Election rhetoric is challenging the peace and tranquillity of Cove Neck. It is a very small community with about 300 plus residents. A view of how big the area is - there are about 110 garbage pickups in the village which probably gives a better indication of the number of homes on Cove Neck. In the last election, in 1998, there were 102 votes cast in the election.

Four local residents are running for the two seats up for re-election. Elizabeth Roosevelt has served as a village trustee in Cove Neck for about six years. Mr. Harold M. Kingsley has served for about four years. They are running as incumbents in the election to be held on Tuesday, March 16 from noon to 9 p.m. at the Cove Neck Police Booth. They are being challenged by Arnold Gross and Kenneth Mango of the Cove Neck Preservative Party.

This year, for the first time, the incumbents have sent out post cards to inform residents of the election. The post card from Ms. Roosevelt and Mr. Kingsley said: please vote on March 16 to re-elect Mr. Kingsley and Ms. Roosevelt, long-term residents of the village who are trying to keep taxes down and maintain the services that keep the good quality of life on Cove Neck.

Campaign literature from Mr. Gross and Mr. Mango are bringing up issues that have prompted Mayor Tom Zoller to respond to - to clear the record. There are comments that need clarification, so as not to allow readers to think the village has been remiss.

Arnold Gross said in his letter to Swan Cove Association residents, that has been circulating in the village, that Phil Zoller wants to increase his fee for road maintenance to the village. Mayor Tom Zoller said that the village contracts its road maintenance to Brier Hill Farms, Inc. (owned by Phil Zoller, his brother) in a bid process. He said Tennis Court Road (where the Swan Cove Association is located) is a private road open to the public and has been included in the village's road maintenance. Because of the disproportionate amount of time spent maintaining that road in contrast to the rest of the village, the board is considering increasing those residents' contribution to the work.

Mr. Gross said Charles Wang asked the village to change its helicopter law to accommodate his plans to build a personal heliport on his property. Mr. Zoller said there was an informal inquiry made to allow the infrequent landing of a helicopter from the open water. It is not unusual for a resident to make a request to allow a specific use of his property.

Mr. Gross says there may be another dock built on Cove Neck. Mr. Zoller said it does not have jurisdiction over docks and there are three docks being considered: the Yampol dock, the Holterbosch application and the Hershon application.

Mr. Gross said the village noise application was challenged and might be unconstitutional. Mr. Zoller said the ordinance is being challenged by Dr. Montero because of a dispute between two neighbors. The village ordinance is similar to one in Muttontown that, as written, was found to be unconstitutional.

Mr. Gross states there is no police contract as yet, and that is true. Mr. Zoller said "When Charles Morgan was in office as mayor of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove, we abolished our police force and contracted with OBC for services. That five-year contract expired last June. I've been working to have an extension, another five-year contract. OBC has just signed a five-year contract with their police department.

"It's been hard to get a meeting of minds on the contract. We were paying 19 percent of the total assessment of the combined villages. Mayor Michael Peragine wanted it to be 20 percent of the total police cost. It was a small percent that was not the issue; the issue is, we could never find out what the expenses would be," said Mayor Zoller.

He said they hired a separate attorney to negotiate with OBC, but he couldn't get anywhere, and they dismissed him in December.

There were some other issues, since OBC purchased speed machines and Cove Neck didn't have much say in that decision. "We were trying to negotiate for a flat fee. We recently received a fee for each of the five years and that is in negotiation," he said.

Another issue was that OBC wanted CN to pay toward the retirement package of Chief Lambertson. "We felt the five year contact allowed for them to put money aside for that. We felt we were already paying for that," said Mayor Zoller.

Dog Issues - Barking

Mr. Gross also complained about barking dogs, saying complaints are constant. Mayor Zoller said they are not constant and a complaint is rare, although at the present time there is one issue with one dog.

According to Mr. Gross, the village will be sharing in the expense of the village attorney being involved with a dispute between two neighbors. Mayor Zoller said the village attorneys are representing a client in the village in a neighbor dispute, not an expense all will share.

In his letter Mr. Gross lists some ideas he has explored to keep residents informed so that they are not "forced to accept the consequences." He mentioned the Lum property. Elizabeth Roosevelt said the Lum property was a case where, "people bought the property and then couldn't keep up with it. I don't know what happened. Some of the turnover has been quick in recent years, but we have a building inspector and have architectural review to keep things orderly and regular."

She also said of a newsletter - "A newsletter is a good idea but it would be infinitely boring because there is seldom anything of interest going on. When there is something of interest we ask people to come to the village to a meeting.

