It will be interesting to see if village trustees heard their fellow residents at the Feb. 5 public hearing at village hall on the rezoning of the "P-Zone." The hearing was standing room only and overflowed into the hallway. I must say, I was surprised that the attendance was so low, due to the fact that this is an issue that's conclusion will affect all Garden City residents and it will do so right in their pocketbooks. The sale of this land will take place in the immediate future, a lot sooner than the St. Paul's issue will be resolved.

After an hour and 20-minute presentation by the county, residents were allowed to verbalize their thoughts and feelings about how they would like the 24 acres rezoned. It was unanimous that 98 percent of the residents present only want the land rezoned for 93 single-family plots - not the 311-unit, multi-family zoning the county and Mr. Suozzi feel will generate the highest financial sale.

The 311-unit, multi-family zoning would be "high end," we were told. But of course nothing could be guaranteed, because after the sale of the land, the developer owns it. Mr. Suozzi will no doubt be smiling when he receives the check for the sale of the land. I wonder if we will be, when we are left to deal with the aftermath.

Let's do the math - 311 units versus 93. Which has the greatest potential to affect our school taxes? Both will. If the incentive is a high quality education, there are people who would make the sacrifice of putting more than two children in a bedroom. I know I would. How many children would 93 single-family homes generate? I'm sure a lot less. But, they are going to make the 311 units attractive to empty nesters and first time homebuyers, comparable to The Wyndham. I wasn't fortunate enough to see the crystal ball that someone in the county must own. Just what all the property owners in this town need! More people who will vote down the school budget. Ask any new or current resident with a family why they moved to this town, the school district would be their number one answer.

The value of all our homes is directly related to the performance of our schools and their ability to provide a quality education. Let's not open our doors to the more transient residents, those who only are thinking of their short term needs and don't want their school taxes raised. They have the potential to pull us all down and affect the value of our homes.

This is a dynamic family town - one in which, so many who grew up here, have come back to raise their own families. That couldn't be greater testimonial to the uniqueness of our town. My husband and I envy our friends that grew up here. We know how happy our own children are to be a part of such a fine community. Single family homebuyers are in for the long run. They are just like my neighbors and myself; they have a vested and long-term relationship with the community. Therefore they have the potential to give more and care more about the community. Turnover isn't as frequent.

Traffic - have you ever tried to drive across town after school or at rush hour? It is not a lot of fun and can take a lot longer than one would imagine. Let's do the math again and give every multi family unit or single family house two cars. Six hundred and twenty-two more cars on our roads will have a very noticeable impact on our quality of life. And we thought the holiday season couldn't get any merrier!

I hope the trustees and the mayor took note of the show of hands at the hearing for single family zoning. Our mayor seemed more concerned with Mr. Suozzi being able to get home to see his family. Everyone present at the meeting sacrificed time away from his or her families to speak and hopefully be heard. I was under the impression that the hearing was for the residents to voice their opinions and concerns. I'm glad the hearing was a matter of public record and I am sorry the mayor lost sight of the fact that our concerns and opinions should matter to her. I hope that when the voting on the rezoning issue takes place (if it hasn't already-some say it has) that the results of who voted for what will be published so that we are able to know which publicly elected trustees have the town's best interests in mind. Maybe the board should consider another public hearing since the public opinion needed to be rushed and we were discouraged from taking any more time.

I personally have a trust issue with Nassau County putting the wishes and concerns of our residents in their utmost thoughts. I felt they pulled a "fast one" on us when we pulled together as a community and vetoed the BOCES proposal to buy the building on Clinton Avenue. But because that didn't work for them, they put the issue up for vote again, making sure they could ensure the number of voters to defeat us.

Each and every one of us who is in favor of the single-family zoning proposal needs to act immediately (as in today). Contact the mayor's office, contact each village trustee, contact your local property owners' association and find out how they stand on this issue and what they are doing to protect our quality of life. We need to start petitions, demand another hearing. We do not have much time to act. This land may already be on the market, just awaiting the zoning restrictions. Nassau County government's agenda is to sell this land as soon as possible at the highest price they can get for it. Obviously they desperately need the money. The 311-unit multi-family zoning will generate the highest revenue for them. Don't let Nassau County's fiscal crisis dictate our quality of life. Everyone who lives in Nassau County should share the burden. Please don't wait until you receive your school tax increase to accommodate our new school-age residents to wish you had responded to this issue. They are looking to start construction this spring.

The proper zoning of the 24-acre P-Zone property is the only control we have over the future use of this property and the implications we will have to live with. No one can guarantee us how beautiful it will look or who the residents will be. We can hopefully control how it is zoned. There is no crystal ball!

Catherine Gorman