The Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail is a National Recreation Trail which offers hikers and bicyclists over 17 miles of trail throughout Long Island. Construction for land development just north of Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury that has been underway recently has cut into a portion of the bike trail. Bikers that attempt to ride the trail are bombarded with bulldozed land and trees blocking their path.

Two parallel trails have existed for over seven years - one for hikers and one for bikers. "We put so much time and effort into building the 12 miles of parallel trails," said Richard Schary, a member of the Board of Directors for Long Island Greenbelt Trails Conference. "We want to preserve it." Approximately 300 people ride this trail during the average weekend.

The recent construction is prohibiting a safe and scenic bike ride. The hiking trail remains intact, although the bicycle trail has been greatly affected, with almost 1,000 feet of trail having been lost thus far. With the bike trail being wiped out, the bikers may begin to ride on the hiking trail causing a huge safety concern. "The bikers move at a faster pace than the hikers and the trail gets hilly and narrow," said Schary.

Construction without regard for the trail has taken place because, as Schary explained, the ownership of the property on which the trail runs is questionable as well as where boundary lines fall.

The piece of land under construction that encompasses the trail is adjacent to the United Presbyterian Residence (UPR). It is unclear if this land is owned by New York State, The Town of Oyster Bay or owned privately.

"The property that is under construction is not owned by UPR," said Robert Hughes, administrator at United Presbyterian Residence. "It is owned right now by one of two parties. It is either Winthrop University Hospital or Benjamin Development," added Hughes. "Winthrop University Hospital, at one time, owned the land including the land that [UPR] is presently on. We have a lease agreement with the hospital for the land that we have. The piece of land that is in question was owned by Winthrop, but they may have sold it to Benjamin Development. There were plans to build housing units on that land so that sale may have taken place," said Hughes.

Daniel Abbruzzese, director of engineering at Winthrop University Hospital, was not able to be reached for comment.

According to the builder, Robert Anton, the trail property is owned by Winthrop University Hospital. "The Greenbelt Trail inadvertently went through our piece of property. The hiking and biking trail went through this private property by accident so the trail is being moved," Anton said.

When confronted with the issue of boundary lines, Anton commented that there "is no discrepancy over the boundaries. I spoke to Hal Tarry from the Department of Transportation (DOT). The bottom line is that the existing biking trail physically is on private property."

Anton explained that the area is sub-divided to build houses.

There is a big safety concern with this construction, whether on private or public land. There were no postings or announcements made that the construction was being done, so bikers riding the trail at the time of construction came across bulldozers and trees that were blocking their paths.

"The main problem with this construction was the lack of notice," said Paul Falvey, an active member of the Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclist Club (CLIMB).

Falvey, and everyone involved with CLIMB, was notified about the construction through an e-mail that was sent via their webpage by a resident who frequents the trail. "To say that the bikers were irate would be an understatement," said Falvey.

When asked about safety hazards and warnings being posted on the trail to inform the bikers of the construction, Anton had no comment.

Hal Tarry from the Department of Transportation said, "it is not my project. As far as I know this is all private property, but I have not been out there to see if they are on state property...I am trying to find out if we can check that information to see if it is on the right line. New York State and The Department of Transportation have nothing to do with the bulldozing. The State DOT is involved with the land next to the mountain bike trail because it belongs to state parks," said Tarry.

According to New York State Parks, they are aware of the construction that is going on. "We are currently looking into the land boundaries," said George Gorman, from New York State Parks. "We have not given anyone permission to build anything on park land. The land that they are building on is owned by Winthrop. The Town of Oyster Bay would have jurisdiction over that and not us. We really are not involved in it," said Gorman.

The Town of Oyster Bay sent people to investigate the situation and found that "the United Presbyterian Nursing Home is expanding their parking lot and they have permits and everything," said Jim Green, with The Town of Oyster Bay. "However, in the process of re-doing the parking lot, they are moving debris off the property which could be going onto the State-owned Greenbelt Trail. [The debris is mostly comprised of rocks, dirt and trees.] That area is poorly marked by the State," according to Green. "At this point we are not 100 percent certain whether it is actually on state property or not. Regardless, they are still in violation for this debris," said Green.

"A Notice of Violation was issued to the maintenance person at UPR on Wednesday due to the debris and they have 72 hours to clean it up. They are the owners of the property and it is not owned by Winthrop University Hospital," said Green.

"The town issued a summons on Thursday to UPR, and it is charging them with property non-maintenance and accumulation of litter and debris," said Green. The summons basically supersedes the notice of violation. "The code requires that open areas be free and safe of obstacles and obstructions that can prevent free passage," said Green. The summons requires that an attorney for the UPR appear at the Fourth District court in Hicksville on Feb. 21.

Land ownership, upon which the trail runs, remains uncertain. The Syosset-Jericho Tribune will be following up on this story.