Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy hosted a roundtable breakfast Tuesday, April 7 to afford representatives from community newspapers to discuss local issues and hear her position on current issues faced by Congress. Following the breakfast, Garden City Life was given an additional opportunity to speak with the Congresswoman directly about Garden City specific issues in a telephone interview later last week. Expressing a continued interest in the communities within her district, she also stated that she would continue to keep the lines of communication open on these important matters as they develop.

During the phone interview, Garden City Life asked the Congresswoman to address the environmental concerns raised by the Garden City Environmental Advisory Board at their meeting covered in our April 2 issue. The desire to speak with the Congresswoman directly about these issues became pressing when a press release was issued from her office stating that significant funds for transportation programs on Long Island were approved under BESTEA (Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity Act). These programs include $14 million for two inter-modal facilities in Hicksville and Mineola, $2.5 million for the natural gas powered bus system, the "people mover" at the proposed Hub, and the East Side Access Project, linking the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal.

When this release began its run in the local papers, environmental watchdogs felt that this was a sign that their fears were going to become a reality. All of the issues about freight, inter-modal facilities, and the Hub that had just been raised at the Environmental Advisory Board meeting in Village Hall were now being considered by Congress. Seizing this opportunity to determine the Congresswoman's position, we presented the Village's concerns with regard to the issues in the release.

Congresswoman McCarthy explained that she too is, "very concerned about the freight" and "wrote to the DOT" to express her concerns on the issue. She says that she plans to "definitely work with the community. These issues concern me also. We live in a congested area, traffic is a major concern. Freight and other environmental issues are among my highest concerns." She also added that "the community has to have input. Their awareness and bringing their concerns to the discussion is of paramount importance."

She explained that BESTEA was designed to set money aside for projects should the need arise for them, which means that the BESTEA money is "there for the future," if the community decides they want it. She emphatically stated that the money had to be approved to be put aside for BESTEA, but that it no future spending of the money was set in stone or forever earmarked for one purpose. Should the community decide it wants a Hub development and a "people mover" after long consideration and planning, then the County can come before Congress and present their case and careful and specific plans to be scrutinized by the committee. If the community protests projects such as the East Side Access Project or the Inter-modal facilities, and if it becomes clear that there would be a negative environmental impact, (something that would be part of the consideration process before the money is actually given to Long Island to spend), then the money will go to something else.

Congresswoman McCarthy said of the Hub specifically, "It is nowhere near coming to fruition. The dollars are there to help out. If the County and the people say yes to it in three to four years, there'll be money there. It's a six-year outlay. The money had to be put aside in the budget now. It's not earmarked definitely." She added that the Hub should not and will not be pushed through without significant input from communities like Garden City and Carle Place. She added, "The Nassau Hub is in its infant stages. The Islanders are under new ownership, there are certainly environmental concerns, and we are all very concerned about traffic on Long Island. These factors will all be taken into consideration. Before any money is given for any of this they'll have to make a very good case for it."

She stated that she wants to do "what's environmentally better for that whole area." She discussed what she described both in the interview and at the breakfast as the traffic horror near Roosevelt Field, which she said openly she hasn't gone near in years because of the horrible traffic situation there. She said she would like to see proposals for reducing the traffic in the area, but stressed that they will "make sure the communities are pulled in" for the input and conceptual process.

When we asked her over the phone about the Chamber of Commerce's current efforts to make 11530 the zip code for the Incorporated Village only, she said that Mayor Tauches had mentioned it to her and her staff is currently looking into the matter.

During the breakfast she discussed the importance of helping downtown areas, an issue close to the heart of Garden City merchants and residents as the Village works to revitalize. She stated that Nassau County is "overbuilt already" and that we need to work toward "new and innovative ways to help." She added that she held a forum for all of the mayors and their trustees in her district to reach out to them and to show them which federal agencies are there to help them. She said that "different kinds of stores" need to be attracted to downtown areas to compete with the giant malls. She said that she's not afraid to call the president or go member to member in Congress to fight for funding for necessary programs to help out her district. She also added that often in Congress dollars go to urban and rural areas and ignore the serious suburban problems America currently faces.

She said that Congress is working to amend the Contract with America which had cut off elderly citizens, legal immigrants, and children. She said she's aware that our schools are bursting at the seams, young couples are unable to find available and affordable housing here on Long Island, and that the cost of living has become the highest in the entire nation here. Local problems, like tax assessments, are issues she plans to discuss with Nassau County Executive Gulotta.

She concluded that her office is always open to input from her constituents and that she personally believes that her role is to work to help people directly as well as on the floor of Congress.