The Coalition to Stop Avalon held a community celebration in honor of AvalonBay's withdrawal of their application with the Town of Oyster Bay to build a 300-unit apartment complex. The coalition is comprised of members of the East Norwich Civic Association, Friends of the Bay and local residents. The celebration took place at the Sagamore Yacht Club on Friday evening, Aug. 18.

The event was not a fundraiser nor was it free. Guests paid $38 for tickets that included a generous buffet dinner and an open bar. The reason is that the group believes there is a need to stay vigilant and it was rumored - "Just a rumor," said many of the people attending the event - that AvalonBay Communities may have purchased the Hallock Site from Island Properties. The "rumor" appears to be true since the Oyster Bay Water District billing address for the Hallock dealership site was changed from Island Properties to AvalonBay Communities on Aug. 7 when the final bill was sent out and the account transferred to Avalon.

Phone calls to the interested parties - Walter Imperatore and Michael Picker of Rennaisance Properties that manages the Island Properties holdings in Oyster Bay; AvalonBay Communities representatives Rashid Walker, and Matt Whalen, vice president of development; and Paul Glancy of the Islanders, senior vice president of marketing for Charles Wang's Island Properties - were not answered as the Enterprise Pilot went to press on Monday, Aug. 21. This newspaper was referred to Mr. Whalen of AvalonBay as the person to speak to about the Hallock site but he was not available until Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Matthew Meng, president of the East Norwich Civic Association, said of the community celebration, "I've gotten many phone calls from people saying what a good time they had on Friday evening. I think everyone had a great time. It was a wonderful turnout and shows that the community comes together for a real cause. It also shows the community likes to party."

People sat at the tables and talked to friends and then table hopped to speak to others. There were lots of topics of discussion including, from members of the Citizens for the Preservation of TR Memorial Park, Carla Panetta, Fran Leone, Hal Johnson, Charles Doering and Anthony and Dulce Fabbricante, who were talking to people about what they see as the next large issue, the proposed use of open space at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park for a carousel.

Many of the guests were avowing to become members of the East Norwich Civic Association which they said reflected the interests of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich community.

At the event, Friends of the Bay Executive Director Kyle Rabin thanked the local village mayors for their strong support from the outset in opposition to the AvalonBay proposal. Four local mayors came out to lend their continued support: Mayor Lenice H. Hertweck, of the Incorporated Village of Upper Brookville as well as past Mayor Ed Fogarty; Bayville Mayor Vicki Siegel and Center Island Mayor Jack Williams. Mr. Rabin also thanked Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto for his strong leadership and his comments at the June 27 town board meeting. "Supervisor Venditto's comments were instrumental in AvalonBay's withdrawing its application," said Mr. Rabin. Mr. Venditto was not able to attend the event.