Politics & Government

UPDATED: Public Access: Yak Yak Girls, But No Gelfarb

A Rye Brook rule that forbids campaign content on the local public access channel for contests outside the village.

  • Update: Gelfarb says he doesn't have a campaign video, and said he simply expressed his opinion that Rye Brook's policy could present a free speech issue. Hubert highlighted Gelfarb's opinion in a letter to Rye Brook, stating "attorney David Gelfarb thinks I have a very legitimate free speech issue with the Village Board over your refusal to cablecast on the public access channel the Rye Town "Meet the Candidates" video." The issue, according to both men, involves the village's refusal to run content involving Rye Town politics and theoretical videos in other races outside Rye Brook.

Channel-surfers who pause on Rye Brook's public access channel can catch a pair of Rye Brook women schmoozing and lots of nostalgic sports programming, but they won't content about political races outside village, according to local Republicans.

Rye Town Supervisor Joseph Carvin's campaign was shot down when he sought a timeslot on Rye Brook's public access channel to run a campaign video. , a Rye Town councilman running for an open county legislature seat next month, weighed in and said prohibiting such content could be a free speech issue, according to Republicans.

Dick Hubert, a registered Independent voter and Gelfarb supporter, calls it "a free speech issue," but Rye Brook Administrator Chris Bradbury says it's nothing of the sort -- the channel has a pre-existing rule that forbids political programming focused on anything other than in-village elections, according to Bradbury.

But viewers, don't despair: You can still catch the Yak Yak Girls three times a day.

Correction: Gelfarb's campaign does not have a campaign video and did not seek a timeslot on local public access television. The original free speech argument, according to Hubert, involved potentially airing content focused on Carvin's ticket.


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