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Rita Malmud advises Mayor, Councilmembers, City Counsel that Council/Hospital Secret Meeting to discuss "alternatives" is illegal according to N.Y.S Committee on Open Government.
Jefferson Mall vs. Yorktown ruling cited.
Whyatt letter prompts Malmud to investigate. She does and finds possible violation of open meetings law.
Dumphy asked to rule before Tuesday night sequestered session with New York Presbyterian Hospital.
To open the doors or close them, that is the question.
By John F. Bailey
CityLine: February 12, 2001 - Newling
Rita Malmud, City Common Council President has asked City Corporate Counsel, Edward Dumphy to reexamine the legality of the Common Council meeting with New York Presbyterian Hospital representatives Tuesday evening at 7:30 in city hall, without including the public.
Malmud told WPNCR this Monday evening when reached at her home after WPCNR had learned of her communication to the Mayor, Mayor's Office, Mr. Dunphy, and the other five Common Councilmembers.
Mrs. Malmud told WPCNR she originally thought hearing hospital representatives behind closed doors with Common Council present was all right, but when advised via a letter from Thomas Whyatt, legal counsel to Concerned Citizens for Open Space that a closed door meeting between litigants where the sale of public land might be involved, was illegal, she was motivated to check out Mr. Whyatt's briefing.
She told WPCNR she contacted Robert Freeman, Executive Director of the New York State Committee on Open Government, and explained the circumstances of the meeting to him. Freeman told her from her description of the meeting =that it was illegal.
"I was told it was not appropriate to have a closed meeting," Malmud told WPCNR. She said that Freeman cited Citation 84 of the Appellate Division Second-612 as the basis for his opinion. The case, she said involved a situation where the Town of Yorktown was in litigation with the developers of Jefferson Valley Mall and attempted to hold an executive session to settle the dispute and negotiate the price of land. But, she could provide no more details on this case to us.
"I'm interested in learning what they (the hospital) have to say," Malmud told us, "but it is not appropriate to listen to it in illegal circumstances. I was told in unequivocal fashion that 'yes you can have a closed meeting between you, your lawyer and a counsel' but not with other representatives of the litigant."
When she found out this opinion today, she advised the Mayor's office, and asked Mr. Dumphy to reexamine the legality of the sequestered session.
She said she expected originally to hear from the Common Council legal representative handling the Hospital Plan B lawsuit matter for the Council at 7:30, but did not know when Dumphy would rule.
The City offices were closed today, and his Executive Officer regarding the issue were made and not returned.
Sunday, when first we were informed this Concerned Citizens for Open Space letter protesting that the meeting should not be in Executive Session, Executive Officer George Gretsas said the matter was in litigation and this was the basis for holding the executive session.
We contacted Dr. Allan Teck, President of CCOS this afternoon, asking him whether or not CCOS was going to file a lawsuit Tuesday to "open" the meeting to the public. Teck returned our telephone call, informing us that Ms. Malmud had checked the issues Thomas Whyatt had raised with the Committee on Open Government and had asked Edward Dumphy to reconsider the legality of holding the meeting in private.
It is not known who the hospital was sending to the meeting. If they would be sending just their legal counsel, Paul Bergens, the meeting could conceivably be ruled legal to be held in private. Hospital public relations spokesman, Geoffrey Thompson would not comment on who was going to represent the hospital.
Ms. Malmud told WPCNR that "Nothing has happened to make any Common Council member to regret what they did in voting against the New York Presbyterian Hospital (in July 2000).
