Intimidation at public hearing not appropriate
To the Editor:
When Mr. Lefkaditis was conducting the public hearing for a proposed business district at the intersection of routes 156 and 157, he disparaged input from a resident who was not in attendance, saying he “took offense” at the writer’s observation that no new businesses have come to the hamlet since it was established as a business district.
(In fact, the Knox store was vacant for the four years Mr. Lefkaditis owned it, and it is not yet obvious that new owners are at work there; and no other new businesses have come in.)
Public hearings should be conducted in such a way that encourages residents to express their opinions, without intimidation from emotionally-charged challenges when they disagree.
Amy Lauterbach Pokorny
Knox
Editor’s note: Amy Pokorny is a Knox councilwoman and has announced she will challenge Vasilios Lefkaditis for the supervisor’s post in the fall election.
Amy Pokorny and her husband, Russell Pokorny, the town’s assessor, used to own the Knox store.
See front-page story on Tuesday night’s hearing.