Greenport village clerk says family targeted with racial slur at park concert

Greenport Village Clerk Candace Hall said a white woman repeatedly hurled a racial slur at her and two family members during Monday night’s Dances in the Park concert at Mitchell Park, prompting police to order the woman to leave the village-sponsored event.

Ms. Hall, who is Black, said the woman approached her, her mother and her aunt around 8 p.m., pointed a finger in each of the women’s face and repeated the slur three times.

The woman was told to back away but rushed toward the family again, according to Ms. Hall.

“She was very clearly intoxicated,” Ms. Hall told The Suffolk Times on Tuesday.

Ms. Hall found an officer working at the event and reported the encounter. 

“I went to the cops and told them what happened and asked them to get the woman away from us because she wouldn’t leave,” said Ms. Hall, who has served as village clerk since August 2023 and was named The Suffolk Times’ 2023 Public Servant of the Year.

Southold Town police said officers directed the 62-year-old woman to leave Mitchell Park. She complied but denied making the remarks, police said.

No arrest was made because officers determined that no crime had occurred, Southold Police Chief Steven Grattan told The Suffolk Times.

Ms. Hall “wanted to make sure there was a report of it,” Chief Grattan said. 

The woman later returned to look for a pair of missing glasses and was again instructed to leave, according to police. 

The Suffolk Times is not publishing the woman’s name because she was not arrested or charged.

Monday’s 7 to 9 p.m. concert featured Bachatu and was part of Greenport’s weekly summer Dances in the Park series.