusted with the recent
16 actions taken by federal immigration
17 enforcement agents , splitting our
18 families , terrorizing communities ,
19 and sowing fear and distrust in our
20 democracy . I believe these actions
21 are unacceptable . Though it ' s
22 important to note that we as a town
23 are legally limited in our authority,
24 we can together ensure that our
25 community members know their rights
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 65
1 and have the support they need, like
2 many of you have advocated . I am
3 especially glad that Minerva Perez
4 from OLA was here as we discuss our
5 legislative options and how we can
6 work together with our State and
7 Federal partners to demand
8 transparency . Tonight we ' re going
9 to vote on a resolution to get
10 everybody at one table, to form both
11 a long-term course of legislative
12 action, as well as , to address the
13 immediate needs of those who are at
14 risk . It ' s a step forward, a small
15 one . So know that I understand your
16 anger and your pain because I feel it
17 too, and I am listening . And thank
18 you all for speaking up for your
19 community and for those who may not
20 be able to . Thank you .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
22 Thank you, Alexa . And I just wanted
23 to say before we start our agenda
24 tonight, for coming tonight, don ' t
25 hesitate to reach out to us on this
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 66
1 or any other matter . We are very
2 concerned about the whole community
3 and the safety of everyone . So do
4 not -- and if you would like to stay,
5 it ' s a short agenda . We do have a
6 public hearing on cell towers at the
7 end of it, but you ' re welcome to stay
8 and speak again, if you would like
9 also .
10 (Whereupon, the meeting
11 continued on to the Resolutions at
12 this time . )
13 ** * ** * * * * * * * * * * ** * ** * * * * * * * * * *
14 CHAPTER 280 , WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
15 TOWN CLERK DENIS NONCARROW :
16 This Public Hearing considers an
17 introductory Local Law to amend
18 Chapter 280 Zoning by amending
19 Section 280- 67 through 280-76
20 Wireless Communication Facility by
21 replacing the existing code
22 requirements within new provisions
23 pertaining to wireless cell locations
24 and placement in the town, which will
25 provide for greater flexibility
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 67
1 concerning antenna dimension,
2 setbacks and related accessory
3 placement . Legal notices for this
4 public hearing are noticed no less
5 than 10 days prior to the public
6 hearing in an eligible legal town
7 newspaper . The Town ' s Clerk Office
8 has received an Affidavit of this
9 Service from the newspaper indicating
10 that the notice was properly
11 published . The purposed action
12 requires notice to Suffolk County
13 Planning Commission . The Town
14 Clerk ' s file includes the response of
15 the Planning Commission dated
16 February 2 , 2026 determining the
17 action to be a matter of local
18 determination . The proposed action
19 was also referred to the Planning
20 Department for SEQRA Determination .
21 The Town Clerk ' s Office has not
22 received SEQRA determination . The
23 public hearing should therefore be
24 held open following tonight ' s
25 proceeding to a future date for
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 68
1 received consideration of SEQRA
2 determination by the Town Board . The
3 Town Clerk ' s file also includes an
4 Affidavit of Posting of this public
5 notice on the Town Clerk ' s bulletin
6 board at Town Hall . Thank you .
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Has
8 the hearing been properly noticed,
9 Mr . DeChance?
10 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE :
11 Yes . The hearing has been properly
12 noticed .
13 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
14 Thank you . Now, before we start
15 public comment, Director Lanza, could
16 you please give us your presentation?
17 HEATHER LANZA : I will , thank
18 you . I had a slide show, but I
19 thought that was a little small . So
20 I ' ll just make it, and I ' ll make it
21 real short . So just an overview of
22 the code amendments we ' re making to
23 begin to improve the cell service for
24 the town . A little background, our
25 existing regulations were written
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 69
1 back when we didn ' t rely on
2 cellphones , like we do today . So the
3 main concern then was that the towers
4 that were built were necessary in
5 terms of height and number, and that
6 they didn ' t end up in places they
7 didn ' t belong . So the existing
8 regulations contained severe limits
9 and locations for new towers , and
10 from a community character
11 perspective, it was a success , but
12 ultimately has failed, and that has
13 prevented our infrastructure from
14 being built out to provide the
15 coverage we need . So, and we know
16 now, most households today are
17 wireless only with no landline . And
18 another interesting stat was 80% of
19 calls to 911 are made from
20 cellphones . There are also new
21 Federal Guidelines that our
22 regulations need to be updated to
23 include . FCC regulations have
24 evolved to ensure that wireless
25 infrastructure is built out more
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 70
1 quickly . Our current regulations
2 don ' t match up with the timeframes
3 the FCC requires . And to get more
4 complete coverage in the town, we
5 still need -- we ' ll also need
6 something called small cell
7 deployment . And because some areas
8 aren ' t feasible for large towers and
9 our current code doesn ' t address
10 small cell . And for anyone that
11 doesn ' t know, small cell is more
12 distributed -- small . They ' re
13 located on either utility poles that
14 are existing or purpose built utility
15 poles in the right-of-way . So to
16 address the situation, the town has
17 taken the following steps . As you
18 know, we hired Cityscape to provide
19 us with the technical know how to
20 help us evaluate the dead zones and
21 engineer the ideal locations for new
22 towers , so we can get more coverage .
