The Montauk Gazette · it cost me money?" while the ... and to all Montauk property owners on the...

Montauk Gazette, Nov. 20031

The Montauk Gazette©

The Publication of Record - Township of Montauk

Vol. II no. 1, November, 2003

Montauk is a Town!

There are two immediateresponses to considering thatMontauk is a township. Thefirst response is to ask, "willit cost me money?" while thesecond is a simple dislike ofchange.

Montauk has a substantialbut diminishing communityof lower income people whobought their properties in the'70's and '80's when it wasrelatively inexpensive. Only afew might to be able to affordto buy their property today,and there is significantconcern about taxation.

So let's talk money.Montauk proprietors

currently pay taxes toEasthampton. The questionraised is whether what iscollected is enough to coverMontauk's current level ofservices.

The answer is clear: we'regoing to find out.

Continued on page 3

CABLE RATES AREGOING UP! For many goodreasons, the Town of Montaukmust consider having thetownship take control of thecable franchise in Montauk.

At a meeting withrepresentatives of Optimum

Continued on page 5

The board of acting Trusteesof Montauk adopted adocument entitled "TheArticulated Rights andConstitution of theTownship of Montauk" onDecember 5th, 2000. Thisfive-page document ("theMontauk Constitution") isposted at www.montauk.com.

The 1686 charter establishesthat these lands are to be

Continued on page 3

The full history of thegenesis of the current dilemmais too lengthy to cover here,but it can be summarized bythree words: Sovereignty,Tammany and Fisher.

Sovereignty is what wasgranted in the Dongan patentsto the towns of Suffolk Countyand to New York City andAlbany. The protection ofsuch colonial charters wouldlater be the central cause of theAmerican Revolution.

Tammany was the corruptorganization that controlled thestate legislature at the turn ofthe last century. It reactednegatively to knowledge that

Continued on page 4

One HundredthAnniversary!

2004 is the Centennial of thefirst grant to the BensonOlmsted Reservations!

Montauk's spectacularOlmsted designed park systemof private parklands androadways led to the discoverythat Montauk is a township.

Frank and Mary Bensoninherited the vast majority ofMontauk from their fatherArthur W. Benson, who hadpurchased all of Montauk(except the lighthouse) in 1879from the proprietors ofMontauk together with their1852 corporation of theTrustees of Montauk. The firstsettlement in Montauk was

Continued on page 5

Montauk Trustees acted upontheir claim of jurisdiction andcondemned the above house atthe interchange of route 27 andthe Old Montauk Highway forbeing built upon BensonReservation property claimedby the town of Montauk.

A "Notice" was filed withSuffolk County Clerk's officeas a Miscellaneous Deed onMay 27th, 2003 and recordedat Liber 12253 p. 87 as anencumbrance upon the title.

On June 18th, 2003, the"Notice" was served with aPetition upon GovernorGeorge Pataki and AttorneyGeneral Elliot Spitzer.

The petition pleads that:

"Given the clear anduncontested nature of themajor part of our claim,we do petition that youroffices begin the process ofsettlement by intervening

Continued on page 4

After the Montaukcommunity starts

governing by townmeeting, it will

never want to giveit up.

50

Our Purpose

This Gazette is being sent toGovernor Pataki, Attorney GeneralElliot Spitzer, Chief Justice JudithKaye, the Suffolk County Executiveand Clerk, Montauk's State and Federalrepresentatives, members of thejudiciary, to Mr. John Reali, Esq. forthe title insurance company, and to allMontauk property owners on thetax-list obtained from the SuffolkCounty Treasurer's offices.

The intention is to fulfill a longoverdue legal purpose: to noticeMontauk proprietors of their sovereignfranchise right to govern Montauk, andto recover, improve and protectMontauk township's real property andother resources.

The petition at right was delivered tothe Courts in November of 2002 in anattempt to protect Montauk's shellfishing from a judicial decision.

The Montauk Trustee Corp. has beensuccessful in fully informing the courtsof Montauk's situation asserting that it canbe fixed.

