NYS: Peninsula Library Board in Lawrence violated state law, must amend it

Trustees of the Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence violated state law when they amended their bylaws to allow appointees to avoid elections earlier this year, the New York State Education Department has ruled.

The embattled board must amend its charter within 60 days to conform to state law, State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said in an order dated Tuesday. Under state law governing certain library boards, appointments last only until the next annual election.

Three of the Peninsula’s five trustees, including board president Akiva Lubin, were appointed to their seats in 2025 and 2026 to fill vacancies. In March, the board changed its bylaws so that those appointees could serve through the unexpired term of the trustees that had resigned. Lubin's term was set to expire in June, meaning he was due to stand for reelection this past May. But after the board changed its bylaws, he resigned and then was appointed to fill a vacant seat with a term running through June 30, 2029. 

Rosa ordered that the amendment be nullified.

The Peninsula case was grouped with a similar one at the Finkelstein Memorial Library in upstate Spring Valley, and Rosa's decision and order applied to both. Under state law, people who are aggrieved by actions taken by school authorities, including school districts and libraries like Peninsula, may appeal to the Commissioner of Education. 

“The petitioners have met their burden of showing that respondents’ action violated State law and, therefore, were arbitrary and capricious,” Rosa wrote.

In a July 23 letter to the board, the education department said it had the power to remove the board members if they did not comply with the law. Rosa said in her Sept. 22 order that the three appointees can serve until the next election in May 2027.

The board of trustees' attorney, Thomas Volz, did not respond to requests for comment, and the board did not respond to an email Thursday. 

Carolynn Matulewicz, the library's former director, said she was happy the state recognized that the board had acted improperly but disappointed Lubin and the other two appointees will be allowed to serve until next spring. 

"The fact that they're letting them stay on for the next ... eight months is upsetting," Matulewicz told Newsday. "The fact that the library is falling apart, and there's eight more months before we can have an election, is disappointing."

The July 23 letter directed the board to submit to the Nassau Library System a plan to hire a new library director and documentation showing that they were complying with state law. Trustees were also required to complete "roles and responsibilities" training. The Peninsula trustees responded in an Aug. 21 letter that Patricia Murphy is the full-time "Librarian in Charge" and they were continuing to search for a qualified candidate. 

"The Peninsula Public Library takes its legal and regulatory obligations seriously and remains committed to maintaining full compliance with applicable New York State laws, regulations, and minimum public library standards," the trustees said in their letter. 

Nassau Library System director Caroline Ashby said Thursday the trustees have completed their training.