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Village of Bayville Board of Trustees Meeting - January 23, 2012

Admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:10:36 GMT

Bayville Village Board meeting Highlights - January 23, 2012 7:30 pm
SUMMARY of discussions, prepared by audience participants, submitted by Carla Panetta

Ludlam Ave Streetscape: A second change order was discussed, pertaining to D.F. Stone contractor. After multiple meetings reviewing work completed to date, Village staff and contractor discussed adding more of the subject area sidewalks and curbs and planting areas not originally included in the 2005 planning phase. Warm winter weather has allowed the project to continue at a great pace until the very recent work stop due to winter weather. Work is scheduled to will begin again on April 9 with paving and planting, and the project should be completed by Memorial Day.
Resolution to approve CO # 2 for $34 K approved.
Additionally, expanded design services from Starr Whitehouse Landscape Design were mentioned, but the Village Board members were to gather more information on that before discussing at a future date.

Use of West Harbor Beach: The Board members voted to allow use of the West Harbor Beach for selected Spring dates by St. Gertrude's Preschool, and by the Locust Valley Middle School 8th Grade class for their year end parties.

Improvements at 24 Ludlam Avenue, Tilford Building: The building's façade improvement project has an approved bid from Calabrese Brothers Construction for exterior façade construction, signage and awnings. The project is funded by federal tax dollars administered through a Nassau County's Community Block Development Grant program for property improvements. Maria Alfano-Hardy, Village Clerk, explained that such grant monies are available to towns and villages if there are property owners who wish to comply with the stringent federal rules and regulations of the program. Maria Alfano-Hardy went on to say that many commercial property owners in the Village were approached and offered the opportunity to participate in the program, but most did not move to comply to be able to use the federal dollars. If money allocated to grant purposes isn't used in a timely manner, the government can rescind it. The Tilford Building façade improvement will begin in March 2012 and the total cost is $118,707.80. The signage will comply with recent Village of Bayville signage uniformity adopted by the Bayville Beautification Committee. The improvement grant does not include the adjacent parking lot or fence. There was an objection made by 2nd lowest bidder referencing lack of detail in bid spec alternatives and decision was made by Board to go with base bid specs.

Hurricane Relief: Re-assessment relief for catastrophic (greater than 50% value) damages to properties during Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee are available. However, there were no complaints on record in Bayville of damages greater than 50% value. Resolution to pass assessment relief accepted.

David Wright, Associate Village Justice: After serving 10 years as Associate Village Justice for Bayville, David Wright's resignation was accepted, and he was thanked for his years of service as he moves to pursue other opportunities.

Public Comments:

Capital Equipment Purchases: One resident questioned an item from last meeting, purchases of tractor and a pump. He asked why this did not offset the increase given to the Fire Department. Another resident asked if there was a way for the Village to alert residents as to what capital equipment is needed for purchase, so that residents could submit bids.

Water Use Charges: A resident questioned her water bill increases, her meter reading corrections made, and subsequent elevated readings. It was suggested that she continue to work with the Water Department in determining the condition of her water meter.

Mohring Building Chapter 15: The Mohring Building (across from Ransom Beach) is undergoing review of Chapter 15 Unsafe Structure. Property tax records and ownership records were reviewed, preceding in Chapter 15 review, which could require leveling the existing cement structure. One resident asked that the Village look at zoning of the property. No current applications have been submitted to the Village for developing the property.
Meeting adjourned 8:34 pm.

What's on your mind about our Village? Please come and share your comments.

NEXT MEETING: Monday Feb 13th, 2012 at 7:30 pm.
Meeting agenda is posted on the Village of Bayville website prior to meeting.

Village of Bayville Board of Trustees Meeting Jan 9, 2012

Admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:14:58 GMT

Open conversation following the Regular Public Meeting of the Village of Bayville Board of Trustees.

Meeting Summary: compiled by resident attendee(s)

Bayville Village Board Meeting Highlights - Monday, Jan 9, 2012 7:30 pm

All Village Board members approved without discussion the Warrants and Claims
All Village Board members approved without discussion the Prior Meeting's Resolution
All Village Board members approved without discussion the Budget Transfers
The Village Board members discussed briefly and the agreed to table a proposal for Anker Electric to perform streetlight maintenance. They wanted to discuss the options. It was mentioned that the yearly proposal was for $9500.

Water Monitoring-
After some discussion[s] by the Village Board and questions from residents, all the Village Board members approved a proposal to hire Cornell Co-Op for $7946.80 to locate about 10 sites and perform Dry Weather Monitoring as part of the Mandated MS4 Requirements. There was discussion that this must be done every five years. It was also discussed if Village Employees could perform this task but the Village Board felt it best that it be professionally done this time and they would try to have a Village Employee or Village Board member present for the testing.

Proposed Increase of Village of Bayville taxes above 2% State Mandate-
The Village is proposing the enactment of a law that will override the 2011 NYS Property Tax Levy Cap of 2% on your Village Taxes, enacted by State Legislature and signed into law by Gov Cuomo. The Mayor opened the public hearing, summarized the law and stated that nobody in Albany asked the Village for any input when coming up with the percentage amount. He then presented the following, last year the budget was approximately $5.2M and the tax levy was $4.1M so 2% of $4.1M was ~$92K from this amount with everything else being equal they had to add to last years budget a 2% Union raise at ~$25K+FICA and ~$55K for the retirement plan (Note that some of this may, by law, be excluded from the Property Tax 2% ceiling) leaving the Village with less than ~$12K to work with when drafting the 2012-2013 budget. Based on this information the Village Board was proposing to enact the provision in the law that allows the Village to exceed the 2% cap.

Several residents spoke on this matter.

Many residents questioned whether this was "putting the cart before the horse" and that the Village Board should first present a preliminary budget and then see if the law was needed.
Some Residents expressed concern that if the law was passed first the "incentive" to hold the line on taxes would be removed.
One resident expressed her opinion of why the law was passed in the first place, stating that the intention of the legislature was for Taxing authorities to use their accumulated reserves, which she stated the Village did not have and never had.
One resident asked if there was a cap on the increase amount and the Mayor stated that there was not as that was not how the law was worded.
One resident asked how long the law would be in effect and it was stated that this law only covered the current budget year 2012-2013. A new law would be required each year to exceed the "tax levy limit"
Many residents spoke of their desire for the Village to show more fiscal responsibility in capping expenditures, to keep raising Village taxes is irresponsible, whether they re-adjust budget parameters, negotiate with the unions for concessions, cut back on some HR expenditures, reduce some Village 'fixed' costs, whatever needs to be done, let's do it & let's make a better effort to live within our means.

After the residents spoke all the Village Board members agreed to close the public hearing without voting on the proposed Local Law 2012-1.

H2M-
The Village Board proposed & all Village Board members voted for the referendum to retain H2M to assist the Village in preparing and presenting lab reports, cost reports, certifications & water statement confidence report for a fee of $2.5K.

New Tractor & Pump-
The Village proposed & passed the purchase of a new tractor which would be 'road' worthy, to load the sanders, to plow intersections after heavy snowfalls, and maintain beach berms, @ a price of $ 78K & a 6" trash pump with trailer @$18K for a total combined cost of 100,000.00. The Mayor stated that the new tractor would have a 15 year life and the same for the new pump. The new pump would also allow an older, smaller pump to become available for use elsewhere in the Village as necessary.

There is grant money of 37 K available and a bond would be floated for the balance. The current tractor would be disposed of for a salvage value of $5K.

One resident asked what the interest rate on the bond would be, considering they had just requested and then tabled a property tax increase, there was no confirmed amount as of yet.

The Bond Anticipation Note to be for 5 years at $100K with interest only for the first year estimated at $2K. The details of the bond were not available since it would go out to bid but given the prevailing rates it was mentioned by the Mayor that the first year payment would be ~$2K of interest only. Once the grant money arrived, the Mayor said next year, they would use it to pay down the principal.
The Mayor &five of the six present Village Board members voted yea with trustee Rupp voting nay. Trustee Valsecchi was not in attendance.

Steve's Pier Property-
One resident questioned if the Village knows who owns the property, the status of the construction of the property and if the present grading of the property is temporary [the hill] or permanent. The Village Board replied that they don't know and can't say, but that plans call for valet parking, so it should be a more level design plan and the owner was working with his equity partners on some issues.

Pig N Whistle Property -
One resident asked about the status of the Chapter 15 proceeding on the property. The Village did not have any new information to share on the property status other than to say they were trying to make the site safe and reduce the eye sore it presented.

Code Enforcement-
One resident commented that there is potential for revenue income to the Village generated by enforcement of codes and the possibility of outsourcing code enforcement to an independent contractor like Mill Neck & Brookville have done. The Village Board replied expenses for such services can be expensive but that they were exploring some new ideas on code enforcement.

Streetscape oversight- Some residents expressed concern to the Board on the lay out of some of the curbs of streetscape project on Ludlam Avenue as pertains to snow plowing & traffic flow. By the Luncheonette & on Ludlam Avenue, some of the curbs protrude into street line and will present hazard to snow plows unfamiliar with configurations of curb & also create traffic congestion on holidays, weekends, etc., when there is heavier traffic in town. The Village Board stated that curb was redesigned for pedestrian safety and they would look into marking the areas for the plows. Another resident asked why the new traffics lights at this intersection did not have turn arrows and if the board knew and/or was consulted about the installation. The Mayor answered that the Village Board was not contacted by the County and therefore had no input on its installation.

Bayville Avenue Road Condition-
One resident asked about repair work on Bayville Avenue up by St Gertrude's -Dickerson Avenue. Village Board replied it is a Nassau County Road and they should be contacted for repairs and that the Village was paving, as part of the streetscape project, part of Bayville Avenue with the County reimbursing the Village costs.

Greenwich Avenue -
One resident asked about the status of the property on Greenwich that was a burned out house and is now a vacant lot. The Village Board replied, that there have been no zoning changes, there have been no site plans supplied by the owners of the property and the site is 'safe' now.

Illegal Apartments -
One resident commented/ questioned what can be done about the illegal apartments in the Village. The Village Board replied that residents should report addresses of illegal apartments to Village Hall and they will investigate.

All Village Board members votes to adjourn the meeting at 9:06

Village of Bayville Board of Trustees Meeting 12/12/2011

Admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:25:17 GMT

Open conversation following the Regular Public Meeting of the Village of Bayville Board of Trustees.

Meeting Summary: compiled by resident attendee

Bayville Village Board Meeting Highlights

Monday Dec 12, 2011, 7:30 pm

The meeting opened with the Boards business motions to accept the warrants and claims as presented, and to pass the prior meetings resolutions as accepted.

Environmental Conversation Committee (ECC):
A recommendation was accepted for an appointment to the Village of Bayville's Environmental Conservation Commission. Ms. Beth Bates, a 4th grade teacher from Bayville Intermediate School, was recommended to serve on the committee, which works on environmental projects such as removing invasive species from woodlands in the Harrison Williams Woods, preservation of trees, removing invasive vines.

Creek Beach dock removal:
Electrical contractor work will be required and will consist of disassembly of electric systems before hauling, and more extensive reassembly of electric systems in the Spring. Best price bid was Anchor Electric: $1850 for Fall work, and $6765 for Spring work. Mayor Watson explained that over the past two years, the docks were left in the water with a bubble system to prevent icing damage. However, now the docks are in need of maintenance. Money for this work will come from reduced security budget items this season in the boating budget and not the general fund.
Additionally, Bridge Marina will be hired to remove the docks at a cost of $4200, and put the docks back in after the winter and reassemble the layout at a cost of $4200.

Winter Ice Rink guards:
Hiring of winter ice rink guards is necessary for rink operation, and the temporary rink schedule is intermittent and dependent upon freezing conditions of 5 consecutive days. The list of high school and college age student names was read, CPR certification required, and a pay rate of $10 per hour. Two board members with children on the list for the jobs abstained from the vote to hire ice rink guards.

Presentation by Tobacco Action Coalition:
Carol Meschkow of the Tobacco Action Coalition presented to the Village Board and residents on the dangers of second-hand smoke and the efforts in townships in Nassau County where no-smoking areas were designated at area offices and parks. The Coalition addresses protection of children as targets by tobacco companies, and to promote smoking cessesation. Ms. Meschkow wants Bayville to join other villages and municipal peers in considering no-smoking legislation. Their web site illustrates such legislation.
Mayor Watson added that current Nassau County laws include Village municipal buildings in no-smoking rules. The Board will look at the plans and consider Bayville public beaches.

Bayville Beautification Committee:
Mayor Watson thanked the Bayville Beautification committee for winter and holiday decorations throughout the Village and at street entrances. Additionally, Trustee Rupp extended a second thanks to the Bayville Beautification Committee and their past weekends of volunteer time and personal expenditures on some materials.

Ludlam Avenue Street-scape Project question:
A resident questioned why weren't all the sidewalks included in the reconstruction, as in other similar projects in nearby towns? It was discussed that not all sidewalks required replacement, and that some additional distressed sidewalks were recently included in the plan. Pressure washing and brick pointing on existing sidewalks can be included.

The Board then proceeded to meet in Executive Session for personnel matters.

Next public meeting dates: Please come!
January 9th, Monday, 7:30pm
January 23rd, Monday, 7:30 pm

This summary was also submitted to the Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot

Village of Bayville Board of Trustees Meeting 11/28/2011

Admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:15:12 GMT

Open conversation following the Regular Public Meeting of the Village of Bayville Board of Trustees.

Bayville Village Board Meeting – Monday Nov. 28, 2011 - 7:30 pm

SUMMARY of discussions, prepared by audience participants

Recognition of two hero Police Officers from Nassau County for selfless bravery during helicopter rescue of driver of car hit by tree branch on Bayville Ave. on August 28^th 2011 during extreme conditions of Hurricane Irene. Citation Award given.

Board motions to accept their last meeting minutes, Warrants & Claims, budget transfers, and 2012 Holiday and Meeting schedule.

Bridge Marina Lease:

Motion to accept amendment to 2002 lease agreement with Bridge Marina for 40 Ludlam Avenue, mutually agreed negotiations to extend lease another 5 year period at existing rent, with Bridge Marina to pay half of property taxes should they become due in the time period. Monthly rent of $10,655. Motion accepted.

Ludlam Ave Streetscape change order: Continuation of change order discussion from last meeting; changes to include more sidewalk areas in renovation project, of damaged areas that have deteriorated since the original project scope 2+ years ago. Different charge rates of saw cutting noticed by Trustee Fey were investigated and found to be attributed to required cutting depth. $62,051 additional sidewalk work. Still under budget of project. Mayor looking at project daily. Consultants H2M and designer Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects also overseeing contractor work. Maria also checking site regularly. Trustee Rupp asking about assurances of project oversight. Gerianne of Over the Bridge sees contractors working and making good progress. Funding of project was questioned. NY State grant is still pending, though Diane Yaturo’s office secured Nassau County bond fund, to be traded out with State. Paving bid was Inter Municipal with county. A bond participation note is how the Village is currently paying bills on the project. $569,000 is project budget cost. Mention of expanded sidewalk tree plots should be in project plan.

Motion accepted.

Cooperative Gas Utility Purchase Plan : Village Energy Group of Nassau County is a cooperative buying agreement for municipalities, businesses, and residents. Recent Newsday article on plan. 8% discounts on natural gas supply (additional National Grid charge is to deliver the gas.)Also saves on taxes on delivery portion of bill, and Village gets a percent benefit as well. Rate is for 2 years. One resident in audience suggests reviewing the rate after the 2 year period for any elevated increases, and check for competitive pricing. NCVA- Nassau County Villages Association will send correspondence to residents & businesses on how to participate in program. Motion to sign agreement for two years –accepted.

Watershed Protection Committee participation: Oyster Bay-Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee is a new association of multiple Incorporated Villages, Towns and City of Glen Cove, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Participants to pool resources and find value in meeting the requirements of Clean Water Act, new MS-4 run off requirements, and grant writing. Committee meets in Friends of the Bay offices in Oyster Bay. If approved by each Village, each Village will contribute annual budget of $2500 per year. Village participations are 2% of total budget and the $2500 is dependent on all the Villages participation or the cost per Village would rise. Budget is for part time personnel, education materials, MS-4 application filing, etc. Total annual budget is $65,000. Motion to consider participation in the inter-municipal committee was approved. Motion does not include a vote or commitment to the funding yet, that will be dependent on how many other Villages agree to participate.

Public Comment:

Oak Neck Point wall repair: resident asking for follow up from Attorney Bianco on Village intervening in wall repair dispute that Oak Point homeowners association should repair wall. Attorney Bianco reviewed more materials and found that Village cannot intervene lawfully and effectively on matter.

Bayville Beautification: Resident asking about follow up from September 6^th letter to businesses on cleanliness, paint colors and signage. Resident referenced codes on litter, weeds, rubbish. Board response was that no businesses had provided direct feedback, but that some businesses were making obvious improvements. Mayor indicated that upon visit to Post Master and Pharmacy Building owner, it was discussed that business owners will need to keep up with cleanliness especially after streetscape project investment, and fact that corner house cottage by Post Office is being renovated.

Continuing comments:

Old signs of vacated businesses should be taken down. For lease signs should be standardized and of higher quality than currently, one of which is pink construction paper.

Tilford Building, which is long awaiting Nassau County grant monies for an exterior facelift, is peeling with 4 inch paint chips onto newly poured sidewalks. When are bidding companies to start on project? Mayor estimated by March 2012. Resident requested power washing of building until then would seem reasonable and improve the appearance of the building & Village.

Bayville Beautification committee—where does it apply with regard to style, colors, etc of components of streetscape project. Mayor commented that project architect has designed components. Board commented that specific color scheme for new business façade painting, and for signage, has been adopted thanks to Beautification Committee. Mayor commented that Beautification committee is an advisory committee, and to put requests together, such as seasonal affects, to submit to the Village. Beautification Committee not an arm of village government or a contractor to perform the work. Trustee Rapelje suggested putting recommendations formally on paper, and some, maybe not all, can be carried out. Mayor mentioned that new garbage receptacles and benches were selected by streetscape designer Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects.

Adopt a Spot: concern for better management of these spaces within new streetscape project. Both Mayor and residents discussed need for standardized management of spots, new commitments from interested donors, and possible management by one landscaper.

Arlington Lane repairs : Resident asked who filled in large pot holes on Arlington Lane this month with asphalt? In just weeks, it is breaking up. No one on street knows who placed asphalt patches. Someone saw a large truck. Board does not know of any Village entity that made the repairs.

Personal Threats : Resident dismayed that threats made against Board member by Fire Company member, and why was no action taken by Board. Board commented that other threats made too, one to Trustee Knaughten, and it is up to the victim to initiate police action and press charges.

Streetscape oversight: resident thanked board and village staff for time spent in daily monitoring of streetscape project on Ludlam Avenue.

Code Enforcement: Resident commented that code enforcement works, lots of cleanliness and upkeep codes on the books as brought up earlier tonight. Should be enforced to full extent.

Tax calculations: resident questioned the delayed year (2009) of tax assessment used to calculate his recent Village tax bill. Maria Alfano-Hardy said the tax rolls used come straight from the county, and they are a year old when released. Resident questioned if it is law that Bayville must use county tax rolls as valuation basis. He stated that Nassau County General Tax bill refers to 2011 assessment.

Meeting adjourned.

Board goes into their Executive Session.

Village of Bayville Board of Trustees Meeting 11/14/2011

Admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:52:38 GMT

Open conversation following the Regular Public Meeting of the Village of Bayville Board of Trustees.

BAYVILLE VILLAGE BOARD MEETING Nov 14, 2011 7:30 pm

MEETING SUMMARY: (compiled by resident attendee)

Business Motions of Village Board:

Resolution to authorize Building Inspector to begin code Chapter 15 (condemned or unsafe structure) on 22 Bayville Ave, old Pig n Whistle location where currently concrete framing sits behind fencing. First step in getting property cleaned up. May include determination of unsafe structure. Owner will be notified with timeframe for remedy. If not remedied, fines or other measures will ensue.
Resolution to continue participation in ongoing Nassau County program of Community Development Block Grant Program to assist homeowners who meet certain income criteria with necessary home improvements.
Resolution to honor the Village mandated audit for the courts.
Resolution to hire beach attendant at $7.50 hour.
Resolution for a change order to the Streetscape Project (Ludlam Ave), cost of $62,000 within original budgeted frame (which came in below initial cost estimates), based on past three years weather, tree, fencing conditions since first plans were drawn up 3 years ago. More sidewalk to be included in renovation. One resident complaint that he was not personally notified as to the project and schedule, and his property borders on the project areas.

Public Comment: The Mayor opened up Public Comment announcing that since September 26^th public comment time ran over 2.5 hours, and that did not serve anyone, he will limit Public Comment tonight to 30 minutes.

Resident disappointed that after Library construction project there were many empty shelves, not very much more books, and very low attendance at toddler story time, since Library newsletter was discontinued. A request was made to add a Library news insert into the quarterly Village newsletter.
Over the Bridge storeowner reminded and requested of Bayville to shop locally, and gave dates of Wine Tasting event on Nov 18, and the countywide program of Small Business Saturday on Nov 26. The comment was of very low traffic in her store in town.
Arlington Lane resident asked for response from Maria Alfano-Hardy on two road questions regarding private roads and maintenance. Since the Village Board has not me in regular session since September 26 they had not discussed answers, but will have answers at next Village Board Meeting.
A resident commented that he was not pleased with Board’s vote to settle the Fire Company budget lawsuit with a vote to meet full request of Fire Company budget. Trustee Staab gave several detailed points on the considerations that went into that settlement decision such as cost of long lawsuit, relationship with Fire Company, parameters to other two Villages served by Fire Company, and getting second year at no increase. Discussion of these considerations were limited at Oct 25th Public Hearing because lawsuit was not yet closed.
Resident complaining on past issue of suspected polluted water effluent from neighboring property. Resident thanked Village Board for pressure put to business that was pumping out front to sidewalk and road in front of another restaurant. Sidewalk outflow was removed and piped underground to street drain. Several water tests were made, and Mayor and resident discussed the water test reports of fecal coliform ppm and that while not drinking water, the water was not sewage.
Resident asked about 2011 budget line item for Fire Company, of $25,000. Mayor explained that the money was a short term transfer to buy a 6-wheel dune buggy for the Fire Company but that state grant money obtained by the Fire Company was then used to pay back the Village
8 residents from Oak Neck Point asked of Village Attorney about the repair responsibility of the brick wall along their neighborhood and Bayville Avenue. Village letter went out to Association that Oak Neck Point Association is responsible for wall. But no action of repair taken. Village Attorney Bianco is working on further research and will have more information on possible remedies, of which Chapter 15 or unsafe structure does not seem to be a viable mechanism in this case.
Resident spoke out that incidence of unkind letters and emails to Village government members is awful and unacceptable, and she hopes investigation finds the culprit.
Resident commented on current construction at Streetscape Project and thanked both current and past Village administrations for their work in securing this project with grant funds for Bayville, and the progress is appreciated.
Resident thanked Village Board for proceeding in Chapter 15 to remedy 22 Bayville Avenue, and asked specifically what fines were available if remedy not made, and the answer was most likely the $250.00 per day fine.
Resident asked how many violation were issued in recent months, how many of these were dismissed, and how many were rectified.
Resident asked again about free running chickens on her street, and asked again for an answer as to code violation on this.
Senior Citizen resident gave an emotional plea to Board to see the upsetting decline in Bayville neighborhoods, house near him with four families, unkempt homes. He recognized the beautiful nature of Bayville, residents, and participants who come here tonight.

Meeting adjourned.

NEXT MEETING: Monday November 28^th, 7:30 pm.

Board of Trustees Meeting 9/26/11

Barry E Lamb — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:37:34 GMT

The following summary of the last BOT meeting was compiled by a group of attendees who have requested that it be posted:

Bayville Village meeting: Monday Sept 26, 7:30 pm.

(NEXT meeting is Monday October 24^th—please come!)

Issues brought up in public discussion:

House on Greenwich Ave., burned out, for over 18 months. Resident complaining what is being done? Village response is that the owner is thinking about what to do, Bayville has no action other than to wait for some application to come down the pike to them. Meanwhile building that could be nearly condemned is left sitting going in two year, no fines, no action. Residents annoyed that lot being used to park cars. Residents in past were told lot could never be used as parking. Now the Mayor is saying that he was wrong about the measurements of the lot and it can be used as parking. Not what residents want. Two meetings ago the Mayor daid the people who own the property were talking about submitting plans for a two-family home. No plans yet.

