As a member of the Citizens for a New Liberty (CFNL) Steering Committee and a Farmingdale resident, I read with great interest the recent Farmingdale Observer article "Grello Leaves Farmingdale Behind..." (Dec. 28, 2007); in particularly the part pertaining to the proposed Stop & Shop Supermarket in Farmingdale.

Time and again, the evidence has shown that those who want Stop & Shop's supermarket far outweigh the significantly smaller minority that is opposed to this project. And support for the project has continued to grow, not the other way around.

At the public hearing held back in November 2004, I personally witnessed an overwhelming show of support for Stop & Shop. Back then, the list of Stop & Shop supporters consisted of approximately 1,300 Farmingdale households. Today that number has increased to over 2,300 households. I might add that almost 700 of these households that want this Stop & Shop live within a quarter-mile of the proposed site on the corner of Main Street and Motor Avenue.

While the opposition group opposed to Stop & Shop's plans purports to represent a few hundred residents, when this group [CCAF] put the question to a vote, fewer than 40 people actually voted against the project. In fact, I'd confidently put our numbers up against theirs for a valid comparison any day of the week.

The bottom line is that Stop & Shop is a good fit for Farmingdale. The community sorely needs a modern supermarket and the majority of the residents want it. Now that the land has been cleared and the environmental study is complete it's time for our elected officials to move the process along and finally say yes to our Stop & Shop.

Nancy Stenger

Member, Citizens for a New Liberty Steering Committee