Letters To The Editor

It’s Time For A ChangePrinted By Request:

Dear Neighbor,

It’s Time For A Change

I am writing to ask for your vote to become Village Trustee.

Why I decided to challenge Barbara Miller?

I have an abiding interest that our unique form of government functions and serves us well. Mayor Barbara Miller's actions at the Board of Trustees meetings on December 16th and January 13th gave me grave concern for the viability of our participatory democracy.

At the December 16th meeting, Mayor Miller surprised the Board and the public by introducing a resolution to designate the entire St. Paul's property as parkland. She voted for this resolution and voted a second time to break the four to four tie to adopt the resolution.

By designating St. Paul's as parkland, the Village's control and use of the property has been limited. Public use as a Village Hall, School Administration, a Senior Citizen's Center or a location for Civic Associations may no longer be possible, as they may not fit the definition of parkland. Private use has become practically impossible. It is my understanding that to remove the designation, the State Legislature will require the Village to acquire new parkland equal in value to St. Paul's. Before this designation, private use would only have required Home Rule Legislation without the acquisition of new parkland.

Mayor Miller acted without the advice of Village Counsel or Village staff. She acted without advice from the four property owners associations or from the public. She swept aside our forums for input and the right of our citizens to be heard. She also ignored the results of the St. Paul's survey which showed that 47% of the residents of Central favored private use, 20% favored public use, and 19% favored demolition. According to the survey, "residents preferred very small or no increases in taxes." However, Mayor Miller's Designated Parkland Resolution, which makes any private use virtually impossible, will require a significant tax increase to save the main building.

At the January 13th meeting, Mayor Miller directed Village Counsel to prepare a written opinion on the legal implications of her parkland resolution. By directing Village Counsel to give his legal opinion, it is clear that the Mayor and the three Trustees who voted for the parkland designation did not understand what they did. At the meeting, the Presidents of the Western, Estates, and Eastern Property Owners Associations each spoke against the parkland resolution and the irresponsible manner in which it was adopted.

Our Mayor has acted irresponsibly and continues to demonstrate a leadership style that is unilateral and dismissive of our Village processes. This is why I choose to run for Trustee. Garden City deserves responsible leadership.

Let me tell you about my background and qualifications to be your Village Trustee.

I have lived in the Village for over 40 years and at 57 First Street for the past 15 years. My wife, Eileen, taught in the Garden City Schools for over 20 years and our son, Tom, attended the public schools and is a freshman at McGill University. I am a partner in the law firm of Putney, Twombly, Hall and Hirson in New York City representing management in labor and employment matters.

My commitment to the Village commenced upon my graduation from Harvard Law School, when I was hired by George L. Hubbell Jr., the Village Attorney. We worked together for over 30 years on Village issues. I was Counsel for the School District for more than 25 years, and I was on the Legal Advisory Committee for the $38,000,000 bond issue to repair and renovate our schools. For the past six years, I have been a Director of the Central Property Owners Association. My years of service working with Mayors, Boards of Trustees and School Boards give me valuable knowledge and experience to solve Village problems.

It's time to end surprise, confrontation and steamroller tactics. It's time to place the interests of the Village over the interests of individuals. Join with me to make Garden City a model of good government again and a place of pride for all its citizens.

A Special Election for residents of the Central section will be held on February 1st.

Time and place will be announced.

I NEED YOUR VOTE !!!

Thomas M. Lamberti

Congratulations

Printed By Request:

Mayor Barbara Miller

Village of Garden City

Dear Dr. Miller:

Congratulations on having the St. Paul’s property designated as “parkland!”

Also, you have my complete sympathy regarding your dealings with the trustees (and the occasional outspoken resident). It’s unfortunate how volunteers, pleasant people, can become less so because of divergent opinions regarding Village problems. The issues are tough enough without unnecessarily pushing the bounds of civility!

