Fiscal Prudence

To the Editor:

Next Tuesday's election in the Eastern Section of the village is a sharp contrast of ideas. I stand for a platform of fiscal prudence and operational streamlining whereas my opponent bases her campaign on one issue - preservation of St. Paul's at any cost.

With a serious erosion in tax revenues, particularly the mortgage recording tax, we face a very difficult budget process this year. With scant opportunity for increased revenue streams, we must squeeze every dollar we can from the expense side of the budget. The looming budget crisis at the County and Town of Hempstead levels will surely be painful enough. (The County is proposing a tax on heating oil.)

The village begins the budget process this month with numerous work sessions during the next 6 weeks or so. These meetings are open to the public so please try to attend and lend your ideas and opinions as this process moves forward.

We must utilize the talent and expertise of our residents during this economic tsunami. Our village is blessed with smart, resourceful, innovative people who toil in a variety of fields. We need a greater participation from our residents. The success of our form of government has been the flow of volunteers who have given of their time and talent to serve as the backbone of village government.

Our form of government has maintained our heritage, held down our taxes, and produced a village which delivers services in an efficient manner. Our various departments function very well. Police, Fire, Sanitation, Public Works, Recreation, and Parks are the envy of other communities. We have strict Architectural Standards, tough building codes, tight zoning regulations, and sound financial management. Out bond ratings and borrowing policies are conservative and safe.

We sometimes tend to dwell on the negative. We have a wonderful village with mostly positive results. I hope to be able to serve the people of our great village as a Trustee from the East. My long years of involvement in village affairs and the skills learned during my 35 years of business experience will help me to aid this village government in the next two years. I ask you to vote for me on February 3rd.

Dennis Donnelly

Many

Important Issues

To the Editor:

Last week I was asked to respond to several questions from the Garden City News regarding my positions on certain issues facing the Village as well as my opponent's criticism and that of his ardent supporter and Eastern Nominating Committee Chairman that I was merely a single issue candidate and lacked the qualifications to serve as your Trustee.

First, I would like to thank the Garden City News, its editor Meg Morgan Norris and Stephanie Petrellese for enforcing a "code of civility" last week in editing certain inflammatory remarks which were forwarded to me by e-mail for response. The Chairman's remarks, only portions of which were quoted in last week's paper, sought not only to criticize me but to demonize me for seeking to serve as your Trustee by petition rather than by nomination of the EPOA.

I am glad the News edited certain portions of his remarks about my candidacy that were in my opinion inappropriate, lacked any degree of civility and certainly did not address pertinent issues in the campaign process. I hope that the editing restraint continues and that the News will continue to enforce a higher standard of decorum especially on the Letters pages so as not to further erode the spirit of volunteerism so vital to Garden City, especially in its government.

I am frustrated by the limited agenda handouts provided to the public at the public meetings. I am also frustrated as well as by the lack of lines of communication between the Trustees, Village Staff and the residents. Communication of issues, reaching out, not just stating positions, would foster an informed citizenry, which in turn would increase feedback and dialogue on the issues. Better communication would improve transparency and hopefully eliminate some of the allegations caused by the uncertainty.

Although I am not a member of the Committee to Save St. Paul's, I, much like the 2,730 residents who favored preservation (AVB "preservation" (873) + the 1857 for "mothballing") share their sense of the importance of preserving St. Paul's at an affordable cost which would include use by the residents. I also believe that the property itself and our property values need to be protected against damaging commercial development which would have been greatly diminished by the project favored by the EPOA.

The Light Rail project, Wang's Lighthouse, the HUB, Covanta, and mass developments surrounding the Village's eastern borders (Hempstead, the possible development by EngelBurman at the Bookspan property, Westbury, East Garden City/Nassau Community College area) are of particular interest and great concern to me, as they should be for the whole Village. Again, we must do what we can to prevent urbanization.

However, the SINGLE most important issue facing our Village is in fact, the Light Rail, not St. Paul's. The Light Rail would be disastrous. It would drastically reduce property values, it would dissect our Village, especially in the East, forever changing it's character. Our quality of life would be changed and on our business district, revived in recent years, would be similarly devastated. We cannot allow the proponents of the Light Rail and big business developers to take advantage of our distraction with St. Paul's. We must move on from the innocuous existence of our architectural jewel and focus our energies and resources on fighting the Light Rail.

With respect to taxes, the Village needs to trim the fat and tighten the belt. We are all doing it, enough with business as usual. From a budget standpoint, do what we need for health and safety of the residents and the economic viability and preservation of the Village as a whole.

As a mother of four I am very sensitive and concerned about environmental issues, including the effect on our air quality with the addition of a 4th burner at the Covanta site and our water quality. Our Village needs to participate in every aspect of the Covanta project as it proceeds, perhaps Village staff should be assigned to attend each meeting, rather than an outside consultant, to achieve the goal of eliminating the harmful impact on our Village. The affect of yet another IDA tax break for this venture should also be analyzed and scrutinized closely by the Village.

I am interested in seeing Garden City keep its special character, history and traditions with the hopes that the children of the Village will want to return after College like my husband and I did to raise their families here.

I can be reached directly by e-mail at alisonmetzler@mindspring.com if anyone would like to personally discuss these, and any other issues, and my positions in more detail than these pages or a website would allow.

As a litigator, I bring particular insight to the issues facing the resdients, some call it passion, especially having grown up in the Village, graduating from our schools and now raising my own children here. I hope that over the years, I have earned your respect and trust. If I have, I ask for your vote of confidence on February 3rd, between 4:30 and 9pm at Stewart School and thank you for your support.

I am respectfully and

with best wishes to all,

Alison Downing Metzler

Decide On Merits

To the Editor:

How fortunate it is for the Eastern Section residents to have two qualified candidates running to be one of their Village Trustees. I know both Dennis Donnelly and Alison Metzler personally and can say without reservation that they are both bright and wonderful community minded individuals with a true love for our incredible Village.

Dennis is an accomplished and respected business person who has certainly put his time in when it comes to community services as evidenced by him being awarded the 2008 Community Achievement Award.

Alison is an accomplished attorney and mother of four who has selflessly donated countless hours coaching youth sports and written with conviction and passion about issues that affect the Village that she has lived in for her entire lifetime.

My point is that they are both good people who would serve the best interests of the Village if elected. Residents of the Eastern section need only evaluate each candidate on the merits for which they stand and make an informed decision.