We were presented by a God-send in theform of construction upon a BensonReservation property, property that weassert belongs to the township ofMontauk.

What we did in response was to assertour jurisdictional claims by filing acondemnation notice as an encumbranceupon the title, and then petition Governor

George Pataki and Attorney GeneralElliot Spitzer for intervention and relief.

Bob has reviewed the current status ofthe property, is satisfied with thepaperwork, and is especially thankful toAmedeo and Antonella Gabrielli forpurchasing the property because it madeeveryone's life so much easier.

And so Governor Pataki and AttorneyGeneral Elliot Spitzer have beenpetitioned to intervene, the title insurancecompany and Suffolk County are inreceipt of this mailing, the Stavolas

appear out of the picture, and theGabriellis must be held harmless and fullycompensated in the event of settlement:the notice of condemnation filed by theMFOP/Montauk trustee corporation atSuffolk Liber 12253 of deeds p. 87 andthe prior deed conditions (of an accuratesurvey and subject to existing covenants)are not recited in the Gabrielli's deed.

And so to the Gabriellis and the otherswho worked the deal: Grazie! The ballis now in the Governor's court.


Acting Trustees: Carolyn Carlson,Helen Ficalora, Lisa Grenci, Capt.Bill Grimm, Daniel Grimm,Constance Judson, John Kessler,Herbert McKay, Richard Monahan.ex-officio: Steve Corwin, LouiseNielsen, Dr. Alice Roos, Dr. John JaySayers.

Acting Supervisor: Bob Ficalora

MFOP/Montauk Trustee CorpP. O. Box 2612

Montauk, NY 11954

THE "CONETICUT COMBINACON" & THE MONTAUK CONSTITUTION


governed as they were forcenturies - by a NewEngland-style town meeting.The Montauk Constitutionmakes it easy to organize andmaintain the Montauk townmeeting in a manner mostappropriate to our history.

Where it came from -In 1690 Easthampton

pleaded for the governmentenjoyed in 1660, following thedeath of Oliver Cromwell butbefore the restoration of KingCharles II.

East Hampton was purchasedup to the Montauk line in1648 by Connecticut. OnOctober 3rd, 1654 theEasthampton town meetingresolved that:

"It is ordered that thereshallbe a copie of theconeticut combinaconshall be drawen forth as isconvenient for us and ytall men shal set to theirhands." EasthamptonTown Records Vol. I p. 59

The "coneticut combinacon"was the 1639 "FundamentalOrders of Connecticut",considered the firstconstitution of democraticgovernment in America. The

"combinacon" was aconfederation of Connecticuttownships.

The town meeting sentrepresentatives twice a year tothe "General Court"(legislature) at Hartford for themaking of laws until at leastthe "conquest" of Long Islandby the Duke of York in 1664.

The Montauk Constitutiondraws heavily from the

structure, function, principlesand practice of thesedocuments. Many towns inNew England still use verysimilar forms of"Representative Town

Meetings", although thepopulation of Montauk'sAssociations are relativelysmall by comparison.(Interestingly, about the size ofthe original town meetings!)

It is useful to think of the"combinacon" as a lock that isdifficult for arrogant people oroutside groups to "pick" tocontrol the town government.The 1686 charter itself would

later be designed with thesame democratic intent.

In mirroring the structure andfunctioning of Connecticut, acommittee of the actingTrustees devised theAssociations that you seeabove. These arbitrarydivisions were based uponapparent population using thezoning maps and will probablybe adjusted by a committee atan early town meeting.

Each of the Associations willelect a trustee to anon-repeatable two year term,alternated so that six newtrustees are elected each year.

Each Association will alsoelect four committee personsto a one year term to formcommittees to review towndepartments and set budgets.

The Montauk Constitutionhas been presented toGovernor Pataki, AttorneyGeneral Elliot Spitzer, ChiefJustice Judith Kaye, withnotice of our intent to use it.

CONSTITUTION from page 1

Montauk will be reviewed bythe proprietors (taxpayers) asthe owners of a franchise.Under the MontaukConstitution every penny oftax dollors and municipal

revenue will be reviewedthrough the town meetingprocess.

