Letters To The Editor

Arithmetic Doesn't Work

To The Editor:

A first reading of the description of the RFP submitted by the committee to save St. Paul's gives an initial impression that almost the entire cost of rehabilitation will be furnished by external sources. The committee proposes to fund the project with grants, tax credits, rental apartments, and an estimated $100 tax per 'average home' per year. We've been down the 'average' road before. Average is a trick word used to manipulate public opinion; an unqualified average is meaningless and misleading. Average of what? What's included? Are commercial and other non-residential properties included, or only residential properties? Just as there is no 'average size dress,' there's no 'average home.' Will a $600,000 home be taxed less than, more than, or the same as, a $2,000,000 home? There are about 7,500 residential homes in the village; if each is an 'average home' and taxed $100 each year, it will take 80 to 100 years to accumulate the funds needed to rehab the property.

On second reading, however, it is the other way around. Operating on a presumption that the village is awash in philanthropic dollars and applying business course OPM 101, the committee cobbled together a facially appealing proposal that, in my opinion, effectively shifts costs to homeowners. The arithmetic doesn't work; someone has to pay to rehab the property, and it's us. Rehabilitation cost is estimated to be in the range of $60-75-million, escalating with increasing commodities and labor prices. The cost of rehabbing a 19th century environmentally contaminated, wood-structured building for residential use will inevitably have to be bonded and paid by homeowners. To expect state grants and tax credits for an unnecessary project in what is considered an upscale community is fantasy. Is anyone out there paying attention to the forthcoming changes in Albany? Additionally, the village, as owner/landlord of an apartment house, will be responsible for operation and maintenance and exposed to landlord/tenant disputes and tort litigation. If the property is not assessed at full taxable value, will lost property taxes be replaced with payments in lieu of taxes?

Moreover, what is the need to set aside 19,000 square feet of non-revenue producing space, the size of some dozen 'average homes,' for community use? Is there a feasibility study substantiating the necessity for public use of 15% of the building? Aside from the incompatibility of public use with residential use in the same building, who will use it, at what cost, and what security will be provided? Is this set-aside a pretext to satisfy a public use requirement for tax credits and grants?

It cannot be gainsaid that the demographics and economy of the village are not the same as 15 years ago. Many who were passionately attached to the building then are gone. Senior citizens comprise some 30% of residents, and we are not inclined to pay for someone else's gratification. Many young families bought homes at the peak of the market, and overly levered households are at risk in difficult times. Residents are being gouged with property taxes, especially school taxes which are levied, despite declining ranking, without limitations on lavish spending for, among other things, redundant administrators. Village taxes 2006/1992 have increased 130%, due in no small measure to St. Paul's upkeep and the disastrous financial consequences of lawsuits, without added value for homeowners, while the CPI has increased just 54%. There is no groundswell of feeling for assuming massive debt for a private undertaking that not only does not add value to homes or the experience of living here, to the contrary, the years-long failure to resolve this fiasco in the best economic interests of all residents is embarrassing and a drag on the weak housing market.

J. J. Dolan

More Grant Comments

To the Editor:

I'm glad to see another letter writer who is against the use of a taxpayer-funded grant for the renovation or development of St. Paul's. Not only is it "embarrassing", but Mayor Lundquist's comment that "trustees are not concerned with the opinions of people in other communities" should be distributed to those taxpayers all around the state who would be paying up for the privilege of being insulted by the Mayor.

An important consideration for everyone in Garden City: if you receive a state grant, and the property ends up being used for commercial purposes, you may be liable for misuse of funds. This should be obvious regardless of your position on the ultimate use of St. Paul's.

The Publisher's note on page two (Oct. 6) describes the splendid condition of the Village's finances, and Senator Hannon (page three, same issue) goes on at some length about his efforts to reduce taxes. Please end this hypocrisy and pledge NOT to use state tax dollars to fund the project.

Dan Oppenheimer

Vote Is Needed

To the Editor:

Is Garden City's government conducted as a democracy or a form of autocracy by a mayor and his cronies? One would hope for the former, but I fear for the latter. It appears to me that our Trustees are reluctant to conduct a village-wide vote regarding private use of the historic St. Paul's building. This is because I know, and the Trustees know, that the majority of residents would defeat any proposal for 100% condos by a private developer. In my judgment, by a roughly 25-1 margin, letters to the editor and residents' comments at Trustees meetings in recent years have favored PUBLIC USE. That is, only rarely do we hear from pro-private development residents.

