Village trustee Vito Capuco claims in his letter (Dec. 9) that my support of the ferry in Glen Cove misses several points, the first one being that his location overlooking the ferry landing has very little to do with his opposition. He proceeds to make sure the readers know that a 260 car parking lot will be and I quote Mr. Caputo, "outside my front door," deliberately leaving out that the parking lot will be 1/4 mile from his home as the crow flies and at least 2 miles by car. While I could pick his letter apart and counter everyone of his negative claims, it would be far better to note the one huge point that he and his cohorts miss in their opposition hysteria. To do so I will borrow, albeit out of context, from the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor's position letter appearing in the same section of the newspaper.

"Ferry or no ferry, the fact is that the Glen Cove Creek waterfront will be developed once it is cleaned up. The alternative is to allow the area to continue as a toxic wasteland," the coalition says. I'll take it one step more. Instead of a beautifully redeveloped waterfront with boardwalks, shops and recreational activities, would Sea Cliff residents, especially those whose homes have a view of Glen Cove Creek, prefer to have it become an industrial park complete with 18 wheelers, hundreds of trucks and vehicles, ugly buildings and factories?

I rode on the Fox ferry a while back with several residents, business people and officials of the Village of Sea Cliff, among them Vito Capuco's wife Marie. Many of those people won't admit it now, but while they feasted on shrimp, lobster salad and wine, they were impressed with the quiet ride on the ferry, and its beautiful and luxurious ambiance. They noted out loud that the ferry's wake was nonexistent in the harbor, where by the way, it's limited to five miles per hour in the channel, and 13 miles per hour until it's completely out of the harbor. Now that they're eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes at home - they've changed their tune.

Our neighbors in Glen Cove are cleaning up an area that has been an eyesore to all of us. We should look to the positive instead of bellyaching about the "return to the old days of intensified use." The reality Mr. Capuco is that the "new days" have consisted of few job opportunities in the area and a quiet but expensive way of life that has forced the young people of this community to move elsewhere to live. My suggestion to you would be this: If it is a retirement, or so called "leisure village" you wish to live in, then there are places out east you can go. Sea Cliff isn't and shouldn't become one of them.

Peter Munda, DC