Letters To The Editor

Our Worst Fear

To The Editor:

And there it was. A parent's worst fear, a bag of marijuana nestled neatly in my son's belongings. Once, again... promises it won't happen again... a third time...here? In Garden City? Where did you get it? The answers came scantily, piecemeal, indiscernibly. It is tough getting information from a drug user, even if it is the very son you held in your arms seconds after his birth and in your heart every day since.

It seems our kids are buying right on our streets from their own kind; good kids in every other way now sucked into a supply chain with connections extending to New York City and other unsavory places. Good economists these sellers: they gravitate where there is demand and the funds to pay for it.

So what would Adam Smith do? Cell phone - gone. Money - gone. Freedom to walk the streets of my community at all hours of the night between the seams of security I worked hard to provide - gone. Car - read my lips. Maybe my son hates me now, but if I didn't take action he surely will later. Maybe he heard me repeat "I love you" through the wall he put up about privileges being earned, but one day he will know I never stopped loving him. Oh, and one more thing: put on a nice pair of pants. We're going to Church together. Even if you gave up on God. He won't give up on you and perhaps you get points by just showing up. I won't give up on you either. We'll talk more about the similarities at family dinner... without the TV.

I accept full responsibility for my son's behavior. To do otherwise would be to rest on the same thinking by which he excuses it. Whether other official or societal units in our Village wish to accept their role in what I am just learning is an unspoken and pervasive problem, is for them to decide. But this is not one family's struggle. I don't care if my son gets 800 on his SATs if he can't tell right from wrong and that the theory of relativity does not apply in that choice. After all, the likes of Ebbers and Kozlowski are now dreaming about the millions they thought they once had from a penitentiary.

Name signed but withheldupon request

Banned From Library

To the Editor,

We are sorry to have disappointed any residents who might have gone to the public library to view the Committee to Save St. Paul's proposal that was submitted to the Village on October 5. While the proposal was delivered into the hands of the library director, we have been informed that the Village has instructed the library not to put our proposal, or for that matter, any proposal for redevelopment out for the public at this time. Since we believe in openness in seeking the best solution for the community, we are now posting our proposal on our website (www.savestpauls.org) "News" page for your review.

As the Committee to Save St. Paul's has believed and communicated over these past months since the issuance of the RFP for the redevelopment St. Paul's, the ultimate winner will be the proposal that receives broad support from the community. We believe our Committee has put together a compromise solution that encompasses both public and private use for the Historic St. Paul's building, and we are asking residents to listen to our presentations, read about our proposal and check out our website (www.savestpauls.org) for additional information. We also believe that our proposal can get the broad support needed to lift the "Public Trust" and "parkland" designations before any development (except a full public use plan) can begin.

Our proposal sets aside a large section of the first floor and the chapel for public use - approximately 19,000 square feet - and keeps development within the footprint of the building. Moreover, the additional cost to the taxpayers will be minimal. This is the ideal form of compromise that our state legislators are looking for, and one which residents have indicated they can support.

We invite supportive residents to sign our petition calling for community use of a significant portion of St. Paul's and retaining the building under public control through a "ground lease" agreement, so that ownership of the building and the land in the center of our unique Village doesn't slip away from us. Volunteers from the Committee to Save St. Paul's will be attending the Golden Goose Gala this Friday and Saturday, as well as the Turkey Trot next week, to give you the opportunity to sign our petition. Look for us there. If you feel you would like more information, we encourage you to visit our website or ask us when you see us.

Please don't fall into apathy or despair. If we residents persevere, we will secure the best possible solution to the St. Paul's impasse.

Maureen Traxler

Administrative and Communications Director Committee to Save St. Paul's

Stop The Bickering

To the Editor

I would like to invite anyone who is against putting a proper fence at St. Paul's, along the soccer fields on Stewart Ave, to take a look at the apparent vehicular damage done to the fence around the St. Paul's playground. I do not know when this accident took place but could only imagine the carnage that would have occurred, to the children playing inside, if the fence wasn't there.

My solution is simple, stop bickering about esthetics or perceived threats to property value and lets get a fence built before something truly awful happens. For those people who must argue every proposition put forth, there is still the St. Paul's jogging track and St. Paul's building to bicker about. At least those arguments won't potentially cost someone his life.

Glenn King

Thank You To RecDept

To the Editor,

Thank you to the Village of Garden City and to Mr. Kevin Ocker and the staff of the Recreation Department for allowing me and my friends to hold our Third Annual Wheelchair Basketball Challenge at the St. Paul's Fieldhouse. Working with the Recreation Department and the Greater Long Island Wheelchair Athletic Club, we were able to hold another successful event and prove that athletes in wheelchairs are far from disabled and far from handicapped. The parents of the wheelchair athletes appreciate the event, the athletes have a great time, and we feel good about ourselves. Thank you again.

Matthew Colantonio

Chaminade 2007

Thank You

To the Editor:

Thank you to the Village of Garden City and to Mr. Kevin Ocker and the staff of the Recreation Department for allowing me and my friends to hold our Third Annual Wheelchair Basketball Challenge at the St. Paul's Fieldhouse. Working with the Recreation Department and the Greater Long Island Wheelchair Athletic Club, we were able to hold another successful event and prove that athletes in wheelchairs are far from disabled and far from handicapped. The parents of the wheelchair athletes appreciate the event, the athletes have a great time, and we feel good about ourselves. Thank you again.

Matthew Colantonio

Chaminade 2007