Three recent Letters to the Editor have disturbed me. One letter concerned the method of electing the mayor of the Village. The second letter suggested developing underground parking and putting stores above the underground parking fields, changing traffic controls, and a multitude of other items. The third letter agrees with the second letter writer with one exception. In addition, the writer would also like his area, Garden City Gardens, Incorporated into Garden City so that his children could go to the Garden City Schools.

With regard to the first letter, no one is forced to abide by the Community Agreement. If someone wants to run for mayor all that they have to do is follow the Election Law to be put on the ballot. However, before someone does that they should familiarize themselves with what is involved with the Village Government. Most people do not have a clue about the amount of time that our volunteers spend and the abuse they take from some members of the public.

People nominated for Village Trustee by the Community Agreement Party are people who have been active in Property Owners' Association or some other Village Government activity. They know the Village's problems, what goals the Village would like to achieve and the limitations imposed on the Village. They know how people have tried to solve these problems, achieve these goals, and overcome the limitations. They are also people that have proven their ability to get things done, and they know about the amount of effort that will be required by them if they are elected.

As well versed as they are, they face a learning process upon taking office. A new trustee is assigned to be commissioner of a Village Department. There the Trustee learns the complexities of the Department. Then, each year, the Trustee is assigned to be commissioner of another Department. By the time a person is elected mayor, they are really familiar with the Village Government's operations.

People nominated for School Board Trustee by the Community Agreement Party are selected similarly to the Village Trustees. They also have a similar on the job learning process.

With regard to the second letter, the Village has been constantly evolving from its inception. At first Mr. Stewart was going to build houses and then rent them. He had to accept that he had to sell houses. This evolution process has continued. Recognizing that the Village businesses faced competition from the Roosevelt Field Mall and its plentiful parking, the Village developed a long term parking plan in 1969.

Although the parking plan implementation progressed as planned, it became evident in the middle nineties that Garden City businesses were suffering. The Village commissioned a study to determine what course of action was needed to help the local businesses. DANTH, INC performed the study along with their consultants:

+ PEC Associates - Transportation and Development Consultants

+ MPB Design INC - Urban Design Specialists

The study included the businesses located on:

Franklin Avenue, Seventh Street, New Hyde Park Road

The Village established a committee called: "The business Planning Coalition." The Committee was to review the DANTH Report and to make recommendations to the Village Board. This Committee included a variety of government officials and interested parties of the Community, including:

+ A Village Trustee, The Village Administrator, A representative from the Garden City Company, A representative from the Chamber of Commerce, Representatives from the commercial real estate owner/experts community, Representatives from the small business owners community, Representatives from the Seventh Street community, Later on, representatives from the four Property Owners Association were added to the Committee.

This Committee met weekly for over a year and each meeting lasted two to three hours. This represented a great sacrifice for most of the members. Although the members respected each other's opinions there were sharp disagreements. The Committee presented a comprehensive report to the Village Board in January 1997. The report was entitled: Respect the Tradition - A Strategy to Revitalize Garden City's Business Districts. Three of the Committee members presented a minority report to the Village Board. The majority report is lengthy. However the Executive Summary provides enough information to show the problems that then forced Garden City businesses and the limitations to possible remedies. To a large degree, these problems and limitations still face the businesses. Before presenting any ideas about moderating problems the business community has and presenting remedies to these problems one would be advised to at least read the Executive Summary of the Report or the whole report. The report is available in the Village Library.

Since then, two other major problems have surfaced. We all know about one problem. That is the plan to add a third track to the LIRR Mainline. The other problem has been around since at least June 2003. That is the Nassau Hub Plan that is being developed. This comprehensive plan includes all of Garden City east of a line running from Herricks Road to Rockaway Avenue, to Stewart Avenue and to Cathedral Avenue past the Village line. Note that this is an area much larger than the "P" Zone. Mr. Hecken, a former Mayor of the Village, has written about how the Hub Plan Transportation Section can have a major impact on the Village.

The third writer almost completely agreed with the second writer. However, in addition to the writer's small disagreement with his predecessor, the writer wanted to have his area of Garden City Gardens, incorporated into the Village so that the children could go to District 18 schools. Unfortunately, the writer did not realize that the School District lines are completely unrelated to the Village Lines. While the School District 18 Lines are mostly coterminous with the Village Lines, they are not wholly corminous. There are a significant number of homes that are not in the Village but that are in School District 18. Changing the School District Lines is virtually impossible.

James Redding

Enthusiasm For Learning

To the Editor,

On Saturday, March 18, the German foreign language students of our district participated in Long Island's Sprachfest Competition and they were absolutely awe-inspiring! It was a thrill to see such enthusiasm for foreign language learning. They participated in such activities as spelling, vocabulary and geography bowls, a scrabble tournament, singing, dancing and even a culture bowl. The baked goods and gingerbread house displays were also fabulous. The students representing GCMS really did shine, not only because they won many of their events, but more importantly because they participated with true dedication and genuine respect and support for one another. Thank you to the German department for exposing the children to such a marvelous event. Most especially congratulations to Dr. Judith Hecker, who is a kind and extraordinary motivator of these young people. Learning a world language also entails learning of cultures which are not necessarily our own, and this is peace work. It helps to dispel myths and prejudices and brings about understanding and compassion for all peoples of our world. Thank you Dr. Hecker! The current 8th grade will miss you.

J. Mollica

Meaningful Program

Printed By Request:

Fr. Joe Schlafer

St. Joseph's Church

Dear Father Schlafer,

On Friday, March 10, I attended the Hunger Banquet with the Youth Group. It was held at Saint Bridget's Church in Westbury. At this event we took a hunger quiz, and then we did an icebreaker where we all introduced ourselves by telling other kids our names, ages, and where we attend church. While doing this, we were called up and were handed a slip of paper with a new identity on it. These new identities were divided up into three groups, the rich, the middle class and then the poor group. I was placed into the poor group.

There were different meals that each group was served. The rich group was served pasta and bread. Soup and bread was served to the middle class group. I ate rice as one of the members of the poor group. While eating, we watched a slide show from the St. Joseph's High School's youth group trip to Kenya. The pictures of these poor kids were so moving. Some of these kids, at the ages of 2 and 3, were HIV positive because of their parents. They were also beyond starved. This slideshow definitely put a perspective on how lucky we are to live in Garden City and to have a generous portion of food everyday.

We then divided up into mini discussion groups and answered a few questions on how our "role playing" affected the way people look at us and how they treat us. While answering these questions, we talked and got to know one another better. Following the mini discussion groups, we joined a bigger discussion group and we exchanged our ideas and feelings about the whole night.

Everybody's reaction was similar. I was definitely shocked and surprised with some of the facts that came up on the slide show. I left that building as a different and hopefully better person, and I will try to became a more giving person. These gatherings are definitely worthwhile having, and I am hopeful that there will be more meaningful events similar to this in the future.

Respectfully,

Brittany Colavito