Woman living near Crescent Club has been complaining about 5-6:30 am garbage pickup of Crescents several dumpsters that disturbs residents, and is earlier time than Village ordinance allows. One year later with countless calls to Mayor and Code Enforcer Al Cruchillo (only there some Mondays?) this woman has gotten nowhere. Mayor told her to call Al again. She screamed.

A resident was complaining why Bayville Village is repairing holes in a private road in front of Viteretti’s home on Shore (aka Washington Ave) Road, when other private roads in Bayville (Arlington) are getting no where asking for Bayville assistance in drainage issues that need to be addressed by the Village and many users of the road before the Arlington residents can pay themselves to re pave their “private” road.

Owners of the Bayville Deli (Joe Florio) and owner of the Bayville Beverage asked about the Gulf Station and possible convenience store there. Mayor explained that a fuel company has purchased the Gulf Station. The current repair operations will remain, and a refurbished building, tanks, and site landscape PROPOSAL will include a convenience store in that proposal. To be aired publicly at an advertised date sometime in a month or so. ( Will it be a nice looking Hampton’s style convenience store proposed? I’ve seen some that look pretty nice. Is a little competition a good thing?)

Bayville Firehouse was listed on meeting agenda, then tabled. A resident asked about what was happening with the firehouse budget item. Trustee Rupp, accountant and CPA, answered that he led the budget cutting last fall when he cut all department budgets, closed library on weekends, fired p/t staff. Rupp looked closely at Firehouse budget request. To look for cuts, as with all items, he noticed high percent increases given each year to Firehouse budget item for all of past 10 years. He then looked at past three years of actual expenditures. He looked at last year’s actual expenditures, in line with past three. So he gave them a budget item that matched last year’s expenditures. This was $60,000 less than requested by Firehouse. Firehouse is now suing the Village. Paul Rupp was very saddened to say that he has lost several friends and received threats to his home and family over his trying to do his job on the Firehouse budget item.

Peter Ronzetti asked the mayor what is being done about the sewage-tinged water being pumped out of the front of Ralph’s Pizza, since Peter’s umpteenth complaint, and official complaint at the Village meeting in August 22^nd, when the mayor said the illegal effluent connection would be removed in 24 hours. Nothing ever done. Last night’s answer-- nothing Village can do.

Background: Ralph has pumped to the rear lot for years and years. DEC put a stop to that, so now for the past 18 months he’s pumping out the front. He is legally allowed to pump his basement water into the Nassau County street drain, however that is 100 feet from his pizza building, so his sewage tinged water is running across the sidewalk, down along the frontage of Jeff’s Chowder House building. Ronzetti has to shovel sludge from curb each week. Ronzetti has the water tested. 2 ppm fecal coliform is considered acceptable for clean runoff. Sample taken this Sept 6^th had 1600ppm fecal coliform. Nassau County Health Dept and Nassau County DPW say Village of Bayville must enforce code. Nassau County DPW issues a letter that if Ralph’s Pizza puts in for such an UNDERGROUD pumping to the NC drain, they would conditionally approve it if the permit application includes a list of conditions such as soils test, sanitary engineer plan, construction plan, etc. Ralph’s Pizza had not moved to do any of these thus far. But Ralph’s Pizza claims “they have a pending permit to pump, that was conditionally accepted by NC DPW.” The Village is accepting this, and issuing a violations to Ralph’s Pizza only about “staining the sidewalk” with the pumping. Is there really nothing the Village can do? Audience members said if proper and serious nuisance and sewage fines were imposed, financially Ralph’s Pizza would be moved to correct the problem. The mayor’s response was “it’s the oldest business in town.” The audience thinks SO WHAT! So not sure if anything will be done to stop Ralph’s Pizza pumping effluent into our street, while the Village waits (how much longer??) for Ralph Pizza to start a construction permit/project and spend 10s of thousands of dollars.

7. Cell towers: Two current cell tower company contracts, Verizon and AT&T, are up for renewal. It was discussed where to put cell towers in bayville if not on water tower (too close to schools), is there any other location? The mayor asked residents to think about what is the alternative? Resident brought up law that eliminated residental and private property from having cell towers, and resident asked the board to eliminate those two companies from the water tower use for cell antennas.

LAST MEETING’S BUSINESS: NOT MENTIONED AT THIS MEETING:

1. What is the result of the Mayor’s speaking to business owners on the Avenue and presenting the Beautification Committee’s letter of request for clean up, sweeping, signage unity, painting using chosen specified colors. (Any one game to mention to owners of paint-peeling buildings to go splurge on a few gallons of paint?)

Also not mentioned, Mayor’s result is asking landlords of buildings for lease or for sale to put up resident-supplied (Donna Rizzo) large-scale posters of old Bayville photographs in the windows, to upgrade the look while the buildings are for sale.

2. Can the Mohring building (former Pig & Whistle) shell of concrete be condemned? Can the water pond/stairs-to-nowhere project in front of the Bayville Animal Clinic corner be condemned or deemed unsafe?

There is much more…..

COME TO A MEETING, BE IN THE AUDIENCE AND SUPPORT FELLOW CITIZENS as we communication and assist our government to work together to get the best out of everyone for a better Bayville.

Next meeting dates: Mondays 7:30 pm

October 24th, November 14th, and 28th, December 12th.

Arlington Lane: A Case Study

Barry E Lamb — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:55:03 GMT

When I originally began addressing “The Roads of Bayville” several years ago on this blog, I did my absolute best to keep it objective. I was attempting to get the administration at that time to at least make an attempt to address the glaring flaws in the way that roads were being (or, more to the point, not being) handled. Obviously, living on Arlington Lane, this was no easy task. To my knowledge, Arlington Lane is the best (worst) example of these flaws in existence. I understand that, given the state of things in our little village, this is an ambitious statement.

At this point it may be a good idea to go back and re-read my prior posts on the subject:

http://bayvilleblog.com/2006/11/12/the-roads-of-bayville.aspx

http://bayvilleblog.com/2007/01/21/roads-revisited.aspx

As anyone who drives by Arlington Lane can attest, the road is a shambles. You need not even drive down the road to see that it is virtually impassable in anything but an SUV or truck. Each time we have even a moderate rainfall; the road floods and we are left with standing water for days. In the spring of 2010, there was standing water at the intersection of Arlington and Grove from March 11^th to May 21^st without ever once being dry - two and a half months.

I’m sure that, right about now, many of you are grumbling to yourselves that we should all just re-pave the road and stop complaining. Obviously, if it were that simple, I wouldn’t be wasting my time writing this. The majority of Arlington Lane residents are ready and willing to pave the road and bear the cost. I realize that that may crush any preconceptions you may have had about this issue, but it is true. In Bayville, we seem to rely more on rumor than fact, and on something that someone said, rather than source documents. These rumors and half-truths then go down in the annals of Bayville history as universally accepted truth, with long time residents willing to swear to their authenticity without having any personal knowledge whatsoever. Few residents of Bayville seem to have the attention span to actually uncover the truth (this, of course, does not include any of the people reading this – you’ve actually made it through the third paragraph).

In the case of Arlington Lane, the perception is that the residents are too cheap or lazy to fix the road. After all, the residents of all those “presidents’ streets” regularly get together and maintain their dead end streets; why can’t we?

The reason that we can’t is water and traffic. Any attempts in the past to fix the road have failed very quickly due to standing water and traffic volume that, over the years, has been funneled to Arlington Lane. I have personally spent thousands of dollars to pave in front of my house several times, only to see it destroyed in one season.

How this all came about is a decades long story, and is the result of a village government that has failed, at every possible juncture, to address a problem that they created through lack of oversight, enforcement and will. It is my intention to tell this story, through a series of posts on this blog, in it’s entirety. The entire story will be based on actual facts and backed up with source documentation. It will tell the story of a past administration unwilling to admit it’s mistakes and a current administration that is terrified to change the status quo; even if the status quo victimizes it’s resident’s and severely affects their quality of life.

As I’ve said, it’s a long story and will include scans of several letters from me (you’ll get a kick out of some of the village’s responses), engineer’s reports and documents from the village archives. I hope that you will take the time to read it all (even broken into several parts it’s way longer than three paragraphs) before coming to any final conclusions. I would like this one to be accurately recorded in Bayville’s virtual history book.

As always, I will not respond to anonymous, inflammatory remarks – not that any of those people have made it far enough to read this.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Locust Valley Central School District

Admin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:04:09 GMT

Use this thread for announcements, events and general conversation in and around the Locust Valley Central School District. This district has schools in the Long Island communities of Locust Valley and Bayville NY.

Post Hurricane Irene Communication

Admin — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:15:28 GMT

Please use this thread for general conversation about the storm, conditions, storm related
messages and family messaging to others outside the area if available, etc.

Keep it to Irene only. Thanks!

Village Board of Trustees Meeting August 22, 2011

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:50:20 GMT

Monday night’s meeting of the Board of Trustees was demonstrative of a constituency that is nearing its limits of tolerance for watching their home town deteriorate. Resident after resident came forward to voice outrage over the village’s inability (or unwillingness) to address long-standing problems.

Among the issues discussed were stalled construction projects such as Steve’s Pier, the old Pig & Whistle, the fishpond in front of the Bayville Animal Hospital (not the Vet’s fault) and the landfill that appears to be operating across the street. Other issues included parking issues on Greenwich, a business at the stands (I believe Ralph’s – please correct me if I am wrong) pumping their basement and affecting other businesses, lack of maintenance on the buildings and premises of the commercial districts, a catering truck business being run from a residence on Wansor and a poorly maintained wall in front of the Oak Neck development. If I have made any errors please let me know.

On a side note, an interesting statement was made by the new village attorney regarding the wall. He said something to the effect that, when determining responsibility, the court often looks at who has maintained the structure in the past. I just hope he remembers that statement when I discuss the drainage on Arlington Lane with him. More on that to follow.

I am posting this to give the community a place to discuss, debate and share useful and pertinent information regarding these issues and any progress that may, or may not, be made. As always, I implore you to keep it constructive and civil, and encourage you to take credit and responsibility for what you post by using your real name, or at least a unique user name that identifies you to people in the community.

That being said – neutral corners please…………… ding.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

5th Battalion Parade & Drill Comes to Bayville - Saturday June 18th 2011

Admin — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:10:51 GMT

Posted at the request of the Bayville Fire Company - Admin

The Bayville Fire Company is this years host of the 5th Battalion Parade and Drill. The event brings together the 11 fire departments along Nassau's North Shore that make up the 5th Battalion of the Nassau County Fire Service. The days events will begin with the drill which is held at the track at Centre Island Beach. The drill will begin at 10:00AM on Saturday the 18th and should end around 2:00PM. The competition tests firefighters skills in ladder events, hose events and comes to a conclusion with the popular buckets brigade!

The evening events get started with the parade of the 11 departments through town. Each department is judged by appearance, number of members in line by judges that are stationed along the parade route. The parade will begin at School Street and proceed east to Centre Island Beach. At the conclusion of the parade entertainment will be provided by the band Flashback. This is the same band that performed at the recent Falcon Pride Summer Kick Off Concert.

The Grand Marshall for this years event was to be Past President Edward M. Minicozzi Sr. We are going to continue to honor Ed by including his family at the beginning of the parade in his memory.

The parade will step off at 7:00 and the Bayville Fire Company will be the lead department. Residents should expect road closures from School St. heading east to Centre Island Beach from 6:30PM until the parade concludes at around 8:00 or 8:30.

We look forward to hosting this event as we will be celebrating 89 years of service to our community. The next time we will host this event will be in 2022 as part of our 100th Anniversary celebration.

For more updates go to http://www.facebook.com/bfcfanpage

Villlage of Bayville approves 19.5% tax increase for 2011/2012

Admin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:16:00 GMT

Last night the Village of Bayville approved a 19.5% tax increase for 2011/2012 year. Residents packed the room while the Board unanimously passed the increase.

Bayville Elections June 15th 2010

Admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:09:00 GMT

Its that time again... Discussion on the Bayville Elections June 15th 2010

Locust Valley Central School District Annual Budget Vote

Admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:43:00 GMT

On going discussion on the annual LVCSD Annual Budget proposals and vote

New Documentary - Full Signal

Admin — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:43:00 GMT

There is a documentary scheduled to be released this December (which has already been entered into several film festivals) entitled, Full Signal. This film documents the current controversy regarding cell phones, cell phone antennas, the radiation that these technologies emit, and how it impacts the human population. This is an area that all residents living in Bayville should follow and research carefully, considering the present situation of our water tower housing so many antennas so close to our school children, our residents and our water supply. The director's name is Talal Jabari, and his website is: www.FullSignalMovie.com We encourage all residents of Bayville to visit this website. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Members of BRACT

West Shore Road Project

Admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:42:00 GMT

I've seen some pre-contruction activity on West Shore Road recently. According to the article below it seems as if this project has been delayed as it should have reached completion by the end of 2009. The article states that the repairs will be to the wall only? Anyone know the scope of the project? Will the new road finally be inclusive of a bike path?

Below is an article that was recently mailed to me that had appeared in the Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot back in May 2009. It is written by D.F. Karppi Monday, 18 May 2009

Ray Ribiero, Nassau County Department of Public Works commissioner, returned a phone call requesting information, saying he currently does not have a crew working on West Shore Road.
Local residents have seen stakes being put into the ground in the West Shore Road area, and a county source said what is currently happening is that the contractors are surveying the area, and the team is still working on a plan for the renovation of the road.

There have been issues with the public involved in restoring the road including: intruding into the wetland; the raising of the road - in the area between the railroad bridge and Cleft Road to prevent flooding. A bike path was proposed for the area along the water.

Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel has long been in favor of the road repair for the safety of residents of the incorporated village. In case of an emergency – such as flooding – West Shore Road is one of two ways to get into Bayville.

Dave Relyea, owner of Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc. said, “We’ve heard rumors that an attempt is again being made to repair West Shore Road. As before, Frank M. Flower is concerned with the drainage and the effect of a new sea wall on Oyster Bay Harbor.”

According to the Nassau County 2009-2012 Capital Improvement Plan the current status of the West Shore Road is: “Currently designing improvement to seawall only, not the road. Design is 80 percent complete. Plans were reviewed by representatives of U.S. Fish and Wildlife, who have jurisdiction over the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Their initial response was negative regarding gabions on the refuge. We intend to discuss the issue with that agency further, and take appropriate actions.”

The project was originally described as: “West Shore Road extends along the west shore of Oyster Bay harbor for two miles from Oyster Bay to Bayville. The existing two-lane road was built 50 years ago. Portions of an adjacent wall are 40 years old and parts of the old wall have collapsed. It is a prime access route between Oyster Bay, Mill Neck and Bayville.

“This project is for the discrete rehabilitation or reconstruction of sections of this roadway and sea wall. Several alternatives for this improvement have met with community opposition, however at this time, consensus has been developed with the elected officials on a conceptual plan to move this project forward. Detailed design development will occur through 2004-2005 for a proposed construction in 2006-2007.”

According to the documentation for plan 6179A, West Shore Road, Mill Neck, the design work should finish on Feb. 15, 2009. Construction should start on March 8, 2009 and be finished by Dec. 30, 2009.

President Obama to Address School Children Sept 8th 2009

Admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:48:00 GMT

Parents across the country are rebelling against plans by President Barack Obama to speak directly to their children through the classrooms of the nation's public schools without their presence, participation and approval on Sept 8th. For many this is the first day of school.

Should there be an "opt out" option available to parents such as recess? Many school districts are adopting such a plan for next weeks address. How should our local districts handle?

The Obama Healthcare Boondoggle - Obamacare

Admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:31:00 GMT

Lacking details, the Obama Healthcare proposal will eventually increase federal spending. Historically they have mismanaged Medicare and Medicaid and killed Social Security. Government healthcare has failed miserably in other countries and will strip the people of their choices. The proposal includes new regulations and government authority that would leave Americans with even less control of their health care dollars than they what they have today. Keep control in the hands of the consumer. Create and enforce tough regulations upon the insurance carriers. There is no such thing as a "Big Bang" solve all. Estimated costs for the plan are in the range of $239 billon dollars over the next ten years. This plan is not deficit neutral and another disater in the making.

Jeff Silver

The N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act - The "state" of Long Island

Admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:35:00 GMT

On December 11, 2008 Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced a plan to empower communities across the state with the ability to fundamentally reorganize and consolidate local governments. In May, the Attorney General, after working with various groups, citizens and the Legislature, announced legislation, entitled The New N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act - taken from the NYS Attorney Generals Office website. More here

Consolidation. Some say long over due, some say not necessary. Lets face it, from the way I see things from here downstate, NY is not in the greatest fiscal shape, yet the downstate area of Long Island is one of the wealthiest areas in the nation. Poor management has put the state in debt for an estimated 54 billion dollars(2008). The taxes that are collected are not evenly distributed to Long Island. Long Island sends $8.1 billion in taxes to NYS, approximately 5.2 billion of it gets back to Long Island.

Maybe the time has come to establish the commonwealth of Long Island "for the common good". Or as the 51st state, Long Island would boast the nation’s highest median household income while being the third smallest state. Sounds crazy? Hey, you never know. They created this act to, well you guessed it, act. There is a very good chance consolidation by the state will occur whether we like it or not. The Empowerment Act may be an opportunity for us to maintain our Long Island communities.

Jeff Silver

July 4th Celebration -Bonfire decision

Admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:21:00 GMT

Discussion on July 4th Celebration and the bonfire decision (still pending as of June 1st)

LVCSD Budget Vote May 19th

Admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:02:00 GMT

Discussion on LVCSD Annual Budget Vote May 19th

Shore Road (aka Washington) Open - But Not All of it

Barry E Lamb — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:52:00 GMT

In another glaring example of the deficiencies of the way in which the roads in Bayville are managed, the piece of road on Shore Road (not to be confused with West Shore Road - soon to be addressed) that was closed decades ago by Mr. Viteritti is now open and being paved. The history of this, the implications for residents of Arlington Lane and the practice of selectively allowing roads to be closed with absolutely no basis in law, is so mind numbing that I can't even begin to address it right now. To top it all off, this project was done with no notice to the residents most affected by it.

Over the next several weeks I will address this from several angles to show just how bad this is and how the residents of Arlington Lane, of which I am one, have been paying for it for decades.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Birches Scheduled

Barry E Lamb — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:02:00 GMT

A groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled to celebrate the start of the Birches sewage remediation project. The ceremony will take place at the site of the proposed pump station on Melody Rd. on Thursday April 16th at 10:30 AM.

After decades of raw sewage continuously flowing into the bay, and entire generations of kids being told they were not allowed to swim because the water was too dirty, it looks as if we are finally going to fix the problem. Don’t get me wrong, the Birches is certainly not the only threat to water quality in Mill Neck Bay or the rest of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary, but it is certainly the most glaring example of long term neglect. And we cannot solely blame the many elected officials who, over the years, allowed this to continue on their watch. We also allowed it for all those years without taking action and demanding that it be addressed.

When we did finally make the demand, it was addressed. Many of you played a crucial part in that and should be proud of your role. There is no question that the letters generated in this forum were the catalyst. In politics, one letter is a nuisance, 3 or 4 is a concern, 10 is a mandate and 50 is a potential threat to political survival.

When Kyle Rabin, the former Executive Director of Friends of the Bay, and I first discussed how we could finally make this happen, we knew that we would need to have the public very involved. At about this same time, Jeff was talking to me about his idea for the Bayville Blog. In the end, the timing of these two events was the watershed event (no pun intended) that made this happen.

We also need to thank the elected officials who made this happen. In Nassau County, Diane Yatauro, who heard the call early, Tom Souzzi, and the Nassau County Legislature, and in the Town of Oyster Bay, John Venditto and the Town Board. In the end, it was these elected officials who came up with the idea of transporting the waste to the Glen Cove treatment plant, an idea that, I must admit, I was more than a little skeptical of. Making this happen was no easy feat and it completely removes this waste stream from the bay – the best possible outcome.

Those of you who can possibly make it to the groundbreaking ceremony should do so. Like the letters, a good showing will let our elected officials know that we are paying attention. Paying attention is something we all need to do if we want to be ready for the next issue – I’m relatively sure one will be rearing it’s head in the next few weeks.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Live from the West Wing

Admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:29:00 GMT

General discussion about the current administration and their performance, challenges and accomplishments. Starting with President Barak Obama in 2009, this will be an ongoing thread following future administrations. If someone wants a thread on a specific subject please email admin@bayvilleblog.com and it will be set up. Please include a brief description of the thread when submitting request. Remember, you are responsible for your content, please keep it constructive and free of personal attacks. All have the right to their own beliefs and opinions. Please use your head when posting, targeted threats against heads of states whether written spoken is a serious offense.

Senator Schumer to Hold Press Conference at the Birches

Barry E Lamb — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:53:00 GMT

I received a call from Diane Yatauro’s office just moments ago informing me that Senator Schumer will hold a press conference tomorrow at 11:00am. The press conference will be held at the site of the proposed sewage pump station in the Birches development. The purpose is to make a request of president elect Obama to include additional funding for sewage treatment in his economic stimulus plan.

Should this funding be provided, the Long Island Sound just may be the body of water that derives the most benefit from it. In addition to the coastal areas of Long Island and Connecticut, the Sounds drainage basin includes parts of New York City and a section of New England that runs all the way to Canada.

http://www.longislandsoundstudy.net/pubs/maps/drainmap.html

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to locate the map that shows the hundreds of sewage treatment plants in this area, but it would amaze you.

What is truly amazing about tomorrow’s event is that a tiny grass roots organization like Friends of the Bay, with no small amount of help from local residents (you), is responsible not only for ending the flow of raw sewage into our bay, but may possibly influence policy decisions on a national level.

I recently received the Friends of the Bay annual fundraising appeal letter and would like ask that all of you to make a contribution as well. This organization has contributed so much to this community, our quality of life and our property values and has done it on a very small budget. It is likely that they will have to do it with even less this year due to the economy, even though there is so much being planned. Plus, the boat that they use for the water quality monitoring program is out of commission with a blown motor and the whole boat is in need of replacement (the boat was always too small for this work).

I know that these are scary times, but even scarier is the thought of what this area would be like if Friends of the Bay never existed.

I have attached a response form for those who can manage to make a contribution.

Donation Response Form

Thanks,

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Presidential Election 08

Admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:42:00 GMT

General discussion on the election such as events, the Media coverage of, etc. Please rememeber that you are responsible for your content, please keep it constructive and free of personal attacks. All have the right to their own beliefs and opinions.

Republicans 08 - McCain / Palin

Admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:37:00 GMT

For posts regarding the Republican Candidates: - John Sidney McCain III for President / Sarah Louise Heath Palin for Vice President. Please rememeber that you are responsible for your content, please keep it constructive and free of personal attacks. All have the right to their own beliefs and opinions.

Democrats 08 - Obama / Biden

Admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:19:00 GMT

For posts regarding the Democratic Candidates: Barack Hussein Obama II - for President / Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. - for Vice President. Please rememeber that you are responsible for your content, please keep it constructive and free of personal attacks. All have the right to their own beliefs and opinions.

Birches Update - Friends of the Bay Calling on All County Residents!

Admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:04:00 GMT

Friends of the Bay is Calling on All Nassau County Residents to urge their legislators to approve the Intermunicipal Agreement between the Town of Oyster Bay and Nassau County to connect the homes in the area known as The Birches to the Glen Cove Sewage Treatment plant.

This is an issue of concern to everyone who uses the waters of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary!

Thank you to the dedicated group of Friends of the Bay supporters and Bayville residents who addressed the Planning, Development and Environment Committee regarding the Intermunicipal Agreement on August 4 at the Nassau County Legislature. The hearing, originally scheduled for 2:30, did not begin until 6:00 pm. We appreciate your dedication to attaining a resolution to this long standing issue.

The collaborative and creative solution developed by Nassau County and The Town of Oyster Bay will result in improved water quality for Mill Neck Creek and the entire estuary. This is an opportunity to address a long-standing problem with unacceptable environmental impacts that has gone on for too many years.

The inadequate sewage treatment plant at the Birches is a known and documented impairment to the water quality of Mill Neck Creek, the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and estuary in general. Friends of the Bay's water quality monitoring results for Mill Neck Creek consistently reflect high coliform levels resulting from effluent released from the inadequate chlorination tank that has been in place since 1983. This has resulted in the discharge of untreated sewage into the tidal wetlands. A solution to this environmentally damaging plant has been negotiated by the Town of Oyster Bay and Nassau County. Please urge your legislators not to let the opportunity to resolve this problem pass.

