Wake Up Call

To The Editor:

The Village Trustee election turnout and results were a real eye opener. Hopefully, this will wake our zombie Trustees from their deep sleep. The voter turnout, at just under a thousand residents, was nearly five times the typical turnout in previous “elections.” The spectacular increase in voter participation this year resulted from the write-in candidacy of Ron Tadross and Ray Rudolph, who pledged to keep a lid on skyrocketing Village spending and tax increases. Even though these two men announced their intention to seek write-in votes only days ahead of the vote, they won the support of close to 400 residents. Put another way, this is three to four times the number of votes received by several of our mayoral “candidates” in past years.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, Tadross and Rudolph, through their website (gardencityresidents.org), provided detailed information on budget items and procedures that I have never seen from any Trustee or Property Owner Association in my more that 25 years as a resident here. They posed questions regarding wasteful spending that should routinely have been asked by the Trustees but weren’t. Their communications echoed the frustration that we all feel about the lack of representation by our POAs and Trustees.

Tadross and Rudolph are courageous; speaking out for what they believe is badly needed in Garden City even though they knew there was likely to be a backlash from the political establishment. In the 24 hours preceding the vote, I received several e-mails from POAs, opposing candidates and one Trustee. Each of these was in the form of hate mail. They slandered Tadross and Rudolph. They also offered no comment on what they or their candidate stood for. One unfortunate reason why voter turnout was so high is that the POA machines worked to garner votes from those who were unaware of the good work that Tadross and Rudolph had done and the approach that they espouse - to represent the interest of Garden City taxpayers.

Hopefully, even though Tadross and Rudolph were not elected, these events will make the Trustees and POAs realize just how angry we are. Hopefully they will begin a process of managing instead of caretaking. If they do not, then our taxes will continue to skyrocket and the value of our homes will continue to fall. I am hopeful but not optimistic. I think the time has come for the outdated and unconstitutional Community Agreement to be dismantled. We cannot continue to have our Trustees appointed by a handful of people. We need to have full and fair elections where the residents can choose leaders that will represent our interests.

Joseph Hordon

Give It To CSSP

To the Editor:

The St. Paul’s fiasco has long been a village embarrassment, not to mention a financial disaster. It’s time to bring it to a close once and for all. I have a proposal for my fellow residents’ consideration.

Setting costs entirely aside for a moment, the building is a valuable and unique addition to our village. Tearing it down would be a sad end to this story. On this narrow point, I think there is general agreement.

On the other hand, renovation of the building solely for public use (the “high school/library/village hall solution”) cannot be accomplished at a cost remotely approaching the feasible or advisable. Anyone who doubts this should review the planned renovations to our public schools over the next several years (at a cost of $36.5 million to the taxpayers of our village). Those relatively minor repairs are to buildings that have been continuously used, maintained and updated over the years. St. Paul’s is an antiquated structure built to 19th-century standards that has been allowed to deteriorate for decades. It is so contaminated that, absent the use of special breathing apparatus, residents aren’t even permitted to enter it. Above, when I said St. Paul’s was “valuable”, I didn’t mean it in economic terms. Economically, it is a black hole.

The third path, private development (at private expense), to include some public space, was roundly rejected by village residents in a 2008 poll. This option was strongly opposed by The Committee to Save St. Paul’s (“CSSP”), which favors public development at taxpayer expense.

As a result of that same poll, the village trustees have been moving forward with a plan to demolish the building (the winning option in the poll), which CSSP also opposes. This would destroy a landmark that makes us different from every other village on Long Island and would cost us millions in the bargain. It would also leave us with a large empty lot we could fight over for another two decades (perhaps residents could form The Committee to Save the Empty Lot Located at the Former Site of St. Paul’s). Talk about a village embarrassment.

So we have established the following principles:

(i) the building is nice to look at and we like having it around;

(ii) it is a financial fiasco without any feasible public utility whatsoever;

(iii) private use has met with stiff opposition led by those who, in the absence of all evidence to the contrary, don’t accept principle (ii); and

(iv) public opinion favors demolition, even at significant expense.

Here’s my proposal: let’s give the property to CSSP. The village could give CSSP a five-year lease for $1, with an option to extend it for real money after that. We can give them the funds that would otherwise go to demolishing the building and require them to keep at least that amount in trust (call it an “endowment”).

If, after five years, CSSP hasn’t done something productive with the property, we take the property (and the endowment) back and knock St. Paul’s down. We’ll be right back where we are now, but we would have given it one last shot. As part of my plan, we’d ask CSSP (and its individual members) not to oppose demolition if this happens, since they will have been given their opportunity to put the building to good use on their terms.

And if CSSP can make something out of it, through public fundraising, for-profit activities, creative use of government or private grants, charging fees to the Village or others for use or some other means, they can exercise their option and retain the property. We’ll let them have the endowed funds with our thanks, and we can all continue to see our village landmark as we drive on past.

Ned Welch

Some Perspective

To The Editor:

The attached item from “U.S.A. Today” should be of interest to all those who feel St. Paul’s School is too old, and fifteen years is way too long to waste on such a building - they'd rather knock it down!

No place like dome for Hagia Sophia

After a 17-year-long restoration of its colossal dome, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, the iconinc church-turned-mosque-turned-museum, has shed 180 tons of scaffolding in time for the city’s turn as 2010 European Capital of Culture.

Alas, Phase II work will begin soon. When you’re 15 centures old, restoration is neverending.

Joan Hobbs

Disappointed

To the Editor:

I was very disappointed to see on the front page of the Garden City News dated March 12, 2010 the article entited “GC Woman Charged With Trying To Hire Hit Man”. I know that your paper reports the news but was it actually necessary to report this when this occurred a week ago and has been reported all over the news as well as the internet the week before. This woman has children living in this town and I think everyone should be thinking about these children. I feel that there was no reason for you to put this out since it has already been publicized. Remember, these children live here and attend school here. They do not need to see their mother pictured on the front page of our local paper. You should be more sensitive to something like this when children are involved.

Eileen Pfail

Call It A Tax

To the Editor:

How much money does the N.Y. State Lottery, whose motto is “Billions for Education” provide for education? How much of the N.Y. State cigarette tax is going into health care and stop smoking programs? How much money of the proposed sugar based soda tax will go into obesity education programs?

Almost all of these program’s profits go directly into the State’s general fund to reduce the deficit. It’s time for Albany to stop trying to fool New Yorkers by calling a program a program, and call it a TAX.

John R. Brooks

Against ObamaCare

To the Editor:

What has Representative McCarthy gotten for the Constituents of the 4th CD in exchange for her vote? Other Democrat Representatives abused the U.S. Taxpayer for their Constituents, but not “Pelosi’s Pet”! Here’s a short list of the shakedowns:

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. - Up to $300 million in additional federal money to pay for the state of Louisiana’s share of the proposed expansion of Medicaid. The “Louisiana Purchase.”

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. - A commitment that the federal government will permanently pay for Medicaid expansion in the Cornhusker State at a cost of about $100 million. The “Cornhusker Kickback.”

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. - A special provision that will exempt about 800,000 senior citizens in the Sunshine State from any of the proposed cuts to the Medicaid Advantage program. “Gator Aid.”

These provisions will cost the taxpayers of the 4th CD more, but Rep. McCarthy continues to support this “Obamanation”! Thank you, once again, for abandoning us in favor of the special interests that support your candidacy. Please call Carolyn (516-739-3008) and ask why?

Thomas P. Brosnan