Friday, March 28, 2025
Vol. 102, No. 13
Buying or Sellin g? My Results W ill Move You!
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FOUNDED 1923 n LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Laura Mullig
an Lic. R. E. Sales person O 516.307.9406 M 516.729.6885 laura.mulligan @elliman.co Garden City Office 130 7 th Street
n
Runner in Red PAGE 6 n GCAA playoffs PAGE 55
m
elliman.com
© 2025 DOUGLAS ELLI 110 WALT WHITMAN MAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPP ROAD, HUNTINGTON ORTUNITY. STATION, NY 11746. 631.549.7401.
Did 2023 Committee Stack the Deck?
NASSAU COUNTY CHAMPS
Emails hint at political strategy, altered estimates BY MEG MORGAN NORRIS A trove of emails obtained by Garden City Mayor Mary Carter Flanagan from the village appear to show that members of the 2023 St. Paul’s Committee may have sought to increase cost estimates for “facadism” and minimize costs for preservation in a construction cost report. That report is now being used as a basis for the current St. Paul’s survey, which will be arriving in residents’ mailboxes shortly. Residents speaking at meetings, as well as letters to the editor of this newspaper have recently objected to the current survey because it doesn’t include options for facadism or demolition. The emails are available for the public to read online at https://tinyurl.com/stpaulsemails
Development of Westerman Report
The Garden City Wings won the Nassau County Middle School Championship on Tuesday night (2-1) vs the powerhouse Half Hollow Hills team. See page 53
At the time in 2023, the Village had commissioned a construction cost report from Westerman Associates that included options for restoring the building, demolishing it, or saving only a portion of its facade. That report was used to create a public See page 45
Garden City Schools budget up 2.8% Pool law approved BY KASSARA MCELROY
The Garden City Board of Education is moving forward with 2025-2026 school year planning, proposing a budget of $137,760,845. This reflects a 2.82% increase, or $3,773,479, over the current year’s budget. The public will have the opportunity to vote on this in May. The latest proposal shows a slight increase from the initial budget of $137,410,845, which reflected a 2.56% increase, or $3,423,479. Administrators attri-
bute the adjustment to rising insurance and liability costs. The budget is divided into three main categories: capital (13.00% of the total), administrative (11.64%), and program (75.56%). The capital and administrative categories were discussed at board meetings in previous weeks. This week’s meeting focused primarily on the program portion, which accounts for over three-quarters of the total budget and has the most direct impact on student learning.
despite opposition
All budget presentations to date are available for public review on the district’s website. These documents, which include side-by-side comparisons of the 2024-2025 and proposed 2025-2026 budgets, can be found under Board of Education presentations. These documents include detailed breakdowns of dollar changes and percentage increases for each budget category and code, helping community members make the most informed deci-
Steps to construct a backyard pool in Garden City will now face new setbacks, following regulations adopted by the village government. After rounds of public comment and pushback to proposed restrictions on who may qualify to build a pool, the Village of Garden City Board of Trustees approved a local law amending Section 200-45 of the Village Code concerning swimming pools. The subject of a March 6, public hearing, the law ultimately passed last Thursday with some minor amendments—though not without dissent. Trustees’ votes and comments reflected a
See page 43
See page 43
BY RIKKI MASSAND
‘31 GC Rams travel to West Point PAGE 52 Songs of Ireland on a Sunday PAGE 28