By BRIAN DONOHUE
Two weeks after removing Red Bank Board of Education President Sue Viscomi from the library board, Mayor Billy Portman named her replacement, Nubia Hvidding, at last week’s meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council.
Meanwhile, both borough officials and the former library director who made the initial accusations of improper comments by Viscomi that resulted in her removal are not releasing any more details about the incident.
Portman removed Viscomi from the volunteer post on the Library Board of Trustees after a borough attorney said his investigation found she “much more likely than not” said two years ago that a prominent local immigrant rights advocate should be deported.
The investigation was sparked when former library director Eleni Glykis said Viscomi had made the comments to her after a writing workshop at the library in the winter of 2023-2024, according to the borough’s labor attorney Jonathan Cohen.
Viscomi vehemently denied having made the comments. And her removal was denounced by her supporters and a fellow Board of Education member who called the allegations hearsay and not reflective of her decades of volunteer work and community service.
The subject of the alleged comments, Julie Flores-Castillo, launched a bid five days later to challenge Viscomi in the upcoming November school board election.
At last Thursday’s meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council, Mayor Billy Portman introduced Hvidding as the new appointment to the 11-member Library Board of Trustees.
Hvidding described herself as an eight-year resident of Red Bank and mother of two children, age five and eight. She is a forensic scientist who worked 11 years at the office of the New York City Medical Examiner before the birth of her second child sent her on the career path of “house manager,” she quipped at the meeting Thursday night.
“We enjoy the library,” she said of her family. “We’re there almost once a week, maybe twice, so when I found an opportunity to give back and serve the community, I jumped on it because I really love the library, the community, the people.”
Meanwhile, a request filed by redbankgreen under the state Open Public Records Act for reports and correspondence related to Viscomi’s removal was denied by the Borough administration. The borough referred to a list of records that are exempt from the act that requires agencies to provide records to members of the public upon request.
And when reached by phone, Glykis declined to comment on the incident or the investigation and referred all questions to the borough.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