23 To that end, they created a master
24 plan that provided this information .
25 They conducted a poll to gauge the
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 71
1 public ' s preference for how the
2 infrastructure should look . And the
3 message received from that was loud
4 and clear, we need to improve service
5 first and foremost . So all that
6 works resulted in these amended
7 regulations being considered tonight .
8 They make it easier to get new
9 wireless infrastructure installed
10 while continuing to protect community
11 character . For anyone that ' s
12 interested in the master plan, that
13 is located -- you can see it on
14 southoldzoningupdate . com . And just a
15 couple points about the new code . It
16 does several things . It acknowledges
17 that wireless coverage is a public
18 necessity, which was missing from the
19 existing . It adds new updated
20 definitions to be consistent with our
21 Federal code . And it creates a
22 streamlined process to fast-track new
23 towers that meet the preferences
24 outlined in that master plan . And
25 those preferences include things like
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 72
1 location and construction types . So
2 the Number One preference is
3 taxpayer-owned property . So the
4 taxpayers get the benefit of the
5 leasing agreements . That would be
6 town-owned property or on the
7 roadsides . Also other taxi
8 districts , like fire districts and
9 schools . And then other property in
10 the town is a lower priority . And
11 then the construction type includes
12 what we see mostly around town, the
13 concealed towers , but also the
14 monopoles , where you can actually see
15 the antennas . And then the new
16 proposed code also includes
17 regulations to allow the small cell
18 wireless facilities , where the towers
19 aren ' t feasible . And that would be
20 mostly in very residential areas ,
21 such as Bayview or Nassau Pointe,
22 where it might not be feasible to put
23 up large power . And I just want to
24 say thanks to our consultant,
25 CityScape . They did most of the work
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 73
1 for us . They are on Zoom available,
2 if anybody has questions . Technical
3 nature . And we did also have a
4 discussion with Cityscape yesterday,
5 where we found some minor
6 clarifications and corrections that
7 are needed in this draft code . That
8 came as a result of a review by a law
9 firm that represents Verizon . And so
10 I thank them for their help with that
11 as well . That ' s it .
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
13 Thank you for that presentation . And
14 thank you for the hard work on this .
15 This has been a year in the making .
16 Is there anyone who ' d like to
17 speak to this public hearing? Thank
18 you .
19 KATY STOKES : Okay, great . I ' m
20 Katy Stokes from Southold . First ,
21 I ' d like to thank the town, and
22 especially Heather, for taking the
23 time and making effort to update its
24 wireless communication regulations .
