The Main Street Association is planning an open meeting on Wednesday, March 3, at the Doubleday Babcock Senior Center, 45 East Main St. starting at 7 p.m. Joan Mahon, MSA executive director credited Patsy Randolph of the Rauch Foundation with the idea of inviting Greenport Mayor David E. Kapell to speak to the community. "The Rauch Foundation is a sponsor of Main Street and we are using part of their annual grant to us to pay for the open meeting. (They are one of the foundations that fund the MSA). The title of the mayor's speech is "How the Village of Greenport is revitalizing a working waterfront and historic downtown - without losing its soul," she said.

"Revitalization is going on all over Long Island, in Freeport, Brentwood and Bay Shore, and Greenport is ahead of them all," said Ms. Mahon.

On a Sunday in November 2003, she visited Mayor Kapell's antique store/real estate office. He is a part-time mayor. A photograph on the wall shows his father, William Kapell, a contemporary of Leonard Bernstein sitting at the piano with the composer. The older Kapell died in a plane crash in his mid-years.

Ms. Mahon said Mayor Kapell is a maverick independent registered Republican. When he became mayor he had to abolish the private police force because of charges of corruption.

Last year he attended a course at the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government and will make a presentation based on that information at the March meeting. She said, "Mr. Kapell said the village took the gamble that if you create a destination for children they will drag their parents and grandparents to see what you have created." They had an historic train depot that they turned into a Maritime Museum. They built a boardwalk and created an enclosed site for the Northrup Grumman Carousel. Outdoors they built an amphitheater with seating at different levels and a skating rink.

Obbies Juice & Java will cater the afternoon event, she said.

The room will only hold about 200 people, so MSA wants people to sign up for the event in advance. They want this event to be an intimate one, not as large as the one they hosted at the Canavan Center at St. Dominic's which attracted about 400 people. Please call 922-6982 for reservations. You can visit MSA at their website www.oysterbaymainstreet.org

Ms. Mahon announced the meeting as she spoke at the kickoff of the Community Foundation of Oyster Bay on Monday, Jan. 26 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George O'Neill. She said the mayor will talk about what has happened since he became mayor which includes a design competition with entries from all over the world. Word has gotten out about what Greenport has done, as a result there was an article about the village in The New York Times in August. Cape Cod is looking at what Greenport did as a model for their revitalization.

Ms. Mahon was pleased that Oyster Bay can learn from someone regional.

Former Mill Neck resident Eileen McFetridge is familiar with Greenport. She has retired to Peconic Landing, a senior citizen complex outside of the incorporated Village of Greenport. She said in a telephone interview, that when she first moved there people said she had to meet the mayor's wife, another Eileen. "We had lunch and now when we meet we say, 'Hello Eileen' and 'Hello Eileen'. "Peconic Landing is part of the Greenport School District and pays taxes to it, which is a boon to a small village. We also are part of their sewer district. The village also has its own electric plant. Thomas Edison sold the idea to the village early on and they became independently electrified. During the blackout in August, cars were streaming into the village. They knew the restaurants would be open and that they could cool off here," she said.

Ms. McFetridge visited the Greenport Historical Society. "The first thing they told us was that they were not a cutesy Victorian bed and breakfast community. They were a New England fishing village with a fishing industry and docks as well. Actually the shellfish industry is not doing too well out here. There were no Bay scallops this year."

She was delighted to hear that Mayor Kapell was coming to Oyster Bay. "He's a good speaker," she said.

Besides featuring Mayor Kapell, open meeting will also honor New York State Senator Carl Marcellino for his support of MSA initiatives. It will also include updates on the Façade Improvement Program by architect Ellen Roché; an update on Passport to Historic Oyster Bay 2004; and an update on parking improvements as well as a report from the Joint Marketing Committee. Attendees to the meeting will receive a color print of "Welcome to Historic Oyster Bay" map by Long Island artists and illustrator Brook Meinhardt.

The MSA motto is "Creating a healthy economy and attractive hamlet while maintaining historic character and integrity."