Excellent Article

To the Editor:

Overall, last week’s front page article, Shining A Light On Lighthouse Project, summarizing the Town of Hempstead’s public hearing on the massive 150-acre development in central Nassau County was excellent. The author did a good job of capturing the key topics discussed at the 12-hour hearing at Hofstra University.

I wish to underline two important points that the article touched on briefly. First, Charles Wang and Scott Rechler, the project developers, said that even if the Hempstead town board approves the change in zoning, they would not put in writing several standard and essential commitments.

Wang and Rechler said they would not sign a pledge not to sell the development rights to another firm. In addition, they would not promise in writing to keep the Islanders hockey team on Long Island. And they would not commit in writing to use firms that hire local workers. Mr. Wang repeatedly said commitments in writing were not necessary because he loves Long Island and has lived here for 57 years, more than any other member of the town board.

The article mentioned the developers confusing statements about the total number of buildings planned for the project. Initially, Wang said it was 30 buildings. Later, after follow-up questions from the town board, Rechler seemed to indicate that 50 buildings were planned. The Hofstra audience had to wait several hours for Mr. Rechler’s staff to research the issue and announce, finally, around 7 p.m., that the Lighthouse is planning to erect 42 buildings.

If Wang and Rechler have been planning this project since September, 2004, how could they not know the exact number of buildings they planned to put up? If after five years the developers don’t have this basic information on their fingertips, what are we to believe about their answers on water quality, sewage disposal, traffic congestion and the number of affordable housing units?

Leo Stimmler

Here We Go Again

To the Editor:

I am sure all the property owners in the whole of Garden City have received the newsletter, “The ‘Historical Notes” from the Historical Society. “Well here we go again”.

After a vote that was taken and the homeowners had spoken, we had “Forum I” on June 17th, 2009, which covered the “Demolition of St. Paul’s School & Ellis Hall”. I must add a visit to the Historical Society facility after the presentation by experts. We now will have “The Real Cost of Demolition”; Forum II coming up with even more experts. After all of these years and the dissention created by the purchase of St. Paul’s we are still at it, on the subject of what to do with St. Paul (again & again)? When does it stop? We are still fighting this same battle over and over again etc. again. These experts are now going to tell us the cost of the demolition of these buildings. We have been paying that cost for over fifteen years. We are still paying for the lack of “preplanning” years ago by our elected officials.

I am sure the Episcopal Church was well meaning when this property was offered to Garden City. Garden City took a financial white elephant off the church’s back. It was the Garden City managers’ responsibilities (a word seldom understood today) to make sure (the terminology is preplan) that white elephant was something that would not become an anchor around the GC property owner’s necks.

I would like to know what it has cost us, the property owners over that 16 year plus period. Not only to fight legal battles in court over and over again involving several families that hold St. Paul sacred. Those legal court cases I know were not cheap by a long shot. Then add that to the cost of the up keep of a deteriorating old building. What has been the lighting cost of lighting the front face, over those years of that building? Let us not forget the seven million dollar bond that we took when we purchased the site. I am sure (I hope) someone had the foresight to insure that property?

I’ll offer a suggestion like the many I have offered in the past. We have been upgrading our schools. The last I heard was the High School needs or will need a major overhaul? If it has not been done already, sell the property the high school is located on now to a developer for housing. This would bring additional tax dollars to Garden City.

Completely gut St Paul’s and of course save what can be saved. Anything else can go to the “Historical Society”. Remake the interior into a more up to date school, even if an extension is required because of capacity needs. Even the now existing football field at the present high school can be relocated (as it exists) on the south side of Stewart Ave. Yes where we just spent a small fortune on a few baseball diamonds. They can be relocated behind St. Paul on those forty-seven acres we bought years ago.

To further preplan this idea, the cost of operating school buses can be cut substantially. By alternating the hours of the Intermediate School and the High School (school start and ending hours) buses will terminate and start in the same area. I’ll even extend this idea further. A crosswalk across Stewart from the south side to the north side would also be beneficial.

Financing for a project such as this would be paid for by the sale of the High School property and it serves two purposes; it satisfies both antagonist groups and solves the same problem. I’ll add to the benefit of the Garden City homeowner.

If something like this is not done, then St. Paul has to go. Or we are going to have an on going situation that has gone on far to long-long a time and costing the home owners more and more in tax dollars the longer it is extended. We have had enough experts. It is about time the property owners were considered the experts. After all “ we” pay the bills.

Michael Falabella

Safe Passage Initiative

To the Editor:

The Nassau Boulevard Safe Passage Initiative was created by a group of parents reaching out to the Village of Garden City and the Garden City School District for help in creating safe passage across Nassau Boulevard for the 21 children recently denied busing due to rule enforcement within the district. As many know, parents were notified the Friday before school began, making it impossible for any immediate action to be taken to address the danger of 7-10 year-olds crossing Nassau Boulevard alone at rush hour.

Other than being notified, we had no formal help from the school and immediately banded together to make changes. To date, we have asked the Village for a temporary crossing guard while the Village considers a permanent one. We asked that the light timer be lengthened from 12 seconds, that “no right on red” signs be posted on three corners and that a “walk/don’t walk cross box” be erected to make crossing safer. We also asked that our children be better prepared to deal with the dangers of crossing Nassau Boulevard with help from a student educator. Although no child should be encouraged to cross Nassau Boulevard by themselves, we want to thank Garden City Detective Rich Pedone for immediately offering to meet with our kids anytime, anywhere to teach safe crossing techniques. We can report that the time a child has to cross this four lane highway has been lengthened; however no additional changes have been made as of 9/30. We have been told that a letter has been issued by the Village to the county requesting the signs and cross box. Village officials asked the school to publicly support these safety changes by writing to the county which we’re told, has been done.