25 As a Verizon customer, I haven ' t had
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 74
1 any cell service on Main Street in
2 Southold in many, many years . When a
3 family member was sick, and I was
4 waiting for a doctor to return my
5 call , I couldn ' t go to the Southold
6 pharmacy to pick up pain reliever,
7 because I knew that I would have
8 missed the doctor ' s call . I can ' t
9 count the number of times , even in
10 the last year alone, when I ' ve been
11 driving from Mattituck to Southold
12 and had to tell people on the phone,
13 "oh, sorry, I ' m approaching Southold,
14 so I ' m going to lose you . " And I ' ve
15 heard from you . Local retailers that
16 they ' ve lost sales because their
17 credit card readers worked only
18 sporadically . So huge kudos to every
19 one of the town who ' s working on this
20 wireless company . Second, I ' d like
21 to say how much I appreciate that the
22 new code acknowledges the importance
23 of multiple carriers sharing a
24 wireless communications facility and
25 that it rewards the carriers who
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 75
1 share . This is a very welcome
2 development . We all know that
3 T-Mobile has a contract for the shore
4 tower on the fire department ' s
5 property on Main Street and that
6 T-Mobile hasn ' t shared access with
7 any other carrier . So it has seemed
8 for years that T-Mobile has had a
9 monopoly on working wireless in the
10 Hamlet of Southold . I know several
11 household residents who switched
12 their carrier to T-Mobile just so
13 that they could have service on Main
14 Street . So it ' s awesome that taller
15 facilities will now be allowed with
16 room and incentives to share space
17 with other providers . Now, I do have
18 a couple of suggestions about changes
19 to the proposed code, and the first
20 one is actually in the very first
21 paragraph that says "Purpose" . I
22 think that the purpose should be
23 rewritten so that the first sentence
24 reads , " it is the express purpose of
25 this article to ensure consistent and
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 76
1 dependable wireless coverage for
2 Southold citizens , while minimizing
3 the visual and environmental impacts
4 of wireless communication facilities
5 where practicable . " As currently
6 drafted, three out of four sentences
7 in the purpose section address the
8 appearance of the wireless facilities
9 instead of the communication
10 capabilities . In the first sentence ,
11 when it says "Express Purpose , " it is
12 entirely focused on appearance . So
13 anyway, I suggest that new sentence
14 where we ' re focusing on the
15 consistent and dependable wireless
16 coverage, which right now is in the
17 third sentence of purpose . In the
18 section addressing "Maximum Tower
19 Height, " the proposed language
20 establishes the maximum height at 140
21 feet . I encourage the Town to
22 include an exception that would allow
23 tower height to be 150 feet if it
24 includes equipment for emergency
25 services . The fire department should
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 77
1 not have to ask for an exception or
2 go through a longer process to get to
3 150 feet if that ' s what it needs to
4 provide emergency services . And my
5 very last little thing is just a
6 suggestion . In the section that is
7 entitled the "balloon or crane test, "
8 that we delete the "balloon or, " as
9 we know, cranes are used now on the
10 East End because they are far more
11 reliable than balloons , which blow
12 around . Too much, so they ' re not
13 used anymore . So I would just get
14 rid of them . That ' s all . Thank you .
15 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
16 Would anyone else like to address the
17 Board on this ?
18 (No Response ) .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Now
20 we have to keep this hearing open for
21 two weeks .
22 So do I have a motion to --
23 HEATHER LANZA : Well , what we ' re
24 going to do is look at the wireless
25 master plan to adopt that with the
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 78
1 SEQRA for that . And we ' re going to
2 look at that SEQRA covering this code
3 as well . So it ' s probably best from
4 a timing perspective to adjourn
5 without a date for this hearing . And
6 then take it back up once we have the
7 date for the wireless master plan
8 hearing . That ' s my suggestion .
9 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : What
10 is the timeline?
11 HEATHER LANZA : I don ' t know
12 because we have to get our help from
13 a SEQRA consultant . And so the
14 proposals are due in two days for
15 that . And then we ' ll hire that
16 person, but we ' ll have to wait for
17 the next Town Board to do that .
18 TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DECHANCE :
19 The Board should be aware that if we
20 adjourn without a date then to get it
21 back on the Board agenda, we would
22 need to go through the all notice
23 again . The only alternative is to
24 adjourn it for 30 day periods , while
25 we are working on the master plan .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 79
1 That ' s the other alternative .
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : And
3 to that point, if there are suggested
4 changes to that , that might -- I mean
5 to the height, will that require
6 re-noticing if we ' re going to
7 increase the height from the
8 currently suggested -- from the
9 current suggestion?
10 HEATHER LANZA : You ' ll be happy
11 to know that the code already
12 includes that ability to have a
13 taller tower .
14 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : I am
15 happy . Thank you .
16 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : I
17 just want to also -- common sense
18 tells you let ' s do it together, but I
19 know there ' s a few companies and a
20 fire department that ' s anxiously
21 waiting to apply and I don ' t want to
22 hold up those applications . So after
23 the 30 days if we find that it ' s
24 going to keep on taking longer and
25 longer, I would ask us to split the
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 80
1 two .
2 HEATHER LANZA : May I say
3 something about that? I ' ve met with
4 them and nothing in our current code
5 will stop those from going forward
6 now .
7 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : What
8 about the height restrictions that we
9 currently have in our code?
