(The following letter was sent to Town Supervisor John Venditto and is printed here at the author's request):

Dear Supervisor Venditto,

The Plainview-Old Bethpage PTA Council would like to address an issue of major concern to us. For the past year and a half we have been hearing that the Town of Oyster Bay is selling 65 acres of land on the north service road of the Long Island Expressway in Plainview, to the Holiday Organization for development into a residential community. During this period, the scope of this development has changed numerous times. Initially, we were led to believe, and accepted as fact, that development of this property was inevitable and that what was in the best interest of the Town of Oyster Bay would not be detrimental to the community of Plainview-Old Bethpage. We now realize that we were sorely mistaken and possibly intentionally misled.

We have not addressed the Town Board prior to this time because as an organization, the role of PTA is to promote the education, health and welfare of the children within our school district. To that end, we launched an all out effort to: 1) ensure that our school district will be able to continue to provide excellence in education for all of the students it serves currently, and 2) to adequately prepare for the possible influx of a large number of students from this new development. You are probably already aware that we recently met this first goal, by being instrumental in our school district passing a $24.3 million bond issue to support our continued excellence.

However, since PTA's mission does not only concern education, we must now turn our attention to the negative impact this development will have on the health and safety of the children in our school district. We are concerned as well about the adverse effects this development will have for the residents of the community of Plainview-Old Bethpage, the residents of the Town of Oyster Bay, and all surrounding areas in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The land on which the proposed development is to be built is one of only 11 special ground water protection areas on Long Island. All of our water comes from underground aquifers. If we are to preserve this precious resource for our children, ourselves and our future, we must ensure that the land that this aquifer sits beneath is not overdeveloped. Undeveloped land allows an aquifer to recharge by rainwater filtering through relatively unpolluted. The current proposal for the Colony at Olde Oyster Bay includes 538 housing units and a shopping center. The housing units will include zero lot line homes, attached duplexes and condominium apartment buildings. The density of the development as it is now proposed will overwhelm the size of the property and will endanger our water supply and quality of life.

Virtually all of the land in the area is being developed, diminishing possible unpolluted recharge sources. Since the 65 acres is still town-owned, it is the town that has control over the use of the land and it is the town that has the responsibility for ensuring that the future owner uses this land responsibly. It is incumbent upon you as our town supervisor, and the entire town board to not only be concerned about this land in the short term, as an asset for the town budget, but also in the long term. This land is much more important as an asset that will protect the quality of life for the children and for everyone who lives, works and votes in the Town of Oyster Bay for now and the future.

The proposed development will also impact upon the health and safety of other aspects of the environment. There will be an increase in traffic in the area, leading to more pollution. Additionally, since Sunnyside Boulevard will be the major access road for residents of this development to reach Plainview, the level of traffic on this road will make it unsafe for children who walk to school.

We find it difficult to reconcile a development of this size and nature with your own position as stated in the March 1999 Town of Oyster Bay Newsletter, Talk of the Town. "I have made it clear that I will not tolerate any use inconsistent with the cherished suburban quality of life we enjoy in the Town of Oyster Bay," said Supervisor John Venditto. Certainly, the development as it is currently proposed is a use of land in this town that is 'inconsistent with the cherished suburban quality of life we enjoy in the Town of Oyster Bay'. Nowhere in the Town of Oyster Bay will you find land use of this density and use that seems more urban than suburban. No where in the Town of Oyster Bay will you find land use that so clearly threatens our water supply and environment. The citizens of Plainview-Old Bethpage, just like you, cherish the suburban quality of life in the Town of Oyster Bay and we deserve to have that protected by our town board.

Plainview-Old Bethpage PTA Council requests that the Board of the Town of Oyster Bay require a major down-sizing of the proposed development as a contingency of the sale of this land. We join with other community groups as one voice with regard to the detrimental environmental impact a development of this size will have on our community and the need to reduce it to a more reasonable size that is more compatible with life in the Town of Oyster Bay.

We respectfully request a written response to this letter that we may share with all of our PTA units and over 2,500 member families. We would like to know what the Town of Oyster Bay is doing in regard to the development of the 65 acres that will protect our sensitive water resources, our environment and the health and safety of our children and ourselves.

Meredith Goldfarb

Plainview-Old Bethpage PTA Council President