To residents living in the vicinity of Sweetman and Kirkman Avenues in Elmont, the vacant lot on the southeast corner was initially a vast improvement over the abandoned, raccoon-infested house that stood there as recently as six-and-a-half years ago.

Since then, however, congregating teens and the unkempt condition of the property has driven its neighbors by turns to desperation, fear and loathing.

"The low point had to be the kid with the gun," Margaret Kelly said the other morning as she stood on the sidewalk adjacent to the lot.

"My 7-year-old was standing in the doorway of our home, located just across the street, when a teenager pointed a gun at him. Of course, I called the police right away, and ultimately the weapon turned out to be a toy gun, but my son has been paranoid about the kids that hang out on the lot ever since."

For Kelly, the fear isn't just that something might happen to her own children -- she also has a 2-year-old at home -- but that the property poses a litany of other hazards.

For instance, two large trees on the property -- one large enough to crash into her own yard if it should fall -- are dead as Jacob Marley.

One side of the lot is covered with moon-like craters, and the grass, which during the summer months grows to two to four feet high, is littered with bicycle parts and broken bottles.

Only recently, Kelly and a neighbor removed debris from the lot that included a reclining chair and several sections of carpeting. When this week started, it began with someone hurling a large suitcase onto the property.

"And when it's nice out, or in the summertime, kids are gathered here from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. Halloween was horrible.

"And this isn't just a nuisance, it's affecting my property value. Recently an appraiser told me my house would be worth at least $10,000 more if this lot wasn't here. When I asked him why, he said because of the view out my front window.

Frustrated, Margaret Kelly, folded her arms and looked exasperated. "The horrible thing is, nobody's doing anything about it." According to the young mother, over the past several months, she's contacted a number of municipal entities, including the Town of Hempstead, the Town of Hempstead's building department, the 5th Precinct, and even County Legislator John Ciotti.

She's even called her local chamber of commerce -- they invited her to their next meeting, to be held next week -- and even the PTA.

None of these calls met with much success, she said, and as of this past Tuesday, the gaping holes in the ground she can see from her window were testimony to her ineffectiveness.

"Basically, what I've been told is that it's private property, and so there's little that the town or the county can do? I can't really understand that," Kelly said. "I mean, this is a public hazard. I don't understand why the property owner can't be compelled to at least put a fence up around their property.

According to a spokesman for the Town of Hempstead, there are actually a number of regulations on the books that could apply to such an errant property, with fines being imposed for debris and the like and liens placed against a property for any work the town is forced to undertake on it to prevent a tragedy from occurring.

The spokesman said he is unfamiliar with this specific situation, but would look into it and inform the newspaper about any legal actions taken against the property owner by the town.

"All any of us know is that the property is owned by a woman living in Oceanside," Kelly said. "I asked the building inspector who she is, but he said he couldn't divulge that kind of information. I'd just like to write her a letter and ask her to clean up her property... for all of our sakes." Kelly said she now intends to do a title search on the property herself to find out who the property owner is and how they can be contacted. "You know, standing here, you can see that this property is resting atop a concrete slab. If one of the kids that hangs out here happens to fall off and into one of the adjacent yards, getting hurt, the people who live in those houses could be held responsible. Is that fair? I don't think so," Kelly said.