By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

Second Deputy Mayor Thomas Lamberti will be the new chairman of the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's, announced Mayor Peter Bee at the March 6th meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees.

"I accept this, shall I say, heavy burden that you have placed upon my shoulders," Lamberti said.

He added that "the singular qualification that I have to take on this task is my impatience." Lamberti has already reorganized the committee and established weekly meetings and an agenda. "I assure you that my patience level will not permit this to proceed for a long extended period of time."

Mayor Bee said before he made his decision he consulted with the other members of the committee, which includes trustees Lamberti and Gerard Lundquist, residents Bob Davis, Cosmo Veneziale and Jim Kearney, Village Administrator Robert Schoelle and consultant Karen Backus.

"I have had some conversation with Deputy Mayor Lamberti and he has indicated a willingness to take this on, acknowledging that this is going to be a major, major undertaking," Mayor Bee said.

Surprising to some who follow Village politics is not that Lamberti was named as new chair; the options were limited since the committee is fairly small and the position very demanding. The more interesting twist was that he was recommended by Deputy Mayor John Mauk. Mauk and Lamberti have often argued at Board meetings.

In his endorsement, Mauk alluded to their somewhat tumultuous relationship. "I know that may seem strange to some of you because Mr. Lamberti and I have sometimes had our differences. I have always supported Tom Lamberti when he came on to this Board of Trustees. I supported his campaign. I think he is the person who has the interest of the Village at heart and worked very hard on this."

In February, Mauk submitted his resignation as chairman and member of the Mayor's Committee after discovering that his employer, CB Richard Ellis, has a business relationship with AvalonBay Companies, the designated developer for St. Paul's. Mayor Bee said he has no plans to recommend a new committee member to replace Mauk.

In other St. Paul's news, Trustee Donald Brudie expressed concern over comments made by the Mayor's Committee that trustees approved the deal with AvalonBay. "First of all, it was a conditional approval," he said. "Secondly, the Board didn't approve it...It was a 5 to 3 vote." Brudie, along with trustees John Watras and Thomas Lamberti, voted against entering into an agreement with the developer. However, since majority wins, the item had enough affirmative votes to pass.

Garden City resident Jackie Sporati voiced her concern that an affordable housing bill currently being considered by the New York State Legislature could affect AvalonBay's development plan. According to Village Counsel Gerard Fishberg, this bill has not passed by either chamber this year. Similar bills have been passed by the State Assembly in each of the last few sessions.

Fishberg explained to the Garden City News in an e-mail that the bill would not apply if the developer sought to build less than the maximum density allowed. The options to the 10 percent density bonus, to be selected by the village, would be to have the developer build affordable housing on another site in the village or pay a sum of money (at $185,000 per affordable housing unit) into a fund maintained by the village, by another municipality within the county or by the L.I. Housing Partnership. The definition of "affordable" is a family making up to 130 percent of the median income on Long Island. This would equate to $120,000 for a family of four.