As Chairman of the Cerro Wire Coalition and as chairman of the Robbins Lane Corridor Committee, we are writing to respond to a recent letter from Mark Bulmash of the Taubman Company that was published in last week's edition that addressed a previous article about our recent rally that called upon the Town of Oyster Bay to pass a building moratorium for the entire Robbins Lane corridor.

Once again, Taubman's arrogance is apparent in its latest attempts to misinform and intimidate the community. For starters, as residents of the East Birchwood and Syosset Groves neighborhoods respectively and as leaders who have been actively involved in fighting against this ill-conceived project for many years, we are particularly offended that Mr. Bulmash classifies us as professional opponents and tries to portray our efforts as misguided and not in the best interests of our fellow residents.

The fact is that both of us have spent countless hours meeting with friends, neighbors, local organizations, etc. because we care immensely about preserving our quality of life in the neighborhoods in which we live. And we both know that the proposed mall would have a devastating effect on the community, not to mention the additional development that would likely follow. Fortunately, we are not alone in this belief and over time have built our opposition to the proposed mall to include 27 organizations representing more than 40,000 Town of Oyster Bay homeowners and 6,000 small business owners who continue to say No Mall Here. Let's not forget the more than 2,000 residents who showed up at the public hearing a couple of years ago to let the public officials know they were against the project. And more recently, the 500 who braved the rain to attend our Pass the Moratorium rally to show support for this sensible idea.

Bulmash's answer to that is to try and make it appear that our strategy is flawed and that by shutting down dialogue we are cutting off having a role in their plans to build their mega-mall. We guess another way to interpret his comments is that we better compromise now or else the community will get what it deserves.

Don't be fooled by this latest attempt by this Michigan-based developer without any ties to Long Island to trick the residents into thinking that they have our best interests in mind. Nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout this long ordeal Taubman has never shown genuine concern for doing what is in the best interests of the community. In fact, from day one, when Taubman first entered the picture about seven years ago and tried to shove its ill-conceived project down the throat of the community they have allowed their hired guns to carry out a campaign of distortion, deception and intimidation to try and get what they want.

Currently, the battle over the proposed 860,000 square foot project is indeed in the courts. That's because Taubman did not like the decision rendered by the Town of Oyster Bay in June 2001 that denied them the permit they needed to move forward with the proposed mall. This wise decision was based on strong testimony by the community and our experts who correctly pointed out the tremendous negative impact such a development would have on the surrounding area. Instead of accepting this verdict, Taubman challenged the decision in court seeking to overturn the will of the people and the public officials that acted on behalf of their best interests. That, in and of itself, should tell you how little regard Taubman has for what the residents of Syosset and Jericho really want. Carrying forth with an attitude of let's talk but only if it's under our terms clearly shows how disingenuous Taubman really is.

What has also been ignored by Taubman time and again is something that it has never really adequately addressed, the crucial issues involving this ill-advised proposal. These include municipal planning, traffic, safety, environment, home values, and quality of life. Why? Because this project fails in all of those areas. And our experts proved it with their testimony during the public hearing process.

Now, there have been talks initiated by Lowe's to build a 167,000 square foot home improvement and garden center directly across the street from the Cerro Wire property. The probability of additional development in the Robbins Lane corridor is something that was brought up by the Cerro Wire Coalition in the past but was scoffed at by Taubman and never fully addressed either. Add the possibility of that and who knows what else to a development equation that encompasses an area surrounded by residential homes, is next to an at-grade railroad crossing and is a quarter- mile away from an elementary school and you truly have a recipe for disaster.

That's why we are calling on the Oyster Bay Town Board to pass a building moratorium on the entire Robbins Lane corridor. Passage of a moratorium by the Town could result in a re-zoning of the area, which could ultimately stop the proposed mall and other large retail development projects, whatever the outcome of the court case.

That's something that was conveniently not addressed by Mr. Bulmash in his letter. Makes you wonder that perhaps we might be onto something that could finally allow the Town and the community to be the ones to decide the future development of the Robbins Lane corridor.

Todd Fabricant

Chairman, Cerro Wire Coalition

Warren Church

Chairman, Robbins Lane Corridor Committee