The Garden City News (9/29/23) by Litmor Publishing

Friday, September 29, 2023

Vol. 100, No. 38

Ready for a m ove? Let’s connec t! Laura Mullig an Lic. R.

FOUNDED 1923 n LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED

E. Salesperso n O 516.307.94 06 M 516.729.68 85 laura.mulligan @elliman.com

Garden City Office 130 7 th Street

Pumpkin patch

PAGE 8 n

Paw-toberfest PAGE 6

TROJANS TROUNCE GENERALS

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Meeting explores financing scenarios for St. Paul’s proposals BY RIKKI MASSAND

The Garden City High School Trojans beat the MacArthur High School Generals 49-0 on Friday, September 22nd. See page 58.

Preservation of St. Paul’s stained glass windows a priority BY RIKKI MASSAND

At the Village Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, September 13th a resident raised concerns over the historic stained glass windows at St. Paul’s, evoking their value as an important part of the information on the building’s current condition. At least one of the windows in the St. Paul’s chapel is an

original work by Tiffany. In response, the Village Board and administration acknowledged and outlined the goal of preserving the nine stained glass windows inside St. Paul’s. Garden City Mayor Mary Carter Flanagan asked Village Administrator Ralph V. Suozzi to share updates on his discussions and research

with experts in historic stained glass window preservation. The mayor noted that the village has worked on this in the past, and a project was outlined but not accomplished for professional removal and safe storage of the stained glass. Two and a half years ago, at the March 25, 2021 Board See page 43

The Garden City Senior Center was the venue for a straightforward, numbers-heavy presentation on financing alternatives for the Village’s different proposals for the future of the historic St. Paul’s main building. The turnout in-person for the September 26th information session was slightly over 60 people with many additional people tuning in via Zoom. A second session is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3rd, with a public opinion vote scheduled for Saturday, October 21st. This session explained how bonds are issued for different types of capital projects, and gave several scenarios for hypothetical funding amounts. The October 21st session is expected to include cost actual estimates for the different scenarios, as well as a discussion on the possible time lines and regulatory issues related to environmental review. Most members of the Village Board of Trustees were present for the work session, with Trustee Michael Sullivan taking on the role as co-host and moderator. Audience members were able to pose questions by email or during the session by filling out question cards that were distributed to the in-person audience. Audience members included pro-preservation activists from the St. Paul’s Alliance, members of the Garden City Historical Society board, leadership from the Eastern POA and the Estates POA, and Garden City’s immediate past mayor Cosmo Veneziale.

Treasurer explains state of village finances

The format of the work session did not allow for any residents to directly address or speak to the presenting professionals. The presentation started with Village Treasurer Irene Woo, who discussed the “Current state of Village bonding, the municipal Credit Rating” and situations on the issuance of bonds and the difference between BANs (bond anticipation notes) and bonds. The most prominent takeaway from the presentation was Garden City’s strength in obtaining favorable interest rates due to its good fiscal health and high bond rating. Treasurer Woo said Village of Garden City has a debt level 23% of the median of AAA-rated entities. Diana Castenada of Capital Market Advisors (CMA), who previously worked as a credit analyst at Moody’s Investor Services also spoke. She reflected the positioning of Garden City on the market and said, “The village’s tax-supported debt is modest (at over $25 million) and the offsetting See page 42

Varsity Soccer continues winning days PAGE 62 Challah baking fun at GC Jewish Ctr PAGE 36