(Ed. Note: The following letter was sent to the Glen Cove City Council and is printed ere at the author's request.)

My apologies on not being able to attend this Monday's meeting in person, but wanted to write you as a show of my support and appreciation for the recently begun high-speed ferry service from Glen Cove to lower Manhattan.

My decision to relocate from Manhattan was based strictly on the City of Glen Cove allowing Fox Navigation to base its ferry operations here. I had been looking at homes in Greenwich, CT and Westchester for the last year. I have always loved the North Shore, but commuting to lower Manhattan can be pretty challenging for those whose occupations demand a 7 a.m. morning meeting. I had heard about the new ferry from a friend from Laurel Hollow and tracked it down after contacting your chamber of commerce.

I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that although I am tremendously pleased with the livability of Glen Cove, my decision to move here was based more upon association with the ferry than vice versa. I am confident that many other Wall Street professionals share my sentiments. Our commuting options are New Jersey, Southern Connecticut, Southern Westchester, as well as the bedroom community of Wall Street better known as Manhasset. I can't begin to tell you how many of my co-workers have stopped me in the hallway to inquire as to what the town is about as it offers significantly better value, comparable quality of life and now an even better commute to lower New York City.

I must commend the City of Glen Cove as to your choice of service provider. I am extremely pleased with Fox Navigation and its staff. The gated and secure complex staffed with security personnel gives me confidence in leaving my vehicle. Although an industrial area on Garvies Point, it, undoubtedly, provides a reasonable buffer to the industrial worksites in the neighboring area.

I must also commend Fox Navigation on its choice of equipment and personnel. In addition to the numerous safety precautions, which we are informed of on a daily basis, the ferry operators have a clear sense of commitment to the needs of the boat and home owners in Glen Cove Harbor. I am sure the majority of those boat and home owners wish that the jet skiers and numerous recreational boaters seen in the area were consistently as courteous. I am active in a number of Conservation groups and have traveled extensively in eco-tourism friendly areas and feel strongly about business and nature co-existing. I am happy to report the boats used are extremely quiet and are operated in a manner, observed from my daily window, to be operating under the "no wake" requirements seen in most harbors. This consistency in safe and responsible operation is certainly a reflection as to the commitment that Fox Navigation has to the community, as well as to its riders.

If truly pressed for any criticism of either Fox Navigation or the City of Glen Cove around this ferry service issue, I would have to address the road leading up to the ferry parking area (I believe it's Garvies Point Road). I do see a tremendous amount of industrial traffic in the area and the road could use a few potholes patched.

Glenn D. Hall