(Ed. note: The following letter was sent to the Village of Plandome Manor and is printed here at the writer's request.)

The village is a mature and wealthy community and over the last five or six years I have come to the conclusion it is still lacking some in some real areas of civility. While on a series of extended stays in Rome one of the city historical guides pointed out that Rome became great because citizens donated to its development; much like what you are doing. This guide pointed out parks and stairs, fountains and an endless list of small but real additions that people had conceived and paid for. These were not all the greats you read about in history books but merchants and others who adopted Rome as home, not too different from many of our residents.

Too often I think the trustees have allowed the position to become a taste board to protect neighbors from each other's bad taste. Bad taste does not go out of style and a sure way to improve taste is to place people in a more civilized village rather than a legal cesspool of zoning regulations. (Look how effective Plandome Manor was in dealing with the destruction of the Nicoll's house...would the developer do it again?) Here is a wish list of items that the trustees may consider as they reflect on their jobs.

1) Sidewalks and benches and mini-parks are good things; you almost cannot have too many places to walk and sit in a city. Families come here to raise children and be with the kids but the streets are not friendly to walkers or kids on bikes. Thoughtful and careful planning is needed at North Dr. and Stonytown Rd.; Circle Dr. and Stonytown Rd, and North Plandome Rd. along Leeds Pond and Rock Hollow Rd. (It only takes a parent one bike outing to realize the danger these sites pose.) Better pedestrian infrastructure would encourage people who take the train to walk or ride a bike (hence easing parking issues at the station). Bike lanes are common in many cities across Europe and starting in the US. Again, this is a longer-term scheme but people would be happier to be able to move around freely and safely. (To start a bike lane from the broken pavement (aka war zone) at the Flower Hill village line of Plandome Manor to Manhasset would be a good test to gauge reactions.)

2) The village will adopt a "no new wires" law and work to place all city wires underground. This may be a five, eight, 10 year plan but it is a most basic way to improve the visual nature of the village. By chance if phone wires and the build out of these wires was to appear today as a new scheme it would face tough legal environments but today we allow ourselves to be wrapped in wire at every turn. Phone poles and wires are competing with our trees and the trees always lose. Once an underground conduit is in place additional wire and services are simply fed through it. (I cannot find too many residents who find the wire attractive.)

3) The south side of Stonytown Road distracts from the pastoral look of Plandome Manor. Untended land will not return to the Garden of Eden as long as we have Norway maples and other invading species. There should be a penalty for the way the land is neglected and allowed to go unkempt for years. There are motors, tires, plastic tubs and all sorts of refuse strewn on these lots. If I were to keep my front yard in this manner I would be subject to all sorts of notices and the like.

Plant the area with Native American wetland trees and keep it open and nice.

The taxes should reflect this and holders should not be allowed to have these weed lots. (I realize that they keep hoping that the right builder will have a vision of how to develop them!)

4) Line the streets with trees. This cools the pavement in the summer helping to make better conditions for walkers and bikers. It cools and helps extend the life of the Macadam surface, which is a big long-term cost to running a village. The trees add beauty and improve the air. I would encourage sycamore trees, white oaks, scarlet oaks, or other long-lived trees, which grow erect. (Remove those silly signs about dogs pollute ground water, who are we kidding!)

5) Instead of an unused area across from the train station (north side along Rockwood Rd.) for police cars that is seldom if ever used, it would make an ideal pickup area for residents. The area needs a shed for protection from the elements and a bigger drive thru. This could be a nice project to honor all sorts of local figures and would reduce congestion in the existing pickup area. This is wasted area and since it is the focal point of the village it seems we need some vision on how to define the space. Here too the weed trees and other invading shrubs do not really add to the look of the village. I realize it will come as a shock to the nearby homeowner but this can be overcome.

6) Ask the Feds to take the post office away from Plandome Station. There can be a series of boxes that are stuffed each day and a vending machine but the space is better suited for a small coffee and tea news kiosk for commuters. The village and every village needs some center on commerce for residents to meet and chat and interact in an informal manner. Since federal law will not even allow a bulletin board, the residents are unable to communicate in a casual way. The luxury of hot coffee and a cool drink is not to be denied the hard working souls who stream through the station. Please leave the Puritan stuff alone and let us have beer and wine too.

7) Leeds Pond does not belong only to the homeowners of the Mills contrary to what they will tell you. Tear down that awful fence along the road and open the area. That overgrown weed patch of non-native invaders is an eyesore, maintained for a screen for residents while ruining the view shed that once made the area so appealing. The view shed along the water is a disgrace to nearly all but the ones who have by-passed the building codes and simply looks over it. The need for major renovation to this area is long overdue and is grossly unfair that all of Plandome and Manhasset cannot see what we pay for in taxes. This area should be made safe yet accessible to all for the enjoyment of all. This project needs vision and leadership but would pay the biggest dividend to walkers and bikers. This is an important part of making the village livable and tying it all together. People now risk life and limb to ride around it in spite of the bad design they still find the area appealing. We need to build on the appeal for all.

8) Since the battle cry of the all board meeting I have ever attended is "This will enhance property value" regardless if the parties are trying to pave over green space or build a fence...I have come to the conclusion that this 'enhancing value' is something important. I have outlined the major points and I have tried to offer solutions that if taken will enhance value beyond our wildest dreams. These are seven steps up a mountain; all the parts work together. I realize it takes time but if we mandate the action the time will start ticking.

In closing I hope that you are strong enough to stop and reflect before you launch into a reason why all this will not work. I have seen each and every one of these solutions put into place in much larger communities. Take for example the gas pipeline recently buried along our streets. In the future, such a project could be used to help promote our policy of no new wires and better sidewalks. (We should have had the pipeline company be the first step in building the new infrastructure.) At a later date a new cable or wire service would be the first here since it would simply be pulled through a huge conduit.

My course of action for this is to take it to the voter and have it enacted as a long-term village plan. There is a need to work with the surrounding villages. I will help with the preparation for a town planning for pedestrian and bike and speak to our fellow denizens. This course of action will truly put each and every one of you in the forefront of suburban planning and civilization. This project, if enacted will allow the founders of the village to see their goals realized because the present state of the trustees and the sidewalks is far from what any of them desired. This will greatly enhance the village in a way that all the rulebooks on building codes and design simply cannot achieve.

James A. Brodie