An Industrial Engineer, I make a living by rooting out inefficiencies in corporate operations - which informs my jaundiced view of the St. Paul’s process. But you don’t have to be an engineer to recognize procrastination and unnecessary costs.

My 2/21/04 letter to you and the Trustees suggested that the best St. Paul’s solution is “green space.” I still think that’s the way to go.

Your “parkland” designation is a tough step taken in the right direction. Again, congratulations and thank you! Let’s hope the designation clears the way for a prompt decision on St. Paul’s.

Jon Mulford

Totally Unnecessary Action

To The Editor:

Regardless of your personal preferences for the future use of the St. Paul’s property and Main Building, Mayor Miller’s surprise resolution designating the property as parkland was totally unnecessary. It makes it all the more difficult for the Village to manage the property. And it’s hard to imagine just who benefits from this decision.

The Mayor said the parkland designation was needed to give the Village more control over the property. Not true. The Village already had virtually complete ability to decide the public use of the property without getting approval from anyone but the residents. All the parkland designation has done is reduce the options for managing the property for the benefit of all the residents.

The Mayor said the parkland designation is needed to keep some of the trustees from selling off the property. That’s the “Stop them before they kill again,” argument, and it’s also invalid. Before the designation, a Home Rule act of the State Legislature would have been required before any of the property could even be used by a private sector entity. Given that restriction, it’s unfathomable to believe in any sinister plot to sell off the land and buildings, or that the residents are going to be powerless to prevent that. As has been clear for a long time, nothing is going to be done with the property unless and until the residents agree on what they want. It’s also simplistic to think we would all be better off by “locking-up” the property. The Village and its elected officials need to be able to devise creative solutions for the future use of St. Paul’s – especially the Main Building – with minimal burden to the taxpayers.

At least one trustee and some of his supporters, argue that the parkland designation really hasn’t changed the Village’s relationship with the property all that much. Well, if it hasn’t made that much of a difference, why was the action taken in the first place? I submit that it has made a significant difference. For the sake of the property and all the residents, we need to find a way of undoing the unfortunate designation.

Our volunteer system of government in Garden City is based on working to find common ground for taking actions in the best interests of all the residents. That’s what the Community Agreement is all about. In this regard, we could all be encouraged last October, when the Board unanimously adopted a compromise approach to try and resolve the complex issues affecting the future of the St. Paul’s Main Building. Two months later, any hope of compromise was completely undone. By their deeds in adopting the parkland designation, the Mayor and her friends on the Board have sent a message that they simply don’t trust the residents, future Boards of Trustees, or anyone but themselves to make prudent decisions regarding the St. Paul’s property.

The parkland designation and subsequent related resolutions pertaining to St. Paul’s, were imposed despite objection from a deadlocked Board of Trustees. The Mayor used the extra vote that comes with her position to force through these actions. The Mayor will be stepping down from her position soon, and I’m sure she views these last minute actions as something necessary to finally arrive at some decisions regarding St. Paul’s. She has taken these actions, however, without regard for the expressed views of three of the POA presidents, irrespective of resident opinion (as expressed in the poll done on St. Paul’s last spring) and without pausing to learn the legal, economic and financial implications of the parkland designation for us all. This exercise of raw political power, which is so uncharacteristic of our form of government, can’t be rationalized away. It isn’t proving to be of much benefit to the property or for most Village residents.

I implore the Mayor to delay any further action regarding St. Paul’s and the parkland designation until the full implications of this action can be satisfactorily determined. I hope many other residents will add your voice to mine in making this request. While there is still some possibility of undoing the designation, let’s not make any more hasty decisions that our residents and future Boards of Trustees will come to regret long after this Mayor and Board have gone.

John Mauk

Demolition Of St. Paul’s

To The Editor:

As a third generation Garden City resident, and a former St. Mary's student, in my mind, I will always hold Mayor Barbara Miller singularly responsible for what I can only now assume will ultimately be the demolition of historic St. Paul's.

