The Cerro Wire Coalition, which was formed in 2000 and is comprised of 27 civic, business, educational and community groups representing more than 40,000 Town of Oyster Bay homeowners and 6,000 small business owners countywide that are opposed to the Taubman Company's interest in building a mall on the 39-acre parcel in Syosset, branched off and formed a subcommittee to search for an alternate development for the Cerro Wire Property.

Following a series of meetings involving real estate developers to explore potential alternate uses for the former Cerro Wire site in Syosset, the Cerro Wire Coalition announced earlier this week that its Alternate Development Sub-Committee has selected a concept for the property and has requested preliminary plans from one of the firms for review and consideration.

According to Todd Fabricant, chairman of the Cerro Wire Coalition, the committee has decided to pursue a mixed-use for the site that would include senior citizen condos, first-class office space and a boutique-style hotel.

"Our 15-member committee of prominent community leaders has been hard at work since this process started back in January. As a result of these meetings and much additional dialogue by the group, we are now prepared to take the next step forward toward creating a viable alternative to the proposed mall, one that is compatible with the community rather than one that would destroy it," Fabricant said.

The subcommittee is comprised of chairman Warren Church, president of Syosset Groves Civic Association; Todd Fabricant, chairman of the Cerro Wire Coalition; Rosemarie Birofka from South Grove Elementary School PTA; Josephine Costa, owner of La Viola Restaurant in Syosset; Dr. Mark Fierstein, president of Hunting Hill Civic Association; Sonia Grgas, past president of South Grove Elementary School PTA and vice president of Syosset Groves Civic Association; Julie Gropper from Syosset at Birchwood Civic Association; Robin Grossman from Robbins Lane Elementary School PTA; Edward J. Keenan, Jr., commissioner of the Syosset Fire District; Joseph Lorintz, Esq., president United Civic Associations of North Oyster Bay; Carol Meschkow, president of Concerned Citizens of the Plainview- Old Bethpage Community, Inc.; April Neuendorf, member of the Syosset School Board and past president of Syosset Council of PTAs; Tricia Shannon, president of North Syosset Civic Association; Craig Snyder, Esq. vice president of Birchwood Civic Association; Richard Turkisher, president of the Birchwood Civic Association and Dr. Jeffrey Willig, president of Gate Ridge-Plainview Road Civic Association.

Warren Church, chairman of the Alternate Development Sub-Committee indicated that the organization expects to receive plans from the selected developer in the next month or so. From there, the committee will carefully review the documents and then present them to the rest of the community before submitting them to the Town of Oyster Bay for its reaction.

"For almost 10 years, we've been interested in seeking other options that would put this unproductive land back to productive use. It's exciting and encouraging to know that there is genuine interest from others in the real estate industry to utilize this site for something other than a mall," Church said. "We look forward to our next committee gathering when we will finally have a meaningful concept to sink our teeth into."

Gary Lewi, spokesperson for the Taubman Company, said the latest information is confusing. "It is confusing and somewhat of a cruel hoax both for the proposed developer and the community to suggest that this alliance can select a developer for property that they do not own in a process that they have not been involved in by their own choosing," he said. He also said that he has not heard any reports that Taubman is prepared to sell the property.

For more information on the Cerro Wire Coalition, visit www.nomallhere.com. For information on Taubman's plans, visit www.mallatoysterbay.com.