The Garden City News (1/16/26) by Litmor Publishing

Friday, January 16, 2026

Vol. 103, No. 3

FOUNDED 1923 n LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED

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Celebrating the season PAGE 37 n Drawing Board PAGE 19

POLICE CHIEF HONORED

Water Works renovation moves ahead with early contracts BY RIKKI MASSAND

The Garden City Library Board of Trustees presented retiring Police Commissioner Kenneth O. Jackson with a Certificate of Appreciation acknowledging his many years of dedicated service to the Village and Library. See page 16

School Board approves new elective courses BY KASSARA MCELROY The Garden City Board of Education approved several new middle and high school elective courses and discussed student scheduling and academic support during its work/ special session this week during its work session on January 13th. At the high school level, the board approved the addition of the Bloomberg

Finance Fundamentals Certificate Course, Career Exploration and Preparation, and College Calculus. New middle school offerings include Financial Literacy: Foundations of Personal Finance and Investing, Studio in Art, and Writing Across the Content Areas. Board President Joe Sileo expressed strong support for the expanded

elective options, particularly the financial literacy course. “I’m a big proponent of that,” Sileo said. “A lot of kids come out of school without a strong foundation in finance, investing, and managing their money.” During public comment, a parent spoke in favor of Writing Across the Content Areas and asked See page 50

The Village of Garden City is moving forward with two proposals to begin renovations and rehabilitation work at the historic, 116-yearold Water Works building at Eleventh Street and Hilton Avenue, a capital project budgeted for this year. To fund the work, the Village Board of Trustees approved a $2.5 million bond resolution on November 6, 2025. At the Board of Trustees’ meeting last Thursday night, January 8, Superintendent of Public Works John Borroni outlined details of the first two contract proposals, which were subsequently approved. Electrical contractor Denis O’Regan Electric, Inc., of Glen Cove will provide electrical services to the facility under Year 1 pricing of the Department of Public Works Electrical Services contract, which was awarded at the November 21, 2024 board meeting for $36,985. Energy Mechanical Inc., of Central Islip, will provide HVAC services for the project under Year 2 pricing of its DPW HVAC contract, which was renewed by the board on October 17, 2024, at a cost of $124,200. “The approval of these proposals is necessary to the completion of this phase of work and to proceed with the next phase including bidding of the previously approved restoration project,” Mr. Borroni said. Built in 1876, the Water Works building is the only public structure remaining from A.T. Stewart’s planned ‘Garden City,’

according to its National Register of Historic Places nomination form. Mayor Ed Finneran then invited Water & Sewer Department Superintendent Stan Carey to comment on the scope of work taking shape at the Water Works building. “The project calls for the restoration of the historic building that was built in the late 1800’s. Its roof needs replacement; the windows are scheduled to be replaced too, and there will be facade improvements – including exterior brick repointing. The items on the agenda tonight are for the interior, to redo the heating in the HVAC system as well as electrical updates. We are at 85% of the design, and we expect to bid the work probably in the early spring. The village has been in touch with all the appropriate state agencies, and we have applied for grants but are waiting to hear back,” Carey said. During the Environmental Advisory Board’s November 2025 meeting, Carey reported that the Village Board had authorized applying for a $600,000 grant through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), with D&B Engineers & Architects preparing the application. When the board first approved the $2.5 million bond resolution on November 6, Superintendent Borroni said there was no definitive timeline for project bidding or construction. He also clarified that the village could not issue bids until receiving official input See page 24

Rotary dinner celebrates 100 years PAGE 32 New GC Library Trustee joins board PAGE 17