The view looking at the south side of East Marie Street across from the Hicksville Fire Department's Station #1 back in February 1998 used to be of the old Hicksville movie house with the antique clock right next to the marquee, which was damaged and dangling as a result of a truck accident. At the time, the movie house showed Indian films. The storefront facades on the south side of the street were in disrepair and the second story had no heat or bathrooms. No wonder there was space rented upstairs. Throughout all the years of patchwork, none of the squares of concrete matched.

A blind eye and a deaf ear were turned when a store fell into disrepair. East Marie was a street that no resident wanted to claim.

It is now 2006 and there is a new landlord and tenant on East Marie Street. Starting from next door to the Long Island Power Equipment building up to and including where the movie house once stood is now the Long Island Abundant Life Church where Chinese and English services are held.

Many hours and finances have been spent on the building. The stone façade has been scrubbed, bleached and repaired. A huge expanse of etched glass windows were installed, store fronts were demolished and offices substituted. The second story is now habitable and the inside was completely gutted, everything replaced with new, updated materials.

The church opened its doors a while ago but last fall the Town of Oyster Bay replaced all the sidewalks, trimmed the curb line with brick pavers and left inserts for trees and old fashioned lighting. The dark green light posts look beautiful and, now that we see the trees have survived the winter, we cannot wait for the trees to bloom this spring. The dark green wastebaskets look fantastic - just the right touch to finish off the street. Everyone seems to be using the baskets, which shows that they like things to look nice. I never see a piece of paper on that side of the street. Even if it is windy and papers blow, the next morning people are outside picking up their frontage.

For this, we thank all of you.