By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

At its Dec. 18th meeting, the Garden City Board of Trustees unanimously voted to cancel the Memorandum of Understanding with AvalonBay Communities, Inc., and in a 7 to 1 vote, agreed to hire the law firm of Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C., to study the impact, if any, demolition of Ellis Hall and the historic Main Building would have on the environment. Trustee John Watras was opposed to hiring the firm.

"This brings to a close a chapter in Village history," said Mayor Peter A. Bee after the memorandum with AvalonBay was cancelled. "I personally think it is useful to call to mind that it was the Village that was seeking a way to preserve that building and looked at many different alternatives. Ultimately, the Village decided to put out a RFP. In response to our request, AvalonBay brought forth a proposal. And, we have now considered that proposal and received community input and concluded that it does not garner any consensus sufficient to satisfy Senator Hannon's call for a consensus surrounding any proposal to develop that site.

"But I extend my appreciation to AvalonBay for having responded to the RFP and for having come to this Village in response to our request and put forth its thoughts as to how it might privately develop the site. Notwithstanding my appreciation of their coming forth, it appears that that is not the direction this Village is going to go."

Matt Whalen, AvalonBay's vice president for development, issued the following statement to the media: "After 15 years of intense study and debate, it appears that AvalonBay's proposal was the 'last hurrah' for St. Paul's since there is no other entity out there willing to spend $54 million of its own money to preserve a 125-year-old building, especially in these hard economic times.

"I know of no another community on Long Island that would turn aside a similar project that would not cost that community one cent out of pocket and, in fact, would provide millions of dollars in new tax revenues over time. Instead, Garden City will continue to spend tens of thousands of dollars to maintain an empty, useless building and eventually millions of dollars to tear it down.

"It's a shame that St. Paul's will be lost since it doesn't make either economic or historic preservation sense."

After the Board cancelled the MOU, trustees moved forward and voted 7 to 1 to hire outside counsel to study the environmental affects of demolition. "We now have to determine a new direction and you have seen that some of the things that are on our table might take us in the direction of demolition," Mayor Bee said. "But that is not a decision that the Board faces tonight because before any decision on demolition could be made, we are advised that there is a process. There are prudent, deliberative steps which the Board must undertake before it reaches certain decisions."

The Board took the first step by hiring Sive, Paget & Riesel at a blended rate of $412.50 an hour. The term blended means it does not vary based on the level of counsel. The firm specializes in environmental law, litigation, development and land use, and municipal law. According to their Web site, they have been ranked the #1 environmental law firm in New York by Chambers and Partners.

The firm's main responsibility will be to help with the Environmental Impact Study for the possible demolition of the Main Building and Ellis Hall. It will take the firm approximately three to six months to complete their study. Eventually a declaration of impact under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) will also be needed.

When it came time for public comment, after months of meetings where large groups of residents spoke, surprisingly less than 10 people approached the podium on Thursday night. Morton Yuter asked the Board to take steps to mothball the building, rather than taking measures to demolish. George Salem concurred, and asked that residents be allowed to vote for mothballing or demolition.

Mayor Bee explained that after years of study, the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's concluded that mothballing would not be economically sensible. "I suspect that many trustees feel that having looked at a variety of options and not finding one that is economically viable, that demolition may be the least worst choice," he said. "But that is not a determination the Board has yet made, and will not make, until after the proper legal and environmental steps have been taken. Of course I also note that by plurality that was also seemingly the choice that garnered the most number of votes in the recent POA sponsored poll."

Architect Bernard Marson asked the Board to take another look at his client Eskar International's proposal for the building. Their proposal included 46 luxury apartments without altering the footprint of the building.

In August, Trustee Thomas Lamberti, who was chairman of the Mayor's Committee at that time, responded to a letter from Walter McKenna, a director of the Eastern POA, in which he answered several questions, including why Marson's client was not selected:

"Eskar International responded to the RFP with joint venture partner Litas Investing Co. and architect Bernard Marson. Their final proposal as submitted on January 26, 2007 was thoroughly evaluated by the Mayor's Committee, and it was determined that the proposal did not adequately meet the standards set forth in the RFP with respect to project feasibility and developer experience and track record.

"The developer, Eskar International, is a UK-based firm that has not completed any projects in the United States. The local investor partner, Litas Investing Co., Inc., also lacked recent experience; the proposal cited three Litas projects which were commenced in the 1970s and 1980s. No construction manager had been selected.

"The architect, Bernard Marson, had completed some relevant projects; however the development team as a whole lacked relevant experience and had never worked together before. Further, the management consortium, which would consist of Eskar and Litas, had no experience managing upscale residential properties."

The Board did not comment on Thursday, but a resident shook her head. "No more developers please," said Rochelle Dowling, "Just keep it for us."

Resident Robert Vassilotti read a letter from Erin M. Tobin of the Preservation League of New York State. The League, a statewide, non-profit, membership organization dedicated to the protection of New York's historic buildings, districts and landscapes, supports the preservation of St. Paul's. She provided the Village with a list of grant programs potentially available for building rehabilitation.

Maureen Traxler, administrative and communications director for the Committee to Save St. Paul's, read a letter from Roberta Lane, program officer and regional attorney for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "Demolition of this significant building would be irreversible, needless, and profoundly short-sighted," she wrote.

Alexandra Parsons Wolf, director of preservation services for the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, asked the Board not to stop searching for a way to save the building. "Garden City cannot give up just because AvalonBay was not the right developer. St. Paul's School is too important. It cannot be demolished-not now, not ever."