It has been difficult gettinggood numbers from the townboard government, but this

will change when we make aunited demand for disclosure.

Once the town revenues andexpenses are tallied we willhave the liberty of enacting

any such tax-equity legislationas may be needed.

Our days of seeing womenhaving anxiety attacks aboutschool board votes will beover.

TAX PROTECTION from page 1


the state legislature does nothave jurisdiction oversignificant parts of the state. Itpassed the “General MunicipalLaw” and the “Town Law” in1909 while the closely watchedMontauk case of Pharoah v.Benson was in progress. Thatmatter was summarilydismissed without determiningthe Indian/Proprietor rights in1910 and the library of thelegislature burned to theground in 1911. Newgovernments operating underthe two laws began to besecretly established inviolation of the charters,explaining why the Town ofEasthampton has twogovernments today (Trustees& town board).

Carl Fisher was the Floridamobster associated with Al

Capone that brought the new“town board government” ofEast Hampton into Montauk.He also brought in criminals,bums and alcohol, burned downthe common kitchen at theMontauk Association, turnedLake Montauk to salt water,subdivided proprietor lands atNorth Neck, Indian Field andHither Hills, and built a Towerin a central open field andchased the defending proprietorsout.

The plan used for the Gabriellihouse used a map filed by CarlFisher’s “Montauk BeachDevelopment Corp.” to extend aproperty claim onto proprietors’land at the Benson/Olmstedinterchange granted using thefiled map of Hither Hills.

The reaction of at least theHoyts and the Prentices was to

ensure that their propertieswould be left without heirs -i.e. that nobody could claim toown them. “Shadmoor” is theestate of Alfred M. Hoyt and“Camp Hero” is the estate ofthe heirs of John H. Prentice.Due to the manor rightsestablished by the Donganpatent, all lands that escheat forlack of heirs can be claimed bythe town of Montauk.

With the petition nowpending before GovernorPataki, the Montauk TrusteeCorporation is moving towardsettlement on many issues.

Such settlement is bestobtained by a representativebody of Montauk proprietorsassembled in town meeting.Indeed, it may be that only theMontauk town meeting has thelegitimacy to do so.

SOVEREIGNTY, TAMMANY AND FISHER from page 1Wrongful JurisdictionIt is uncontested that the

town board of the Town ofEasthampton governsMontauk:

• In violation of the 1686colonial charter of the townof Easthampton (coveringEasthampton andMontauk);

• In violation of Chapter 2 ofthe laws of 1691 (FirstAssembly) according towhich the liberties ofgovernance granted in the1686 charter for thetownship (Dongan Patent)are enforceable against theState of New York (assuccessor to the King);

• In violation of theConstitution of the State ofNew York;

• In violation of theConstitution of the UnitedStates of America;

• In violation of theSeptember 6th, 1851 orderof Hon. Nathan B. Morse,Justice of the SupremeCourt of the State of NewYork, by which the Townof Easthampton wasordered to release allcorporate claim to Montauk(see: liber 63 of deeds, p.171, March 9th, 1852);

• In violation of Chapter 139of the laws of 1852 of theState of New York thatincorporated Montauk,established the MontaukTrustee Corporation andaffirmed its power togovern Montauk (April2nd, 1852);

• In violation of the commonlaw requirement of acharter, either by the Kingof England or by the Stateof New York, to govern.

with Mr. Stavola and histitle insurers for thepurpose of delivering theproperty to the Montauktrustee corporation foracceptance as theproprietors’ FourthHouse. (Our other claimsmay be settled either bynegotiation or through thecourts.) As a privateresidence, the currentstructure is anencroachment andmassive aestheticimposition upon anhistoric landscape. AsFourth House, however, itwill be landscaped andused as an excellentaccessory facility to theadjoining Reservationproperties."Quite frankly, the

condemnation of the "spec"house built by Dan Stavolawas an act of desperation.When the house next to it wasbeing built the

MFOP/Montauk Trustee Corp.challenged it in court - and for ashort period had a restrainingorder stopping construction -

but the court denied ourcorporation its common lawright to appear without anattorney.

