It could have been viewed by an outsider as an early form of democracy in action - residents taking issue with their government and voicing their concerns. But, the issue wasn't the Tea Tax or Intolerable Acts, and it wasn't 1776. For the residents of Bar Harbour last week, the issue at hand was the Trinca Property and the proposed development on Whitewood Drive.

The first meeting of the Bar Harbour Civic Association was held on March 17 for the first time since the group disbanded in 1991 in the basement of Village Hall. The catalyst for the reformed group: the public hearing held by the Village of Massapequa Park earlier this month on the establishment of an S-2 golden age zone.

Residents were upset that the village didn't inform the residents about the proposed zone, with the exception of a legal notice published in the local newspapers.

At the public hearing, held on Feb. 2, the village heard a presentation by developer Bob Havasy of the Whitewood Landing Corporation. "The village has been remiss outside of their public notices," said Jim Altadonna. "Local government, which is for the people, should inform the people."

Only a handful of residents attended the public hearing, but when fliers were handed out announcing the first meeting of the Bar Harbour Civic Association, a meeting called to address the Whitewood Drive property, over 115 showed up.

"I say the common denominator is the Trinca property, once again. That was the catalyst," said Altadonna, who was recently elected president of the civic group.

According to Ron Hoffman, the last person to occupy the presidency, the Trinca property was what caused the activism and the dissolution of the group over ten years ago. Altadonna says that this group intends to remain active for the long-haul. "This area in the past has pretty much remained on the sidelines," said Linda Murphy, secretary for the group. "We hope to turn that around."

Hoffman, who currently serves as vice president of the Bar Harbour Civic Association, said, "for all practical purposes, this is the same group."

But Hoffman, along with 2nd Vice President Les Astrof, were the only members, out of the five office holders and six trustees, who were active in village affairs during the last debate over the Trinca proposal. And, as one resident put it, "so for all intents and purposes, this is a new group."

One of the main concerns that the group has over the current proposal to build a 52 unit golden age housing complex centers around traffic, safety, and the fact that the proposal calls for a cooperative residence.

The golden age housing concept requires that the residences be price controlled and cooperative. In return, residents of a senior housing complex, after meeting certain income and age requirements, are given special tax abatements by the county, town, and village.

"We're not against senior citizens, what we need people to understand is that this is a co-op," said Altadonna. He argues that senior housing doesn't have to be a tax abated golden age home to be successful, pointing to other condominium senior citizen apartments as an example.

They also say that the traffic study, conducted by the developers, was conducted at a time when Birch Lane School, which is next to the property, was not open. They say that the village needs to conduct a "meaningful" traffic study to make certain that any development of the property doesn't diminish the safety of neighborhood children.

Deputy Mayor Bill VanWagner, a resident of Bar Harbour, noted that he has been involved in the study to find an appropriate development for the property. "I'm not the power behind the throne pushing this thing, I'm involved in the study."

He added, "I'm in favor of the concept, but I'm not sure at this point whether a co-op or condo would be better."