Letters To The Editor

Email: editor@ gcnews.com

Appreciates

Public Comments

To the Editor:

Some 350 Garden City residents turned out over the course of two nights recently to learn more about the Avalon-Bay proposal to save St. Paul's. Last October, the Village Board conditionally designated AvalonBay as the firm the Village would now work with in an effort to turn that proposal into a more specific plan for redevel-opment; one that would be acceptable to the residents.

As we reminded residents during the presentations, and during other out-reach sessions, important details of the plan are still being developed. The plan is still subject to change based upon the input from residents and from the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's.

The feedback we have received so far has been very helpful. As we move forward, the issues raised will help AvalonBay develop a revised and more completely detailed plan that will again be presented to the Village's residents for input.

Our goal is to provide Garden City and its residents with a plan that achieves as many of the common goals identified during the outreach process as possible, and within the limitations established by the Mayor's Committee.

We take every question seriously and will seek to provide the fullest answer possible.

No plan will be rushed through without a full and open public discussion.

More outreach will be conducted in the weeks ahead as we continue to seek input from as many residents as possible.

We sincerely appreciate the time everyone has taken to participate in the process so far, and look forward to discussing a revised and more detailed plan (and variations thereof) in the near future that reflects the input we have received.

Matthew B. Whalen

Vice President,

Development

AvalonBay

Communities Inc.

Community Need

To the Editor:

During recent AvalonBay presentations to Village residents, the subject of community space in the historic St. Paul's building remained elusive. Avalon representatives said the Village will have to pay "rent" in the amount of $450,000 annually for such space. If the Village determines it needs less space, the price goes down; more space, the price goes up. Residents were also told that Village officials have not expressed a need for space and have not indicated to what use the space would be put.

Perhaps the need for community space inside St. Paul's isn't being addressed properly. Has the Village shared with AvalonBay the results of studies that have already been conducted?

In 1993 soon after Village residents approved the purchase of the St. Paul's property for public purposes, residents received a survey prepared by Quennell Rothschild. They were asked to choose from a limited list, including botanic/flower gardens, nature walk, bike paths, walking paths, outdoor performance facilities for dance, music, outdoor movies, drama, performance art, and of course, athletic uses. Some of those suggestions were implemented at St. Paul's, and we now have beautiful playing fields, a children's playground and use of the gymnasium at the Field House and rooms at Cluett Hall. However, nothing has been accomplished to secure community activities inside the historic building.

Subsequent to that, Adelphi University conducted a Senior Survey to assess what kinds of activities and services Garden City seniors sought. Among the results of that survey, seniors expressed a desire for assistance with financial questions, cab services to get from place to place, more social activities, among other needs.

Recognizing that local groups may still be in need of space for events and meetings, in 2005 Mayor Barbara Miller appointed a Mayor's Committee on Public Needs, with an eye toward utilizing space in St. Paul's School on the first floor and lower levels and in the chapel. In addition to receiving the results of the above mentioned surveys, this Committee reviewed recreational public use/needs data and needs assessments compiled by the Recreation Department.

Mayor Miller's Committee interviewed some 20 community groups and their findings showed a need for large and small meeting rooms, indoor recreational activities such as checkers and ping pong, a large all purpose room suitable for plays, concerts, lectures and movies, cultural activities like dance recitals, theatre, ballet and musicals. Seniors expressed a need for more space for meetings and card playing. Several groups asked for community showcases where team awards, trophies and citations could be displayed.

During the Committee to Save St. Paul's negotiation with the recent Trustee Mauk Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's and consultant Karen Backus & Associates, we were challenged to explain why we proposed 14,000 square feet of public space in St. Paul's. The Committee to Save St. Paul's not only referenced previous surveys, but also, as part of our outreach, asked members of our Families for St. Paul's group what types of services and activities they would find helpful if provided in a St. Paul's Senior and Community Center. Here's a sampling of their answers: A general meeting area for sitting, reading and talking for all ages; a comfortable teen room that would allow for study-groups to work, yet not be a complete quiet area; classes for young children that are open to all, so that children with special needs can join with their friends; a place where local artists can display their work; music lessons, dance lessons and SAT classes that residents currently go out of town to pursue; classrooms for elder learning; Girl Scouts and others.

