Various villages, including Garden City, recently settled on a series of claims and counterclaims brought against the Town of Hempstead relating to the waste disposal or "tipping" fees the villages incurred while disposing of their solid waste from 1996 through 2001 at the town's resource recovery facility in Westbury. Other villages involved in the dispute were Floral Park, Atlantic Beach, East Rockaway, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre.

According to Peter Mastaglio, who represented Garden City, along with Gerard Fishberg, on behalf of Cullen and Dykman LLP, five of the six villages, including Garden City, have to date approved the settlement. Mastaglio said they are awaiting the approvals of Atlantic Beach and the town board. Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. represented the Town of Hempstead.

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Rich Guardino is pleased a fair agreement was finally reached. "Both sides gave a little and got a little and we are pleased that it is over," he said. "The resolution of this situation will ensure the continuation of cost effective and efficient waste disposal for all residents of villages within the township."

Actions between the Town of Hempstead and six villages have been pending for almost six years, according to Mastaglio. The parties proceeded initially in federal court, more recently in New York State Supreme Court, he said, and eventually culminated in a series of orders Justice Thomas Adams issued. Those orders were ultimately affirmed in three separate appeals argued before and decided by the Appellate Division, Second Department.

Once those determinations resolving many of the disputed issues were made, the parties, with the assistance of the court, were able to reach a settlement. Comparing the amounts that the town billed the villages over that six-year period with the amounts provided in the settlement agreement, Garden City's total savings approximates $1.4 million. The other villages experienced similar savings depending on the relative volume of their solid waste deliveries.