Responsible Rogue

Outdoor Dining & the Responsible Rogue

Only in the upside down world of today’s politics is a Responsible Person considered a Rogue. At the March 9th Village Board meeting, Lydia Slaby alluded to “someone” going “rogue” on the matter of Outdoor Dining with the Department of Transportation last year in the pandemic. We can infer she was referring to John Rossi; you can ask her. What disappoints us is that closing ranks and engaging in character assassination to win power is more important than the safety of the public.

What most concerns us is that neither Gary nor Ric stepped up to do the due diligence to do the right thing, the right way. Our duty is to assure the public is kept safe, and liability to the Village is minimized.

And now… the rest of the story

One can do the right thing, the wrong way…. or do the right thing, the right way. On the matter of Outdoor Dining, we all overwhelmingly wanted and enjoyed the experience, and we hope it returns as a regular fixture of the Village life. John Rossi supported this initiative with the caveat the proposal be reviewed by the Department of Transportation (DOT); Brant Neuneker agreed.

Gary Bassett took the initiative to prepare the Outdoor Dining application (Perm33g) and sent it to the DOT by e-mail on June 11, 2020. This application was sent to the Poughkeepsie DOT Regional Traffic and Safety Engineer and cc’d to 3 additional DOT employees. Deputy Mayor Lewit was the only Village official copied on the email containing the application and the concerning excerpt appearing below.

This application was forwarded to an additional six (6) DOT employees.

On June 12th, 2020, the application was approved by the DOT. Once approved it was circulated, for the first time, to the other members of the Board.

John Rossi noted and questioned why the “Safety Plan” box was not checked – a natural question for a Trustee sworn to protect the public safety and interest. Perhaps it was a simple oversight, but we need to be confident the Village (and State) is not unnecessarily exposed to a safety risk. On June 15, 2020, and again on June 16, 2020, I emailed Gary – copying all Board trustees as well as our Police Department and Fire Department chiefs – inquiring about the check-box omission and the Safety Plan requirements.

In a reply email, dated June 16, 2020, Gary emailed me (and all cc’d parties) the following response…. “If you have a concern that DOT is not following proper protocols your issue is with them and not the Village. I encourage you to take this issue up with them.”

What Gary fails to appreciate is safety is not a game of tag, and luck is not a safety plan. Neither Gary NOR Ric spoke up or pursued this issue. Safety is all our concern, especially when the broad public is exposed. We need our public officials and our public servants (in the DOT) to protect us… that’s the job.

John Rossi reached out the DOT and it appears more diligence is being placed on organizing for Outdoor Dining in a safe way.

We will do the right thing, the right way… no shortcuts – our pledge.