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On April 2, the village board held its "Reorganization Meeting," paying tribute to those residents who voluntarily donate their time and talents to serve our community. Volunteerism in a community such as ours can be neither peripheral nor extraneous since it is the very touchstone of public service and civic mindedness.

Volunteerism, whether it be with one of our village committees or with the charitable or fraternal organizations that grace this village with their good deeds, is the social glue that makes our community cohesive and flourish. Membership not only teaches timeless lessons about sacrifice and selflessness but also endows the giver with the wonderful compensation that in giving to others, he rewards himself.

It is, indeed, an unhappy artifact of modernity to inordinately celebrate our individuality without reflecting that the most humane values and ideals are attached to an enduring sense of community whose roots are planted deep in the soil of human nature.

This is why I cannot help but feel a spontaneous burst of confidence when I see so many of our volunteers, all dedicated to sowing good, gathered together at our Reorganization Meeting. I know the future is in good hands.

So, when we ask, as we must, to whom is it that we will bequeath our ideals, who will articulate our principles, who will cherish and nurture our faith, who will sustain the beliefs we live by and for, the answer is clear. It is all of us who, through a shared sense of responsibility, put a premium on caring and teamwork, a formula that fosters trust, reciprocity, goodwill and a solemn sense of purpose in our village.

No one epitomizes the spirit of volunteerism more than the men and women who serve in the Floral Park Fire Department. This past Sunday, not long after sunrise, we gathered, soaking wet from the rains that descended upon us with nearly unremitting severity, for a morning of prayer, remembrance and repast.

The common lament was how the weather conspired to wreak havoc on an occasion where our firefighters and their families could enjoy each other's company and an interlude of repose away from the call to duty.

In my remarks, I noted that laboring under the adversity of the elements as we were could only deepen our appreciation for the commitment and dedication of those who so honorably serve in our fire department. I recalled a little verse from my youth: "Vexed sailors cursed the rain; For which poor shepherds prayed in vain."

The moral is that there are blessings to be found even amid our tribulations. The wretched weather, I thought, underscored the profound devotion the department has in guarding and protecting our community. The inclement conditions were a sober reminder that those who serve our fire department serve in all hours and in all kinds of weather; in snow, in sleet, in rain, in the very dead of winter. In its 114-year history, there is not an incident on record or recollection where they have failed to answer a call for help. It is deeds such as these that speak of the grandeur of the human spirit.

Indeed, splendidly arrayed as they were in their dress uniforms ready to respond to any emergency, they appeared like a sunburst through the storm clouds thundering above.

I would like to thank all our residents who attended our budget hearing Wednesday, April 11. The public review of the budget can be a dry, tedious and time-consuming endeavor. Considering that this year's product is a $21 million budget in which every line has to be accounted for, one could easily appreciate the magnitude of the commentary that was required.

The board reserved decision to review the substance and comments made at the hearing. This retrospective analysis will once again examine, assess and evaluate all the relevant data and will make a decision to adopt the budget in due course.

Last week, Trustee Tom Tweedy, Village Administrator Virginia Appel and I were most cordially greeted at Senator Craig Johnson's district office. Several issues of importance were discussed, but none more prominently than the now infamous Third Track.

I expounded upon the reasons for our opposition, concluding that even if Floral Park was left unscathed, we could not support a billion dollar project whose justification was to facilitate a reverse commute that simply does not exist. We also discussed the senator's role, in which I expressed my desire to see him act as our advocate rather than an arbiter, in our battle with the MTA, an issue that had taken center stage in his recent campaign.

The senator asked, that with all due respect, could we honestly say that his predecessor and those who sit on the all-important Capital Review Board were absolutists in their advocacy of our cause, since the project, though downscaled, is still seemingly alive.

I thought the senator made a good point and felt that the dynamics of leadership, then and now, and the roads down which it is leading need to be thoroughly examined. There are mighty forces behind the MTA and it is naturally expedient to appease all the parties by compromising a solution rather than alienating powerful segments by completely siding with one side or the other.

Senator Johnson asked if we would like him to set up a meeting with the MTA's leadership. I told him that it was our strategy to work with our elected officials who are accountable to us and not the MTA, a cloistered bureaucracy insulated from public opinion. Nevertheless, we would be willing to meet with anyone in order to obtain valuable information and a deeper knowledge of where things stand and where they are going.

Let me say that to his credit, Senator Johnson is not a captive to the current thinking. Too often people gravitate into an orbit of thinking because large bodies of thought cluster in that part of the solar system. People often think a certain way not because they believe it, but because they believe that's how they ought to think. Opinion makers are always hitching their star to some grand visionary idea without looking closely enough at its practical applications or, quite frankly, its exorbitant cost.

Championing these issues puts them in good stead with the enlightened few rather than those knee jerk reactionaries in Floral Park and elsewhere who can't see further than their own backyards. Greatest good for the greatest number doesn't fit the bill of a billion dollar price tag to meet a need that doesn't exist.

Our position has been crystal clear and I believe logically unassailable:_ 1. Modern transportation made the modern world and we are in favor of it. 2. We favor the East Side Access for more trains reaching more destinations in Manhattan._ 3. We favor the elimination of the five on-grade crossings to facilitate traffic in the local region._ 4. We are, however, opposed to spending at least a billion dollars of taxpayer money for a reverse_ commute that doesn't exist as evidenced by the more than half empty trains. Ride them and see for_ yourself._ 5. If, in the decades ahead, reverse commutes to eastern Long Island presents itself in significant_ numbers, then more cars should be added before an additional track is constructed.

It is our hope that the decision makers will ultimately recognize the common sense of our position and they will reconsider their thoughts on the subject by noting Ralph Waldo Emerson - that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. __

I would just like to remind all our residents about the Air Space Redesign meeting to be held April 23 at the LaGuardia Marriott from 6 to 10 p.m.

This meeting will be addressing more of the noise issues that have plagued our area in recent years. As I mentioned in my last message, I am calling upon our federal representatives to follow the example of Senator Lautenberg of New Jersey and demand that more than one meeting per state be held on noise levels and equitable distribution of air traffic over our region be scheduled.

I'm pleased to say that Congresswoman McCarthy has responded by scheduling a meeting with us and TVASNAC, a public advocacy group for air traffic, at her office May 7 at 11 a.m.

Moreover, Senator Charles Schumer's office called me last Friday to advise me that they are in complete agreement with the position I outlined in my last Mayor's Message and would like to schedule a meeting to discuss this important issue. I will do that this week.

I know Senator Hillary Clinton has been quite busy lately, but I also hope to hear from her office regarding this matter in the near future.