The battle of the Cerro Wire property in Syosset has been raging on for approximately seven years and although it is in the hands of the Suffolk County Supreme Court, it is nowhere near over.

The Michigan-based Taubman Company submitted an application to the Town of Oyster Bay Board for a special use permit to construct an 860,000 square foot upscale mall on the 39-acre site formerly owned by the Cerro Wire and Cable Company in Syosset.

The town board deliberated over this issue since the Sept. 7, 2000 public hearing that began at 10 a.m. and ran until 4 a.m. the following day. This hearing gave the public a chance to speak, ask questions and voice their opinions regarding the proposed mall.

In June, the Oyster Bay Town Board voted six to one rejecting the application submitted by the Taubman Company to build an up-scale mall on the 39-acre site.

In July, the Taubman Company appealed the decision of the board and filed an article 78 in Suffolk County Supreme Court against the town, a procedure to have the town's actions considered arbitrary and capricious.

The plan that the town voted on was an 860,000 square foot mall. On April 10, Taubman submitted a letter to the Town of Oyster Bay that called for the reduction in size of the proposed mall to 750,000 square feet. Through the appeal, Taubman's attorneys will fight for the court system to require the town to review the 750,000 square foot proposal.

The lawsuit was originally between only the Taubman Company and the Town of Oyster Bay. In September, three local civic groups, the Birchwood Civic Association, Syosset Groves Civic Association and Birchwood Park and Syosset Homeowners Association, made a request to the court to intervene and become part of the case. On Wednesday, Judge James A. Catterson decided to allow the civics to intervene in the case.

"We are thrilled," said Howard Avrutine, co-council for the Birchwood Park Civic Association, who has been the biggest adversary of the mall. "We believe that the civic associations belong in the case and we are very pleased that the judge agreed with us."

The Town of Oyster Bay's attorneys and Taubman's attorneys submitted written submissions to the court supporting their positions. Attorneys for the civic groups will now prepare a written submission to the court.

Oral argument in front of Judge James A. Catterson has been scheduled for Feb. 12 in Riverhead. At that time, attorneys representing the three parties, Taubman, the town and the civics, will appear in front of the judge and orally discuss what they submitted in their written documents and highlight their key points. The judge will have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the record of this case, which includes 5,000 pages of documents.

No new evidence will be presented during this stage of the process as Judge Catterson must review what was presented and decide if the Town of Oyster Bay's decision is not supported by substantial evidence.

Morton Weber, an attorney representing the Taubman Company, remains optimistic that this mall will be built in Syosset. "We are not going anywhere," said Weber. "All of our anchors are well in place and we will not be leaving."

Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor are locked in to be the two anchor stores in the proposed mall.

This litigation is taking place in Suffolk County by request from the developer's lawyers. "We have a legal right to bring it into Suffolk County because it is part of the same judicial district," said Weber. "It is good legal strategy to take it out of the county that the town is located."

The oral argument on Feb. 12 is open to the public and residents are able to attend although it will not be run like the public hearings were in the Town of Oyster Bay. Public comment is not permitted and only the lawyers will be able to speak.