According to a recent New York Times article, the Village of Port Washington North is trying to acquire the former Thomson Industries property on Shore Road from Danaher Motion, to turn the property into a public park. We applaud their efforts to make this happen. But there is a severe cost. The deal would include a land swap of eight wooded acres on the north end of the original 41 acres that is now Mill Pond Acres. The Mill Pond development uses approximately 31 acres of the whole property. The remaining area is part buffer zone and part woodlands, the eight acres in question. This mini-forest is one of the remaining few open spaces left on the peninsula and should be preserved for several reasons.

* It's the home of birds, mammals and plants of several species, many of which are disappearing from our area.

* Folks who bought dwellings in Mill Pond Acres did so, in part, because of this eight-acre woodland/buffer zone.

* Trees use carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as a byproduct, acting as an air purifier for our area.

* Building new buildings here would add an unbearable amount of traffic to our already clogged roadways, not to mention the increased burden to our water, sewer, air, police and fire protection resources.

In a recent Port News, County Executive Tom Suozzi said in his column, "We must also focus on formerly productive or unproductive properties instead of assaulting our last acres of open space." We implore the Port North officials to make the right decision.

Linn Johnson

PWGreen