Manhasset needs a new and larger library. I think we can all agree on that. A few years ago the opposition resulted from the cost for a rather extravagant design sprung, fully developed, on an unsuspecting public. The opposition to building a new library building today rests on the old saw of "Not in My Backyard" no matter what site is under consideration. If we have three sites, two-thirds of the voices heard will be against any two. If we have 10 sites, 90 percent of the letters written will be against any nine. So much for progress. Meanwhile, we have moved from seven pounds in a five-pound bag, to 10 pounds in the same bag.

Fortunately, we have the benefit of a library board that is actively working and thinking to give Manhasset a new and larger library building. They are reaching out to the taxpayers to keep them informed of their progress. The chairperson has an open mind. Yes, it will cost us money. Yes, it will be in somebody's backyard. But it should come to pass if we all think and act for the betterment of the common good.

No matter where the new library is built, there will be an impact on the nearby traffic. If 120 parking spaces are needed, and if 110 of them are always full of clients who stay for a half hour at a time; then in the course of a 12-hour day, 2,640 cars will exit the driveway and disperse. Many of our streets, such as Onderdonk Avenue, Northern Boulevard, and Bayview Avenue, are already heavily trafficked in the opinion of many. Would an additional 2,600 cars per day be noticeable? Are all these cars really additional ones? In the opinion of some, the library should not be bigger, or relocated, because it would adversely affect the traffic. Why is that not a town or county issue? Let's face it, Manhasset may be an idyllic attractive place, but its attractiveness will cause its environs to become more populous. You can't keep them out; Berlin Walls are not our style. The onus of traffic congestion on Onderdonk, Bayview, and Plandome Road should not be placed at the library's door. If Bayview Avenue is a mess now, the mess is caused by traffic mainly enroute to points north, like Port Washington. Whoever has jurisdiction, town or country, should take steps now to ease the traffic congestion caused by this traffic as well as the anticipated traffic from the possible developments near the railroad trestle. The library traffic will comfortably fit within this envelope.

The library board is trying to find a good site among some viable candidates and some that are pie-in-the-sky. They are trying to develop a project package - of a site and a building on that site - that will make sense economically. They are trying to keep us informed. It is important that we not be vociferously negative every time a site is mentioned when we don't know what the building can be. It is important that we not micro-manage them with building design requirements when we don't know what the site will bear. We elected them to represent us, to give us leadership, to be involved in detail for us, and to develop for us a library for now and the future. We will get our chance at bat when the project package is presented to us for approval. Then we will know the cost.

It will be up to us to approve it or disapprove it on the cost issue. They, representing us, will have given us the best shot at a site. They, representing us, will have decided on the color of the roof and the arrangement of the parking spaces and doorknobs. The issue will be: Is this cost reasonable for the future maintenance of our property values and the development of our children? The library board is well aware that they must present an affirmative case. I hope you and I think so too.

Paul Early