Letters To The Editor

A Dream

To the Editor:

"If you can dream it , you can do it!"

These words were the theme for my elementary school students in 2005 and I think they hold true for our Garden City Community today and always!

We are a community built on vision and forward thinking, the stuff that dreams are made of! I believe in the work that the Committee To Save St. Paul's is doing and I believe the purchase of St. Paul's 13 years ago was a gift we gave to ourselves as a community!

Our dream, as a Board of Trustees, then was to have fields to be used by our children and all the residents. We knew the building was a huge challenge to our community but we had a dream it could be used for all of the people. We also believed the fields and Cluett Hall would and should be used by all.

As we rest and relax this weekend, I have dreams of the year 2008 when we have senior citizens meeting at St. Paul's Historic Building, students studying and exchanging views while parents and residents of all sections of town come together for a simple cup of coffee or to watch their children perform or win the game! The building will be for all the people! The building will be alive and nurtured back to good standing because we care. We as a community appreciate the history we have been given to safeguard. It is our St. Paul's! After all, we are the same residents who travel the globe to visit cathedral, castles and museums of fame and architectural amazement. We have OUR jewel right here on Stewart Avenue!

In my dream, the financial picture will be clear and positive, our home values will be higher and we will be the talk of Long Island and New York State. Why ? Because the Mayor and Board of Trustees met with the people, listened to the people and great minds came together to find a CREATIVE solution. Political and personal agendas were set aside, egos were left home and the children, the seniors and all the residents were at the heart of every decision. My offer as a former Trustee and the former Director of the Committee to save St. Paul's to facilitate a meeting with the Mayor and the Committee to Save St. Paul's is still viable and on the table. Pick up the phone and make the call Mayor Lundquist. I believe we are stronger when we work as one. Don't you think it is time? In my dream you lead with the integrity you have always possessed and Trustee Mauk follows and serves all the people with civility and dignity.

St. Paul's will be a center for our residents and funding and financial issues will be conquered and done in a fiscally prudent manner. A mixed use that helps OUR citizens will be accepted and "more up-scale condos will be gone with the wind!".... The Garden City Hotel will have captured that High End Condo market along with the Wyndham and Hampshire House. If there is a demand then these properties will flourish and St. Paul's can meet other demands- demands of our citizens, young, middle aged and old!

"If you can dream it, you can do it! "

Stay the course Garden City and especially the Committee to Save St. Paul's..on this Labor Day I believe the work we do is a "LABOR OF LOVE" for our way of life, our home town,all of our people and the future of our children!

Yours In Garden City Pride,

Eileen Burns Collins

Former Trustee 1991-1998

P.S.

In honor of all our Garden City residents who are in the service and our fellow residents who suffered or died on 9/11/ please fly your American Flag with pride over the weekend and on Sept. 11th.

The Right Thing

To the Editor:

Thea Frezola recently wrote a very timely letter to your paper concerning the fears some Garden City residents have of lower income people moving into our Village. Code words for racial, ethnic, and class prejudices which she heard are hurtful and destructive. She correctly points out that these attitudes are being passed along to our children and need to be taken very seriously. Such blind fear is not healthy for this, or any community.

We assure you Thea, there are people in this Village who do not see Next Generation housing as the end of Garden City. As residents, we see new people living in Next Generation housing as a wonderful opportunity to improve our Village. We want a community attuned with the needs of the 21st century where fresh ideas are welcomed.

It concerns us, as residents of this community, as parents, and as civic minded New Yorkers, that good people in our community and in our region are moving away. This is the result of a lack of available housing for our grown children, for the skilled young people we need to bolster our economy, for those working hard to support their families while they provide badly needed services for us here in Garden City, and the elderly who would like to stay near family and friends.

We hope that the Mayor and Trustees of our Village -- as community leaders and responsible citizens -- will show Long Island that Garden City is the open minded, generous, intelligent community we all want. Let us be known not only for our superior educational and recreational programs but for our ability to look ahead so we can thrive in the coming decades of change.

Allowing development that includes housing for moderate income working families is not necessarily the popular thing to do. But, as Thea Ferzola has told us, it is the right thing to do.

George Bashian Jr.,

Victor DeVita,

Stephen Goodman,

Terrence Kelleher,

Debra Low-Skinner,

Neil Outcault,

Art and Rene Silver,

Don Skinner,

Paul Sweeney,

Judith and Chuck Wohltmann

We ARE Better

To The Editor:

I would love to rebut the doctor's comments directed to me in the previous week's edition.

1) Sentiments like those of Mr. Sweeney from last week's "Letters to the Editor" give Garden City the reputation of sometimes being obnoxious, white, exclusive, and rude.

Where and who assigns Garden City the reputation of sometimes being obnoxious, white, and rude? I've never heard of such a thing. Only that is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. Yes, we are considered to be exclusive, and fine because of that.

2) If you want to live in Garden City, work for it, invest wisely, do something." I guess Mr. Sweeney has forgotten about those in this town who have inherited their large estates and pay others to do their investing, watch their offspring, and "do something" like vacation away from Garden City.

Actually, I have not forgotten about those in this town who have inherited their large estates and pay others to do their investing. Family is the most important thing a person has and cannot even be considered in the same breath as what we are debating here. I certainly plan on doing the best for my family and leaving them in a better situation than I am in when I pass. Perhaps you should rethink your position on family.

