by Stewart Lilker

On Monday June 19, Freeport resident Vincent Greco came to Village Hall, as he has been doing for over twenty years, to try and get some information on the continuing unhealthy emissions from power plant number two. When he told the Mayor that he wanted to ask some questions, Glacken unexpectedly responded, "Is there some reason you didn’t call? You might have saved yourself a trip."

Greco got right to it. He asked what the Village was doing about the emissions coming from the smoke stacks. Superintendent of Electric, Hub Bianco, explained that the Department was looking into three alternatives, one of them making the stacks higher. Greco asked, "What do we do in the interim?"

Glacken responded, "We will be using power plant number one as much as possible." Bianco explained, "We should be able to buy 75% of our needs off the open market."

Greco asked, "Why can’t we use bought power until we get this straightened out." Bianco explained that LIPA was expecting to be stressed to the limit and said, "LIPA asked us if we would use everything we have."

Greco asked the Mayor and the Board, "Do you think it’s worth it? You are going to expose the people in this town to these hazards when you don’t have to." The Mayor and the Trustees ignored the question.

Later in the meeting your reporter asked Bianco if we gave LIPA an answer to their request that Freeport use "everything we have." Bianco responded, "We have a long standing mutual agreement that in case of an emergency they would supply us with energy and in an emergency, we would supply them."

FNYN asked if anybody advised LIPA’s Mr. Kessel of the continuing health impact on the community and the surrounding area when power plant number two is run. Your reporter asked, "Has anybody told Mr. Kessel that adults and children are being exposed to the carcinogens in the air from the pollution coming out of the stacks at power plant number two?"

Glacken responded, "As far as we are concerned, we pass DEC emissions tests." Your reporter responded, "I didn’t say we didn’t. I said the stuff coming out of those stacks produces cancer. Do you dispute that?" Glacken responded, "Yes I do."

FNYN asked, "Then why are you modifying the smoke stacks?" Glacken said, "There is such a thing as odors. We are dealing with the dispersal of the odors through a higher stack. As far as your statement that they are putting out carcinogens, they are not putting out carcinogens. We have an odor problem and a vibration problem. We don’t have an emissions problem."

In light of Mayor Glacken’s contention that diesel fumes do not cause cancer, FNYN has researched the question.

As far back as 1981, Newsday ran a story in which the Japanese found that "Diesel-engine exhaust fumes may be responsible for increasing cases of lung cancer in Tokyo and other large cities. A team of researchers concluded that exhaust from automobiles with diesel engines contain two cancer-causing substances." The article continued, "The two substances are highly mutagenic and could trigger lung cancer in people exposed to high doses of diesel exhaust." Japanese scientists found that injecting rats with the substances from diesel fumes caused cancer.

In 1998, the Natural Resources Defense Counsel (NRDC) said, "Our nation’s dependence on diesel must be reassessed in light of growing scientific evidence that diesel exhaust poses a major health hazard, particularly to children and the elderly. Diesel emissions are comprised of a witch’s brew of potent carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, irritants, and other hazardous chemicals."

In an article in the Cancer Weekly Plus, October 5, 1998, Charles Henderson reported that various researchers found that diesel fumes are dangerous to humans. "The fumes of diesel engines contain up to 100 times more soot than ordinary gasoline engines. This particulate matter is so tiny that it is not caught by any filtering device in our own respiratory system. This means that the particles are inhaled in great quantities deep into the lungs. These particles can bind to a whole range of toxic compounds, such as metals or benzene derivatives, some of which are known to be carcinogenic.

Finally, contrary to Glacken’s claim that diesel fumes do not cause cancer, the Cancer Weekly Plus of April 27, 1998 reported the following. "Exhaust fumes from diesel fuel - regarded as a more environmentally benign alternative to gasoline - may pose a significant cancer risk, according to a draft government report. The US EPA said exposure to even low levels of diesel exhaust is likely to pose a risk of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases." "... For carcinogenic hazard and risk of cancer over a life time, EPA is recommending that exposure (to diesel exhaust) be viewed as likely to pose a risk at low levels, as well as high levels," the EPA draft said.

A few days after the meeting, your reporter asked Greco why he didn’t call, as the Mayor suggested. Greco said, "I am still the chairman of the Power Committee. As the chairman I felt this should be discussed in the open so the public could become aware of the truth."

Michael Raab, a long time Glacken supporter, telling the Mayor "I don’t want to become the loud mouthed critic that I was," said that he was sick and tired of people urinating on Main Street, particularly in front of his ice cream parlor. He said, "I was on the phone (cell phone) with Trustee Miller, when I pulled up to my store and a saw a guy urinating right on the street." He continued, "This is a disgusting, embarrassing situation that is going on. I have news for you, it is because of this that I am considering relocating outside of this village."

In the past, other residents and business owners, as well as Raab have asked for police foot patrols on Main Street, but to no avail. During Raab’s presentation, Police Chief Woodward, a former Freeport resident, sat flipping through his police magazine, not once looking up to pay attention to what was being said.

After the meeting, a resident told FNYN, "Glacken changes the light poles on Main Street and thinks he is doing something. With people hanging out, drinking and pissing all over the street, I don’t see him going down there with his family to shop."

Raab, questioning the Mayor about the CDA grant for the rehabilitation of the former Rite Track Inn on Merrick Road, asked, "Is there any kind of architectural plan in place that is a standard for the Village?" Glacken responded, "We are taking a case by case approach." Raab asked if the building was being returned to its original facade. Ellen Kelly, director of the CDA, stood up from the side of the room and responded that in this case, it was not. Glacken then added his own thoughts, but most of his comments were unintelligible due to the poor acoustics, which he as been promising to fix for three years, and his refusal to speak into the microphone.