I fully expect a barrage of letters that seek to disparage both Mr. Donnelly as well as Mrs. Metzler rather than supporting the numerous positive attributes that each candidate has to offer. I find this cycle of divisive behavior most distressing as it does not help the Village nor its residents.

Be wary of criticisms of Dennis Donnelly that you may read because someone did not like positions that he may have taken as EPOA President. By the same token, bear in mind that a good number of our sitting Trustees are in that position as a result of runoff elections when reading barbs that Alison Metzler is a renegade that broke ranks by entering the race. Filter out the clutter and nonsense and stick to the facts.

I truly believe that the Eastern Section has two fine candidates from which to chose, but I live in the Central Section so it is not a choice that I must make. I implore the Eastern Section residents to get out and vote after making a fair and objective evaluation. Most of all, don't believe everything that you read.

Craig G. Biscone

A Breath Of

Fresh Air

To the Editor:

Alison Downing Metzler has challenged Dennis Donnelly, the EPOA president, for the position of Village Trustee from the East. Alison was sparked with the desire to serve on the Board of Trustees by the St. Paul's events over the past few years. A lifelong resident, she recognized the potential threat of "big private development" settling into the center of our Village.

Alison says she's a "preservationist," not only of one beautiful building, St. Paul's, which is undoubtedly an architectural jewel that stands as the centerpiece of our Village, but also of Garden City-our community, our quality of life, our history and traditions, the things that make us a unique place to live and a place that our children will return to with their own families years from now. She realizes that it's Garden City's distinctive character that helps protect our property values.

Alison grew up on Meadow Street where she met her future husband Bill. She attended public school and graduated from Garden City High School in 1982 (Bill in '79). They bought their first home on Meadow Street and now, Alison and Bill are raising their four children on Prospect Avenue, demonstrating their long connection to the East and commitment to Garden City. Both she and Bill have volunteered their time with Garden City sports, coaching various teams. In addition to coaching two travel soccer teams, Bill also currently serves as a Director on the GC Centennials Board and The Men's Association.

Alison is well versed in issues that are important to Garden City - the massive HUB project, proposed "light rail" that might impact the Eastern Section and our central business district, new construction at 550 Stewart Avenue, and even the discussions about the Bookspan property and the commercial/apartment project on the site of the former Texaco station on Franklin Avenue and Seventh Street. She's concerned about our Village water quality and the proposed developments outside our borders, like the Winston project in Mineola and the apartment proposal for the current Ford dealership property just south on Franklin Avenue.

A partner in a general practice law firm located in NYC, Alison has served 20 years as a civil defense litigator. She has no pre-conceived agendas or conflicts of interest that would affect her objective decision-making process. Alison is a candidate for the people. She has new ideas, is willing to listen to residents' comments and act on them. She will bring energy, integrity and commitment to the position of Trustee.

It's time to bring a breath of fresh air to the Board of Trustees. I ask you to support Alison Downing Metzler in the run-off election for Village Trustee on February 3. Thanks for your consideration.

Peter Negri

Doesn't Grasp Issues

To The Editor:

I am the chairman of the 10 Member Nominating Committee of the East. On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the EPOA regular meeting, I was privileged to give the report on behalf of the committee, nominating Dennis Donnelly as the trustee from the east to replace Mayor Peter Bee. Dennis Donnelly, who is presently the president of the Eastern Property Owners Association, was the unanimous choice of the nominating committee. Dennis Donnelly has a resume which extends for pages, which includes not only president of the Eastern Property Owners Association and countless awards, but also includes a special award from the Chamber of Commerce last year as well as years of service as chairman of the joint conference of the all four property owner association, as well as multiple years of service to the Village. He has attended Village trustee meetings on a regular basis, is knowledgeable about all of the issues and has offered solutions to these countless problems. Dennis Donnelly is an outstanding candidate for trustee and would be a welcome addition to the Village board.

Unfortunately, at the EPOA meeting, a petition was set forth seeking to place the name of Ms. Metzler on the ballot to challenge the nominee selected by the 10 Member Committee. Ms. Metzler has refused to appear before the 10 Member Nominating Committee and the consensus seems to be that she was afraid to do so because she would be questioned about numerous issues before the Village, of which she apparently has no knowledge or understanding. However, she was the straw person of the small group supporting the continued spending of money to mothball St. Paul's and her petition was certified as valid, permitting her to be on the ballot.

At the meeting, each of the candidates was given an opportunity to present why they believe that they should be the trustee from the East and address the numerous issues and possible solutions to those issues before the membership. Ms. Metzler embarrassed herself and the group supporting her by her total lack of understanding of any of the issues other than St. Paul's and she also demonstrated a total unfitness to grasp the issues before the Village. Dennis Donnelly was able to enumerate the countless problems facing the Village and offered various solutions to them.

When Ms. Metzler was asked questions in the open forum with regard to something other than St. Paul's, again she embarrassed herself by simply deferring to President Dennis Donnelly for the answers. In fact, at one point, the present Mayor Peter Bee chastised her for giving misinformation about some of the history of St. Paul's demonstrating why she is totally unfit to serve as trustee. Infact, she was given the opportunity to present her credentials or any background as to why she should become a trustee. Again she embarrassed herself and her small group by giving shallow and uninformed answers. It is probably for this reason that she failed to appear before the 10 Member Nominating Committee because she realized that she is ill-equipped for such a difficult position.

Accordingly, it is hoped that the residents of the east will vote for EPOA president at the upcoming election on Tuesday, February 3, 2009.

M. John Pittoni, Esq.

Chairman of the

10 Member Nominating

Committee of the East

Supports Metzler

To The Editor:

I am writing this letter to encourage all of you to cast your vote on February 3rd in support of life long GC resident, Alison Downing Metzler. I have known Mrs. Metzler for many years, and I am happy to support a candidate who is honest, hard-working, and quite frankly, has a pulse on what the needs and wants of the residents of this town are. Mr. and Mrs. Metzler have four children currently enrolled in the Garden City Public School System. I, as a mother, am eager to be represented by someone whose interests and concerns are so close to my own.