One resident wrote that current expenditures on extracurricular activities for their children "outside" the Village is "a significant amount of money, not to mention the significant waste of time, effort and gasoline." Another estimated time at "20 hours a month" outside Garden City for youth activities. Another said it would be "spectacular to attend performances in the chapel!" Another, "I'd like to see seniors talking and interacting with children, telling stories, teaching them to dance." Would residents attend and participate in cultural experiences and opportunities in the fine arts - Yes!

In explaining the need for an enlarged senior center, the Committee to Save St. Paul's pointed out that the current building on Golf Club Lane and the Senior Center at St. Paul's at The Cottages only provides approximately 4,400 square feet for a senior population that is currently 21% of the Village's 21,000 residents. Projections show that that population will rise to about 25% within the next 10 years. After researching facilities in neighboring communities, Committee to Save St. Paul's believed Garden City's senior space and services are woefully inadequate, and the Village could do better by its senior residents, many of whom have contributed their time and talents to making Garden City the premiere community that it is today.

We hope that Village officials share the results of their studies with AvalonBay and if Avalon wishes to review the Committee to Save St. Paul's findings, we would gladly share those results. While Mayor Gerard Lundquist offered a list of available Village space, nothing comes close to having community space set aside in a renovated and restored historic St. Paul's building that residents purchased for public purposes so many years ago. Someone in an elected position of responsibility in our Village, someone with vision, needs to step up and define what should be done within St. Paul's to address the real needs of our residents, instead of letting an outside developer decide for us.

Maureen Traxler

Committee to

Save St. Paul's

No Meeting Of Minds

To the Editor:

The spectacle of trustees arguing in the public square about the accuracy of statements in 'Village Facts,' their publication, is a reminder of Alice's puzzlement in Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.'

'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything: so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. 'They've a temper, some of them - particularly verbs: they're the proudest - adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs - however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'

'Would you tell me, please,' said Alice, 'what that means?'

In December 2005, village officials held a meeting at which a brochure, Saving St. Paul's, was distributed to residents. The words in that document are important because the administration solicited taxpayers for a meeting of minds on the proposal described:-

Primary Objective: The primary objective is to restore features of the main building and provided for their long-term maintenance 'at no cost to Village taxpayers.'

General Conclusion: many of the features can be restored 'at no cost to taxpayers, and with other considerable benefits to the Village.'

Initial Objectives: 'Fund by private - non-taxpayer - dollars.'

Findings-Private Funding: Residential condominium development would support restoration and long-term maintenance of the building 'at no cost to the tax-payers.'

Benefits to the Village: 'Private sector pays for expensive restoration; restores building to tax rolls, generating approximately $10 million in property taxes over the first 20 years; eliminates current $100,000 annual expense for operation/maintenance.'

That seems to be a pretty clear and unambiguous statement of residents' objectives and the trustees presumably proceeded to implement them, distributing an RFP to developers. However, it's doubtful whether the RFP is the intended target of the Avalon proposal. For example, Avalon proposes a 35 year property tax abatement, a loss of many millions property taxes; also, the village would pay rent to Avalon start-ing at $450,000 a year for 12,500 square feet of space for private group activities. Query: do the trustees understand clearly what residents want; does Avalon know clearly what the village asked for? It appears that Avalon's objectives differ from residents' and there is no meeting of minds.

Recent letters are a portent of more expensive and pointless litigation against the village which, after some 15 years of divisiveness, will be irresponsible to contest, considering the demographics of the village, a massive property tax burden, and economic conditions, among other things. Stewart's widow built St. Paul's Cathedral as a memorial to her husband. The Cathedral is the important monument commemorating Alex and is a significant feature of our landscape, but its exterior has been obscured by scaffolding for several years. Imagine if the millions that have been spent - and will be spent - on a hopeless quest to restore an old school building had been spent restoring the Cathedral to its former beauty. What a blessed thing to do!

J. J. Dolan

Residents

Need Facts

To the Editor:

No, Mr. Mauk, we do not want to give St Paul's away, just to save it. We purchased it for the people. We certainly don't want to give St Paul's away, and at the same time, have it cost us both in our pocketbooks and in the future of our community.