I am so sad.

Graydon Smith Seitz

Thank You

To The Editor:

I would like to thank the children of St. Joseph’s School. I work at Family Court and for the past few years I have been presented with a family with needs. When I mentioned it to my grandchildren, they told their fellow classmates at St. Joseph’s School and the response was amazing. Without question they supplied coats, shoes, clothes, toys and made a Christmas that’s more than these individuals would ever have. They even wrapped the gifts and coordinated them with the children’s wishes.

Thank you St. Joseph’s children for being true Christians and knowing what the real meaning of Christmas is.

Gerri Moratti

Peel Away Layers

To The Editor:

Prepare a few more vidalia onions than you will need and I will eventually explain why. Cut the top off each by about an inch or so, segment and open up the onion a bit, pour some pasta sauce into the opening, let sauce soak in. After adding a bit more sauce wrap the individual onions tightly in foil.

When you have a good bed of coals, place the packages in the fire working them down in a bit. Allow about a half hour or so before removing. Delicious, prepared for our hunting party on the Missouri prairie.

Open each package carefully and peel each onion, layer by layer. You need extras because of the rot sometimes found deep inside these winter onions. Fortunately there are always more good than bad.

The world is that onion and my beloved country is a part of that world. Don’t be afraid to peel that onion and take a close look. Much good and some bad. We are responsible for what happens to our country. We are sometimes dragged into the affairs of others and often there is good reason to become involved. Sticky business though, like catching the proverbial tar baby.

For more than four thousand years man has slaughtered man. Rarely ever has there been a surcease. The media has made it easy for children to witness the carnage. A little boy broke my heart, I listened to him as the tears welled in his eyes. In his ten years he had seen and absorbed more than enough for any sensitive, intelligent child. He said, “Why do we have wars? I don’t want to do it, why can’t we just stop? I don’t want to hurt anybody.” His words as I remember them.

And yet, I continue to support President George Bush as we adventure in Iraq. Our government has, for a number of years, botched matters in the mid east perhaps this time they and we will get it right. Give me an alternative to our present course. Margaret Thatcher put it right, “George this is no time to get the wobblies.”

Winston Churchill had it right in referring to England, “ First us and then you.” The politicians have sent us off on a mad dash, country to country, death for our young people in strange, far away places. When will it end, and then what?

The onion has many layers and we must peel deeper and deeper as we consider what we are today and where we are going. We continue to allow that which is the worst of us as Americans. Please let us not see ourselves as the eternal good guys. There is much about us that is nothing to be proud of. Our military makes us proud, government and politicians disgrace us.

I sense in myself a tendency toward repetition, my phrases seem most familiar to me, perhaps because the major problems we face have neither been dealt with nor solved. I can’t shake my belief that we allow serious problems to occur and fester until finally, to our great relief, they are swept under the rug, hidden from our view. “There, now let us move on.”

Government believes that any problem can be solved by throwing more money at it. How to change our world image. Give more money to all, even to our enemies. The sad reality is that we are bankrupt, flat broke, and can’t continue to help both our own deserving people and the world, whoever that may be. What is image, a projection of what we are not but wish we were? Peel that onion.

The world believes we are jerks, maybe they are right. We expend our blood and treasure with the false hope that we will then be loved. Man, we are dissed. I implore you to become familiar with the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

The past presidential election evoked a certain evangelical fervor, a purported return to ethics, morality and decency. The left had been defeated and was in full retreat. Good had triumphed over evil and the future was clear. We had been defeated and was in full retreat. Good had triumphed over evil and the future was clear. We had been made right with the Lord. Hallelujah! Can you hear my mocking laughter?

The liberal socialists and secularists are in disarray but they will reorganize and you will soon hear the tired, old names, those who favor bigger government, higher spending and confiscatory taxation along with a reduction of parental child supervision and abortion on demand. There are those Americans who would vote to return abject failures, proven bums, to our highest offices. We were lucky in 2004, that may not be the case in ‘06 and ‘08.

