February 9, 2024- Winter 2024 Newsletter

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Purchases Property In Oyster Bay Cove 

The Trustees and I  are pleased to announce that the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has purchased the estate  known as Harmony Heights on Sandy Hill Road . This is a  large property that was vacant and in need of renovation.  It will be used for scientist housing.  CSHL  will be making the required substantial investment to upgrade the property and has an  excellent facilities management team. Moreover, the property will be preserved as opposed to a major subdivision. 

Car Thefts 

The North Shore communities experienced a higher level of car thefts during the holiday season.   In our community, the vehicles were stolen because the key fob was left in the car.  Please do not  leave your key fobs in  your vehicles. 

Police Department-License Plate Reader Program

Over the next few months, the Oyster Bay Cove Police Department will be working with our neighboring North Shore Village Police Departments to put together a North Shore Village Police License Plate Reader(LPR) Program that will encompass the jurisdictions of all the police departments involved. The North Shore Village Police LPR Program is working on installing 34 automated license plate reading (LPR) cameras in strategic locations around the 9 villages involved to reduce crime opportunity and enhance police investigations. The cameras are built by Flock Safety, a public safety technology company that helps neighborhoods, communities, and law enforcement work together to fight crime.   The program will make it so that to enter the combined jurisdictions, you will have to drive past one of these cameras.  Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) will then capture the "fingerprint" of the  vehicle entering our community.  A vehicle fingerprint includes the license plate, make, model, and color.  Flock devices capture objective evidence and use machine learning to create and deliver unbiased investigative leads for law enforcement. They capture license plates and vehicle characteristics, not people or faces. Flock Safety serves HOAs, neighborhoods, business owners, law enforcement agencies, towns, and cities to provide them with the tools they need to increase the effectiveness of their public safety efforts, target crime efficiently and objectively, and help provide the information police need to investigate crime. The program is still in the planning phase, but the Oyster Bay Cove Police Department is scheduled to have 7 cameras strategically placed throughout Oyster Bay Cove and Laurel Hollow.  Flock safety programs of this nature are currently being utilized in over 1200 jurisdictions throughout the country, including numerous programs currently operating in Nassau County. The Program is one hundred percent New York State funded for year one and if for some reason NYS does not renew the funding next year, the Program will be terminated.  We will participate in the Program for year one collectively along with Laurel Hollow to evaluate the Program.   After a trial period, the system may be retained or dismantled.

Stop Sign Cameras 

Deputy Mayor Richard MacDougall and I recently listened to a presentation on new Artificial Intelligence Stop Sign technology at a Nassau County Village Officials Association meeting.  This technology is currently not approved for Nassau County law enforcement, but if authorized could be effective in some areas of Oyster Bay Cove where we have frequent stop sign violators.  

Sale of Tax Liens 

A few of our residents have not paid their Village taxes.  Those residents will be notified that if their taxes are not paid by the beginning of March, their tax bills will be sold to third party purchasers.   Further charges will be added to your tax bills, including tax sale advertising costs.    We, therefore, recommend that you pay your delinquent taxes, before the tax lien sale. 

Sincerely, 

Charles R. Goulding
Mayor