Letters To The Editor

St. Paul's - G.C.'s DNA

To The Editor:

The St. Paul's School, completed in 1883, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is, along with the Cathedral of the Incarnation, one of the two surviving village treasures that form the fabric of Garden City's DNA. The placement on the National Register makes the building eligible for federal tax benefits and historic preservation grants. These tax credits and preservation grants are being used, nationally and locally, by public-private partnerships to preserve our nation's irreplaceable heritage for present and future generations. You need to go no further than Port Washington to see, the Main Street School, which is now a public theater and senior apartments, such a successful adaptive reuse of a historic structure.

The Committee to Save St. Paul's plan through adaptive reuse of the building, as a community center and senior residences, unlocks a village asset, the approximately $8,000,000 in federal tax credits that now lie fallow in the building, to be the economic engine for true historic preservation at St. Paul's.

The St. Paul's solution is at hand. The Mayor and Trustees in a "profile in courage" should embrace the solution irrespective of past disagreements with the projects authors. The Village Government is presented with a unique opportunity to be remembered for what it preserved rather than what it destroyed. The other competing plans, which are secret and under wraps, if they do not qualify for federal tax benefits because they destroy part of the St. Paul's building and/or exceed the building's footprint, cannot be historic preservation and adaptive reuse of this village treasure.

James M. Kenny

Water Increase

To The Editor:

We noted, with interest, that our water bill will increase by five percent in June of this year.

As suggested in a previous letter, perhaps an outside water company might be able to cut our costs in this area. Or is our water in such short supply that the increase was inflicted to conserve water?

If we wish to keep Garden City "green" such a move may be counter-productive.

Local governments and communities all over the United States are hiring water companies to prepare for future shortages of potable water.

Now is the time to act!

Joseph A. Calamari

P.S. Should a Deputy Mayor be a member of the Board of Ethics?

PPS Do we have an Ethics and Compliance Help Center?

PPPS Now that Newsday is looking at Non-Profit organization we should begin to scrutinize ours that are quasi-governmental for extensive compensation and other irregularities.

Kids Need Fields

To the Editor:

As a parent of four children living within Garden City I have first hand experience that field times for all sports and baseball spots especially are at an absolute premium. Our fields are overflowing and we have a growing need for more field slots and times. This need has increased over the past few years as our in town programs have grown. Fields have grown scarce to the point that many baseball age groups are not able to make-up rainouts, we have shorter seasons and our kids end up getting short changed. BUT, in the not to distant future we may have the potential to at least help the situation to some extent. The Village of Garden City owns the fields on Cherry Valley Rd., just south of the pool complex. However, in prior years, we have been leasing these fields (at a token /courtesy rate) to the Town Of Hempstead. This coming September the lease ends and Garden City can simply begin allowing GC residents and our in town programs to utilize these fields for our kids. From my past attendance at a REC meeting it appears to me that the Recreation department is more than willing to do this and intends to make the recommendation to the trustees to take back the fields but ultimately the final decision of "leasing or allowing GC residents to use the fields" directive comes from the trustees....Please tell your trustees/mayor that you want the Garden City residents to use these GARDEN CITY owned fields and to not lease them to the Town of Hempstead or any out of town organizations.

The GC Administration office can be reached at 465-4000. The name of your trustees are also listed on the village web site at www.gardencityny.net/gcvillage.htm under the "administration area" or get their contact information from your property owners association. All property owner association contact info is available on the Chamber of Commerce web site at www.gardencitychamber.org/search_member.asp (then select property owner associations).

Note: outside organizations may come door to door and ask you to sign petitions for their organization for their kids to use/rent the fields. Before you support outside (out of town) organizations and sign any petitions please remember these are Garden City owned fields and we have kids in Garden City that CAN and WILL use these. If we lease the fields out again it takes away precious field availability from Garden City residents. Our kids need the fields - let them play - tell your trustee today.

Scott Kiley