March 30th, 2004

Commissioner Boardman
Department of Transportation
Albany, NY

Dear Commissioner Boardman:

The Longwood Alliance is the umbrella community organization in the Longwood area. The Longwood area is comprised of 53 square miles in central Brookhaven and includes the towns of Middle Island, Coram, Gordon Heights, Ridge, Lake Panamoka, Yaphank, East Yaphank, Shirley, and portions of Medford, and Shoreham.

As the umbrella community organization in the Longwood area, the Alliance has taken a strong leading role in land use planning issues. Through intensive meetings with diverse stake holders including planners, issue experts, elected officials, and civic leaders, the Alliance developed the Longwood Mini Master Plan which is now incorporated into Brookhavenıs Comprehensive Plan. Out of the Master Plan process developed a set of agreed upon community goals. Several key focus groups also developed out of Master Plan process including the Longwood Society for Historic Preservation, and the Longwood Alliance Middle Country Road Committee.

The Middle Country Road committee, in turn, met for well over a year with educational, environmental, civic and business leaders and the DOT, developed and conducted a telephone preference survey of random businesses located along Rt. 25, and finally developed an alternative Middle Country Road Plan which sort to reduce congestion through the creation of a network of pedestrian, bicycle friendly streets.

The Longwood Alliance has been working to create a safe, diversified transportation system in central Brookhaven for over ten years. Our efforts to ensure that the communities which will be effected by road widening projects play an important role in the process, have been stymied by the DOTıs staff on Long Island.

The latest effort to exclude the communityıs participation involves a widening project in front of a National Historic Landmark, the Davis House. Although they are very aware of the communities past participation, and continued involvement on that stretch of Middle Country Road, the Long Island Region did not even notify the community of their planned project, in front of a designated National Historic site.

Unfortunately, this is business as usual for the DOT on Long Island. A change in the culture of the DOT is desperately needed. We would appreciate any help that you could provide to encourage DOT engineers to work with involved communities. Thank you.

Sincerely,


Connie Kepert President
The Longwood Alliance
ckepert@aol.com