After reading Mr. Rolston's and Mr. Judge's pleas to break up Greentree for "much-needed" recreational facilities, I found that, per stats from our Town of North Hempstead Master Plan, the Town of No. Hempstead owns 179.4-acres of parks and recreation facilities. Mary Jane Davies Green, Manorhaven Park, Bar Beach Park and No. Hempstead Town Dock, are some of them and all within easy use of Manhasset residents. These parks take up 76-acres of that total. We pay taxes for those parks. Nassau County parks and recreational facilities located in the Town of No. Hempstead comprise 882.5-acres and 277-acres of that total are either within Manhasset or within easy reach of any Manhasset resident. Christopher Morley Park, Valley Park, Whitney Pond Park and the Nassau Park at the east end of No. Bournedale Road are available just to mention some. We pay taxes for those parks. That's a total of over 352-acres of parks available in our Manhasset area for which we pay taxes.

Mr. Rolston and his commissioners' problem is that they, themselves, don't own all or any of these parklands! After seeing what they are capable of since they took office, should we really let them acquire any more parkland? The maintenance of the passive parks they already own and the weeding and trimming of such properties as the outside of Parking Lot #2 near the children's playground is missing. Also, just before Memorial Day, it was noticed that the memorial park they are responsible for maintaining at No. Blvd. and Shelter Rock Road had not been trimmed or cut even one time before that weekend and the flags that flew there were very faded and in shreds. How can they expect to condemn another's property and then take over and keep up the maintenance when they can't keep up with those they are in charge of now!

In addition to the use of those parks mentioned earlier, there are parks to be used by Manhassetites which exist within our incorporated villages: Plandome's Green (the children from there use parks in the unincorporated areas!), Plandome Heights' open space at the bottom of Bayview Circle, Munsey Park's Copley Pond and Waldman's Park (just off Park Avenue) and Flower Hill Park (off Bonnie Heights Road). We pay taxes for those parks, too. And in addition to those, there are the fields on school grounds which are used for athletic and other events: Munsey Park School, Shelter Rock Road School, three athletic fields at Manhasset High School, Memorial Park, and St. Mary's Soccer Field. We also pay taxes for those parks! Then there are country clubs which Manhasset residents pay to belong and to use. Total recreational areas easily available to Manhassetites - well over 400 acres! To even insinuate, as did our park district commissioners in their letters and public hearing, that Manhassetites have something less than .0003 acres of play areas per 1,000 residents is to be grossly inaccurate and to insinuate that we have even less for our children than those in NYC is insulting! Remember, Manhasset is not a town, it is a zip code, a park district and a school district and includes most all our villages as well, plus some parts of North Hills! Keep Greentree and Macy's seven-acres, both of which fall on top of a Special Groundwater Protection Area, green to match the rest of our beautiful area! Don't let this project go forward! Call the commissioners and let them know your feelings on the subject and call your councilman and our town supervisor as well, they hold the purse strings to this new venture-not those who might or might not donate money for this new venture of our park district commissioner.

Phyllis J. Clark