I was distressed by the behavior of Mr. Reilly, the self-appointed president of the Taxpayers Party, at the Sea Cliff Village Board meeting this past Monday. Reilly seemed intent on bullying and intimidating the village trustees with a loud barrage of accusations, misrepresentations, and distortions of fact. The mayor and trustees, to their credit, responded to Mr. Reilly's verbal abuse by remaining focused on the issue that most concerns them about the Foxwood's ferry, namely the absence of a full environmental impact study.

Thus far in their reporting, our local newspapers have chosen to feature Reilly's brand of headline-grabbing outbursts. They have not given equal representation to the issue that is at the heart of Sea Cliff's opposition to the ferry: the ferry's ecological impact on Hempstead Harbor's environment. This is an issue that should concern all residents of the Hempstead Harbor area. It is not a political issue.

Douglas Barnaby