The Seventh Street commercial district, which is the lifeblood of the village, will soon look like a ghost town of empty storefronts due to the greed of one landlord, Josh Goldberg, and his Stone Crest Management Company of 7-11 South Broadway, White Plains, NY.

Mr. Goldberg is destroying the community fabric by forcing out our existing merchants through the perfectly legal tactic of raising their rents three-fold. The latest merchant forced out is 7th Street Stationery, which was preceded by Michael's Village Haircutters and Jean-Marie Patiseerie.

I am not proposing rent controls or any governmental action, but I do propose that Garden City residents make it known that they will boycott the stores that take the place of those forced out of business. The boycott should be aimed at Mr. Goldberg and not the existing merchants.

We now have four empty storefronts on Seventh Street. How many more will it take before Mr. Goldberg determines that a rent in excess of $6,000 for a small store is unreasonable and avaricious, before he destroys Seventh Street?

Steve Barker