10 HEATHER LANZA : There is already
11 a waiver --
12 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Oh,
13 I didn ' t think we had a waiver in our
14 current code .
15 HEATHER LANZA : We do . And the
16 Board has enacted that more than once
17 already to meet the needs of the
18 emergency services .
19 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY :
20 Okay . Even if it ' s just -- it ' s
21 emergency service plus --
22 HEATHER LANZA : Yes . All right .
23 As long as we don ' t hold them up .
24 And I forgot my thought originally
25 that --
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 81
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : We
2 had a motion --
3 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : But
4 I wanted to -- I just wanted to talk
5 to you about that . I just -- Yeah,
6 this has been a long time coming .
7 That even previous Boards have
8 discussed on how we do it . So I ' m
9 thankful for the other towns that
10 collaborated with us to hire the
11 consultants . So it saved each
12 individual town lots and lots of
13 money . So I ' m glad it ' s worked out
14 that way . And it ' s a long time
15 coming . And I think we ' re going to
16 be able to , you know, reach every
17 part of town now . And this has been
18 something I ' ve been trying to work on
19 for years , so I ' m glad -- so thank
20 you Heather for making sure that this
21 has kept going . I kept asking,
22 "where are we? " You kept saying --
23 you kept promising me , "no, no,
24 they ' re working on it . " So I want to
25 thank you for that . And it ' s -- I
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 82
1 forgot my thought that earlier, that
2 I was going to say, I ' m trying to
3 remember, but anyway .
4 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : I just
5 wanted to share --
6 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Why
7 don ' t we -- why don ' t we get a second
8 on the motion?
9 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Okay .
10 Second .
11 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
12 Okay, now go ahead . Thank you .
13 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : So ,
14 just to share what Jill said, I
15 thought when we first begun this a
16 while ago, we talked about the
17 savings . I don ' t know if the
18 consultant can say what we ' ve saved
19 because it was kind of working with
20 other municipalities . I just thought
21 that was a nice number if we know
22 that, we should say that . And then,
23 I was very appreciative of the
24 survey, and I was just wondering if
25 there ' s other surveys coming to kind
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 83
1 of refocus , you know, the future of
2 this .
3 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : So
4 when the -- when we first met with
5 the consultant, I did reach out to
6 other East End municipalities , and I
7 believe three other municipalities
8 signed up, which would use their
9 costs quite a bit .
10 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : So we
11 don ' t know that amount?
12 HEATHER LANZA : It was in the
13 thousands for sure .
14 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : I just
15 wanted the public to hear that when
16 we do these big projects , that there
17 were savings built into it .
18 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : What
19 was your question?
20 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Just
21 that the survey was very successful ,
22 and is there any future survey to
23 refocus what we ' re doing?
24 HEATHER LANZA : There ' s no plan
25 for another survey .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 84
1 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
2 Susan, please join us . For the
3 record, Susan represents our
4 consultant CityScape . Okay, that ' s
5 great .
6 SUSAN RABOLD : First and
7 foremost , thank you for entrusting us
8 with this great project . We ' ve had a
9 really positive experience, and I
10 agree . Having all of the communities
11 come on board and collaborate was a
12 great effort by everyone , and I can
13 get you those cost savings . I would
14 say it ' s probably in the close realm
15 of $10 , 000 to $20 , 000 per community,
16 but we ' ll finalize that cost savings
17 and provide that to Heather so that
18 she can share it with you .
19 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Thank
20 you .
21 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
22 right, so I have a motion and a
23 second .
24 All in favor?
25 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Aye .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 85
1 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye .
2 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Aye .
3 JUSTICE KATE STEVENS : Aye .
4 COUNCILWOMAN ALEXA SUESS : Aye .
5 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Aye .
6 Thank you, Heather .
8 PUBLIC COMMENTS
9 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
10 All right , now is there anyone
11 that we have concluded our meeting
12 with the public hearing, is there
13 anyone else that would like to
14 address the Board on any matter? I
15 do have one announcement to make .
