The Eastern Property Owners’ Association will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, October 13, beginning at 7:30 pm, in the Garden City Library. All residents of the East are invited to attend.

The agenda is a full one and will feature a presentation by residents James Carney and Frank Ruggiero, who served as volunteers on the Facilities Committee that surveyed the facilities and made the improvement recommendations to the Board of Education contained in the upcoming school bond referendum. Their presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

The Board of Education has scheduled a vote on Tuesday, October 27 for residents to approve or reject a $36.5 million school bond issue. The comprehensive bond proposal includes health and safety upgrades to the district’s nine buildings, as well as reconfiguring areas within the schools to reclaim and add learning space.

In addition, Trustees Dennis Donnelly and Nick Episcopia will update residents on the Lighthouse Project, the budget and other important issues confronting the Village.

The Lighthouse Project is potentially the single most consequential development affecting the future of Garden City. As proposed by developers Charles Wang and Scott Rechler, the five million sq ft development includes one million sq ft of office space and 500,000 sq ft of retail space, and two hotel/condo towers 450 feet in height, the equivalent of a 40 story building. The affects of a project of this size on air, traffic, water, sewage disposal and the local retail and office markets in Garden City and other nearby communities are enormous.

Trustees Donnelly and Episcopia, as well as EPOA President Walter McKenna, will give a full report on the most recent developments in the Town of Hempstead on the Lighthouse Project.

Residents are urged to bring their ideas and questions to the public meeting on October 13.