In the months of July and August, it is not unexpected for the weather to be hot and sometimes sticky, but the steam bath we lived through was downright brutal. As was announced on Four Village Studio, we kept the pool open later than its normal closing hour and invited residents to use our air-conditioned village courtroom and our recreation center to find relief from the ferocious heat. We did have a couple of power outages in the village and we've worked closely with LIPA to have these problems addressed, including the installation of a new transformer and a work order to replace an existing transformer, which we are told will dramatically reduce the potential for a reoccurrence of a power outage.

Keeping our windows open and spending more time outdoors is a big part of summer. Unfortunately so is hearing planes flying over Floral Park, which is just seven miles from JFK Airport. On any given summer evening, I am sure your family has experienced what seems to be a never-ending nuisance of "jet noise." During the past few months, this problem has seemed to intensify and, at times, the air traffic appears interminable.

By virtue of our geographical location, we all know we are going to experience jet traffic. We live in the northeast corridor of the United States, which is the most air trafficked space within the country. Crossing Floral Park at any given time are jets from JFK, LaGuardia, Newark or Teterboro airports, all of which are under the jurisdiction of the New York/New Jersey Port Authority. When you combine this air traffic with that of Boston, Islip and Philadelphia, you get some sense of the magnitude of the air traffic we experience.

Although this explains the significant number of flights over Floral Park, it cannot account for the sometimes endless stream of jets flying over our community to which we have responded to by working with the Town Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee (TVASNAC) and unloading a barrage of demanding inquiries to the JFK control tower to ascertain information on the disproportionate number of flights.

We are informed that JFK is, amazingly enough, still undergoing a major runway reconstruction. This, if nothing else, gives you a clear indication on how long construction will take for a third track (actually a fifth track) running throughout the village. A good guess would be just about forever.

This reconstruction removes certain runways from service during morning hours requiring a shift in runway usage. Regrettably, this shift has caused more usage of those runways that directly affect Floral Park. In addition, I am informed that periods of hot weather produce a haze causing pilots to use, for obvious safety reasons, an "instrument landing approach." Under this approach, pilots follow an automated radar beam, which automatically assures the exact same approach into Kennedy Airport plane after plane. Obviously, if that approach is over our community there is no hope for relief.

Nevertheless, we are tirelessly working with TVASNAC to insist that the JFK control tower develop a rotation system, which will spread out jet flights for arrivals and departures in a more equitable fashion. Moreover, we are continually encouraging greater use of a visual landing approach when weather and safety conditions permit allowing for varying flight paths into JFK.

Working under the philosophy that it is the squeaky wheel that gets greased, we have been pressuring TVASNAC to hold a meeting not at the usual venue where they are bunkered down in Lawrence Village Hall, but right here in the open at Floral Park Village Hall so that our residents can voice what they have seen and heard and get their questions answered. We are also insisting that at such a meeting, JFK tower personnel and the Aviation Development Council, an organization created to promote harmony between New York metropolitan airports and the communities (the very folks who make these decisions), be present since they are the very folks responsible for policy.

While negotiations are still ongoing to bring this meeting to fruition, I am encouraged by the seeming willingness of these parties to hold such a meeting. I will report my progress on this front as soon as the details are hammered out. Meanwhile, I encourage all our residents to visit the Aviation Development Council website: www.AviationDevelopmentCouncil.org.

This website provides a special link to PASSUR airport monitor for flight tracking. It is a fascinating site. By clicking on this special link, our residents will be able to track jets that fly over our community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I urge you to utilize this system during times of particularly offensive air flights over our village.

The reconstruction of Magnolia Avenue has been virtually completed. Funding for the project of approximately $610,000 came from two sources: Community Development and C.H.I.P.S., which are federal highway improvement monies secured through New York State. All that remains is striping and topsoil and sod replacement, the latter of which will be done when temperatures are more conducive for this replacement.

As with all major construction jobs, some minor bumps were encountered along the way. Those minor defects are presently being rectified. Overall, the project is a total, unambiguous and unequivocal success story. Indeed, our superintendent of Public Works, who has been with the village for nearly 35 years, does not remember when a project of such monumental dimensions has gone so smoothly.

How successful was this project? Well, as an old love poem goes - let us count the ways: approximately 2,800 feet of roadway was completely reconstructed on Magnolia and Concord Avenues; 500 feet of 18 inch diameter drainage pipe was installed as well as three new catch basins on Concord Avenue to eliminate the existing water ponding/flooding conditions that deluged the intersections of Magnolia and Concord Avenues after heavy rainfalls; approximately one mile of new concrete curb and gutters were installed, giving the street a symmetrical beauty arising from its balanced proportions; 18,000 square feet of sidewalk replacement also greatly contributed to the overall aesthetic appearance of the avenue; 7,500 square feet of concrete driveway apron replacement not only facilitated easier access for vehicles in and out of driveways, but also resulted in a harmonious continuity between the sidewalk and the roadway; 71,000 square feet of existing asphalt roadway recycling, including injection of 18,000 gallons of emulsified asphalt to stabilize the new roadway sub-base. This process is not only more environmentally friendly, but is also a timesaving approach to road reconstruction. All and all, there were nearly 2,000 tons of asphalt replacements; removal and reinstallation of approximately 15 sewer and water manholes as well as approximately 40 water and gas valve boxes; and relocation and replacement of approximately a 1/4 mile of gas main.

The project will be culminated by crowning Magnolia Avenue with the planting of 50 new trees to replace the 19 trees, many of which when removed showed signs of disease and trunk rot. The plantings and the sod replacements will give new meaning to putting the floral in Floral Park.

It was a truly Herculean effort and one of which not only the residents living on Magnolia Avenue, but all of Floral Park could be proud. Hosannas to Deputy Mayor Kevin Greene, Village Engineer Ed Palmer and Superintendent of Public Works Ken Tymecki for their oversight of the project.

Last week, I, along with Deputy Mayor Kevin Greene and Trustees Jim Rhatigan and Tom Tweedy, opened the Artie Hunt Tournament that brings teams from other organized Little Leagues for tournament play. It is great fun for our youngsters and a great memorial for Artie Hunt who dedicated his life to the Floral Park Little League, which was formed in 1953. When I think of the Floral Park Little League, I think of people like Artie Hunt and Jack Walsh who were there at the creation. These men incarnated the spirit of the Floral Park Little League in the same way that Douglas MacArthur incarnates the spirit of West Point.

Although Jack and Artie are no longer with us, their spirit can still be seen in the organizers of this tournament, people like the tournament organizer, Al Capelli, Little League President Greg Wood, and all the coaches, managers and parents that make our Little League the jewel that it is.