Garden City Mayor Robert Rothschild With approximately 10 months left in his term as Mayor of Garden City, Robert Rothschild delivered his second ‘State of the Village’ address during the monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Garden City Hotel last Wednesday afternoon - the last such Chamber luncheon of the season.

First acknowledging officials and employees of the Village who were present, Rothschild’s address focused mainly on the Village budget. The Mayor touted the Village’s Triple-A rating from Moody’s on the recent bond offering, saying that the Village was on “strong financial footing,” as well as the money being adding to emergency services budgets, including the addition of three new police officers to the force as of last Tuesday. Rothschild also singled out Village attorney Gary Fishberg, noting he was a “big issue during the budget process,” throwing his support behind the counsel who deals with many of the “complex” issues the Village faces, including litigation related to the Village’s water quality, which “comes at a price of million of dollars,” because it has to be pulled from wells through layers of contaminated soil. The Mayor says the Village is seeking compensation through litigation from the parties who caused the contamination.

Mayor Rothschild also commented on the recent downed school budget vote, saying that “as the school district goes, so go a number of the great benefits of living in the Village,” and noting the “positive” working relationship between the Village and school where each could collaborate on shared services.

Throughout his speech, Rothschild continually urged residents “not to be shortsighted” with the needs of the Village and the funds necessary to maintain services at the expense of slashing the budget, a nod to a late campaign for two write-in candidates during the recent Village election. “The Board is very mindful that we cannot heed the advice and impart too much credence to those who want to haphazardly slash budgets and influence decisions from the base of minimum understanding of the real needs of the Village as a whole,” he said.

The approved 2010-11 Village budget totals $53,641,341, an increase of $351,711, or .66 percent, from 2009-10. The tax rate would increase by 2.23-percent to 41.40, or an estimated $121 in additional taxes for the average Village homeowner. A $4.6 million bond has been proposed by the Village Board to repair and replace crosswalks on Franklin Ave., reconstruct the community parking field, resurfacing parking fields 7N, 5, 12 and Fair Court by Old County Rd. as well as lighting modifications at Fair Court and the repaving of Newmarket Rd.

“The Village of Garden City cannot continue to be a village where we place limitations on revenues but have ever-increasing costs of operation and expect the Village to continue supplying services at the same level expected by the commercial district and the residents,” the Mayor said. Approximately three million square feet of commercial and retail space that are going through “some very tough times right now,” Rothschild said, “as are our residents.” The Mayor did say that the Village Board would take “positive” steps over the next year to keep the commercial district strong and competitive, but he did not elaborate as to what those steps would entail.

Changes have been made to the budget process based on recommendations from the Citizens’ Budget Review and Advisory Committee. Rothschild remarked that the Board is committed to meeting with the committee not just at budget time, but throughout the year.

Rothschild has made no secret of his personal stance on St. Paul’s and his desire not to demolish the building. However, the Mayor admitted that after 18-years looking at alternative uses “it appears we have come to the end of the road.” There are commercial parties still wishing to inspect the building, but none have yet come forward to the Village with an acceptable use, sufficient financial backing or an economically viable projection since residents rejected Avalon Bay. The draft environmental impact statement for demolition of the main building is expected to be received by the Village within the next few weeks.

According to the latest reports, the Lighthouse project on the site of the Nassau Coliseum is still “on hold.” Rothschild said he has “assured” both Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray (R) and County Executive Ed Mangano (R- Bethpage) that the Village Board is “open” to rehabilitation of the Coliseum and development of the site, but on a “much more limited scope” than proposed. The Mayor would not comment if the Village Board was ready for litigation if the project goes forward despite their protests. When questioned on the feasibility of Mangano’s proposal to build a casino on the site, Rothschild commented that it would be “difficult to say no to something you don’t have details on,” but “we would not be energetic about backing a casino.”