Friday, November 17, 2017
Vol. 94, No. 9
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Turkey trot PAGE 18 n Golden Goose PAGE 16
School Board considers impact from proposed apartment project
22 WINS IN A ROW
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
The GCHS Trojans are moving on, after their 22nd straight victory, to the county finals, where they’ll face an 8-2 Mepham squad who advanced after beating Carey 33-13. See page 68
School Board confronted on bullying incident BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
After reports about a Garden City student being bullied circulated in the community as well as nationally, the Garden City Board of Education meeting held on Tuesday, November 14 inside little Locust School was attended by nearly 300 parents and community members. The meeting and uproar from Garden City families came 20 days after the district-wide Unity Day, featuring orange t-shirts to stand against bullying and picture opportunities for the district. School Board President
Angela Heineman started the Board meeting with a statement preceding the public comment portion of the meeting: “I say this at every meeting, mutual respect and civility are the order of the day….I want to remind everyone that the Board of Education does not discuss personnel matters or specific students or staff members in public. If you have such concerns we ask that you please contact our Superintendent of Schools (Dr. Alan Groveman). In this public discussion we generally do not allow it because of concerns
about reputation, privacy and due process rights.” Heather Hjelm of Elm Street said her children are not yet at the Middle School level, but she wants to know what the Board of Ed. will do for its own investigation into reported bullying. Like many parents, simple concern is the starting point given the recent news and information on the depth of alleged bullying at Garden City Middle School. “There have been a few high profile cases and a lot of people talking about what happened with their families. I am See page 52
Six days after the Village of Garden City’s Zoning Change Review Committee hosted a public work session to review a proposed 150-unit apartment complex at 555 Stewart Avenue, the applicant’s attorney Kevin Walsh presented the proposal to the Garden City Board of Education. The board challenged a number of benefits Walsh tried to associate with the project as he spoke at the district’s November 8 work session at Garden City High School. The primary consideration for both Walsh and his client, 550 Stewart LLC, and school district leadership is the housing stock of Garden City and the number of families with schoolage children that will be generated both directly and indirectly from the new 150 apartment homes. The school board took a harder line on the question of student enrollment impacts, because if people residing in Garden City now are empty-nesters who could choose a 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom unit to live in while remaining in the village and selling their present home, that would leave great potential for new families with children to come into Garden City and occupy that same home. In his presentation Walsh stated an interest of seniors living in the village now and for the past several decades wanting to downsize and not shovel snow (sell their homes) but continue living in Garden City for many years. New housing in Garden City, regardless of its form or location, could drive up school enrollment totals that have surprised administrators this fall, the district contends. Walsh, a Garden City resident and principal of Walsh, Markus, McDougal & DeBellis, LLP of 7th Street, described the new 150-apartment complex’s location as the dilapidated parking lot in between Raymond Court and Roosevelt Field mall. But details emerged beyond the November 1 ZCRC work session. When he explained the rationale for 150 apartments and not townhomes, Walsh said “there is a call for different housing and most developers in this area will see a lot of multiple-dwelling housing, generally rentals, being built…that is the new trend to satisfy the need for younger people who really love that type of housing and for seniors who want to sell their houses but they don’t want to move from Garden City, and they need a place to go. When we look at this village we have a lack of that type of housing. It is a perfect opportunity to get that type of development, which would be positive.”
Paying their Share of School Tax: PILOT or I.D.A. likely
The school tax money the new development at 555 Stewart Avenue See page 40
Cathedral Nursery school celebrates 50 years PAGES 50-51 Boys soccer team journey comes to an end PAGES 60-61