How is it that, at the April 6 meeting of the Elmont East End Civic Club, County Assessor Harvey Levinson, could only scratch his head and profess surprise as to the impact of illegal rental apartments on the assessed value of our homes? Has he been hiding out in a cellar apartment?

Up in Albany, Assemblyman Tom Alfano has joined several of his colleagues in introducing legislation which would classify illegal rentals as misdemeanors, subjecting the property owner to a fine of $2,500. The legislation would also require the restoration of the property so as to remove all violations, and, significantly, the payment of all costs associated with the relocation of persons required to move out. Unfortunately, there is, to date, no companion bill before the Senate, rendering the Assembly measure all but an exercise in futility. Where is the Senate's Long Island delegation on this critical issue?

At town meetings, Councilman Ed Ambrosino has been most vociferous in his challenge to the status quo on the illegal rental front, while at Town Hall, Supervisor Kate Murray has been and continues to be eerily quiet on the topic. Who or what are we protecting by refusing to address the one issue that, more than any other, threatens to destroy the very core of our suburban way of life?

And what ever happened to communication and cooperation between the three levels of government, at least on matters of universal import which should transcend politics? Assessor Levinson would have us write letters detailing the scope and breadth of the problem. Our legislators in Albany, save the few who consistently work with us on both the momentous and the mundane, would have us hold our breath - as if waiting for a timely budget to pass. As for Town Hall, the ray of hope is dimmed by an apparent complacency, a fallback position that signals change while merely staying the course.

Enough with the letters, the meetings, the talk and the fanfare. The matter of dealing with illegal rentals once and for all, firmly and decisively, is at hand. Long overdue is the time for state, county and town officials to lay aside partisanship and get back to the business of representing the constituents who elected them in the first place. More than this, it is time for our elected representatives to hang together on our behalf and in our best interests, demonstrating a concerted effort with discernible results, lest we, the people, decide that it's time to hang each of them separately!

Seth D. Bykofsky

West Hempstead

(The writer is co-chair of the Tri-Community Alliance of Elmont, Franklin Square & West Hempstead and chair of the Zoning Committee of the West Hempstead Civic Association.)