The Friends of Massapequa Preserve are excited by the turnout and response at the Concerned Citizens Association of Farmingdale meeting that focused on "the woods" along the Bethpage State Parkway. We thank everyone who came to share their thoughts and concerns, and we certainly appreciate your paper's continuous reporting on this important community issue. However, the story as reported in your Jan, 27, 2006 issue demonstrates the ongoing confusion over jurisdiction, and who is responsible for maintenance and protection of "the woods." As the guest speaker, I would like to clarify some of the information stated in the article.

The entire area is not "a Nassau County park on loan from New York State." Nassau County currently leases 31 acres of wooded land north of the Southern State Parkway and east of the Viceroy development, and classifies it as "county parkland." This "Viceroy section," extends north along both sides of Massapequa Creek, from the back of Farmingdale High School to the back of the Woodward Parkway Elementary School. The lease expires Feb. 28, 2007, and on that date the land will revert to its owner, the New York State Department of Parks, unless something is done before then. Both our group and the CCAF sent letters almost four years ago to Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi requesting his assistance in securing this land and designating it as part of Massapequa Preserve. We have also met with a number of local officials on this matter. As of this date, we have not achieved our goal, but we hope to.

The larger section of woods, the 3-mile corridor along both sides of the Bethpage State Parkway, has nothing to do with Nassau County Parks; it is owned by New York State Parks, and maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation as a parkway right-of-way. Over 50 public officials, and many groups and individuals, have written to State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro, asking that both sides of the Bethpage State Parkway, from Linden Street north to the Bethpage Traffic Circle, be designated as an undeveloped, passive-use state park, or as an extension of Bethpage State Park.

I didn't say "give us the park and we will take care of it." I said that if you give us a park, we will see to it that the agency responsible for the parcel does the job it is supposed to do. I also said that we are tired of getting letters, calls, and e-mails from frustrated citizens trying their best to find anyone in government who will assume responsibility for what goes on in "the woods" and do something about it.

Richard Schary, president

Friends of Massapequa Preserve