A pump station to connect homes in the Birches to the Glen Cove sewage treatment plant is to be funded jointly by Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay. This project will be implemented in two phases over the next two years. The Town of Oyster Bay has already agreed to this plan. Now the Nassau County Legislature must approve it. The voting will take place on Monday, August 18 in an evening session beginning at 6:00 pm. The legislative office building is located at 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola. Please attend this session to show your support. If you cannot attend the meeting, write, call or email your legislator.

There are many examples of the County Legislature being supportive of environmental improvements that, while in a particular part of the county, are wildlife habitat and recreational areas that all county residents enjoy. Just to name a few: Massapequa Preserve, Tanglewood Preserve, Roosevelt Preserve Park, Milburn Pond Park, Silver Lake Park, Lofts Pond Park and Baxter Pond Park.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge, as well as the 150th anniversary of President Theodore Roosevelt's birth. President Roosevelt was the founder of the National Wildlife Refuge system. There cannot be a more appropriate way to honor both these occasions by finally attaining a solution to a long standing environmentally damaging situation.

You may send your letter of support to Honorable Diane Yatauro, Presiding Officer, Nassau County Legislature, at 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501. Legislator Diane Yatauro, of Glen Cove, represents the 18th Legislative District. The district covers Bayville, Brookville, Centre Island, Glen Cove, Glen Head, Lattingtown, Locust Valley, Matinecock, Mill Neck, Old Brookville, Old Westbury, Sea Cliff, Upper Brookville, and parts of Greenvale, Hicksville, Jericho, and Oyster Bay. You may also write to Honorable Judith Jacobs at the same address. Legislator Jacobs represents Legislative District 16, which is comprised of the communities of Bethpage, Cove Neck, East Norwich, Jericho, Laurel Hollow, Muttontown, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Plainview, Syosset, and Woodbury. If you prefer to send an email, or are from a different legislative district, go to the Nassau County Legislature website at http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/legis/index.html and follow the links.

Patricia Aitken
Friends of the Bay

Nassau County to Vote on Birches Agreement

Barry E Lamb — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:04:00 GMT

The Nassau County legislature is scheduled to vote on the Birches cost sharing agreement. The following was sent out by Friends of the Bay:

Update- the hearing will be held at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building at 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola at 2:45 pm on Monday, August 4th. The hearing will be in the first floor legislative chamber.

Your help is needed to resolve the situation at the Birches.

Please come to a hearing by the Planning Committee of the Nassau County legislature at 2:45 pm on Monday, August 4th, to show your support for the Intermunicipal Agreement by Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay to connect the Birches to the Glen Cove sewage treatment plant. If you cannot attend the hearing, it is important that you call, email or write your legislator to voice your support for the Intermunicipal Agreement!

Friends of the Bay strongly supports the approval of the proposed Intermunicipal Agreement between Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay to connect these homes to the Glen Cove sewage treatment plant. This collaborative and creative solution will effectively address the concerns of the community, ultimately resulting in improved water quality for Mill Neck Creek.

The Planning Committee of the Nassau County legislature is scheduled to discuss this important issue and determine whether to move forward with the joint agreement at 2:45 on Monday, August 4th. To insure the swift passage of this important measure, please contact your local legislator and let them know that you support the approval of the Intermunicipal Agreement. This is an opportunity to address a long-standing problem with unacceptable environmental impacts that has gone on for too many years.

Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay have developed plans to address the inadequate sewage treatment system currently in place in the Birches community. The previous plan was to build a small package plant on the County lot, to treat and discharge sewage. However, the community was not satisfied with this solution due to concerns about the associated noise, odor and aesthetics, and they were looking for other options.

A pump station, to connect homes in the Birches to the Glen Cove sewage treatment plant recently taken over by the county, was seen as a better solution. This new plan, which is to be funded jointly by Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay, will be implemented in two phases over the next two years. For the interim period during construction, arrangements are being made to reimburse homeowners for the expenses incurred for the frequent pump outs of their overflowing septic tanks.

Friends of the Bay's water quality monitoring results for Mill Neck Creek consistently reflect high coliform levels resulting from effluent released from the inadequate chlorination tank that has been in place since 1983. This has resulted in the discharge of untreated sewage into the tidal wetlands and a tributary to Mill Neck Creek, which then flows out into the wider Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge. As a result, Mill Neck Creek has been closed to shellfishing for decades. A solution to this environmentally damaging plant has been negotiated by the Town of Oyster Bay and Nassau County. Please urge your legislators not to let the opportunity to resolve this problem pass.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Sewage from the Birches to Take the Trip to Glen Cove

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:28:00 GMT

On Wednesday, June 25^th, a meeting was held at Bailey Arboretum to update residents regarding changes to the plan for mitigating the raw sewage discharge from the Birches residential area, into Mill Neck Creek.

Earlier this year, Nassau County took possession of the Glen Cove sewage treatment plant. This prompted them to look into the possibility of connecting the Birches area, via a pump station and forced main, to the Glen Cove plant instead of constructing a packet treatment plant in the Birches area. This, of course, delayed the start of construction, which was to have already begun earlier this year. Needless to say, I was not happy with the delay. It was my contention that the collection system to be installed in the Birches community would be the same regardless of whether it delivered the sewage to a packet treatment plant to be treated and discharged, or to a pump station to be pumped to the Glen Cove plant. To me, this meant there was absolutely no reason to delay the start of construction, especially considering that the sewage flow into the Creek was mandated by the DEC to be halted before September of 2005 (though these mandates appear to incur no consequences whatsoever). As of yet, the cost sharing agreement for this portion of the project has yet to be signed by Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay.

I was also fairly sure that after the costs associated with installing a forced main to the Glen Cove plant would be prohibitive. This would be especially true if the forced main would be installed under Bayville and Horsehollow Roads, requiring very expensive restoration of these concrete roads.

At the meeting, the new plan was presented to a group that consisted primarily of residents of the Birches area as well as some other interested individuals. The plan is to install the collection system under the roadways of the Birches area exactly as it would have been with the packet plant. This collection system would transport the sewage down hill to the site where the packet plant was to be installed. Under the new plan, a pump station would be instead installed on this site. This pump station would then pump the sewage into the new forced main, under pressure, and uphill to a point where it can be connected to Glen Cove’s existing, gravity fed collection system. The new forced main would be a four inch diameter pipe installed along Bayville Road, Horsehollow Road and Skunk's Misery Road, where it would connect to the Glen Cove system on Forest Avenue for a downhill ride to the treatment plant.

In addition to all this, because the volume of sewage from the Birches alone would not be adequate to allow the pumping station to operate properly, a gravity fed collection pipe will be installed alongside the forced main that will connect the Locust Valley High School to the Birches pump station and subsequently to the Glen Cove plant.

While I am still somewhat disillusioned by what I consider an unnecessary delay to the start of the project (the collection system was originally scheduled to begin this past April and as of yet no agreement has been signed and the contract has not gone out to bid), I am happy that the concerns of some of the residents that live closest to the site of the pump station have been addressed. They had voiced their concerns regarding smell, noise, aesthetics and a reduction of their property values at the meeting at the Locust Valley Library last August ( see http://bayvilleblog.com/2007/08/23/birches-meeting-at-the-locust-valley-library.aspx). I am also happy that our elected officials do appear to be committed to solving this problem, even if their sense of urgency does not seem to equal my own.

I do have some concerns/suggestions regarding the project that I think will make it more cost effective over time. The first is that the collection system in the Birches be designed to allow it the capacity to also collect the sewage from the Hernan Avenue/Walton Avenue development. It is likely that this area suffers from the same soil conditions and underground hydrology as the Birches, the only difference being that the water table is lower and the underground flow does not cause the areas septic systems to back up. Instead I suspect the flow of groundwater is carrying sewage with it into the bay. The springs that flow continually from the Mill Neck Bay Marina site are evidence ofthis.

The second suggestion would be to install a second, larger diameter forced main pipe alongside the four inch main. By installing a second, say six inch, main in the same trench, we would be allowing for the possibility of expanding the system to include other problem areas without the added expense of re-excavating several miles of trench. The cost of laying a second line in an already excavated trench would be insignificant. The problem area that comes immediately to mind is the “Stands” area of Bayville, including the Tides, the amusement park, all the restaurants and the proposed office buildings. This area has long had extensive problems with their septic systems and, in addition to the added costs to these businesses, the ultimate destination for all this sewage is Mill Neck Bay. Connecting these businesses to a system already in place is a relatively simple and inexpensive process. Not designing in this extra capacity would be shortsighted.

Lastly, I would implore our elected official to expedite this project to the extent humanly possible. It was stated at the meeting that the collection system portion of the project could conceivably begin this fall and I would hope that every effort be made to make this happen as a gesture of goodfaith by our elected officials in both Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay. Only the knowledge that the digging has begun will reassure me that this threat to public health and quality of life will finally be on it’s way to resolution.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Related Bayville Blog entries, in chronological order:

http://bayvilleblog.com/2006/11/12/raw-sewerage-still-flowing-into-the-creek.aspx

http://bayvilleblog.com/2007/03/18/the-birches-nomination-submitted.aspx

http://bayvilleblog.com/2007/04/18/the-bisches-gets-news12-coverage.aspx

http://bayvilleblog.com/2007/05/18/town-response-on-the-birches.aspx

http://bayvilleblog.com/2007/08/23/birches-meeting-at-the-locust-valley-library.aspx

The Deed - Williams Estate Deed and Cell Towers

Admin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:23:00 GMT

It has been a little unclear as to how the Williams Estate deed reads as it pertains to the property on which the Bayville Water tower resides and the surrounding property. There has been a lot of talk about it during the recent meetings regarding the cell phone antennas but few have had the opportunity to read it. Here is your opportunity to review it and see how it relates to the cell towers (commercial enterprise) or anything else deemed offensive.

Harrison Williams Deed

Bayville Cell Towers FAQ's

International Association of Firefighter's - Position on the Health Effects from Radio Frequency/Microwave (RF/MW) Radiation in Fire Department Facilities from Base Stations for Antennas and Towers for the Conduction of Cell Phone Transmissions

Posted at the request of BRACT

Bayville Green Market Opens Saturday June 7th

Admin — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:47:00 GMT

The Green Market is scheduled to open Saturday, June 7 and remain open through Saturday, September 6, 2008. We are looking for volunteers - Anyone interested can call Joanne at Village Hall 628-1439 extension 10.

Posted at the request of Kate Naughton

LVCSD - Annual Election of Board Members and Budget Vote - Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:54:00 GMT

The Locust Valley Central School District Annual Election of Board Members and Vote on the Budget will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, between 12:00 noon and 10:00 p.m. at the following places:

Bayville Election District: Bayville Intermediate Schools

Brookville Election District: Community Hall, Brookville Reformed Church at the corner of Brookville Road and Wheatley Road

Locust Valley Election District: Locust Valley High School/Middle School

There will be a "Meet the Candidates” evening on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. in the High School Cafeteria. Six candidates are running for three seats on the Board of Education: incumbents Dr. Yao H. Chu and Ronald J. Walsh, as well as Philip Bellisari, Kathleen Falciano, Joseph Florio and Lisa McLoughlin.

Bayville Park Blvd. Civic Association Board Resigning - Meeting May 6th

Barry E Lamb — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:16:00 GMT

The board of the civic association is all resigning, with the exception of the treasurer. We have been the board for 2 years now but can no longer do it for various reasons. We sent out a flyer and held a general meeting in April to elect new officers. Out of 250 families only 7 families showed up; 4 of those families were the officers.

We are not a usual civic association. We have to have one to maintain our roads and drainage systems or else we will have to pay back the original grant we received to have the roads and drains fixed in the first place. This is really not about people wanting to live in a nice neighborhood, which is a very nice thing to do; it is about avoiding a substantial expense for each of our residents.

We need a new board to continue moving forward.

I can no longer do the job. I have 4 small children and had to go back to work (when I took the job I was suppose to stay home, I could not). I can not run a civic association, do my job and take care of 4 very small girls - it's just too much, and the civic association is not being taken care of properly.

We are having a meeting on May 6th at 7:00pm in the Community Center. Flyers will be mailed out shortly stating this. We need everyone to come and people to step up to the plate to run things. This is our community and we need to take care of it unless we want to just pay about 4,000 dollars per household for it, and let it return to the ugly horrible conditions it use to be.

Sincerely,

Roberta Amian, Soon to be Former Civic Association President

LVCSD Board of Education Antenna Inquiry

Admin — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:17:00 GMT

It’s been brought to my attention that the LVCSD Board of Education has opened a dialogue with the Village Gov’t, expressing concerns about the safety of the Cell Towers being so close to BP. The Village has responded that there is little community opposition to this situation, merely a dozen or so people who are worried about it. That is patently untrue, as evidenced by the large attendance at last winter’s meetings about the NCPD proposal. In addition to the many people who attended and spoke at those meetings, I gathered upwards of 200 signatures on a petition, all asking the village to move the cell towers away from the children of our community. Mayor Siegel subsequently dismissed the impact of all those signatures by claiming that five people called her and told her they felt co-erced or forced to sign. If that is indeed true, that does not negate the many others who signed.

The Board would like to hear from the community, to see how people really feel about this. Please go to this page of the LVCSD website http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/page.cfm?p=22

Click on the link on the bottom to email the school board. E-mails are printed and distributed to each board member. This is a very easy way for people to make their voices heard on this situation. The direct email for the board is: board@lvcsd.k12.ny.us

Thank you,

Edie Dickman

Bayville Election June 17th, 2008

Admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:49:00 GMT

To anyone interested in running for trustee of Bayville, there will be a Village Election June 17th, 2008.

Three Trustee positions are up for election. There are 6 Trustees in Bayville and they run on split years. Three Trustees (3) this year and then the opposite three (3) in 2010 when the next Mayoral Race occurs.

Anyone can run for Trustee. Maria Alfano-Hardy is the Village Clerk and she is the designated election official during Village Elections. Information on running can be obtained from her office or the Nassau County Board of Elections.

Any interested party/parties must have a petition signed supporting their Nomination for Candidacy and submitted to the Election Official (Marie Alfano-Hardy) 60 days prior to the election. All information and petitions are available in printable versions online through NYS Board of Elections or through the Nassau County Board of Elections.

Margaret Marchand

Smithers' Acquisition Approved

Barry E Lamb — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:24:00 GMT

The acquisition of the twenty-five acre Smither's property was unanimously approved yesterday. After several other items were addressed at the meeting, Diane Yatauro requested that those who were scheduled to speak on the Smithers' acquisition not do so for the sake of expediency, indicating that it would pass. When the the polling was complete, it was unanimous.

Thanks to everyone who wrote, e-mailed, called or went door to door collecting signatures. There is no question that it had an effect; it always does.

We can now move on to other issues including the St. Gertrude's property and why it has been so quiet on the Birches front (to my knowledge the agreement between the Town and County has never been signed).

Friends of the Bay has asked me to put up the following E-mail. They wanted to be sure to thank all of you who acted.

The Nassau County Legislature voted on February 25 to acquire the Smithers Property!

A sincere thank you to everyone who called, wrote or emailed their legislators.  The Smithers Property is an environmentally important and beautiful property and its preservation is a wonderful legacy to leave for generations to come.

Friends of the Bay commends the County Legislature on their unanimous vote to acquire the Smithers Property in Mill Neck, which is an outstanding environmental achievement. In the words of John James Audubon, "A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children."

This ecologically-significant property to be acquired in Mill Neck will continue to play a vital role in protecting Shu Swamp and the entire Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary system in which drains. Located in the state-designated Special Groundwater Protection Area, it contains two ponds, as well as many of the freshwater springs that supply Shu Swamp and in turn, Beaver Dam and Mill Neck Creek.  This acquisition will create a continuous preserve all the way to the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge, helping to protect the water quality so critical to the health of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary System.

The Smithers property, featured in a YouTube video produced by Friends of the Bay  at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFhU2TkUbU,  was ranked #1 by the County Executive's advisory committee based on its natural beauty as well as its environmental significance.

Please thank your legislators for voting to acquire the Smithers Property!

County Executive Thomas Suozzi - tsuozzi@nassaucountyny.gov

Presiding Officer Diane Yatauro - dyatauro@nassaucountyny.gov

Minority Leader Peter Schmitt - pschmitt@nassaucountyny.gov

Planning, Development and The Environment Committee:

David Denenberg, Chair - ddenenberg@nassaucountyny.gov

Judy Jacobs, Vice Chair - jjacobs@nassaucountyny.gov

Kevan Abrahams - kabrahams@nassaucountyny.gov

Jeff Toback - jtoback@nassaucountyny.gov

Wayne Wink - wwink@nassaucountyny.gov

Richard Nicolello - rnicolello@nassaucountyny.gov

Denise Ford - dford@nassaucountyny.gov

Norma Gonsalves - ngonsalves@nassaucountyny.gov

Ed Mangano - emangano@nassaucountyny.gov

To see who represents your area, visit the Nassau County Legislature Website athttp://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Legis/index.html

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Smithers' on YouTube

Barry E Lamb — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:15:00 GMT

Friends of the Bay has put together a YouTube video that shows how well the Smithers' property compliments Shu Swamp, Beaver Lake, Mill Neck Creek and the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It's must view for anyone that is not familiar with the property. It's also a must view for any of our elected officials who may plan to vote against the acquisition without having bothered to walk the property. The e-mail that follows was sent out this morning:

Here's the Link (the one in the e-mail may not work): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFhU2TkUbU

The Smithers Property is on YouTube -
The future of this property will be decided by the Nassau County Legislature
on Monday, February 25

Click on the link below to learn more! Read on to see how you can be a voice for the bay and assist in the protection of this majestic and environmentally important property! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFhU2TkUbU

Please show your support by attending the vote on Monday, February 25th at 10:00 am. The vote will take place at the Legislative Office Building, 5th Floor, 1 West Street, Mineola.

The Legislature will be voting on Monday, February 25 on whether or not to preserve the Smithers property, and protect our water quality and preserve open space. Please email your legislators NOW and let them know how important the health of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary is to you! 77% of the voters of Nassau County want open space preserved!

County Executive Thomas Suozzi - tsuozzi@nassaucountyny.gov

Presiding Officer Diane Yatauro - dyatauro@nassaucountyny.gov

Minority Leader Peter Schmitt - pschmitt@nassaucountyny.gov

Planning, Development and The Environment Committee:

David Denenberg, Chair - ddenenberg@nassaucountyny.gov

Judy Jacobs, Vice Chair - jjacobs@nassaucountyny.gov

Kevan Abrahams - kabrahams@nassaucountyny.gov

Jeff Toback - jtoback@nassaucountyny.gov

Wayne Wink - wwink@nassaucountyny.gov

Richard Nicolello - rnicolello@nassaucountyny.gov

Denise Ford - dford@nassaucountyny.gov

Norma Gonsalves - ngonsalves@nassaucountyny.gov

Ed Mangano - emangano@nassaucountyny.gov

To see who represents your area, visit the Nassau County Legislature Website athttp://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Legis/index.html

If you have already written, called or emailed your legislators, our heartfelt thanks! If not, please take the time to do so now, and forward this email on to your friends so that they can be a voice for our bay, and preserve open space!

Smither's Pond - Lick the Damn Stamp

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:42:00 GMT

I’m lucky enough to know the Smither’s property first hand (by way of trespass I’m afraid). I started climbing the fence to fish there when I was ~12 years old and in high school we would go there to swim off the dam in the upper pond. The water was crystal clear and the fishing was great. It would be a sin to allow this property to be subdivided and developed.

I have posted a sample letter below for people to copy, paste and modify, or just copy, paste and sign. What matters is that we let our legislators know that this is important to us and that we let them know on time. That means that you have to do it pretty much immediately. I have posted the E-mail and mailing addresses to make it as easy as possible and suggest that you e-mail your letters immediately, as well as snail mail them for Tuesday morning pick up.

Please, lick the damn stamp and let us know that you did it. Mine were E-mailed this morning and dropped in the box this afternoon (thanks Tom and Scott for your letters).

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

The letter:

The Honorable Thomas Souzzi
Nassau County Executive Director
One West Street
Mineola, NY 11501

February 17, 2008

Dear County Executive Souzzi,

I am writing you to covey my absolute support for the acquisition of the Smither’s property under the 2006 Nassau County Environmental Bond Program. The acquisition of this 25 acre property will combine with the Shu Swamp Preserve, Beaver Dam, Mill Neck Bayand the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge to create an unfragmented, continuous preserve to forever protect this beautiful water course.

An opportunity like this will only present itself once before this property is forever lost to development, profoundly affecting not only this property, but also the ecology of the entire downstream habitat.

The acquisition of this property may prove, in time, to be the crown jewel of the Environmental Bond Program. Please do everything in your power to ensure that this opportunity is not lost forever.

Sincerely,

The mailing addresses:

The Honorable Diane Yatauro
Presiding Officer, Nassau County Legislator
One West Street
Mineola, NY 11501

Dear Presiding Officer Yatauro,

The Honorable Peter Schmitt
Nassau County Minority Leader
One West Street
Mineola, NY 11501

Dear Minority Leader Schmitt,

And the E-mail addresses:

tsuozzi@nassaucountyny.gov

dyatauro@nassaucountyny.gov

pschmitt@attglobal.net

Thanks in advance to all that respond

Smithers' Pond - Open Space Acquisition in Question

Barry E Lamb — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:02:00 GMT

I just received the following E-mail from the North Shore Land Alliance. The Smithers property, for those of you who do not know, is located in Mill Neck at the intersection of Chicken Valley Rd. and Oyster Bay Rd (Mill Hill Rd.) where the blinking yellow light is. It has two ponds on it, as well as many of the fresh water springs that supply Shu Swamp and in turn, Beaver Dam and Mill Neck Creek. It is directly upstream of Shu Swamp and its acquisition would create a continuous preserve all the way to the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Losing the opportunity to protect this property would be a grave mistake.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Smither's Ponds, Mill Neck

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PROTECT THIS LOCAL TREASURE!!

On Monday, February 11th, the Nassau County Legislature had the opportunity to authorize the purchase of the 25- acre Smither's Property in Mill Neck as the first of the open space acquisitions for the 2006 Environmental Bond Program. Based on its beauty, environmental significance and proximity to the Shu Swamp Preserve, it was the Bond Advisory Committee's first choice.

The legislators did not authorize the acquisition and in fact, tabled the vote until Monday, February 25th. This means we have less than 2 weeks to convince them that the Smither's Property is unique, wonderful and an important part of our community certainly worthy of acquisition!

We are writing you today to ask that you call, write or e-mail our elected officials and tell them how important the Smither's property is to our area. Attached are some facts that might help you with your messages but the most compelling of arguments are the ones that come from your heart.

Thank you in advance for taking action to protect our open spaces. Your letters, notes and/or phone calls should be sent to the following by February 21st:

Person/Address

County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi
1 West Street, Mineola, NY 11501
tsuozzi@nassaucountyny.gov
516-571-3131

Majority Leader Diane Yatauro
1 West Street, Mineola, NY 11501
dyatauro@nassaucountyny.gov
516-571-6218

Minority Leader Peter Schmitt
1 West Street, Mineola, NY 11501
pschmitt@attglobal.net
516-571-6212

Please call us with any questions you might have. 516-626-0908

SMITHER'S PROPERTY FACT SHEET

The 25-acre Smither's property located inthe village of Mill Neck is an integral part of the State designated Shu Swamp Protection Area. It was listed as a priority acquisition in the 2006 NewYork State Open Space Plan. The acquisition of the Smither's Property alongwith a small portion of the Humes property will connect a series of previously identified important conservation lands which together will encompass almost 200 acres.

Understanding the important biological diversity and significance of this area, the non-profit North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary was formed in the 1960's to begin to preserve this area of exceptional environmental value. They raised private funds to open the Shu Swamp Preserve, the center of the designated conservation area, built trails and aparking area so that it could be shared with the public.

This area is home to several state endangered and "unusual" plants, brook trout, a nesting area for great horned owls and ruby throated hummingbirds. North Shore Audubon reported that the Smithers Pond had the largest population of wood ducks seen in all of Nassau County at this year’s Christmas Bird Count.

There is a stand of very rare tulip trees that have not been cut since the 1860's. (The last exceptional standof tulip trees brought to our attention was located in Grace Forest in NorthHills and was lost to development in 2006.)

The Smither's property which has been in private hands and unaccessible to the public prior to this time is the most important link in connecting this significant conservation area.

Smithers was ranked first on the Environmental Bond Advisory Committee’s list because of both its beauty and its environmental significance.

Island Swamp Brook and Mill Neck Creek are fed by the Smither's Ponds which empty into Beaver Lake. All three bodies are considered significant freshwater wetlands within the Oyster Bay Special Groundwater Protection Area. Mill Neck Creek's wetlands have also been identified as Significant Fish and Wildlife Habitat by the New York Department of State.