In a two-pronged effort, we then also approached the School District, hoping to spur them to take action on our behalf. We have submitted a 10 page petition requesting that the Nassau Boulevard/Stratford Avenue crossing be designated a “child safety zone” under Section 3635-b of the New York State Education Law, which would, with the agreement of the Board of Education, restore busing to this small group of children. Rigorous standards must be met to make this happen and then the Board has to approve the return of busing. We are eagerly looking forward to their response to our request.

Although as a group, we know that changes like these don’t happen overnight, as parents, we can’t help but feel that help is coming too slowly, if at all. We must and will take whatever steps are necessary to advocate safe passage to school and back for our children. “It takes a village to raise a child” and we are counting on the good sense of the school and our local government to support us and quickly see this oversight made right.

Susan Sonner

Susan Walsh

Liz Galzerano,

Parent Representatives

Nassau Boulevard

Safe Passage Initiative

Solar Power Is Great

To the Editor:

Solar power is more affordable than ever, due to LIPA rebates and state and federal tax credits. If you would like to see the solar installation at our Garden City home and learn more, please attend the National Solar Tour and Green Buildings Open House this Saturday, October 3, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

The event is organized by the non-profit Renewable Energy Long Island. You are welcome to visit over 70 participating homes and businesses around the island to learn about solar energy - neighbor to neighbor - getting information from regular people who are powering their homes and businesses with clean, renewable energy.

To find Tour sites to visit, please register for your free visitors pass on RELI’s website at: http://www.renewableenergylongisland.org/tourguests.cfm

In the year that we have been living in our house, we have generated over 5,000 kilowatt-hours of power, saving over $1,000 on our annual electric bill. I hope to encourage other Garden City residents to use the financial incentives and help bring clean energy to Long Island.

Douglas Yasso

Welcomes New Owners

To the Editor:

What a surprise and delight was my recent visit to the newly reopened Things And Stuff on 7th Street. The new owner and manager, Theresa and Meghan, are very warm and cordial. They have redecorated beautifully the store’s interior and have loaded the shelves and cabinets with attractive and unusual merchandise appealing and suited to so many different occasions. If so desired, they even wrap creatively and carefully. I hope that everyone takes the opportunity to go in and be as excited as I was to find the old warmth and enthusiasm as in years past.

M. Conti

Concerned

Printed By Request:

Dear Senator Schumer:

I am writing you because I am deeply concerned as to the direction our great nation is headed.

My major concern is the decrement of the general morality and the lack of patriotism, you as a member of congress, are allowing to materialize. Lack of reprimand or censure concerning officials who break the moral code such as Bill Clinton, John Edwards, governers, etc., surely doesn’t help.

You are allowing the ultra liberals to undermine and attack our religious beliefs by forgetting we are a nation “under God”. I was raised with the notion that we have “freedom of religion,” not freedom from religion. This was very evident during the second world war when every citizen, regardless as to their beliefs came together to stop the Nazi regime. Too many atheists will someday have no fear of dying and that added to radical fundamental Islamic beliefs will cause future domestic problems. You have allowed the family to be destroyed by the granting and increasing of welfare to un-wed mothers and the granting of rights to gays and lesbians. Who is accountable?

You have not accomplished anything towards energy independence, except some pork barrel experiments. Instead you have devised a Cap & Trade Policy that will only be another hidden tax with a few of your colleagues benefiting personally. And what good is conservation if the entire world does not participate?

Mexican and Canadian immigration are still a major problem, especially exasperating medical costs in various regions of our country. By solving this dilemma perhaps some of our Health Care problems may be corrected.

Health reform is not reform at all. It is just an attempt to give us socialized medicine under the pretext of having everyone insured. It is already in place in other nations: we should learn by their mistakes. Is the federal management of our Veteran Hospitals anything to brag about? Is this a harbinger of things to come?

Congress is getting too involved with business, passing too many laws, attempting to protect too many and influencing our Federal Reserve system. Attempting to change patent expiration, forcing small business to provide health coverage, taxing the wealthy, union card check offs, all because we are in a recession and you see the budget rising. Remember, the recession was caused by a social experiment that went wrong. It was our Government-sponsored Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that kept the mortgages flowing and the pressure put upon the banks by our politicians to grant mortgages to those who should never have had one and those who didn’t qualify. Credit was made too easy and Wall Street being creative found the way to make money and these same Wall-Streeters are now advising our administration. Congress must accept some part of the blame. Our laws were geared against saving.

What happened to the ACORN investigations? What is it that you do not want heard? Is the media being silenced?

I am worried as to what the world thinks of our nation. We have troops all over, some supporting those nations. Are we the policemen and benefactors of the world?

We have Social Security, when at its inception was great, an insurance plan. Then it was slowly changed into a welfare plan, and then used as the piggy bank for politicians. Now we have medicare, already a problem. What’s next, Universal Health, Cap & Trade? A sense of distrust is starting.

Do you actually know what’s best for our country? I suggest you start listening to your constituents and listen carefully. We are quite disturbed.

Frederick G., Garttner