Dear Mary,

Thank you for your recent e-mail relative to Mayor Kelly's decision to
open Ayd Mill Rd.  I was caught by surprise, as were you, since neither the
Mayor nor his office gave any of the affected areas or the elected officials
any warning.  As you might know, I also attended the meeting at the Bethel 
Center to listen to the mayor's response to citizens from throughout the area.

I have spoken to Mayor Kelly about his decision and expressed to him my 
concerns about what this test will do to our neighborhoods.  However, as
you know, he is absolutely set in following through with this year long
test.  What I promised the leadership of the neighborhood coalition and 
what I will convey to you is that my office will provide all effort 
possible to make sure that the testing is handled fairly and that the 
results are disseminated in an accurate way so that Mayor Kelly will 
have a deeper appreciation of how something like this can change the 
quality of urban life.

I am sorry that Mayor Kelly has chosen to go forward with this test, but
I hope that you will stay in touch with me over this year to let me know
how this is affecting you so that I can convey the thoughts/reactions of the 
neighborhoods to the mayor's office directly.

Again, thank you for contacting me, and please call or write again if
you wish to discuss this or any other matter further.

Sincerely yours,

Richard J. Cohen
State Senator