The Oyster Bay Civic Association's next open meeting will be in September. The group is not going to hold meetings in July and August, said President Marie Knight. They will however have a board meeting this month.

Ms. Knight said she has been approached by AvalonBay Associates, asking for a meeting with the civic association but before she agrees to that, she wants to see a rendering of what they propose for the site. "I would like a rendering of what it would look like along Pine Hollow Road, fully drawn up, showing both Mill-Max Mfg. and the Carll family property flanking the proposed apartment house complex. Rashid A. Walker, AvalonBay director of development said they have an aerial view but I think it is important to see an accurate view."

She said the board has been to the AvalonBay Melville site and many members attended the open forum at the former Hallock Chevrolet dealership where they heard about their proposal for a 300-unit apartment house. "I don't know how much good it will do to have them come again, before they have a completed plan to show the group."

Ms. Knight was concerned with the effect of the proposed apartment complex on the Carll family who have lived on the property north of the former Hallock site for over 100 years. "They were concerned. There may be a problem with their boundary lines. I suggested to AvalonBay that they meet with them and straighten out the problem," she said.

At their May meeting the civic association talked about their concerns about the proposed AvalonBay 300-unit apartment complex. "A lot of members were negative, but it wasn't a large crowd. We have over a 100 members and about 20 people came to oppose the plan. It was all very negative," she said. Charles Gaulkin wanted to have a vote taken on the plan but she said she wants the plan to be presented to the full membership after giving them notice that they will have a vote using a ballot box so they can all participate.

She said,"Until there is more complete data, I don't see any reason to have another meeting until all the issues are decided upon."

Ms. Knight said Roger Bahnik of Mill-Max Mfg. spoke at the May meeting and said he was opposed to the proposed apartment complex that would be built next to his commercial site, to the extent of getting his lawyers involved. His reason was that they would only cause problems for him since Mill-Max runs on a 24-hour basis. He is concerned that people living in apartments next to his company, located in an industrial area will complain about the noise from deliveries being made as well as cars and trucks coming into the lot day and night.

In a telephone interview Mr. Bahnik said besides his opposition to the proposed apartment complex in relation to Mill-Max, "On a personal basis and an individual resident of Oyster Bay I would further oppose it because it definitely is not for Oyster Bay. It's much too big. All you have to do is go and see the one in Glen Cove to see that."

[There is no application for the AvalonBay proposal before the town as yet, to begin the long process. They would probably request a special use permit or a change of zone but either way they have to go before the board.

The town is also talking about creating a General Enviromental Impact Statement for the hamlet to see how much development the hamlet can sustain before build-out occurs. To that effect the town has asked Island Properties for a list of their holdings and what they are proposing to do with them. "It is all just in the talking stages," said a town spokesperson.]

Ms. Knight wants to ask her board if they agree to try to find out why the Hamlet of Oyster Bay received no funding from the federal government from the Long Island Sound Restoration Act (LISRA) that is administered by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). She said besides the local water quality improvement projects in the City of Glen Cove ($50,000) and the Village of Bayville ($350,000) that will help restore water quality and protect the natural resources of Long Island Sound, there were grants for Huntington and other areas along the water.

On a positive note, the Oyster Bay Civic Association and the Italian American Club had a very successful blood drive on June 22. Ms. Knight credited new board member Stan Spiegelman for organizing the event. About 40 people attended and of them about 35 were able to give blood, she said. He is representing OBCA at the Passport to Historic Oyster Bay committee. Mr. Spiegelman has also created a website for the civic. Ms. Knight is very pleased with the site and said the board will see it at their July meeting when they will be able to vote on accepting and funding it.

She was pleased to announce that the OBCA has sponsors. While members are welcomed at $20 per year, they welcome patrons at $100 and benefactors at $200. She said John Specce and Roger Bahnik have joined at the patron level and Northern Bay Management is at the benefactor level.

For information or to learn more about the OBCA please call their hotline at 922-5068.

"We will meet in September with a new agenda," said Ms. Knight. This year she has been working hard with the Town of Oyster Bay on the parking problems in the hamlet, but to date, she is not pleased with the outcome of her efforts, she said.