16 I ' ll make an -- please .
17 KAREN CUBODY : Good evening . I
18 am Karen Cubody (phonetic) , I live in
19 Orient . Thank you very much for this
20 opportunity to talk with you . I
21 actually left and came back because I
22 couldn ' t get up and speak during the
23 earlier session because I felt like
24 there was information I got about
25 what has happened . I mean, clearly I
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 86
1 echo -- I ' m not going to repeat, but
2 I echo the fact that I and so many
3 people are appalled at the reckless
4 and unconstitutional abuse of power
5 that is engaged in by ICE . And I had
6 really considered the legislation
7 that was brought forth that Minerva
8 Perez brought and helped us to kind
9 of narrow in on . I had -- with that
10 particular legislation, I had some
11 difficulty with it , but I felt like I
12 was persuaded by some important
13 discussions that I had that it was
14 useful , that it was a step in the
15 right direction, it was moving in a
16 direction . As I saw it, there were
17 three things in that legislation that
18 I had some feelings about . The first
19 was that it addressed transparency,
20 accountability . It says that it
21 addressed transparency and
22 accountability . And then the issue
23 about tracing people, using
24 electronic means to surveil who comes
25 and drives in whether or not they ' re
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 87
1 actually Federal . I want to speak to
2 the first two things . I recognize
3 that it -- it is -- the legislation,
4 as that is being proposed, does
5 address the issue of transparency by
6 saying that we want the police to be
7 there, to be able to require Federal
8 agents to identify themselves to
9 convince them that they ' re not
10 impersonating . They ' re not just bad
11 agents impersonating police officers
12 and Federal agents . And so I thought
13 that ' s just seemed like not enough .
14 But it is an important step forward,
15 because what it does is it says ,
16 first of all , it puts police in the
17 position who are our public safety
18 people . It puts them in the position
19 of requiring that we at least know as
20 a town, that we have documented who
21 those people are, and that they are
22 Federal agents . So that ' s good . But
23 in terms of accountability, it does
24 nothing . But I know across the
25 nation, that it ' s quite clear that
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 88
1 it ' s really almost impossible to hold
2 our Federal agents accountable . And
3 I know the community really wants you
4 to do that . And I want to say that I
5 know that you are all between a rock
6 and a hard place here . But I think
7 there are things that people said
8 tonight that moved me to understand
9 this a little differently, and in a
10 much more urgent way . And so I think
11 that there ' s another level , and you
12 probably have already discussed this ,
13 but I want you to really reconsider
14 it . And that would be that you are,
15 as someone said tonight, you are --
16 you have all pledged to support the
17 Constitution . As have the police ,
18 our police department, who we trust
19 and who we have empowered, they and
20 you are truly the guardians of the
21 Constitution in our town . And so I
22 think that the thing that can move
23 this further would be not just that
24 we ask the police, as our guardians
25 of the Constitution, not just to
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 89
1 stand and to require verification of
2 their Federal agent status , but to
3 stand there and give them -- I don ' t
4 know if they all have body-worn
5 cameras yet, but give them body-worn
6 cameras and have them be required,
7 any place an ICE agent is engaging in
8 an action, to stand there and to
9 verify and to surveil the actions of
10 Federal agents . And I understand
11 they cannot interfere , even if they
12 observe unconstitutional behavior .
13 However, they can document it . And I
14 think that something that has been
15 said before is the only thing we
16 have, and it ' s significant thing, is
17 that we can say we have documented .
18 So that when it turns around, when
19 things turn around, and we say, like ,
20 there were bad things that happened,
21 and we didn ' t want them to happen,
22 but we had no way to do anything
23 about it . But at least we documented
24 it, we know it, and we can hold
25 people accountable . So that ' s two
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 90
1 things that I think that we can do .
2 But the other thing about it is that
3 I know that there ' s a concern about
4 the fact that people in the
5 community, some people in the
6 community -- it ' s important . I ' ve
7 read comments , right, like people who
8 support their actions as ICE -- of
9 ICE . I think that what we can stand
10 on is that we can all agree on,
11 right? So , like, I go to these, I go
12 to -- values , and one of my signs
13 says , "Bill of Rights , yes . " That ' s
14 all it says . "Bill of Rights , yes . "
15 And I have another one that goes with
16 it . It says "dictatorship, no . " And
17 it ' s because the Bill of Rights , I
18 think we can all , and when people go
19 by and they ' re like, I ' m like , how
20 can you have me behind the Bill of
21 Rights ? Like, the Bill of Rights .
22 And this Constitution, it ' s us , for
23 God ' s sake . So I think that what we
24 can stand on in doing this is not is
25 to, in order to make it more
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 91
1 palatable to the community, is to
2 stand by the fact that what we ' re
3 doing is we ' re saying, we believe
4 that the Constitution should guide
5 every law enforcement action . We do
6 not have the jurisdiction to
7 interfere in Federal actions of this
8 sort . But we can document them . And
9 we have the right and the
10 responsibility as a town to document
11 unconstitutional behavior by Federal
12 agents . If we don ' t do that , how
13 bloody hell are we defending and
14 protecting our community by the
15 Constitution? That ' s all we think
16 that we have left . The Constitution
17 is the only thing . So I think we can
18 ask the police . And if they don ' t
19 want to do it, say, you pledged to
20 support the Constitution . We have to
21 be the people who are there , who are
22 going to stand for this nation and
23 what founded . We just have to .
