There Are Other Important Issues

Although one might not realize it after reading this week's Letters column on pages, 2, 33, 36, 37 and 38, there are issues (besides The Issue Which Never Ends) that will have a serious impact on life in Garden City.

At the Chamber of Commerce's luncheon at the Garden City Hotel on Wednesday Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi spoke at the and discussed a number of issues that will be critical to Garden City's future. (A full report of the speech, which took place after deadline will appear in next week's issue of this paper.) Among them was the Nassau County Hub, which is still before the Town of Hempstead for zoning approval. Mr. Suozzi continues to support the Hub development, but notes that central to its success is creating mass transit between the Mineola LIRR station and the Hub (and between those points is.... Garden City).

On a more regional level, Mr. Suozzi also discussed the proposal to reform property tax and school funding. The reforms include eliminating unfunded state mandates for school districts (and what's not to like about that?). But they also include a cap on property tax increases. Our view on that is that there is already a mechanism to control property taxes - it's called the school board. However, no matter how one feels about the proposal, rising taxes may have a huge impact on village life, as would the possible loss of local control over the schools.

And of course, the world-wide economic crisis will also probably have a disproportionate effect on Garden City, as so many residents work in the financial sector.

So yes, The Issue is important - but lets not lose sight of the rest of the picture.

Meg Morgan Norris

Publisher