On Dec. 18 at 9:30 a.m., the spotlight was on the parking lot at the end of Garvies Point Road in Glen Cove. The members of "Stop the Foxwoods Ferry" set up camp to protest against the arrival of a high speed ferry service from Glen Cove to New London. Several feet away, members of the "Citizens in Support of the Ferry" group rallied their troops in favor of the ferry's arrival. Each side had politicians and/or their appointees as leaders. Each side had strong opinions regarding the ferry's impact on Hempstead Harbor and the surrounding communities. The ferry proposal has pitted two communities against each other when just a few years ago Sea Cliff and Glen Cove joined forces to fight an incinerator. Much of the opposition to the ferry operation is based on concerns for the environment coupled with human safety issues. Much of the support for the ferry centers on the fact that the funds generated through the ferry agreement will be used to fund the cleanup and reuse of a toxic Superfund site along Glen Cove Creek.

When Glen Cove Mayor Thomas Suozzi launched his administration's waterfront revitalization project five years ago, one aspect of the plan certain to get a chuckle of disbelief was the implementation of a commuter ferry service operating out of a Glen Cove site. On Nov. 22, 1999, after an 18-month negotiating process, which was almost derailed because the ferry owners had been coaxed into considering a site in Glenwood Landing, Mayor Suozzi announced the city had entered into a license agreement with Fox Navigation to operate a high-speed passenger ferry service on 2.5 acres of the former Captain's Cove property. The agreement put an end to the Glenwood Landing proposal and Fox Navigation is now making plans to run a ferry from Glen Cove to New London beginning in middle to late January, 2000. Fox Navigation is a business entity owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation as is the Foxwoods Casino and the Pequot River Shipworks in Connecticut. (The Glenwood Landing ferry proposal, which was met with opposition lodged by hundreds of residents from communities along Hempstead Harbor's shores, has been withdrawn from the Town of Oyster Bay by the applicants, Glen Marine). The agreement between the city and Fox Navigation is for two years with four, five-year renewal options. The city will receive $400,000 the first year and in the future will receive a per passenger license fee. The contract requires Fox Navigation to work toward a commuter run to Manhattan and if they do not achieve this goal, the city will find another operator.

"Don't Gamble Away Our Harbor, Our City and Neighborhoods" was the slogan used on Dec. 18 by the opposition to the ferry, an alliance of groups, organizations and individuals. Prior to a protest walk on Garvies Point Road, former Sea Cliff Mayor Norm Parsons told this reporter that there are many negatives to the ferry such as the catastrophe resulting from human error when the ferry enters the harbor when it's filled with youngsters sailing. Mr. Parsons said that traffic through Sea Cliff would increase and it's ludicrous for anyone to say all traffic will flow only on Glen Cove Road. "It won't take too long to figure out a shortcut. And how about Route 107 and traffic along there?" said Mr. Parsons. As for a ferry oversight board, Mr. Parsons questions the point of having one since the board was not seated and therefore not a part of the contract negotiations. "What kind of control do you think they would have over a billion dollar organization like Foxwoods?" he asked.

Speaking as a private citizen, Dennis Buckley said the ferry would cause noise pollution, detrimental runoff from the parking lot, traffic congestion and it could set the stage for a car ferry in the future. "We led the battle against two incinerators. We want to work with Mayor Suozzi and come up with alternatives that would be beneficial to all the communities along the harbor," said Mr. Buckley. Sea Cliff Mayor Claudia Moyne said the ferry was a bad thing for the harbor and a bad thing for Glen Cove. "Who puts a parking lot on prime real estate? We can do a lot better," said Mayor Moyne. Doug Barnaby expressed surprise at the engineering design of the parking lot causing a standing water situation on the lot. "This would flow into the creek, along with gasoline and oil," said Mr. Barnaby. The issue of gambling was also on the minds of the opposition. Lt. Col. Francis Lewis, a retired Army chaplain said, "This is as much a moral issue as anything. In the service, I dealt with gamblers and saw the destruction it causes. The ferry will transport people to become addicts and contribute to their delinquency."

Those in favor of the ferry operations see it as a way to generate much needed revenues to clean up Glen Cove Creek and harborside properties that are currently polluted, idle and abandoned. The restoration of the property on the tax rolls of the city is a definite plus. Glen Cove resident Frank Riolo said, "This is an opportunity for growth in an area that has been a disaster for a very long time. Through the years it's been proven that any water transport provides growth opportunities. Mayor Suozzi is a known environmentalist." Dr. Peter Munda, whose practice is in Sea Cliff, is in favor of the ferry. "This area has been industrial for many years with thousands of cars coming down here. We never had a traffic problem and they're worried about a little ferry? That's ridiculous," said Dr. Munda. Many ferry supporters said they were eagerly looking forward to the next step, the launching of commuter service to Manhattan.

During the negotiations, the mayor stated that Glen Cove remained committed in that it would not trade one set of environmental hazards for new ones. Since the site remains under the control of the City of Glen Cove, then development of the property would have to be consistent with the city's master plan. Mayor Suozzi addressed those in support of the ferry and said, "We had just one day to organize. After close scrutiny by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of State, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard we have all the permits that were required. The ferry is great for all the North Shore. It will generate revenue and establish Glen Cove as a seaport community. We have overwhelming support for the ferry. We will be able to clean up the mess you saw on the way in here. This is not a sudden decision. We have worked on this for five years and we invited Sea Cliff to work with us. We've had public hearings and many meetings. This is not about gambling. It's about transportation to New London, Martha's Vineyard and Manhattan. Would you shut down JFK Airport because planes leave there to fly to Las Vegas?"