CORAM CIVIC ASSOCIATION

Welcome to the Coram Civic!

The CORAM CIVIC ASSOCIATION is a group of over 130 community members from varied backgrounds that are working together toward a common goal embedded in our Mission Statement:

Elections for our County and Town of Brookhaven

Elections for Judgeships affecting our County and Town of Brookhaven

Editor's Note: The following are ballot proposals that will amend the NYS Constitution for years to come. Unfortunately, these "proposals for amendments" to the NYS Constitution are usually ignored or overlooked by we voters since most of us never have seen or heard about them before the election and haven’t a clue as to their long-term impact. Please read through the following remembering that the content and wording of the short proposal summaries that are listed on the ballots is not the full proposal and were crafted by elected officials and lawyers in Albany who want the particular proposal/amendment passed. Often that desire is for altruistic reasons serving the public needs ...and sometimes it is for less obvious and more self-serving reasons for an individual or a particular political party. As we have all become aware, our legislators, local and federal alike, oft times package (a/k/a ‘hide’) a self-serving item within an assortment of public feel-good items just to get the self-serving item passed into law. That is why we must all fully examine these "proposals" for the true and accurate impact before we allow them to be chiseled into the proverbial granite of our NYS Constitution. See the link below that follows the proposals for the proposal abstracts and the complete proposal wording. Caveat emptor!

Ballot Proposal 1:

Amending the Apportionment and Redistricting Process

This proposed constitutional amendment would freeze the number of state senators at 63, amend the process for the counting of the state’s population, delete certain provisions that violate the United States Constitution, repeal, and amend certain requirements for the appointment of the co-executive directors of the redistricting commission and amend the manner of drawing district lines for congressional and state legislative offices. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

Ballot Proposal 2:

Right to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthful Environment

The proposed amendment to Article I of the New York Constitution would establish the right of each person to clean air and water and a healthful environment. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

Ballot Proposal 3:

Eliminating Ten-Day-Advance Voter Registration Requirement

The proposed amendment would delete the current requirement in Article II, § 5 that a citizen be registered to vote at least ten days before an election and would allow the Legislature to enact laws permitting a citizen to register to vote less than ten days before the election. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

Ballot Proposal 4:

Authorizing No-Excuse Absentee Ballot Voting

The proposed amendment would delete from the current provision on absentee ballots the requirement that an absentee voter must be unable to appear at the polls by reason of absence from the county or illness or physical disability. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

Ballot Proposal 5:

Increasing the Jurisdiction of the New York City Civil Court

The proposed amendment would increase the New York City Civil Court’s jurisdiction by allowing it to hear and decide claims for up to $50,000 instead of the current jurisdictional limit of $25,000. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

IMPORTANT: For the full text and explanatory abstracts for the proposed amendments, click here.

Editor’s Thoughts: Ballot proposal #1 is the key amendment to the NYS Constitution here. It is all about harboring political power so do yourself and all NYS voters a favor, tread carefully and read the ballot and the abstract fully. Proposals/Amendments 2-5 are also important so take the time to research them and look for any possible “ripple effect” of the amendment a/k/a “unintended consequences” that may result from the action being requested. Make an informed decision.

Editor’s Note: To find out if you are registered to vote and where your polling place is, click here.

For Suffolk County Early Voting Information, click here.

Next General Membership Meeting is on...

Monday, Oct 25th @ 7:30 PM
"Meet The Candidates Night-Part 2"

The November 2nd elections are rapidly approaching! The following two candidates were unable to attend our Sep meeting, but will be at our October Meeting to discuss their qualifications for representing Legislative District #6:

LD#6: Incumbent Sarah S. Anker (D)

vs. challenger Brendan Sweeney (R)

The following are some of the other races and announced candidates in our Coram area:

County:

District Attorney: Incumbent Tim Sini (D)

vs. challenger Ray Tierney (R)

Sheriff: Incumbent Errol Toulon, Jr. (D)

vs. challenger William Amato (R)

LD#4: Incumbent Nick Caracappa (R)

vs. challenger Dawn Sharrock (D)

LD#5: Incumbent Kara Hahn (D)

vs. challenger Salvatore Isabella (R)

LD#7: Incumbent Rob Calarco (D)

vs. challenger Dominick Thorne (R)

Town:

Brookhaven Town Clerk: Incumbent Donna Lent (R)

vs. challenger Ira Costell (D)

To find out your voting districts, click here.

All meetings are once again held at the old Coram Firehouse right next to McDonald's!

