Peconic Supporters Adopt New Tactic

In the wake of a court decision on Staten Island secession, supporters of Peconic County are switching tactics in getting a bill approved by the State Legislature.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said this week that he was drafting a bill that takes a different approach to Peconic County than the one that was stymied in the Assembly earlier this year. The failed measure was a special act to create Peconic County from the five East End towns. It required adoption by the State Legislature and a binding referendum by the towns involved.

The new bill would extend the process for creating new towns and villages to counties. It would apply statewide, not just to the East End. In other words, the State Legislature would vote to create the mechanism for establishing Peconic County, but the actual decision on creating the county would be left to East Enders.

Like Montauk Inc.

Mr. Thiele noted that the process for creating Peconic County would be like the one used in the unsuccessful recent effort to incorporate Montauk as a village. It involves a petition procedure and then a public referendum.

The Assemblyman said that the new bill would be "tightly drafted to avoid the possibility of a proliferation of new counties." For instance, it may require a certain minimum population and area as well as a feasibility study. Also, it may have a sunset clause, meaning that it would be on the books for a limited time only.

The board of directors of Peconic County Now, the organization spearheading the secession effort, plans to meet tomorrow to discuss the drafting of the new legislation. Mr. Thiele said he expected it to be completed within two weeks.

Silver's Fear

The decision to take this new approach was solidified by a court ruling last week on Staten Island's effort to secede from New York City. It is Staten Island's move for independence that has hindered the East End's efforts. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver fears that allowing the East End to secede would set a precedent for Staten Island independence - which he fervently opposes.

The Speaker had ruled that a home rule message from the New York City Council was required before the State Legislature could consider legislation on Staten Island secession. Previously, both the State Senate and the Governor had ruled that such a message was not required.

A Staten Island Assemblyman had challenged the Speaker's action in court, and last week the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, upheld lower court decisions backing the Speaker. However, the court rulings at each level were based on jurisdictional issues, not the merits of the case.

Creative Lawyering

The courts never addressed wheth er a home rule message is required for secession. They simply held that it was beyond their jurisdiction to review the Speaker's decision.

Faced with the choice of trying to persuade the Suffolk Legislature to support East End secession - an uphill battle, at best - or trying to persuade the State Legislature to adopt a new mechanism for creating counties, Mr. Thiele opted for the latter.

But he acknowledged that creative lawyering can only go so far. Peconic County backers still need to enlist the support of the Assembly Speaker and the rest of the Assembly.

"This still comes down to politics more than the law," he said.