The backyards of about one dozen Colony Lane residents in Syosset face the Town of Oyster Bay's former landfill site, a 33-acre area situated between Robbins Lane and the Public Works building on the LIE Service Road. Though a landfill site is never one's ideal choice for a backyard neighbor, at least, for many years, any unpleasant views of the landfill's barren turf and its bulky storage facilities were safely shrouded behind several rows of lush greenery, thus never becoming too great a nuisance.

However, the landfill went from almost undetectable to practically inescapable for Colony residents once the town implemented a major capping project on the property several years ago. The project, completed on November 12, 1997, required the removal of many of the trees which protected residents' views, and has led to problems including clouds of dust and heavy truck noise.

Supervisor John Venditto and additional town officials were alerted to the severity of the problem by the Syosset-Jericho Tribune earlier this week, and Venditto promised that immediate action would be taken. Improvements were already noticeable by Wednesday, and based on these actions, residents hope that at least some of the serenity that they enjoyed will be restored.

Land capping is a means of preventing unhealthy, hazardous materials from mixing with rain water and traveling through the ground into the water supply below. Town officials and architects explained to Colony Lane residents in community meetings as far back as 1994 that the former landfill was, in its current form, a potential hazard to groundwater. The town described to the residents what the capping process would entail, but few expected to be impacted so greatly.

A heavy plastic lining was installed beneath the landfill ground as a rainwater barrier. To install the barrier, all of the trees on the landfill property, which backs to the very edge of the Colony Lane properties, had to be razed, including some tall pines that one resident estimated to be at least 50 years old. "I've been living here for 40 years, and they've been there ever since I was here," said Roy Burg.

The town promised certain restitutions to make up for the lost trees which preserved aesthetics and restricted noise. However, said Burg, before the town's most recent actions, "Seventy percent of what the town said it would achieve is done, but the 30 percent that is the most important part, hasn't been done."

Among that 30 percent that constituted problems:

Residents lost a sense of aesthetics when layers of mature trees were cut down. The town planted two rows of young evergreens, not nearly sufficient to obscure the view of the landfill site, which originally wasn't even visible behind the screen of trees. Residents also had wanted a higher berm than was provided for them during construction in the spring of 1997. Making the view even worse were large piles of rock material that the Department of Public Works' highway division is storing for a variety of projects. (The DPW has jurisdiction over the site.) At least before the project, said Burg, "It was just barren, flat land. Now you have piles of dirt."

"When it gets dry out here, the wind blows concrete dust right into the yard," said homeowner Robert Ditizio.

Furthermore, the trucks collecting the rock material at the site were a source of constant noise and disruption.

Residents said that the town promised a 60 to 100 foot buffer zone between the homeowners' property lines and any truck or equipment storage at the landfill. But, they said, that buffer was encroached upon.

Residents have been in contact and met with several town officials concerning the matter over the past year, but no concrete action was ever taken.

Venditto, upon learning of these complaints late last week, ordered some quick amendments. He immediately contacted the Department of Public Works, and, said the supervisor, "I received every assurance that the piles would be moved." Moving the rock piles away from the homes, said Venditto, also solves the truck problem.

Most of the piles were moved by Wednesday; however one pile still appeared to breach the buffer zone of several homes. Venditto stressed that the buffer would be honored, and that he did not want his constituents to "feel cheated."

The town also has promised to plant additional trees in the fall, and replace several trees that did not survive the original planting.

Residents have already noticed some differences, and noted their appreciation to the town, but hope to one day completely obscure the view of the landfill again.