In short, for the opinions of residents to be TRULY KNOWN, THERE MUST BE A FORMAL VOTE OF THE PEOPLE. In this manner there will be a clear mandate of the people, which the Trustees cannot refute, and which will speak to Senator Hannon regarding whether to sponsor Home Rule legislation in Albany.

Will there be a vote? The evidence is ambiguous at best. Here are some recent quotes from the Garden City News report of the Oct. 5th Trustees meeting. Mayor Lundquist..."We are not allowed to spend dollars to have a vote in this regard." Trustee Lamberti..."There is no magical way to get public opinion, but Trustees will make the process as fair as possible." Trustee Mauk then made an erroneous case for his private development plan by adding up private development votes and demolition votes from the opinion poll of spring 2004. (The vote for private use in that poll was actually 40%.) To add to the confusion, the mayor, in his Oct.13th GCN column, stated that there would be a public opinion poll regarding the final decision on St. Paul's. This latter statement contradicts his Trustees meeting statements, and doesn't say at what point in the future timeline this poll would take place.

In sum, there must be a vote--preferably to choose between public or private BEFORE we go too far down the private road. Why not consider, in parallel, the plan of the Committee to Save St. Paul's and the Trustees' all-private plan for 100% condos? Then residents could vote and choose between the two plans. (The Committee's plan offers a compromise with part public and part private use.) If the Village can't pay for a poll, then the POAs can-- as they did in the 2004 Village-wide poll. For as much as we want to trust our Trustees, we must follow Ronald Reagan's policy with the USSR, i.e., " TRUST and VERIFY!"

George M. Salem

Disclose RFP Responses

To the Editor:

After more than ten years of debate over the future of St. Paul's, the public surely has a right to know the identity of the five or six developers who want to renovate St. Paul's, and at least a general outline of the scope of the developers' proposals. The developers, themselves, have no legitimate expectation that their proposals would be kept secret. Indeed, anyone who responded to the Village's RFP for St. Paul's was required to sign a statement acknowledging that their response "is not given in confidence and may be used or disclosed to others by the Village..."

In advocating full disclosure of the proposals, it is important to remember that no proposal can succeed without State Legislative approval. Sen. Kemp Hannon has repeatedly told us that Village residents' opinions will be critical to the State Legislative process. Consequently, it should be obvious that the final decision on the fate of St. Paul's does not belong to just a small cadre of Trustees and consultants. To the contrary, the final decision will necessarily be based in large part on public sentiments, opinions, and input. Toward this end, the public has an overriding right to know the details of the proposals.

Finally, I agree with open government proponents who believe that excessive secrecy creates dysfunctional government, and that "sunshine is the best disinfectant." As noted at the outset of this letter, the developers, themselves, have no expectation that their proposals will be kept secret. And the Village Board has every right, legally, to make full disclosure to the public. For all these reasons, I urge the Board to fulfill its legal and moral responsibility by releasing details of the proposals without further delay.

Michael A. Ciaffa

"Our Uncontrollable Tax Burden"

To The Editor:

I recently read that Nassau is the second County in the Nation with the highest tax burden. Wow! I was already aware however of this dubious and un-welcomed distinction by looking at the ever decreasing balance of my bank's account.

My already weakened heart received a thunderous shock when I recently received my school tax bill. It showed a huge red painted square with the amount due in black numbers on top. (Was the blood-red color a symbolic choice..?) After drying the sudden perspiration and taking a double dose of my prescribed medication, I tried to calculate the percentage increase versus last year. I could only whisper another 'wow.' More than 15% increase! No wonder! This year the school district has created a number of new high paid positions, added more staff, the overtime expense seems to be out of control, salaries and perks have increased. Year after year after year. I don't see any flow of imaginative ideas toward reduction of expenses. Doing more with less...Unthinkable! Recently, the Superintendent mentioned in one of his latest speeches the many successful achievements by the District adding in closing: "The School District is proud and happy to have the backing of a great community such as Garden City." Perhaps the Superintendent should be reminded that a lot of residents have reached their limit of endurance. Enough is enough! Sadly, this uncontrollable taxation appetite may have a negative repercussion in the voting approval of the Project to Save St. Paul. Many residents of Garden City simply cannot afford even a minimal additional tax.

