(Editor's Note: The following letter was addressed to Mayor Hal Hecken and is printed here at the author's request.)

With barely two weeks remaining until the 34-month long moratorium on hauling municipal solid waste and ash by rail on the Hempstead Branch expires, I think you and Deputy Mayor Lewis owe Garden City residents an explanation of the status of the LIRR and New York and Atlantic Railway (NYAR) freight train situation.

As former head of the S.A.F.E. committee, I think I still have a pretty good understanding of the issues relating to the situation. Last September, I resigned from the Environmental Advisory Board and the S.A.F.E. Committee for a variety of reasons, but principally because of the lack of time. One of the reasons I felt comfortable in resigning was that you publicly committed the Village last April to providing the resources required to keep freight trains from destroying the quality of life in Garden City. You even created a task force to defend Village interests on this issue. So residents now ask, what have you and the task force been doing as the expiration date of the moratorium looms? I think the Village had at least one meeting with New York State Senator Kemp Hannon recently to discuss the issue.

It seems now that you, Deputy Mayor Lewis and our other elected town, county and state leaders, namely Richard Guardino, Tom Gulotta, Kemp Hannon and Maureen O'Connell, as well as Michael Balboni (who represents Stewart Manor in the State Senate) and others, are now content to let the governor's moratorium expire without an extension. Is this true? But last April, some of these officials, including you, assured Village residents at a Board of Trustees meeting that the moratorium would most likely be extended and that you would do everything in your power to make sure it was extended. Do you now want residents to believe that the moratorium is not important because the Village has its own agreement with the LIRR and New York and Atlantic Railway?

I believe the moratorium is very important because it is the only agreement that has the governor's office behind it. Furthermore, S.A.F.E.'s experience over the past 34 months shows that the LIRR has disregarded nearly every deadline, as well as the spirit of the Village's agreement by, among other things, not delivering a new environmental analysis addressing the residents' concerns. The LIRR never rescinded its original Negative Declaration and might be emboldened to propose limited daytime freight train service knowing the governor's office is no longer an obstacle. Once that service has been running with little resident opposition, the LIRR and NYAR surely will propose expanding freight traffic on the Hemsptead Branch.

The moratorium has a date certain for expiration whereas the end of the Village's agreement depends on the LIRR. When and if the LIRR does submit a new environmental analysis, the Village only has 20 days to respond, and 60 days beyond that before the LIRR makes it final determination. Once the moratorium expires without an extension, it will be virtually impossible to get another one.

Even though it may seem far off, in a few years, (estimated to be 2006), the Town of Brookhaven's landfill will be filled to capacity. Unless additional landfill space is opened, the ash-for-trash deal with the Town of Hempstead will end and I believe the Town of Hempstead and American Refuel will again try to ship American Re-Fuel's toxic ash by rail down the Hemsptead Branch through our residential neighborhoods.

And New York City still has not resolved its own garbage situation. Last spring, while you and other officials were assuring residents that there were no plans to bring New York City's garbage to American Re-Fuel's plant on Stewart Avenue, American Re-Fuel has a proposal on the table to bring 150 tons per day (roughly 7-10 train car loads) of the city's garbage to the plant (source: Waste Management Magazine). Even though the proposal was rejected, mainly on price, I think it shows that the garbage train situation is more precarious than you and other Village officials understand and would have residents believe. As the clock ticks down on New York City's situation, how can we be sure that the city won't accept another proposal from American Re-Fuel at a different price? Why then should the Village let the moratorium's restriction on garbage and ash expire without a fight? Why should we trust the LIRR?

The Village must not let its guard down on this issue and must fight for every protection available. I simply cannot understand how you and other officials (e.g. Kemp Hannon) can let this moratorium expire without a vigorous fight for a permanent ban, or at least for extending it for another three to five years ... especially if the railroad really has no plans for expanding freight train service on the Hemsptead Branch and its Central Extension. What have they really got to lose?

Moreover, what actions have you and the Village taken regarding the proposed new third mainline track? For several years the S.A.F.E. Committee has been raising a red flag that the proposed third track would be built to facilitate more freight trains, that without it freight trains would severely impact commuter operations. And for several years, LIRR officials said we were wrong, that the third track, if ever built, would be for increased commuter traffic. Regardless, the track most likely will be built on the Garden City side and will adversely impact most Village residents, not just those next to the tracks. And now, the Long Island Association has asked the MTA to allocate $15 million to begin engineering and design studies on the project. In last Sunday's Newsday, the cover editorial supported this request because (Section B, page B2), "The extra track would ease the scheduling of freight movement." Enough said!

As you know well, Garden City is a unique village with a very unique form of government. In order for this government to work properly when Village interests are threatened, history has shown that residents must become actively involved, make their concerns known to Village officials and repeatedly follow up to make sure that the appropriate priority is placed on addressing the issues. As I promised when I resigned from the E.A.B., I may be gone, but I will still be involved.

Michael J. Merrick