Who is the Responsible Adult in the Town of Hempstead?

From the Community Alliance....

Just Where Does The Buck Stop In Hempstead Town?

Not At The Desk Of Town Supervisor Kate Murray, Apparently?

I’m the ultimately responsible person in this organization. Other people can pass the buck to me, but I can’t pass the buck to anyone else.
- - President Harry S. Truman

If "hear no evil, see no evil" were ever personified ("do no evil" being an entirely different animal), Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray would be their living embodiment.

First it was the Building's Chief, who turned his Levittown Cape -- in Kate Murray's hometown, on her very street -- into a McMansion, complete with an illegal apartment, all without permits. Kate Murray saw nothing, heard nothing, knew nothing, and did nothing -- at least not until Newsday broke the story.

Then it was full-time benefits for part-time town employees-- and even health premium payments for the deceased. Kate Murray didn't seem to mind, until the press coverage opened the floodgates, and the public expressed outrage.

Now, the Town of Hempstead Building Department is under siege once agiain, with complaints of shoddy inspections -- or the issuance of official paperwork without any inspection whatsoever -- and the Supervisor, who turned the other cheek to the shortcomings of her underlings, now calling for resignations and reviews.

Could it be that Kate Murray didn't know what was going on right under her smiling face -- literally?

How could that be? We all knew -- or certainly suspected -- that things were amiss at the Town of Hempstead Building Department, if not elsewhere at Town Hall.

The signs -- especially those unlawful ones that line "Main Street" -- were dead giveaways.

Why are there so many illegal accessory apartments, particularly those troublesome, illegal basement apartments, in Hempstead Town?
Why has code enforcement, in everything from housing to commercial to sanitation, been so lax as to be rendered nonexistent?
Why do the favored and the faithful have their day, month, and year, while everyone else gets squat?
And why does Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray act so surprised at the corruption, incompetence, and impropriety that pervade Town government?
It would be sad, if not incredulous, to say Kate Murray didn't know what she claims flew below her radar; that which is rampant and wrong in Hempstead Town only coming to light by dint of the diligence of ace investigative reporters at Newsday.
Supervisor Murray, by latest press reports, is now looking to shake things up at Hempstead Town Hall. Too late for that, Kate. A sprinkler system or fire alarm in place after the barn has burned to the ground will do little good.

Read the rest at The Community Alliance blog.