This weekend, Sept. 24 and 25 members of Save the Jewel by the Bay will be in front of Stop & Shop from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. getting signatures for their petition and answering questions about the proposed moratorium on residential development in the Oyster Bay hamlet. At the Tuesday, Sept. 27 town board meeting, local residents have the opportunity to help decide the future direction of the hamlet. The proposed moratorium is the result of the work of Kathy Prinz, Ben Jankowski and Rita Pecora, co-organizers of the Save the Jewel by the Bay who organized the first meeting of the group held on July 27. At that first meeting, Kathy Prinz talked about how she and her husband Ben Jankowski believed they had to get organized to protect the hamlet after hearing chain saws at work on Saturday, June 25 and discovering an estate tree being cut down on Kellogg Street.

They went into action and called the Oyster Bay Civic Association hotline and Marie Knight, president, who called the police. Ms. Prinz said, "The police were content at seeing the demolition permit for the house and didn't ask to see a tree cutting permit," she explained in a telephone interview. "Now we know there is a tree ordinance and specific tree permits are needed to take down a tree. The current law says anything over 8 inches in diameter needs a permit. There are fines for this too. We'd like to get that information out to the public. We are also working to update those laws. There is a scale of fines that need updating to keep pace with today's economy. They need to become substantial fines. We are exploring ways to protect those trees. We have a treasury of trees we have to protect," she said.

She said it was concern over loosing those trees that led her to write open letters to the Town of Oyster Bay elected officials, asking for their help.

The timing was right and the group marched in the annual Fourth of July Independence Day Parade organized by the American Legion. Thirty people came out to protest and march behind the Oyster Bay Preservation Group banner. As they amassed before the walk, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto stopped by and took note of the signs they were carrying. "He shook our hands. Rita gave him a flier and he greeted the group," said Ms. Prinz. The group felt he had gotten their message.

Walking along East Main Street and Audrey Avenue, carrying signs asking for the preservation of the hamlet, they saw people cheering them on and felt sure the residents agreed with their cause. At the bandstand after the parade they were greeted by Town Councilman Chris Coschignano and Councilwoman Mary McCaffrey, she said.

Ms. Prinz said that she felt the meeting on July 27 was the first step in the historic preservation of Oyster Bay's hamlet. Co-organizer Rita Pecora added that although they had only started organizing in June, that much had been accomplished in a short period of time. She was happy the movement was noticed by residents and officials so quickly.

The group had been meeting with Town Councilman Chris J. Coschignano and his assistant, Jaime Van Dyke. Mr. Coschignano told the audience that he had called upon Town Supervisor Venditto and the town board members and asked them to look into such areas of help as historical protection zones, economic protection areas, up-zoning, architectural review and a plan for saving estate type trees. He suggested putting teeth back into old ordinances.

Mr. Coschignano said that he has a special feeling for the hamlet. His family came to Oyster Bay in 1906 and he and they have all seen the changes taking place. Those changes are growing into a townwide issue, he said.

Ms. Pecora and Ms. Prinz had assembled a PowerPoint slide presentation at the July 27 meeting that showed the visual impact of development in the hamlet. They showed a Park Avenue subdivision; a house on Berry Hill Road and Singworth St. where the ZBA allowed a smaller street frontage of only 10 ft.; on Marion Street, there are oversized houses built with little street frontage; a red ranch house with large lot on the top of Singworth St. is currently scheduled to be torn down to create two lots; another new house is being planned for Singworth Street on an undersized lot that is before the Nassau County Planning Commission. "The Oyster Bay ZBA did approve the use of the undersized lot, but subdivisions have to get final approval from Nassau County because it will change the taxes because it is creating a new taxing entity, according to the 1938 county charter," explained Ms. Prinz.

On the top of Summers St. new houses were built so close to neighboring houses, that "they can pass coffee to each other in the morning," quipped Ms. Pecora.

The inventory continued as they mentioned houses on Ivy Street, Weeks Avenue, the corner of Burtis and Kellogg Street where one house will be replaced by three. On Lexington Avenue a new house was built next to Top of the Harbor, in a lot that no one considered, said Ms. Pecora. On Orchard St. the hamlet lost an antique house that had a historic plaque (from the Oyster Bay Preservation Group) on it, now there are two new houses with deep lots and no driveways. On Harbor Road there is a nice new house, but it is too big for its lot, said Ms. Pecora as they concluded their presentation.

