The Concerned Citizens of Farmingdale (CCAF) held a meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, to discuss, among other topics, the construction of a new Stop & Shop, gang violence and the new tax developments that are taking place in Nassau County.

Mike Grello, president of the board of the CCAF, began the proceedings with old business, which included the spending limits of the organization and the development of a trimester newsletter addressing the concerns of the town.

The demolition of the Raven's Nest on Hempstead Turnpike was next on the agenda.

"The Raven's Nest was a blight on our community, and thanks to your voices, we were able to get rid of it," declared Grello. "We must now turn our attention to that Getty Station."

In the same vein of beautifying Farmingdale, Grello then turned to a $49 million bond that, if passed would help fix many of the school district's problems. The bond will be used to enhance and replace floor tiles, ceilings and heating and cooling equipment.

The Farmingdale School District will be holding tours of their buildings, as well as buildings in towns such as Babylon, that have recently received such bonds. This is an effort to demonstrate the positive effect that a small tax increase can have on the educational standards of the children in our communities.

The forum then turned to the hot topic of the past few meetings, and a future vote on Nov. 16, the development of a Super Stop & Shop in Farmingdale.

Of major concern to the residents of Farmingdale is the higher traffic volume and decreased market share that Stop & Shop will bring to the surrounding areas. Of those who attended, it seemed that all agreed that traffic and congestion would be the major problem due to the fact that it will be located on such a major road. Citing bigger delays on Route 109 and car backups on Motor Avenue, the residents vehemently argued against the erection of another supermarket so close to Waldbaum's on Main Street.

Kevin Ryan, a public relations consultant for Stop & Shop, relayed information to the concerned citizens in defense of the supermarket chain.

"We know traffic is a concern and if people cannot get in and out of our Stop & Shop easily, they won't want to come back. Things are being worked out to ensure this does not happen", he said in response to claims that three traffic studies performed by Stop & Shop are unreliable.

Completing his statements, Ryan made a remark about the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce, which he states, "supports the project."

The heated debate ceased when Grello insisted that this topic be held off until the Nov. 16 vote, which will ultimately determine the construction of this Super Stop & Shop.

The final topic for the night was presented by Officer Brian Alemino and dealt with gang violence and the oncoming Halloween weekend.

In regard to gang violence, Alemino stated, "We now have a tremendous amount of intelligence, and have made great progress in relation to gang activity."

In addition to the added police on watch for gang related activity, Farmingdale will start a Halloween initiative, designed to increase the number of officers on the task force and promote zero tolerance for misbehaving children on all hallows eve.

This rather positive comment ended the meeting, which demonstrated that Farmingdale is in good hands and that its citizens have a role in the continuing development of their town.