Stifling Volunteerism

To The Editor:

At a recent Board of Trustees meeting, our mayor, Peter Bee, made a plea for people to volunteer their services. He referred to the people who go to the meetings in order to speak out against certain Board decisions, and requested that they offer their services instead- well, Alison Metzler answered the call!

Letters to the Editor in the January 30th issue of the Garden City News will probably guarantee that there may not be any more people stepping up to the plate. Instead of congratulating Allison for offering herself, she has been derided, insulted and maligned - and by whom? None other than the chairman of the nominating committee of the EPOA, the president of the EPOA, the secretary of the EPOA, a past president of the EPOA who is also the wife of the current EPOA trustee, and, unbelievably, a letter from one of the trustees from the Estates Section.

Congratulations on a job well done, if in fact, it was your intention to stifle all spontaneous village volunteerism and participation.

And to Alison I say - good luck to you - you're a braver girl than I.

Joan Hobbs

Secret Deliberations?

To the Editor:

I attended the Board Of Ed meeting on Tuesday, 1/27 primarily to hear the discussion of graduation changes. I went there with the misguided impression that our opinions mattered and would be considered by the Board. Most parents and students who attended were against changes, but it seemed as though some Board members had already made up their mind before the first comments were made. While I am disappointed with their decision to change the graduation ceremony to Saturday morning from Sunday afternoon, it is the manner in which this decision was made that is more disturbing to me.

The two biggest issues on the table were the date and time of graduation and the possibility of setting a rain date for the ceremony. Either by speaking their preference or by applauding in agreement to the statements made, the majority of those in attendance seemed to favor no rain date and making no changes to the time or date of graduation. A few students also spoke and asked the board not to make any changes to the graduation. They had already lost the pool party and the Adelphi Dance. Who sponsors these events (the PTA, the TMA, the school or not the school) is of no concern to the students. They feel that they are being punished for the behavior of the prior class. Making changes to the graduation ceremony is just another disappointment for them as they have looked forward to the graduation traditions that have gone before them.

After all the comments were heard, the 5 board members had a discussion and they had different opinions on the issues. Prior to taking a vote, Ms. Colleen Foley stated they would take a 5 minute recess to discuss the situation. A resident pointed out that this recess was against procedure for open meetings since their discussion would have nothing to do with personnel matters. Annoyed, Ms. Foley stated that they were going to discuss how to proceed, which was still against open meeting rules. Upon their return to the room, the board put the items up for vote, one by one. Imagine our surprise when all 5 members voted the same on all the items, some having reversed their opinions after their 5 minute "discussion on how to proceed". It seemed to me that this 5 minute discussion was more of a "discussion on how to vote". Of course, none of us will ever know what was said behind closed doors, but the outcome seemed to have been manipulated. Not only the parents in the audience sensed this, but also the students who came to the meeting believing that their opinions might matter - and left feeling defeated and questioning the integrity of the process. Personally, I left with a daughter who asked, "How can they do that?" I had no answer for her.

Cathie Cornacchia

Editor's Note: According to our reporter, Stephanie Petrellese, Mrs. Foley told the audience that the Board would not deliberate during the meeting recess. When contacted, Mrs. Foley reiterated that no deliberations were made during the recess, but that she informed the board members that they needed to make a decision prior to a February 9th meeting of the PTA.

What Are Costs?

To the Editor:

What would it cost the average Garden City household to renovate St. Paul's into a world class, multi-purpose facility?

After owning St. Paul's for over 15 years our Trustees should know this cost. An intelligent decision about the future of St. Paul's can not be made without this essential information.

A renovated St. Paul's might contain all of the following state-of-the-art facilities:

a) Nursery school and pre-school;

b) Private tutoring facilities;

c) Test prep classes for SAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc;

d) After school programs;

e) Music and dance studios;

f) Adult education classes;

g) Auditorium;

h) Community rooms for birthday parties, etc;

i) Ballroom for weddings, proms, graduations, etc;

j) Senior Citizen Center;

k) Library;

l) Indoor pool/aquatic center;

m) Health club;

n) Athletic training center;

o) School administration;

p) Friday and Saturday night teenage programs; and

q) Village Hall.

A renovated St. Paul's that contained these world-class facilities would improve our quality of life and increase home values.

What would this cost?

It is estimated by some that the cost would be about a dollar a day per household for the next 25 years. Think about it. For the daily loose change we accumulate we could have a renovated St. Paul's which benefits our families and all those that will call Garden City home in the future. Some of those future homeowners will be our children and grandchildren. Isn't that a legacy we could all be proud of?

David J. Sutton

No Way To Run

A Railroad

To the Editor:

Transit oriented development is key to the sustainability of suburbia's "downtowns."

Residents of Garden City understand this intuitively, with the railroad station in close proximity to a luxury hotel, upscale condominiums, and the village's "Main Street."

In neighboring West Hempstead, transit oriented development was recently touted as a means to rid the community of an unwelcome hotel, the Courtesy, and an entrée to the revitalization of a business district in dire need of a transformation.

