A Co-Conspirator

To the Editor:

Frankly, the entire sordid history of St Paul's plus the GC News' coverage and letters have been shameful.

The GC News has been nothing less than a willing battlefield for inane coverage of a topic that deserved serious, non-partisan discussion of the facts rather than frivolous and vicious attacks laid on top of poor and unbiased reporting and analysis of the issues.

The fact that the fate of St Paul's has lingered on for so many years means lost revenue and opportunity for the village. The same issues (ie: use of the building) have been discussed, buried and resurrected over and over while the physical building continues to deteriorate, limiting the options.

In the current harsh economic environment, the only options left are demolition and Avalon Bay--and the GC News should be listed as a co-conspirator.

The proper course should have been for the News to:

1. Accurately analyze and lay out all of the facts as they emerged in a concise, non-partisan way.

2. Based on the facts, make an editorial recommendation that focused on the financial and environmental facts and benefits to the Village.

3. Not print articles and letters of inane internecine warfare that further inflamed the situation.

James Bauer

Learn The Facts

To The Editor:

Here are a few questions for anyone who says they care about the value of their home and the future of the Village of Garden City:

* When was the last time you attended a Village Trustee's meeting?

* Do you know the name of the Village Trustee who represents you?

* Have you ever attended a meeting of your Property Owner's Association?

* Do you know the name of the Officers and Directors of your Property Owner's Association?

* If you receive a blast e-mail or a mailing on a Village issue, do you accept the statements made as fact or have you educated yourself enough on the issue to draw your own conclusions? Do you know the source of the information?

* Did you read the latest newsletter from your Property Owner's Association, the last Village facts, or report from the School Board?

* Have you ever read the Mayor's Report in the Garden City News? Do you know where to find it in the newspaper?

We are all busy and it takes extra time to gather the facts. If we don't know or understand the facts on an issue, we can't have an educated point of view.

It's our job as residents to learn the facts.

Rachel Mead

Residents

Have Spoken

To the Editor:

The residents have spoken:

AVB 873

Mothballing 1857

Demolition 2272

The time has finally come to stop the attempts at privatization of our public land and say goodbye to AvalonBay. The residents mandate is very clear and AvalonBay was completely repudiated. The online poll as well as the Western and Central polls were also overwhelmingly against AVB. Consultants Karen Backus and Greenwich Group have wasted our money analyzing a project that the residents never wanted to begin with. We hope that the Trustees, who continually promoted this project, have finally gotten the message; Enough is enough. Listen to the residents.

Maribeth & John McNelis

St. Paul's - An Icon

To the Editor:

The Mayor of Garden City in his November 7 Report in this newspaper anointed St. Paul's an architectural "icon." Icons are not created by architects. They are made by those who encounter them after they are built. The essential feature of an icon is not its design, but the place it holds in the memory of a place. A structure is an icon when it is a recognized symbol of something other than itself. St. Paul's is a symbol of Garden City: the Village's distinctive founding, planning, historic past and now, its future. The number of residents who voted in the December 2 poll, over five thousand, is testament to the emotion evoked by St. Paul's.

It would be government sponosored vandalism to tear down a building which has become so deeply implanted in Garden City's emotional life. The key questions to be considered now that the vast development proposal has been overwhelmingly rejected:

1. Does Garden City wish to be remembered for what it preserved and passed on to future generations or for what it destroyed?

2. Does Garden City wish to be like every place else?

James M. Kenny

An Anachronism

To the Editor:

By the time this letter is published, the December 2nd advisory vote on the future of St. Paul's will have taken place. It will be astonishing if anything will have been decided. The perceived necessity for the vote is at the heart of the problem. There is simply no way for the will of village residents to be given effective political expression. The Community Compact, that arcane, eighty year old anachronism by which the Village is administered, is still billed as "government without politics". The St. Paul's controversy has shown that it is actually "politics without government". The process by which the Village leadership is chosen is inherently undemocratic. It is no wonder that its decisions are viewed cynically. The future of St. Paul's should have been decided in a democratic village election fifteen years ago. When I say, "tear it down", I don't mean St. Paul's. I mean the Community Compact. I'm voting to mothball the building until there's a popularly chosen government whose decisions can command respect.

Joseph Mitchell

Let's Move On

To the Editor:

Before the vote took place to purchase St. Paul's in February 1993, then Mayor Brian Deveney sent a letter to Village residents. The Mayor stated in part: "...there are a myriad of municipal uses for the buildings." The letter also listed the many benefits of purchasing the property. Among them were, "prevention of undesirable use and development", "acquisition of needed facilities for current and future social, cultural and recreational activities for residents of all ages", and "preservation of an architectural jewel which defines our special historical character." The letter concluded: "In sum, this acquisition will provide the Village with control over its destiny and comfort those who fear destructive development." 88% of voters approved the purchase.

John Mauck, and the other Trustees who attempted to manipulate voters on December 2nd have failed. For the past two years, some of us have challenged these Trustees to provide the "net cost" to convert St. Paul's into the municipal uses voted for in 1993. To have not provided this information to Village residents before December 2nd and made this another ballot option appears to be an act of Trustee malpractice mixed with an unhealthy dose of political arrogance. Even with the gloomy scenarios for mothballing and demolition coupled with the AvalonBay marketing blitz, these Trustees could not even muster a 20% vote for the AvalonBay bailout.

It is time we move on. It is time the chief architect of this fiasco moves on. (At the very least, he does not deserve to be our next Mayor in March 2009.) We need leaders who will do the people's work consistent with the landslide vote that was cast 15 years ago.

