Mount Kisco administrator suggests banning weapons from public on village property

A Mount Kisco village trustee called on her board colleagues to discuss the possibility of instituting a gun ban on all village properties after a meeting turned sour last month between members of the public .

Trustee Lisa Abzun urged her fellow board members to consider a policy that would prohibit anyone from carrying a firearm on village property except law enforcement on duty. She also wants a police officer to be present at all public meetings.

During the village's contentious May 20 board meeting, Abzun said she was informed that a resident had been verbally threatened by another audience member regarding her remarks during public comment. Some attendees also said there was heated discussion between members of the public before and after the meeting.

“I bring my comments here tonight as a member of the board and so that the public can hear them and so that the public knows that I care about maintaining a public environment that is safe and free from violence and threats of violence,” Abzun said. .

Public comments that seemed to anger some in attendance focused on the village's trails, who would maintain them and how. Over the past year, there have also been concerns about quality of life issues on the trails, including drunk people and homeless people congregating nearby.

Abzun said last week that, more than two weeks after sending her request to her colleagues shortly after May 20, only Deputy Mayor Theresa Flora had responded to her proposal, forcing her to present her suggestion directly to the public.

In the presence of retired law enforcement personnel that evening and growing emotion, Abzun said she feared there might have been guns in the courtroom meeting room. holidays. However, she said she didn't know anyone with a gun that night.

Current village policy prohibits non-law enforcement employees from possessing a weapon, but there is currently nothing stopping a citizen from owning a legal firearm, Village Manager Ed Brancati said.

“Community members who watched our meeting told me how shocked they were by what happened that evening,” Abzun said at the June 3 meeting. “I would have thought that the people responsible for maintaining decorum at public meetings would have stepped up to bring some order to the meeting. I think it's a sad day for our community when individuals threaten each other in front of our eyes and as stewards of the community do nothing.

Mayor Michael Cindrich, a longtime police officer who retired as a lieutenant in Mamaroneck, asked Abzun if his comments were directed at him. Although exempt from the village policy prohibiting employees from carrying weapons, Cindrich said that during his tenure on the board, which included a 14-year term as mayor and additional time as trustee , he had never carried a weapon in the village hall.

“I don't carry a gun in the building and I've never seen anyone carry a gun in the building, but I think it's something, the meeting got out of hand,” Cindrich said . “I tried to stop him and it was impossible.”

When contacted late last week, Cindrich said he had reprimanded one person during public comments, which seemed to help temporarily, but that other members of the public couldn't control themselves.

“When other people were talking, it got pretty personal,” he said. “I tried to shut it down several times, but it resulted in an ugly debate between the board and the people who were speaking.”

Cindrich, who defeated Abzun for mayor last November in a contentious campaign, said he considered asking for the meeting to be adjourned but decided against that option.

Abzun criticized the mayor, who leads the meetings and is responsible for controlling them, for failing to respect decorum. She said that although meetings were difficult when former Mayor Gina Pincinich was in office for six years, she set deadlines and they were mostly met.

She said blocking public comments was not a good way to deal with unruly people.

“There seems to be more of a sense that it's a public meeting, but it's not a free-for-all party, so there are rules,” Abzun said. “There are certain boundaries that need to be set and a certain sense of decorum” maintained.

The other three board members did not address the issue at last week's meeting. No messages for Flora were returned.