The excitement Westbury Business Improvement District board members have for their facade improvement program is infectious. They paint a picture of a quaint main street lined with old fashioned street lights, quality stores you can't find in a mall, and people browsing and shopping before they dine at their favorite restaurant.

Obviously the crushing weight of the influx of large corporate chains and the malls has impacted the core business area of Westbury with many stores going under unable to compete with Old Country mall shopping centers.

It would be wonderful to see Westbury blossom into the business district mecca BID board members are hoping it will become. It would be even more wonderful to see it blossom into a place residents would be prouder than ever to call home.

Revitalization projects are also in the works for Union and Prospect Avenue, with the village, the town and the county all in various stages of accomplishing what needs to be done.

Still, we know that many in the community do not feel a part of all the changes local officials and the BID are talking about. Many say if you don't live right near Post Ave., you don't matter as much.

While we have become infected with the excitement of imagining a new glistening, sparkling Post Ave., we hope that residents will feel revitalization efforts trickle down their way. We think a major overhaul of the core business district can make the community as a whole stronger.

A strong main street along with a good school system are two factors that are good for everyone living in a community. So we hope for everyone's sake that Westbury continues to strengthen in these areas. We look forward to the next five years when if everything goes well, Post Ave. will transform into the quaint main street of our imaginations.