Letters To The Editor

Not Protecting Asset

To the Editor:

It is Spring 2006, and over 13 years since the Village Residents voted to purchase the historic St. Paul's school and fields. Are you as sick and tired as I am that our trustees have refused allow this building to even be maintained in order to preserve the funds we voted in favor of? They are not even protecting this valuable asset, but are arrogantly fostering demolition by neglect, at great cost to you and the maturing children in this Village. Even more alarming is the despicable cronyism through which several of our Trustees have acted; vilifying anyone who disagrees with their blatantly illegal plan, and spreading lies and false information while maintaining their threats to demolish the building unless they get their way.

Residents, were you at the December 2005 "public meeting" where Trustee Bee said he was embarrassed to have been a Trustee the entire time since St. Paul's was bought? He should be embarrassed. It was the only thing many people agreed with the entire night. And, Trustee Mauk recently acknowledged that the December meeting may not have been as good as they hoped, while he stood in a church forum and basically demanded over $5,000 upfront from every resident who wanted to save St. Paul's before he would consider permitting any restoration. He seemed startled that some people were actually willing to donate the funds! Instead of pressuring our State Senator to change the law, the Trustees and Village should embrace the law and work within it to initiate repairs and rehabilitation of this marvelous facility for public use.

It is long, long overdue, and the Trustees have blocked and avoided many avenues for grants and for concerned groups to raise funds towards the successful preservation of the historic structure. Instead they waste funds and delay, crying that it's too expensive, when their own figures show it can be done. The Trustees cried that our library was fine and it was too expensive to permit a potential new library within St. Paul's. Now, they need nearly $1,000,000 to rebuild our library.

The Trustees have NO credibility unless it is to "spin" the facts towards their own benefit. In the meanwhile, they are waiting for more seniors to conveniently die off or move away so that no one who voted to buy St. Paul's will remember it. Remember St. Paul's. It used to be a Village treasure.

Rob Alvey

Be Informed On Budget

To the Editor:

Each year many letters appear in this section regarding the school budget.

This year, we will also see letters about the Middle School Field Purchase.

Each resident will be able to vote on these issues on Tuesday, May 16th. It is important that we, as residents, cast well informed votes. If anyone missed the school budget meetings or have questions about the school budget and middle school field purchase, there is still an opportunity to hear about them on Wednesday, May 10th at 8PM in Stratford School Auditorium.

Representatives from the School Administration will present summary information at a meeting of the Property Owners' Association of Garden City Estates. Residents of the Estates, as well as other sections of Garden City are welcome to attend.

Manny Velez

Not A Top District

To The Editor:

"Seven L.I. High Schools in Top 100." Thus, Newsday proclaimed Newsweek magazine's list of the best American high schools. Garden City High School finished 228 in the appraisal.

We foolishly cast away millions of dollars to support this bloated and underachieving school district. From the superintendent down to the most unobtrusive assistant, many of the "troops" are overpaid and overpampered.

Remember, these people "work" about 180 days per year. Normal people toil for the whole year.

After a short probation, teachers can't be dismissed. Normal people can be terminated at any time. Teachers and their cohorts receive benefits that many normal people cn only dream of.

Senior citizens and those on fixed incomes are being driven from Garden City by oppressive taxes. Let's rectify this situation by defeating the obscene budget.

Angelo DiPippo

Glorious Night

To The Editor:

Those of us who attended the Garden City High School Music Department Spring Concert were very fortunate. What a glorious night the performers gave us! The perfection of the singers and orchestra filled the entire auditorium with joy.

With Robert Ludwig, director of singers, and James P. McCrann, director of the band, it was a most enjoyable and rewarding evening. If it had cost us $500 a seat in New York City, we could not have been more thrilled. The respect of the talented students for their instructors and teachers was heartwarming. I wish each of them extremely happy and successful lives in their careers and bless them for their graciousness and talents.

Shirley Agnes Jessen

Every Vote Counts

To the Editor:

On Tuesday, May 16, 2006 the residents of Garden City, like the residents of all school districts in New York State, will be asked to go to the polls and vote on the school district budget for 2006-07. Garden City's proposed school budget is $85,375,699, a 5.39% increase over last year's budget, with a tax levy increase of 4.96%. Earlier this week, Newsday published school district budget information for the next academic year and Garden City's increase is lower than most other Nassau and Suffolk county school districts. In addition, unlike other districts on Long Island with a large commercial tax base (Roosevelt Field is not part of the village tax base), the residents of Garden City shoulder an unusually high percentage of the tax burden. Furthermore, since Garden City receives minimal aid from state and federal sources, more than 90% of the revenue needed to support our schools derives from real property taxes.