Using a simple survey it wasdetermined that a significantpart of the condemned propertyis on covenanted Bensonproperty, and the papersreceived from East Hamptontown show that they knew itwhen they granted the permit.

By attempting to burden thetitle it was hoped that the titleinsurance company would sueus, so that we could join allparties and have our day incourt. Instead the property wassold to the Gabriellis on July1st, 2003 by deed recorded atSuffolk Liber 12260 p. 425.

Their deed does not notice thebuyer of the condemnation bythe claimant Town of Montaukrecorded at Liber 12253 p. 87,nor does it repeat the conditionin a prior deed at liber 3725 p.43 that conveyed the sameland:

"Subject to: (1) Any stateof facts which an accuratesurvey may show; (2)Restrictions, covenantsand agreements of record,if any"We expect that action in this

matter by Governor Pataki willbe honorable and truly historic.

FOURTH HOUSE, from page 1


Montauk Association in 1880(Suffolk map #6).

Within the map of Montaukinset at right you will noticetwo large shaded areasdepicting the residentialsubdivision plans of"Wompenanit" and "HitherHills" of property owned byFrank Sherman Benson andMary Benson. The map ofWompenanit was completedby Frederick Law Olmsted andhis son John Charles Olmstedin 1898 and the map of HitherHills was completed by thefirm of Olmsted Brothers in1904. Both maps were filedwith the Suffolk County Clerkfor use in sales of the lots ofland laid out in them. AllMontauk property ownersshare the fully upheld right tothe private common use of theRoadways and properties andbeaches marked "Reservation"on these maps.

In April of 1904, with thefirst sale of a lot on the plan ofWompenanit, covenants thatwould be used in deeds ofconveyance of over90 lots,and asrecentlyas 1956,wererecordedat Suffolkliber 546 of deeds, page 524.The language establishedabout 200 acres of waterfront

land marked as "Reservation"and tens of miles of roadwaysand beaches to be for theprivate "common use of the

parties ofthe firstpart, theirgrantees,and thegranteesof the lateArthurW.

Benson, deceased, of land atMontauk." and "that the said

several covenants shall attachto and run with the land."

The Benson/Olmstedcovenants have been fullyupheld by Supreme Court ofthe State of New York inBreakers Motel, et al. v.Sunbeach, et ano. (SupremeCt, Suffolk no. 85-5656,Underwood, J., 2/18/1994)modified, 224 A.D. 2d 473(Appellate Division 2d Dept.,1996), leave dismissed, 88N.Y.2d 1016 (Court ofAppeals,1996), leave denied,90 N.Y.2d 810 (1997).

ANNIVERSARY- from page 1

Online was held at theMontauk Chamber ofCommerce.

During discussions it becamevery clear that OptimumOnline is just a middleman forthe content providers (CNN,CSPAN, etc.). Their reasonfor increasing the rates to theconsumer was increases incharges from these providers.

It is also clear that they can'toperate the cable franchisewithout a permit from thetown, which means that theywill need one from the Townof Montauk.

Substantial cost savings andbenefits can be obtained by

maintaining the cable franchisewithin the township.

First, we cut out themiddleman and negotiatedirectly with the contentproviders. This shouldtranslate into significantlylower charges to the end-user.

Second, keeping thefranchise in-house means atleast a few good local jobs.

Third, we will be able toprovide truly incredibleservices that the cablecompany has no incentive toprovide.

Fourth, we will be able toensure that everyone has

access to the internet - almostas a matter of right (like aroadway).

Fifth, and most importantly,it will provide our town withan asset that will allow us todiversify and improveMontauk's economy in anecologically harmonious way.

As we move forward towardsettling our grievances for theinjury to Montauk that hasoccurred from being governedillegally for over seventy-fiveyears, we should look at thebig picture of what we wantand how to achieve it.

What we all want is security,prosperity, community and a

good quality of life. For thisto happen in our new town wemust review our town's assetsand infrastructure.

