Angry Massapequa Park boat owners crowded Village Hall last week to protest a proposed law that would prohibit them from keeping their boats in front of their houses year-round and would require that boats be stored either on the side or in back of the boat owner's home. Not one resident stood up in favor of the proposal during the public hearing and most that spoke were irate at the suggestion.

"My boat is my property and you're not going to tell me where I'm putting it," said one angry resident, who reflected the general consensus of the crowd.

The proposed law, which has not been voted on yet, says that a boat up to 20 feet long can be stored on the side of the owner's house as long as it doesn't exceed the house line. Boats up to 30 feet can be stored in the rear of the house if there is enough room. Boat owners who do not have the room on the side or back of their houses to store the boats would be forced to keep their boats at a boat yard or marina. The law also says only one boat can be stored on a home owner's property.

Massapequa Park Mayor George Nussbaum said the law was written in response to complaints from people who felt leaving boats in front of houses marred the appearance of the neighborhood. Another complaint was that the stored boats were traffic hazards when they block a driver's vision.

Massapequa Park resident, Richard Muller, came to the hearing armed with a petition signed by 300 people who don't want to see the law enacted. Muller, who works for the village's highway department, said it took him four days to collect the signatures from boaters and non-boaters alike.

Romeo Martello, a 14-year resident who owns a 19 foot boat, agreed with Muller and the rest of the angry boaters. "Not all of us can afford a dock space," said Martello.

The village board was bombarded with shouts and groans of complaint throught out the evening. According to the those who spoke at the hearing, the proposed law presented a number of problems for the boaters. One problem is that many residents said they did not have the room to store their boats on the side or back of their houses and did not wish to incur the cost of having to pay for a marina or boat yard space to keep it. One man complained that boaters couldn't count on good security at a boat yard and would be subject to theft or vandalism. Another said there has been a decrease in the number of boat yards making it difficult to find a place for their boats.

Still others complained that the law would infringe on their rights as taxpayers and undermine the spirit of Massapequa Park. Residents said that the village's access to water and boating made it special and by enacting a law which restricted boat owners' ability to easily and affordably keep their boats, the board would be devaluing the very thing that makes the village special.

Resident John O'Brien added that he believed the fire department would also prefer to have boats stored in the front of homes as opposed to on the side or in the back.

"Putting a boat on the side of a house is tantamount to setting the house on fire," he said.

Trustee Marvin Guberman moved to table the issue until the August 10 meeting when the board will hold another public hearing. He said there were a few issues such as the question of whether the proposed law would create a fire hazard, that the board needed to look into before moving forward.

Nussbaum said that the next hearing will give the board another opportunity to hear the concerns of the residents.

"You come up with a framework of a law and then find out whether or not it really is practical," he said. He added that the law has only been proposed, not enacted and the public hearing is intended to provide the board with the input it needs to make a decision on the matter.