Stewardship for this property will be provided by the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary at no additional cost to the County. The Shu Swamp preserve is open to the public and provides a plentiful parking area as well as designated trails.

Preventing Smither's from being acquired would be a real disservice to the 77% of Nassau County's residents that voted so enthusiastically to fund the 2006 Environmental Bond Program.

Community Announcements and Miscellaneous Postings

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:55:00 GMT

Use this to post ads, announce events or post comments that do not fit with an existing topic.

You can let everyone know about Little League registration, bake sale, charity car wash or public meeting.

This is also the place for those off topic posts that you don't know where to put. If you think the topic warrants it's own thread, let us know here and we'll move it to the main page.

Again, the possibilities are endless.

Lock Your Doors, Open Your Eyes

Barry E Lamb — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:42:00 GMT

My neighbors on Arlington La. and I woke up yesterday morning to something that was disturbing on several levels. Three of our cars at three different houses had been entered, ransacked and burglarized overnight and mine had been vandalized. The items stolen included a camera, Tom-Tom GPS unit, a satellite radio receiver, 2 EZ pass transceivers and our (obviously misplaced) sense of security. All three of the cars were unlocked; Locked cars were passed over. In addition, permanent magic marker was used to scribble all over three windows of my truck, including the words "F%@# You N$&##%@". Since I am not black, this probably doesn't qualify as a hate crime -just a stupid one.

In subsequent conversations with members of the NCPD and others, I have learned that there have been a substantial number of these incidents in Bayville recently, including several just last week. Had we had that information before hand, we likely would have been more careful. There have also been a marked increase in these break-ins in Nassau County as a whole. GPS receivers seem to be a popular target.

A couple of years ago, a similar series of break-ins were connected to a group of local teenagers - though no charges were brought against them. At this point, it is unclear whether these more recent crimes are being committed by locals, or outsiders targeting Bayville because we normally don't have a significant incidence of crime and are subsequently somewhat lax when it comes to security. I have to admit, I made it ridiculously easy for them.

What is clear, is that the residents of Bayville need to be more vigilant. Obviously, lock your car doors. This will not only protect yourself, but will have the added benefit of making them have to work harder and longer to find what they want, making them more susceptible to being caught. If they are from outside of Bayville, they are also less likely to view us as an easy target. Also, open your eyes. If you see something that looks suspicious, do something. Take down a plate number, notify the police, let people know. Post information about any other incidents that have already occurred and any that occur in the future. Timely information is needed.

Hopefully we will see an increase in police patrols down our residential streets at night and the residents will report what they see. During the winter, Bayville's streets are as quiet as it gets; it's not like we would have to pick these people out of a crowd at 2AM.

Catching them would be the best revenge for the most valuable item that was stolen - our sense of security.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Hearing on LI Sound Tunnel Proposal

Admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:53:00 GMT

Senator Carl Marcellino held a hearing today in Oyster Bay regarding the Long Island Sound Tunnel Proposal. Below is the press release from the Senator.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 24, 2008

CONTACT: Kathy Wilson ( 516) 922-1811

MARCELLINO HOLDS HEARING ON LONG ISLAND SOUND TUNNEL PROPOSAL

Senator Carl L. Marcellino (R-Syosset) Chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee today held a joint hearing with the Senate Transportation Committee on the Long Island Sound Tunnel proposal.

This hearing afforded the committees the opportunity to question the developer about the project and to hear from government officials that represent the areas most directly affected. According to Senator Marcellino this is just the opening to an array of steps in the process.

"This is a serious proposal by serious people. It must be fully reviewed before we change the landscape of Long Island forever," Senator Marcellino said.

In preparation for the hearing Senator Marcellino visited the East Side Access tunnel project that will connect the Long Island Rail Road’s Main and Port Washington lines to a new terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. There he witnessed first hand the workings of a 200 ton tunnel boring machine and the process used to remove the debris.

"Seeing first hand the process of building a tunnel gave me new insight to this proposal. The magnitude is astonishing," said Senator Marcellino.

"Through the course of this hearing I had the opportunity to ask many of my questions and questions of my constituent. Now I have a fuller understanding of what will be involved and the effect on the community, "

said Senator Marcellino.

Senator Marcellino had mailed the affected community and asked them to submit their concerns. In addition, on his web site, www.senatormarcellino.com, he has a quick poll to get the pulse of the community.

The proposed Long Island Sound tunnel is approximately 16 miles in length and would extend from Route 135 (Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway) in Syosset, to the intersection of I-287 and I-95 in Rye, NY. The world’s longest roadway tunnel built in Norway is 15.2 miles

The project would be funded by the private sector and cost approximately $10 billion. The toll is estimated at $25 dollars one way.

The tunnel is expected to carry between 59,000 and 79,000 vehicles per day when it is completed in 2025. According to the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, annual average daily traffic in 2006 on the Queens Midtown Tunnel was 79,359.

Testifying at the hearing was Supervisor John Venditto of the Town of Oyster Bay,Vincent and Michael Polimeni of Polimeni International LLC, the engineering firm of Hatch Mott MacDonald, Dr. William Kelly, NYS Geologist, Professor Stanley Klein, Long Island University, Mayor Steven Otis of Rye, Valerie O’Keefe Supervisor of Mamaroneck, Mayor Drew Fixell of Tarrytown, Michael White, Executive Director of the Long Island Regional Planning Board and Mayor Harry Anand of the Village of Laurel Hollow.

In attendance were many of the local governmental leaders including, Mayor Vicki Segal, Mayor Tom Zoller, Councilwoman Rose Walker, Town Clerk Steve Labriola, Assemblyman Rob Walker and others.

"I thank everyone who came to offer their expertise and thoughts," concluded Senator Marcellino

Kathy D. Wilson

Communications Director

Senator Carl L. Marcellino - 5th Senate District 250 Townsend Square Oyster Bay, NY 11771

Phone: 516-922-1811 ** Fax: 516-922-1154 http://www.senatormarcellino.com

Bayville Lobster House Fire - 1/13/08

Admin — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:29:00 GMT

There was a fire at the Bayville Lobster House on Sunday evening resulting in the loss of a historical building in the Bayville Commons built sometime during the turn of the century. Along with the Bayville Fire Company multiple area fire departments responded to the blaze and did an incredible job at protecting the nearby exposures. This was a close one. The entire row of stores on that corner could have easily been lost due to the older type of construction and the proximity of the buildings. Despite the intensity of the fire there were no major injuries. Residents living above the restaurant were taken to the hospital for observation and later released.

Fire Images by Nick and Butch

BRACT Press Conference

Admin — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:15:00 GMT

There will be a press conference at the Water Tower this Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 3:30p.m. For all those who can make it, we look forward to seeing you there, and we thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

The Members of BRACT

BayvilleResidentsACT.com

Residents of Locust Avenue Meeting

Admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:56:00 GMT

Residents of Locust Avenue are meeting Tuesday, October 30th, 7:30 pm, at the Village Community Center to discuss what to do about the poor condition of Locust Avenue. Many residents are still angry over the handwritten notices containing spelling errors that were received by all 23 home owners ordering the repair of the road.

The first 90 feet of Locust is paved and was torn up years ago by the paving company that paved Godfrey Avenue. The Mayor, at the last Village meeting on October 22nd, has given tacit approval to having the town pay for the repaving of this black top portion of Locust. Residents probably will get together to get Locust Avenue graded. This would include grading and adding recycled concrete and/or crushed stone.

The mayor told us not to do too much because the Village and state DEC still are fighting over where to place the storm outlets for the Valentine Beach project.

Locust avenue residents have indicated to the mayor that abutting and local streets are also contributing to the rain run off problem on Locust. Murray and Oak Streets flood directly onto Locust Avenue and Private Road contributes considerable run off to the catch basins on Mountain Avenue.

I'll post the outcome of the meeting.

~ Woody Elmore

On the Sound - Fish Tales & Marine Madness

Admin — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:41:00 GMT

I know what your thinking. Why put this out there now that the season is over, right? Well a lot of good fishing is just about to begin and I know there are a lot of you still out there on the weekends.

Use this spot to post your stories on the one that got away and just about anything else going on, in or around the water.

Jeff

Birches meeting at the Locust Valley Library

Barry E Lamb — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:13:00 GMT

On Monday, August 13th, an informational meeting was held at the Locust Valley Library to discuss the proposed Birches sewer treatment plant project. In particular, the meeting was set up to address the concerns some of the residents of the area had regarding the impact of the project, both during the construction phase and long term and to discuss the feasibility of an alternate location for the plant itself.

It was immediately apparent that this issue is finally getting the attention that it deserves from our elected officials. Present were; County Executive Tom Souzzi, Town Supervisor John Venditto, State Assemblyman Chuck Levine, County Legislator Diane Yatauro, Town Councilwoman Elizabeth Faughnan, Mayor Siegel, Mayor Williams, Mayor Michaelis and a representative from State Senator Marcellino’s office (I apologize if I have left anyone out). Both the Town and County had a number of people involved with the project present to answer questions and address concerns. The meeting room was filled to standing room only.

Long term concerns were pretty obvious to anyone who puts themselves in the position of living in the near vicinity of the plant itself; aesthetics of the lot and building, noise, smell and the effect on property values. Alternate sites had been previously suggested by some of the residents to move the plant farther from the area homes. Unfortunately, of the alternate sites suggested, the most feasible, in terms of design and construction, was a property acquired by Nassau County as open space several years ago, that is north of the development. When this option was explored it was found that it would take a bill passing both the NYS Senate and Assembly two years in a row to modify the open space designation. This delay was unacceptable to most in the room including the residents who lived farther away from the plant site. The one disconcerting thing about this meeting was that there seemed to be some resentment towards the residents close to the plant for raising these concerns. The other residents seemed to feel that they were trying to stop or delay the project for a prolonged period of time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Kyle Rabin and I had personally met with some of the nearby property owners prior to the meeting and they simply felt that all options needed to be considered in order to be sure that this solution was the best possible solution for all involved. I agree.

The residents were assured that the county was more than willing to address the aesthetics and that the building could be designed to look like a small house and that the noise and smell were also being addressed in the design of the plant and building. They were encouraged to meet with the design team for a more detailed explanation of the design and to raise any other concerns with them. They were also invited to tour another existing plant to get a better idea of the characteristics of this type of plant.

The timeframe and logistics of the construction phase were also discussed. The work is scheduled to begin this coming spring and should be completed within 18 months. When the project is complete the roads, which are in atrocious condition right now, will be re-paved. As of yet the cost sharing agreement has not been signed for reasons that are unclear to me. It should not take this long to iron out a 50/50 agreement.

The only other issue that seemed to be a sticking point with some residents is connecting the individual houses to the sewage collection system. This expense is to be the responsibility of the property owners and is likely to be several thousand dollars for each house. The plan right now is to require each homeowner to connect within a certain time frame. Each homeowner would contract separately with a private contractor to complete the work. There are several problems with this. Each homeowner would have to come up with the cash in one lump sum, there will be a delay in many of the houses hooking up (still contributing pollution to the bay), and it destines the area to continue to be in a state of construction for that additional time period. A much better solution would be for the County and/or Town to negotiate a price per house with the contractor doing the mainline installation to connect all of the houses and then assess each property over a period of several years to recover the money laid out.

Considering what we are dealing with, the residents seem to be relieved that this problem will finally be addressed. No more cesspool problems, new roads, and the stigma that has been associated with this community finally gone. This can only lead to a better quality of life and increased property values.

Not to mention a cleaner bay.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville Blog

Build TR Museum Instead of Avalon Bay Apartments

Admin — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:46:00 GMT

As a builder, I believe that the Avalon Bay project on Pine Hollow Road, Oyster Bay is grossly out of line with current zoning laws and does not fit in with the character of the community. Why can't Avalon Bay make a proposal that fits within the current scope of the zoning laws that the Town already established through great dialog over the years with builders and the community?

I sense that many in the community feel similarly or are not sure what opinion to make because the alternative to Avalon Bay is unknown. Very little attention has been brought to the area south of the Bahnik Boys n' Girls Club until Avalon Bay made their proposal several years ago. The focus of the Oyster Bay Hamlet Plan adopted in 2002 and other rejuvenation efforts have been on areas north of the Lexington Avenue and Berry Hill Road intersection. Now that there is a focus on the southern area of town, we need to come together to find a solution to improving it. It is a reality that something will be built and operate at the Avalon Bay site at some point; so, we need to let developers, builders, and officials know what we will support. Then, perhaps we can all move forward and focus energy on improving the rest of our great community.

While we stand up to Avalon Bay's ridiculous proposal, we must also begin the dialog about the future of the site. I propose that the site be developed as the future museum on President Theodore Roosevelt. There is enough room to build a museum, have parking on-site, and to create an area for jitneys to maneuver. A museum generally is open during regular daytime hours, would be a more quiet neighbor than a retail establishment or an apartment complex with 24/7 activity, and tours could be connected to support the downtown establishments during regular business hours like the railroad museum is already doing.

One side of Town is anchored by Sagamore Hill, another by the Oyster Bay Railroad museum highlighting TR's use of the Oyster Bay line, and closer to the middle of town are both the Bahnik Boys n' Girls Club and the grand TR statue. We should spruce up the south side of town by anchoring it with a TR museum not an over sized apartment complex.

I believe we can get the community, Avalon Bay, the Town of Oyster Bay, the Theodore Roosevelt Association, Charles Wang, and other philanthropists interested in developing the site into something sustainable that fits in. Avalon Bay touts that they care so much about community character, then they should prove it by developing something within the scope of the law or help develop the property as something sustainable like a TR museum.

Oyster Bay was TR's home, let's focus on this. If you want to help me with this concept you can call me at 922-8145.

Sincerely,

Greg Van Dyke
Van Dyke Building & Construction Management

Inc. Village of Bayville Opens "Green Market"

Admin — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:40:00 GMT

The Inc. Village of Bayville has opened a GREEN MARKET on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. until noon. They are selling organic fruit and produce. They also have organic pies. The market is staffed with volunteers. Anyone interested in participating please contact Kate Naughton at 628-1464 or via e-mail at Kate831@optonline.net.

Local farmers are welcome to participate.

Submitted by Admin at the request of Kate Naughton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Silver Bay Spice & Trading Co. will also be there offering some of their hard to find gourmet food items and all natural products such as Sea Salts, Hot Sauces, Unique Spices, Exotic Coffee and Teas. Visit us on the web- silverbayspices.com

See you there, Saturday's from 8AM - 12PM!

Sorry, I couldn't resist the plug

Jeff Silver

Bayville Fire Co. 1 to host the 104th Nassau County Firefighters Parade & Drill

Admin — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:05:00 GMT

On July 13th & 14th, the Bayville Fire Company will be hosting the 104th Nassau County Firefighters Parade & Drill. The Fire Company is hosting this event in recognition and honor of Ex-Chief Robert Broccolo being elected as President of the Nassau County Firemen's Association. The members are proud to support Ex-Chief Broccolo as he is the third member of the Bayville Fire Company to hold this honor in the 85 years of the Fire Company's existence.

We would like to provide you with a schedule of events and how these festivities may impact our residents over the course of the weekend:

* Friday July 13th - Old Fashioned Drill at Firemen's Field in Oyster Bay.

This event will begin at 6:00 and will test the competing teams skills in ladder and hose events. The night will end with the traditional Bucket Brigade and the Nassau County Old Fashioned Champion will be crowned.

* Saturday July 14th - Motorized Drill at Firemen's Field in Oyster Bay.

This will be a test of skill as motorized racing vehicles will be used for various ladder & hose events. The tournament will end as the teams compete in the traditional Bucket Brigade. The Nassau County Motorized Champion will be crowned during this highly competitive event. The days events are scheduled to begin at 9:30am.

* Saturday July 14th - the 104th Nassau County Firemen's Association Parade.

Fire Departments from across Nassau County will be judged in this spectacular display of apparatus and firefighters. The parade is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm, but you should be aware of some road closures prior to the start of the parade.

At 5:00 - Bayville Avenue will be closed to all traffic other than those participating in the parade. This closure will be in effect from Ludlam Avenue west to Perry Avenue. Traffic will be permitted on Bayville Avenue east of Ludlam with out closures. Bayville Avenue west of Perry Avenue will remain open until 6:00.

The parade will be ending at Ransom Beach where refreshments and souvenirs will be available.

This event has been in the planning stages for over two years and the Fire Company has been working with the Nassau County Police Department and the Village Officials to see to every detail. Various neighborhood associations have been contacted as well to share critical information about the events leading up to the parade as well as during.

We hope to welcome the various fire departments to our beautiful village and that everyone enjoys the day.

The Officers & Members of the Bayville Fire Company

Bayville Residents Against Cell Towers (B.R.A.C.T.)

Admin — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:56:00 GMT

We are Bayville Residents Against Cell Towers (B.R.A.C.T.), a group of residents that love our Village. We are not against Bayville; we are against the decisions that led to the cell phone antennas that are presently on our water tower, as well as the proposed new police equipment to be added. We are not against the concept of protecting our residents during emergencies but we object strongly to their improper placement across the street from our elementary schools, atop an already very compromised water tower.

Because we love our Village, our children and our residents, we no longer wish to live with a situation that makes us feel unsafe and uncomfortable. We have expressed our concnerns to Mayor Siegel and the Village Trustees, but to no avail. While the Mayor and Trustees believe the antennas to be safe, there is overwhelming evidence indication the harmful effects of these antennas. It is our strong belief that the cellular towers that aim directly toward our children's schools pose a serious and eminent threat to the occupants of the schools. This deep concern felt by many of the residents (particularly parents of school children) wss voiced at each of the public hearings. Unfortunately, these concerns were ignored by the very people whole role is to serve the needs and well being of its constituency. Left with no other recourse, we residents must pursue our court system to uphold our legal rights to voice our concern and be heard.

We want our safe Bayville back. We want those antennas gone so that we do not add another toxic factor to the air we breathe and perhaps the water we drink. We need your help. For those of you who share our concerns, please support our mission. We are collecting funds in order to further our cause. Any monies collected shall go directly to fighting the existing and proposed towers atop the water tower (i.e.legal fees). All checks should be made payable to Bayville Residents Against Cell Towers and sent to B.R.A.C.T, PO Box 68, Bayville, NY 11709. Additionally, please do not hesitate to contact Madeleine Perrin or Jo-Tina DeGennaro at 628-3997 or by mail at PO Box 68, Bayville, NY 11709 if you have any questions or insight regarding this issue. We prefer all communications be addressed directly by phone or mail rather than the blog.

Thank you.
Madeleine Perrin

Moved by Admin at the request of Jo-Tina DeGennaro
Originally posted under VOB Accepts NCPD Proposal on 6/20/07

Let the Children Play!

Admin — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:21:00 GMT

The Poczatek's attorney asked for a motion to dismiss the charges against the Poczatek’s due to the fact that it violates their 14th Amendment rights.

The 14th Amendment reads-

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The Poczatek’s were charged with violating the following Village Code-

42-3. Enumeration of prohibited noises.

J. The shouting and crying of peddlers, hawkers and vendors which disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.

The Poczatek’s attorney expressed concern that the neighbor has video tape of their 5 and 11 year old children (and possibly others) playing in the pool in their bikinis. They family wants the tape turned in and destroyed.

After the motion to dismiss, the Village Counsel stated that the people rest and that all charges against the Poczatek’s be dropped.

Jeff S

Shhhh!!! Children Playing...

Admin — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:26:00 GMT

If you somehow missed the story about the Bayville parents that will be appearing in court tonight for their children making too much noise while playing, here is the Newsday article. The story has also had a lot of airplay on News 12 today at the top and bottom of the hour. The parents are due in Bayville Court tonight at 7PM to answer a noise complaint filed against them by a neighbor living behind them (with no children), saying that their children are too noisy while playing and swimming. Perhaps it’s time for adult only community?

More on this after tonight’s Court session...

Jeff S

Town Response on the Birches

Barry E Lamb — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:59:00 GMT

I received a letter from Supervisor Venditto yesterday in response to my letter, representing Residents for the Protection of Mill Neck Creek, regarding the Birches issue. Those of you who also sent in letters may have received a similar response. I have taken the time to re-type the body of the letter below, as it has some interesting new developments and shows that our efforts are indeed making a difference.

   Re: The Birches, Locust Valley

Dear Mr. Lamb:

This correspondence is in reply to your recent letter regarding the above referenced subject.

Over the past several months, the Town of Oyster Bay has engaged in productive discussions with both Nassau County and New York State in an effort to reach a satisfactory resolution to mitigate the water quality impacts that have resulted from malfunctioning sewage disposal systems in the Birches development in Locust Valley. The Town and the County are currently in the process of preparing an inter-municipal agreement to create the necessary legal framework which will provide for a 50-50 cost sharing arrangement for the construction of a community sewage treatment plant and collection system, and the rehabilitation of the local street network. It is expected that this agreement will be executed within the next few months.

Once the inter-municipal agreement is in place, the Town and County will complete the engineering design for the project. The plans for the sewage treatment plant already have essentially been finalized. Of the remaining components of the project, the Town will oversee the design of the roadway and drainage improvements, while the County will be responsible for the sewage collection system. The actual construction work will commence after a contractor has been selected through a competitive bidding process, subsequent to completion of the engineering design. In the interim, the Town and County will continue to pursue additional State funding, and we encourage you and your neighbors to support this effort by contacting your elected State representatives.

Although the community's eagerness for an expeditious conclusion to this matter is understandable, it is difficult at this time to forecast when precisely the Birches treatment plant will come on line. However, please be assured that the end is finally in sight; the process is now fully in gear and is moving steadily toward a resolution.

Please feel free to contact our Environmental Consultant, John Ellsworth, at 677-5824, if you have any questions.

                                                    Very Truly Yours,

                                                    John Venditto
                                                    Town Supervisor

                                                    Leonard Genova
                                                    Deputy Supervisor

The cost sharing agreement has been a major stumbling block in resolving this issue, so this is an important step. There is no question in my mind that the letters generated on this blog were the driving force behind this agreement.  After years of debate, when the constituents of these two municipalities voiced their impatience, a simple agreement to share the costs equally suddenly became palpable to both parties. As I've said before - it's all our money anyway. Those of you who took the time to send a letter, or even better, solicited letters from others, should congratulate yourselves - you did your part. Thanks.

It is encouraging to see the Town and County working together and it shows that the process can work, even if it is far more cumbersome that it needs to be, and I have more hope that this very real threat to public health will finally be resolved than I have ever had before. I will, however, withhold my thanks and praise for the day when the problem is actually solved and raw sewage has stopped flowing into Mill Neck Creek.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Breast Cancer Survivor Stories

Admin — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:41:00 GMT

Hello. I am a breast cancer survivor, and currently working on a book- a collection of memoirs, stories and artwork from other breast cancer survivors. The stories can be fiction-loosely related to the cancer experience, survivor stories, and related artwork.

I hope to sell this (I am a published writer and journalist) and to earmark at least 1/2 of the profits for a breast cancer survivor's scholarship fund, since there doesn't seem to be anything of the sort anywhere.

I expect to pay contributors a small honorarium upon publishing contract-possibly earlier. Right now this is a one-woman project, and I am looking for contributors.

Stephanie Davy
stphndavy@yahoo.com

~posted by Admin at the request of Stephanie Davy~

Classifieds

Admin — Wed, 02 May 2007 10:09:00 GMT

Use this to post ads to sell, swap or give away just about anything, or to advertise services. Used cars, babysitters, yard sales, kids looking to shovel snow, or a lightly used bicycle that your kid outgrew and you can’t bear to throw away – give it to someone who can use it. If you over estimated the amount of paint or other household chemicals that you needed and have a couple of gallons left over, maybe someone can use it rather that throwing it into the waste stream.

It could also be used in conjunction with classifieds printed in the local papers. Briefly advertise your yard sale or car and give them this web address for a listing of items that will be offered or more details about the car.

Again, the possibilities are endless.

Erosion

Barry E Lamb — Tue, 01 May 2007 11:22:00 GMT

The condition of our sound side beaches has been a topic that I have been meaning to address since the very beginning of this forum. In fact, I listed it as one of the issues to be addressed in my very first entry. Unfortunately, there have been so many other issues since then that I have not had time to address it properly and so I will attempt to do so now.

