No IDA Application

To the Editor,

The Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency has received a number of inquiries concerning the property, upon which the former St. Paul's school is located.

The Garden City community should be aware that there is no application filed with the Town of Hempstead IDA with respect to this property.

If, in the future, a proposal for the development of the site is agreed upon by the residents of Garden City and the Village Officials, it could be considered by the IDA.

However, it is my understanding that there is no resolution on the issues. Thus, there is no role for the IDA at present.

Frederick E. Parola,

Executive Director/CEO,

Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency

No Basis In Fact

To the Editor:

In a letter to the Garden City News dated June 17, 2008 the Executive Director of the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency, Fred Parola, laid out the alleged rationale why the IDA granted the prospective purchaser of the Garden City Hotel millions of dollars in tax breaks. The reasons given by Mr. Parola do not withstand scrutiny and are not persuasive that this project is deserving of the IDA benefits conferred upon it.

The first reason given is that numerous construction and permanent hotel jobs will be created as a result of this project. While certainly temporary construction jobs will be created during the period of the renovation, the same can be said for any commercial renovation undertaken in the County. Theoretically any such commercial renovation would also qualify for IDA benefits under such a standard. This cannot be the intent behind the IDA. With respect to permanent hotel jobs, there is no evidence that there will be an enlargement of the Hotel that would require additional staff. In any event, the few jobs that might be created would not be the type of jobs that would warrant such benefits.

Parola also states that incentives are necessary for the Garden City Hotel to remain competitive in the luxury hotel industry and to reverse multi-million dollar annual losses. This statement is belied by the purchase price offered of $91 million. If this were such a failing business, the offers for the Hotel would be minimal at best. The cost of renovating the Hotel is an ordinary cost of operating a hotel and does not warrant special consideration. The value of the land alone makes this an extremely valuable piece of property. Of course, the only reason that Mr. Rosenberg is offering $91 million is because he is receiving enormous tax breaks from the IDA. In addition to the substantial property tax savings he will be receiving, he would also be exempt from paying sales tax and the mortgage recording tax (estimated at approximately $780,000). Often overlooked is the fact that the MTA receives a substantial portion of the mortgage tax collected, approximately $225,000 in this case, which is sorely needed by the MTA at the current time.

The next reason given is that, if the IDA did not give these benefits, the property would be converted to condominium use. This supposedly would generate lower taxes, and there would be a greater demand for village services, including an increase in the school district's student population. This rationale is apparently based on the zoning change approved by the Village of Garden City to allow the top four floors of the hotel to be converted to condominium use. Even if this were true, however, the class two school tax rate for condominiums is $350 per hundred dollars of assessed value for the 2007/08 tax year, significantly higher than the class four tax rate of $294 per hundred applicable to hotels. Therefore, the taxes generated by a condominium would be the same or more than the taxes generated from the hotel. Furthermore, to the extent that the top floors of the hotel would be sold for condominium use (similar to the Plaza Hotel) they most certainly would be luxury condominiums and the target market would in all likelihood be empty-nesters. There would be few, if any, school-age children residing in these units. In addition, most of the increased services that are referenced would be provided by the Hotel, not the Village.

The final reason given by Mr. Parola is that while there might be a loss of tax revenue in the short term, this project will lead to increased tax revenues over the long term. While this might have been a valid reason if it were accurate, there is no evidence that it is. The IDA never performed a tax analysis of this project to examine the impact in the short-term or the long-term. In addition, they never consulted with my office to get an estimate of the value that would be put on this property for assessment purposes after the renovations are performed. In light of these failures, the conclusion put forward by Mr. Parola has no basis in fact and is merely an after-the-fact attempt to justify a determination that was clearly made before any real analysis was performed.

Harvey B. Levinson

Chairman,

Board of Assessors

Don't Be Afraid

To the Editor:

As we come down to a final AvalonBay/St Paul's proposal it seems that our Village Board is afraid to stand up and be counted. I think it is important that Village residents hear what each of the Trustees thinks about the Board's upcoming AvalonBay proposal. Based on comments made at the last Trustee Meeting, the Mayor indicated the process would be that the Board only acknowledge receipt of the subcommittee's AvalonBay proposal and not indicate Trustee support or indicate problems that individual Trustees might have with the proposal. The Board intends to let the Village residents hear presentations, without their comments, and then have residents vote for or against the proposal-the method to be revealed at a later date. At that point, the Board would vote to approve or reject the plan.

At least one Trustee was not afraid to speak up-John Mauk. Trustee Mauk basically felt the AvalonBay plan was marginal at best but he said he felt that this was the last option if we wanted to save the building. I am sure that I don't want a marginal proposal. I am not sure I fully agree that this is the last option to save the building.