The future of St. Paul's is, unfortunately, still an ongoing pressing issue, but clearly not the only situation that is going to need careful scrutiny in the coming years. I would feel more confident in the fate our town if Alison Metzler had a say as to the outcome of the Hub, The Winston Project, the apartments scheduled near Meadow Street and other apartment and business projects which are on the table. The current Board of Trustees has mishandled the entire St. Paul's problem, I cannot imagine just allowing the Nominating Committee to choose the next candidate .I know that Alison Metzler would add a fresh perspective to all of the current and future issues that we face. I am proud of her for challenging the selection of Mr.Donnelly by the nominating committee. I feel that the Eastern Property Owners, and the residents of the entire Village would be well-served by Alison Downing Metzler.

Kimberly Murphy Tobin

Should Have Interviewed

To the Editor:

At last weeks open meeting of the Eastern Property Owners Association Ms. Alison Metzler submitted her name to challenge Mr. Dennis Donnelly, the candidate selected by the East's duly elected 10 member nominating committee, for Village Trustee. As current EPOA Vice President and a more than 40 year resident of our Village myself, here's why this turn of events is so very disappointing.

Each member of the 10 member committee willingly submitted to a nominating process themselves and then were elected to interview candidates with a charge to select the candidate best able to articulate the position of the East and to serve the greater Village. In the aggregate, members of this years nominating committee have well over 100 years of volunteer service to the Village. Having freely given of their valuable time to perform this function and deliberate carefully on all the prospective candidates who came forward, to then have someone who has little history of Village service say they felt disenfranchised by the EPOA and its long-standing nominating process is just plain wrong. If Ms. Metzler had interviewed, given her track record and an inability to articulate a position on many pressing issues other than her highly controversial position regarding the preservation of St. Paul's regardless of cost, it is quite possible that she would not have been selected by the 10 member nominating committee, but at that point she could have challenged and then in my opinion no one should have a problem in her doing so!!

My view is that the spirit of providing for the ability to submit a petition signed by only 15 residents to run against the 10 member committee's (your) designate is to provide individuals who were not selected by the nominating committee the chance to then take their case to the electorate, not to permit someone to avoid the difficult questions regarding key issues, record of service, qualifications and commitment inherent in the interview process.

The next two years will be vitally critical to the future of our Village and especially to the quality of our life in the East! In addition to St. Paul's, we must be ever vigilant regarding the growing Village and School budgets, projects such as Mr. Suozzi's HUB and its proposed light railroad which as proposed will bisect the east, Mr. Wang's Lighthouse at nearby Mitchell Field as well as huge development projects already well along in their planning to the immediate north and south of the Village.

At such a critical time, the East and the Village need a leader with a proven track record who has shown, time and again that he understands the many complex issues and has put in the time and energy necessary to achieve the substantive positive results that make a difference for us all.

I believe that your duly elected nominating committee has found one in choosing Dennis Donnelly for Trustee...I've worked with Dennis and seen him do this on a consistent and long-standing basis. If you live in the east, please come out and vote for him on February 3!

Harrison D. Oellrich

Important Character Values

To the Editor:

As the parents of five boys, we carefully selected Garden City as the place to raise our family. Rich in tradition, our village is special in many ways, including our form of government. While some may argue that it is unconventional, or even outdated, it is, nonetheless, our current system. In the United States, forty-two states, excluding New York, currently outlaw the cross-endorsement of candidates, thereby eliminating challenges to elected positions. Fortunately for Garden City residents, the crafters of our Community Agreement, in their infinite wisdom, sought to protect our freedom of choice and ban partisanship by providing for a "runoff election" within the Property Owners Association. On Tuesday, February 3rd, the residents in the Eastern Section of Garden City will be able to exercise their right to choose between two candidates, who are seeking to fill the position being vacated by our Honorable Mayor, Peter Bee. Over the course of the last year, we have attended many village meetings during which Mayor Bee has actively encouraged residents to participate in all levels of our village government. It is fantastic that many new people, of varying ages and backgrounds, are answering the call to serve our great community.

Alison Downing Metzler is seeking to be the Village Trustee from the East because she is committed to serving Garden City and its residents. We know her to be a smart, dedicated, hardworking, value-oriented person. We also believe she brings important character traits that are inherently necessary in a trustee: honesty, integrity, fair-mindedness and reasonableness. We no longer live on Wyatt Rd., but if we did, we would vote for Alison Metzler!

To our friends and neighbors in the East, you have the opportunity to vote your choice and let your voice be heard. Please vote this Tuesday, Feb. 3rd- at the Stewart School from 4:30-9:00pm!

Cathy and Kevin Wood

Single Issue Candidate

To the Editor:

A runoff election is being conducted next Tuesday by the Eastern Property Owner's Association, and we should all be concerned about the outcome. Dennis Donnelly, the experienced EPOA President, and the candidate of the EPOA nominating committee for the Board of Trustees, is being challenged by Alison Metzler. Ms. Metzler's recent claim to community involvement is that she has appeared at a number of Board of Trustees meetings lately to admonish the Board for not doing more to save the St. Paul's Main Building for public purposes. When reminded of all the past studies that have been undertaken over the years by many professionals, residents and Board members with exactly that objective in mind, Ms. Metzler has expressed skepticism and a general lack of interest. She rejects such years of effort as biased, insufficient or invalid for helping her, or anyone, to understand why this objective is such a difficult task - and an expensive one for the residents to fund.

Ms. Metzler is associated with a small group of residents who believe St. Paul's must be saved for a public purpose no matter what the cost. The group met two weeks ago with that avowed purpose in mind; and with the announced intention of finding candidates to replace any Trustees who don't agree with them on this single issue. (You may have seen their ad a few weeks ago in this newspaper.) Fortunately, only Ms. Metzler came forward and announced her intention to challenge Mr. Donnelly. Now that she is a candidate, Mr. Metzler professes to be concerned about other Village issues as well. Her challenge, however, is clearly predicated on her belief - and that of her supporters - that Mr. Donnelly is not sufficiently committed to saving St. Pauls. In there view, nothing else is as important.

I count myself among those who think it would be desirable to save the St. Paul's Main Building for public use, and I have devoted many hours to that cause. But years of study and analysis have clearly demonstrated how elusive, difficult and expensive it is - for many reasons - to achieve this objective. And, despite 15 years of demanding that the building be restored for public use no matter what, the declining group of residents who continue to cling to that hope have never been able to overcome two primary hurdles: (1) They have been unable to come-up with a workable overall master plan for achieving the end result, and (2) they don't have any solution for paying the tremendous costs involved in any restoration and reuse, except with a primary expenditure of taxpayer money. After all this time, none of us should expect Ms. Metzler would bring anything more to the table in this regard.

