RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A New York town’s board members have decided it’s OK to boo at their meetings — but only if it’s done politely.
The Riverhead board voted to ban booing earlier this month. But Newsday reports that the board voted 4-1 on Tuesday to strike the anti-boo rule from the books.
The board on Long Island retained another part of its code. That part prohibits disruptive behavior and disruptive demonstrations.
No explanation was given on how to boo without being disruptive.
Councilman James Wooten says the town supervisor should be able to keep order without written rules.
Supervisor Sean Walter defends the intent of the antibooing rule. He says there are similar regulations in towns across New York state.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less