Congratulations to Matthew Meng, president of the East Norwich Civic Association (ENCA) for organizing the Wednesday, Nov. 19 meeting held to find out if East Norwich residents are interested in incorporating the village. Mr. Meng wanted the event to take place within the boundaries of East Norwich, and the church was a great location and was well attended.

As the evening ended, Anne Melnick asked Mr. Meng why the question of incorporation has surfaced. He said that at the present time there are several community minded individuals who are willing to give their time to serve the interests of East Norwich. There are several dedicated volunteers from the ENCA and the Committee for the Beautification of East Norwich (CBEN) presently. He added that for a long time, the ENCA was virtually non-existent.

Mr. Meng said the civic work takes time, which he is currently willing to donate, but added that he has two locations for his business (The Little Garage) and he might need to devote more time to them in the future. He suggested that the efforts of the volunteers would be made easier if there were a government entity in place to handle some of the work. For instance, he and Jack Sheich, the president of the CBEN have obtained a $50,000 grant from Assemblywoman Donna Ferrara to bring water to the medians on 25A where the groups have planted trees and wildflowers as a beautification project.

As the meeting ended, residents took home questionnaires asking them for their opinion on incorporation. Mr. Meng has said that before he spends time on the investigation, he wants to know how the community feels about the idea. At the meeting people kept asking what the financial implications were for incorporation which prompted Mr. Meng to say he would consider another meeting in February or March, after the holidays.

Until then, he invited everyone to attend the monthly meetings of the East Norwich Civic Association, held the fourth Thursday of the month in the education building of the Community United Methodist Church of East Norwich. (There is more to report of the meeting, which we will present in a future edition. This is a short week for the newspaper because of the Thanksgiving holiday.)

During the meeting several people said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Many said they loved living in East Norwich, just the way it is. Someone else said it was better to be prepared for an event, than let it creep up on you, when you have to suddenly face a problem.

All in all, residents were left with a great deal to think about. Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel congratulated the community for doing things right: looking into the issue in a slow, knowledgeable way.

It is going to be an interesting year for the hamlet. Mayor Siegel said an issue like this could create dissension in a community, as people take sides in the issue, but that it also creates a great feeling of community. In her opinion it is worth the effort. We are looking forward to the excitement.

P.S. Mr. Meng called on Friday, Nov. 21, to say he will schedule a meeting in January, to share the results of the questionnaires. He said the exit poll showed that there was an overwhelming percentage of people who are in favor of incorporation and want to move forward with it.