At the budget meeting last Thursday, Village officials announced that residents may be facing an astonishing increase of nearly 20% in their Village taxes. As one of the sitting Trustees who will have to approve the budget, I can say with assurance that such an increase will never be accepted. In this strained economy, however, we certainly face a reduction in Village services, as well as some increase in our Village taxes. This is also a time when Village officials have to grapple with a number of other key issues with the potential to affect the condition of the Village, as well as our pocket-books. It is not the time to be electing Trustees who have little knowledge about the complexity of the many problems the Village is facing, or who think that committing St. Paul's to a public use - and spending taxpayer monies on that objective - should be the primary goal of our Mayor and Trustees.

If you live in the East, you are eligible to vote in the runoff election next Tuesday, February 3. Please plan to cast your vote at that time for Dennis Donnelly. He is the one candidate who understands that a Trustee has to deal effectively with many important issues other than St. Pauls, and he is the most qualified candidate to represent the East (and all of us) on the Board of Trustees.

John L. Mauk

Misinformation

On Agreement

To the Editor:

These annual Village elections always seem to bring forth some troubling misinformation about the 1919 Community Agreement. Whenever someone does anything that a Trustee or Property Owner Association director disagrees with it is usually alleged that a violation of the Community Agreement has occurred.

The 1919 Community Agreement is one page. It does not require that Property Owner's Associations (POA'S) nominate Trustees. Indeed, it does not even mention POA's. Rather, the 1919 agreement provides that the trustees must come from the three geographic sections of the Village that existed in 1919, to wit, Garden City East, "Old Garden City" (the Central section) and Garden City Estates. Only 49 residents signed the Community Agreement in 1919. It was created because the Garden City Estates section was going to incorporate itself and take the name "Garden City." The folks in "Old Garden City" were not pleased with this attempt to highjack the name.

There have been three, one page amendments to the Community Agreement. The 1931 Amendment added the West as another section of Garden City entitled to one trustee. The 1954 amendment provided that the "Police Judge" be elected by Village residents in a manner similar to the Trustees. The 1965 amendment gave the Western section a second Trustee and rotated the Mayor's position from each section. None of these amendments make any reference to POA's.

We would have thought that the current administration in this Village would have gone quietly into the sunset since it created perhaps the two most divisive years in the entire history of our Village. Instead, our current Mayor uttered the now famous line: "be wary of those who are 'seeking the office' instead of having the office seek them!" People are using this line to discredit Alison Metzler, a life long GC resident and mother of four, who is running against the POA president in the East, Dennis Donnelly.

The POA by-laws require all candidates to actively seek the office of trustee. For example, a potential trustee must personally submit an application for the position if he wants to be nominated by his POA. He then must be interviewed at least once by the nominating committee at which time he must convince the committee that he is the right candidate for Trustee or Mayor. It doesn't sound like the office is seeking the candidate under our POA By-Laws. Indeed, the Mayor's candidate created a web site "Donnelly for trustee" before he was even nominated.

For some reason, the Mayor thought it appropriate to use this famous quote in this particular election cycle. (Parenthetically, the quote is sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin or Ulysses S. Grant depending upon the historian.) Significantly, the Mayor did not apply this adage two years ago when Mr. Rothschild mounted his challenge against the Estate's candidate, Mr. DeMaro. Why is it being used now against Ms. Metzler? Why is there such a blatant double standard?

Let's not forget what happened in this Village the past two years. We were torn apart by the AvalonBay debacle. This $500,000 horror film was produced by our POA officers such as Mr. Donnelly, and directed by the Trustees. The Mayor and our Trustees sought to foist a single source contract on us for a $56 million project in violation of State law. In contrast, at the December 2008 Board of Trustees meeting, these same Trustees rejected a single source bidder for a minor roof repair to the firehouse.

In the case of AvalonBay, all other candidates to preserve St. Paul's were eliminated by the Trustees. To make matters worse, Mr. Mauk announced that Garden City was "desperate" and that AvalonBay was our only hope - a classic case of backing the Village in a corner with a single source bidder.

It is suspected by many that had AvalonBay been the only choice on the December 2nd ballot it would have received less than 10% of the vote. We wasted so much time and money on this fringe position yet not one Trustee or POA Director has come forward to apologize for what happened. Indeed, none of them will even admit they supported AvalonBay.

It is time for some major changes. Ms. Metzler's candidacy is part of that movement. Don't let the POA directors and Trustees discourage you from getting involved as they do not seem to understand the Community Agreement or the POA By-laws. Get involved by organizing your neighbors to insure that another AvalonBay fiasco does not occur.

David J. Sutton

Who's "Disenfranchising" Whom?

To The Editor:

At the January 20 meeting of the Resident Electors of the East, Alison Metzler presented herself as a candidate for Village Trustee in opposition to Dennis Donnelly, which is, of course, her right to do. I listened with interest to her responses to questions from the audience.

She made it clear that she is running for office as Village Trustee because she believes she has been "disenfranchised" by the Eastern Property Owners' Association with regard to St. Paul's; that St. Paul's is her primary issue; and that as a Village Trustee, she will vote to mothball the building "...no matter what the cost."

I had to think about Mrs. Meltzer's "disenfranchisement" by the EPOA. Had it not been for the Eastern and Estates Property Owners' Associations, there would have been no Public Opinion Poll on December 2 that was open to the entire Village, nor would there have been a ballot that offered an opportunity for the residents to express their opinion on "Demolition" or "Mothballing."

Mrs. Metzler and her group publicly repeatedly denounced the two POAs for sponsoring the Poll, and were clearly opposed to the ballot which allowed people to have a choice. It is curious to me that someone who is as "pro-mothballing" as Mrs. Metzler, would have been so adamantly opposed to a ballot that offered people the opportunity to agree with her.

It appears that Mrs. Metzler simply does not like the Poll results because of the 5,002 participants, 2,272 or 46% chose "Demolition." No matter how hard I try, I cannot understand how Mrs. Metzler has been "disenfranchised" by the very people who withstood the insults and verbal attacks she and her supporters publicly thrust upon them, but still had the fortitude to go forward and offer everyone the opportunity to freely register his or her opinion on St. Paul's.

