The advertisement on page 13, which was placed by the Joint Conference Committee of the Property Owners Associations, is a must-read in this week's issue. The ad summarizes the reasons why such a huge project would be damaging to the area, especially its impacts on traffic, water usage and our existing downtown areas.

Garden City isn't the only town that would be hurt by this huge development. Recently, we drove down Glen Cove and Voice Roads in Carle Place. The once busy shopping centers there are now sporting many "For Rent" signs, as are businesses on Old Country Road. Add another half of million square feet of retail space to the mix, and the results will be dire. Office space in Nassau County also has high vacancy rates, which will be made worse by an addition of one million square feet of Lighthouse development.

Lest you think that the problems of commercial landlords are only their own, you should realize that commercial property owners can and do have their property taxes reduced if they can't rent their space. Tax certiorari cases have cost village and the county large amounts of money, and that money gets to be made up by homeowners.

In addition, that much intense development will serve as an inducement to the County to move ahead with the light rail project which would run straight through residential backyards in Garden City. Once the Lighthouse is built and the surrounding roads are logjammed, it will be the only "sensible" course of action.

Meg Morgan Norris

Publisher