Well, the kids are back in school, the air conditioners are out, the pools are closed and the sun is setting a lot earlier these days. We were lucky to hold on to the summer as long as we did and I hope everyone made an attempt to support our kids at the Oct. 1 Homecoming at the high school. What a great day for a homecoming!

The Hicksville Community Council along with the Northwest and Gardens Civics held a joint Meet the Candidates Night last Thursday at the new Hicksville Community Center. We had a good turnout as our town and county candidates spoke and answered questions from the audience. The meeting ran until 10 p.m. and I believe Northwest is inviting those candidates who could not attend last Thursday's meeting to their next meeting at the community center scheduled for Oct. 17.

We had our first meeting of the year back on Sept. 8 and discussed the then upcoming Holy Trinity Grecian Festival. Some of the homeowners in the area opted to have parking restrictions put into place for the weekend of the festival. The blocks with restricted parking seemed to have done somewhat better than those who did not. Friday night seemed to go fairly well, however, we have been receiving mixed comments on the entire weekend. If you live in the area and would like to send us your comments please send them to HGCA Post Office Box 624, Hicksville NY 11802-0624 or e-mail them to HGCA11801@Yahoo.com.

Oyster Bay Town Councilwoman Rose Marie Walker updated everyone who attended our Sept. 8 meeting on current town issues pertaining to South Broadway Route 107 (i.e. the former T.J. Courtney's), Salvati Foods, Avnit Plaza, the Waldbaum's/Lowes deal, the Friendly's & Taco Bell conflict and the progress on the DMV/Patel Brothers construction.

Rose made mention that the owner of the former Reptile Museum was considering turning the property into a senior housing development. Many voiced concerns that it may turn into low income housing and Rose informed me last week that the developer has dropped the idea altogether.

New York State Assemblyman Rob Walker will attend our next meeting on Oct. 20 to discuss all state issues on South Broadway Route 107 and any other questions we may have. We'll have committee updates for all those who attend and will leave the last half-hour to address and hopefully answer questions from the floor. We have invited the town's code enforcement and illegal housing department to attend our Nov. 17 meeting where we will review the progress we made in 2005 and set course for the year ahead.

Henry Goessmann

President, Hicksville Gardens Civic Association