How unfortunate that Mrs. Metzler has convinced herself that she has been "disenfranchised" while at the same time, she has publicly made it clear that if elected as a Village Trustee, she will deliberately disregard the results of the December 2 Poll and vote for "Mothballing." I have to ask, "Who is disenfranchising whom?"

Dorothy M. Episcopia

Past President, EPOA

Get The Facts

To the Editor:

I have been closely following the St. Paul's saga. I know that the Board of Trustees have always stated that before our New York State Legislators could consider Home Rule legislation (required to do anything with the St. Paul's property) they needed a specific plan that the community broadly supported. How then can Mrs. Alison Metzler, a candidate for Village Trustee, state that one of her reasons for running was that the BOT should have attempted to obtain Home Rule BEFORE studying options or putting out Requests for Proposals for privatization? That would have been putting the cart before the horse.

The requirements of our Legislators for passing Home Rule legislation have been stated repeatedly at BOT meetings, EPOA meetings and printed in various mailings to the residents.

Mrs. Metzler argues that the BOT wasted money studying privatization. What about the hundreds of thousands that prior Boards of Trustees spent studying public use options?

Let's not forget the 2004 village wide POA poll, mailed to residents, which overwhelmingly favored preserving St. Paul's with private capital not taxpayer money.

Residents of the East: please get the facts before voting Tuesday.

Rachel Mead

We Need Her

To the Editor:

It was wonderful to see that Alison Metzler has announced she is challenging Dennis Donnelly for the Trustee position from the East. I have known Alison 40 years and I can attest to the fact that she is dedicated, honest and hardworking with no personal agenda whatsoever.

Alison and her husband Billy, a 2nd generation GC resident, have volunteered throughout the village and I was thrilled when she became involved in the fight to rid GC of overdevelopment with AvalonBay. Alison has become involved in keeping an eye on the Town of Hempstead IDA (TOHIDA), COVANTA, the HUB and other projects that impact life as we know it in our village.

For many years, the faces of the different POAs have remained the same: it is inspiring to see so many new people step up to get involved. Mayor Bee himself told us all to get involved in our village and participate at each level, I too recently volunteered for my POA as a director and I am thrilled to see Alison run for Trustee representing the EPOA. Our own Mayor Bee states, "be wary of those who are "seeking the office" instead of having the office seek them!" This couldn't be more true in the case of Alison Metzler, we need her in our village government keeping a close watch. Alison has had so many people ask her to take on this volunteer Trustee role; she feels compelled to take the challenge we've put before her and for that I am thankful.

Political experience is a non-issue. Alison grew up in Garden City, she has been actively involved in the community and she knows the issues. Moreover she is a working mom - a trial attorney with involvement in contract negotiations and various facets of law, in other words she makes things happen and isn't easily backed into a corner. Her background will make her a valuable addition to the Board during a time when we face many crucial decisions that will affect the future of our Village. Alison will do right by her fellow residents to help us in this difficult economic crisis. She is as concerned as the rest of us about wasteful spending by the Village on "consultants" and "studies." Alison Metzler listens to her fellow residents. Perhaps someone who does not have many years in our village politics is just what we need, I think we're all sick and tired of the spending and waste!

It is apparent that those who want to hang on to their "power" feel threatened and will lash out in a less than professional manner. However, it is time to get some new faces into our POAs. So many residents feel they can't find the time with work & family but Alison is leading by example and standing up for something that is a part of her: Garden City.

It is refreshing to see a new face in the EPOA, and I hope everyone in the Eastern section of Garden City gets out to vote for Alison Metzler on February 3rd at Stewart School from 4:30-9pm.

Betsy Andromidas

Vote For Donnelly

To The Editor:

Her statements to the contrary, Alison Metzler is clearly a one issue candidate for the position of Trustee. Moreover, on that one issue - what to do with St. Paul's - she has one solution: preserve it at all costs. The repeated failure by experienced experts over the last 15 years to find a viable, economically feasible solution has not changed her thinking, nor does she care that 46 percent of the voters in the December 2 poll chose demolition and 18 percent chose private development. I don't personally know anyone who would be against preserving St. Paul's if it were financially possible. Sadly, it is not.

Where is she on the other serious issues affecting Garden City? According to her statement in last week's GC News, she is against urbanization; who living here isn't? It's not a question of fighting overdevelopment, it's a question of having the background, know-how, ability and time to effectively counter the political and economic forces lined up against this village, which would have a negative impact on each homeowner in the village.

Dennis Donnelly has a long history of volunteering in Garden City government. He is currently president of the EPOA and chair of the POA's Joint Conference Committee. He has put in the time and effort necessary to be an effective Trustee. Volunteering as a sport coach, while praiseworthy and necessary, has not given Alison Metzler the experience to be a Trustee. She claims to feel disenfranchised, but has never made any effort to become involved with her POA or do the "grunt" work that's part of the POA system. She wants to skip all that and become a Trustee.

Dennis Donnelly is retired from Verizon Communications, where he was Director of Government and Community Relations for Long Island, a sensitive position that put him in contact with political and government leaders. That experience has given him the ability to affect issues that are of tremendous importance to Garden City. Dennis has the experience and time to "hit the ground running" and be an effective Trustee from day one.

Jaime Gans

Correcting Inaccuracies

To the Editor:

As a member of the Garden City East Ten Member Nominating committee, I find it necessary to correct some inaccuracies in Alison Metzler's letter to the editor on Jan 23. Alison is incorrect in stating that several trustees in the past won their seat in run-off elections rather than, as she puts it, by unopposed designation by a select few members of the various property owners' associations. The Ten Member Nominating Committee of the East is NOT an EPOA committee as she states. The committee is made up of 10 residents of the East who were elected at the June 2008 resident electors' meeting. Only two committee members happen to also serve on the EPOA Board and I am one of them. The other was ill and unable to serve. Perhaps Alison is not familiar with this distinction because she has not previously been active within the EPOA nor attended resident electors' meetings on a regular basis. This is an important distinction. Ten residents, made up of a cross section of residents with varying degrees of experience in village government and length of residency, take seriously their responsibility to solicit, interview and nominate candidates to serve in various village positions. Alison chose to file a petition to place her name in nomination. Although not a member of the EPOA herself, since she chose this course of action, the EPOA is now obligated to spend over $2,000 of its funds to hold the primary election. These funds come from the annual dues paid by members of the EPOA, from which she claims to be disenfranchised.