It is not easy to be a Village Trustee. And we know they put in a lot of time for our benefit. It is OK for the Board to be disappointed if they feel the AvalonBay/St Paul's proposal does not meet Garden City's goals for the property. The committee worked as hard as they could to try to make this work. HOWEVER, if the individual Trustees now feel this is not what we really want, it is time to speak up. I can only say that it appears by their reluctance to comment on the proposal that most of the Board is not solidly in favor of the plan.

Therefore, I ask you individually: Trustee Gerard Lundquist , Trustee John Watras, Trustee Robert Rothschild, Trustee Nicholas Episcopia, Trustee Donald Brudie, Trustee Thomas Lamberti and Mayor Peter Bee -- Is the AvalonBay proposal one that you support without reservation and believe that is the right answer for the St. Paul's property?

The bottom line for me is simple. The Village has looked for 15 years to find a solution for the St Paul's main building. Each proposal was reviewed, discussed , and debated. So far each was rejected. The fact that we haven't found a good solution is frustrating but has not negatively impacted on the Village financially or strategically. We still own the property, we still have a building and we still need to find a solution. But we haven't made a mistake. We haven't forced a solution that was marginal. Therefore, we rely on our current Trustees to continue to review, to DISCUSS, to debate and to determine what is best for our Village.

Jonathan Schwieger

A Debt Of Gratitude

To The Editor:

First, congratulations to the 2008 Garden City High School Boys' and Girls' Lacrosse Teams on another successful season.

With the lacrosse season now complete, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many friends, TMA Lifetime members, parents of my former players, former players, and coaches who supported me after my unwarranted and unjust dismissal from my middle school coaching position. I especially want to thank Doug Dwyer, Mike Pappa, the Harders, the Durands, the Nortons, and the Wrights. Your phone calls, e-mails and letters meant so much to me during a very disturbing time.

I was forced to leave my duties as middle school coach, but I leave with my head held high knowing that the only thing I am guilty of is contributing to the success of hundreds of Garden City's student-athletes. Because the accusations made against me are false, Mr. Ed Phillips, one the most respected teachers and coaches at Garden City resigned from his middle school lacrosse coaching position as well. Ed, I will be forever grateful for this selfless act of support.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to former Athletic Director, Bob Allen an long-time Varsity Lacrosse Coach, "Doc" Dougherty, for hiring me twenty-seven years ago and affording me the opportunity to teach a game I love to the children of this community, three of whom were my sons. While "they" may be able to prevent me from coaching, "they" can't prevent me from supporting the lacrosse program. I will continue to attend games and cheer for your children and wish them well as they move through the high school ranks and on to college.

Thanks again to wonderful people who supported me. It makes me feel good knowing that I had a significant role in making Garden City Lacrosse one of the elite programs in the state over the past twenty-seven years.

John "Coach" Dell'Olio

Opposes Proposal

To the Editor:

I want to go on the record that I am completely opposed to the Avalonbay proposal for the St. Paul's property. The terms are totally in their favor and would be extremely detrimental to Garden City in general and to the already overburdened taxpayers in particular.

What I am in favor of is a plan that utilizes the St. Paul's property for the benefit of the residents of the village. Whether that means accepting the Eskar proposal, the Canus proposal from the Committee to Save St. Paul's, moving various village department/school offices or my personal favorite, having the majestic and historic St. Paul's buildings again function as a school to replace the current inadequate high school building, it is high time to move forward with a decision.

I am absolutely opposed to razing St. Paul's. We were right to have purchased it, and although many years have passed, it still is a visual, existing reminder of our village's unique history.

Stephanie Schaff Fortunato

Combat Waste

To The Editor:

Congratulations to the teachers and their cronies for again gaining such bounteous gifts from the generous citizens of Garden City.

The obscene budget was passed by about three hundred votes.

Mr. Feirsen who leads the pack, immediately started the propaganda rolling for next year's budget. l

He stated, "Every year brings its challenges," etc., etc., etc.

His statement then continued on with what may be gently described as excremental verbiage.

We learned that the puppets on the school board approved a salary increase of approximately six per cent for Mr. Feirsen. This brings his salary to $247,500 plus many benefits.

There is more good news.

Albert Chase, an assistant "super," will now receive $190,600; Fino Celano another "super;" will receive $185,655; Teresa Prebndergast another "super;" will receive $180,130. Wow!

How can we subsidize such hog-wash?

Hopefully, observing this nightmare may encourage the citizens to organize and combat these wastrels.

Angelo DiPippo

High Salaries

To The Editor:

Now that our Village Librarian has retired, it is rumored that he was paid a salary of $220,000 a year. If this is true, even though this gentleman was an excellent librarian, such salary, if paid, in my opinion was excessive compared to other librarians on Long Island, including other towns, villages and college and law school librarians.

