Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray has announced continuing efforts to close the Courtesy Hotel in West Hempstead, "buoyed" by a recent United States Supreme Court decision, and in anticipation of the results of a Town-commissioned "blight" study. That's good news, certainly, but not anything new to residents of West Hempstead, who have been complaining of blighted conditions at and about the Courtesy since the hotel stopped serving Continental breakfast and started renting rooms by the hour.

In the wake of the Town of Hempstead's "taking" of the seedy Oceanside Motel, questions arise anew concerning the fate of West Hempstead's own hostel from Hell. The question asked most frequently, of course, is "Why is the Courtesy still open?"

Residents of this unincorporated area of the township began their quest to close the doors to the Courtesy what seems like a decade ago. Indeed, it has been more than a decade - and countless intervening criminal acts - since efforts began in earnest on the part of the citizenry to rid West Hempstead's eastern gateway of what everyone, including Town officials, acknowledges as a scourge upon the community. The passage of time notwithstanding, it would appear that the doors to the recently painted Courtesy are still far from being shuttered. From all indications, more studies, surveys and, no doubt, legal entanglements are in the offing.

No one among us would disagree with the Town Supervisor when she conveys the reassuring message, through a June 16 letter to the community, that, "West Hempstead is one of the nicest communities in which to live and raise a family."All agree that the Courtesy presents a "blight" upon both hamlet and town. And few would argue that "preserving the suburban character of our communities" must be one of the town's top priorities. A five-year plan, maybe. But 10 years and counting?

To be sure, the community is appreciative of the accolades bestowed by the supervisor, and understanding of the reality that reinventing this now downtrodden portal to West Hempstead takes time. When time is measured not in months or even years, however, there is a profound sense not only of frustration among the people, but that "the ammunition necessary to seize the hotel," as the supervisor put it in her recent letter, isn't being loaded into the gun or fired upon the enemy with any measure of accuracy.

As someone who has stood on the front lines of the battle to close the Courtesy, both as a resident and as a community advocate, I am particularly disheartened when recurring press releases and well-orchestrated news conferences supplant practical solutions, and where Band-Aid fixes (in this instance, the proposed placement of a Police Booth adjacent to the Courtesy, "enhancing the local law enforcement presence") trump real-life resolution and long-term redevelopment (with removal of the cancer that is the Courtesy being a good place to start).

Understandably, town officials, much like the rest of the West Hempstead community, are frustrated. One can be reasonably certain that everyone at Town Hall - from the supervisor, to the councilman, to the town attorney - would take great pleasure in seeing the doors to the Courtesy closed, and closed forever. All the more reason why every weapon at the town's disposal - including the federal forfeiture law, as suggested by Harvey Levinson, chair of the Nassau County Board of Assessors - should be added to the arsenal and unloaded upon the offending property owners.

Ten years is far too long for a community to wait and for a people to endure. When the doors to the Courtesy are closed for the last time, West Hempsteaders can let out a cheer and give a sigh of relief. Until then, don't be too quick to uncork the champagne. The present hoopla and parade before the press by a legion of otherwise dedicated and well-intentioned elected officials has much more to do, I sense, with campaign fodder and election year camouflage -sound bytes to enthrall the media and entice the electorate - than with improving quality of life in the long run. Meanwhile, this notorious no-tell motel remains open for business as unusual.

Seth D. Bykofsky

West Hempstead

(The writer is a past president of the West Hempstead Civic Association and co-chair of The Community Alliance, a quality of life watchdog group.)