Again, in her letter, she says she did not submit an application to the EPOA because her position on AvalonBay was well known to the members of the EPOA and in particular several members of the committee. Again, to correct her error, the application would have been submitted to the Ten Member Nominating committee, not the EPOA. And as far as her position on St. Paul's being known to several members on the committee, I don't understand how that would preclude her from submitting her resume for consideration. How could she be so certain that her position would be at odds with the majority of the committee members? I served on the committee and I don't know what everyone's position is with regard to St. Paul's. She is mistaken to think that St. Paul's is the only issue that matters. There were so many other factors that we considered in arriving at our selection of Dennis Donnelly.

Resident Arlene Chianese also was incorrect in her letter wherein she stated that Dennis had always been a proponent of AvalonBay. This is NOT true. Dennis did not support the AVB proposal.

This brings me to say that I am honored to support Dennis Donnelly as the unanimous choice of the Ten Member Nominating Committee as candidate for Village Trustee from the East. I have known Dennis for the past six years as we both served as directors/officers of the EPOA. Dennis has a tremendous amount of experience within the village and has a working relationship with key village employees and officials. As President of the EPOA he has attended all BOT meetings and is also Chairperson of the POA's Joint Conference. As a retiree, he has the time and energy to serve the residents of the East well. Dennis will help us face the challenges in the Village and, in particular in the East, that will come from the proposed development at the HUB, the proposed mass transportation that would run through the heart of GC, possible expansion of capacity at the Covanta plant, development in surrounding communities such as Mineola's high rise complex and Hempstead's revitalization. Dennis does not support big business development. The village is also facing infrastructure concerns, water quality problems and traffic from surrounding development. Dennis has in depth knowledge of these critical issues and will work hard to minimize risk to the residents. Dennis will promote efficiency of village operations and expense control. In these difficult financial times, hands-on experience and having the time to follow through on new ideas are more important qualifications than ever.

Dennis and his opponent differ in two ways. One is experience in village affairs. Dennis has far more experience than Alison when it comes to Village matters. The other difference involves the next steps for St. Paul's. While still being open to cost effective ways to utilize the main building for village use, Dennis does support the current action of the BOT, which is to consider the process whereby the building could be demolished. This course of action begins with a bond referendum because, without money to fund demolition, it will not happen. This means all residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on the bond. Yes or no for demolition. Alison will not give you that choice. She will oppose any consideration of demolition thereby denying you the opportunity to determine how your tax dollars are spent.

Dennis has no ulterior motives, no preconceived agenda or conflicts that would affect his objective decision making process. He just wishes to CONTINUE to serve the village. He has the time and commitment to represent us as we face these challenges to our quality of life. He has a proven track record of community involvement in village government. He will not have to come up to speed on the issues. He's already involved. I urge you to check out his web-site,www.donnellyfortrustee.com. The Ten Member Nominating Committee selected him because he is the most qualified candidate. Please vote for Dennis Donnelly on Feb. 3.

Allison Sparacino

Other Issues

To the Editor:

It is sad to think that we have become a fighting ground around one building: St. Paul's. We have forgotten that life does not revolve around one building. There are other issues that need the full attention of our government. We have spent too much time and money on this issue already and I hope that from now on we will be moving ahead to improve our community's spirit and relationships.

The Board of Trustees is not a training school. We need knowledgeable people with experience and the skills to listen to the citizens as well as govern, especially in these difficult times. Every citizen of this Village can claim to have the interests of the whole Village at heart, but not everyone is qualified to take up its reins of government in his/her capable hands.

I am proud to give my wholehearted support to Dennis Donnelly to be elected as our next Village Trustee from the East. His 35 years of serving as a Director of Government and Community Relations with Verizon Communications gives him quite an edge in his ability to maintain an open mind as well as a sharp eye in dealing with a variety of situations. He has already demonstrated, through his many years of service and involvement in Village affairs that he has the ability, the experience, the time, the knowledge, the skills and the dedication to fulfill his obligations to serve all the residents, especially the East.

Mathilde Bellmer

Many Issues

To the Editor:

We are supporting Dennis Donnelly for Village Trustee in Tuesday's important election at Stewart School. Dennis has a long history of service to the residents of this village and, unlike his opponent, is not a one-issue candidate. At a time when-- in addition to St Paul's-- we are faced with many critical issues including water quality, village taxes and the proposed light rail between Franklin Ave and Arthur St, we need to elect a Trustee who has the knowledge and skills to address these matters effectively.

Leo and Kathleen Stimmler

St. Paul's - Hybrid Solution

To The Editor:

As a continuation to some previous thoughts about a state of the art community center, I was fortunate to have access on two occasions to further develop these concepts.

Since preservation of this grand facility is paramount and assuming that it is structurally sound, I propose the following:

Retain the exterior of the building and demolish the interior of the building. In my opinion this needs to be done to facilitate the installation of the new steel structure, ADA requirements, new MEP modifications, new elevators etc. Many of the interior architectural details would be reused in the new facility, such as millwork, doors, ornamental stairs, organs, chapel stained glass and related items.

The new interior renovation could consist of three floors as follows:

Ground Floor would be exclusive community space and feature a new game room, chapel, swimming pool, Senior Center, state of the art gym, and community rooms that could be used for many of the organizations in Garden City such as the GCAA, Boy Scouts, etc.

The second and third floors could be maintained for community use or leased out to tenants with long term deals to generate revenue:

Community Ideas:

a) 2nd floor gym space for sports, sports clinics and training

b) 3rd floor - full floor ballroom or flex space that could be used for proms, business functions, graduations, social events, gallery space, music concerts, etc.

c) Maybe we can relocate the nursery school, school administration etc. to St. Paul's and potentially sell the real estate.

Private Concepts:

1) Lease out the 2nd or 3rd floor or both to a long term tenant ie: Daycare like Bright Horizons, LA Fitness or an upscale fitness/health club.

2) Utilize the studio concept and lease parts of the 2nd or 3rd floor to high end tenants - "Bring Manhattan to Garden City" This is done at City Center and Carnegie Hall with great success. ie: Dance or Ballet Studio, Arts, Music, Science and computers, gymnastics, sports training, nutrition, college prep, medical

3) Lease out to part time tenants as needed to generate revenue ie: Hofstra, Adelphi, soccer/lacrosse, training, baseball camps/programs, business functions, corporate events.

