Freeport, NY — Crash Data, Roads, History & Law

History

The land that became Freeport was inhabited by the Meroke people before European settlement.^[1] Edward Raynor moved from Hempstead in 1659 to what was then called the Great South Woods; he "cleared land, and built a cabin," and the settlement became known as Raynor South and later Raynortown, names that lasted nearly two centuries.^[1] In 1853 residents voted to rename the community Freeport, adapting "Free Port," a nickname colonial-era ship captains used for a port where cargo could be landed without paying customs duties.^[1]

Oystering became a major industry after the Civil War, declining in the early 20th century as bay salinity changed and pollution increased.^[1] The Southside Railroad reached Freeport in 1868, and the improved access brought a building boom led by developer John J. Randall, who arranged the dredging of the Woodcleft Canal and other canals; one bank of the Woodcleft Canal is the site of today's Nautical Mile.^[1] Residents voted to incorporate the Village of Freeport in 1892.^[1] Six years later, in 1898, the village established its own municipal electric utility, which a 2007 Newsday history account described as still saving residents money more than a century later.^[1]

From 1902 the New York and Long Island Traction Corp. ran trolleys through Freeport to Jamaica, Hempstead and Brooklyn for about twenty-five years, and in 1913 the short-lived Freeport Railroad ran trains from Sunrise Highway to the waterfront.^[1] During Prohibition, Freeport was a rumrunning center; the Freeport Point Shipyard, founded just after World War I, built both rumrunners and the Coast Guard boats that chased them, and later built small naval boats for the United States and Britain from 1937 to 1945.^[1] On September 20, 1924, a Ku Klux Klan parade through the village drew 30,000 spectators, with Freeport's own police chief, John M. Hartman, leading a procession of 2,000 robed marchers; the Klan also burned crosses in Freeport and more than a score of other Long Island villages in this period.^[2] Band leader Guy Lombardo, for whom a Freeport avenue linking Sunrise Highway to the waterfront is named, moved to the east shore of the Woodcleft Canal in 1940 and became a national Gold Cup hydroplane-racing champion in 1946.^[1]

How the roads got here

Sunrise Highway, Freeport's principal commercial spine, is New York State Route 27; the state Department of Transportation's touring-route description carries NY 27 "on Sunrise Highway to Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Freeport, Massapequa Park" and points east.^[5] Merrick Road through the village is NY 27A.^[5] The Meadowbrook State Parkway (NY 908E, under the jurisdiction of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and maintained and signed by NYSDOT) runs along Freeport's area: NYSDOT's own bridge-naming list places the "Detective Kathleen M. Reilly Memorial Bridge" where "Merrick Road: crosses the Meadowbrook Parkway at Freeport."^[5]

The Freeport Railroad, a short-lived line opened in 1913, ran from Sunrise Highway down Grove Street to the waterfront and was nicknamed "the Fishermen's Delight"; a 2007 Newsday history account states it may have inspired cartoonist Fontaine Fox's "Toonerville Trolley."^[1] The New York and Long Island Traction Corp. trolley line, which ran through Freeport to Jamaica, Hempstead and Brooklyn from 1902 for about a quarter-century, ran down Main Street to a ferry dock near Woodcleft Avenue.^[1]

Law and legal history

The Village of Freeport's liability code supersedes the general prior-written-notice standard in New York's General Municipal Law. Chapter 27 of the Village Code, "Liability of Village," was adopted May 9, 1983 by Local Law No. 9-1983 and recites that it was enacted under the Municipal Home Rule Law "to change and supersede General Municipal Law § 50-e, Subdivision 4, so that prior written notice to the Village has been and continues to be required."^[8] Section 27-2 bars civil actions over defective recreation areas (beaches, pools, playgrounds, parks) absent prior written notice to the Village Clerk and a reasonable time to repair; § 27-3 imposes the same prior-written-notice bar for defects in "traffic signs, streets, parking fields, sidewalks, walkways, footpaths or bicycle pathways," including snow and ice conditions; and § 27-4 requires that notice be served on the Village Clerk personally or by registered or certified mail.^[8]

In Matter of Lancaster v. Incorporated Village of Freeport, 22 N.Y.3d 30 (2013), the New York Court of Appeals reviewed the Village's revocation of legal defense and indemnification for several current and former Village officials — including Freeport Board of Trustees members and appointees — under Public Officers Law § 18 and Freeport Village Code § 130-6, after the officials refused to sign a nondisparagement clause as part of a $3.5 million settlement of civil RICO claims brought against the Village.^[9] Chief Judge Lippman's opinion for the Court held "that a municipality...may withdraw its defense and indemnification of current and former municipal officials and officers in a civil action for their failure to accept a reasonable settlement offer, and that First Amendment concerns with respect to the settlement's nondisclosure clause do not warrant a different conclusion."^[9]

Government, courts and policing

Freeport is governed by a mayor and four trustees elected to four-year terms, with one trustee also serving as deputy mayor.^[6] Unlike the surrounding unincorporated areas of the Town of Hempstead, Freeport maintains its own police department rather than relying on the Nassau County Police Department; NCPD's own precinct-coverage pages do not list Freeport among the communities served by any of the eight county precincts, including the Seventh Precinct in neighboring Seaford.^[11] The Freeport Police Department is headquartered at 40 North Ocean Avenue, Freeport.^[4]

Traffic and parking violations, and criminal arraignments, from Freeport are handled at the Freeport Village Court, also at 40 North Ocean Avenue, which holds arraignments Monday evenings and regular sessions Wednesday and Thursday mornings.^[4] Larger criminal matters and civil claims above the Village Court's jurisdiction go to the Nassau County District Court, 99 Main Street, Hempstead, which "decide[s] civil suits involving claims up to $15,000, handle[s] misdemeanors and lesser offenses, and arraign[s] defendants accused of felonies."^[13] Civil actions above that threshold, including most personal-injury cases, are filed in Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola; outside New York City, "Supreme Courts hear civil matters while the County Courts hear criminal matters."^[14]

Of Freeport's principal roads, Sunrise Highway (NY 27) and Merrick Road (NY 27A) are state touring routes, and the Meadowbrook State Parkway is a state parkway maintained and signed by NYSDOT.^[5] Local streets, including Woodcleft Avenue and Guy Lombardo Avenue in the Nautical Mile district, are Village of Freeport roads subject to the prior-written-notice requirement in Village Code Chapter 27.^[8][1]