24 Thank you .
25 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 92
1 Thank you . Our officers do have body
2 cameras , and we have a body camera
3 policy . I don ' t have it on me right
4 now . But if you ' d like it, please
5 just contact the office .
6 UNKNOWN SPEAKER : Sorry . Can I
7 say one more .
8 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
9 Absolutely .
10 UNKNOWN SPEAKER : On this topic .
11 I know many of us in the community,
12 as you ' ve seen, obviously, and as
13 you ' ve heard, feel called upon to
14 come out and try and protect our
15 neighbors , if we see any ICE activity
16 happening . And I think one of the
17 things that would be very reassuring
18 to our community, is to have the
19 police specifically identify and be
20 committed to protecting those of us
21 who are witnesses . The people that
22 we saw most recently murdered in
23 Minnesota were out to protect their
24 neighbors . And so it seems like it ' s
25 a very risky proposition right now to
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 93
1 protect our neighbors . And so what
2 would be great is if the police can
3 find out when there ' s going to be an
4 activity or if they ' re alerted to the
5 fact that there ' s an activity, to
6 show up specifically to be protecting
7 anybody who ' s there to be witnessing
8 or witnessing what ' s happening . And
9 again, whether it ' s they ' re using
10 their own body cameras to show what ' s
11 happening or at least their presence
12 is there to make sure that all of the
13 other witnesses are safe in our
14 community . I think that would be
15 reassuring and to have that be
16 explicitly stated would be helpful .
17 I would also just add as a last note
18 as a retired lawyer . Nobody loves
19 process more than I do . I just love
20 process . And I really appreciate
21 that the committee was formed this
22 morning or that it was identified and
23 it ' s going to be formed, but it ' s
24 really important that it not be a
25 process that goes on for a long time .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 94
1 And I know that you talked about the
2 fact that something needs to be done
3 quickly . I just really encourage you
4 not to even wait for a final product ,
5 but to say like , you know, something
6 needs to be done in the next two
7 weeks . Something said, you know,
8 really, let ' s not hide behind
9 process . Thank you .
10 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
11 Thank you . Anyone else like to
12 address the Board?
13 (No Response ) .
14 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Any
15 Board member like to say anything
16 before we adjourn?
17 JUSTICE KATE STEVENS : I mean,
18 I ' ll just say -- just want to
19 appreciate everyone standing up and
20 sharing where they are, and their
21 points of view . And I also
22 appreciate that there ' s not one point
23 of view . I think it ' s really
24 important that there are many points
25 of view . And we heard a range of
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 95
1 thoughts tonight about how to
2 approach the situation we ' re facing
3 and what the next steps . I think
4 there ' s general agreement about what
5 the next steps are , which is we need
6 immediate action, we need to plan .
7 For the next time this happens , we
8 need greater police presence . I
9 think there ' s general agreement about
10 that . And there ' s agreement that we
11 need the community to come together
12 and figure out what the legislation
13 can look like and work regionally and
14 have a deliberate approach . So I
15 think those two pathways are really
16 clear . They can happen
17 simultaneously . They ' re not impeding
18 one another . And so I think the kind
19 of underlying piece is that we ' re all
20 witnessing this sort of massive
21 systematic dehumanization, and that
22 we humanize things through these
23 conversations where we ' re looking at
24 each other . And we ' re seeing that
25 we ' re trusting that each other does
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 96
1 have the intention to do our best .
2 And I just would hope that we would
3 keep holding onto that and not allow
4 all of this stress to polarize us in
5 ways that are not constructive . I
6 think difference of opinion is very
7 constructive . And there ' s an
8 intention to all go forward in the
9 direction together that I think is
10 really positive . And this community
11 is incredibly healthy responding to
12 this stress with this amount of
13 energy and focus . So I just applaud
14 that that ' s happening . I know
15 there ' s frustration, but I think that
16 things are working the way they ' re
17 supposed to . The conversations are
18 happening . So I just acknowledge
19 that . And as sort of a newcomer to
20 this part of Southold Town, I am just
21 so appreciative and admiring of this .
