The Village of Great Neck Plaza is currently involved in developing an official method of historic preservation, to ensure that precious pieces of Great Neck history are not lost, not torn down in the name of ''modernization.'' We know that the Village of Great Neck, ''the Old Village,'' already has a landmark commission, a commission that was so very successful in saving an important piece of our history, a beautiful old farmhouse, just a few years ago. Some of our other villages, too, have tools in place to protect the preservation of this peninsula's history.

We are now urging all of our villages to step back, take a good, hard look, and be very certain that they have the proper legislation in place for historic preservation and, hopefully, for landmark capability. If you have no landmark legislation, no laws or even guidelines regulation the preservation of your village's history, now is the time to rewrite (or even just update) the code books.

We have said it before, and we are saying it again---Please don't wait until it is too late, until all of the wonderful past has vanished; make historic preservation a priority right now!

(And certainly don't wait and let the threat of a developer's ''ax'' be the cause to spur new legislation.This last-minute attempt only makes the process more difficult, and may actually impede an immediate effort to save an irreplaceable home or building.)

Great Neck is fortunate in having such a beautiful peninsula, such beautiful land, with trees and hills and wooded areas and spectacular water views. Great Neck is equally fortunate in having a town that is so rich in history, so filled with famed architecture and wonderful old buildings depicting an exciting past.

Let's be sure that the past continues to blend right in with the present and is able to go right along into the future. Let's not let the past disappear through recklessness or through oversight.

Let's make historic preservation an important part of our today!

Wendy K. Kreitzman