How could we pay for this?

This is a 10 year plan. 5 years to generate concepts and formulate a solid plan, raise revenue privately through donations and pledges, grants and tax abatements. Five years to complete the renovations and select tenants.

Possibilities

1) Private donations through Garden City residents

2) St. Paul's Alumni

3) Corporations/Corporate Sponsors

4) Tax Abatements/Pilot Program

5) Preservation Grants

6) Fundraisers

7) Auction off St. Paul's Memorabilia (Yankee Stadium Model)

8) Donations through estates/wills

9) Selling off Village real estate after the relocation to St. Paul's

10) Searching for a long term tenant deal for the 2nd and 3rd floor or both prior to development to help fund the renovation costs.

It would be our hope that if a substantial renovation of $60,000,000.00 was budgeted we could raise $30,000,000.00 privately and then the Village would bond the remaining $30,000,000.00

How could this get done?

Create committees comprised of Village volunteers. We have the best and brightest living in Garden City and we will tap their experience.

Design/Construction Committee: Create a team of professionals that will evaluate different strategies and recommend concepts to the community ie: architects, engineers, contractors, lawyers, real estate professionals

Finance/Marketing/Real Estate: Create a team of professionals that can generate a fundraising plan, market to prospective tenants, host annual events, communicate financial plans and grants ie: bankers, event planner, fundraisers, real estate professionals, lawyers.

Communication Committee: Create a St. Paul's website/blog to keep all informed, write articles on progress, host periodic town hall meetings.

The committees will work together to establish working plans and concepts that best represent our goals and then communicate to all via town hall meetings and to our elected trustees.

In closing I firmly believe that if the entire Village dedicates the energy and resources to creating a long term vision, we will have a state of the art, world class facility in 10 years. I further understand that due to current economic conditions this is hard to visualize and easy to criticize. It seems that the mantra in Garden City is "No." I say let's start dreaming so we can say yes to our future.

Daniel T. Donnelly,

LEED AP

Donnelly Mechanical Corp.

Wisdom Of Solomon

To the Editor:

I don't understand why the votes for Avalon have been counted as votes for the destruction of the St. Paul's School building. I am reminded of a timeless Biblical story.

There were two women each insisting that she was the mother of an abandoned baby. They were both sent to the wise Solomon to settle the issue. Solomon decided that the child would be cut in two giving each woman half of the baby. The one woman agreed because she didn't really care what happened to the baby. The real mother was horrified and pleaded that the baby not be cut but given to the other women to raise. Solomon had his answer.

The real mothers are all the people who voted for Avalon. They would rather give St. Paul's away than have it destroyed. I believe that GC people have a little bit of Solomon's wisdom and would count the votes for Avalon as votes to save the building not destroy it.

Things look very grim right now with the economy. It is not a good time to make major decisions or time to spend money on more studies of the issue.

Maria Prois

Misuse Of Site Based Team

To the Editor:

The 1/27 Board of Ed. Meeting was attended by many parents and students— there to voice their opinions on the proposed changes to the High School Graduation ceremony. (By way of background, at the Board of Ed. Work Session two weeks prior, there had been recommendations to make changes to graduation, including changing the date from Sunday, June 28th, 2009 at 4 pm to Saturday morning, June 27 with a rain date of Sunday morning.)

The meeting started almost 25 minutes late, a practice that is becoming all too common at the Board meetings. However, the Board - to its credit - allowed anyone who wanted to speak their piece speak. The overwhelming majority seemed to prefer the ceremony remain as has been for at least the last 25 years - that is, the last Sunday in June at 4 p.m. (To try to be completely accurate, there may have been a year or 2 when it was on a Friday evening because the last day of school was a Wednesday and it was thought to be too long a gap to wait till Sunday for graduation.) Suggestions were also given to modify the length of the ceremony, speakers and the length of their speeches and the handling of any behavior problems.

After all those who wanted to say something in the audience were finished, the Board discussed their preferences. Mrs. Foley, president of the School Board, prefaced the discussion by stating that because of many factors, not the least of which was the horrible behavior which occurred at last year's graduation, the Board sent a directive through the Superintendent to have the HS Site Based Team (SBT) -a group consisting of HS Administrators, teachers, parents and students- look into Graduation and how it might be changed or improved - including the possibility of moving it to an off-premises, air-conditioned venue.

Back in September, when I first heard what the SBT was working on, I had suggested to Mrs. Foley that this assignment (handed down by the Board of Ed) was a complete misuse of the SBT, which she totally dismissed. But hearing her proudly talk about this directive as if it was democracy in action made my blood boil. SBT's came about many years ago as a State Dept. of Ed. initiative called the Compact for Learning which mandated that each school have a committee of "stake-holders" to look at ways of improving student achievement. It was the intention of the Compact to have the SBT's (not the Board of Ed) determine the projects that they would look into and make recommendations. Over time, the State Ed Department didn't seem to pay much attention to this mandate but it is still on the books and you can be sure when Mrs. Foley was an active member of the PTA and SEPTA that she would never let this misuse of the SBT occur.

And so, the meeting continued and got somewhat heated. After listening to the majority of parents and students in attendance express their preference for the traditional Sunday afternoon graduation ceremony, the Board adopted a change to have the ceremony held on Saturday, June 27, in the morning.

I want to apologize to the students who showed so much courage in getting up and speaking their opinions in such an intimidating setting. This is not the way they should have had to spend their Tuesday evening. And I want to thank those members of the Class of 2008 whose behavior initiated this whole mess. They should be very proud of themselves. Garden City has always prided itself on it's traditions - this was one that really didn't need changing. With the serious business of a $90+million budget and $50+million bond that School Board has to deal with, changes to a graduation ceremony should never have taken up their time.

Maureen Cornacchia

PS...For those who will criticize me for ignoring the drinking problems that have become part of post-graduation celebrations, please note that I only dealt with changing the time of a graduation ceremony, not behavior that I think falls very much on us as parents to deal with - not the schools. Perhaps relinquishing our responsibility to another party can be the subject of another letter.