Our beaches have been the single most significant factor in Bayville's creation as a community, history, development, economy and quality of life, yet they have been allowed to deteriorate to the point where some no longer exist. The erosion at Center Island Beach has destroyed the entire eastern end of the beach and dune and Ransom Beach (from here on referred to as the "Ransom Sea Wall") simply no longer exists. This threatens both the quality of life and the economic viability of an entire community, and yet no significant effort has been made to save them. As the beaches disappear, so do the people who use them. The result can be seen in the vacant buildings throughout Bayville that once housed thriving businesses and as these properties deteriorate, the area becomes even less likely to attract outsiders.

Several years ago I attended an informational meeting at the Bayville Intermediate School, regarding a study being done by the Army Corp of Engineers. They had just received a grant (I believe it was $5,000,000.00) to study beach erosion on the north shore and ways to address it. To my knowledge they have not been heard from since. It may be time for us to request an update on how that money has been spent.

Jeff has put some photos that I have taken on the following web page, but to really understand just how bad this problem has become, you need to take a walk at each site. Just make sure you don't go at high tide.

http://smalltownblog.com/bayvilleblog/Beach%20Erosion/

At Center Island, the beach and dune have been eroding at an alarming rate. Photos 1 & 2 show the erosion and the ill-conceived attempt to fix the problem. Over the years, as the beach and dune has disappeared, they have been replaced by an ever longer sea wall constructed of steel, rocks, broken concrete and a guard rail that appears to be designed primarily to stop people who have the audacity to pull off to the side of the road to enjoy the view. In fact, all of this has gone a long way towards destroying the view, and the aesthetics of this once beautiful piece of roadway have been completely ruined. More importantly, it has done nothing to stop the erosion, but appears to have accelerated it. The wall is obviously intended to protect only the roadway, leaving the beach to fend for itself. The lifeguard building has been so undermined that it is in danger of collapsing into the Sound (photo 3). The erosion extends all the way past the west end of the beach and may soon endanger the private homes in that area.

Photo 4 shows what I am told are markers that have been set up to mark to rate of erosion over the last several months. They were set up at the front edge of the dune and new rows set periodically as it washed away. I took Photo 5 to show how the vegetation on a natural dune system catches and traps wind-blown sand. As you can see, over the years, the built up sand has nearly buried the fence. These photos were all taken prior to the latest Nor'easter. Photos 6, 7 and 8 were taken after and show further damage to the dune.

Photos 9, 10 and 11 were all taken at the Ransom Sea Wall. This sea wall was constructed a few years ago, after losing several sections of the concrete curb that border the parking lot. So little consideration was given to saving the beach that no access way was even provided to allow people to get to the water from the parking lot. If you look closely at the pictures you will see that the sea wall has accelerated the erosion at the bottom of the wall and at the end of the wall, where a futile attempt was made to protect that section from the oncoming storm by placing boulders with a payloader. It is obvious that a decision was made to allow the beach to disappear, leaving us with a municipal parking lot and a playground.

Unfortunately, far more resources have been devoted to saving asphalt and concrete than have been devoted to saving our beaches and dunes. The solutions that have been attempted over the years have been conjured up by engineers whose specialty is designing structures made of concrete and steel and, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. It is beyond time for the people who have been making these misguided decisions to admit that the current course of action cannot work and look towards an alternative solution.

Dunes are the natural way to control erosion. In a natural system the dunes, and more importantly the vegetation that grow on them, catch sand that is constantly being blown across the beach. In this way they grow higher and larger. When a storm takes some of the sand from the dune, the dune is replenished naturally and so there is an ebb and flow to the dune. In the case of Center Island beach, the dune is unable to grow on the backside because there is a road there, and the dune became too narrow to catch the blowing sand. Because of this, and the loss of vegetation from people walking on it, the dune has been unable to replenish itself. We have all seen the windblown sand that builds up on the roadway behind the dune and is swept up and discarded. Years ago, the Town of Oyster Bay would install several rows of snow fence along the front of the dune to aid the dune in catching the sand and rebuilding itself, but in recent years even this simple attempt at maintenance has been abandoned.

At this point, the problem is far beyond a simple maintenance task. The dune and beach east of the lifeguard building either no longer exists or is so depleted that it is no longer functioning. This area needs to be completely rebuilt. This is not an easy or inexpensive undertaking and would almost certainly involve dredging an inordinate amount of sand from the underwater portions of the beach. The rebuilt dune would then need to be replanted, protected and maintained by replacing any sand along the front that is lost and taking measures to protect it each winter. The dune to the west of the building is still wide enough and large enough to function properly, but only if it is replenished along the beach side of the dune and then protected and maintained. In comparison to rebuilding, this is by far the cheaper and easier solution and should be undertaken immediately.

To continue along the path that has been followed in the past will result in the total loss of our beaches, and an erosion of the economic viability of Bayville's commercial enterprises and our quality of life.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Village of Bayville Accepts NCPD Antenna Proposal

Admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:52:00 GMT

The Village of Bayville accepted the Nassau County Police Department’s proposal to put a High Tech Microwave Radio System on the village water tower despite public outcry. The reason for the public's concern is the location of the Microwave Antennae which will be across the street from the Bayville Primary School. During the course of the meeting Mayor Siegel had the NCPD remove one of the attendees who was voicing his concern due to the proximity of his home which is directly across from the proposed site.

After the meeting the floor was opened up to questions from the audience. Many residents spoke about their concerns and potential health risks for the children attending the school resulting from the constant exposure to the radio frequency radiation. The Village based their decision on the proposal that there is no evidence that the emissions from the microwave system pose any health concerns, and are "within or below acceptable limits". Two of the village trustees voted no to the proposal.

There was also concern about the existing cellular sites on the tower and the need to remove or limit the amount of these types of structures. The Village currently receives in excess of $200,000 per year in lease agreements from the cellular companies for the space on the tower.

-Jeff Silver

Reminder - Vote on the NCPD Antenna Project April 23rd 7:30PM

Admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:33:00 GMT

APRIL 23rd, during a regular meeting the Village of Bayville board will vote on the Police Cell Tower project.

It is very important that people concerned with this project show their face. The Mayor has been qouted in a local paper as saying, there is diminishing opposition for the project because less people were at the second meeting.

Even if you sent a letter, made a call to Village HAll or signed a petition....you need to show up to show your opposition. Packing VH like the residents did at the first meeting, obviously makes a difference to the board.

Stand up for the children....we are their last line of defense.
Thank you.

Margaret

(Moved by Admin- originally posted as a comment to last months meeting)

The Birches Gets News12 Coverage

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:20:00 GMT

News 12 is running a story about the Birches tonight, so I am putting this in the main page in the hope that some of you will get to see it when you get the e-mail notification.

It seems the snowball we started down the hill has gotten bigger on it's own.

Barry

Catching Up

Barry E Lamb — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 10:03:00 GMT

It’s been awhile since my last entry (I was away for a short vacation and life has gotten in the way since) and I wanted to catch up with a few brief updates and community announcements. These lulls in activity on the blog are the reason anyone who wants to keep up with what we are doing should subscribe. If you are going to subscribe, make sure you subscribe to the blog itself rather than to a particular entry. When you subscribe to the blog on the main page, you will get an e-mail notification whenever a new entry is posted. If you subscribe to a particular entry, you will be bombarded with e-mails every time someone posts a comment for that entry.

The Birches covered in The Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot:

There is an article this week in the Enterprise Pilot that covers the sewer meeting in Cold Spring Harbor last week and highlights the Birches. This is exactly the kind of mainstream coverage that we needed to get more people involved and put pressure on our elected officials to resolve their cost sharing differences. The way I see it, it’s all our money anyway.

You can read the article at:

http://www.antonnews.com/oysterbayenterprisepilot/2007/04/13/news/

If anyone would be willing to write an editorial to submit, it would go a long way towards keeping the issue in the spotlight.

The following notice s were sent out by Friends of the Bay, so I am passing them on. Taking part in these events is the best way to meet like minded people and to get involved.

Operation Clean Sweep:

Earth Day 2007

Operation Clean Sweep

Downtown Oyster Bay

Sunday, April 22, 2007
8:00 am Meet at Appliance World
12:30 pm Bandstand Ceremony

presented by
Friends of the Bay
The Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce
The Oyster Bay Civic Association
Oyster Bay Main Street Association

Spring Flowers, "Adopt-a-Block" Sponsors, Street Sweep, Coastal Clean-Up and more...

A "Clean Oyster Bay" poster design contest is planned for our local children.

These events are made possible through the generous financial support of
The John Specce Agency - State Farm Insurance
Ryan Beck & Co. - The Alex Gallego Group
The State Bank of Long Island - Oyster Bay

Thank you to our Earth Day Volunteers & Supporters
Atlantic Steamer Fire Company, Boys Scouts & Cub Scouts of America
Girls Scouts & Brownies of the USA, Dodds & Eder,
Oyster Bay Fire Company, OBEN District Schools, Whole Foods

Want to volunteer? Bring the whole family!

E-mail us at: muir.deguzman@oysterbaychamber.org

Stop Avalon Meeting:

SAVE-THE-DATE - Coalition to STOP AVALON Informational Meeting

The Coalition to STOP AVALON is holding an Informational Meeting on Saturday, April 28, 5-7 P.M., at the Sagamore Yacht Club in Oyster Bay to provide an update on AvalonBay's proposal for a super-high-density apartment complex in the Hamlet of Oyster Bay.

RECAP:

After stating that a complex much less than 300 units was not economically viable, Avalon withdrew that application in July 2006 in response to Town Supervisor Venditto's public expression that the proposal was ".so widely unacceptable.", but then purchased the former Hallock Chevrolet site in Oyster Bay (across from the existing BMW dealership) in August 2006 for $8.68 million.

Avalon is poised to file another application with the Town of Oyster Bay for a 150-unit super-high-density rental complex at the former Hallock site. While the application has not been formally submitted, Avalon's website for the proposed complex confirmed its intention to construct a 150-UNIT 4-STORY RENTAL COMPLEX ON THE 5-ACRE SITE. Based on the Town's highest permitted density for this form of housing, the maximum number of units for a properly zoned 5-acre site would be 80, with maximum building heights of no more than 2-stories. A report on the website sets monthly rental prices of $1,650 (studio), $2,400 (1-bedroom), and $3,000 (2-bedroom).

Village of Bayville Beach Clean Up:

Bayville will also be having an Earth Day beach clean up. Volunteers are asked to report to Soundside Beach on April 21, 2007 at 9:00 am

More entries to come:

Over the next few weeks I will do my best to post some new entries on various topics, including the erosion at Center Island Beach (and the Ransom Sea Wall) and a MNBM update.

Be patient.

(and subscribe)

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Village Board Meeting - 3/26/07

Admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 10:05:00 GMT

Information and comments from the monthly Village Board Meeting that occured on March 26th at 7:30PM.

President Streets Drainage Project

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:13:00 GMT

When dealing with the kind of issues that we deal with here on the Blog, it is always a concern that I am perceived as someone who is forever critical about what others are doing. Lets face it, it is human nature to not comment when things are going the way that we wish them to, and to get very vocal when they are not. I am no different. Plus it is the controversial issues that keep people checking in here at the Blog and, as you have seen from what we are doing with the MNBM and Birches letter writing campaign, keeping people reading is all part of the plan. Numbers are important and keeping people motivated, even more so.

It is imperative to our credibility that we resist the urge to be monotonously critical.

Last night Jeff and I attended the informational meeting regarding the proposed President Streets Drainage project that was held by the Village at the Bayville Intermediate School. The engineering firm H2M gave a presentation to describe the preliminary plans to address the flooding that often occurs on Bayville Ave. when high tide and a significant precipitation event occur simultaneously. The plan is to install a substantial number of leaching pools in series along Bayville Ave. from School St. to (I believe) Bay Beach Ave. The purpose of these pools is to capture as much rainwater as possible to be leached back into the ground water prior to it reaching the low points near the President Streets where the flooding occurs.

Equally as important, this project will reduce the amount of pollutants that will enter Mill Neck Creek, by capturing what is called the "first flush". This is the first of the storm water to run into the catch basins during a major rainstorm, and more often than not these leaching pools will collect all of the runoff from lesser events. The first flush has, by far, the highest concentrations of pollutants including litter, debris, silt, petroleum products and more. This project will undoubtedly result in far fewer contaminants entering our waters. Most of the pollutants can then be removed during routine maintenance of the leaching pools.

Mayor Siegel and the Board of Trustees are to be commended for their efforts in this area. They have a long history of making these improvements and an outstanding track record of obtaining grants for this purpose. In addition, holding meetings such as this during the design phase, when people can make suggestions and voice concerns when they may actually have a chance to be addressed, is the proper way to keep the community involved. It was unfortunate that more did not choose to do so, as attendance was less than spectacular.

The only disappointment had more to do with Nassau County than with the Village. Unfortunately there are no plans at this time for the Nassau County catch basins to be up-graded and retrofitted with litter excluding devices to keep litter from entering the drainage system, and subsequently the Bay, in the first place. This would be Nassau County’s responsibility as the basins are theirs.

I certainly hope that Mayor Siegel and the Board of Trustees continue to make these projects a priority in the future. There is still much to be done in this area.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Shadow Reduced, But Not By Me

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 15:15:00 GMT

On Friday afternoon, I stopped in Village Hall to review the building file for the new structure next to Twin Harbors. As you can imagine, I am not the most popular person there, but on Friday I was met by a building inspector who was very obviously perturbed at me. I normally am pretty unconcerned about this type of thing, but in this case it was different because on at least one aspect of this issue, he was right. After looking at the approved plans for the building (my time was limited because I came at the end of the day), it was apparent that the contractor had exceeded the scope of the building permit by adding knee walls that were nearly 5 ½ feet high to raise the roof, effectively creating a second story. This second story was constructed on Saturday when Village Hall is closed. The approved plans clearly showed much lower knee walls designed to facilitate attic storage, where the ones built were obviously designed for future living space. Upon learning of this on Monday, he immediately contacted the contractor and instructed him to remove the highest story and connect the rafters directly to the top plate (no knee walls). The Building Inspector felt that he had been hung out to dry without having a chance to correct the problem or explain his position. To add insult to injury, I then took credit for getting the second story torn down in my second post without first getting the facts. For that I apologize. The second story was without question nothing more than a builder going beyond what was approved.

We then discussed some other aspects of the project and the non-conforming code section, and while we certainly don’t agree on some issues, the fact that he could point to the wording of the code and have me understand his reasoning shows that there is a problem with the code. Everyone needs to understand that a building departments power to "allow" or "disallow" a project is derived from the codes as written and the wording of the code is everything.

There are several sections of this code that, in my opinion, are inadequate or ambiguous. The most striking example is this statement in the alterations section: "Any alteration to a nonconforming use or building, other than an alteration which would not change the building's front setback, side yard or rear yard, must be applied for to the Board of Appeals…". This statement doesn’t address anything other than setbacks and our bulk regulations do not address floor area.

As an example, let’s take a 100 x 100 property that has six non-conforming, one-story bungalows on it and is not in a flood zone. With the current code, even though the bungalows far exceed lot coverage limits, the owner could add second stories to each of the six buildings, providing he stays within the height limit. In doing this he would not affect any of the setbacks whatsoever and so would not run astray of the non-conforming structure code. He would also not be increasing lot coverage or causing a conflict with any of the other bulk regulations. The result would be that the floor area would be doubled, resulting in more bedrooms, more people, more cars, more sewage, more garbage, more children in school………

The solution to this is to modify the non-conforming use code and add a Floor Area Ratio to the zoning code of each district. By increasing the floor area in relation to the area of the building lot, the builder would now be increasing the degree of non-conformity and the permit would be denied by the building inspector based on hard numbers and a clear and concise code with a legitimate intent.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

The Birches Nomination Submitted

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 14:00:00 GMT

The nomination to request funds for the upgrade of the separate sewer and storm water collection system in the Birches (aka Continental Villas) development was submitted on Thursday. As with the MNBM nomination, I have posted the Birches nomination cover letter below, along with a sample letter of support. I have also posted a flyer that was made up by a reader who did an incredible job collecting letters for the MNBM nomination (thanks Sue). The intent is to motivate people to send a letter. I think you will agree that it does the job.

It is my hope that everyone who sent in a MNBM letter will also send one for this and more will join them. Even if no money is designated for the project, the effect of 30 – 40 letters will have the impact of keeping this issue on the front burner. It may be a good idea if a couple of people print out the flyer and put it in the envelope as well – it’s a good visual for the committee members.

Same drill, please let me know that you have sent in the letters.

The Cover Letter:

Residents for the Protection of Mill Neck Creek
7 Arlington La.
Bayville, NY, 11709
ResidentsforMNC@smalltownblog.com

March 13, 2007

Nassau County 2006 Environmental Bond Act Program
One West Street
Mineola, NY 11501
Attn: Thomas F. Maher, Director of Environmental Coordination, Room 326 A

Dear Committee Members,

We are writing to you to ask that you please consider designating funds, under the Stormwater Quality Improvement category, for the purpose of upgrading the stormwater collection system of the "Birches" residential development (a.k.a. Continental Villas). The outflow of this collection system is located on a lot on Meleny Rd. in Locust Valley (Section 29, Block 68, lot 16).

At present, this system has been badly compromised and is being used as a conduit to transport raw sewage from nearly 30 houses in the development, to be discharged directly into Mill Neck Bay (a.k.a. Oak Neck Creek). These homes were constructed with on site septic systems that were poorly designed and constructed for the soil conditions present at that site. Due to the failure of these systems, these homes were inappropriately connected to a lateral under-drain system that discharges the untreated sewage into the bay. The only attempt at treating this sewage is a contact chlorination tank that cannot handle the volume that regularly flows from this development.

The Non-Point Contamination Source Study, commissioned by the Village of Bayville, clearly shows that this sewage discharge is a major factor in the closing of Bayville’s Creek Beach to swimming and the closing of all of Mill Neck Bay to shell fishing. It is obvious that the effects of this point source extend beyond Mill Neck Bay, contributing to impaired water quality throughout the Oyster Bay – Cold Spring Harbor estuary. The Study also shows that water quality improvements have been made through road drainage projects designed to limit runoff. With the construction of a sewage treatment plant, and a continued effort by surrounding municipalities to reduce storm water runoff, water quality in Mill Neck Bay and the entire Oyster Bay – Cold Spring Harbor Estuary will undoubtedly see significant improvement.

This situation has existed for decades and has yet to be addressed. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation had mandated that a packet sewage treatment plant be operational before September 15, 2005, but years of negotiations between Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay have stalled over cost-sharing details. The primary issue that appears to be holding up the correction of this appalling condition is the cost of installing a separate sewer and stormwater collection system under the roadways of this development. It is due to these unresolved cost-sharing details that we continue to allow untreated sewage to discharge into a National Wildlife Refuge that has been designated a Significant Fish and Wildlife Habitat and a Regionally Important Natural Area. It is little wonder that this refuge has also been designated one of the ten most endangered National Wildlife Refuges in the nation by Defenders of Wildlife, a well-respected national environmental organization.

It is for these reasons that we are requesting that funds be designated for the installation of this system, in the hope that the additional funds will facilitate a long overdue solution to this very real threat to public health.

Sincerely,

Barry E. Lamb
Founding member, Residents for the Protection of Mill Neck Creek.

The Letter of Support:

March 19, 2007

Nassau County 2006 Environmental Bond Act Program
One West Street
Mineola, NY 11501
Attn: Thomas F. Maher, Director of Environmental Coordination,
Room 326 A

Dear Mr. Maher and Committee Members:

I am writing to express my strong support for the nomination for the upgrade/replacement of the separate sewer and storm water collection system for the Birches development in Locust Valley in the category of Storm Water Quality Improvement through Nassau County’s 2006 Environmental Program Bond Act. This project nomination satisfies the vast majority of the evaluation factors for storm water improvement and will help to facilitate the long overdue construction of a packet sewage treatment plant to treat the raw sewage, from nearly thirty homes, that is currently being discharged into Mill Neck Creek.

It will also help to address a very real and significant threat to public health that has been allowed to exist for decades.

Thank you for taking our support into consideration.

Sincerely,

And the Flyer: Birches Flyer

And as promisied the modified flyer for posting: Modified Flyer

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Class on Sustainable Living and Efficient Living

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 09:20:00 GMT

The following post was requested by Seth W.:

For those of you who are interested, I will be teaching a class on sustainable and energy efficient living. It will be a wide-ranging class covering subjects such as global warming, renewable vs. non-renewable energy options for home heating, hybrid cars, natural lawn care and the national and international implications of a fossil fuel based world economy. There will also be a tour of my home highlighting natural systems of heating and cooling, various construction projects utilizing recycled materials and a viewing/description of an experimental prototype solar water heater I am constructing.

The class will be held at Locust Valley Highschool on two consecutive Tuesday evenings (April 17 and 24) from 7:15 to 9:15. It will cost $25 and anyone interested must sign up ahead of time with the Locust Valley Continuing Education Program. Information regarding class registration can be attained by calling 759-3311.

Seth

The Skyscraper Bungalow Do-over

Barry E Lamb — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:24:00 GMT

It appears that the outrage expressed on this blog has been acknowledged. As of late this afternoon, a crew was working on dismantling the roof framing of the skyscraper bungalow. I would imagine that they will be lowering the roof rafters to eliminate the knee walls on the highest story, which will lower the overall height of the building by about five feet.

While this will definitely lessen the impact of the height, it will do nothing for the fact that we have now allowed a new building to be built in Bayville that is non-conforming in more ways than we could imagine. It also appears that the footprint of these two buildings have also been increased. All without the benefit of a public hearing in front of the ZBA.

I will be reviewing the building and property file sometime this week to see the differences between what was there, and what is going up.

Stay tuned.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Twin Harbors New One O'Clock Shadow

Barry E Lamb — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 22:07:00 GMT

The latest example of why Bayville’s zoning regulations, practices and enforcement are in dire need of a complete overhaul has now sprung up just west of Twin Harbors Restaurant – about three feet west. Despite assurances to the contrary, construction of a brand new structure, including foundation, has been allowed to proceed. This structure, which is one of two, has been completely framed in lightning speed. A Village of Bayville building permit is prominently displayed.

Where once stood two very small, non-conforming bungalows on an undersized lot, will now be two full sized two story dwellings without the benefit of a public hearing before the ZBA., despite the requirements of Village Code:

§ 80-82. Alterations. [Amended 4-28-1986 by L.L. No. 4-1986; 6-23-1986 by L.L. No. 5-1986]

Any alteration to a nonconforming use or building, other than an alteration which would not change the building's front setback, side yard or rear yard, must be applied for to the Board of Appeals in the first instance, and such request must show that any structural alterations to be made in such building, to an aggregate extent, will not exceed 50% of its value as set forth on the assessment roll of the Incorporated Village of Bayville. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent keeping in good repair a nonconforming use or building. (emphasis added)

As a result, Twin Harbors Restaurant, one of the few to thrive over the long haul in Bayville, will now be cast in shadow from the early afternoon on.

Anyone still think there is no problem?

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

NCPD Antenna Proposal - Date Announced!

Admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:12:00 GMT

The Village of Bayville has announced:

"On Monday, April 23, 2007 at the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees a vote will be taken on the matter of the Nassau County Police request to place antennae on the Bayville Water Tower. The meeting will be held at Bayville Village Hall, 34 School Street, Bayville." - from Bayville Village Hall Website

Please make every effort to attend this important meeting.

MNBM - Lick the Damn Stamp

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 13:05:00 GMT

As I have previously stated here on the blog, I have been working with a small group of residents on a nomination to have the Mill Neck Bay Marina property acquired under the 2006 Nassau County Environmental Bond Act.

An overview and brief history of this land can be viewed in a prior entry at:

http://bayvilleblog.com/2006/11/23/mill-neck-bay-marina.aspx

The nomination itself is all but complete and we are waiting for letters of support that we have solicited from local user groups, community groups, elected officials, and people whose livelihoods depend on the bay. It is our intent to attach these letters to the nomination prior to submission. The nomination cover letter is printed below.

In addition, we are counting on a substantial number of individuals to mail in their own letters of support to follow the submission of the primary nomination. This former boatyard has now been designated a New York State Superfund site primarily due to heavy metal contamination, including lead and mercury. It is directly adjacent to the Creek and has water flowing continuously from the contaminated ground and into the bay. There is little doubt that this water, along with any stormwater that runs off the property, is leaching these contaminants into the bay and subsequently into the food chain. Every day that this is allowed to happen results in more of these contaminants accumulating in the bay.

Unfortunately, this property has now been nominated for acquisition for all three prior bond acts from the Town and County, but has been passed over each time. I have now been working on this for over eight years and this may well be its last chance for acquisition for many years. An overwhelming outcry from the local community is the best chance we have to start the process of cleaning up this property and converting it from an imminent threat to the environment and public health, to a beautiful addition to the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary.

