The Garden City S.A.F.E. Committee is urging residents to contact and/or write to public officials to voice their concerns over several draft goals and policy recommendations proposed for the Nassau County Comprehensive Master Plan. The new Master Plan is being developed by the Nassau County Planning Commission and is scheduled for completion by the end of 1998. It will be a policy document and present a vision for the future of Nassau County. More importantly, it will set the direction for public and private decision-makers regarding future development within the county.

Key elements in the plan are demographics, land use, environmental resources, transportation, housing, the economy, culture and recreation, community facilities and services, and inter-agency planning and coordination. Copies of the draft and other related studies are available from the Nassau County Planning Commission, 400 County Seat Drive, Mineola, NY 11501. A copy of the draft goals and policy recommendations document is available for review at the reference desk of the Garden City Public Library.

While many of the draft goals and policy recommendations are desirable, several aspects of the draft will have far-reaching and long-term adverse impacts on Garden City and surrounding communities. Of immediate concern are the following draft policy recommendations:

1. Land use and economic recommendations which encourage continuing development of the "Nassau Hub" east of the Village.

2. Transportation recommendations which "open the door" for the New York and Atlantic Railway (or LIRR) to:

   1. Run diesel freight trains carrying municipal solid waste (MSW), incinerator ash, hazardous and toxic materials and other freight through Garden City (on either the Main Line or Hempstead Branch).

   2. Operate the intermodal rail freight yard on Stewart Avenue east of the Village.

3. Transportation recommendations which support the use of taxpayer money to subsidize transportation initiatives which will benefit the "Nassau Hub" to the detriment of traditional downtown areas such as Garden City.

4. Transportation recommendations for improving and expanding north-south highway routes and capacities, which will lead to increased truck traffic on Clinton Road and Stewart Avenue.

Residents are urged to stress in their letters that the traditional character and fabric of suburban communities such as Garden City must not be sacrificed in the planning process. Public officials should also be reminded that many communities such as Garden City are struggling to revitalize their downtown shopping areas and that initiatives which exacerbate the problem are strongly opposed.

Regional, state and county planners have argued for the transportation recommendations as a means to reduce traffic congestion in the region and county, especially from trucks. However, many residents believe that by implementing the recommendations, traffic will actually be concentrated in the Garden City area and will dramatically increase. A portion of the increase would result from the large trucks necessary for loading and unloading cargo if diesel freight service is allowed on the Hempstead Line and Central Extension. The Intermodal Freight Facility is at the end of Commercial Avenue where Earl Ovington Boulevard and Stewart Avenue intersect, across from an entrance to busy Roosevelt Field.

For more information, contact the S.A.F.E. Committee c/o The Garden City Environmental Advisory Board at Village Hall.

Please send a letter regarding your concerns over the Nassau County Master Plan Draft Goals and Policy Recommendations to:

Mr. Paul F. Ponessa, Director
Nassau County Planning Commission
400 County Seat Drive
Mineola, NY 11501
571-5844

Councilman Joseph J. Kearney
Town of Hempstead
Town Hall Plaza
1 Washington Street
Hempstead, NY 11550
489-5000

Thomas S. Gulotta
County Executive
One West Street
Mineola, NY 11501
571-3192

Richard V. Guardino, Jr.
Supervisor, Town of Hempstead
Town Hall Plaza
1 Washington Street
Hempstead, NY 11550
489-5000

Joseph Mondello
Chairman, Nassau County
Republican Committee
164 Post Avenue
Westbury, NY 11590
334-5800

State Senator Norman J. Levy
New York State Senate
30 S. Ocean Avenue
Freeport, NY 11520
546-4100

Governor George E. Pataki
Executive Chamber
Albany, NY 12224
518-474-8390

State Senator Michael A.L. Balboni
1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 315
Westbury, NY 11590
222-0007

Bruce A. Blakeman,
Presiding Officer
Nassau County Legislature
1 West Street
Mineola, NY 11501
571-6207

Dean G. Skelos, Deputy
Majority Leader
New York State Senate
55 Front Street
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
766-8383

U.S. Senator Alphonse D'Amato
7 Penn Plaza, Suite 600
New York, NY 10001
212-947-7390

U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy
1 Fulton Avenue
Hempstead, NY 11556
489-7066

State Senator Kemp Hannon
1600 Stewart Avenue
Westbury, NY 11590
222-0068