Well before Glacken was elected, beginning with the Thompson administration and continuing with the Wissler administration, a Village-wide Master Plan began development. Over the years, a series of community meetings were had throughout the Village, seeking out ideas from everyone. Glacken never attended any of these meetings, completely ignored the findings and has for the past three years, steadfastly stonewalled every attempt to finalize the Master Plan. Even so Glacken claims "This is the first time in the history of this Village that any administration has placed an emphasis on esthetics."

On March 20, 2000, the Village Board unanimously approved $255,000 to rehabilitate the Rite Track Inn property, now known as Wash & Shop Laundromat, Ltd. An examination of the Board minutes gives no indication that the bid went to the lowest bidder, or indeed, if there were any other bids.

Your reporter, questioned the Mayor and Trustees regarding the new request to approve an additional $17,000 expenditure of CDA money for the renovation of the windows, asking why the grant was approved with the original windows and now they had to be replaced.

Deputy Mayor Frierson-Davis responded, "The drawings did not reflect the condition of the windows and we did not do a personal inspection of the windows. The drawing reflected windows."

Your reporter asked, "Wouldn’t it be fair to think that the windows represented in the drawing would represent the windows in the building?" The Board did not respond.

Your reporter then pointed out that the building had previously been renovated twice before with CDA money, both times during which Glacken was the Village Attorney and his brother in law, Village and mob attorney Harrison "Joe" Edwards, was apparently the CDA Attorney. Neither the Mayor, nor any of the Trustees explained why, when the drawings were presented to them for approval, it was not done at an open meeting.

While the Freeport CDA has spent approximately twenty million dollars over the years, other than the Nautical Mile Project, residents questioned by FNYN cannot point to anything the millions of CDA dollars have been spent on.

Your reporter asked Mayor Glacken why he removed his telephone number and address from the phone book, stating that it seems that unlike the other recent Mayors, Glacken removed his as soon as he was elected. Glacken said that his number hadn’t been in the phone book since 1982. When your reporter read Glacken’s name and address from the 1997 Freeport Yellow Book, Glacken said it wasn’t him. In discussing this with a village resident, who asked not to be identified, FNYN was told, "I remember a few years ago I had to find his number. I looked it up in the Yellow book and he answered the phone."

A former Freeport Village official told FNYN, "Glacken’s number was in there (the phone book). I don’t know of any other Mayor who wasn’t listed. It’s obvious why he took his number out. He’s afraid."

FNYN also asked Glacken about his letter requesting that the residents of the Freeport School District support the recent bond proposal, a story that was intentionally covered up by Newsday. When your reporter asked Glacken if he knew how his letter appeared in the district’s schools, he said, "I don’t know." When FNYN advised him that handing out his letter in the district’s schools was against the law, Glacken said he didn’t think it was. When the case law was read to Glacken, he said he didn’t agree with it. When asked again if he had any idea who could have sent the letter over to the district, Glacken pleaded ignorance and then said, "I think we sent it to somebody."

Finally, Glacken’s PR person, Pat Murphy, came to the Mayor’s rescue, volunteering that she had sent it over to the Superintendent's office before the Bond vote. Glacken correctly stated that he wasn’t responsible for what the district did, once they got it, and added that he had no idea how his letter ended up on the District web site, a fact that was also covered up by Newsday.

Glacken asked, "Why are you telling me this?" Your reporter replied, "Because I think you should know what they did with your letter." Glacken said, "Mr. Lilker, if you have a problem with the school district, take it up with them. I have no problem with what they did with my letter. It is my right and my freedom of speech to express my opinion. I have no trouble with it [the letter] being in the schools or on the district web site."

Your reporter replied, "Apparently they did, because after I demanded that they remove it, it was taken out of the schools and eventually removed from their web site."

FNYN has asked many residents if they thought Glacken was telling the truth when he said he didn’t know how his pro bond letter made it to the school district offices. Not one resident thought he was telling the truth.

FNYN asked the Mayor if the source of the pollution of the water supply was found. Interestingly, Glacken asked Village Attorney Edwards to respond, even though the Superintendent of Public Works, Lou DiGrazia was present. Edwards said, "We tracked it down to the water tank." DiGrazia added, "the northwest water tank." Edwards continued, "Apparently there was a swinging along the gutter, which gave way partially after a torrential rainfall, which took place, I believe on the seventeenth or eighteenth of April. I’m pretty sure that’s what caused it and that’s what’s being repaired as we speak." When Glacken, who had in the past refused to answer any questions regarding Water Superintendent Brick, was questioned about Brick, Edwards volunteered that he had retired. An inside source told FNYN, "He was forced out. Glacken never liked Brick. This was just an excuse to get rid of him."

The Village purchased another fire chief’s car, calling it an incident command vehicle. This one is for the new chief, who already has a chief vehicle. FNYN has learned that the Village spent hundreds of dollars on gold leaf detailing on the vehicle

The board adjourned into executive session for various matters and did not return for their usual "second session." Since FNYN has been waiting to see what transpires in Glacken’s "second sessions," they have been becoming fewer. It is apparent from the Village Board minutes of the Executive Sessions that Glacken and the Trustees, apparently with the blessing of the mob Village Attorney Edwards, have lately been illegally voting on matters that rightfully belong before the public in open session.