David J. Sutton

Looking At

The Results

To the Editor:

This week's poll on St. Paul's clearly shows that residents overwhelmingly opposed AvalonBay. It's time for the trustees to reject a giveaway of our property in favor of finding a solution for the benefit of the entire community. Now is also the time for the Village to stop the bleeding of our taxpayer dollars to consultants who have done nothing but cause us to spend time and money in a futile search for a cost-free private development option.

The results of the poll confirm that residents believe this property was purchased for the community and that they are willing to support alternatives to this private development scheme. Be reminded that the costly choices posed in the poll - demolition and mothballing - are not the only remaining choices.

We do have an option that is far less expensive than mothballing-that is letting the air clear and continuing to maintain the Historic Building, as is, at a cost that is a small fraction of the mothballing estimate. And since demolition is both costly and irreversible, we owe it to ourselves to look long and hard before contemplating any moves in this direction.

The Committee to Save St. Paul's calls on the trustees to begin a dialogue with the community. The only way to come to a fair solution is to involve the stakeholders. Let's see some vision and leadership. During the last few weeks, a vibrant, committed and very energetic group of young residents has emerged. Their talents and passion should be harnessed to find a real, permanent solution that the entire community can embrace.

As our CSSP slogan says... Honoring and preserving our community's heritage,

The Executive Committee

Of The Committee to

Save St. Paul's

Do The Right Thing

To the Editor:

Well, the votes are in and a majority of residents voted in favor of demolition. As a lifelong resident I hope that this never comes to fruition. I understand that the vote was intended as a message to AvalonBay that we are not happy with their current proposal. Does anyone ever remember that St. Pauls was built to honor Alexander Turney Stewart (the founder of our town)? I am sure that his wife would be very saddened over the events of the last eighteen years.

It is hard for me to believe that in a town of well educated people (who's cumulative IQ's are well over the national average) we cannot come up with a way to make St. Paul's a community center for all of the residents, especially our children. There is no place for our children to gather after school and on weekends in this town. Anyone who wants to book a birthday party for their child has to go out of town. We all complain about the behavior of our youth at times, but no one wants to provide them with a healthy, safe alternative. I would be happy to pay a yearly membership to a community center, and I am sure that every parent in this town would feel the same way.

Please do not tear down a building that could service our community and be an ongoing testament to the founder of our town.

Please, once and for all let's try to do the right thing.

Kimberly Murphy Tobin

Lack Of Regard

To the Editor:

Rescheduling the Middle School winter concert to December 8th shows a complete lack of regard for a large percentage of students and their families who celebrate the Holy Day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This is holy day of obligation for Catholics and a day which is observed by a large percentage of the student body of Garden City.

The December 2nd date has been on the school calendar sent to parents since August of 2008. Ms. Kleeman's letter to parents states the change was unavoidable. Exactly what was so important on December. 8th that replaced this event? Surely there was another date available.

"Students requirements and responsibilities are listed in the Middle School Choral Program letter". What about a student's responsibilities to practicing their faith? Many of us send our children to religious instruction and eighth graders are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in a few months. Your decision to change the date puts us as parents in the difficult position of being forced to choose between practicing our faith and supporting school activities. No parent should be placed in that position, especially since your letter by your own admission acknowledges the concert coincides with a religious holy day.

After reading numerous letters in the Garden City News last year about the lack of balance in the music performance programs at some of the elementary school in Garden City, we were assured that there would be every attempt at inclusiveness in future programs. We would expect the same consideration and courtesies be extended to students and their families at the Middle School. Obviously this is not the case.

The rescheduling of the Middle School concert to December 8th shows a lack of regard for a large segment of this community. We expect better from our Garden City school district.

Joan and Joseph Collins

It's The Economy

To the Editor:

I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry after I read about our schools on the front page of the November 21st Garden City News. In the first article, we seem to be quite concerned about a possible cut in State aid, even though it only represents about one half of one percent of the current school budget of approximately one hundred million dollars. In the business world, cuts of five or ten percent are commonplace. We are also concerned that if the roof blows off the high school, the district will not have the funds to replace it. I guess they don't believe in building insurance.

The second article explains that we (the district) are very interested in "co-teaching" which results in two teachers for a single group of students. That will have an "interesting" impact on the school budget. Does the School Board realize the economic impact of the current recession on the residents of this Village - both young and old? As the old saying does - "It's the economy, stupid!"

What the Board should be doing is working on a reduction in school taxes, or at the minimum, holding the line for next year - rather than propose the usual five percent increase.

Joe Davis

Thank You

For Support

To the Editor:

We the members of the St. John's Kenyan Children's foundation, would like to thank those who contributed food and money to help poor families in the community of Roosevelt, Long Island, New York and its surrounding areas. Here is where my parish of Queen of the Most Holy Rosary is located.

Thanksgiving is a time to profess to all our loved ones and friends, that love and understanding endures to the end. It is also a time to remember that there are some people who are not as blessed as we are with food, clothing and shelter. After a harvest, we thank God for His generosity to us. But those who do not have would otherwise feel left out if we fail to share what we have with them. Your act of kindness and generosity has shown your ability to love and help another family that is in need.

As you gather with your family on Thanksgiving Day, give thanks and praise the Lord for all that He has given you and especially the precious gift of Love for one another and for those who reflect the face of the hungry. The families you helped with your Thanksgiving gifts will sit at their table and thank God that through you they have received something to eat and celebrate. May the Lord bless you accordingly.

We pray that God may continue to fill your life with all of His blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving

in the Lord,

Fr. Gabriel Muteru

Honorary Chairman