My in-laws have taken an interest in all the changes occurring in Oyster Bay. They too live in waterfront communities. My brother-in-law's family resides in the extremely historic waterfront community of Marblehead, MA. My mother-in-law and father-in-law live on the water in Cutchogue on the North Fork of Long Island.

Some of our discussions have recently hinged on what defines Oyster Bay as a historic waterfront town compared to the communities adjoining the Marblehead area, the North Fork of Long Island, and other old seaside towns. Marblehead, MA and its surrounding seaside towns along with both Cutchogue and Oyster Bay on Long Island were all officially founded around the same time frame in the early to middle 1600s. All of these communities had ties to the American Revolution and were established over 100 years before the United States of America was founded in 1776. Each has taken a different course in history that defines what it has become today.

Marblehead is where the United States Navy was founded and grew from a fishing village on the Atlantic Ocean into a yachting community by the late 1800s, which is still the image of the town today. The community is neighbored by many other old-world seaside areas, most notably Salem, which is well-known for its role in the famous Puritan witch trials. Nowadays Marblehead is a sleepy community of approximately 21,000 residents located 18 miles northeast of Boston. Even today it is still abundant in quaint and narrow streets originally created for horses and buggies. It is also filled with historic 17th and 18th century buildings. A home built in the early 1900s is considered new in this community. The oldest parts of town are near the waterfront and filled with charming shops and gourmet eateries, which is what appears to be what Island Properties and groups like the Oyster Bay Main Street Association are trying to spur in Oyster Bay.

Cutchogue established itself early as a farming community. It has some of the most fertile soil in the world due its location on the Peconic Bay, which is a protected body of water much like Oyster Bay, and an abundance of ponds, creeks, and marshes. Most recently, it has grown to add wine to its image. While potatoes and other vegetables are still a Cutchogue staple, the results of the vineyard crops planted by a few entrepreneurial individuals in the 1970s now exude a maturing wine industry. A lesser known aspect of Cutchogue is that much of the residential parts of the community are on/or near the Peconic Bay with no commercial influences. Many parts of Cutchogue, especially the peninsula of Nassau Point, feel much like Oyster Bay Cove. An interesting trend in the community is that many of the waterfront homes built as summer homes are becoming year-round residences.

Much like its current flavor, Oyster Bay was founded as a community abundant in shellfish. The well-protected, productive bay provided food for the Matinecock Indians and early European settlers. With the influx of European settlers it continued to grow to entice fishermen, traders, shipbuilders, and sailors to the area. Today only fishing and sailing remain viable. Another twist to the flavor of Oyster Bay is its connection to President Theodore Roosevelt who made the area famous when he, along with many other influential people, summered here. He added to this great history when he spent time here during both terms of his presidency and solidified it when he retired to Sagamore Hill in Cove Neck. Since President Roosevelt passed away in the middle of the 20th century and when more recently the shipbuilding industry virtually died out, Oyster Bay has struggled to redefine its image.

Oyster Bay is at a crucial point in redefining its image. There is much re-development occurring throughout the hamlet and there are varying opinions among coalitions who think differently about what its image should be. It will take much more coalition building and community input for the hamlet to further solidify what the community wants the future of Oyster Bay to look and feel like.

The question about what the future image of Oyster Bay is, should be answered by the public. The public must take an active interest in the defining process, otherwise the small yet organized groups will get what they want and the silent majority may wake up one day wondering what happened. It has been nearly 10 years since the start of the Oyster Bay Hamlet Plan process, from which the Town of Oyster Bay adopted a final plan in 2002. Since then only a handful of people have continued any organized dialogue or taken actions to revitalize Oyster Bay. The entire community must continue to have a dialogue about what it wants in order to be inclusive of the views of most residents.

I encourage you to write to me about how you define Oyster Bay and what you want for the hamlet. Some questions to ponder are what you want in Oyster Bay now, in five years, 10 or even 50 years? Will Oyster Bay still be a close-knit community? Will it be more urbanized with large apartment and condominium complexes? Will it still be a fishing and sailing community? Please contact me at JaimeVanDyke@gmail.com.