Last November, Village Mayor Robert Lewis appointed Trustee Peter Bee as board liaison to Garden City's senior citizen population, of which 22 percent are over the age of 60, in an effort to ensure the village is meeting their needs.

Accepting the appointment a year ago, Bee said there seemed to be a "gut level" of perception among the trustees and staff that perhaps those needs are not being adequately addressed. "People who have lived here for all their lives are leaving Garden City," he said. "Rather than deal with our gut level reaction, we should conduct a more formal analysis of the problem."

Willing to investigate what could be done by way of needs assessment, Bee and fellow trustees have been meeting regularly with faculty from Adelphi University, creating a survey in which a large number of seniors from the village participated as well as service providers from the village and surrounding areas.

Professor Regina Tracy of Adelphi's School of Social Work conducted the survey, saying, "The village board has taken a very active role," she said. "Garden City has an aging population and the trustees are very interested in the well-being of that population."

The first-time study's results are currently being analyzed and should be ready for review by the end of the year, according to Tracy. "Adelphi and the village are sharing the desire to find ways to best meet the needs of senior citizens. The university has a tremendous interest in contributing to the village, and Long Island as a whole, and is always eager to welcome residents to its cultural events."

Tracy noted quite a bit of information has been collected in an effort to identify the gaps in services and the study is intended to offer suggestions of how to effectively close those gaps. Done in two phases, part one focused on what encourages social participation and use of existing services. Seniors were asked questions like, "Are you participating in any activities? If yes, which ones? If no, why not?" Other questions attempted to identify obstacles that may prevent seniors from participating in village activities.

Part two takes a closer look at what services Nassau County does and does not offer senior citizens and attempts to identify obstacles and gaps in services. Tracy said all data would be analyzed within the coming months to enable officials to prioritize needed services and make recommendations. "It's a very interesting and exciting study and we are pleased to have this opportunity to work closely with the village in this area."