Television and the Internetplay a large role in today'ssociety both personally andcommercially as a township,and it is not unprecedented forthe township to take over thecable franchise

Having community controlof the cable system can onlybe a blessing, and having adata center and small businessincubator will go a long waytoward improving localprosperity and our quality oflife.

CABLE, from page 1


Declaration of RightServed with Petition on June 18th, 2003 upon

Hon. George E. Pataki, Governor &Hon. Elliot Spitzer, Esq., Attorney General of the

State of New York

We the undersigned proprietors and residents ofMontauk, first established as a body politic and corporate asa part of the town of Easthampton by the town patententered under the royal authority of King James II onDecember 9th, 1686, and then, subsequent to thecourt-ordered release of all corporate right to Montauk bysaid town, incorporated by an Act of the Legislature of theState of New York on April 2nd, 1852, are now somehowreturned to the town of East Hampton under a reorganizedand unincorporated government operating under thepretense of a modern state law and have been denied ourincorporated franchise to govern as established by theaforesaid instruments. In light of the foregoing usurpationwe do grieve and find it necessary to declare that:

We do retain and possess, together with all otherproprietors and residents of Montauk, all of the rights,liberties, privileges and powers of an independent Townshipas set forth in the colonial patent and charter of December9th, 1686.

The township of Montauk has the right to extraordinaryliberties in the making and administering of local law,protected within the Constitutions of the State of New Yorkand of the United States of America from their inceptionfrom state and federal interference, which we claim to thefullest extent of their meaning and historic enjoyment by ourforefathers.

The township of Montauk is endowed with the right tothe possession and administration of, or jurisdiction over,substantial properties in Montauk including all beaches,bottom lands, shell fishing, groundwater resources, landsthat escheat for lack of heirs, the Benson Reservations, landsset forth in trust by agreements with the Montauk tribe ofIndians, and significant other resources and franchises.

The township of Montauk has the absolute right to levy,collect and disburse all taxes upon real property or its sale inMontauk.

Wherefore, insomuch as we have and do suffer from theillegitimate and often repugnant administering of law, thesubdivision, sale and other injury of and to our commonlands, the overburdening of our precious fresh waterresource, and the usurpation of our franchise to tax and togovern, we do claim and assert our fundamental right topetition the government for a redress of our grievancesthrough formal delivery of this document to Mr. George E.Pataki, Governor of the State of New York.

Discussion - The 1686 colonial patent and charterincorporating the Town of Easthampton, includingMontauk, established the Trustees of the Freeholders andCommonalty of said town to govern it. The lands coveredby the Town Patent were divided by the September 6th,1851, order of Hon. Nathan B. Morse, Justice of theSupreme Court of the State of New York. Pursuant to theorder of the court a deed of conveyance was entered by theEasthampton Trustees under their corporate seal on March9th, 1852, stating that:

… the parties of the first part [Easthampton TrusteeCorporation] do hereby grant, surrender, quit-claim andrelease to the parties of the second part [Montaukproprietors] their heirs and assigns all and singular thelands in the County of Suffolk called Montauk includingthe Ponds, Fort Pond, Great Pond, Oyster Pond, and otherponds within the limits of the aforesaid judgment of saidCourt together with all right, title, property, possession orclaim therein or thereunto. (Suffolk County Liber 63 ofdeeds. p. 171ff.).

What was released by this document was all claim toMontauk whatsoever by the Town of Easthampton.Recognizing that a void of legally recognized governmentalpowers had been created, the Legislature incorporated theproprietors of Montauk on April 2nd 1852 establishing theMontauk Trustee Corporation and affirming its power togovern Montauk. Our claim today through the above deedand the 1686 patent are the powers of a Township.