On the other hand, all districts on Long Island (including Garden City) participating in the NYS health care and retirement fund must budget for health care and retirement fund contributions that are mandated by law and are rising faster than the rate of inflation. Increases in the cost of fuel, insurance and unfunded state and federal mandates also put pressure on the school district budget. While most of us have experienced alarming property tax increases because of the reassessment of home values in Nassau County and find the prospect of still higher taxes discouraging, the continued quality of our schools is clearly a major factor drawing families to Garden City and keeping our home values high.

This week, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Robert Feirsen, and Assistant Superintendent for Business, Mr. John Powell, delivered a comprehensive and highly informative presentation of the proposed district budget (and the bond referendum for the purchase and renovation of the middle school fields) at some of our PTA meetings. While I won't repeat all the elements of the budget that were presented, as this information is lengthy and readily available on the school district web site (www.gardencity.k12.ny.us), suffice it to say that, after careful evaluation, the PTA Budget Review Committee believes that the proposed budget supports our community's commitment to the continued improvement of all our educational programs, demonstrates fiscal responsibility and an awareness of the increasing tax burden placed upon village residents.

The PTA urges all voters--parents, grandparents, and future parents-- to become informed about the proposed budget and bond referendum for the purchase of the middle school fields. The public hearing on the budget is this Monday, May 8 at 8:15 pm at the High School. Dr. Feirsen and Mr. Powell will also present the budget at PTA meetings at the middle school on Tuesday, May 9 at 9:30 am, and at the high school on Wednesday, May 10 at 9 am.

Furthermore, we urge all eligible residents to take a few minutes out of their busy schedules on Tuesday, May 16 and VOTE. Note that absentee ballots are available for this election in the GCUFSD Business Office at 56 Cathedral Avenue. According to district records for last year's school budget election, out of the approximately 2,800 ballots cast, parents of students registered in the district cast only about 1,100 ballots. Voters who were not parents of students cast the remaining 1,600 ballots. The PTA urges each and every parent in this community to exercise their right to be heard regarding the education of the children of Garden City. Remember, every vote counts-especially yours.

Angela Heineman

Chairperson

GC PTA Budget

Review Committee

Lights Too Bright

To the Editor:

(The following letter has been sent to the Village Board of Trustees.)

Did you know that we have a virtual "landing strip" in the Village?

It is manifested by the ultra-bright lighting fixtures which illuminate the parking lot adjacent to the St. Paul's Field House and Cluett Hall. There are about 35 light poles in the lot, configured in three rows and spaced only about 40-45 feet apart. The lighting was installed in early 2004.

During the ensuing two years-plus I have been in a steady dialogue with the Recreation Department requesting them to fix what appeared to be a poor job of evaluating the proper parking lot lighting. My message to Recreation was that the lights were grossly too bright and glaring. Thus the term landing strip--the name I and several of my neighbors which abut St. Paul's refer to it as.

We told Kevin Ocker, the Director of Recreation, that we find three aspects of the lights objectionable: 1) excessive electric bills, 2) an environmental eyesore, and 3) intrusiveness into surrounding homes on Stewart Ave, Rockaway Ave., St. Paul's Place, and Hampton Rd.

Mr. Ocker assured us, on at least 25 occasions (no exaggeration), that he would "look into" our concerns. Besides installing some "screens" on the globes--which were totally ineffective--nothing has been done to correct the situation. Mr. Ocker on several occasions promised to call in the original consultant (designer) of the lighting plan so that a reevaluation could be conducted. He also said he would consider shutting off some of the light fixtures, possibly place hoods on each fixture to aim the lighting downward where it belongs (see High School parking lot), possibly install dimmers on the system, and/or change the wattage per light, among other remedies.

To this day, despite all promises, NOTHING has been done, and Mr. Ocker's sincerity has to be questioned-- especially since we have been VERY patient awaiting something positive to happen.

