First, I would like to humbly thank all those who voted for me in December 2003 for the Manhasset Park District's Commissioner's position. I was quite taken by the fact that since I was not running for the office and had given no such indication to anyone of such an aspiration, yet I did receive just about 10 percent of the vote. People actually went to the polls and took the time to find out how to do it and then wrote in my name. Thank you all of you whoever you are. I truly appreciate your vote of confidence in me and I believe I owe everyone this letter at least.

Secondly I would like to draw everyone's attention to Legals in the Manhasset Press last week. Therein, in fine print, you will find that there will be a hearing before the Town Board at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 27, for the purpose of hearing a proposal by the Manhasset Park District to acquire (by condemnation proceedings--Macy's is against selling to them), for a price of $1.2 million, a seven-acre parcel of property belonging to Macy's and which acreage abuts directly homes in Terrace Manor. (The original cost was $2 million-which is it? This amount would be just the beginning of expenditures, i.e., new taxes.)

The 7.2 acres of forest woodland will be bulldozed down to make way for yet another playing field for the children of the MPD. This 7.2 acre property is zoned for one house per five, yes one house per 5 acres, and it is on the NYS Groundwater Protection Area List. To maintain it, the MPD will have to dump tons of fertilizer insecticide and herbicides thereupon which will seep down into the water table. To ruin this water collection area and impose upon our residents more taxes in the process seems to me to be unconscionable, especially since we get no answers to our questions as to where the MPD would like to take this project. Take note, the MPD has never built or run any playing fields for children, or adults for that matter. This will be a whole new area of expertise they would like to learn about and then get an increase in compensation for having more responsibility, etc. One question I have is if they in fact have so much time and money, why don't they reduce the commuter parking fees at the railroad station and various other parking lots within the area, which they control?

I have done private research on parklands available to our children and have found an astounding 400 acres plus for their use. These 400 include county, town, school and various other park/play land available. Our MPD Commissioner has stated that the MPD have .003 acres per 1000 residents. This may be so because our park district does not own recreation land is not chartered to run park/play lands, they are chartered to "park cars." I know, I have twice went to them with a Freedom of Information Law Request, and twice they have delivered to me the Ordinance which states the MPD has the power only to park cars. Will they be asking permission to acquire and run playgrounds, athletic fields, etc. at this same hearing? Is this just the beginning for them?

I have traveled over last summer's months and into the fall and looked at all our athletic and playing fields and except for two instances have I ever seen children playing on those fields. My visits were after school hours and on Saturdays and Sundays. It just proved to me that we have an abundance of fields for children's activities. They might just want more fields so that every child can be on a playing field at the very same moment every other child is on one in the months of April, May and June. Another statistic unearthed in my research is that of all residential homes in MPD/School District, there are children in only 30 percent of the homes--leaving 70 percent of Manhasset residential homes having no children. Why is it that when we go to the polls on budgets, bonds, etc., the tail is wagging the dog? Please see what you can do to get to Town Hall on the 27th or at least write or make a phone call to our new supervisor, Jon Kaiman, at 869-7799 or our new councilman, Wayne Wink, at 869-7697 and let them know how you feel about acquiring, by condemnation, property for which they have no plan for its use, no info about how they expect to finance the project, no experience in running and no authority to run recreation centers.

Phyllis J. Clark