From The Mayor's Office www.Gardencityny.net

By Peter A. Bee

OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AND HALLOWEEN

Regrettably, all too often our young people are criticized for the negative behavior of a relative few. I am pleased to let you know that this Halloween was virtually free of vandalism demonstrating that our young people do care about their Village. On behalf of the parents I thank residents for providing delicious but safe "treats" for the children. A good day was had by all!

VILLAGE OFFICES TO BE CLOSED

Village offices will be closed on Tuesday, November 6, 2007, in observance of Election Day and on Monday, November 12, 2007 in observance of Veteran's Day. For your convenience, correspondence for the Village may be placed in the "Letter" drop slot at the front door.

There will be regular garbage and recycling pickup on Election Day and Veteran's Day.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday, November 4th. Residents are reminded that clocks should be set back one hour.

ANNUAL LEAF REMOVAL SEASON

The Department of Public Works began collecting leaves on Monday, October 29, 200 in the Eastern section and will continue on a sporadic basis throughout the Village, depending upon the amount of leaves in the street and weather conditions. As accumulation increases, full collection will begin in the Western section on a street-by-street basis and proceed easterly through the entire Village. Weather conditions permitting, this route will be repeated on a two-week basis.

We ask that residents observe the following guidelines:

• Place only leaves in the street. Other items may damage machinery and slow down operation.

• Do not place leaves on medians and malls as this will kill or damage the grass. For reasons of safety, our streets are cleaned of leaves on a more frequent schedule than are the medians.

• Avoid parking cars over leaves as this slows our operation considerably, and is also a fire hazard. Each year a number of cars are seriously damaged or destroyed by fire as a result of their being parked on dry leaves.

Please do not obscure fire hydrants by piling leaves around them.

• If you have a gardener, instruct him to place your leaves in the street, and not on the malls. Many gardeners find it convenient to bring leaves in from other communities in which they work for disposal by the Village. This practice is prohibited and the Police Department will be issuing summonses.

Last fall the Street Department along with the Parks Department removed 20,000 cubic yards of leaves. These leaves were then turned into mulch and were made available cost free for use by residents and landscapers. This recycling of leaves saves the Village thousands of dollars annually in disposal costs. Our combined efforts will keep our Village beautiful and reduce waste. If you have any questions concerning our leaf collection schedule, please call the Department of Public Works at 465-4003.

VILLAGE'S WEB SITE

I encourage residents to periodically utilize the Village's website for information regarding the Village's operations, as well as items of seasonal and special interest. The address is www.gardencityny.net. Also please be aware that I have a Village e-mail address and would be delighted to hear from Village residents about their concerns - it is as follows: MayorPBee@gardencityny.net

BOARD MEETING

The next regularly scheduled Village Board of Trustees meeting is on Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. Also please be aware that the Thursday, November 15th meeting has been cancelled.