Audacity Of Hope

To the Editor:

Any Federal funds that may become available for state and local projects as part of an overall Federal stimulus / bailout plan should be reserved for projects and areas that need it most. Mr. Bauer, Mr. Bee and Mr. Schoelle seem to think that Federal tax dollars should be for those who want it most and cry the loudest. They are hard at work coming up with a bailout registry and lobbying their elected representatives in order to maximize their share. Ah, the audacity of hope. It reminds me of the attempt a few years ago to get Garden City considered as a blighted area so that State developmental funds could be used as part of the St. Paul's solution.

There are counties and municipalities throughout the country going bankrupt, concentrated areas of foreclosures, and places with unemployment rates in double digits. These are serious national issues and we need to see how, and if, the Federal government can help. Repainting the water tower and freshening up the landscaping on Seventh Street are routine local maintenance issues, and are solely the Village's responsibility. To somehow equate the "new wave of transparency in government" with the perceived urgency of creating a Federal Funds Wish-list for Garden City is absurd.

No doubt, these are the same people who decried big government, high taxes, pork projects, and socialism prior to November 4th. To quote Groucho Marx (no relation to Karl):

"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others."

Daniel E. Oppenheimer

Code Of Ethics

To The Editor:

For years I have been advocating publicly and privately for a Code of Ethics "with teeth"; one that spells out among other things, nepotism, conflicts of interest and potential conflicts of interest, with no success. During the same period of time I have volunteered to serve on the Village Ethics Committee to no avail.

Over the course of my career, I have written a Code of Ethics for the Society of Maritime Arbitrators at its request. Recently, I have written a proposed Code of Ethics for a private Community in the Poconos. I have also written a Code of Ethics for the WPOA, which was adopted many years ago.

As a law professor with no business interest in the community, my serving on the village ethics committee might have had a salutary effect on what seems to be going on today. My offer of service, was not accepted.

As I have pointed out and furnished to the WPOA, the village of Lynbrook has an excellent code of ethics which resulted from one of its elections. We do not have elections. I have been advised that since our trustees are volunteers some of them do not want or need a Code of Ethics "with teeth."

Conflicts of interest have been rife nationally and on the state level. We appear to be headed in that direction when even our trustees can't agree on what is a conflict of interests and how they can be avoided.

Our newly elected trustees should make the enactment of a Code of Ethics with teeth one of their first endeavors. I am sure that Mr. Fishberg our village counsel, if so ordered, will write an excellent one. What do you think?

Joseph A. Calamari

P.S. According to a recent article in the New York Law Journal, our state comptroller is enforcing the law as it relates to contract employee with some success respecting their pensions.

Challenging

Assessments

To the Editor:

The economic situation on Long Island is made worse by ever rising property taxes. But one way to try to lower your property taxes is by challenging your assessment.

The time to challenge your assessment began on January 2, 2009, and have until March 2, 2009 to submit your application.

After challenging, the Assessment Review Commission (ARC) will review your application and determine if you are being over-assessed. In this housing market, while most home values have declined, home assessments are still increasing.

If you win your challenge, you should see a reduction in the following year's tax bill, or you will receive a refund check from the county. Challenging your assessment does not affect the resale value of your home; it only affects what value your home will be taxed on.

You can challenge your assessment online by visiting https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/wps51/portal/AROW. Once you register, you will be able to complete your challenge. By using the county's website, www.mynassauproperty.com, you can see how your neighbors with similar properties are assessed and use that as evidence.

If you recently purchased your home, the sale price is your best piece of evidence in determining what your house is actually worth and should be assessed at.

You are not required to use an attorney. If you hired a representative to challenge a prior assessment, you are free to change representatives or file for yourself for review of the new assessment.

For a description of the ins and out of challenging your assessment, visit http://www.kemphannon.com/topics10_2%20Challenging_a_tax_assessment.htm

If you file for yourself, you may check your appeal's status on-line at any time at the county's website above. You may also look up the status of appeals for past tax years.

Kemp Hannon

New York State Senator

www.kemphannon.com

PS-You have until March 2, 2009 to challenge your assessment.

March For Life

To The Editor:

On January 22, 42 dedicated souls from the St. Joseph and St. Thomas the Apostle respect life groups traveled down to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life. We witnessed to the truth that life begins at conception and is entitled to the full protection of the laws of our society. Over 150,000 faithful souls marched on behalf of the unborn child.

The next day, the plight of the unborn child intensified as President Obama issued an executive order allowing U.S. funds to be utilized by international groups advocating and providing abortion. For someone who claimed during the debates that the question when life begins is "above his pay grade," President obama did not hesitate to expand the culture of death. President Obama's dissembling and deception cannot hide his support of abortion.

It is an honor and privilege as well as a duty to defend the rights of the unborn child. That only a comparatively small number actively fight against the monstrous crime of abortion does not shake our faith. Rather, it is an indictment of the rest of our society. I believe Isaiah 55:10-13 speaks directly to the pro life movement as it did to abolitionists 150 years ago. God will find faithful souls to accomplish his will.

Robert L. Dougherty

Needs Your Vote

To the Editor:

I am writing to you on behalf of my niece, who attends a small high school in Andes New York, located in Delaware County. The students in Andes like almost every High School are having a prom. In order to have a really nice, very well decorated prom, these students are seeking financial help in order to accomplish this. However, these students are not asking for people to buy anything, take any chances, or donate money. The students of Andes Central School have entered a contest at a prom decoration website where, if they receive the top vote count in New York, they will receive $1,000 towards prom decorations and such. In order to achieve this goal, on behalf of my niece, I am asking that people go to http://www.stumpsprom.com/service.cfm?page=votepromusa, scroll down to New York, and cast a vote for the Andes Central School. You can vote once a day, everyday.

Again, these students are not asking for your money, they are just seeking a few seconds of your time which can and will help them achieve their goal. All I ask is that you consider helping students who are trying to help themselves.

Thank you for any and all consideration and help.

John Mixon

Thanks For Participation

To The Editor,

On behalf of the entire PTA Executive Committee, we'd like to thank Dr. Feirsen, the entire central administration staff, building principals and all the 6-12 Curriculum Coordinators for participating in our PTA Town Hall Meeting on Monday, 1/26.

The Garden City PTA's main goal this year is to enhance communication and collaboration between the district and the parent community. We applaud the participation of the entire GC administrative staff to help us further that goal.

Judy Keenan and

Liz Menges

GCPTA, Co-Presidents