At last Thursday’s meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees, Mayor Robert J. Rothschild and several Board members proudly acknowledged the solidarity created when residents from all four property owners’ associations joined together to voice their objections to the Lighthouse project at the recent zoning hearing.

“When you have issues like this, I think you really see what a great format of government that we have,” said Garden City Mayor Robert J. Rothschild at the October 1st meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees. “Now, we don’t all agree, we know that, on every issue. There are some people who don’t agree on this issue. But I think because we are, or we try to be at least, a non political, Democrat or Republican type of system, I think we wind up really looking at issues from the perspective of what’s best for the Village....It’s an interesting situation we have, but I think it’s a format that in my eyes really works and I think in this case it really showed itself that it does work.”

The Mayor announced that he has had telephone discussions with members of the Lighthouse organization to advise them of the Village’s united stance. He was proud that despite a crowd overwhelmingly hostile to their position, several residents chose to speak at the Sept. 22nd Town of Hempstead hearing because it was the “right thing to do for Garden City.” He was pleased to see so many people getting involved in this issue, by attending or actually speaking at the hearing, or by simply writing an e-mail or letter in support. “It does have an impact on how they proceed,” he said in reference to the correspondence.

Walter McKenna, president of the Eastern Property Owners’ Association, agreed that comments and e-mails have made a difference to the Town Board. “If we put one little bit of thought in some people’s head about it, then we did well in that respect.”

McKenna is especially pleased that this issue has brought the four POAs together. “Regardless of what the outcome is, we have stood behind what we believe in,” he said. “It’s a good feeling to know that we’re not only doing it for us, but we’re educating residents on it, and they were behind this as well.”

Trustees Nicholas Episcopia and Dennis Donnelly, who represent the Eastern section, have been especially vocal on the negative impact they believe this project, especially the proposed retail space, will have on the Village. The effect on the water supply and area traffic are also paramount concerns shared by the majority of Villagers.

Trustee Episcopia expressed his thanks to everyone who attended the tense hearing, especially those not from the Eastern section. “Even though we are faced with something that is a problem, at least it shows that we can come together on an issue, cooperate and do something,” he said. Episcopia recalled another time residents united in solidarity several years ago when at least 1,000 residents banded together in an ultimately unsuccessful fight against Nassau BOCES when they sought to be removed from the tax role.

His wife Dorothy, who spoke at the hearing, also thanked residents representing all areas of the Village who showed their support. “It goes to show that our system does work,” she said. “We don’t always all agree, but this is one time we needed to all pull together and our system really can work. This is how it works, and we appreciate it.”

Several residents addressed the hostility they felt from Lighthouse supporters at the hearing. “It was a very hostile crowd. To say it was anti-Garden City is an understatement,” added resident Kathy Wood. She was also disturbed that erroneous statements from those living outside the Village that Garden City receives taxes from Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall was not corrected by any Town of Hempstead official at the hearing.

Pat DiMattia, president of the Central Property Owners’ Association, was concerned by the lack of support from surrounding villages. “It troubles me deeply that Garden City seemed to be the only neighboring village that really stuck out,” she said. “We all heard the comments, ‘we’re a bunch of rich snobs and we only think about ourselves’ and I don’t think that was our intention at all. We were really thinking about Garden City, yes, but Nassau County in totality, and surrounding communities. So it troubles me: Where was Mineola, where was Carle Place, where was Westbury?” She added that it was possible that representatives were present at the hearing but she just didn’t see them because of the large crowd.

“I kind of feel like we were in the fight alone,” she said.

Trustee Episcopia responded: “I’m not defending them, but those people are in a political system that’s different than ours....Those villages are really political places.”

Mayor Rothschild said he spoke with Mayor Wayne J. Hall, Sr. of the Inc. Village of Hempstead, who said he could not clear his calendar to attend the hearing.