(The following message by Village of Westbury Mayor Ernest Strada is reprinted from the village's holiday 2000 newsletter.)

Another holiday season is upon us. Again, we are blessed with the occasion to unite with our family and friends and embrace the spirit of joy and giving that surrounds us. This is a wonderful time of the year, when a sense of community and togetherness prevails as we each share in the celebration of our religious beliefs, traditions and values.

This season also affords me the fortunate opportunity to greet all Village of Westbury residents, highlight our progress over the year past and report our visions for the future. Last year, the Village of Westbury accomplished many of its goals, took further steps to reach the successful conclusion of others and planned the stages required to accomplish still more in the future.

One area of focus has been the refurbishment of our park grounds. After acquiring funding assistance from New York State we rebuilt Powells Lane Park. We now have two new swing sets, one equipped for our youngest children; miniature spring animal rides and new state-of-the-art playground equipment. On a similar, but smaller scale, we also provided a needed "facelift" to the Hedges Park and continued to improve the grounds at our Community Center.

Thanks to a corporation donation from Cablevision Systems Inc., the village equipped our Little League field with a magnificent electronic scoreboard. The new modern scoreboard, which is remotely operated, stands majestically behind the fence in right-center field. This Little League field has now become the envy of Little Leaguers throughout Long Island.

We made further strides toward beautifying our community and revitalizing our downtown. The village board has installed decorative community "Welcome" signs at entrance points to the village. Along the business strip on Post Avenue, we are adding charming hand carved signs designed to direct drivers to available parking. And, while this has occurred, the village continued its successful planting and foliage program as well. By utilizing Nassau County's Operation Downtown, we assisted our Business Improvement District facilitating the improvement of several storefronts within the district.

Another area of our continuing concern, is providing for the added safety of those who travel within the village. For example, to increase safety for residents who use our commuter field between Scally Place and Union Avenue, we installed new and improved lighting in the parking field. This higher level of illumination now almost brings daylight to the evenings in this municipal field. In addition, by replacing street lights that illuminate the adjacent crosswalk, we have also extended a high level of illumination to add protection for pedestrians at night.

Along similar lines, you may have noticed that many street crosswalks have also been re-striped for brightness and visibility. Furthermore, traffic and speed regulations, like the words "STOP" or "30 MPH," will be painted directly onto roadways in areas where frequent violations have been noted. These not so subtle reminders will provide an added measure of traffic safety.

As for building development, we anxiously await the reconstruction of our train station by the LIRR. As you may know, work by the LIRR has already begun and they have committed funding to make their Westbury station one of the finest and safest on the Island. We expect construction over the next 18 months.

The board will continue its effort to revitalize and beautify our downtown and village properties and seek to achieve further steps toward the renewal of the Union Avenue Corridor. We have made some progress with improving the Corridor during recent years and are now encouraged by the movements of the Town of North Hempstead to renew their side of this border. The Village's Public Works garage is located here, and is in need of repair as well. I am happy to report that the first phase of reconstruction at the yard will begin in the coming months. We hope to be ready to begin the final reconstruction phase next spring.

The board of trustees and I will seek to assure the continued high level of service that we have attained, while holding a level tax base. We will continue to seek and obtain funding from sources like the county, state and federal governments, plus private and corporate donation, as we nurture our ongoing relationships with liaisons from these agencies.

We wish to acknowledge the service and talent of our staff, and our various board and commission members. Speaking for the board of trustees, a special thanks and best wishes go out to each of these loyal servants of our local government, the government closest to the people. Likewise, much thanks and appreciation go to the civic associations and residents of the village who continue to assist the board in its endeavors and support us with their confidence.

My entire family and I wish each of you a most blessed Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a new year filled with health and happiness.