When did the alternative to the Avalon Bay project become demolition? If I recall, former Boards of Trustees were also considering full public use of the historic building. Perhaps thats the alternative. If members of this Board would reach out to the community and show some vision, together we could accomplish that objective.

Before any decision is made, all of the facts pertaining to the project (financial, numbers of units, parking, taxes, community space, etc) must be made public and then decided upon by THE RESIDENTS of the Village. Then and only then can our trustees say they are following the will of the people.

Arlene Chianese

Next Generation Housing

To the Editor:

I see from articles in the paper that Garden City's Board of Trustees will soon be considering action on two im-portant building projects here in our village, 550 Stewart Ave and the St. Paul's property. I see from the Long Island Index '08, released yesterday, that our housing problems continue to get worse. Indeed the lack of housing for our own young children and bright young workers is dragging down our whole economic prospects.

As a resident of Garden City and as a member of the Housing Committee of the Nassau County League of Women Voters, let me urge the Board to chose to find ways to include Next Generation Housing in the St. Paul's and the 550 Stewart projects. This means housing for our own kids, and for new young workers in vital high tech industries. The leaders of Long Island agree that these workers are key to our economic survival. We also need to help our own Village work-ers and police officers, our school teachers, professors at Adelphi and Hofstra as well as health care professionals at Winthrop Hospital.

We have an opportunity to help solve this urgent Long Island problem, and we can benefit our own Village at the same time. Next generation workers can live here and be next door to good jobs and have easy access to LIRR service. As residents they can bring fresh perspectives and energy to the life of our Village. Further, as consumers these young workers are highly sought-after buyers who can strengthen our retail stores sales. Indeed, the Long Island Index and many well respected national studies predict that the communities that thrive in the 21st century will be ones with strong downtowns including Next Generation housing. And, this commitment to Next Generation housing might be a positive factor in getting the approvals we will need in Albany.

It's time to act responsibly in our own interest and become part of Long Island's solution, not part of Long Island's problem. Many, many other fine cities have found ways to do this. We can too!

Donald J. Skinner

Robbed Of View

To The Editor:

I have been a resident of Garden City since the early 1930's. As a child, I lived in the western section and remember looking out the window of the school bus ... and my father's car to fields of green. Until very recently, it was uplifting to see the golf course along Edgemere Road. The construction of a new fence has robbed us of that beautiful view.

How sad that this is being taken away from everyone, future generations as well.

Jane D. Colahan

Tolerance 201!!!

To The Editor:

The religious controversy between Jews and Christians in our town is obviously escalating. Mr. Ryans' contention that Christian symbols had been eliminated (happy holidays does not quite make it) and Jewish menorah put in their place is disturbing. The rumor now going around that the teachers and staff at the particular school are Jewish is more disturbing. Isn't it time for the school board to step in and tell us just what happened and why such an extreme religious controversy was allowed to develop? Shouldn't that board have known beforehand what was happening under their jurisdiction in our schools?

Al Urban

Absentee Ballot Information

To the Editor:

The New York Presidential Primary is upon us. On Tuesday, February 5th, those registered in the Republican and Democratic Parties will be able to choose their party's nominee. You can only vote in the primary for the party in which you are enrolled.

As this is the earliest New York has ever held a primary and it is not a regular election date, many may be out of town. If you will not be able to vote at your regular polling place on February 5th, you may also vote by absentee ballot.

An application for an absentee ballot application can be obtained online at www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/BOE/absentee.html. You can also obtain an application by calling the Board of Elections at 516-571-2411. Upon completion, applications must be mailed to the Nassau County Board of Elections no later than the seventh day before the election (January 29) or delivered in person no later than the day before the election (February 4).

You may only request an absentee ballot if you are: unavoidably absent from your county on Election Day; unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability; are a patient in a Veterans' Administration Hospital; detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action; or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony.

I hope this information will make it easier for you to vote on February 5th if you cannot make it to the polls in person. If you have any questions about any matter, please feel free to call my office at 516-739-1700 or e-mail me at hannon@senate.state.ny.us.

Kemp Hannon

New York State Senator