"NOBODY IS BEING FORCED TO LIVE HERE"

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PAUL STEINBERG--A LETTER TO THE GAZETTE

To the editor:

Some say that eloquence is a lost art, but Croton’s own Brian Pugh is giving Cicero a run for the money. After much scheming about Lot A and cutting deals behind the curtain, the Board of Trustees recently held the obligatory public session at which they pretended to listen to the residents they purport to serve. The outcome was a foregone conclusion, and in that respect it was the normal Croton-style governance. But the gall of residents wasting his time annoyed Mr. Pugh, who chastised the assembled audience.

“Nobody is being forced to live here.” That was the conclusion of the Mayor of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson. Pithy, dismissive, and imperious in just seven words.

Mr. Pugh’s aversion to public input is nothing new. Among his first acts as Mayor was to change the “Public Participation” segment of Board meetings: he renamed it “Public Comment” to drive home the point that in Croton, the public does not “participate” in governance. At best you can quietly mutter a few words to an indifferent lot of Trustees twice a month. Even silent dissent is not without risk: just ask the Croton resident targeted for the offense of putting up a banner supporting the wrong political candidate.

Back in a kinder gentler time, the Historical Society sold t-shirts with the Croton motto “It’s a Dam town.” A punny slogan that brought a chuckle no matter how many times you heard it. But these are not times for chuckling. These are hard nasty times when we can brook no wrongthink. In fact, it is best not to think at all.

But all the news is not bad. There is much upside to the new slogan. For one thing, it will save time and money. Previously if you called up DPW to report a pothole, they would send a crew over to fill it. Now you will be sent straight to voicemail: “Nobody is being forced to live here.” It used to be that the Village Clerk would have to keep time during the comment period at public meetings. Now when someone approaches the podium to speak, the Clerk will snap: “Nobody is being forced to live here.” The Village Manager is a busy guy, and now he can easily dispense with resident queries: “Nobody is being forced to live here.”

There are revenue opportunities as well. Coffee mugs, t-shirts, those quilty things tourist shops sell: the possibilities are limitless. Our Croton logo is a hot mess, as might be expected with artwork done by committee. Adding the slogan “Nobody is being forced to live here” below the sloppy “C” will enable us to have a powerful cross-platform brand.

I realize that the slogan was coined by Mr. Pugh and hearing it does bring to mind Mr. Pugh’s political brand. But I hope he will be willing to work out a licensing agreement with the village. I looked on the government website, and it looks like we can register this for a few hundred bucks. If Mr. Pugh is willing to let us use his slogan, I will spring for the registration fee. 

--Paul Steinberg, Croton-on-Hudson (Not being forced to live here)