I have also printed a sample letter of support below for everyone to copy and paste into your word processing program. You can then do as little as add your name and address etc., print, sign and mail. Or you can change it to make it your own. The point is to do it.

It is our hope to get at least twenty to thirty letters of support from the readers of this blog alone and so we would appreciate it if those of you who choose to get involved (as opposed to those who just gripe about what everyone else is doing wrong) would check in with us when the letter is sent. That can be done by posting a comment under this entry, or via e-mail at: ResidentsforMNC@smalltownblog.com

Letters to the Editor and feature stories (L.M. and Dagmar are you out there?) in the local papers would also help to bring this issue to the attention of the general public – not everyone reads this Blog (yet). If you are willing to take a crack at submitting an editorial to the local papers, that would be a huge help – let us know.

This blog was started as a way to keep people informed and help them organize themselves to proactively address the issues that are important to them instead of complaining about them after the fact. A number of people have expressed a willingness to help out on these types of issues, and now is the time to do just that. Or you could do nothing and complain about why others didn’t fix this problem when they had the chance. I couldn’t have made this any easier – lick the damn stamp.

The nomination letter and sample letter are below.

Thanks,

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

The Nomination Letter:

Residents for the Protection of Mill Neck Creek

7 Arlington La.

Bayville, NY, 11709

ResidentsforMNC@smalltownblog.com

March 3, 2007

Nassau County 2006 Environmental Bond Act Program

One West Street

Mineola, NY 11501

Attn: Thomas F. Maher, Director of Environmental Coordination, Room 326 A

Dear Committee Members,

We are writing to you to ask that you please consider the former Mill Neck Bay Marina property as a candidate for acquisition to preserve as open space. This parcel has been previously nominated under both Town of Oyster Bay SEA Fund programs, as well as for the first Nassau County Environmental Bond Act. We have attached Barry Lamb’s cover letter from the first Nassau County program for your review. Please take the time to read this letter, as it addresses much of the history of this parcel and a comprehensive understanding of its history, in my opinion, will be as vital to the consideration of this property as the physical and environmental attributes. We have also attached several other documents that demonstrate the developments regarding this parcel since the last nomination, as well as several letters of support.

Several important changes have taken place since the other three nominations however, and so it is our hope that it will be finally acquired and subsequently cleaned up and converted to a passive park with access to Mill Neck Bay and the rest of the OB/CSH estuary.

The first thing that has changed since the other nominations is that we now know for sure that the primary landowner acquired this property from Nassau County in the first place. Attached are copies of the deeds that were recorded with the County Clerk’s office. The price paid for this waterfront property (at least four building lots) in 1996 was under $114,000.00.

Two new pieces of information have also come to light that affect the value of the property considerably. First, the Tidal Wetlands permits that were originally issued by the NYSDEC have either expired or have been placed on hold and are not currently being considered for renewal. This was the result of concerns addressed in the attached letter from Cashin, Spinelli & Ferretti, LLC, dated August 16, 2005. In addition, after initial soil samples taken during negotiations with the Town of Oyster Bay SEA Fund Committee, the site was designated a New York State Class 2 Superfund site in early 2006 (DEC letter dated March 31, 2006 attached). According to the DEC, the Class 2 designation means that “this site poses a significant threat to the environment or public health and action is required”. While a comprehensive analysis of the contamination has not been conducted, the preliminary tests show that the contamination consists primarily of heavy metals concentrated in the top layers of the soil. In all likelihood, the cleanup of this site will consist of the removal and replacement of that soil and state funds will be available for this purpose.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the owner of the property has recently expressed an interest in divesting himself from the property. Perhaps he has come to terms with the fact the original owners of the marina knew all along; the property is unsuitable for development. It is unfortunate that Nassau County did not come to the same conclusion when it held title to the land and was in an excellent position to make sure the site was properly cleaned up and protected as open space, but in 1996 allowed the property to slip away for so little. The NYSDEC also had an opportunity to do the right thing, but in 2000, they issued permits to the property owner(s) to convert this former industrial site to residential housing. The DEC issued these permits without ensuring that a plausible environmental assessment was conducted; despite this being standard operating procedure in these circumstances. Should the developer prove difficult to negotiate with, eminent domain is still an option that should certainly be considered in this particular case.

We fully understand the County’s caution in regard to acquiring this property; the potential cost involved in cleaning up the property is still an unknown. We would encourage you however, to make an effort to work with the DEC to fully investigate the extent of the clean up and the funds available to come up with a plan for acquisition and restoration. We may very well find out that the clean up will consist of nothing more than removing the first two feet of contaminated soil and replacing it with clean soil and that the liability is quite manageable. Since the County was the prior deed holder, and transferred the property without doing an environmental assessment, liability may be unavoidable anyway.

We are hoping that all of the mistakes of the past can finally be corrected and this beautiful little piece of land can be returned to the public domain, cleaned of all contamination and be returned to a more natural state.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Barry E. Lamb Carla Panetta Jeri Cavagnaro

Founding members, Residents for the Protection of Mill Neck Creek.

And the Sample Letter:

March 3, 2007

Nassau County 2006 Environmental Bond Act Program

One West Street

Mineola, NY 11501

Attn: Thomas F. Maher, Director of Environmental Coordination, Room 326 A

Dear Thomas Maher:

I am writing to express my/our strong support for the nomination of the former Mill Neck Bay Marina property in Locust Valley in the category of open space acquisition through Nassau County’s 2006 Environmental Program Bond Act. Not only does this project nomination satisfy the vast majority of the evaluation factors for open space acquisition, but it also meets many of the evaluation factors for both brownfield remediation and stormwater quality improvement.

As the nomination notes, it would be astounding if any other single property nominated were to more closely represent these evaluation factors.

The project will greatly benefit the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary, which boasts a number of important designations including, but not limited to the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a Regionally Important Natural Area, Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat areas, and an Audubon Important Bird Area. In addition the project will benefit the local neighborhood by cleaning up a visual blight and enhancing property values that have been adversely affected by the presence of a contaminated property, which in 2006 was, designated a state superfund site. The benefit extends all the way to the county and regional level by protecting a body of water that is critical to the regions economic, recreational, historic and aesthetic character.

Thank you for taking my support into consideration.

Sincerely,

Nobman's Hardware Open For Business!

Admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 11:58:00 GMT

NOBMAN’S HARDWARE IS BACK IN

Landmark in Oyster Bay, Destroyed By Fire in January 2005, Set to Re-Open

Reconstructed with a Focus on Sustainable Building

Oyster Bay, New York, March 3, 2007 – The Nobman family announced today that Nobman’s Hardware Emporium, their newly rebuilt retail hardware and home goods specialty store in downtown Oyster Bay, has re-opened.

The Road to Reconstruction

In the early morning hours of January 24^th, 2005, the building that had been the home of Nobman’s Hardware Emporium since 1910 was destroyed by fire. The loss of the historic building and of Nobman’s Hardware was devastating to the Nobman family and to the larger community. Family owned and operated since inception, Nobman’s Hardware was steadily expanding under its fifth generation proprietor, Derrick Nobman at the time of the fire. Despite this loss, the Nobman family has spent that last two years rebuilding.

For more than 95 years Nobman’s Hardware has been a fixture of the community, and a prominent driver of business and foot traffic in downtown Oyster Bay. The Nobman family pledged to remain in Oyster Bay and to restore this community icon, even while the ashes were still smoldering. The official opening, which took place on Friday February 23^rd, 2007, was the long anticipated culmination of two years of hard work on the part of the Nobman family to keep that promise to their neighbors – and to the employees who were such an integral part of the business – with the support of the local government and community.

Proprietor Derrick Nobman: “Our family was devastated by the loss of the building, particularly my Grandfather, Walter R. Nobman, Sr., who owned and ran Nobman’s for 40 years with his brother in law George Hammond. We have had quite a ride getting the building back up and running, and consistent with today’s code, but we are glad to be back in Oyster Bay. We plan to dedicate the building to my Grandfather “Pops” who passed last year but was himself, along with my Grandmother Elizabeth Nobman, a fixture of the Oyster Bay community.

The Return of a Unique Retail Experience

Nobman’s Hardware is a full-service hardware, home furnishings and specialty store serving Oyster Bay and the outlying communities with products of exceptional quality at competitive prices, and with outstanding customer service. Customers can once again count on Nobman’s to provide them with a unique blend of merchandise, including everyday hardware and home improvement supplies, a new selection of interior decorative hardware for cabinetry and doors, specialty housewares and the handmade works of local artisans. Nobman’s will again feature custom designed and painted estate signs, handcrafted driftwood furniture and interior accents, custom made bird houses and feeders, and meticulously reproduced custom prints of Long Island’s many lighthouses.

A Gold Coast Relic

Oyster Bay is an historic center on the North Shore of Long Island with history dating as far back as the pre-colonial era. Known for its central location on Long Island’s Gold Coast, Oyster Bay was home to the great estates of the Industrial Revolution era captains of industry, and to former US President Theodore Roosevelt. Nobman’s began its long history as a supplier to the large estates owned by these historic figures. The Nobman’s Hardware tradition is imbued with a sense of this history, and to the residents of the area, Nobman’s represents one of the last remaining relics of the Gold Coast – a source of continuity through the generations.

Because the Nobman’s Hardware building has tremendous historic and sentimental value to the community, and is such a visible part of the downtown streetscape, a great deal of effort was put into reconstructing the building to preserve the character of Oyster Bay’s traditional waterfront community, while focusing on the challenges that lie ahead.

Building for the Future of Oyster Bay

Oyster Bay’s proximity to the many beaches, estuaries, marshes and other important natural features that characterize the north coast of Long Island makes an emphasis on helping to preserve these treasures an imperative. Building with a focus on sustainability, the Nobman family succeeded in using green materials and practices through the many phases of construction. The new building features durable composite clapboard siding in place of traditional wood clapboard; a recycled composite that resembles slate tiling utilized on the exterior steps and as an interior decorative accent; and an efficient solar powered radiant heating and cooling system.

Property Owner Richard Nobman: “We wanted to build a building that complemented the downtown and retained the character of the old building. We also wanted to build the greenest building possible within our budget. The net result is a great new building designed to carry us through the next 100 years of business. We are thrilled to be back!”

Looking Forward for Nobman’s Hardware

Nobman’s Hardware is dedicated to providing its customers with hardware, home furnishings and artisinal products of exceptional quality. Nobman’s unrivaled commitment to solid craftsmanship and extraordinary customer service has made it a fixture of the Oyster Bay community, and has contributed to its ability to compete with the large home centers and big box retailers that have sprung up throughout the area since the early 1990s. This dedication provides a strong foundation for Nobman’s Hardware to continue to build new shared community experiences around downtown Oyster Bay as a link between its past and future. Nobman’s looks forward to serving the needs of its customers, and after nearly a century of service its policy remains, ‘We strive everyday to exceed your expectations!’

# # #

Please visit the Nobman’s Hardware website, in the process of being updated, at www.nobmanshardware.com. Feel free to contact Derrick Nobman at 516-922-6233 with any questions, or if you would like any additional information.

Contact: Derrick Nobman

Phone: 516-922-6233

Nobman’s Hardware Emporium, Inc

95 South Street

Oyster Bay, NY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Village Aesthetics

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 10:50:00 GMT

We have been asked to start a dialog regarding the aesthetics of the Village:

Monday, February 19, 2007 4:31 PM

Suzi wrote:
I would like to start a thread about the appearance of the village. I see in the first few days of the blog, a few people talked about it. I think it is am important issue and I think the public discussing it in an open forum might help those on the "beautification committee" appointed by the Mayor.

I do not know how to start a new thread, perhaps the admin can start it??? Or just put this entry in a new heading??? Thanks!

I also think that this is an important issue but would like to remind everyone to keep it constructive.

There are a number of areas that are in obvious need of improvement: Poseidon’s Cove and the old Pig & Whistle come to mind immediately. In this particular case we must be careful. Property owners will often leave their property in atrocious condition hoping that community outrage will pressure the municipality to allow development that is not appropriate for the area. I’m sure that the owners would like nothing better than to have the zoning changed to enable them to build high-density residential housing such as apartments or condos.

There are countless other issues, from planning the direction that we would like to see Bayville head over a period of years, to maintenance issues that should be addressed immediately. But for right now, I’m just going to open it up for general discussion.

Please keep it constructive and keep the nonsense to a minimum.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Antenna Proposal - Next Meeting - February 1st, 7:30PM

Admin — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:37:00 GMT

INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF BAYVILLE
PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held on Thursday , February 1, 2007 at the Bayville Intermediate School, Mountain Avenue, Bayville, NY 11709, from 7:30PM to 9:00PM. The purpose of said hearing is to continue the hearing from December 18, 2006 regarding the placement of microwave dishes on the Bayville Water Tower as requested by the Nassau County Police Department.

BY ORDER OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Maria Alfano-Hardy
Village Clerk

-Courtesy of the Incorporated Village of Bayville website -

Please post comments here relating to this meeting only. Thanks!

If anyone has any current information regarding the progress the Partership for Bayville's future, please post here.

Steep Slope Conservation

Admin — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:32:00 GMT

-This entry submitted at the request of Seth Watkins-

Subject: Steep Slope Conservation

A number of local communities have recently enacted what are called "steep slope conservation laws". To put it simply, these laws make it illegal to develop land that is steeply sloped. These laws recognize that development on steeply sloped land often leads to serious problems with runoff - especially during heavy rains. This, in turn, can lead to increased pollution of our ground and surface water.

I do not believe that Mill Neck has such a law on its books. Can anyone put me in touch with a conservation minded homeowner in Mill Neck who would be willing to try to propose the adoption of such a law by the political authorities in Mill Neck?

Thank you,

Seth Watkins

swatkinssolar@yahoo.com

Bayville's Zoning Continued

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:29:00 GMT

The following is a continuation of the discussion under the “Bayville’s Zoning Should Follow Hamlet’s Lead”. Because of the holidays, and the emergence of other issues, I had neglected my portion of the discussion and so decided that a new entry was in order.

The entire point of zoning laws is to balance the rights of property owners with the rights of their neighbors and the rest of the community. I don’t know where you got “highest and best use” from, but the term most often used when addressing zoning issues is “reasonable return”. What if a property owner decides to build a house that covers 90% of his lot, is 4 stories high and extends right to the property line? Should that be permitted? Can I open an all night diner at my house? The answer to both those questions is; of course not. That is because over the years zoning laws have evolved to protect the community from these types of invasive uses and they have evolved democratically with public input at public hearings. They are intended to allow a community to steer its own development towards what is acceptable to the majority and protect our property values and quality of life from the more extreme land uses.

The market has changed dramatically in recent years. During the initial development of Long Island, developers would buy a large tract of land, subdivide, and put up modest sized houses for sale to the general public. The houses were modest both because that was what the public wanted and could afford, and because the cost of construction was proportionally much higher than the cost of the land. The developer would sell the houses and move to the next project and the development would become a community. The new homeowners would then make improvements and additions to the houses as their needs changed. The changes to the community were evolutionary and based on the needs of private citizens.

The undeveloped land is all but gone so developers have returned as redevelopers. They have come back and are basically operating their businesses in residential neighborhoods. They do this by buying properties that have modest houses or handyman specials on them, so that they can rebuild them to the maximum extent allowed. They are taking the affordable sector of the market and replacing it with the other extreme. In doing this they are not only taking the sun from the neighbors, but they are making it impossible for the upcoming generation to afford to stay in the community in which they were born. Starter homes have become developer bait and your sons and daughters are moving to North Carolina.

In order to address the lack of affordable housing and the mass exodus of our younger community members, some municipalities are adopting ways to make housing somewhat more affordable. In the Town of Oyster Bay, they have adopted “next generation” housing, which is basically modeled after “senior housing”. Unfortunately, there are only 3 ways to produce low-income housing: subsidize with public funds, cut construction costs (resulting in low quality buildings) or increase density. Most choose to increase density as the primary way to reduce cost, as is the case in Oyster Bay. Combined with the trend of larger houses on small plots, this has a huge effect on our infrastructure, environment and quality of life. Not to mention the fact that it relegates our children to living in low-income, apartment style housing. By reducing the allowable size of houses on smaller plots of land, we would be taking the most offensive end of the profit spectrum out of the equation so that maybe that modest sized house on the 50x100 lot would not be worth $100,00.00 more to the developer, who will rip it down, than it is to your daughter and her new husband. We are, after all, a community of families and not a commercial redevelopment zone.

By periodically reviewing and revising zoning laws, we bring them up to date to address the realities of current conditions thereby protecting the rights of the rest of the community. By pushing the envelope of current zoning laws, developers are forcing the hands of many municipalities to make these changes under pressure, usually due to public outcry brought on by one particularly offensive project. This often results in moratoriums and adoption of regulations that were developed under pressure. A more deliberate, proactive approach will produce better regulations without the necessity of a building moratorium.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Roads Revisited

Barry E Lamb — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 03:31:00 GMT

I began writing this in response to Bayvillian’s first comment on “The Roads of Bayville” thread, but we have had a number of posts on this subject since then on two different entry threads and it has grown beyond its originally intended size and scope, so I decided to put it up on the main page. For those of you who have not read the comments I am referring to, they are the posts beginning January 19^th on “The Roads of Bayville” and “Bayville Park Busing Resolved?” at these links respectively:

http://bayvilleblog.com/2006/11/12/the-roads-of-bayville.aspx#comment-227813

http://bayvilleblog.com/2006/11/26/bayville-park-busing-resolved.aspx#comment-227869

The reason residents in the Bayville Park Blvd. area had to pay for the improvements to the road is that it had never been built to minimum standards and dedicated to the village as a public road, therefore it is a “privately maintained” road in the public domain (as opposed to “private”- a distinction that seems to have many people stuck). Assuming we are talking about the Bayville Park Blvd. project, public funds were also used. In addition, the Village has plowed and sanded the road for as long as anyone can remember.

Even if none of this were true, the fact is that, unless you have title to the road, it cannot be a truly private road. Note that your own post quotes “Private land may become a public village street by prescription....". Check your property survey and see if it includes the road, or half the road. More likely, it shows your property ending at the edge of the roadway. Does the association hold the deed separately for the roadway? If you can show ownership, then the factors you referred to in your post regarding maintenance and repair come into play and your argument may have merit. If not, as I believe is the case in the Bayville Park Blvd. area, it is a public road that is privately maintained.

Problems with this issue generally don’t arise until someone decides that they have the right to limit access to the roads. Illegal road closings, denial of access and impeding necessary public works projects are becoming more common and poorly maintained roads are the norm. Here in Bayville, people regularly assert property rights regarding property that they don’t own. An exaggerated sense of entitlement has been allowed to flourish. Again, our unconventional system of roads is nobody’s fault and is merely a product of Bayville’s unique history, but with more and more of these issues arising, it is time for us to inventory the roads and their status and take a stand. And yes, I have absolutely thought about the implications of all of this beyond the Bayville Park Blvd. busing issue.

Access is only one facet. All of Bayville’s storm water that is not diverted into drywells runs directly into the Bay or the Long Island Sound. This runoff brings with it huge amounts of pollution including litter, silt, motor oil, antifreeze, pet waste, pesticides, fertilizers and household chemicals. Basically anything that is placed, dumped or leaked onto the ground ends up in the Bay or Sound. The cumulative effects of this are devastating for these bodies of water. The condition of our roads and the overall lack of adequate drainage systems, make Bayville a huge contributor to this problem. Since environmental issues are my overriding concern, this is my motivation for addressing the issue.

To the credit of Mayor Siegal and the Board of Trustees, some major improvements have been made over the last several years, including the drainage and paving work done on Bayville Park Blvd, and they are to be commended, but the task is immense and the vast majority of our roads, including Bayville Ave. still empty directly into our waters without any system in place to reduce the amount of pollutants introduced. This is a major factor (along with the Birches sewage) in the fact that the Mill Neck Creek area has been closed to swimming and shellfishing for years. In my opinion, the “private road” issue and lack of standards for road construction and drainage are major obstacles to progress in this area.

In order to make an improvement to a road that is considered “private”, the Village must jump through hoops to build a consensus of adjoining property owners. If a consensus is not reached, the project is often killed, even though failing to make the improvements has implications for a resource that affects the entire community and beyond – the Bay. Leaving decisions that affect the entire community in the hands of small groups of people is unfair to the rest of the community.

Even if the road in question is deeded to the adjoining property owner, attempting to resurrect some historical property claim that will gain them little or no tangible benefit at the expense of our surrounding waters is a detriment to the community. It also may bring with it a huge liability in the unlikely event that those claims are granted.

New York State's recently mandated MS4 program (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems) requires each municipality to develop a plan to reduce runoff and, in turn, the types of pollution described above. This includes not only developing systems and practices for public lands, but also developing local laws to address enforcement on private lands. It is conceivable and, in fact, desirable that this will include the prohibition of private roads discharging untreated storm water into a protected body of water. This would mean that the adjoining property owners of private roads may be required to improve the road, with both paving and drainage systems, at their own expense. The fact that the road is deemed truly private would preclude them from using public funds for this purpose.

The fact is that roads should be in the public domain and be improved to the minimum standards determined by the municipality which they are in. They should then be dedicated and maintained by that municipality in a way that best serves the entire community. The system, or lack thereof, that has been in place since Bayville was incorporated, doesn’t work. The results are everywhere.

Mill Neck Bay Marina Superfund Site for Open Space Acquisition

Barry E Lamb — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:59:00 GMT

As most of you know, Nassau County voters recently passed a $100 million Environmental Bond Act to, among other things, acquire environmentally important land and open space. How this money is used is critical to the residents of Bayville and other communities surrounding the entire Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary and, more specifically, Mill Neck Bay (The Creek).

The following release was put out by the North Shore Land Alliance and forwarded to me by Friends of the Bay:

In 2007, Nassau County residents have the opportunity to be involved with
the expenditure of the $100 Million Bond for open space acquisition, parks
improvement and expansion, storm water runoff remediation and brown field
redevelopment.

To learn more about the process Nassau County will be hosting 3 public
meetings, one in each of the Towns. They are:

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m., West Hempstead High School, 400 Nassau Blvd., West
Hempstead

Thursday, Jan. 25, 7 p.m., Jericho High School, 99 Cedar Swamp Rd., Jericho

Thursday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m., Herricks High School, 100 Shelter Rock Rd., New
Hyde Park

Please come and learn more about the program. Nomination forms will be
available at these meetings as well as on the Nassau County website
www.nassaucountyny.gov and North Shore Land Alliance website at
www.northshorelandalliance.org (beginning January 23rd). Deadline for
nominations is March 15, 2007.

We need your help in making sure these funds are spent on our most important
places!

Over recent weeks I have quietly observed the dialog being exchanged on this blog and have found it disturbing. I am starting to feel like Igor to Jeff’s Dr. Frankenstein and hope that our community doesn’t end up like the little girl picking flowers by the lake – killed by good intentions. I fully understand that the kinds of issues addressed will lead to opposing views, debates and even arguments, and many posters have done this with intelligence and restraint. Others have substituted well thought out points of view with personal attacks on their own neighbors. Most do this while hiding behind anonymous identities.

It is my hope that I can steer the focus of the Bayville Blog to issues that are less divisive and more constructive. There are so many issues facing this community that, in my opinion, can be universally agreed upon by the entire community. One of these is the acquisition and clean up of the Mill Neck Bay Marina Property (MNBM), a New York State Superfund site, and another is the end to raw sewage being continually discharged into the Creek.

Surely we can all agree that having a property that is contaminated with thirteen different metals (arsenic, barium, cadmium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, mercury, nickel, selenium and zinc), as well as several semi-volatile organic compounds, located directly adjacent to the bay, is not a good thing. Particularly when you add the fact that not only does the rainwater that falls onto the property run directly into the bay, but, there is groundwater that continually flows up from the contaminated ground and directly into the bay. To believe that this water does not carry with it many of these contaminants, introducing them to the eco-system of the bay, as well as the food chain, would be naïve. Please take the time to read or re-read my prior entry regarding this at http://bayvilleblog.com/2006/11/23/mill-neck-bay-marina.aspx.