As far as people "watching their offspring" and "vacationing," this makes no sense really and is once again irrelevant to this discussion. People that do this aren't evil, doing anything wrong, and apparently doing so because they can afford to and prefer to. The likely do so while paying their taxes on the home they purchased for full market price and making this village better rather than worse.

3) "Move to communist China if you'd like communist ideals to be a big part of your life." This statement is just plain hateful and not a Garden City principle at all. Communities are built on people working together. When, not if, differences arise, civilized people try to reach agreements.

This is not hateful at all. It's a suggestion that perhaps a lifestyle change may be in order. This country was built on hard work, dedication, and striving to reach one's goals. Wanting people to pay their own, fair market way has nothing to do with working together or trying to reach agreements. The village does this now, with everyone paying their fair share.

4) "It's a pity that you didn't go to work and earn your way here." What is a pity is that more and more people can't find jobs, despite looking, or don't get the opportunity for good education to open the right doors for them. This may be due to circumstances of birth or situations outside their control.

As far as I know, the unemployment rate has been fairly steady and rather low as compared to the rest of the country. Most of the Island is considered to be doing well, as the median income continues to rise.

Not sure what a "good education" is or the lack thereof. If one wants to be in what is deemed a better or top school district, then they should buy a home in that community or perhaps pay for private school. That is how the country works. This is simply based on a system of paying taxes to support public education. If one is not in a great school district, there is no reason for that person not to excel and raise him or herself up above their situation. Many have done it in the past and continue to do so currently. Not much is truly out of a person's control.

5) And by the way, the only place you should really worry about earning your way to is Heaven.

Thank you. I went to 12 years of Catholic school and attend mass weekly. I am trying my best. I give money and my time to charity; I respect others, and always try to lend a helping hand, regardless of who the person is. That doesn't mean I think people should pay $1 (or some equally ridiculous price) to live in my town that I paid many hundred of thousands to live in.

6) I am a very proud member of Garden City and have been for over 13 years. I love my neighbors, all good people, the schools and the community. I am hopeful that the majority of us do not harbor Mr. Sweeney's feelings of superiority. Does anyone really think that "people who have nothing better to do with themselves" worry about how to find a way to live in Garden City? They may have better things to do like how to find their next meal.

I, too, am a proud, new member of Garden City and want to ensure that the community I paid so much to live in stays as attractive as the day I closed on my house. I would also like to ensure that my children will be attending a wonderful public school system since I cannot afford to pay for a Catholic school education after my mortgage and taxes are paid - at market rates.

I am fairly certain that much, if not most of this fine community agrees with me wholeheartedly.

If they have something better to do, than perhaps they should go and do it. If they did, they wouldn't concern themselves with such matters that have nothing to do with them and they would not waste time camping out in front public buildings. If they put as much effort into their studies or their work, then they could eventually save enough money to move here, perhaps.

Perhaps they should be at work getting paid so they can afford their next meal instead of camping out and protesting things that have little to do with them?

7) In case you may think that I am a bleeding heart liberal, I'm not. I'm a registered Republican-if that matters.

Forgive me, but the fact that you support this initiative at all goes against some of the most central ideals of the Republican Party. Things such as equality, hard work, family, strong communities, and non-reliance on others and government handouts are things that are at the heart of any true Republican.

Being a registered Republican means nothing, really. You could have done so for a number of reasons, or have since changed philosophies. NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg is a registered Republican because he didn't think he would win the Democratic primary. He's now considered a RINO (Republican In Name Only).

8) What does matter is that others understand that Garden City is a lovely town with friendly, accepting people. However the situation of low-income housing is to be resolved, more importantly attitude adjustment is in order. In the end, our children must not think that they are entitled to live here. They must know that we all are on this planet as visitors and God has placed us here in Garden City for the time being - this is not a right, not an entitlement, not something earned.

Precisely my point - They are not entitled to live here. No one is. You must find a place in life in which you can afford to purchase and maintain a home here. I never said anything different. Given the loveliness and general prosperity of the village, I'm not really sure anyone's attitudes are very far off from where they need to be, really. And I disagree - it is something earned.

9) This is our home and we either fill it with love or laden it with hatred. Our choice.

Exactly, but the desire to not have affordable housing forced upon the village because of outside forces has nothing to do with love or hate, it has to do with what is right and what makes this village stay a wonderful place to live.

This is not New York City and we do not want its "towers in the park" here. If you would like to see how that worked out, please visit you local housing project in East New York, the South Bronx, or Jamaica.

Garden City was designed with a vision, one that was far away from that of NYC and one of beauty, affluence, and exclusivity. That is what this village is and what is should continue to be, regardless of what handout seekers and rabble-rousers feel like chanting and picketing about.

Having a village filled with tax and market-rate home price paying residents can be, and is, filled with love.

Dr, I appreciate your thoughts and you are certainly more than welcome to have them, but I have to say that your replying to me in this manner was quite a surprise. I hope that you can take this reply as a constructive rebuttal, clarification of thought, and general character defense (of myself, neighbors that feel the same way, and the beautiful village as a whole).

Bill Sweeney