The meetings have been held at Sagamore Hill at the Old Orchard Museum. We are contemplating making an addition to the police booth which would make it possible to have meetings there," said Ms. Roosevelt.

Mr. Gross suggests setting up an environmental committee to preserve their natural resources and to explore receiving state and federal funds for the village.

The mayor said he is a board member of Friends of the Bay and was a member of the Western Waterfront steering committee that worked on the Jakobson Shipyard and West Harbor future. He carried the information to the board. As to state and federal funds, he said they have received about $20,000 for road repair and maintenance; $13,000 in mortgage tax; $1,500 in revenue sharing and $207 from the CHIPS program.

Mr. Gross suggests the Swan Cove Association should "explore and educate the residents of Cove Neck on the status of the Gracewood Beach."

This comment resulted in a response from George Bourne, one of the members of the Gracewood Beach Association taking issue with his statement about the private property.

The mayor's take was that the GBA is a private beach not open to any resident other then those of the GBA, the same as the Swan Cove Beach.

Mr. Gross and Mr. Mango were also concerned with duck hunting taking place less than 100 yards from Cove Neck Road. The mayor explained that duck hunting is controlled by state and federal people. The Fish and Wildlife Service is in charge of the sport. "Each year when duck hunting season is beginning I ask them to be in compliance with all state regulations. It's a short season, just a couple of weeks out of the year. And, duck hunters have rights too. Those fees pay for a tremendous amount of environmental health including feeding programs."

Ms. Roosevelt agreed, saying, "I don't think there is much you can do about the duck hunting. The wildlife permits/stamps create funds that are used to preserve the ducks and helps conservation."

Mr. Gross and Mango complained about "indiscriminate" tree removal. Mayor Zoller said there are village regulations but people are allowed to cut trees down if damaged or diseased or if allowed in building permits.

Ms. Roosevelt said there is an ordinance about tree removal, but the problem is enforcement. It is hard to do because we don't have someone going around to check. The police won't do it and the building inspector doesn't check trees. It's not an issue except for enforcement, which is not an easy thing to do, she said.

Recently trees were cut down at Sagamore Hill. She remembered why they were cut down. "That's why I am useful on the board. I've been here 62 years," she quipped.

In TR's days there was a view of the harbor from the porch at Sagamore Hill. Scrub brush grew and blocked the view. When it was cut back, people got upset, she said. It was a great big empty field when TR was there, so they could ride their horses - "Not that I was around, but I could see that in pictures!"

In spite of everything, Mayor Zoller said he wanted to try to keep it down to a dull roar. "I don't want it to be like OBC, a divided village - we are fortunate to live here."

The Oyster Bay Enterprise-Pilot was not able to reach trustee Kingsley.

Arnold Gross has been a resident of Cove Neck for the past 12 years. He lives with his wife, Denise, and their four sons, Richard, Kenneth, Michael and Brian.

Mr. Gross is a 1976 graduate of Tufts Dental School - magna cum laude. His dental residency was performed at New York Medical Center. He is now in private dental practice in Queens. He is a former instructor at Columbia University Dental School.

Mr. Gross is the vice president of the Swan Cove Association; its former secretary; he was instrumental in arranging the Gypsy Moth Spraying Program and the institution of noiseless Sundays.

Kenneth Mango has been a resident of Cove Neck for the past 20 years and resides with his wife, Denise.

Mr. Mango is in the food wholesale business. He is a 1981 graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and holds a bachelor's degree in restaurant management. Mr. Mango is a certified chef and has been the chef or manager of Cafe Spasso in Carle Place; Braisserie St. Germain in Manhasset and Uwes in Oyster Bay.

Mr. Mango is an avid fisherman and jogger who has volunteered for a variety of Swan Cove Association projects including beach cleanup/renovation.

The platform of the Cove Neck Preservation Party include:

1- Retain our Village police force.

2- Issue regular Village newsletters.

3- Stop the duck hunting less than 100 yards from Cove Neck Road.

4- Stop indiscriminate tree removal.

5- Join with other villages to seek a share of sales tax monies.

6- Encourage all residents, new and old, to become involved in Village Government.

Mayor Thomas R. Zoller ended his letter to residents, responding to the misinformation from Mr. Gross with - "As your mayor, I have always had an open door policy and it is an extremely rare occasion that I have been unavailable to discuss an issue. Yes, I do not publish a newsletter or have a Village office, but our community of approximately 330 residents can always reach myself, one of our trustees or our village attorneys."