The “town board” form of government was devised bythe Legislature beginning in 1909 (the Town Law) at a timethat Montauk proprietors’ rights were under intensescrutiny. A law suit, Pharoah v. Benson, et. al., had beenbrought pursuant to a legislative enabling act to determinethe rights, if any, held in Montauk by the Montauk tribe ofIndians. It is clear that the Legislature reacted to thediscovery that, according to the N.Y.S. Constitution and the1686 charter, they were without jurisdiction to make locallaw in Montauk (or Easthampton) or to determine how it isgoverned. The “town board government” was set up quietlyaround 1924 and began to operate under the guise of the1909 law. Because any attempt to incorporate the townboard would have violated both the state and federalconstitutions, it has never been legally established.

The above has been presented to the courts together witha document entitled The Articulated Rights andConstitution of the Township of Montauk that wasadopted after significant review by our acting Board ofTrustees in December of 2000. The Articulated Rightsestablishes that Montauk is an incorporated township withinthe State of New York under the jurisdiction of the courtsand further sets forth a constitutional model of effectivegood government for the enjoyment and benefit of ourselvesand of our posterity.

97 signatures collected


The history of Long Island inthe 1680s leading up to thehistoric First Assembly in 1691is truly amazing.

In 1682 a petition initiated by thetown meeting in Easthampton pleadedfor democratic government. A newgovernor, Thomas Dongan, was namedby the Duke of York and issuedinstructions to come to New York andto convene an assembly. The firstlegislature of New York under the Dukeof York convened on October 17th andthe original Constitution of New Yorkwas enacted on October30th, 1683.

Sessions of thelegislature of the Duke'sprovince of New Yorkconvened until June10th, 1686 after theDuke had been crownedKing James II. Heissued new instructionsto Governor Dongan (atright), and it is clearfrom the record thatthese instructions led toa general uprising of Long Island’sformidable militia.

Governor Dongan had presided overthe colonial legislature since 1683 andknew these men well. He had declaredhis instructions: the 1683 constitutionwas repealed, stopping furtherconvening of the provincial legislature.On December 9th, 1686, the rebelliousrepublican men of Easthampton wouldappear before him showing militaryrank and Gov. Dongan's settlement wasto grant them a new charter for theirtown (the "Dongan Patent").

Easthampton had been a member ofthe Connecticut legislature when thatgovernment received it's powerful 1662

charter, and key language within theDongan patent that the these lands "Beholden of his said Majesty, his heirs andsuccessors in free and comon soccageaccording to the Mannor of EastGreenwich in the County of Kent" iscontained in both.

The powerful Puritan MinisterThomas James, Captain ThomasTalmadge, Lieut. John Wheeler andEnsigne Samuell Mulford were beforeGovernor Dongan to receive the patent.The rank of "ensigne" was acommissioned rank for the legalstandard-bearer necessary for treaties.

The Dongan Patent granted thesovereign right to make laws in townmeeting together with sweeping

judicial, police andtaxing powers. ASouthamptonattorney whoreviewed thecharters wrote thatwhat was grantedwere “the powers ofa state within astate".

In 1688 the“GloriousRevolution” swept

King James II from the throne and onJanuary 22nd, 1689, Parliament enactedthe English Bill of Rights placingWilliam, prince of Orange, and his wifeMary Stuart on the throne as King andQueen of England.

King William was slow to attend toNew York affairs, however, andGovernor Nicholson continued tosupport Catholicism both in governmentand the New York military. Rioting anddisorder swept New York City withGovernor Nicholson once threatening toburn the town if the rioting did not end.After some turmoil in the ranks, a groupof rebellious militia seized Fort James.

On June 2nd, 1689, a prominentcitizen and captain of the militia, Jacob

Leisler, entered Fort James withfort-nine men and took control. Despiteinitial opposition to Leisler's rule, afterthe February 9th, 1690, attack uponSchenectady by the French that burnedit to the ground, New York unifiedunder him.

Jacob Leisler would remainLieutenant Governor of New York fromJune 1689 until March of 1691. Duringthat time he would call and preside overtwo provincial assemblies outside ofroyal authority and command the onlyintercolonial army until the AmericanRevolution. He also acquired the landfor today’s New Rochelle for thesettlement of French Huguenots fleeingreligious persecution.

