It was with deep sorrow that we learned of the death of the Police Justice of Roslyn, Nat Stern. He had a long and distinguished career and served his community faithfully and fairly.

His greatest contribution was his compassion. He dealt with each case that came before him with understanding and sensitivity as well as common sense.

We were lucky to have a judge like Nat Stern for so many years in Roslyn. We will miss him.

Elise and Bob Bell

(Bob Bell was the first Clocktower mayor of Roslyn and the first mayor Nat Stern served under.)

I would like to thank The Roslyn News for the excellent article in the June 27 issue about the Community Victory Garden at East Hills.

Special thanks must also be given to Nelia Limiac, RN, to my daughter Stephanie, who found time in her busy schedule to lend a helping hand in the preparation and planting at the garden.

Also since the article was printed a generous donation of fertilizers (pesticide-free) was given by Scott's of Ohio and Miracle-Gro of Port Washington. Many thanks to all involved.

Carolyn Horowitz

Most of us know the Roslyn Clock Tower. Built in 1895 to memorialize Ellen E. Ward, a Roslyn resident, the Tower's newly-resuscitated chimes mark the passage of time in this tidy historic village (although its architecture---not much in Roslyn was built of granite, after all---gives it a stolid, anomalous presence). On the tower's grassy mound sits a small---equally anomalous---cannon from a Spanish gunboat sunk in 1900, and a boulder-borne plaque commemorating Corporal William H. Tailer, 1898-1918.

My late husband, Millard Prisant, spent the past 25 or so happy years engaged in the restoration of, among other things, our two historic houses, Roslyn Village, and most recently, in reviving and preserving the aforementioned clock tower, a pursuit which conveniently blended his great gifts for the mechanical with a lifelong delight in scrambling around on heights. As the former president of the Roslyn Landmark Society, as a trustee of the Bryant Library and the Roslyn Preservation Society, as an enthusiastic volunteer truck driver, gardener, engineer and general Mr. Fix-it, Millard enjoyed every aspect of village politics, history and maintenance. For several years, at the conclusion of the June house tour, he and I gave the annual party for scores of homeowners and docents, their friends and distant cousins. After his death in November 2000, Millard was profiled by Newsday in its annual tribute to notable Long Islanders.

Millard grew up in a tiny Georgia town, and this certainly played a part in his love for Roslyn Village. Rather than donate to Yale or Harvard (his well-endowed alma maters), or to huge institutions, he always preferred to give his time and money to the little guys; to the groups that are often overlooked in the scramble for support---to places like Roslyn. After he died, consequently, I decided to establish a foundation in his name for the creation of a Victorian garden in the village, and I chose for its site a neglected wedge of grass on 25A at the easternmost end of the viaduct. Some 16 months ago, I began discussions with New York State, its owner.

Now, anyone who has ever dealt with the state knows that dogged persistence, smiling patience and implacability are utterly obligatory. So when the State and I corresponded interminably until May of 2002, I was not entirely taken aback when it finally decided to apprise me of the fact that, despite my willingness to accede to a list of very stringent requirements---including the very real likelihood of having to replace the entire garden at the conclusion of the sure-to-be-devastating repair of the viaduct---its Department of Transportation wouldn't allow a garden there unless Roslyn issued a permit. And Roslyn---justifiably concerned with having to be insured in perpetuity against the possibility of drunk drivers and stubbed toes on this piece of the village---said no.

Despite my now having spent months and months trying to work out a plan with the State, and despite my surprise and disappointment, I fully understood the village position. So when I called to talk it over with village liaison and administrative treasurer, George Soos and he turned out to be highly sympathetic, I was encouraged again. Perhaps, he helpfully suggested, I might consider donating a garden within the village itself, on land that was---conveniently---already insured. There were, in fact, two attractive options: the first was a strip of land bordering the pond at the back of the village parking lot that it hoped to develop; the alternative was the plot surrounding the clock tower.

Since Millard had never liked the idea of formalizing the shores of Roslyn's ponds, the clock tower seemed the better choice---if not, in truth, ideal. After all, the clock face had been in our workshop for months while Millard repaired it, and he'd spent many hours up in the tower, itself, examining the disintegrating mortar, figuring out what was wrong with the clockworks, consulting with experts on both. George Soos seemed sure that, given our history with Historic Roslyn, this suggestion would be well received.

Which brings me to the point of this letter.

Not only was my offer to create a garden dismissed out of hand. There was no explanation at all. No phone call. No letter. No response. I was not even asked to submit a drawing or a proposal.

Now, giant Dutch-owned supermarkets are allowed to make proposals to the Historic District Board. So are noisy, disruptive nightclubs. And Roslyn Village homeowners who want to add wholly non-historic additions to their wholly historic houses are invited to come before the Historic District Board.

Residents who'd like to beautify the town at their own expense, however, are not.

The members of that board---all old friends, supposedly; all people who enjoyed our hospitality, people who worked with Millard over the years and benefited from his generosity, time, intelligence and abilities---airily waved away the idea of a planting without the slightest justification. (And it's not as though I am not a gardener. I'm a long-term member of the Garden Committee at Old Westbury Gardens. I belong to the Garden Club of America. I write the occasional garden article for The New York Times.)

If you drive by the clock tower these days, you'll probably notice the dainty little plantings that line the walk, the nosegay beneath the nose of the cannon, the ageratum marking Corporal Tailer's boulder---a tribute to this memorable Roslynite, I guess. Such a garden makes me wonder how the members of the Historic District Board could be so utterly certain that my own choice of plantings for that spot---a gift of beauty, after all---mightn't have been just as "artistic" and appropriate. Perhaps they thought I'd spell Millard's name out in marigolds?

Still, it doesn't matter what they thought.

When I pass through nearby Glen Cove---a town so anxious to be beautified that it has an "Adopt a Spot" program with which, it seems, you can advertise your business or even yourself---as long as you say it with flowers---I think of offering Glen Cove our garden, despite Millard's lifelong love-affair with the Village. And I think if I told him this tale, he'd understand that I have no intention of doing anything at all for Roslyn now. He might not even mind if I made that call to Yale.

Carol Prisant