A positive bond between a developing child and a nurturing adult pay rich dividends that can last a lifetime. Recreation is more than the playing of games. It is a strategy that helps to reduce juvenile delinquency and other forms of risky behavior. Reports by the US Justice Department, the Surgeon General of the US and the Carnegie Commission all report that youth engaged in after-school activities, under adult supervision between the time they leave school and until they have dinner, are much less likely to get into trouble.

But here in Garden City, our police are faced with a greater burden between the hours of 7 p.m. and midnight. Our merchants are already overwhelmed by hordes of middle schoolers spending the afternoon on 7th Street only to be followed by the high schoolers in the evening. It is not uncommon to see groups of teens numbering as many as 30, cluster behind these buildings all because they claim, "there is nowhere to hang out." Parents do regular battle, trying to keep the kids under supervised activity and for those of us who have kids that are not athletic, there is little to offer during the evening hours. And I think most of us discourage our children from heading to the mall as a weekly event.

Week after week we read in the local papers what our children are doing that is not acceptable yet we rarely see viable solutions discussed aside from the obvious tightening of parental oversight. Kids spend an unbelievable amount of time in front of the television and computer often connecting to the outside in ways many parents do not even grasp. What is driving me to Save St. Paul's is followed by the statement ... Save Our Children. I doubt there are many places like the fields of St. Paul's where hundreds come each weekend and partake in such an array of sports. I applaud the completion of the Central Section playground there, I just wish my own were still small enough to have enjoyed using it. Time passes and they move onto the next event.

Mine are now both teens and I am seeing firsthand the very real need for them to enjoy public open space as well as other planned activity. Historically, such space has been the very infrastructure for healthy physical and thoughtful relaxation. St. Paul's is ideally suited for such activity. Over the last three years the police have answered 1,704 related calls to youth infractions ranging from noise, vandalism, driving while intoxicated, consumption of alcohol, criminal mischief, drug possession, possession of a forged instrument, etc. On average, our police confront 520 teens in our village yearly and during this same period 106 of these interactions resulted in arrests. Remember there are only 1,160 total students in the high school and another 1,079 in the middle school.

Drug use might be the most critical form of delinquency because it often leads to other destructive behavior. Adolescence is a time for teenagers to attempt to figure out who they are. By participating in certain activities, they are molding their personalities and identities, and recreational activities offer safer and healthier forms of stimuli than delinquent activities such as drug use. Imagine a space that might afford our children a place where on a Friday night they could come and listen to the bands our kids form outside of the high school music program. I am sure there are youth that would enjoy utilizing some form of sound studio to cut their own CDs and perhaps this alone could lead to an enhanced learning program for those interested. I bet we have several families who would enjoy hosting birthday parties, making their own videos and see our teens be able to work the studio equipment.

The idea of preserving St. Paul's and incorporating space for multi-generational usage is key. Public space needs to be designed for the citizens. Garden City needs to pull together when a good thing, such as St. Paul's, is in the hands of our village government. This is a very positive direction to take Garden City toward because it will have many positive cultural effects here. St. Paul's offers us a chance at creating a more cohesive sense of community. People of all ages receive physiological benefits from participating in leisure activities. The elderly, through exercise and socialization, and for our youth, more extracurricular activities that promote self-esteem, which lessens their chances of partaking in delinquent behavior.

Will Garden City ever have this opportunity again to find a location that could satisfy the entire community? I think not. It is up to the Village of Garden City residents to decide whether or not a community center is right for Garden City. Will it have a game room? Or could there be a 400-seat theater for summer stock and traveling entertainment? Could there be space for the much-needed meeting rooms for community groups or rental space for outside educational groups (tutors, Kaplan, Princeton Review etc.) or expansion of our adult education classes? Would you want to see a parade of brides using the chapel for weddings and see built a period 1880s Victorian arboretum rented out for catering? Would Garden City start to have its own flower shows and/or horticulture classes? How many would benefit from the development of the lower level pool area into a mini spa for adults needing therapies - water, aroma, acupuncture, occupational, physical? Would a children's library with state-of-the-art services and ample room for educational programming, entice more kids on weekends to stay at St. Paul's after sports? Could the main reading room just be the next popular place where folks can just relax while waiting for another or to use the computers? Our middle schoolers are just across the street, so the location is ideal for after-school programming and would take a percentage off 7th Street.

While my own children may miss these opportunities because any plan we accept will require us to phase it in and raise the funds to accomplish the task, I remain committed to helping find the financial solution to enable this dream because I believe it will save our children from choosing poor alternatives. I applaud our residents for urging its purchase and our trustees for their diligence to see that we act only after everyone has been afforded a voice and a vote on what will be a most historic decision for the future of Garden City.

Jackie Vita