What The Surveys Say
The residents of Garden City have voted, and now it is up to the Board of Trustees to decide the fate of the historic Main Building at St. Paul's.
Close to half (2,272) of the 5,002 residents who voted in Tuesday's Village-wide survey conducted by the Estates and Eastern Property Owners' Associations selected demolition. The mothballing option came in second with 1,857 votes and the AvalonBay proposal fell behind with 873 votes.
Matt Whalen, AvalonBay's vice president for development, issued the following statement to the Garden City News: "I truly believe that after 15 years of review and debate, AvalonBay's proposal provides the Village with the best opportunity to save and preserve an iconic building. It's now up to the Board of Trustees to make a final decision on the future of St. Paul's.
"On a personal note, my family and I have resided in Garden City for five years and have made many good friends here. We look forward to continuing to be a part of this vibrant community."
This week the Central Property Owners' Association released the results of a survey which had been mailed to residents in the Central section by Amplitude Research. The survey provided two options: AvalonBay, yes or no. Forty percent of the 1,434 surveys mailed were returned. The overwhelming majority (402) of the 572 surveys returned were against the developer.
The Western Property Owners' Association had conducted its own private survey exclusively for residents in the Western section. A phone call to Paul Muscarella, WPOA president, seeking results was not returned by press time.
