Frustrated over the lack of influence they exert, individually, upon the Town of Oyster Bay, civic associations from Jericho, Syosset, Woodbury, Brookville, Muttontown, Plainview, Old Bethpage, Oyster Bay, Locust Valley and East Norwich have cooperated to form a potentially historic parent organization that will have significantly more clout when taking on local issues.

This super-civic, called the United Civic Associations of North Oyster Bay, will limit its involvement to only the most serious issues threatening the neighborhoods of the town's north shore. "This organization will confront developmental issues that will affect the environment or the quality of life of our residents", said United Civic Associations Vice President Joe Lorintz, president of Oakwood-Princeton Park Civic Association in Jericho.

The parent civic's inaugural meeting took place on Thursday, March 25, and was attended by members of at least 15 civic associations, including the OPPCA, Birchwood Civic Association, White Birch/Old Jericho Civic Association, Hamlet East Condominium Association, Oakwood Park Civic Association, Birchwood Park Homeowners Association, Residents for a More Beautiful Syosset, North Syosset Civic Association, Syosset-Woodbury Road Civic Association, Hunting Hills Civic Association, Gates/Ridge Civic Association, South Woodbury Taxpayers Association, Concerned Citizens of Plainview/Old Bethpage, Locust Valley Civic Association, East Norwich Civic Association and Rolling Hills Estates.

The intent of the first meeting, according to Parent Civic President Todd Fabricant, also president of BCA, was to outline the super-civic's structure and the process by which it would operate, as well as to state its goals.

"This coalition will act as an umbrella organization in the North Oyster Bay area to voice the concerns of the welfare, safety and health of our citizens," said Fabricant.

According the organization's by-laws, civic leaders would present their neighborhoods' problems to an Issues Committee, which would then judge which causes are imperative for the super-civic to adopt. The board would then have the final vote. Lorintz said that environmental and quality-of-life issues are the ones most likely to be taken up by the parent civic.

Leaders of the umbrella organization stressed that this selective process is essential to everyone's credibility. "If we come out looking like a bunch of NIMBY's, we're not going to be taken seriously," insisted Fabricant. NIMBY is an acronym for Not in My Back Yard.

"If you have a problem with what time the garbagemen are coming collecting your garbage, that's not the type of thing that we're going to handle," said Lorintz.

When interviewed, Lorintz described several past and present local issues that would exemplify the type of controversy that the parent civic would battle. Among these were the Tilles property litigation, Cerro Wire, the Westbury Drive-In demolition, the Plainview land sale, and the rapidly burgeoning development in Woodbury.

If an issue is rejected by the umbrella organization, that does not preclude the civic association with the problem pursuing its own course of corrective action.

Several major development controversies in Jericho over the last several years, none of which has ended victoriously for local residents, led to the creation of the super-civic. The Jericho civics associations were unable to save the Westbury Drive-in, and are losing the fight to preserve the former Underhill property. And the firestorm surrounding the proposed Cerro Wire mall project is only beginning to spread.

"Everyone seemed to embrace the idea that as individual civic associations, we weren't going to accomplish any large goals. We just didn't feel as if we had enough of a voice in the Town of Oyster Bay," said Lorintz. Even when the town has sided with residents, said Lorintz, the results haven't been good.

The civics hope that results will improve if communities can form a united front. Fabricant alluded to the recent success of several Nassau County community chambers of commerce in convincing the Town of Hempstead to halt the latest expansion project of the Roosevelt Field Mall.

The overall atmosphere of the meeting was harmonious. There was one lone skeptic, who, while praising the coalition's ambition, was not convinced that communities would be able to cooperate with each other. She suggested one civic association might push unwanted development into another civic group's neighborhood.

Lorintz insisted that would not happen, explaining that the desires and concerns of the North Oyster Bay communities are very much the same. "We all face issues within our own civic associations and, historically, it's been very difficult to get various civic associations to work together. We have to break down those barriers," he said.

Fabricant encouraged those who attended to spread awareness of this new organization, and announced that two vacancies must be filled on the board of directors. The umbrella organization will also need community members to volunteer to serve on a variety of committees.

The United Civic Associations' other current board members are, tentatively, Paul Innunziato, Locust Valley Civic Association; Ann Dorman, Hunting Hills Civic Association; George Flowers, Oakwood Park Civic Association; and Gary Gropper, Birchwood Park Homeowners Association.

The United Civic Associations of North Oyster Bay is committed to cultivate and maintain an informational dialogue between the Civic Associations within the geographic communities of Jericho, Syosset, Woodbury, Muttontown, Matinecock, Plainview, Locust Valley, East Norwich, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Laurel Hollow, Sea Cliff, Bayville, Mill Neck, the Brookvilles and Lattingtown.

We will investigate and research all matters that may impact our quality of life, especially when the interests of health, safety and welfare of our residents are impacted.

We will represent our communities in a professional manner, offering information and communication about impending issues.

We will stand united and speak as one voice on issues that impact our communities after the board of directors has voted on said issues.

We will promote good will, fellowship, friendship and understanding among the residents of our communities.