Politics & Government

UPDATE: Eruv Application to be Decided by Quogue Village

A request by the East End Eruv Association to instal an eruv will be rendered at 4 p.m.

UPDATE: The village of Quogue has denied the application. Read here. 

A decision regarding a  controversial application, submitted by the East End Eruv Association, to install a religious boundary, known as an Eruv, on telephone polls in the Village of Quogue is expected to be rendered at the monthly board meeting at 4 p.m.

According to the village's draft agenda, which is posted on the village's website, a decision on the application is scheduled to take place towards the end of the meeting.

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A PDF of the agenda is attached to this article.

Three hours before the decision is expected to be made, Hank Sheinkopf, spokesman for the East End Eruv Association said, "We hope that the Village of Quogue will support religious freedom.” 

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The East End Eruv Association made the application in January after requested by the East End Eruv Association to install the eruv, saying the association failed to go through the proper channels. 

The application, filed under the village's sign ordinance, asks for permission to install lechis, or a thin wire along 48 telephone polls, 31 of which are owned by the Long Island Power Authority and 17 by Verizon. The lechies represent an eruv, which allows Orthodox Jews to carry items they are not normally allowed to on the Sabbath, such as keys. 

In March, the Village of Quogue asked the association to make a presentation on their application. During that meeting, Jewish groups clashed with members of the Jewish People for the Betterment of Westhampton Beach saying that a the approval of an eruv by the village would be a symbolic endorsement of an interpretation of Jewish law with they do not agree with.

The Eruv Association, however, said that by not approving the eruv, the village is infringing on their first amendment rights.

The Eruv Association is currently embroiled in with the Village of Quogue, as well as with the Town of Southampton and the Village of Westhampton Beach. LIPA and Verizon also have a separate suit pending, asking the courts for clarification on if they have the power to grant approval for an eruv.  

Calls to Village Mayor Peter Sartorius were not immediately returned.

What do you think the Village of Quogue will decide? Post a comment below.

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