A short time ago, I indicated that I would file a Freedom of Information Law request to ascertain the salaries of all Garden City officials, employees and contract employees. When I heard other such rumors, such action now appears to be necessary. Why?

Because it is now rumored that a senior Garden City official is or will be receiving a pension and salary at the same time, as occurred with our Police Commissioner.

if this is true, the Mayor and Trustees should not wait until Newsday publishes it. The taxpayers of Garden City are entitled to know, until the law is changed, all of the above is entirely legal.

The Garden City Board of Education has recently published the raised salaries of our Superintendent and Assistaant Superintendent of Schools and others. Failure to disclose, in my opinion, causes citizens to be suspiccious of what is occurring. Secretive government, except in the area of National Defense is not what we want. What do you think?

Joseph A. Calamari

Hockey Staff Great

To the Editor:

On behalf of the league players I would like to thank the GC Rec. Roller Hockey Staff so much for another great season. As a member of the senior league I feel like I was very close with all of you and I feel very lucky to have been able to be a part of this league. For those of you who don't know about this league, it is a roller hockey league located at the rinks behind the Garden City Pool, run by league commissioner Andrew Karen and many other coaches and referees. The coaches are Tom Hickcox, Dan Hickcox, Brian Johnston and James Crafa. The referees are Joey Scalise and Billy Herbst. All of these guys worked very hard to make the roller hockey experience for every kid as enjoyable as possible, especially Andrew. Andrew Karen is one of the hardest working people I know. On the day of our league championship game he showed up at nine o'clock in the morning just to set up a sound system. The games didn't even start until four o'clock! As much as the older players and staff members may joke about his enthusiastic play-by-play commentary and the playlist he makes for the game, we all still love being announced onto the rink, hearing our names after a great play, the goal horns, the intermission interviews and the infamous, "drop that puck" song. Even when we joke around about Andrews's seriousness about the league we all know inside that without him there wouldn't even be a rec. roller hockey league. I for one have no clue what I would do with myself on Fridays without roller hockey. In the Winter, I spend my Friday afternoons relaxing before I hang out with my friends at night, but in the Spring I go to the roller hockey rinks at 3:30 to watch the younger kids play, hang out with the staff and other older kids there, and I then I play in my game at night.

If you went up to anybody who plays in the league and asked them what they thought about it, I can guarantee that they would tell you about how they love playing with their friends on Fridays and about how hard the staff works to make it as enjoyable as possible. However, judging by Andrew's intermission interviews with the younger kids you may not get a very elaborate response if you put a microphone in their face and talk very loudly, but the general message would be received. A large reason for why kids of all ages love this league is because of the coaches and refs. Even though my friend and I have a slightly rough history with a ref who wears a tinted visor, we still appreciate all they did this season because we know that they can't make every call when they're wishing they could be hanging out with there friends on a Friday night and they instead have to have teenagers yelling at them and complaining about calls. If it wasn't for them the games wouldn't run as smoothly as they did and we wouldn't have anybody to blame for all of our losses. We could blame ourselves, but then we would have to face with the fact that we are not as good as we think we are and maybe we are actually responsible for letting up all fourteen goals. The coaches are great role models, even if you are twice there size you can still look up to them for moral support, strategies, and a ride home half an hour before the game starts to get piece of equipment that you could have swore was in your bag. Even when we disagree with them or argue about not being allowed to play the whole game, we still know that they have the whole team in mind with every decision they make and we know that we are very lucky to have four great coaches in our league. The staff will be losing four members this year: Billy Herbst, Joey Scalise, Tom Hickcox and James Crafa will all be leaving the league for college and we all wish them luck in the future. The staff in the fall will have some big shoes to fill because all of the staff members leaving us played huge roles in the league. Especially Tom, he was with the program from day one and he is the head of the "Coaches Union", or so it says on his chair in the shack. With the growing number of players each year I can only hope that this league will continue to prosper as I finish up my playing career sometime in the near future, hopefully become part of the staff. For any parents reading this, you should definetly consider signing your child up for the Fall season or any season in the future.

Thanks again for a great season.

Brendan Logan

Not Mindless

To the Editor:

In response to Mr. Gray's statement that voters "mindlessly" supported the Republican machine, I'd like to inform Mr. Gray that just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't mean that you are correct and the other person is not informed. During the 60's, Peaceniks stated often that anyone who didn't support them was not "informed" and mindlessly followed our leaders. They were wrong then and you, sir, are wrong now. I for one am a most studied and informed person and never follow anyone "mindlessly".

Gerri Moratti