The East Norwich Civic Association is taking the lead in the community's action to prevent the proposed 300-unit AvalonBay Communities being built. They have opened a bank account at Citibank with an initial donation of about $3,000 for funding for what they expect to be a costly battle.

Matthew Meng, ENCA president said they are hiring experts to give testimony. "We've learned the hard way that the courts only listen to expert witnesses," he said. The civic association tried to prevent the development of a substandard lot, the triangle at the intersection of Route 25A, Spilt Rock Road and the Split Rock Spur because of concerns over it becoming a commercial location. The Town of Oyster Bay denied a permit to the owner who then took the case to court where the Apellate Judge overthrew the denial. There, in court, the testimony of local residents was not considered weighty enough to win the case.

Mr. Meng said the civic association is hiring LiRo Engineering to do a traffic study. He is considering hiring Marty Kantor as their economist. "We'll fight it tooth and nail," said Mr. Meng.

The group will need a lot of money, he explained, since they plan to do traffic studies at the many intersections that will be involved with potential traffic to and from the proposed AvalonBay Communities site on Pine Hollow Road. They cost about $550 for each intersection.

Charles Doering, a former Oyster Bay Civic Association member said, "AvalonBay Communities in Sacramento fought for three years, tooth and nail for a project."

The civic association will have letters to be downloaded and personalized to send to the town to give them a sense of what local residents are thinking about the proposed apartment complex. They are available at www.eastnorwich.org. It is important, said Mr. Meng, that people keep track of what petitions they sign, since the petitions are checked for doubles, etc.

The civic association is looking for money to fund the campaign and volunteers to carry petitions to local residents which will include Oyster Bay, Upper Brookville, Muttontown and Oyster Bay Cove - those areas and others that will be impacted by the proposed development.

You can mail checks to the East Norwich Civic Association at P.0. Box 126, East Norwich, NY 11732. Please indicate that the check is for the AvalonBay account. The civic association meets the third Thursday of the month at the Community Methodist Church of East Norwich.