On March 10, 1690correspondence from Easthamptonsigned by “Samuell Mulforde, SamuellPerson, and Thomas Chatfield (“In thename of the rest”)" was addressed toJacob Leisler. In a very powerfulgrievance and petition they informedLeisler that:

“we have agreed to send over tohis Majesty both a true Narratonof the Greivances we havesufferred this many yeares underan arbeitrary power, and aPetition to their Majesties that wemight be rejoyned withConnecticut Goverment asformerly; agreeably to that Act ofParliament, that all places (N: E.)being perticularly Mentioned Shallhave the Same privileges theyenjoyed in the yeare 1660 restoredunto them ..."

Shortly thereafter, on April 24th,1690, the first of two assemblies wasconvened under Jacob Leisler. Itproceeded to make one law for thepurpose of raising a revenue (tax) to aidin the defense against the French.

The second Leisler Assemblyconvened on September 15th, 1690 andpassed two laws, one to further establishthe revenue, and the other to strengthen

The First Assembly - Chapter Twoof Laws of 1691

"You are to declare our willand pleasure that ye said Bill

or Charter of Franchises[1683 Constitution] beeforthwith repealed and

disallowed, as ye same ishereby Repealed, determined

and made void."- King James II instructions toGovernor Thomas Dongan ofNew York, June 10th, 1686

The Legal Foundation of Montauk Township


the New York military under Leisler'scommand and to impose a fine forrefusing military service in the waragainst the French.

The men of Easthampton and NewYork were solidly republican, and itwould become very clear they did notwant to surrender the colony toWilliam and Mary withoutnegotiations. There was precedent forsuch surrender established by theVirginia colony's surrender toParliament in the 1650s. That wasnot allowable precedent however, andthe Commonwealth of England was toprove more friendly to the coloniesthan King William.

A new governor for New York,Henry Sloughter, Esq., was named byKing William and departed fromLondon in December of 1690. In lateJanuary of 1691, however, the first toarrive were royal troops under thecommand of Major Richard Ingoldsby.

When Major Ingoldsby demandedthat Leisler surrender the province tohim, he refused, saying that the majordid not have the authority to govern.Major Ingoldsby than attacked FortJames and was defeated losing twomen in the battle.

A standoff ensued between theregimented and strong New Yorkforces under Lieutenant. GovernorJacob Leisler and Ingoldsby’s royaltroops until Governor Sloughterarrived on March 19th, 1691.

Upon the Governor's appearanceLeisler sent out a team to negotiateterms of surrender. No discussion wasallowed, however, and his negotiatorswere arrested. Leisler and his menthen surrendered and were thrown intoprison and charged with rebellion andmurder.

It was under these conditions - withLeisler and his men in jail - that onApril 3rd, 1691, the "First Assembly"

of the royal province of New York wasconvened.

One month later, on May 6th, 1691,the first laws were passed by the newAssembly. Chapter One of the laws of1691 the province of New York wasentitled

“An Act for the quieting andsetling the Disorders that havelately happened within thisprovince and for the Establishingand Securing their Majestyespresent Government against thelike Disorders for the Future".

This Act formally surrendered thecolony to William and Mary,recognized them as the King andQueen of England, and submitted totheir authority. The final part of theAct goes on to state that:

“whatsoever person or personsshall by any manner of way orupon any pretence whatsoeverEndavour by force of arms orotherwise disturbe the peace,good and quiet of this theirMajestyes Government as is nowEstablished shall be Deemed andEsteemed as Rebells and Traitorsunto their Majestyes and incurrthe pains, penalties andforfeitures as the Laws ofEngland hath for such Offencesmade and provided."

Having surrendered the New Yorkto the Governor and strong languageto enforce it, Chapter Two was the firstamong the laws received by thecolonists in return. It was entitled

“An Act for the Setling,Quieting and Confirming untothe Cities, Towns, Mannors andfreeholders within this Provincetheir several Grants, Patents andRights Respectively."

