Many residents from the East packed the village hall boardroom March 18 hoping for a decision on the heated P-Zone issue. Once again, the board took no action. Mayor Barbara Miller, however, did alert residents to an April 1 board work session, an April 8 public forum and an April 22 public hearing on the issue. All three meeting times and locations were not finalized at press time. Call village hall at 465-4000 for details.

Planning consultant Frank Fish of Buckhurst Fish and Jacquemart, Inc. (BFJ) is expected to provide additional analysis during the April 1 work session. Further, Mayor Miller noted that the board has directed staff to closely monitor the legislature's recent approval to relocate the Social Services building and keep in mind the impact of that decision on Garden City.

Suozzi announced that starting this summer, the county's Department of Social Services would be consolidated into one Health and Human Services Building, housing related offices and functions. Moreover, the plan's overall objective includes moving 1,600 county employees to the new Health and Human Services Building at 60 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard in Uniondale.

A Kingsbury Road resident, concerned about a bill pending in the Senate that would require 10 percent of any new housing construction be earmarked for affordable housing, asked trustees," How can you make such an important decision without knowing exactly how that bill will read?"

Village Counsel Gary Fishberg said the bill, in its present form, applies to any type of housing - apartments, townhouses, single-family attached houses similar to those on Franklin Court, single-family unattached houses and condominiums.

The bill, which the Assembly passed March 1, hasn't moved since it was introduced in the Senate back on Jan. 7 of this year. "There are no guarantees obviously, but everyone I've spoken to and [Village Clerk] Mr. Ridgway has spoken to said that the bill will not pass in this legislative session and secondly, will probably not pass in its current form," he said.

No one, however, knows what form the bill will pass in, if it passes the Senate at all. Fishberg further explained that the bill refers to site plan approval - not zoning - and becomes effective, as it's currently written, when a developer submits a site plan or a subdivision plan.

Fishberg further explained that it might not be prudent for the board to address any possible zoning changes too far down the road. "No one knows how this will all turn out. To wait to see how it will turn out might be a couple of years or more down the road and may be disadvantageous."

The Kingsbury Road resident, however, disagreed, suggesting that the board take the safe road and vote for the houses (single-family) that the majority of the people want. Although listening to the voice of the people, Mayor Miller suggested residents also speak with the legislators creating the law.

Resident Bill Martin, also of Kingsbury Road, said he's seen Garden City's Gothic buildings done away with and a wrecking ball demolish the old Garden City Hotel. "I'd like to keep Garden City as sacred as possible," he told trustees. He also suggested that the board hold a public meeting about the issue. Trustee Peter Bee, chair of the mayor-appointed Public Use "P" Zone Committee, told Martin his idea had such merit that the board has already hosted two village-wide public forums on the issue.

"Maybe they realize now it's like the last chance and if they realize it's the last chance, then they're the only ones to blame," Martin said.

Rosemary Murphy of Huntington Road, first time meeting-goer but avid reader of both local newspapers, told fellow residents to target 10 to 20 people and tell them they need to read the newspapers, understand what the issues are and know that there was more than one proposal brought forward. "I think the problem lies in the fact that very few people are clear on the facts," Murphy said.

"Now I don't know why that is exactly because St. Paul's and P-Zone are on the front of the Garden City Life and the Garden City News every single Tuesday and Friday," she said. "Very few people that I speak to outside of my very small circle of friends are even aware of these issues. We need to be committed to making sure that the information that you have worked so diligently to bring forward gets out to people."

BFJ is currently researching the option of separately deeded, single-family attached homes to be clustered on the property to provide open space. "That was a key reason the consultant was asked to look at this again," Fishberg said.

Trustee Bee, who lives in the East and represents that section of the village, noted the demographic need in Garden City to address both the senior population and young married couples. "I have not made up my mind," he admitted. "I will reserve my views until that final vote," which could come to light at the April 22 hearing.

In the board's defense, Central Property Owners' Association President Robert Nouryan told fellow residents that trustees do make decisions in the best interest of the village. "It's not us against them," he said. "They're doing exactly what you've elected them to do."