22 So that ' s all .
23 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : I
24 actually had prepared some
25 statements , but I ' m not going to
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 97
1 share them tonight . I just want to
2 thank the Town Board members who, you
3 know, we ' re coming together as a new
4 group and a team here , and one of our
5 conversations today was in our effort
6 to always come out with consensus , we
7 sometimes get stuck . And so what
8 you ' re starting to see is a sort of
9 pull out of the gate a little bit ,
10 but continue to truly support this
11 concept of unity, and I appreciate
12 that theme on Sunday, that word
13 "unity" was there, because I can tell
14 you firsthand, there is no silver
15 lining, there is nothing good that
16 comes out of a tragedy . It ' s not a
17 thing . But we can live with pain and
18 hope at the same time , and I just
19 commit to that as a person, but I
20 really want to thank this Town Board .
21 Jill is on the phone with me at 3 : 30
22 today where we communicate, we are
23 working together to support this
24 community and appreciate the concept
25 of unity, and what we can do and do
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 98
1 quickly .
2 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : You
3 know, individually and collectively,
4 we ' re all strong, engaged community
5 members , and sometimes we seem stoic
6 or aloof, but we feel and hurt with
7 the community . So I just want to say
8 from my perspective, it is upsetting .
9 It does make you cry, or at least I
10 cry, when I see some of the things
11 that are going on . And we are trying
12 to stand up for our community, and
13 there are some things that I can ' t
14 say that I ' ve done to try to protect
15 vulnerable members in our community,
16 but I want you to know that we ' re
17 trying to do those things that are
18 protective of those most vulnerable,
19 and we try to use love to overcome
20 hate, and we try to use wisdom to
21 overcome ignorance , and we try to --
22 to be compassionate and not be cruel
23 when we ' re dealing with people who
24 are the most vulnerable in our
25 community . And we do have to
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 99
1 continue the community conversation .
2 And whatever the Board does , we can ' t
3 do it alone . We can ' t do it in a
4 vacuum . We need the community to
5 kind of shore us up and encourage us .
6 So I just want to say, don ' t just
7 tell us what we ' re doing wrong . Tell
8 us what we ' re trying to do right, and
9 help us with what ' s doing right . And
10 we do need to hear, if we ' re doing
11 things in a not appropriate way . But
12 I don ' t think that that ' s our aim .
13 And it ' s not an easy process to go
14 through . But I feel confident that
15 we ' re never going to go through it
16 alone . And just as Anne said, in
17 terms of the Board ' s perspective, I
18 don ' t necessarily want to say what I
19 want to do . I want to hear what the
20 community feels that we want to do .
21 And then we have to have that
22 continued community discussion . So
23 I ' m just buoyed . And I feel excited
24 when I hear what people are
25 passionate about . And it is -- we
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 100
1 can kind of come together and hug
2 each other and not be wallowing in
3 despair, but trying to be thoughtful
4 and trying to move forward always .
5 And we can ' t do it alone . So I ' m
6 just proud of our community that
7 wants to talk to us . And I think
8 that we ' re good listeners , but it ' s
9 an ongoing conversation that has to
10 develop . And I think we ' re trying to
11 be thoughtful and proactive . And I
12 think we ' re not trying to be , you
13 know, kind of frozen in fear . And
14 fear is the mind killer . And I don ' t
15 want to act ever in fear . And it is
16 difficult as a human not to be afraid
17 of the things that we see . But I
18 think one of the takeaways that I
19 feel , our community is coming
20 together in a strong way . And that
21 community strength can help us
22 overcome any issue that we ' re dealing
23 with . So I just pray and I meditate
24 on, how can we come together? How
25 can we share our ideas ? How can we
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 101
1 make sure that somebody ' s supported
2 when these things happen? How do we
3 support the family and the children
4 that are left behind in fear? How do
5 we help somebody get groceries or
6 help them drive to the doctor ' s
7 appointment that they ' re afraid to go
8 to? So our community is standing up
9 and doing that . And we have a role
10 as electives , but as citizens doing
11 that . And I want the people to know
12 that we ' re trying to do the best that
13 we can for all people , irregardless
14 of immigration status , but
15 particularly those that are
16 vulnerable for immigration status .