Elaborating on the three reasons we think the lighting needs some corrective action:

1. Excessive Electric Bills. While I don't know what the exact savings might be if, for example, the wattage were to be cut in half, the lack of action gives a message that efficiency is not important to the Recreation Dept. There is no parking lot in our village where there are so many light poles clustered together or that use such high wattage per fixture. In another example of waste, the lights are on seven nights per week and currently go out at 11p.m. while all activities end at 10p.m.--usually 4 nights per week. Also, the lights often go on an hour or two before dark. Mr. Ocker states that the clock-timer connected to the lights is "difficult" to set with accuracy. This seems like a lame excuse.

2. Eyesore and Environmental Blight. Our village should be beautiful day and night. These lights are so bright that there could be a night sporting event at the site. The lights are ugly, glaring, unsightly and repulsive causing observers to wonder how this was allowed to persist. Many towns and villages have anti-glare and intrusive lighting statutes. The Village of East Hampton is one good example of such ordinances. Does Garden City have such laws? If not, we should.

3. Intrusive on Surrounding Homes. For residents in homes on the four surrounding streets, these lights shine into their homes, including bedrooms, or spoil the peace and serenity of their homes. Finally, it would not be unrealistic for this light pollution to adversely affect property values in the area.

Don't get me wrong. In a reduced wattage and glare scenario, security for those using the field house should not, and would not, be compromised. But, electric bills would be lower, an environmental blight would be eliminated and residents would have the night looking more like the night. On more than one occasion, I have heard evening visitors to our home look out our window at the parking lot and exclaim..."what the heck is that?"

In sum, I would urge all who care about keeping Garden City beautiful to speak to their Trustees and POAs, call the Recreation Dept., talk to their friends and write letters to this newspaper. At the minimum a lighting consultant should review the situation. Finally, I urge residents to visit the site and judge for themselves.

George M. Salem

A Loss To Community

To the Editor:

I was recently made aware of the closing of the Food Basket. To put it bluntly, for me it was as if a death in the family occurred. I "grew up" working for the fine family that has owned the Food Basket for so many years, whom I thankfully still call friends. I can honestly say that during those years working part time in the summers and semester breaks while attending undergraduate college, and also while I was a full time employee of the company as Store Manager for many years, I learned more about running a financially sound business, giving great customer service, and being an integral part of the local business community than I have ever learned in any position I have had since. I "cut my teeth" as the saying goes working for the Reichert family. I left the supermarket business a few years back, as I am now a Human Resources executive for a major beauty/cosmetics manufacturer. But, those days working in and serving the residents of Garden City were some of the most fun I have ever had professionally.

What makes Garden City such a wonderful community to live and do business in is its interesting mix of shops and stores. While I live in Mineola, which has a certain different charm of its own, I've always enjoyed the charm of communities like Mineola, such as Garden City, Williston Park, Port Washington and Farmingdale. We should not ever inhibit progress and development of the business communities. But, when long-standing businesses like the Food Basket are driven away for reasons that should be resolved, it makes you wonder what is becoming of our towns and villages. Will they all be the same with the big box stores with seemingly good prices and terrible customer service? It will be up to the residents in each community to ensure that the local government representatives and real estate owners are made aware of the desires of the residents. Otherwise, decisions will be made for the community. The result - the community loses a great long-standing business partner, people lose their jobs, and the community loses a piece of its heart. Is that what you really wanted Garden City, another drug store?

My most heartfelt wishes of luck and continued success go out to the Reichert family and the employees of the Food Basket.

Nick Iadevaio

Language Barriers

To The Editor:

My late father always said, "Americans speak English." This was from a man who was born of Italian immigrants in Little Italy, New York City.

Up until the age of seven, he never spoke a word of English. His father said that he wanted my father to be a good American and learn English and so he moved to a Long Island suburb outside of New York City.

My father attended public high school, where he learned English and went on to Cornell University and Harvard Law School. He became an Assistant United States Attorney, a professor of law and ultimately a New York State Supreme Court Judge.

Throughout his respected and award-winning career, one of the things that he was most proud of was that, not only did he speak English, he spoke English without any kind of accent. The present groups who are advocating for illegals and fostering Spanish into our society should learn from the words of my late father, who said, "Americans speak English."

M. John Pittoni, Esq.