Carol DeSanto has run the flea market at Aqueduct for the past 10 years. She hopes to relocate to Belmont Racetrack come March but the idea has concerned Floral Park village and school officials, who stated - for the record - their opposition at a Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals hearing Nov. 29.

DeSanto, general manager of Plain N Fancy Shows, Inc., which runs the flea market, is seeking a special exception permit; this lies exclusively within the Town of Hempstead's jurisdiction - not the Village of Floral Park.

The eight-acre area, known as the Green Parking Field at Belmont, would accommodate 400 vendors selling anything from clothing to housewares - 250 less vendors currently selling merchandise at Aqueduct. DeSanto's attorney noted that in the past decade there have not been any security or safety issues at Aqueduct, which is located across the street from a grade school and down the block from a high school.

Part of the proposed site for the flea market at Belmont actually abuts the playing fields of Floral Park-Bellerose School. Superintendent Dr. Lynn Pombonyo told board members she is "very concerned about security and safety." The elementary school, which houses 920 students, offers seven acres of playing space, according to Superintendent Pombonyo - a playground structure eight feet from a fence and two baseball diamonds within 26 and 30 feet of a fence. The Green Parking Field is on the other side of that fence.

DeSanto noted that all security personnel and parking attendants who would work the flea market are hired by the New York Racing Association and have gone through extensive background checks, including fingerprinting. She also noted that some, dressed in plain clothes, do work undercover. Further, two EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) are on site at all times.

Ron Montano of Sensible Security Systems out of Lynbrook spoke on behalf of DeSanto. He told board members he plans on lacing an astro turf material through the fence that runs along the playing fields.

Superintendent Pombonyo however wasn't satisfied with that option and questioned whether or not Montano had any expertise in school security. He admitted he did not but said, "I've used it for 34 years and have had good success with it. I would say that 99 percent of the jobs we've used it on haven't had problems."

As far as traffic congestion, engineer James Graham Jr., who also spoke on behalf of DeSanto's case, studied traffic flow at Aqueduct on what has become known as Black Friday, one of or the most busiest shopping day of the year. He said the parking demand peaked at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 24 with 1,350 cars. "A little more than half the lot was occupied during the busy day and the access is very good," Graham said. "There is more than ample parking to be provided. In my professional opinion, this would have no adverse impact on the community."

Shoppers and vendors would gain access to the parking field from the Hempstead Turnpike entrance and Cross Island Parkway gates only. "Any access through Floral Park by the Mayfair Avenue gate or the Plainfield Avenue gate must be prohibited," Floral Park Trustee Tom Tweedy said.

"Access by the Plainfield Avenue gate would provide vehicular access to an auxiliary single lane perimeter road, which would cause hundreds if not thousands of vehicles to pass adjacent to scores of homes covering some 20 streets."

Trustee Tweedy continued, adding, "Access through the Mayfair Gate would be catastrophic. Secondary village streets would come to a standstill. We endure such traffic nightmares as a function of Triple Crown race day or Breeders Cup race days. A singular occurrence that any good neighbor should tolerate and we in the West End of Floral Park and the Village of Floral Park do consider ourselves good neighbors and so we do tolerate these singular occurrences. In fact we vicariously celebrate with Belmont such momentous days! But to allow continuous traffic accessing these entrances would have a detrimental effect on thousands of village residents, over 3,000 students and faculty in the adjacent high school and grammar school and surely our mutually beneficial relationship with Belmont Park. Even if the vendor is required to maintain security personnel continuously during operating hours prohibiting access to these gates cannot be guaranteed.

"We in western Nassau County jealously guard our suburban quality of life. We, as elected officials and committed volunteers continually work to achieve that static yet dynamic balance so vital to a successful community; we all agree that suburban quality has evolved and changed over the years, however such a radical intensification of zoning use within the Town of Hempstead would irrevocably change the suburban landscape within the Villages of Floral Park, South Floral Park, Bellerose and the unincorporated areas of Bellerose Terrace and Elmont," he added.

Gerald G. Wright, chairman of the Town of Hempstead's Board of Zoning Appeals, said he and two other board members would inspect the properties with Superintendent Pombonyo to investigate the discrepancies in the photos presented by each side.

Floral Park Mayor Phil Guarnieri, who also attended Wednesday's hearing, has said in the past that the village has enjoyed a cooperative relationship with Belmont Racetrack and the New York Racing Association. However, he did emphasize that the village holds "the safety of our children and our residents of utmost importance."

Board members placed the issue on the decision calendar. If approved, the flea market would run three days a week - Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays - between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. from March through December 2007. DeSanto said she is willing to make changes to put the school district's security concerns at ease.