Until recently, the intersection of Back Road and Glen Cove Road in Roslyn Harbor was one of the most dangerous in the Roslyn area. However, the installation of the long-desired left turn signal on Glen Cove Road has reduced the threat dramatically.

On its worst days, the intersection, according to businessmen in the area, saw up to a half dozen accidents in the space of only a few days. However, for the month of January, there were no reported automobile accidents at Back Road and Glen Cove.

The left turn signal is for drivers traveling south on Glen Cove towards Northern Boulevard. It was installed in late December and the results have been beneficial ever since. In fact, Roslyn Harbor Mayor Gerson Strassberg, who lobbied hard for the signal, said that the January report was the first time he could ever recall a single month passing without an accident at the intersection.

Mayor Strassberg thanked State Senator Michael Balboni for taking the quick action needed to get the signal installed. The mayor said that some state officials had wanted to put off installing the signal until sometime early this year. For the mayor that was too late, especially in light of the steady stream of accidents that kept occurring at the intersection. "I said [to Senator Balboni], 'you're dealing with people's lives, you have to get it done,'" Mayor Strassberg recalled, and the state senator did just that, making sure the signal was put up months earlier than anticipated.

In the past, the mayor had referred to the intersection as an "accident trap" and even a "death corner." Brian Chabrier, general manager of Baron Nissan, which stands alongside Back Road, said that accidents occurred mostly by northbound drivers on Glen Cove, those "trying to beat the light" when they turned left onto Back Road. Northbound drivers often didn't realize how fast the southbound motorists were traveling when they tried to make the turn. And so, the accidents were frequent and often quite dangerous. Chabrier agreed with Mayor Strassberg that the simple installation of a turn signal would go a long way in eliminating accidents.

The issue came to a head last spring. By then, Mayor Strassberg had noted that there were, on average, about four to five accidents per month at the intersection. In April of 2003, Nassau County police reported four accidents at the intersection, all of them taking place from April 6 to April 28. Two of the accidents occurred in the evening hours, the others in the early and mid-afternoon.

"I've seen police go through cars with chain saws to get people out," the mayor recalled.

Also last spring, officials with the State Department of Transportation wrote to the mayor, telling him that work to eliminate the danger could begin in late 2003 or early 2004. They had also noted that an extra light might cause traffic delays, resulting in motorist "frustration" and additional accidents.

That was unacceptable to the mayor, who then appealed to both Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi (himself a former mayor of Glen Cove) and State Senator Balboni for help, a lobbying effort that resulted in more constructive results.