September 23 was the first meeting since June for the Concerned Citizen Association of Farmingdale (CCAF). The meeting targeted the proposed Stop & Shop grocery store site as one of its main concerns in their upcoming meetings.

Members of the Farmingdale community present at the meeting voiced their concerns about several issues surrounding the proposed site, which is at the corner of Motor Avenue and Main Street. The issues ranged from public health to the long-term economic effect the store would have on the community.

The flow of traffic in the area is also a major issue that needs to be addressed, according to the CCAF, due to a constant flow of delivery trucks that will be in and out of the area, used to supply the store and the amount of residential traffic that a grocery store can produce.

Stop & Shop will have to regulate their delivery trucks to use only designated routes for picking up and dropping off goods at the store so the trucks do not use residential streets to make their deliveries.

Traffic studies of the area will be presented at a public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. The meeting will be hosted by the Oyster Bay Town Board and these delivery route issues will be covered at the meeting. The meeting will be held at Howitt Middle School in the auditorium.

"They are still trying to find other proposals for the site," said CCAF President Mike Grello.

Another issue on the matter is the clean up policies the grocery store will have to follow from the Environmental Protection Agency, since the site has an industrial level of contamination from its use during World War II and the Korean War in the metal and fiberglass industry.

In the past, the proposal for homes to be built on the site were turned down by the town, due to the high level of clean up it would take to build residential property on the contaminated ground.

"The Stop & Shop though, only has to have a commercial industrial level of clean up, not a residential level," said one Farmingdale resident attending the meeting. "This is a lower level of clean up than for residential."

The CCAF also urged residents, to attend the next school board meeting which will be held Wednesday, Oct. 6 at Howitt Middle School, to discuss issues surrounding the school budget.

Some of the issues include proposed tax increases and the renegotiation of teacher's contracts. Other topics such as the funding for student activities will also be covered at the school board meeting. It will offer community members the chance to hear about the issues that they can vote on in November.

Concerned parents at the meeting were briefed by Nassau County Police Officers Bill Costello and Brian Alimena of the 8th Precinct about precautions that can be taken against gang related activity and graffiti in the area and schools.

The officers stated that most gang activity can be related to certain colors of clothing articles and encouraged parents to advise children about the possible dangers gang members can pose and to always tell a teacher or police officer if you see something.

One step toward graffiti prevention mentioned at the meeting was enclosing dumpsters and garbage bins inside of fences to discourage vandals.

"Some gang markings that have been seen are MS-13 and the Wandering 13," said Officer Costello. "Other markings can be PLS or MLS."

Topics similar to these and other environmental, safety and community-oriented issues will be discussed at the next CCAF which will be held on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Allen Park Community Center. For more information on CCAF, visit their website at www.ccaf-civic.org.