The Village has been advised by the Long Island Rail Road of its scheduled plans to rehabilitate the Cathedral Avenue, Hilton Avenue and Franklin Avenue crossings this spring. Due to the work involved, the individual crossings will be completely closed on the respective dates from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and traffic will be detoured.

In an effort to avoid problems created by this construction, I encourage you to mark your calendars and plan to use alternative routing and give yourself additional time.

- Cathedral Avenue Crossing - Monday and Tuesday, April 10 and 11 and for Monday and Tuesday, May 1 and May 2 (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

- Hilton Avenue Crossing - Friday and Monday, April 14 and April 17 and for Friday and Monday, May 5 and May 8 (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

- Franklin Avenue Crossing - Tuesday and Wednesday, June 6 and June 7 and Tuesday and Wednesday, June 13 and 14 (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

I will list updates in subsequent columns in an effort to keep you informed.

Monday evening at the Village Justice Court marked the last court session at which Acting Village Justice Hallissey would sit. He served almost 15 years in this capacity and was a member of the board of appeals from 1982-1985. He exemplifies the volunteerism which has made this village a special place. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Judge Hallissey for his many years of service with the village.

I was reminded by a resident that recently published police department statistics for 1999 did not include the number of appearance tickets that were issued to residents for violations of the Village Code (Quality of Life). While the village issues numerous warnings, it was necessary to have issued 332 appearance tickets, answerable in the Village Justice Court, last year.

The Code Enforcement function is shared among the police, fire and building departments. Actual tickets are most often served by the seven uniformed civilian members of the police department who capably serve as police aides.

I encourage all residents to become familiar with the Village's regulations by reading the copy of the Resident's Handbook that was sent to them and to follow seasonal reminders that are issued in news releases and paragraphs from time to time in this column.

There is a proliferation of shopping carts appearing on the streets of the Village. The Village Code prohibits the placement of these carts upon any public place. I urge all residents to return the carts to the store when you are finished with them. Please be considerate of your neighbors.