NorthWest Civic

JANUARY, 2000

The On-Line Edition of the Newsletter of the NorthWest Civic Association Inc. of Hicksville, New York

January Meeting

The January meeting of the NorthWest Civic Association will be held on Tuesday, January 4, 2000 at 7:30 PM at the Burns Avenue School.
The civic's annual program activities will dicussed. What speakers or subjects would you like to hear at the monthly meetings? What service projects and membership benefits should the civic engage in or offer? What fundraisers should be undertaken? Various ideas that have been mentioned and may be discussed at the meeting include: another "Night on the Town" raffle ~ a repeat of the summer picnic ~ an Atlantic City trip ~ a garage sale ~ a booster club ~ a Halloween costume parade or program ~ and so on… This is an opportunity for all members to suggest things that they would like to see happen in 2000.

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Holiday Party Thank You

Thanks go to all those who helped make the December Holiday Party a success. John Russo did his usual outstanding catering job, furnishing three types of sandwiches, salads, lasagna, sausages, meatballs, cake and tablecloths. Members brought utensils, beverages and oodles of deserts. Everyone enjoyed the company, food and left with full stomachs. Those members who have not attended our summer picnic or holiday party should make a point of coming to one at least one of these events. They don't know what they're missing.

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Get Well Soon

Millie Jones' daughter, member Gladys Ann Jones, is hospitalized. Our thoughts are with her and we wish her a speedy recovery and rehabilitation.

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LIRR Construction

The ticket office and waiting room at the Hicksville station is expected to close for complete renovation and expansion in January. Ticketing will be handled from trailers in the lot. The construction project will take a number months.

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Kuhl Avenue Well

Nick Brigandi, Water Commissioner reported at the December Community Council meeting that a new well is being drilled for the Hicksville Water District at the Kuhl Avenue well site. The screen became dislodged at the bottom of the old well allowing silt to enter. The cost of replacing the screen was prohibitive compared to the cost of a new well, so a new deeper one is being drilled at the same site.

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2000 Officers Installed

George Baptista, December's speaker from the planning office of the Town of Oyster Bay swore in the officers for the upcoming year. We welcome new officers Treasurer Irene Carlomusto and Trustee John Russo to the board. The officers for 2000 are listed below:

President: Dale Bennett First Vice President: Terri Carson Second Vice President: Harry Petersen Corresponding Secretary: Millie Jones Treasurer: Irene Carlomusto Sergeant at Arms: Jo-Ann Broska Trustees: Linda Bennett, John Russo & John Ptacek Past President: - Len Ober

From the President

Len Ober, outgoing president, passed on a briefcase of NorthWest Civic Association archival material to me at the December meeting. Much of it dates from the 1950's when the civic was first active. I knew the civic was dormant for a number of years, but I did not realize that the first period of activity was for only ten years.

The association was incorporated in 1951 and the last meeting was held June 6, 1961. When the civic revived in April of 1987, Bill Spettman reflected on the reason for the dormancy, "A general feeling at the time was that we had contributed toward creating a clean, healthy and safe community for ourselves and our children, and that with a lack of issues necessary to keep a civic association functioning, it was best for the organization to lay dormant until such time when there was need to reactivate."

How we wish this was our current situation ~ that our streets were clean, that crime was not an issue and that other quality of life issues such as noise, traffic and various asphalt emissions did not demand our attention. It would be so nice to just let the civic association go back to sleep until it was needed again.
Dream on! The association has been active for twelve years in its second incarnation and there is no end of issues in sight. One of the blessings is that as the members work to preserve the quality of life in our community, we are again learning to take some time for purely social activities such as summer picnics and holiday parties, just as the founding families did in the 1950's.
I found a old list of civic association property in the briefcase. It used to be that a new officer would have to sign for this property when it was passed on to him/her. The good news is I didn't have to sign. The bad news is the clown suits are missing.

Dale Bennett

Update on Twin County Recycling Application for Land Use Changes

As members are aware, an application has been made to the Town of Oyster Bay by Twin County Resource Recovery and associated companies to completely rebuild and increase the size of the Engel Street asphalt plant to over 500 tons per hour capacity. This would nearly double its capacity and would bring all of the area asphalt production and associated noises and admissions closer to our schools and homes. The asphalt plant behind Agway would be closed and senior housing and assisted living units would be developed on these sixteen acres.
On December 14 the Oyster Bay Town Board, on the recommendation of the Town Environmental Quality Review Commission (TEQR), passed a resolution mandating a full environmental review for this application as the project has potential adverse environmental impacts. TEQR has scheduled a scoping session for 7 PM, January 5, 2000 at Town Hall, Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay. Potential impacts include, but may not be limited to, effects on traffic, air quality, possible groundwater contamination, water quality, noise and compatibility of the proposed use with existing uses.
This is a public session. NorthWest Civic Association members will be attending to insure that all pertinent points are included in the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement. If you have comments that you would like to submit and are unable to attend the public scoping session, written comments may be submitted to Karl J. Leupold, P.E., Chairman, Town Environmental Quality Review Commission, 150 Miller Place, Syosset, NY 11791. Prepared comments can also be brought to the NorthWest Civic Association's Monthly Meeting at 7 PM, January 4, 2000 at the Burns Avenue Elementary School. Your comments will be submitted on your behalf or anonymously as you choose.
If you do attend and make a statement, it is recommended that your comments also be submitted in writing to maintain accuracy.
We know this is a very emotional issue, but this meeting will be used to gather information only. Calmness should prevail. The information will be used to make sure all legitimate points concerning the potential environmental impact are included in the scoping document which in turn directs what will be addressed and studied in the Environmental Impact Statement. No decision will be made that night