While Chapter One surrendered thecolony to William and Mary, ChapterTwo surrendered significant royalpower to the people by holding that

“all the Charters, Pattents,Grants made, given and grantedand well and truley executedunder the seal of this Province,Constituted and Authorized bytheir late and present Majtys theKings of England and Registredin the Secrtaryes office, unto theseverall and respectiveCorporations of bodys politick ofthe Cittys, Towns and Mannors,and alsoe to the severall andrespective ffreeholders within thisProvince, are and shall for everbe deemed, esteemed and reputedgood and effectual Charters,Patents and grants Authentick inthe Law against their Majestiesheirs and Successors for ever..."

It is well settled in the law that theState of New York is successor to theKing and that, therefore, the Donganpatents of the towns of Suffolk Countyare enforceable against the State ofNew York.

Ten days after the above surrenderand settlement was made, on May 16,1691, Jacob Leisler and his son-in-lawJacob Milbourne were hanged, cutdown “half-dead” and their heads cutoff.

Almost four years later, on May 3,1695, King William signed an actissuing a general pardon clearingLeisler’s name and freeing his men stillin jail.

Chapter 2 of the laws of 1691established the enforceability of theDongan patents of the towns of SuffolkCounty against the government of NewYork forever. Such powerful legalprotection of sovereign right to governis rarely attained, and it is our duty torecover and protect it for ourselves andfor those who come after us.


Organizing Next StepsWe are in the final year of a ten

year odyssey seeking the protectionof Montauk's lands and resources.

When the Montauk Friends ofOlmsted Parks (MFOP) wasfounded in 1994 it was not yetknown that what we wereattempting to protect was theproperty of a hidden township.When this became known, and thetown board's claim of jurisdictionwas questioned, we were forcedinto continuous reaction.

Over the years it was thatreaction that caused the MFOP to:assume the powers of the 1852corporation of the Trustees ofMontauk (1996); to file papers andto bring actions before the courts(since 1996); to adopt theArticulated Rights and Constitutionof the Township of Montauk(December, 2000), to notice thecourts of our intent to convene aTown Meeting according to it (Nov.2002), and, finally, to formallyserve a petition upon GovernorGeorge E. Pataki and AttorneyGeneral ElliotSpitzer on June18th of this year .

The beautyof this genesis isthat we now havea Constitution touse for conveningthe MontaukTown Meeting,and this makes our work mucheasier in bringing it into existence.The convening a peaceableassembly is one of our most prizedConstitutionally protected liberties.

Use the above form to registerwith the corporation and tovolunteer. It doesn't take manypeople to get this going, anAssociation quorum is only seven

property owners, but we want thisto bring as many proprietorstogether as possible.

This mailing cost almost$2,500 and there will be expenses

involved in convening the townmeeting. Please help out and pitchin what you can. This Gazette hasbeen paid for out of pocket by BobFicalora and we would like to

reimburse him andto provide for thefuture.

Please have apositive dreamabout Montauk'sfuture. Beingorganized as acommunity canonly be a good

thing, and the facts, the law andhistory are clearly on our side.

THINK TOWN MEETING!

Registration/Volunteer Form

Name

Mailing Address Tel:

Zip

Property Street Addr:Tel: Email:

Assoc#

Would you like to be Acting Trustee of yourAssociation? Y / N

Would you like to be an Acting Constable foryour Association? Y / N

Would you be willing to do door-to-door canvassing? Y / N

Would you like to contribute to carry costs? Y / N If yes $

All volunteers will be contacted by an Acting Trustee.

✂

Please return to:

MFOP/Montauk TrusteeCorp.P.O. Box 2612Montauk, NY 11954


The Montauk Gazette - Publication of Record for the Town of Montauk

P. O. Box 2612Montauk, Long Island, New York 11954

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

2004 Centennial

of the Benson Covenants

Includes petition to Governor Pataki, theLegal Foundation of Montauk Townshipand info on the Montauk Town Meeting.

The Montauk Gazette · it cost me money?" while the ... and to all Montauk property owners on the...

Documents

Transcript of The Montauk Gazette · it cost me money?" while the ... and to all Montauk property owners on the...