Antonio Moreno

HUB Most Important Issue

To the Editor:

I would like to take exception to a comment in the issue of Oct. 13 from a writer who characterized resolution of the St. Paul question as the most important issue facing this Village. If only this were true. Whatever happens to St. Paul's, the Village of Garden City will remain a wonderful place to live, from the West to the East and in between.

If Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and the Nassau County Planning Commission are allowed to move forward with their plans for public transportation within the HUB development area, this Village will cease to exist in its present form. Transportation through Garden City-via bus, light rail, automated guideway or a combination of these elements-will destroy the East and negatively impact property values and daily living throughout the Village. Despite efforts by representatives of the Nassau County Planning Commission to downplay these plans when speaking at the June EPOA meeting, the County is currently conducting a multi-million study of these mass transit alternatives, all of which would pierce the residential heart of the East on existing right-of-ways.

Don't be lulled into complacency by the Suozzi team. Their proposed transportation system through Garden City is absolutely essential to their vision of the HUB. Pay no attention to their soothing remarks to Garden City residents: the truth can be found in their actions. Check out Nassau County's website

www.nassaucountyny.gov or Neighborhood Network's website at

http://www.longislandnn.org/hub/hubmis.htm. This latter site gives a complete history of the HUB that includes a map of conceptual transit alignments with several proposed new transit stations within Garden City.

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy helped secure $1.2 million in funding for transportation efforts within the HUB. For what it's worth, she can be contacted at her Garden City office, 200 Garden City Plaza, 739-3008. Locally, our county legislator is Vincent Muscarella. Mr. Muscarella can be reached at 571-6208.

Christine Mullaney

Focus On Challenges

To the Editor:

Our town should be ashamed about its preoccupation with the St. Paul's structure. Instead, we could focus on the challenges and opportunities that impact the substance of our community. For example, some residents have recently brought to my attention the relatively weak math scores of our Middle School and the potential need for metal detectors at the schools. The later issue should be discussed, at least, especially considering recent events in other quaint towns. There are other fundamental issues that warrant discussion, including tax increases, teenage mischief, and crime.

I encourage an independent group, like the Garden City News, to use an internet-based voting system to put the St. Paul's issue to bed. Then, hopefully we can focus on what really matters for our community.

Ron Tadross

Indoor Pool Needed

To the Editor,

The Garden City High School Girls Varsity Swimming & Diving Team remains undefeated (7-0) after a win this past Friday against Long Beach, a tough competitor and a subsequent win against East Meadow this past Saturday. The team is determined to achieve its goal of "Straight for Eight" County Championships. Of course, a tremendous amount of hard work and determination has been the team's recipe for success.

You may have read in the October 6, 2006 edition of this publication that this season had a "much delayed start". The reason for the delay was due to the lack of a home pool to host visiting High Schools. The original plan was for our High School Swim Team to use Hempstead High School's pool as its home pool. At the 11th hour, the Hempstead High School became unavailable leaving our team out of the water, so to speak. Thanks to the efforts of Coach Sullivan and the cooperation of our opposing teams, we have been able to reschedule a number of meets at alternate locations.

It is amazing to think that a successful High School Varsity Team which has won seven consecutive County Championships and hopefully is on its way to an eight was put at serious risk for not being able to host meets at a home pool. The question is why do we not have an all season pool facility in this Village? We have wonderful athletic fields and other sports facilities, but no all season pool facility.

I would like to suggest, the Garden City School Administration in conjunction with the Board of Trustees of the Village of Garden City take a serious look at the possibility of building a pool facility that will not only benefit our children, but also the residents of this Village that seek a place to swim after our outdoor pool facility closes for the season. I think that you would find many residents in favor of this proposal. Of course, there will be a lot of hard work and many details to work out, but in the end this would be a positive addition to our Village.

Oh yes, and if you are wondering where to build such a facility look no further than the recently purchased green spaces adjacent to the Middle School or St. Paul's and the area behind the outdoor pool facility. By the way, this is not a new concept; just one that was mothballed 40 years ago.

Gregory E. Senken