By Scott Brinton
Bailey jumps in to save the man and falls into a dream, imagining what the world would be like without him. It is a frightening vision in which his quaint little upstate-New York hometown of Bedford Falls is transformed into the mini-sin city of Potterville.
In many respects, Barry Fox, president of the Merrick Park Home Owners Association, is much like Bailey. Fox is an everyman who cares very deeply about other people. He's a loving, selfless husband, father and grandfather. He's a retired New York City school teacher who worked many nights to support his family. And without him, Merrick would be a much different place that might very well resemble the Potterville of Bailey's nightmare.
For more than three decades, Fox has taken on the role of civic leader and fought powerful developers and elected officials alike to ensure that Merrick retained its quiet suburban character and didn't become, as so many communities have, overdeveloped, even industrialized.
Indeed, all of us who call the Merricks home owe Barry Fox an enormous debt of gratitude. Most folks aren't aware of that, however, because he's such a modest man. He isn't one to seek notoriety for himself. He just wants to do what's right for his hometown.
Over the years, Fox has focused so much of his energy and natural intelligence on projects that maintain the Merricks' dignity. For all he has done, the Merrick Herald proudly names Barry Fox its Man of the Year for 2003.
Last year Fox was as active as ever, working hard to have a memorial erected to honor the 17 men and women from Merrick and North Merrick who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
The nearly 200-member Merrick Park Home Owners Association has secured $15,000 in county and state grants to erect a 40-foot-long, wrought-iron gate to a new nature preserve off Hewlett Avenue, near the Merrick train station. On the gate, a plaque will list all of the Merricks' terror victims. The association is now sponsoring a design contest for the memorial among Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham high school students.
How wonderful that Fox had the insight to involve our young people in the memorial's design, teaching them a valuable civics lesson and inspiring them to take an active role in their community.
At the Herald, we wouldn't expect anything different of Fox. For many years he has acted as a mentor to entire generations of civic leaders and encouraged hundreds, even thousands of people to participate in community affairs on one level or another.
Michele Fox, president of the Central Merrick Homeowners Association and the Joint Council of South Shore Civic Associations, said, "Barry is always there to give advice. He's someone [South Shore civic leaders] look up to. Barry always has a few big issues per year that he works on. He's here for the long term."
Richard and Lisa Schary, of North Bellmore, both of whom are civic and environmental activists, said, "Barry is a thinker, a creative problem-solver who looks for solutions. He doesn't go away. He demands to be heard, and he doesn't take no for an answer."
In 1984, Fox and former Merrick Park Co-President Michael Jackson faced what was then their association's biggest issue. The civic group successfully fought the expansion of a Merrick brake factory that handled asbestos. Bonded Brakes Inc., on Benson Lane between Hewlett and Merrick avenues, took apart used brakes, many of which contained asbestos, a known carcinogen. Plant workers removed worn brake linings, reassembled the brakes with new parts and sold them.
The company sought a zoning variance from the Town of Hempstead in October 1984 to enlarge its factory. The proposal was to build a two-story building facing Hewlett Avenue. Fox called the proposal an "entirely inappropriate toxic danger in the middle of Merrick." The Merrick Park association rallied support from community leaders and elected officials, and collected thousands of petition signatures against the variance.
On Oct. 22, 1984, the association staged a rally that drew more than 350 angry residents. Norman Levy, the late state senator, and then-Town of Hempstead Supervisor Thomas Gulotta attended the rally and pledged to support the Merrick Park association. The next day, Bonded Brakes withdrew its variance application. Merrick Park leaders encouraged the Town of Hemsptead to condemn the property that Bonded Brakes had eyed for expansion and build a commuter parking lot at the site. The lot was built, and still stands today.
In 1988, with Fox as president, the Merrick Park association blocked the conversion of the then-Foodtown supermarket to a food-storage warehouse. The proposal would have brought 24-hour truck traffic to the Merrick Mall, in the heart of Merrick, only blocks from Chatterton Elementary School.
In 1994, after much lobbying by the Merrick Park association, the Town of Hempstead condemned a decrepit junkyard and rat-infested wood lot on Hewlett Avenue and Sunrise Highway and turned it into a commuter parking lot.
In 1998, the Merrick Park association joined with the Gables Homeowners Association in fighting construction of a Checkers fast-food eatery at Hewlett Avenue and Sunrise Highway. Residents feared that the restaurant would have brought an enormous volume of drive-through traffic to an already dangerous intersection.
In 2000, the Merrick Park association teamed with the Central Merrick Homeowners Association to successfully battle a proposal to construct a 100-foot-plus cellular-phone tower across from Chatterton Elementary. Many residents said they feared the potentially harmful health effects of radio-frequency radiation on children. Cell towers emit RF radiation at high levels.
In 2001, Fox took an active role in the Old Lindenmere Civic Association's fight against Freeport Village's highly polluting diesel Power Plant No. 2, whose exhaust, Freeport and Merrick residents feared, was a cause of the area's apparently high cancer rate. In a protest march against the plant in June 2001, Fox dressed as the grim reaper and led the rally with a host of other Merrick civic leaders.
Fox has also halted Friday-night car shows, soft-porn cinemas and X-rated movie stores from setting up shop in downtown Merrick. The list of his accomplishments goes on and on.
At press time, there were reports circulating around the community that the Stop and Shop in the Merrick Mall might expand. A Stop and Shop representative could not be reached to confirm those reports. But Fox was aware of them and was gearing up with a long list of questions and concerns that a bigger Stop and Shop might bring.
The father of three and grandfather of five, Fox said of the Merrick Park association, "We're only concerned about non-political issues and helping the community. Every community needs a watchdog, and we are this. This area would have been an industrial park with cell towers and pool halls if we never stopped in ...
"We believe in being proactive," Fox continued. "It's human nature to dump something in someone else's backyard. It's unfair, and that's why we need we need civic associations."
Indeed, Merrick would be a much different place without Barry Fox. We are thrilled that he's a part of the community. At the Herald, we offer him our sincerest congratulations and thanks and wish him many, many more years of success as one of this community's leading watchdogs.
ITAL Laura Lane contributed to this story. UNITAL
