Latino Outreach Committee to Be Formed

Members of a new committee that will serve as a liaison to East Hampton Town’s Latino community are to be appointed tonight by the East Hampton Town Board. The move is an “effort to communicate and educate, but also to have a dialogue,” Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said.

The town is “trying to find a way to reach out and better communicate with” its Spanish-speaking residents, he said, and wants to “provide educational material and information from the town to an important part of our community.”

While the town once had a similar committee, in recent years East Hampton’s school districts have done a better job of outreach than the town has, the supervisor said. The committee came about at the suggestion of Diana Walker, an Amagansett resident, and members have already been selected.

They will help the town reach people who “might otherwise not come to a meeting,” people who are “often left out — not by design.”

For instance, he said, 350 people attended two recent workshops on the town’s new rental registry law. But the town would like to present the same information, on how landlords must comply with new regulations before renting properties, in a bilingual session.

Other workshops might cover the functions of the town clerk’s office, town justice court, and Police Department, Mr. Cantwell said.

Some bridge-building efforts are already under way.

East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo had a “tremendous meeting” recently with the Latino clericus, Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said. The town’s anti-bias task force has issued a widely distributed informational brochure in Spanish as well as English and is looking to organize an open house at police headquarters “to try to bridge some gaps,” said Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, the liaison to that group. She suggested that the task force and the new committee join forces.