Coram Civic Association

Annual Elections

The following are the Coram Civic Association Officer and Director positions that will be on the ballot this year for the November 2021 elections:

Your Coram Civic Association Board of Directors consists of nine individuals from the Coram community who are elected volunteers. These nine directors consist of seven corporate officers and two non-officers. Your Board of Directors is responsible for planning the objectives, goals, and strategies for your Coram Civic based on the expressed needs and desires of our membership. All decisions are made on a majority basis through consensus by your Board with each Director having one equal vote.

Currently, the Board of Directors meets the second Wednesday evening of each month, and our General Membership Meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month. Duties of all positions can be found on our website under Bylaws…or just contact any one of the Board Members via phone or email or at one of our monthly meetings for more info.

Become a decision maker for your community! Let us hear your vision for your community. Influence plans for Coram before the decisions are made!

In order to maintain a vibrant, proactive civic as well as an organization reflective of our always-evolving community culture and generational shifting, the seven corporate Officer positions serve a two-year term, and the two non-officer Director positions serve a one-year term. Therefore, normally, the procedure is to have four of the Officer positions voted on during even years along with the two annual non-officer Director positions, followed by the remaining three Officer positions and two annual non-officer Director positions during the odd years. Because of the pandemic last year, we were unable to hold our normal elections in 2020, so this year we will be holding elections for all nine positions with the Officer positions that expired in 2020 (but were held over into 2021) having only a one-year term for this election. This procedure allows us to get back on the odd/even officer election schedule in 2022 and provides for all members of our Coram Community Civic to have the opportunity to run for a leadership role for the Coram Civic…and new ideas, new energies, and new approaches are always welcome and needed for the overall health of your organization and your Coram Community! Being a Board Director involves a time investment anywhere from 2 hours per month up to whatever you are able to do, so if you want to help guide your Coram community, explore this opportunity!

The expiration date for nominations for the 2021 election has passed (10/1/21), but the 2022 elections will behere before you know it. Exploere the oppotunity now!

Download Nomination Form here.

Welcome!...to an old friend of the Coram Community and our newest sponsor...

Visit us at Community Development Corporation

McDonald’s of Coram is located right on Middle Country Road, next to the old Coram Fire Department building and right across from the Coram Plaza Shopping Center, home to anchor stores Stop & Shop and Home Depot. Hunt Enterprises, owner and operator of this location along with 26 other McDonald’s on Long Island, renovated their building a few years ago and did an outstanding job with the design, traffic flow, and landscaping. They installed “gas light-type” fixtures along Middle Country Road in front of their location adding a wonderful ‘old world’ charm to their location. And most importantly, they continue to maintain the area as evidenced by the pictures above. This type of professionalism and concern for the residents of Coram as well as their fellow businesses along this main shopping area on Middle Country Road between Route 112 and Coram-Mt. Sinai Road, definitely qualifies them for a “Great Neighbor!” shoutout! In future editions of the Community Update, your Coram Civic will be highlighting more of those businesses that are going above and beyond to bring a high-quality shopping experience to our self-designated “Downtown Shopping Area” and the residents of Coram as well as all the residents of the greater Longwood Community!

Your Coram Civic Association is proud to announce the Community Service Scholarship Award winner for 2021!

Michael Asselta

This year's awardee is Michael Asselta of Coram, a Magna Cum Laude student at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip! Michael is shown above receiving the award certificate and check for $500 from Erma Gluck, president of the Coram Civic Association. Michael has been an honor roll student for his four-years of high school, a member of the Spanish Honor Society, and active with the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and Pep Band. Michael is also a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He has been heavily involved with serving the community through his work with the Boy Scouts (Life Scout status), the Knights of Columbus Squires at St. Frances Cabrini Church in Coram, the League of YES, and his service as a lector and altar server at his church. Congratulations Michael!

The members of the Coram Civic Association are dedicated to the preservation of the history, beauty and spirit of Coram.

Monthly Meetings
Our General Membership Meetings are held on the 4th Monday of the month at the old Coram Fire House located at 303 Middle Country Road in Coram; right next to McDonald's Restaurant. Our meetings start at 7:30 pm and are open to the public.

If you are not yet a member of the Coram Civic Association and live within the 11727 zip code, please consider joining. Let's hear your vision for your community! Influence the plans affecting your community before the decisions are made! Keep up-to-date on what is happening in your community and, more importantly, have a say in it! For more information, click on Membership.