Senator Carl Marcellino gave the order to start the traffic signal at around 11 a.m. on May 16. DOT workers stopped the flashing red light and the machinery began the countdown to the first red light for travelers on Route 25A and Cove Road.

"Nobody better go through this first red light," said local resident Fritz Coudert III, who had an accident at that location himself.

A cheer went up as the first car stopped on the western side of the road. It was a Jeep.

"It's 15 to 20 years in coming," said Laurel Hollow Mayor Richard Droesch. He explained that the village is split by Route 25A. It's a long project, he said. "This is just the beginning of it all."

The state will re-work the top of Cold Spring Road and 25A adding a light there, as part of its work on the road. The decision on what to do with Moore's Hill Road has not been finalized, but Mr. Droesch said the light itself will help make that area safer, as the traffic will be slowed at the top of the hill.

Presently, there is a sign informing drivers of the new light west of Cove Road because there is no "line of sight" to the light. There will not be a warning sign on the top of the hill east of the light because there people will have sufficient time to see the light, he said.

This newspaper has already received a complaint that there is a need of a warning light on that east side too, since the new light comes up unexpectedly.

Bonnie Paston, who worked along with her husband Ken, to make the light happen, was one of the people watching the historic event.

A resident of Tall Oaks, she was the first person to move into the area developed by Josef Omland. An area with magnificent homes with driveways lined with Belgian Blocks, edged with green spaces, wooded landscapes and a preserve: the Fox Hollow Preserve run by the Nature Conservancy.

Her son survived a crash at that very corner, of White Oaks and 25A. He could have been badly hurt, she said, but he wasn't - the car was badly damaged. She was acutely aware of the dangers of that corner.

When she moved into the area, the Cold Spring Harbor school bus stopped for students on Route 25A. She was able to persuade them to stop on Tall Oaks Road instead - after a bus was almost rear ended there.

But the problem didn't stop there. School buses still had difficulty exiting the area into, and across the traffic.

She credited New York State Senator Carl Marcellino for helping get the light. "Carl Marcellino was the only one who listened and helped us," she said.

Rita Wolff agreed. "Carl is fabulous. He was fabulous when he was town clerk. He's a very hands-on kind of person. He earned the support he got to be in the senate. He's really concerned. It's a pleasure to support him. It's been difficult to get to this day."

"It was the Laurel Hollow people who lobbied for this. Ken Paston was very diligent in his lobbying efforts," said Pat Reiss, the senator's community liaison person.

Atlantic Steamer Fire Company Chief Frank Ozol was at the lighting event. "Hopefully it will cut down the number of accidents here. I was standing next to Chief Cronnin of the Oyster Bay Cove police when he was being interviewed for television. He told the Neighborhood News reporter that there were 10 serious accidents on the corner in the last year, and one fatality around Christmas 1997. Hopefully this will curtail the number of accidents," he said.

News of the light was greeted with great pleasure at the Oyster Bay Cove board meeting on April 21. The light started out just a flashing light to get motorists used to the change. The project cost the DOT $55,000.