Union pickets at Village Hall building site
by Carolyn James

Members of the General Building Laborers Union, Local #66 gather in front of the work site for the New Amityville Village Hall, protesting the fact that contractors there are not using union help. Village officials said the contractors pay a prevailing wage and are not required by law to use union workers. PHOTO BY JOE TURNER

Members of the General Building Laborers Union, Local #66, together with their large, inflated rat, have been picketing in front of the construction site for the new Amityville Village Hall. The union objects to the fact that various contractors who won bids to work on the building are not using tradesman who are members of their union.

All contractors are hired following the public bidding process and pay the prevailing wage as required by law. However, the contractors, who provide certified payroll statements to the Village, are not required to use union workers.

"The law is clear and everyone, including the contractors, have followed the law," said Mayor Peter T. Imbert. "Once we award a contractor the bid and they provide documentation showing that they are paying the prevailing wage, that is all they have to do, and we can't force them to hire union workers."

Union representatives did not return phone calls for their comment.

In other Village news, +the Village Board announced that it was preparing to replace the wooden planters in the business districts with white composition planters, 24-inches by 30-inches. The planters cost approximately $460 each and the Village Park Commission is donating eight of them to the Village to be placed around the Triangle area. "Hopefully we will be able to order enough to do the entire downtown area," said Trustee Peter Casserly.

+Brian Cella, the owner and operator of a bar at 196-198 Broadway received a six-month extension on his permit after the Village outlined numerous concerns about the operation of those premises and received assurances from Cella that "he would clean up his act."

Specifically, Mayor Imbert listed dozens of calls from the premises to the Amityville Village Police recording incidents of violence, disturbances, larceny and other concerns. Trustee Richard Ubert told Cella that he had to provide better crowd control, both inside and outside of the club. Trustee Ed Johnson wanted greater assurances that on teen night, customers did not have access to the alcohol stored there. The board in general asked for better security, closer monitoring and control and said that Cella would be granted another six-month extension only if he could show that he has made the improvements the board was demanding.

"I have already addressed some of those concerns and will take care of the rest," he assured the board.

+it was announced that an application for construction of a CVS Pharmacy on the former site of Amity Chevrolet has been presented to the Village Planning Board and is under consideration;

+Vincent Esposito, a representative of the residents at Hidden Lakes Estates asked the board if his association could put up a fire zone sign at the back entrance of their property where a crash gate is installed. The Village said it would sign and mark the area at its own expense since it was the Village's responsibility to ensure that the area remains free of obstructions from vehicles.

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