LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — The ways of the world are too much with Cochecton: hate crimes, cybercrime and nature gone off-kilter were all in evidence at the August 14 town board meeting.

A contingent of Lake Huntington residents, disturbed by a swastika painted on the back of a stop sign at the intersection of Shortcut and Devils Roads, expressed its concern for the safety and well-being of Jewish people in the United States today. Reading aloud from a sheet of official statistics, Robin McClernon said there has been a 55% increase in anti-Semitic crimes. She pointed to the recent swastika incidents in the towns of Cochecton and Tusten as local indicators of a national trend.

Council member Paul Salzberg, speaking on behalf of the Cochecton board, said he believes those to be isolated incidents. “Our town has a long history of the Jewish community living peacefully with its neighbors of all faiths.” Adding that the actions of one misguided youth should not be allowed to undo a trust established over decades, Salzberg relinquished the floor to council member Sean Nearing, who said one minor had been arrested for both incidents. The suspect’s name is being withheld in accordance with youthful offender laws.

Salzberg later commended the state police for its quick response and thorough, effective investigation. He also thanked the town’s highway department crew for replacing the vandalized sign with a new one immediately after state police confiscated the damaged sign as evidence.

McClernon applauded Tusten Town Board member Brandi Merolla, who publicly condemned the swastika incidents in both towns, then said the best defense against hate and the crime it breeds is a good offense, via education in diversity, tolerance and anti-bullying strategies provided at home and in school.

The board also grappled with ripple effects from worldwide cybercrime sprees. Under the town’s new annual insurance policy from the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR), a not-for-profit program for policyholders comprised of almost 900 municipalities across New York State, Cochecton now has $250,000 blanket coverage for cyber security. Last year’s policy included $50,000 coverage for cyber security in general and $100,000 coverage in the event of a hack or other network failure.

Mike Preis, Inc. insurance agent Dave Bodenstein’s presentation at the board’s pre-meeting work session revealed that the most common cyber-related claim is for ransom payment to hackers holding municipal files hostage. Said Bodenstein, “Typical ransom claims for municipalities the size of Cochecton are between $5,000 to $6,000. Large ransom demands fall in the range of $20,000 to $30,000, but demands larger than that are seldom paid, as the cost of rebuilding a website and/or network and recreating files from scratch would be less than the ransom demand.”

Turning board attention to the multi-year algae bloom in Lake Huntington, Salzberg said, “There will be no copper sulfate treatment of the lake this year.” There are two reasons for that decision: first, the lake seems to have recovered its equilibrium—Supervisor Gary Maas said the lake is clearer now than it has been in at least four years—and second, a newer, more effective chemical treatment has been identified. Salzberg said the board decided to postpone treatment of the lake until next year, pending re-evaluation of lake conditions at that time.