There was a time when we spoke of the rotten apple in the barrel. We believed that if allowed to remain there it would soon spoil all the apples in the barrel, probably true. Well, anything is onions. Cook ‘em, peel ‘em, distinguish good from bad and get rid of the bad.

Edward J. Heaney

Thanks

To The Editor:

On behalf of the Garden City High School's March of Dimes Club, I want to thank our generous Garden City neighbors who made our "Shoveling for Babies" program, which was organized this past November, such a success. The members of the club, assisted by our tireless teacher sponsor, Mr. Rebolini, raised thousands of dollars for charity from our thoughtful neighbors who contributed to March of Dimes in exchange for residential shoveling services throughout the winter. Club members do their work before school starts. We hope our shoveling doesn't wake you! Thanks again.

Peter Kelly

President, Garden City High School MOD Club

Songs Suppressed?

Printed By Request

Dr. Stephen I. Leitman

Superintendent of Schools

Dear Dr. Leitman,

This letter may be coming late, but as the adage goes, late is better than never.

I am a retired public elementary school teacher. I do not yet have all of the facts available to me, but the information that I have so far received regarding the selection of songs during the Christmas/Winter Holiday Performance 2004, I find disturbing and dismaying.

The suppression of Christmas songs during the Christmas/Winter Holiday performances at the Locust and Hemlock Primary Schools has raised an issue in my mind as to whether or not the First Amendment rights of Christians, as protected by the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, are being violated by the actions of the Garden City School district.

The Establishment Clause ensures us that the government or governmental entities such as public schools, do not discriminate among religions, nor endorse one religion over another. The Free Exercise Clause ensures Americans that the government and governmental agencies do not deny benefits to or impose burdens upon one group of people because of their religious beliefs.

When analyzed by a test of neutrality called the Endorsement Test, the suppression of Christmas songs during the performance at these two schools may possibly not pass muster. That is, governmental action must adhere to neutrality. There must not be preference for one religion over another. The suppression of Christmas songs while singing songs of Chanukah could very well be a direct violation of the neutrality required by the Endorsement Test. Moreover, Kwanzaa, as far a I know, is not a religion. Nor, do I believe, does it have ties to any one particular religion. Kwanzaa, a spiritual festival of unity, is a community social practice. The inclusion of Kwanzaa songs in Christmas/Winter Holiday performances may not necessarily be a requirement to maintain the neutrality required by the Endorsement Test, but rather a personal preference or choice made by the musical directors in our schools.

Lastly, under the Endorsement Test, it may very well be possible that religious Christmas songs pertaining to the birth of Jesus Christ (the true meaning of Christmas), might be constitutionally allowable so long as Chanukah and non secular songs are included as well.

The true test will be next Christmas when the residents of Garden City see if the religious beliefs of the majority have once again been suppressed. But instead of holding my breath and waiting to see what happens, I have chosen to place the powers that be on notice.

Mary E. Gagliardo

Inappropriate

Printed by Request

Dr. Stephen Leitman

Administration Bldg.

Dear Dr. Leitman:

As a resident of Garden City for forty-nine years but now without children in the school system, I feel compelled to voice my opinion regarding the recent performance at Locust School.

Changing the words of the song “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” was totally inappropriate and offensive. If a song for Kwanza and Hanukkah was sung, why was the song “Merry Christmas” changed to “Happy Holidays”?

All religions should be celebrated recognized equally and without prejudice since we are a diverse society. Out of respect for the celebration of all - whether it be Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanza, why not set aside a day for each so that there would be no changes in the wording of any? This would avoid anyone being insulted.

As for the Hemlock School principal’s claim that only four people complained and everyone else was happy, I suggest she read the last two issues of The Garden City News which is only a small portion of dissatisfied parents.

I would appreciate a reply and I wish you a Happy New Year.

Catherine Reith