ETO to Jemal: Fine the Slimeball $10,000 a day, We’re Done With Him

Before I get into the debate itself lets answer why the heated debate happened in the first place. To be blunt there has a deep distrust with (ETO) Environmental Task Force Operations with local communities. There have been good reasons floating around for this distrust.

First, they are a spin off of Special Projects Management Operation Clean Bay, which has a very shady past. It was formed by National Park Rangers and staff of the Gateway National Recreation Area to clean up abandoned boats in Jamaica Bay. Needless to say it ended very badly. Whenever the term “pending litigation” has to come into play, you know its going to be bad. Basically the Park Rangers boat captains are all suing each other.

Secondly and mainly, ETO has had an ongoing relationship with Knapp Street and Lacon Ct property developer Stephen Jemal. To be blunt again, What is planned to be built by Jemal at at Lacon Court will destroy Gerritsen Beach, if not cause irreparable harm.

As you may be aware, some in the community as well as GB.net has been keeping close tabs on the Jemal developments. Recently, Jemal was ordered to clean up the docks at Lacon Court by the NYS DEC, if he did not comply he was going to be fined $10,000 a day.

ETO then, seemed to step in last minute and took over conversations with the DEC on behalf of Stephen Jemal. Jemal has not been fined since ETO stepped in.

The ETO-Jemal relationship in a nutshell: in exchange for free rent on Lacon Ct ETO would maintain 4 properties for Jemal and take over corresponding with the DEC. The property maintenance may or may not be a good thing, it depends on how you look at it, they are trimming, leveling soil, more or less cleaning the empty lot. This is all great and wonderful, but it does not help with the perceived distrust.

On to the debate!
Bill Dumphy (Gerritsen Resident, and ETO board member)confronted the GBPOA to “clear up bad reports”.

Mr. Bill Dumphy had again summed up ETO’s role in Gerritsen Beach specifically in the waterways and on Stephen Jemals lot. He stated that they are on his property because they were kicked off their previous location, literally across the creek at the sewer plant DEP, because of allegations made by a former operation clean bay member.

He stated that in the last two months he personally removed 8 boats from the creek, totaling 150 so far removed by their organization. Apparently ETO did this all for free and was expensed out of pocket.

George Broadhead, President GBPOA, is not taking issue with the work ETO does, stating he strongly believes in free enterprise. He argued that ETO stepped in last minute just when the community had them on the ropes.

Bill interjected multiple times and made it a point that ETO sent a letter to DEC urging them to fine Jemal for non compliance. Yelling “Fine the slimeball…wont affect us“. “We aren’t doing Jemal any favors.”

After contacting ETO to see what they thought about the meeting, Greg Moss President of ETO stated that no more than two weeks after GB.nets initial post, their relationship with SSJ development stared to go sour. ETO was trying to secure a contract that gave them permissions to be on the land and to also remove the docks for Jemal. However, SSJ kept pushing back and postponing meetings to secure the contract to the point where ETO felt they might of been used by SSJ to delay the impending $10,000 a day fine. As a result ETO sent a email to the DEC stating that Jemal has no intention of coming into compliance and DEC has to do what it needs to do.

They are currently looking for a new spot to relocate.