The Village of Garden City, working with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, wants to make every effort to ensure our four-legged friends who reside in our village are properly licensed.

Village code restricts the number of dogs per household to no more than three dogs. State law requires that all dogs, large and small that are over six months old, be licensed. This yearly process begins with a Dog License Application, which is available at village hall. Renewal licenses are automatically processed directly from Albany. A summary of the licensing fee schedule and requirements follow:

-Fee of $12.50 for spayed and neutered dogs

-Fee of $20.50 for non-spayed and non-neutered dogs

-All license applications require proof of rabies vaccination

Besides being a nametag, a dog license is the official way of identifying your friend just in case they go off on a walk by themselves. Join the 522 dogs in Garden City that are currently licensed and make sure that your dog is properly licensed. For any questions, feel free to visit village hall. Our hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

I am pleased to announce that the board of trustees met in public prior to the Jan. 8 board of trustees' meeting for a presentation by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities. We will be exploring grant opportunities, which they identified, that might help to defray some of the rehabilitation costs of the St. Paul's Main Building.

Also at that meeting, your board agreed to meet in public Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss - for the first time - the process that will be needed to refine the cost and scope of the proposed library and community center meeting space for public use. This step is critical to providing data to bond counsel to bring forth a bond resolution, which will be subject to a binding bond referendum by residents. Please come and listen to this important discussion and if you have questions, please forward them prior to the meeting to Village Clerk Brian Ridgway at village hall.

Robert Mangan, the director of public works, has asked me to call residents' attention to the fact that from time to time the village experiences an increased number of sewer backups resulting from a build-up of household grease. Please cooperate with the village by disposing of your cooking oil and grease by pouring them into a can and once solidified, placing them into the garbage to be picked up by the sanitation department. Apparently, a number of residents have been pouring this material directly into their household sink drain lines/garbage disposals, causing a problem.

Hot liquid grease and oil drain well out of the house line. However, once it reaches the street line, it cools and solidifies on the pipe walls, eventually causing a blockage. Once this blockage occurs, the sewer backs up into the lowest house line, forcing sewage material to flow up into the basement waste fixtures (i.e. sink, showers, etc.). The results are extremely unpleasant and the restoration costs are high.

Restaurants are also asked to continue to have grease traps regularly serviced and the grease removed by licensed haulers.

If you experience a sewer blockage, call the department of public works at 465-4003 before calling for a plumber, as the blockage may not be in your house line. The end result could provide substantial savings to you, the homeowner.

Residents are again reminded of the "Yield for Pedestrian in Crosswalk" signs at the three mid-block crosswalks on Seventh Street, between Franklin and Hilton Avenues.

State vehicle and traffic law states that motorists must yield to pedestrians who are crossing a roadway within the striped crosswalks. A motorist seeing a pedestrian entering the crosswalk must stop and permit the pedestrian to cross the street. Cars approaching the stopped vehicle from the rear are not permitted to pass.

The Garden City Police Department has been instructed to vigorously enforce these regulations and your cooperation when driving on Seventh Street will help to make these crosswalks safer for pedestrians.

A word of caution, however, to the pedestrian - do not place undue reliance on the signs or the crosswalks, even though the law requires vehicles to yield the right-of-way, they may not do so.

In previous years, Garden City has been recognized as a community with the best pedestrian safety record. With safety in mind, I caution pedestrians to use the signal push buttons when crossing at major intersections. The system is designed to extend the light phase once the button is pressed to allow the pedestrian sufficient time to cross safely.

It is important that parents stress this safety precaution with their children, as a major portion of them cross main intersections daily en route to and from school.