17 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . :
18 Thank you, Brian . And it really does
19 tie in because our town historian
20 came to our work session today and
21 announced a local design contest for
22 the 250th Anniversary of the founding
23 of the United States . And this is a
24 great idea . It ' s an opportunity for
25 all school-wide students in Southold
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 102
1 Town to design a logo, and they ' re
2 gonna learn about the founding of our
3 country . And they ' re going to learn
4 about how important it is , what an
5 amazing country that we live in, in
6 this world . And this is a really
7 good time , I think, in our town ' s
8 history and our country ' s history to
9 remind everyone of how important our
10 system of government is and what a
11 good opportunity to teach our youth
12 on where we came from . It certainly
13 wasn ' t easy times then, 250 years
14 ago . And I can ' t believe it ' s 250
15 years I ' m looking at Lynn Saffron ' s
16 and I ' ve got that newspaper . 50
17 years ago . And she told Betsy Ross .
18 LYNN SAFFRON : No, but, I
19 remember the context that went about
20 to all the schools . And the logo
21 that is on the map that I drew . When
22 I looked like I was 14 , but I was
23 not . And you have it in your
24 possession . But once again, that is
25 a very wonderful thing to have
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 103
1 happen, and I ' m looking forward to
2 seeing the artwork as a former art
3 teacher . It is a wonderful lesson
4 for us , yes .
5 SANDRA BENEDETTO : Is this a
6 contest for a new town logo, or just?
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : No ,
8 just for the celebration, the
9 birthday celebration, yes .
10 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH :
11 Actually, Sandy, we ' ve tapped into
12 the expertise at the Anti-Bias Task
13 Force doing student essay and art
14 contest .
15 SANDRA BENEDETTO : That ' s great .
16 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Why
17 reinvent it .
18 COUNCILWOMAN ALEXA SUESS : I
19 just want to add one more piece of
20 good news . I know this is usually
21 Brian ' s situation, but I ' m going to
22 take over tonight . I want to remind
23 everybody a bit of good news . That
24 the Southold Winterfest is coming up .
25 The ETC puts a lot of work into this .
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 104
1 And Winterfest is on Saturday,
2 February 21st, from 10 : 00 A . M . to
3 3 : 00 P . M . , Main Road downtown in
4 Southold . And there ' s going to be a
5 lot of ice sculpting . There ' s face
6 painting . There ' s a reptile show, I
7 think, which is fun . Line dancing
8 music, free food, and drinks . And
9 then local vendors , local crafts , and
10 kids activities . So please come
11 down . A lot of those activities are
12 free or low cost, and support local
13 businesses . And thank you again to
14 the ETC, who puts so much work into
15 this event every year .
16 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : I
17 have one more announcement . Talk
18 about our 250th celebration . Fire
19 Department is celebrating it ' s 181st
20 straight -- 181 year straight ,
21 Washington State Parade on Saturday .
22 So go enjoy that and, you know, yeah,
23 support Greenport, a lot of stores
24 will be open, and support the
25 firehouse . So that ' s 1 : 00 o ' clock
FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 105
1 that starts ?
2 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : 1 : 00
3 o ' clock .
4 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY :
5 Which I will be out of town, so you
6 won ' t see me watching this .
7 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
8 right . Motion to adjourn?
9 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : I ' ll
10 make a motion to adjourn .
11 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Second .
12 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : All
13 in favor?
14 COUNCILWOMAN JILL DOHERTY : Aye .
15 COUNCILMAN BRIAN MEALY : Aye .
16 COUNCILWOMAN ANNE SMITH : Aye .
17 COUNCILWOMAN ALEXA SUESS : Aye .
18 JUSTICE KATE STEVENS : Aye .
19 SUPERVISOR AL KRUPSKI JR . : Aye .
20
21 (Whereupon, the meeting was
22 adjourned at this time . )
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FEBRUARY 10, 2026 REGULAR MEETING 106
1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
2
3 I , Jessica DiLallo , a Notary
4 Public for and within the State of
5 New York, do hereby certify :
6 THAT, the within transcript is a
7 true record of said Board Meeting .
8 I further certify that I am not
9 related either by blood or marriage
10 to any of the parties to this action;
11 and that I am in no way interested in
12 the outcome of this matter .
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have
14 hereunto set my hand this day,
15 February 10 , 2026 .
16
17
18 (Jessica DiLallo)
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