By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

The parkland alienation process is widely recognized to be a formidable hurdle that must be overcome if the Garden City Village Board of Trustees ultimately decides to enter into a contract with AvalonBay.

Second Deputy Mayor Thomas Lamberti, who chairs the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's, told the Garden City News that the parkland alienation issue and its financial ramifications were not examined by his committee or their financial consultant, Greenwich Group International, Inc. because it was not included in their initial charge, which was to "get the best possible project options" and "to assist the Board of Trustees in measuring public support."

Lamberti said Village counsel will look into the parkland alienation in greater detail if the Board of Trustees votes to move forward with AvalonBay. "We haven't come face-to-face with that [parkland alienation], but it's a definite hurdle," he said.

On December 16, 2004, the mayor at the time, Barbara K. Miller, successfully introduced a resolution designating the 48 acres of St. Paul's property as parkland. The land had been in a public trust, a designation which is less defined and understood. Either way, restrictions on land use can only be changed by the state legislature through a process known as alienation.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding, a non-binding document which lays out expectations for both sides, the Village will take the lead in the often difficult task of obtaining the necessary Home Rule legislation and relief from parkland designation from state legislators. Senator Kemp Hannon has emphasized that he will only go forward in Albany to secure the necessary legislation and relief from parkland designation if he sees widespread public support. Without the legislation, the land can strictly be used for public purposes only.

One of the first steps the Village will need to take is to obtain an opinion on the legislation from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. According to the "Handbook on the Alienation and Conversion of Municipal Parkland," the office advises the governor and legislature of its position on any bill that requests the alienation of parkland. It may be difficult to garner a positive opinion as the department does not look favorably on a net loss of parkland, according to research conducted last summer by the Committee to Save St. Paul's. A negative opinion could doom the legislation once it hits the state Senate and Assembly.

The handbook also states that the department prefers that a municipality give something in exchange for the parkland. This can be in the form of another parcel of land or the Village can use the proceeds of any transaction for the improvement of other park facilities. Village Counsel Gerard Fishberg has said that preservation of the Historic Main Building may be enough "quid pro quo."

Michael A. Ciaffa, an attorney in the Mineola firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein who represents the Committee to Save St. Paul's, has disagreed, saying that there is nothing in the guidelines and he knows of no judicial opinion which states that preservation would satisfy the department's quid pro quo preference. Further, he said that legislative approval would most likely not be granted because the facade would be restored for a private residential purpose and not for use by the public.

AvalonBay is aware that failure to obtain parkland alienation will jeopardize their project, but chooses to remain positive. "We believe that the state Legislature will listen to the voice of the Village residents to save St. Paul's," said Matthew Whalen, vice president of development for AvalonBay Communities.