Friday, March 10, 2023
Vol. 100, No.10
Garden City O Agent of the ffice Month
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February 20
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Most New Li stings and Contrac ts
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Horses & Courses PAGE 12 n CYO Champions PAGE 70
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Board rejects plan to purchase 3 new fire engines
HAPPY HOOPS FOR HOPE
BY RIKKI MASSAND
Hoops for Hope on March 6th was an amazing afternoon in a packed GC High School gym to watch GC’s Challenger basketball team play an entertaining game. Throw in a terrific halftime performance from the Varsity and Junior Varsity Cheerleaders and Kicklines, and those that were in attendance had a great time. The event once again benefited the I’m Not Done Yet foundation in memory of Bobby Menges. Photo by Ed Rotondo
Trustee raises alarm over NYS governor’s housing proposals BY RIKKI MASSAND
As protestors rallied outside Village Hall on Tuesday, March 7th, Garden City Trustee Mary Carter Flanagan hosted an informational meeting for community leaders to oppose the affordable housing plans proposed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. The governor wants to see 800,000 new housing units built in the state over the next 10 years. Some residents attended the
meeting and shared concerns about “being hit” by high-density housing development, including transit-oriented housing close to the LIRR. Trustee Carter Flanagan provided details from the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) outlining how the local municipalities would be required to change their zoning laws to accommodate new housing. NYCOM leaders have also expressed their disappoint-
ment that with the proposed state budget, AIM, or Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, would not increase. After Trustee Carter Flanagan started the in-person meeting by sharing a few bullet points of the Housing Plan she said are “alarming” she told the gathering of two dozen community leaders that examining details of implementation of the plan is vital. See page26
The Board of Trustees was split on a proposal to purchase three new fire engines at the same time, which proponents said would create “uniformity” by having the same model fire engine at each of the three village firehouses. At the March 2nd meeting of the Board, a bond resolution to authorize the funding for the purchase of the three $1 million trucks was defeated. The Board’s vote reflected the political split in the upcoming village election, which will take place on Tuesday, March 21. Mayor Cosmo Veneziale, Trustee Bruce Torino and Deputy Mayor Tom O’Brien, who participated via Zoom, endorsed the bond resolution, touting the enhanced safety that the purchase of three new trucks would bring. The mayor, as he had also stated on February 21, reiterated the potential cost savings of up to $800,000 with a bulk purchase of three fire engines rather than facing inflation and potentially longer waiting times for any purchases of fire engines in the future. But the vote went the other way during the March 2nd meeting, which six trustees of the eight board members attended. (Trustee Mary Carter Flanagan was not present due to a medical issue of a family member.) Village Trustee Terry Digan, currently the chairperson of the Garden City Board Finance & Audit Committee was also absent, but he sent a note which was read aloud by Trustee Bruce Chester: “As we are in the budget season I have seen numerous increases in requested funds from almost every department. The request from the Fire Department is one of many new requests. I feel it is not financially responsible to approve the purchase of three new trucks. Some have said ‘we can just bond it’ but that is not a solution. My suggestion is to purchase the one truck on-order and let the next Board of Trustees decide the direction they want to go in after they have adopted the new budget (2023-2024) in April. We’re asked to be good stewards of residents’ tax dollars, so I can not support these expenditures,” Digan wrote. Trustee Chester asked several pertinent questions to the rest of the board, as well as First Assistant Fire Chief James Taunton, See page 28
GC Jewish Center celebrates Purim PAGE 34 Repairs underway at GC Senior Center PAGE 3