The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees made two policy changes at its meeting on Feb. 25, responding to the settlement of its lawsuit over a vacant board of trustees seat in 2021.
A third policy was read but not voted on regarding another recent library event – an anonymous letter from an employee alleging a series of issues in the library.
The two policy changes voted on concerned the library’s procedures for removing a trustee and a nominating committee member.
“These are in response to us not having these procedures,” board President Aliza Reicher said.
The changes came in light of the library’s lawsuit, Reicher added.
Library Trustee Barry Smith filed a lawsuit in Nassau County Supreme Court in 2022, alleging that the board’s appointment of Jenni Lurman, who the committee did not nominate, constituted “malfeasance, misconduct, and a breach of their fiduciary duty and contract with the library membership.”
The library filed a lawsuit against nominating committee members Marietta DiCamillo and Marianna Wohlgemuth, as well as Smith.
All charges against the library were dropped, but within the settlement, the board and committee were required to review nomination committee bylaws with a neutral lawyer present and adopt a policy and process for removing a trustee.
The library held two reads on these policy changes in response to the settlement before adopting it at the Tuesday night meeting. The board adopted the two policy changes unanimously.
The third policy, which has not yet been voted on, is to create a formal process for employees to submit their grievances to the library.
The drafted policy change was in light of an investigation into Library Director Denise Corcoran and Assistant Library Director Kathryn Baumgartner, who were the primary individuals accused in an anonymous letter last year.
The independent investigation, held last fall and concluded in December, reported that no policies were found to be violated.
A letter from an anonymous employee alleged Corcoran fostered a “toxic and fearful work environment” amid other accusations. The letter, addressed to the Great Neck Library Board of Trustees in May, said the author wanted to be anonymous due to fear of retaliation.
The letter included complaints against Corcoran and the library, including hiring underqualified employees, preferential treatment and more significant raises to administrators, secret meetings to keep Corcoran after she resigned the prior year, and failure to deliver on a promised diversity audit.
The drafted policy, which had its first read at the Tuesday night meeting, would establish a process for employees to formally file complaints with the library instead.
The policy garners protections for employees to file complaints without fear of reprisal, as established under its whistleblower policy, but would not prevent “warranted disciplinary action.”
For grievances unrelated to the library director, the policy requires an email to be sent to the director and human resources manager within 10 business days of the reported instance.
The email must include the name and position of the individual submitting the grievance, the date of the incident, the issue, a “clear and concise” statement, the relief being sought, and the signature and date of the individual filing it.
The library director or human resource manager must then determine the grievance within 10 business days.
For grievances against the library director, an email would be required to be sent to the president of the board of trustees. All the same information would also be required to be included when reporting the incident.
In other news, the board voted to accept Smith’s resignation from the board – the library trustee who initiated the lawsuit the board addressed at the same meeting.
Smith turned in his resignation on Feb. 24, which Reicher said was in response to increased family and work obligations.
Trustees Rory Lancman and Chayim Mahgerefteh expressed gratitude for Smith’s seven years of service on the board.
“I enjoyed working with Barry for two years,” Lancman said. “I found him reasonable and very committed to the community, and I thought that he contributed a lot to the board while I was here.”
Reicher said the nominating committee will be alerted of the resignation immediately to begin the process of bringing in a new trustee to fill the vacancy.
Smith was appointed as the board’s vice president, and the board voted for Trustee Brachah Goykadosh to assume the position. Trustee Mimi Hu was then appointed to Goykadosh’s previous position as assistant treasurer.