Surely we can all agree that having a large portion of the houses in the Birches/Continental Villa development flushing their toilets directly into our bay for the last 35 years is not a good thing. This blatant violation of the Clean Water Act has been given nothing but lip service for 35 years by Nassau County, Town of Oyster Bay, The DEC, U.S Fish and Wildlife and most recently the New York State Attorney General’s office who, having issued a mandate to have a treatment plant up and running before September 2005, has failed to take a single step to enforce this mandate. Surely we can all agree that having human feces flowing into the creek, resulting in the closing of our beaches and shell-fishing beds and possibly the contamination of our seafood is something we can all rally against. (http://bayvilleblog.com/2006/11/12/raw-sewerage-still-flowing-into-the-creek.aspx)

If everyone who reads this entry were to write a letter nominating the MNBM property for acquisition and brown fields remediation, maybe our elected officials would begin to take notice. If these letters also expressed outrage over the Birches situation and inquired whether funds available for storm water runoff remediation could apply to correcting it, then perhaps Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay would stop bickering over cost sharing details and actually work together towards fixing the problem.

The January 25^th meeting at the Jericho High School is designed to show the public how to nominate properties and to inform them of how the process works. If I recall last year’s meeting, they also accepted many nominations right at the meeting but requested that they also be re-submitted with Nassau County’s nomination forms attached. If you do not feel you can have the letter written before the meeting, you will have plenty of time before the submittal deadline.

Letters should mention the incomprehensible transaction in which the developer originally acquired the property from Nassau County for approximately $114,000 and should encourage or, even demand that the County exercise their power of eminent domain to regain title for the purpose of remediation and dedication as open space. Each letter should be mailed to the Environmental Program Advisory Committee and then be copied to the list of officials below. A copy of one of my prior nomination letters is in my previous entry on the MNBM (link above) and I will see if Jeff can create a link to some of the letters that the various agencies have generated over the years regarding these issues.

Address and mail the nomination letters to:

Environmental Program Advisory Committee

One West Street

Mineola, NY 11501

Cc the letters to:

The Honorable Thomas Souzzi

Nassau Count Executive Director

One West Street

Mineola, NY 11501

The Honorable Judith Jacobs

Presiding Officer,

Nassau County Legislature

One West Street

Mineola, NY 11501

The Honorable Diane Yatauro

County Legislator

Nassau County Legislature

One West Street

Mineola, NY 11501

Tom Maher

Nassau County Environmental Coordinator

One West Street

Mineola, NY 11501

Additional cc’s to consider:

Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan

New York State Department of Environmetal Conservation

625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233-1010

Gregory L. Capobianco

New York State Department of State

Division of Coastal Resources

41 State Street

Albany, NY 12231-0001

The Honorable John Venditto

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor

Town Hall

54 Audrey Avenue

Oyster Bay, NY 11771

It is my hope that a healthy response to this issue will help to restore the BayvilleBlog to the positive, constructive and credible tool that it was created to be. To that end, I would request that those of you who choose to be a part of the solution, post a comment to let us know what steps you have taken. If you write a letter, make a phone call, send an e-mail or plan to attend the meeting, please let us know. If you have a question please don't hesitate to ask and if you would like to contact me personally please do so by e-mailing me at the link in the “contact us” box in the sidebar.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Poor Communication Contributing to the Heat over Microwaves?

Admin — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 11:47:00 GMT

Here is an excerpt from an article in Newsday –Static on county’s radios on 1/4/07 (full article)

“Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel said village officials had heard from more than 100 people on the proposal to mount two antennae on its water tower, across from a grade school. No decision had been made, she said, but "the majority opinion we heard is, 'It causes cancer,' 'We don't want it,' 'Put it somewhere else. ' "

She acknowledged that the village now has 52 antennae from cell carriers who pay annual fees. Asked the difference, she said, "When these cell carriers were going up on the water tower, people have not come to public hearings."

I believe the overwhelming response and attendance at the Dec 18^thpublic hearing for the proposed NCPD radio system is only due to the recent awareness of the proposal. And no, it did not come from the miniscule mention near the return address line of the village newsletter.

I hardly classify myself as living in a shell and I’m confident others share my “disconnect” from previous decisions in this village. I believe no one came to the previous town halls regarding the cell sites due to the fact that they most likely did not know about it. This has come up many times in the past in talking with people around town.

One of the reasons why I started the blog was to help “extinguish” the “disconnect”. I figure that if enough people participate the word will get out somehow. Not everyone can make every meeting. This blog at least provides the vessel for communication.

Before reading about it on the BayvillleBlog in November, I myself knew nothing about the antenna proposal. By comparison, the attendance at the meeting in November compared to December, I feel pretty confident in saying most of the town did not know about it either.

So now that the residents did come to the hearings, now what? Time is definitely ticking. Why did we have the first town hearing in November when this project was proposed in September of 2005 according to the Newsday article?

The common denominator seems to be communication. I recently found out that the village, by placing the info in the kiosks, is doing more than they are required by law regarding notifications. I was told that they are only required to publish the article in the newspaper. This may satisfy the legal requirement, but is it effective? Is it really enough? If the Legal notices for public hearings were online I believe there would be a greater awareness of what is actually going on. People would have an alternate way to “connect” with the village.

I urge the village to post the legal notifications for public hearings on the village website. This would be a great addition to the recently updated content, and provide the residents the convenience of viewing it online. More information is better than missed information.

Don’t forget- The next village meeting is on January 22^nd at 7:30PM

Respectfully,

Jeff Silver

Ethanol Spill in Harbor

Barry E Lamb — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The following was posted on the OB Hamlet Blog by Caroline S. DuBois:

Nearly 4,000 gallons of Ethanol spilled in to Oyster Bay Harbor, late at night on December 6th, during a fuel transfer at Commander Oil. How long was it flowing before someone noticed? Were the monitors asleep at the switch? Who (if anyone) and when were local officials in the community notified? (Most folks first read about it in Newsday.) Does Commander Oil have adequate safety and monitoring procedures?

These are just some of the questions the Coast Guard and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation need to ask during their investigation. What else should they be asking on behalf of our community?

Having a fuel storage, mixing and transfer depot on the Eastern Waterfront is like an accident waiting to happen. Of course we need oil to heat our homes and power our cars, but we need to insist on the best management practices available to protect the safety of our neighbors and the health of our harbor.

There have been fuel spill accidents here before. This time we were very lucky. Evidently a pipe cracked during transfer allowing the fuel to gush into the containment area, near the coastal marsh of Whites Creek behind the Library. Why did it crack? Was it too old or too small to handle the pressure?

Ethanol is basically corn alcohol, used in automobile fuel to increase efficiency and reduce pollution. It is said to be "harmless", but it contains an additive making it poisonous for people to drink. In this case, it evaporated quickly, but it could have caught fire and caused extensive damage to the fuel depot and surrounding community. For more details check out the front page of the Oyster Bay Guardian's December 15, 2006 edition.

Bayville Park Busing Resolved!

Barry E Lamb — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 01:47:00 GMT

After receiving a letter from the president of the Bayville Park Blvd. Civic Association requesting that they no longer use the association as an excuse to deny bus service to the area, the LVCSD has decided to restore the service on a trial basis. The following e-mail was received by one of the parents who has been fighting for this cause since the beginning. It was sent by Adriana Silver, Assistant Superintendent for Business, LVCSD:

You’re the very first person to hear this news. The district will begin a pilot test of a MS/HS run in your community after school begins, but early in January. The test is expected to last several weeks. We will see if we can make this change without impacting our transportation budget or delivery of students to the school. The pilot will not include late runs.

Hopefully, this will lead to permanent full service being restored and we can put this issue to rest. Again, credit to Roberta and the BPBCA.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Microwaves - Fix the Problem

Barry E Lamb — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:13:00 GMT

The turnout at Monday night’s meeting was quite impressive and the response on this site has been amazing. Since the meeting approximately 50 new comments have been posted, many from people new to the Bayville Blog, and on Tuesday we set a new record with exactly 500 hits for the day. Most of the posts have expressed legitimate concerns and provided some useful information. Unfortunately, there have also been more than a few instances of sniping, name-calling and other counterproductive behavior. This is extremely disillusioning for me. This site was created with the intention of finding solutions for the issues that face the community by bringing these issues into the public domain for discussion, consensus building and, when necessary, applying some gentle pressure on our elected officials. It was never intended as a tool to for unchecked criticism that doesn’t even offer the pretense of being constructive. It is important for us to remember that the Nassau County Police Department, Mayor Siegel and the Board of Trustees are not the enemy. NCPD is trying to improve the quality of the services that it has been entrusted to provide and Mayor Siegel and the Board of Trustees are merely trying to make an informed decision after hearing the evidence. I have seen no indication that they have already made the decision to allow this installation, yet it appears that many people posting have made the decision to assume that they have. They are not villains.

Just as importantly, no one has offered a solution other than to “just say no”. This kind of rigid response rarely addresses the problem at hand and tends to lead to unnecessary conflict. We need to explore ways to address the needs of all involved and our first step should be to identify the problem. In this case the problem is less than perfect radio communications for the police department vs. increased exposure to radio and microwave radiation. I think everyone will agree that a better communication system for the police, taken at face value, is a good thing.

The second step is to put the problem in perspective. This was pretty well addressed by Bayville Engineer’s fruit roll up comment. If your family is eating more meals out of a box or take out bag than off the top off the stove, or your landscaper is dumping fertilizer, broad leaf weed killer, grub controller and broad spectrum pesticides on the lawn that your kids play on and, in turn, into the water we drink (if you don’t know whether or not he is – he is), then I wouldn’t sweat the radio waves. That being said I have always been an advocate of limiting these emissions as good policy. It is an unknown and I certainly think prudence is warranted. However, the sky is not falling.

Finally, we need to come up with ways to balance the amount of emissions we are subjected to with the realities of modern life. One way to do this is an alternate site. Like most of the people in the audience on Monday night, I have to question the criteria used for picking the Bayville water tower site. It does not appear that population density or proximity to schools were included in that criteria. It does, however, appear that municipal resistance was, and in comparison to Mill Neck, which certainly seems to be a viable alternate site, Bayville became the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, we have little or no control over the decisions made by other municipalities and neither does Nassau County.

Another way to achieve this balance could be to set a limit on the amount of total radiation emitted from this site. By freezing the amount to the level that is currently there (or less), we could require that before NCPD increases their output, an equal amount of radiation producing equipment must come down. This would force us to prioritize what services are most important to the community and force any entity that wants to utilize this site to bid for that right on a per watt basis (or whatever quantitative measurement is used). Limiting the “commodity” in this way will in turn increase revenue per watt, limit exposure and force the users of the site to re-evaluate their needs and reduce output in an effort to reduce costs. All while freezing output at the site at today’s levels.

I welcome any and all other ideas, but let’s keep it constructive. Fix the problem.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Community Announcements and Classifieds

Barry E Lamb — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:36:00 GMT

We have long had it in the back of our minds to provide a place for members of the community to post community event announcements and a place for a broad range of classified style advertisements. We have been discussing a number of different ways to do this, but most of them require more time to set up than we seem to have. The simplest way, even if it ends up temporary until a more sophisticated method is developed, seems to be to just post an entry each month and let people post their own announcements and classifieds just as they would post a comment. It may be somewhat difficult to format it to appear the way it is intended, but this will at least get the concept started. Any new post will end up in the "Recent Comments" box in the sidebar for people to see on the main page, at which time they can go to the appropriate entry to read the text.

The possibilities here are endless. I will post the entries separately, following this one, with a brief description and a couple of posts that have already been requested. Please make an effort to utilize the resource in order to help get it off the ground.

And please, if you have any suggestions on ways to make this work better, please leave a comment here.

Thanks,

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

More on Microwaves

Barry E Lamb — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:46:00 GMT

The following was written by Nick Penny and forwarded to me by Chris Zino with a request to post it on the main page:

Bayville Water Tower Microwave Antenna Proposal

Meeting Bayville Village Hall Monday, December 18 7:45pm

Please make every effort to attend this meeting and voice your opposition to this project.

If you cannot attend, please communicate your opposition to the Village.

There has been little to no published public information on this project. Technical specification notes taken by a concerned, conscientious citizen at the last Village meeting on this project can be found at:

www.bayvilleblog.com

This information indicates that the proposal would add significant, powerful transmission equipment to the tower – in close proximity to Bayville Primary School, St. Gertrude’s Pre-School, the Library, and the meeting place for Bayville Scouting.

The Village of Bayville recently added some general technical information the village website, but there were no specifics on the actual project proposal.

One of the documents posted by the Village was an August 1999 FCC publication titled ”Questions and Answers about Biological Effects and Potential Hazards of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields Evaluating RF Radiation”. These FCC regulations are often cited by the telecommunications industry as evidence of the safety of antenna installations. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) own stated position on the question of non-thermal exposure and exposure regulations is stated by the agency as:

“The FCC’s current exposure guidelines, as well as those of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection, are thermally based, and do not apply to chronic, non-thermal exposure situations. … The FCC’s exposure guideline is considered protective of effects arising from a thermal mechanism but not from all possible mechanisms. Therefore, the generalization by many that the guidelines protect human beings from harm by any or all mechanisms is not justified.”

http://www.protectschools.org/epa%20letter.pdf

This position is echoed by numerous scientific and governmental organizations around the world.

A brief investigation into subject reveals many additional references stating concern with cell tower and microwave antenna safety, including:

Press Release from U.S. Congressman Major Owens, NY Feb 15, 2006 "Municipalities in California and Florida already have laws banning antennae near schools, as does the country of New Zealand," she said. Research suggests that children's developing brains may be especially vulnerable to long-term radiation exposure. "While the industry points to its own studies along with several others claiming that there is no radiation danger, enough questions have been raised from a vast body of research strongly disputing that conclusion to spur several international conferences on cell-tower siting,"

http://www.house.gov/owens/pr021406.htm

Legislation was introduced in the NY State Assembly by Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris (Queens) that among other things proposed to:

-Prevent wireless facilities from being constructed within 500feet of a school or nursery.

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A05648

The International Association of Fire Fighters has opposed placement of cell phone antennas on their member’s fire houses due to health concerns regarding long-term non-thermal exposure:

The International Association of Fire Fighters’ position on locating cell towers commercial wireless infrastructure on fire department facilities, as adopted by its membership in August 2004 (1), is that the IAFF oppose the use of fire stations as base stations for towers and/or antennas for the conduction of cell phone transmissions until a study with the highest scientific merit and integrity on health effects of exposure to low-intensity RF/MW radiation is conducted and it is proven that such sitings are not hazardous to the health of our members.

http://www.iaff.org/safe/content/celltower/celltowerfinal.htm

Alarmingly, they cite the following as the basis of their position:

There is a large body of internationally accepted scientific evidence which points to the existence of non-thermal effects of RF/MW radiation. The issue at the present time is not whether such evidence exists, but rather what weight to give it.

Internationally acknowledged experts in the field of RF/MW radiation research have shown that RF/MW transmissions of the type used in digital cellular antennas and phones can have critical effects on cell cultures, animals, and people in laboratories and have also found epidemiological evidence (studies of communities, not in the laboratory) of serious health effects at "non-thermal levels," where the intensity of the RF/MW radiation was too low to cause heating. They have found:

· Increased cell growth of brain cancer cells

· A doubling of the rate of lymphoma in mice

· Changes in tumor growth in rats

· An increased number of tumors in rats

· Increased single-and double-strand breaks in DNA, our genetic material

· 2 to 4 times as many cancers in Polish soldiers exposed to RF

· More childhood leukemia in children exposed to RF

· Changes in sleep patterns and REM type sleep

· Headaches caused by RF/MW radiation exposure

Neurologic changes including:

· Changes in the blood-brain-barrier

· Changes in cellular morphology (including cell death)

· Changes in neural electrophysiology (EEG)

· Changes in neurotransmitters (which affect motivation and pain perception)

· Metabolic changes (of calcium ions, for instance)

· Cytogenetic effects (which can affect cancer, Alzheimer's, neurodegenerative diseases)

· Decreased memory, attention, and slower reaction time in school children

· Retarded learning in rats indicating a deficit in spatial "working memory"

· Increased blood pressure in healthy men

· Damage to eye cells when combined with commonly used glaucoma medications

Many national and international organizations have recognized the need to define the true risk of low intensity, non-thermal RF/MW radiation exposure, calling for intensive scientific investigation to answer the open questions. These include:

· The World Health Organization, noting reports of "cancer, reduced fertility, memory loss, and adverse changes in the behavior and development of children."

· The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

· The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

· The Swedish Work Environmental Fund

· The National Cancer Institute (NCI)

· The European Commission (EC)

· New Zealand's Ministry of Health

· National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia

· Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization of Australia (CSIRO)

· The Royal Society of Canada expert group report prepared for Health Canada

· European Union's REFLEX Project (Risk Evaluation of Potential Environmental Hazards from Low Frequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure Using Sensitive in vitro Methods)

· The Independent Group on Electromagnetic Fields of the Swedish Radiation Protection Board (SSI)

· The United Kingdom’s National Radiological Protection Board (NRP

· The EMF-Team Finland's Helsinki Appeal 2005

· Non-thermal effects are recognized by experts on RF/MW radiation and health to be potential health hazards. Safe levels of RF/MW exposure for these low intensity, non-thermal effects have not yet been established.

· The FDA has explicitly rejected claims that cellular phones are "safe."

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated repeatedly that the current (ANSI/IEEE) RF/MW safety standards protect only against thermal effects.

Curious About the Bayville Blog's Integrity

Barry E Lamb — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 14:56:00 GMT

The following is intended as a reply to two comments posted under the “Bayville Park Busing” and “Bayville Park Busing Resolved?” by Curious. I have decided to post it here on the main page because it brings up some important points regarding the intent and purpose of the Bayville Blog and encompasses other previous entries. I will let you go to the respective entries to read the comments in their original thread rather that re-posting them here out of context.

Curious,

This site has never refused to state who was behind it and has always advocated posters taking responsibility for their own posts – not to do so, in my opinion, is an act of cowardice. I have signed every entry and comment with my full name and am solely responsible for their content. I was asked who administrates the site and did not think it was my place to answer. He has since indicated that he has no problem with being identified. In fact, if you go to the “Blog Rules” link, he has already done so himself, quite a while ago. We are the only two people involved with creating the site and have no hidden affiliations or agendas. If anyone has any questions regarding this, I would be more than happy to answer them.

Jeff’s (yes, the administrator) comment stems from the fact that I chose to put a link to Lisa M’s article in my post. I did this rather than post the information on my own; because I felt it was a good practice to allow her the credit for her work (and admittedly because it was easier). With this blog being so new, it would have been great publicity for us if she had chosen to do the same. Unfortunately, I think that the people involved with print newspapers feel a little threatened by this new medium as competition. Please make no mistake; this blog is not a newspaper and the last thing that we want is to have strained relations with the local papers. In fact it is my hope that this blog could work with the local papers in a constructive way to address the issues that face this community and that it becomes a place where the papers look for ideas for stories about the issues that are on people’s minds.

For instance, at this point I am relatively sure that St. Gertrude’s is selling land but until a primary source is found, it is still a rumor. A reporter with a local paper should have the resources to find out if it is fact and at what stage in the process it is. If it is still “pending” then maybe there is a chance that it can be preserved as open space. If that were the case, then this blog would become the staging area for a campaign to get that accomplished. If the sale has taken place, then the focus should be to assure that our zoning code is amended in time to prevent overbuilding of the parcel.

A similar situation exists with the Shore Rd. reconstruction project. A little publicity from a local paper could go a long way towards ensuring that the proposed project is presented to the community for feedback. The possibilities are endless.

Since starting this blog we have received quite a bit of feedback. The vast majority of it has been good but several people have criticized us. One person even called it a rumor mill and accused me of being disgruntled and ill informed. I believe that I have done a good job of ensuring that everything I post is factual or clearly identified as a rumor and am anything but disgruntled. I love living where I do and simply believe that preserving this area is everyone’s responsibility. Many people do not feel comfortable submitting a letter to the editor of a local paper but are perfectly at home in a less formal environment. This blog simply gives people the opportunity to voice their uncensored concerns and opinions.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

Ps: Those of you who are reading this and have not yet subscribed, please take the time to do so. I know there are a lot of you out there. It costs nothing and you will be notified via E-mail whenever a new entry is posted in the main page. Should information be posted that is time sensitive, this will ensure that you get it in a timely manner.

Bayville's Zoning Should Follow Hamlet's Lead

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 20:22:00 GMT

This past Tuesday, a hearing was held at the Oyster Bay Town Board meeting regarding proposed changes to current zoning laws in the Hamlet of Oyster Bay and possibly the entire Town. At the hearing, results of a study done by Fredrick P. Clark Associates were presented to the board. These proposed changes are a direct result of community concern regarding over development, over sized houses, and the common practice of developers demolishing older homes to sub-divide and re-develop land. This concern led to the formation of Save the Jewel by the Bay and a moratorium on residential construction for over a year while the study was conducted. Save the Jewel has been credited with bringing about these proposed changes through their signature style of cooperative activism that should be a model for any group looking to lobby for changes in their community. They, as well as the Town Board, should be commended for their efforts.

The Northender.com has a very good article this week about this meeting. If you are not subscribed to the Northender.com, you should probably consider doing so. The link to the story is: www.northender.com/feature_story_details.jsp?id=696

Many of the regulations proposed in the study are not unlike regulations being adopted by municipalities across Long Island. Two of these regulations are becoming more and more common and are designed to control the size and configuration of houses based on the property they are built on, and to limit the adverse effects on neighboring properties. They are the Floor Area Ratio, or FAR, and the Height Setback Ratio and are briefly discussed in the Northender.com article. These regulations are very effective in controlling the construction of large box shaped houses and result in houses with second stories that are slightly set back from the first story building line. This, in turn, results in more time and effort being spent on architectural design.

Another change that is being discussed, is the adoption of a more comprehensive tree ordinance for the Town. The current tree ordinance was described by the consultant as “administrative in nature”. Basically this means you fill out a form, pay a fee, and the permit is issued without review or provisions for mitigating the effects of the lost trees. Some of the elements being discussed for the new ordinance are mandatory tree replacement, preference for native tree species and a review process, especially when part of a building permit or subdivision.

These proposed changes, and just as importantly the process that brought them about, should serve as a model for other communities. Bayville is badly in need of similar changes that are tailored specifically for Bayville. I am told that the Planning Board has discussed ways for addressing over development and would like to see these ideas and others discussed further so that they can evolve into a comprehensive plan that addresses the needs of this community. I also think that, particularly with the pending sale of the St. Gertrude’s property, a moratorium should be considered and adopted prior to any subdivision of the property. I am looking forward to comments on this entry.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

OBHamletBlog.com

Barry E Lamb — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 01:14:00 GMT

www.OBHamletBlog.com is now up and running. This new blog is modeled after www.BayvilleBlog.com but is intended to serve the Oyster Bay Hamlet area. At this point, authorship has been extended to six very active community members and I will also be posting any entries appropriate for the Hamlet of Oyster Bay on the OB site as well.

In the near future we plan to post a number of topics on both web sites designed to begin a dialog on each topic. We also will open up pages dedicated to community event announcements, as well as a classified/swap/giveaway page on which anyone can post for free. If you have a topic that you would like to see opened for discussion or have any suggestions at all, please let us know.

It is our intention that these web sites be an open and free resource for information and discussion for each community, but this can only happen if members of the community help to get the word out. If you know of anyone in the area who would be interested in this type of community based resource, please let them know about these sites. If you would like a similar site set up for your community, please contact the administrator at either site.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Bayville Park Busing Resolved?

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 12:44:00 GMT

Due, in part at least, to the discussions on the BayvilleBlog, the Bayville Park Blvd. Civic Association has decided not to pursue their campaign to exclude school buses from the development. I received the following E-mail from one of the residents who has been fighting to allow the buses to enter the development to pick up her daughter and the other students.

Just wanted to let you know that the President of my association gave me a letter to the school district, quoting state village law 6-626 streets by prescription.

It said, "This means the Association has no legal rights to limit who and/or what vehicles can drive on our neighborhood roads. The district can do what ever they feel is to the benefits of the children under their care. We will be adjusting our by-laws accordingly."

Of course the school district said that they have to run it by their lawyer, which will probably take a while.

So, what do you think my chances are for bus service in my association?

Thanks for all your help.

R

I would imagine that with the receipt of this letter, the school district will act very quickly to restore service to this area. Now that the civic association has come to the rightful conclusion that they do not have jurisdiction over the road, the decision lies solely with the school district. The liability that this puts on the district, should one of these children get hurt, should induce them to send the buses in as soon as they can address the logistics and notify the parents of the changes. Not to do so would be a disservice to the community.

Credit should be given to the Bayville Park Blvd. Civic Association and their new president, Roberta. When provided with the necessary information, they did what was right without lawyers and lawsuits, just because it was the right thing to do.

