Re: Proposed Lighthouse Project And The DGEIS

The following letter is printed by request:

Dear Ms. Murray and Members of The Hempstead Town Board:

I respectfully request that the time to examine and respond to the DGEIS be extended.

Although something should be done to redevelop the Coliseum and immediate environs, by fast-tracking the process in order to accommodate Mr. Wang's threats and demands for his extremely massive plan that amounts to building a city, you are placing the environmental and economic future of all surrounding communities in jeopardy.

The massive DGEIS contains information and omissions regarding, inter alia, water supply, sewage and solid waste disposal, air quality, traffic, and the economic impact on all surrounding communities. It is irresponsible not to allow sufficient time for all of these matters to be properly reviewed and addressed.

Immediately following Ms. Murray's public pledge that the Town of Hempstead "will not go forward until there has been careful and deliberate consideration of the DGEIS," you put the process on "fast-track" so that unquestionably, your plan is the exact opposite.

Actions speak louder than words, especially in politics. Clearly, the Hempstead Town Board is doing exactly the same thing politicians in Washington and Albany have chosen to do of late - distribute thousands of pages of critical material and demand that the documents be approved immediately.

It's most unfortunate that you are succumbing to the political pressures of Mr. Wang and his supporters - which is all that you are doing and nothing more.

You are correct in your public pronouncements that this project "...will leave a legacy to future generations." Unfortunately, unless you act responsibly now to ensure that the DGEIS does not receive surface treatment, the legacy you leave to future generations will not be the positive achievement for which you hope to be remembered.

Dorothy M. Episcopia

Past President,

Eastern Property Owners' Association of Garden City, Inc.;

Former Chairman

of the Mayor's Committee on Development

Idea For St. Paul's

To the Editor:

As a child of Garden City, I was recently concerned by an article posted at the Garden City Historical Society observed by my sister, and longtime resident, Mia Lotito Wagner. Apparently a great deal of money is required in order to conserve St Paul's.

I immediately contacted the Society and spoke with a woman who knew my brother, Robert John Lotito, the seven year house chair of the Society. I suggested that a way to raise the necessary preservation funds would be to mass email all former and current graduates of Garden City High asking for a minimum donation of $50 or $100 dollars. The beauty of the plan is that the money would enter be kept in a federally insured bank account; and if at the end of the fund raising efforts the money is insufficient or for some reason, not needed, it would be returned in full to each donor. I am certain that this effort has a good chance of resulting in the needed funds.

All of us growing up in Garden City will forever be connected to Saint Paul's. It is simply too beautiful and important a structure to be lost. Approximately seven years ago my brother, Robert suggested to State Senator Kemp Hannon that Saint Paul's become the new Garden City High with whatever repairs and retrofitting are necessary. At that time, the current high school had undergone some significant costly repairs and the Senator indicated that the time for that idea should be placed in the future. The future is now.

At a minimum, efforts should be undertaken to have the site declared a historical landmark (unless that is currently the status). Finally, as a ten year volunteer at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, I am aware that they do work with communities all over the world to conserve historical buildings and wonder if the Historical Society has made any inquiries in that regard.

L. Anne Mainieri