At the June 6, Village of Great Neck Board of Trustees meeting, a diverse agenda was soon eclipsed by an accusation by village trustee Mitchell Beckerman that Mayor Richard Deem had threatened him. Mayor Deem refused to deny the accusation. Nor was he able to justify claims by the trustees that he had not, as requested by another mayor, invited his four trustees to two recent multi-village cooperative events.

The evening began uneventfully, with the mayor and the board addressing several issues. Mayor Deem reported on the very recent Main Street Conference, with the villages of Great Neck, Great Neck Estates and Great Neck Plaza participating in a series of workshops focused on Middle Neck Road. A consultant is heading the conference and subsequent projects.

Following the mayor's very brief report, Mr. Beckerman questioned why he and his fellow trustees had not been notified, although, he stated, Plaza Mayor Jean Celender had asked Mayor Deem to notify his elected and appointed officials. Mr. Beckerman termed the group Deem invited "almost inappropriate," including political candidates and wives and families.

Deputy Mayor Ralph Kreitzman, who subsequently provided email proof, noted that Mayor Celender had invited her own board of trustees and asked both Mayor Deem and Estates Mayor David Fox to invite their own officials too.

Following that Friday, June 9 dinner, there was a walk-about in the three villages, with consultant Dan Burden surveying the area. Included in the walk-about were Mayor Deem, Mr. Beckerman, Mayor Celender, and Karin Rubin, editor of The Great Neck News. Mr. Beckerman stated that during the walk-about in the Old Village, Mayor Deem "threatened" him, first telling him to shut up and then ordering him to leave the public property. According to Mr. Beckerman, when he refused, Mayor Deem wanted to fight it out in an alley.

At the meeting, hearing Mr. Beckerman's accusation of what had transpired, Mayor Deem kept saying that he refused to comment, but then said to Mr. Beckerman, "You're still standing, aren't you?" When Mr. Beckerman insisted on "an answer, a reason," the mayor repeated that Mr. Beckerman was not going to get an answer.

At that point, Mr. Kreitzman stepped in and asked Mayor Deem if he was going to deny the accusation. The mayor said "Nope. I don't lie." Mr. Kreitzman persisted, asking, "You won't deny this?" And the mayor said "No comment."

During a very brief telephone conversation with Mayor Deem the day after this meeting, when the Great Neck Record asked to discuss the issues and accusations with him, Mayor Deem again stated "No comment," and hung up the phone.

Mayor Celender, who was at the scene of the walk-about, also contacted by the Record, also stated "No comment." Mayor Celender's comment came via a third party who returned the call to the Record.

Another witness at the scene, Karen Rubin, confirmed Mr. Beckerman's report of the incident, although while she heard Mayor Deem tell Mr. Beckerman to shut up and leave, she did not hear the comment about fighting it out in an alley. Ms. Rubin did tell the Record that, immediately prior to Mayor Deem's alleged outburst, Mr. Beckerman was simply offering constructive remarks concerning roads and shrubs and site lines and such. "He did nothing to provoke the mayor," she said.

Philip A. Raices, owner of Turn Key Realty and a village resident, was also at the scene, and talked at length with the Record about the walk-about incident. Asked if Mayor Deem had threatened Mitch Beckerman, Mr. Raices replied "He absolutely did." Mr. Raices, who has lived in the Old Village for 50 years, also said that Mr. Beckerman did not provoke the mayor. "Mitch was trying to be professional, offering suggestions, but Deem just wanted control; he should be impeached. He told Mitch to shut up, get out of there, and he threatened to take him into an alley. I'm not proud to live in the Village of Great Neck; I was shocked to hear that said in public," Mr. Raices stated, then added, "and I have no political agenda."

In the days following the alleged incident and the subsequent board meeting, Mr. Beckerman told the Record that, based on complaints he has heard from employees and residents "being bullied and yelled at by the mayor ... it was time for somebody to stand up to him." Mr. Beckerman added that, "Behavior like that should not happen anyplace, especially not in Great Neck."

At the beginning of the meeting, the mayor briefly discussed a Steamboat Road property that wants to remain commercial, even though zoning has changed. Counsel advised that this issue should be discussed with the building department because, depending upon the facts, the non-conforming use may be permitted to continue and, if not satisfactorily resolved, taken to the board of zoning appeals.

The mayor also, at one point in the evening, announced that Mr. Kreitzman had been instrumental in obtaining a $250,000 grant for the village's new passive park in Strathmore. Mr. Kreitzman reported that the grant is awaiting anticipated approval from the Nassau County Legislature. He added that the DEC, has been slow in giving its approval to a required modification to the plans for the park. Mr. Kreitzman said that he hopes to see the project begin soon and see completion in the fall.

Toward the end of the meeting, Mayor Deem was questioned about his promised report on the Steamboat Road problems. He said that work is in progress and that more summonses have been issued, but said he did not want to go into it further. Mr. Kreitzman said that he had been contacted by members of the clergy who would like to offer help.

At the end of the meeting, Trustee Edna Guilor-Segal asked for a minute to pay tribute to a longtime resident who had just died, Rosalyn Udow. Ms. Guilor-Segal said that she had been told that Ms. Udow was the first woman appointed in a village official position and she will come up with a suggestion for a way to memorialize Ms. Udow.