It's amazing how easily issues get resolved when people communicate in an open forum.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Mill Neck Bay Marina

Barry E Lamb — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 16:05:00 GMT

First I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. To remind yourself just how thankful we should all be, go to www.globalrichlist.com see how ridiculously wealthy you are, and remember that half of the population of the world lives on $2 per day or less. Tough to save up for a Coach bag on that.

The Mill Neck Bay Marina

The Mill Neck Bay Marina is an old boat yard that is located at the end of Hernan Ave. in Locust Valley. This property was has recently been designated a New York State Superfund site and now sits in limbo while the various government bodies decide what to do with it.

Once again, in order to bring people up to speed on this issue, I have provided some previously written material below (with some appropriate editing). The first is an E-mail that I wrote to John Rather, a reporter from the New York Times who was researching an article on the development of former marina sites, and the second is a nomination letter to the Nassau County Environmental Bond Committee. Please take the time to read them, as the history of the site is quite interesting.

Hey John,

Kyle Rabin of Friends of the Bay gave me your E-mail address and phone numbers and I thought I should touch base with you.

I have been involved with the Mill Neck Bay Marina property for over 6 years now and probably have more information and documentation than anyone else. This includes the entire DEC file for the original tidal wetlands permits (I haven't FOILed the Superfund documents yet), deeds, and numerous letters written by myself, various agencies and elected officials. I don't know the exact context of your story, but the MNBM segment should be entitled "The Anatomy of an Environmental Boondoggle".

The details are far too involved to get into in an E-mail but I will give you a brief history of the site to give you an idea of what has transpired. Please take the time to read it because even if it doesn't fit your story it may make a great follow-up piece.

The property was originally used as a marina for as long as anyone can remember. Sometime in the late 80's-early 90's the Marina went out of business and owners failed to pay property taxes because they considered the land to be unsuitable for development. The County then took title of the land.

1996 - Land was acquired by current owners primarily through Nassau County Treasurer Deeds (tax foreclosure) and in one instance privately for "no consideration". I have the deeds for 5 of the 6 parcels and the total paid for these parcels is $113,141.00 – not bad for four waterfront building lots if you can get around DEC regulations and get permits to build.

1998 - Current owners apply for Tidal Wetlands permit. Permitting process is conveniently flawed in the developer's favor- perhaps because the expeditor, Land Use Environmental, does alot of work with the DEC. No soil samples were required or submitted despite the fact that it involved converting an industrial site, known to produce contaminants, into a residential area. There were also no tests performed to ensure a functioning septic system was feasible despite being in an area where failing septic systems have been a major environmental problem for years (The Birches). It should be noted that there is ground water flowing continually out of the ground on this site, which then flows directly into the bay. Please read the attached letter to the N.C. Environmental Bond Committee for a very basic idea of some of the other deficiencies - there are far more that I did not address in that letter (letter provided below).

2000 - Tidal permits issued in July. Developers later demolish buildings, fill property and crush and remove derelict boats (without emptying fuel tanks) all without the proper permits from the Town of Oyster Bay. Area residents see what is happening - this is their first indication of any plan for development - and call FOB, the Town and myself. The illegal work at the site is stopped. Pressure from us to do a more thorough investigation puts project on hold due to developers lack of cooperation.

2001 – The property is nominated by myself as well as FOB for acquisition through the SEA Fund Bond. I do not know this to be fact, but I am told the developer was offered over $900,000.00 for the property provided it was tested and found to be without contaminants. Developer refused. Please remember the amount originally paid and from whom it was acquired.

2005 - The property is again nominated for acquisition through both the SEA Fund II and the Nassau County Environmental Bond Act. DEC permits expire in July. Developer allows Town to conduct soil tests, which are found to contain unsuitable amounts of a number of contaminants despite the developers assurances that his tests showed levels were well within limits.

2006 Site is designated as a Superfund site.

At this point, with the developer having shown a total disregard for the law or the well being of the public, and being totally uncooperative, the only viable option to solve this problem is for The Town or County to acquire (re-acquire) the property through eminent domain. Pains should be taken to ensure that the developer be paid no more than the initial investment with a small return (5%/yr. ?). The property can then be cleaned up and restored and used as a passive park and access to the Bay. The health of area residents as well as the health of the Bay and possibly the area shellfishing industry is at stake.

Please don't hesitate to call me if I can be of any assistance. Any article that brings this issue to the public can only help and I will do whatever I can to help.

Barry E. Lamb

And the nomination letter.

March 25, 2005

Nassau County Environmental Bond Act Program
One West Street
Mineola, NY 11501

Dear Committee Members,

I am writing to you to ask that you please consider the Mill Neck Bay Marina as a candidate for acquisition to preserve as open space. This property is directly adjacent to a National Wildlife Refuge and a watershed that has been designated an Outstanding Natural Coastal Area and a Significant Fish and Wildlife Habitat by New York State and is, for many reasons, unsuitable for development. The property also has a questionable history when you consider how the owner/developer obtained both the property and the DEC permits to build on it. The developer has also demonstrated a blatant disregard for the environment and the laws designed to protect it by the numerous violations committed in the short time before he was denied access to the property.

A brief history of this property and very questionable behavior of all involved will make anyone wonder if the processes we have put in place to protect the environment are working at all. Keep in mind that the developer used a consultant that is said to be very friendly with DEC personnel.

While I do not know this to be fact, I was told that much of this property was acquired through Nassau County tax liens. This could easily have been avoided had the county had a policy in place to compare properties in arrears to their inventory of environmentally sensitive lands as outlined in the 1998 Nassau County Comprehensive Plan. (I now know this to be true and have copies of the deeds)

No soil tests were required by the DEC to determine what contaminants are present from the former use as a marina with all the associated paints, paint strippers, oils, resins, heavy metals and other chemicals.

Despite the fact that it is common knowledge that the majority of the septic systems in the same area are failing due to groundwater carrying the raw sewage into the bay, and that the property in question has a fresh water spring that flows from its center, the DEC has issued permits allowing two homes and the septic systems to go with them. One of these septic systems will, according to the site plan, be located right smack on top of that fresh water spring. These septic systems have no special features to alleviate this problem and no perc. test was ever required to assess the suitability of the area. Perhaps the most disturbing fact in all of this is that the septic systems were granted a variance from the DEC’s own setback requirements and instead of being 75’ from the wetlands boundary, these will be constructed just 30’ away. The hardship reason given for the variance on this property which was acquired through tax liens was "The owner is subject to practical difficulty due to the proximity of the wetland and limited building area due to the shape of the property"- stop laughing it’s really not funny.

In violation of the DEC’s procedural standards, permits were applied for incrementally in order to keep the regulating agencies from assessing the total impact of this project on the environment. The developer stated at a meeting at the Locust Valley Library soon after this project first generated opposition, that he intends to build four houses on the property, yet the DEC is assessing each permit as a separate project to construct one house and so far applications have only been made for the first two houses.

No permit for a bulkhead or sea wall has been granted nor a permit to remove the existing structures. Anybody who sees this property will see that the existing bulkhead is dilapidated to the point of being hazardous and needs to be removed and replaced, if for no other reason than safety, yet it has not been addressed. The issuance of these permits would require approval from The Department of State, a representative of which has indicated to me that they would be very reluctant to do so. This is further evidence of fragmenting the process. Obviously DOS approval will be far easier to obtain if the reason for the bulkhead is to protect houses already built and there is no wetland or open space left to save.

The application’s legal notice, posted on the DEC’s Environmental Notices Bulletin, listed the developer’s address (916 Carol Court, Woodmere) as the location of the property, making public comment or opposition highly unlikely. This deprived residents in the area of their right to voice their concerns before variances were granted and permits issued and basically denied them their right to be involved in the process.

Upon beginning this project, the developer violated (or may have violated) the following laws-

Two buildings were demolished without TOBAY permits.
Fill was dumped without TOBAY permits.
Fill was not "clean fill" by any standards.
Filling and excavation work was done without the installation of a siltation barrier.
Siltation barrier subsequently installed has not been maintained
During cleanup fuel from several boats on the property was dumped in the dirt.

I obtained much of the DEC file on this property through the Freedom of Information Law back in 2001. This process took more than five months and ten letters due to DEC resistance and the fact that they conveniently lost the file. They then managed to obtain a replacement file from the developer’s consultant after I appealed to the Committee on Open Government. I originally began this FOIL request after being told by Pam Lynch, a DEC employee, that a compliance hearing about this project was closed to the public to protect the privacy of their "client", Harvey Weisman (I was under the impression that the public was their client and that he would be better termed "defendant"). It is all very interesting to say the least. Unfortunately, I could not possibly include all the details in a letter without causing your eyes to glaze over. I would however welcome the chance to share what I have with any or all of you.

While it is my primary concern that this property be protected, it is my position that allowing someone to obtain property and permits in the above fashion and then to pay him a premium price for the land sets a very dangerous precedent. For this reason I am asking that you acquire this property in as frugal a manner possible. Perhaps petitioning the DEC to pull its permits on the grounds that they were improperly obtained would entice the developer to accept a price based on his cost plus a small return (minus the cost of cleaning up his illegal dumping) rather than the market value of four building lots that were questionably created. There could not be a better candidate for eminent domain.

As a nominee for acquisition, based on your Open Space Acquisition Evaluation Form, this property meets all but a very few of the criteria and will obviously score very highly. In order to keep an already lengthy letter from getting even longer, I have taken the liberty of completing a printout of the form with the criteria that I believe the Mill Neck Bay Marina fulfills as a candidate. I hope that you will take the time to review it and make your own determination. If you have any questions, or I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

This parcel may be the last place left on the west side of Mill Neck Bay for us to establish access for low impact activities like fishing, birding, kayaking and canoeing. This open space would act as a natural buffer to protect the bay from the fertilizers, pesticides, lawn chemicals, sewage from failing septic systems and other pollutants associated with residential developments. With a freshwater spring attracting birds and wildlife it could be a beautiful addition to an already beautiful ecosystem. Or we could allow four more houses where the only addition would be more sewerage and pollutants to a bay that is already beyond its capacity to process them.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Barry E. Lamb

Cc: Kyle Rabin, Executive Director, Friends of the Bay

With the passage of the latest Nassau County Bond Act, it would be a grave mistake to not use some of the resources to acquire and clean up this property. As mentioned in the above letter, this is the perfect candidate for eminent domain. This developer has shown absolute contempt for the law and the environment and should not be rewarded for this environmental extortion.

Barry E. Lamb

Bayville

The Other Shore Road (Mill Neck)

Barry E Lamb — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 12:41:00 GMT

It seems that Nassau County will be moving forward with plans to reconstruct West Shore Rd. with construction starting in September of ’07 and continuing through May of ’08. This is a $16.5 million project that will apparently be undertaken specifically without public input.

The following is a link to Nassau County’s “Capital Improvement Plan 2007 – 2010”.

http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/OMB/Docs/PDF/2007_Nassau_Capital_Budget.pdf

Go to page 257 of the document (pg. 273 in the adobe page window at the bottom of the window).

The second paragraph of the Project Description section states “This project is for the discrete rehabilitation of sections of this roadway and seawall. Several alternatives for this improvement have met with community opposition, however at this time, consensus has been developed with the elected officials on a conceptual plan to move this project forward.”

It is difficult to tell how extensive this plan is from this document. Last year’s version of the same document states under the Current Status section “Currently evaluating options for improvements to this road. Options include a bike path”, while this document states “Currently designing seawall only, not the road”.

Several years ago I attended the public meeting regarding a past design that I believe was considerably larger in scope. If my memory serves me correctly, the estimated cost of that project was ~$40 million. The project included widening, straightening and raising the road, adding a third “breakdown lane”, a 5’ wide sidewalk and replacing the existing seawall with a corrugated steel seawall (to achieve that rusty industrial look). That project faced considerable opposition. Some of the concerns that were expressed were the lack of a bike path, the corrugated steel wall, the considerable widening, encroachment into existing wetlands and the fact that no there was no plan to place the utility wires underground. There was also no plan to raise the section of roadway under the trestle, which, as we all know, is the first place to flood.

It is obvious that this roadway and seawall are in need repair and replacement, but doing so without public input is a serious breach of public trust. The likelihood is that in order to reduce the cost of the project, a corrugated steel wall will be used in place of the existing concrete wall. I hope that this is not the case. To me this is unacceptable and will result in one of our community’s most valuable resources looking like an industrial shipyard.

We need to demand that this plan will be presented to the public during the planning stage so that our concerns can be addressed.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Bugs in the Water

Barry E Lamb — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:00:00 GMT

This entry is really just a reply to Jeff’s posted comment under the “Raw sewage still Flowing into the Creek” entry. Since this really falls under the “Water Supply” heading I’ve brought it out to the main entry section to open up comments on this topic.

The post is as follows.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 7:42 PM

Jeff wrote:
I've been reading up on coliform bacteria for my own education. I figured it appropriate since I've been consuming it anyway in what I would consider a more than necessary basis here in Bayville.

The golden question is: Does anyone know the real type of coliform bacteria that it was? There is a fecal coliform type that would be in alignment with the sewage problems mentioned above. It would also explain why my family was experiencing "stomach ailment's" at that same time.
How can I obtain a copy of the water test? Is it public domain?

The following link to the EPA’s website gives a brief description of coliform types:

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/hfacts.html

The water is tested for the presence of coliform as an indicator of overall water quality, and coliform bacteria are not necessarily harmful. Fecal coliform and E. coli. are more specific types of coliform and are not necessarily present just because the water was found to have coliform levels above the standards for drinking water. However, the fact that you, and many other people, were sickened during that period is a good indicator that these organisms may have been present. The only way to find out for sure is to look at the source document, which, in this case is the report from the water test – which brings us to your next question.

Nearly every document that is part of the records kept by any government body is public information. Under the New York Freedom of Information Law (F.O.I.L.), you simply make a request in writing, and the municipality is required to respond within five days and provide you with the document in a reasonable time frame.

Because this law and the “Open Meetings Law”, are so important, I am providing the link to the “Committee on Open Government” in this entry and will request that the administrator put the link permanently in the sidebar.

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/coogwww.html

The links to the actual text of the two laws mentioned above are in the left sidebar.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Water Tower Microwave Satellite Receivers and Sticks aka -Antennas

Admin — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 00:45:00 GMT

Typical Microwave Stack

Dear Barry,

Two weeks ago there was a poorly advertised public meeting at Village Hall regarding the intent of Nassau PD and OEM to put microwave satellite receivers and ‘sticks’ (antennas) on the top of our water tower. There is considerable concern about having these structures on top of our water supply and in addition, this is very close to the primary school.

The village will be making a decision on this, it is not a done deal, therefor I think it’s important that it be made as public as possible. Due to a chain of phone calls started by me and some of my friends, we had a turn out of about 15-20 concerned citizens at the meeting, but there must be more people who are against having these structures on our water tower.

Mayor Siegel said there will be another meeting, and it will be advertised in the December village newsletter.

Edie Dickman

-This entry submitted by Admin at the request of Edie Dickman-

Blog Stuff

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 03:47:00 GMT

The speed at which this thing has taken off is nothing short of astounding. On Sunday I wrote and posted several entries and that night I E-mailed approximately 20-25 people from my E-mail address book to get the word out. On Monday we had 153 hits and so far today we have had 410 hits.

BayvilleBlog.com was started as an experiment to see what sort of response we would get. After just two days, the response has been overwhelming and we have decided to make the commitment to keep it up and running for as long as there is community involvement. However, as previously stated, it is in its infancy and we have a lot of work to do to bring it up to it's full potential.

To that end, if you have any suggestions you would like to make regarding the management of the site, you can make them by commenting on this entry or e-mailing them to admin@BayvilleBlog.com

To subscribe just enter your E-mail address in the box in the side bar and select "blog" to subscribe to all topics. You will be sent an E-mail notifying you of new entries and at this point new comments as well. If you feel you are being bombarded with e-mails, let us know and we will figure out how to only notify you of new entries.

It is also important that we keep the dialog constructive and not allow it to become spiteful and inflammatory. So far this has not been a problem and so we have not had to intervene, but all comments are screened and approved by the site administrator prior to being posted which is why there is a delay for comments to appear after posting. We will not print material we deem inappropriate. Nor will we edit it to make the necessary changes. We will simply not post it and give you the option to re-submit. We hope that all posters will exercise common decency and time will show this screening to be unnecessary.

Finally, it is our intent to make this a well-rounded community forum that represents a wide range of ideas and opinions. In order to achieve that, we need to hear from more than just one author. If you are interested in posting entries in the main page please contact the administrator at the above address. Entries should be well thought out and based in fact or identified as rumor.

I think we've started something.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Bayville Park Blvd Busing

Barry E Lamb — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 02:42:00 GMT

One of the most ridiculous aspects of the public/private/privately maintained roads debate, is the busing ban in the Bayville Park Blvd. area. Again, for efficiency purposes I am posting something already written on the subject to bring people up to speed on the topic, this time through a link to The Locust Valley Leader. Please take the time to read the article before going on. If the link doesn’t work, just copy and paste it into the address window of your web browser (at this point everything we do is still an experiment).

www.theleaderonline.com/busingblunder.htm

This is another example of confusion and conflict arising out of the incorrect classification of roads. As discussed in my previous entry "The Roads of Bayville" these roads are no longer "private" and probably never were. They are privately maintained roads in the public domain. Even if residents do own the property to the middle of the street, or the whole street, as they do on Shore Rd., after ten years of public use, they become "public streets by prescription". Again the Village plows the streets, has garbage collection routes and in this case has even been involved in resurfacing and installing drainage systems. It should be noted that using equipment or labor supplied by any corporate municipality to maintain or improve private property is illegal (more on this to come).

Add to this the fact that civic associations are not legislative bodies and do not have the powers to pass, let alone enforce laws, and you have a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. Neither the Village nor the school district should have tolerated this.

At this point I am told that the buses are now picking up the children of this development, but for all this time children were forced to walk or be driven to bus stops and homeowners near the designated bus stops were forced to deal with a disproportionate number of children and mini vans obstructing the roads. This is not only inconvenient, but potentially dangerous. In order to prevent future problems, an inventory of the roads should be taken in which each street is classified according to the laws that prevail.

St. Gertrudes Sells Land?

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 23:30:00 GMT

There's not much to say here because there is nothing but rumor to go on, but the rumor is that St. Gertrudes has sold a piece of land to a developer, that the land is on Dickerson Ave. and that it was sold to Mohring for development.

If these rumors are true and the sale has already taken place then there is little that can be done to prevent this land from being developed. The part that bothers me about this is that if St. Gertrudes is supposed to be a benevolent member of the community, then why didn't they explore other options. With the passage of recent environmental bond acts there is money available to keep one of the last parcels of undeveloped property in Bayville in a natural state. This could be done through outright sale, or the sale of a conservation easement where the church would retain the use of the land but would give up the right to develop it. Yet it appears that St. Gertrudes didn't even bother to explore this option.

If you don't think that this is important, go to your kitchen, turn on the tap and have a long cool drink of your chlorinated tap water. The last thing this community needs is more septic systems flowing into the ground water.

Over the next few weeks I will see what I can do to either confirm or reject the validity of this rumor. If anyone has any insight on this topic, please let us know by posting your comment.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Raw Sewerage Still Flowing into the Creek

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:15:00 GMT

Raw Sewerage Still Flowing into the Creek

In order to address as many topics as efficiently as possible I have taken the liberty of posting a "letter to the editor" of mine that was printed in the Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot back in March. The letter shows the basic situation and very little has changed since it's publication. The most important points are very simple - Raw sewerage is being discharged, it is illegal, the DEC has mandated that it be corrected over a year ago and that Nassau County and the Town of Oyster Bay are dragging their feet.

Re: Proposed Sewage Treatment Plant - Mill Neck Bay

As reported in the March 16^th edition of this paper, on January 23^rd, The Village of Bayville held a public meeting to present and discuss the Final Draft Report of the Non-Point Contamination Source Study. As many of you are aware, the development known as Continental Villa has been continually discharging raw sewage into Mill Neck Bay for decades. These homes were constructed with on site septic systems that were poorly designed and constructed for the soil conditions present at that site. Due to the failure of these systems, these homes were inappropriately connected to a lateral under-drain system which discharges untreated sewage into the bay. The only attempt at treating this sewage is a contact chlorination tank that cannot handle the volume that regularly flows from this development.

This condition has been allowed to exist for far too long. The Non-Point Contamination Source Study clearly shows it is a major factor in the closing of Bayville's Creek Beach to swimming and the closing of all of Mill Neck Bay to shell fishing. It is obvious that the effects of this point source extend beyond Mill Neck Bay, contributing to impaired water quality throughout the Oyster Bay - Cold Spring Harbor estuary. The Study also shows that water quality improvements have been made through road drainage projects designed to limit runoff. With the construction of a sewage treatment plant, and a continued effort by surrounding municipalities to reduce storm water runoff, water quality in Mill Neck Bay and the entire Oyster Bay - Cold Spring Harbor Estuary will undoubtedly see significant improvement.

It is astonishing to me that we can continue to allow untreated sewage to discharge into wetlands and waters that fall within the boundaries of a National Wildlife Refuge, a Significant Fish and Wildlife Habitat and a Regionally Important Natural Area. It is of little wonder that this refuge has also been designated one of the ten most endangered National Wildlife Refuges, out of a total of 545 in the nation, by Defenders of Wildlife, a well-respected national environmental organization.

It is also astonishing that after decades of discussions on this problem, that the design of the plant is still not complete and that there is no firm date scheduled for start of construction. This, despite the fact that the Department of Environmental Conservation had mandated the plant to be operational before September 15, 2005. The timely completion of this plant is far too important to delay due to foot dragging and the inability of government to agree on cost sharing details. The overwhelming passage of recent environmental bond proposals in the Town of Oyster Bay and Nassau County should be the clearest indication of the priorities of the constituents of both the Town and the County.

It is time for our elected officials to take the lead and ensure that the construction of this plant begins immediately. We have waited long enough.

And we are still waiting.

Barry E. Lamb
Bayville

Re:

The Roads of Bayville

Barry E Lamb — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:28:00 GMT

The Roads of Bayville

Over the years (generations), this subject has caused more aggravation to property owners, contention between neighbors, and resident frustration with the Village, than any other subject. Bayville has a rather unique blend of public, private and privately maintained roads in varying states of disrepair. The condition of many of these roads is an embarrassment to residents and a detriment to property values and contributes to property damage from flooding and abuse to vehicles.

We are faced with disrepair, illegal road closings, civic associations that feel they have the right to forbid school buses to use “their” roads, residents who forbid others to park in front of their house, neighbor feuds due to maintenance and liability issues, and lack of speed limits or enforcement. Because of these things we are forced to accept the lowest common denominator as the standard for our community's streets.

In my opinion, most of the problems with the roads in Bayville can be attributed to one factor: Incorrect classification. There is a pervasive confusion as to whether roads are public, private or privately maintained. The fact is that there are virtually no private roads left in Bayville other than our driveways. In order for a road to be private, they have to be owned privately. This means having title to the land and paying taxes on it. In addition, any private roads that are used by the public for ten years or longer become public. This is explicitly addressed by New York State Village Law, which reads as follows:

§ 6-626 Streets by prescription. All lands within the village which have been used by the public as a street for ten years or more continuously, shall be a street with the same force and effect as if it had been duly laid out and recorded as such.

This makes very clear that the many road closings that have been undertaken by residents over the years were done illegally. One case in point is the current court case involving Mr. Viteritti’s closing of Shore Rd. many years ago. Mr. Falzarano, a resident who recently moved in to the Britton’s house at the other end of Shore Rd. (corner of Shore Rd. and Godfrey), wants the road re-opened so that he can restrict access at his end of the street. Each of the properties along this area of Shore Rd. continues across the road to the water and the roadway is part of these properties. However this road has been openly used by the public for many decades, and is plowed by the Village of Bayville, receives garbage pick up and has utilities running along it. As such it automatically becomes a “street by prescription” and is in the public domain.

You may think that Mr. Viteritti is now entitled to keep the property that he took over by filling and planting with a lawn so many years ago due to “adverse possession”. Unfortunately for Mr. Viteritti, this is not true. Once a street has become public, it cannot revert back through adverse possession as described below:

Title by adverse possession may be acquired against any person or corporation not excepted by statute. Property held by the federal government, a state, or a municipal corporation cannot be taken by adverse possession. As long as the property has a public use, as with a highway or school property, its ownership cannot be lost through adverse possession. ("adverse possession." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. The Gale Group, Inc, 1998. Answers.com 12 Nov. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/adverse-possession)

It is obvious that the proper outcome to this case be that Mr. Viteritti be compelled to remove the obstruction to the roadway and that the road remain open. Any other outcome would set a precedent that could conceivably endanger residents due to increased emergency response times.