In fact, just weeks ago MTA President (LIRR) Helena Williams stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, proudly announcing the creation of the town's first transit-oriented zone, enabling West Hempstead to begin the revitalization of a long-neglected, though critically vital gateway.

"This is a unique opportunity to create rental units nearby a LIRR station while at the same time resolving a community issue," said Ms. Williams. "There's been a lot of discussion lately about 'transit-oriented development' on Long Island but the Town of Hempstead is actually doing it. This kind of housing represents the future for Long Island. The LIRR is delighted to be part of the solution to what has been a difficult local problem for many years."

How quickly lofty words can be drowned out by the din of a fading train whistle.

Central to the redevelopment of this area, by way of the construction of high-end rental units (Trammel-Crow), is the proximity of the project not only to the community's central business district along Hempstead Avenue, but to the West Hempstead line of the Long Island Railroad.

Indeed, the very success of the renewal process is dependent, as the zoning suggests, upon being "transit oriented."

For the MTA to propose the termination of weekend service on the West Hempstead line, at this most decisive moment in what is central to the rebirth of this community, is to stand reason on head, a slap in the face of the good people of West Hempstead, who have endured, over too many years, cuts in service, a station house unworthy of our community, and virtually nonexistent maintenance of MTA facilities, bordering on abandonment.

The utter failure of the MTA to keep its own house in order, on track to a surplus one day, derailed into deficit the next, has made mockery of the public trust. It seems almost contrived to say, "this is no way to run a railroad."

The MTA may well view the West Hempstead branch of the LIRR as the end of the line. Be assured, West Hempsteaders view their status as a transit-oriented community as only the beginning of this hamlet's resurgence.

Garden City benefits, even in these most difficult economic times, from transit oriented development. West Hempstead's "downtown" deserves no less of an opportunity to remake itself, if not in the image of Seventh Street, then certainly, as a "Main Street" that is more "destination" than "place to pass through."

On behalf of the Dashing Dans of West Hempstead, Hempstead Gardens, Lakeview, and points west, and the next generation of LIRR riders, I implore the MTA to keep the trains running in West Hempstead.

Seth D. Bykofsky

West Hempstead, NY

The writer, a longtime community advocate, is a former president of the West Hempstead Civic Association.

Alcohol Is A Problem

To The Editor:

I would like to congratulate the parent who had the courage to write the letter "The Courage to Parents" and The Garden City News for having the courage to print it. I am the parent of two children. Even though I feel my husband and I have discussed safety issues in detail including the topic of alcohol and other drugs, I feel we both could do more. I certainly felt that way after reading the article.

I believe it is crucial for us, as parents, to take a very pro-active role in watching over our children. I will also take this a step further. I believe it is absolutely essential that we be aware of our own behavior as parents and adults regarding our own drinking or other drug use. Too many times, I will hear parents talk about their concern over their children, while drinking a beer or glass of wine. I have also heard, and this truly frightens me, parents say that they will serve or have served their underage child and his or her friends beer as long as it stays in their home. "I know they are going to drink anyway so I'd rather it be in my home" is usually the defense. That is not only frightening but illegal. I have known those adults who have served alcohol to minors which resulted in legal action.

Children at all ages will identify with their parents' behaviors. Though we may defend our drinking, stating we are adults, we forget about the all too many families who are dealing with an active alcoholic. One child out of four is growing up in an alcoholic home. The behavior of an alcoholic has devastating effects on the child or children. Alcoholism is not something we can control but something we can certainly prevent.

I don't drink at all. On a personal and professional level, I know the devastating effects alcohol has on the person and his or her family. And let's face it, alcohol is expensive, fattening, it causes premature aging, (It's true - all the sodium causes premature wrinkling) and causes us to act stupidly. Who needs that!

I love this community. We are very fortunate to live here. But let's also be the community that takes a very pro-active stance against alcohol and other drug use - for our sake, for our children's sake and for our community's sake!

I wish I had the courage to print my name. Unfortunately there will be those who will defend their drinking especially with that all too common "red wine is good for you" or "it relaxes me" of which I am so tired of hearing. Alcohol is a sedative, hypnotic, mind-mood altering, addicting drug. It was not meant for recreational use. Please stop defending it!

Quite frankly, if alcohol has to be defended, that's a serious problem.

Name Withheld

Upon Request

Help Children

Help Others

To the Editor:

On Super Bowl Sunday, Saint Anne's Church faith formation 7th and 8th grades collected soup for the hungry on Long Island. We had enthusiastic volunteers from 7 and 8th grade who distributed flyers 2 weeks before the super bowl, before and after Masses and the weekend of super bowl collected hundreds of soup cans. The soup was then brought to St. Mary of the Isle Outreach in Point Lookout and to The Gerald Ryan Outreach Center in Wyandanch.

One 8th grade girl on her own collected 83 cans of soup from her neighborhood. If we continue to encourage children to help others and stay involve we can only hope that they will grow up to make better choices in this crazy world. I would like to thank all that helped this weekend of Souper Bowl Sunday and to all the parishioners who contributed. Saint Anne's Loaves and Fishes Ministry collects non-perishable food every week for those who would like to continue helping the hungry on Long Island.

Jean Eschmann