John Collins, architectural historian, hamlet resident and a longtime member of the Town of Oyster Bay Landmarks Preservation Committee was the next speaker at the July 27 meeting. He said, "This meeting should help us decide what our one voice is. We need positive feedback from residents who are encouraging landmark designation for the hamlet." He sees landmarking as a solution to concerns about what has been happening in the hamlet, with large older houses being demolished and two and three houses fitted onto their lots.

He said, "40 houses have been demolished in the last 30 years. If it happened in just two to three years, we would have been more aware of what was going on." Mr. Collins said he has been asking for tools to prevent the loss of community character and asking for an architectural review board. He said that one of the problems involved is a lack of consensus about what to do - which, he said, has always existed in Oyster Bay. He said, "This meeting should help us decide what our one voice is. We need positive feedback from residents who are encouraging landmark designation for the hamlet."

Mr. Collins is the president of the Roslyn Preservation Corporation. He said that what makes preservation work in Roslyn is that over 40 properties are landmarked in Roslyn. They have a revolving fund that helps them work to enable a house to receive landmark status including the cost of an attorney and other fees involved. A preservation covenant is attached to each deed and assigns enforcement to a nonprofit such as the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (SPLIA).

Mr. Collins said there are choices to make when trying to preserve the hamlet. One method it to create a landmark district. He said recently in Locust Valley when a landmark district was suggested for Buckram Road, the local residents chose up-zoning rather than to create a landmark district, while in Roslyn Heights all but three residents wanted to create a historic district. He said this was a moment for Oyster Bay to decide what side of the issue they wanted to take - Roslyn's or Locust Valley's.

Mr. Collins will take part in an event co-sponsored by the Oyster Bay Historical Society and the Friends of Raynham Hall, Inc., a round-table discussion on the hamlet issues on Sunday, Oct. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Oyster Bay Community Center. It should help residents see the broader picture of the issues and available options.

The question and answer period included the comments of the next speaker, Jonathan Moore, Esq., a Syosset attorney whose grandmother was the Oyster Bay telegraph operator for the LIRR. His great grandfather worked on Theodore Roosevelt's estate. He said that the purpose of a ZBA variance is to grant a variance for hardship, not meant so everyone gets it, especially developers. He said that the 1600, 1700, and 1800 houses in the hamlet are virtually all gone. He said it is a case of profit motive vs. hardship that has to be looked at. He added that the taxes on subdivisions are a loss to tax levy; they never make up for what they cost [in infrastructure costs]. He said there are things that can be done including: restrictive covenants; architectural review; deeds with restrictions can be made to run with the land; and conservation easements.

Robin Dando, a resident of Orchard Street asked that the town make landmarking easier and received a round of applause.

Beth Abrahms, a Kellogg Street resident would like to see signs posted notifying of residential hearings before it is too late.

Marie Knight, president of the Oyster Bay Civic Association voiced support of the moratorium and wants incorporation to be discussed as another option to explore in the process.

Wally D'Amato, of the Massapequa Shores Civic Association said their problems are not historical, but are with "McMansions." He said, "those problems are happening throughout the Town of Oyster Bay, the houses are being built too close together."

Town Councilman Coschignano, in asking the town board for the hearing on the moratorium said, "It is important to note that I am asking for a moratorium only on residential properties in the hamlet, not commercial or industrial parcels, and only in specific areas. (There are some areas that may not require this relief - i.e. - 10,000 sq. ft. lots.) I am also proposing that the moratorium last for a period of six (6) months, with an automatic six (6) month extension period, for the Town of Oyster Bay to conduct the necessary studies and evaluations."

He said, "It will not be a goal of the moratorium to take away people's property rights. We must take into account that people have inherent rights to improve and/or sell their land. However, there must be a proper balance to protect the community. There are also laws in place to consider exemptions to any moratorium based on hardship and applications presently pending before the Town."

Mr. Coschignano concluded, "our future is in our own hands. If we do nothing to confront this issue, then we have nobody to blame but ourselves. I know I cannot sit back and watch as this situation worsens."

Save the Jewel by the Bay can be reached at Savethejewel@aol.com.