The Village of Centre Island has received a notice of claim against the village for civil rights violation, false arrest and defamation. The action was initiated by the Coalition of Landlords, Homeowners and Merchants, Inc. A sign on the property of Centre Island resident H. Bogart Seaman Jr. states: "Private Property; No Trespassing; the owner of this property is a member of the Coalition of Landlords, Homeowners & Merchants, Inc."

Paul Palmieri, president of the coalition said Mr. Seaman is a member of the group. He said, "I think they, the Centre Island Village Board, are trying to bully the guy and he came to us for help and now we filed a notice of claim on his behalf to protect all his interests and his rights. He wants to hold anyone accountable who has taken his constitutional rights and basically trashed them: his First Amendment rights and other rights based on the Constitution. So, we are taking it to a higher authority."

Mr. Palmieri said the process involves a notice being filed and after a certain period of time, the municipality can set a hearing date to be held in the office of an attorney or a mutually agreed location. "This is a prerequisite to a law suit, not a law suit. It is for a 50-E hearing. At that time Mr. Seaman will have the opportunity to tell his story. He will appear," said Mr. Palmieri. [Mr. Seaman did not appear at two recent hearings at the Centre Island Village Hall on proposed laws to deal with the problems the village has been having with Mr. Seaman.]

Mr. Palmieri said the village will have a period of time to decide and that then a lawsuit may commence in a federal or state court.

Mr. Seaman has been expressing his dissatisfaction with the village by putting up "junk art" on his lawn. The village has made several legal attempts to have him remove what some residents' view as objectionable objects. The village recently planted bamboo plants along the right of way to hide the objects. In reaction to that Mr. Bogart has put up a sign saying, "I don't like violation of civil rights. Freedom of expression is a protected right even on Centre Island. Censorship with trees." The sign is printed on a commode lid and half a toilet seat.

Mr. Palmieri said Mr. Seaman is not willing to take down his art unless a court tells him he is violating the law. He said, "The right of property is the guardian of every other right and to deprive people of this is in fact to deprive them of liberty and freedom. A court has already said that in a previous case that Mr. Seaman won."

Mr. Palmieri said the coalition has a staff of attorneys who work with them. He is the spokesperson for the group. He became interested in pursuing the field when he said, "I saw people being abused in local courts and municipalities and for over a decade we have been challenging them over civil and constitutional rights. We've won $525,000 from the Village of Patchogue and had another big jury verdict against Brookhaven. We win all the time in cases about code violations, civil rights violation, discriminatory violations and constitutional violations.

"We also fight summonses, housing code ordinance violations, traffic violations and things where municipalities do things such as this in having to screen the house from sight. In Patchogue they were giving $1,000 fines for hedges, grass being too high, peeling paint and puddles in driveways. People were losing their houses after being fined $10,000 to $15,000." Mr. Palmieri said they represented 10 people and the village settled the case.

In the case of Mr. Seaman, he said, "One man's art is another man's junk but in his opinion, it is art and he enjoys it. Just like people displaying Christmas lights. A bunch of people didn't like someone doing that and the courts said it is his first amendment right to do that."

We were unable to reach Steve Conlon, Centre Island Village attorney for a response as we went to press on Monday.