By Stephanie Petrellese

The Garden City Board of Trustees held a public scoping meeting for the preparation of a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed demolition of St. Paul's School.

"Any impacts identified in the course of preparation of the DEIS will be studied as to how they may be mitigated and the DEIS will identify both any unavoidable impacts and any irretrievable commitments of resources," explained Robert Grover, director of environmental sciences at Robert Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., at the meeting held before the regular Board of Trustees meeting on June 4th.

Ed Keating, a Garden City resident and a member of the executive committee of The Committee To Save St. Paul's, said the draft scope is weak in several areas. "The document makes only a superficial effort to identify the 'impact categories' to be analyzed in the DEIS and the analysis methodologies," he said. Keating said the "Impact on Historic Resources" section of the document needs more information, and the public should be given another opportunity to comment to insure the process complies with SEQR.

According to Keating, saying that a "qualified historic resource consultant" will be used to determine the impact on historic resources "says almost nothing." He also took issue with the document for not describing how the Village will select a consultant and what makes that person qualified. He said he was not familiar with the person mentioned by Grover as the consultant the firm would utilize, Stony Brook University Professor Dr. David Bernstein and his team of historians.

Keating said the public should be allowed to comment on and critique those being considered for the consultant position. "What we don't need is the hiring of someone who simply gives back to the Board what it wants to hear," he said. "We know from experience that money can buy almost any opinion. You need an objective review of the impact of demolishing this historic treasure and the public needs input on who is selected."

In the section "Reasonable Alternatives to be Considered," Keating said his group believes the word "mothballing" should be changed to "preserving the structures" because the word "mothballing" carries an "extremely negative connotation."

Various community groups are still studying possible uses for the building, and Keating wants to make sure these are noted in the EIS before a decision is made. "The Board does not have a stellar track record when it comes to transparency and soliciting public input," he said. "There are too many last-minute agenda changes and surprise additions to be a coincidence. Promises to keep the public fully involved have been regularly forgotten. This is unacceptable going forward. We urge you to remember that this is a most critical issue with respect to the future of our Village and our property values....We will be watching with great interest and concern as we continue to work toward our goal of finding a reasonable and affordable alternative for this most precious Village resource."

Garden City resident Robert Vassalotti, who opposes demolition, said more information should be provided in the draft scope under the "public health and safety" and "community character" categories.

Village resident Bob Davis spoke about the document during the regular meeting. He is not happy that some of the categories can be considered subjective. "My concern is that their opinion will possibly thrust an economic burden on the Village," he said. "These are subjective opinions. If they do this, what recourse does the Village have in terms of saying no or yes, we want to do these things?"

Mayor Robert J. Rothschild responded: "It's going to be totally up to this Board to go around with it when it comes to a vote to make that decision. Whether we agree with the recommendations, disagree, we want to do it or not do it."

The public can still submit comments related to the draft scope until June 16. All comments should be mailed to Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle, Jr., Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530. Copies of the draft scope, positive declaration, environmental assessment form and meeting protocol can be obtained at Village Hall or the Garden City Public Library. These materials can also be downloaded from the Village's Web site, www.gardencityny.net, under "Administration" and "Current Issues."