I am pleased to announce that my daughter, Elizabeth (Bee) Soriero, gave birth to John Peter Soriero (7 lbs. 3 oz., 20 inches) on Thanksgiving Day, and has made me a grandfather for the first time.

The Department of Public Works continued the leaf collection process and has completed its third pass through the entire village. The fourth pass starting in the Western section of the village will begin, weather conditions permitting. Collections will then continue in the Estates section finishing up in the Central and Eastern sections on a street-by-street basis. We ask that residents observe the following guidelines:

Place only leaves in the street. Other items may damage machinery and slow down the operation. Do not place leaves on medians and malls as this will kill or damage the grass. For safety reasons, our streets are cleaned of leaves on a more frequent schedule than are the medians. If you have a gardener, instruct them to place your leaves in the street, and not on the medians. Some gardeners find it convenient to bring leaves in from other communities in which they work for disposal by the village. This practice is prohibited and the Police Department will be issuing summonses.

Avoid parking cars over leaves as this slows our operation considerably, and is also a fire hazard. Each year a number of cars are seriously damaged or destroyed by fire as a result of their being parked on dry leaves. Please do not obscure fire hydrants by piling leaves around them. Last fall the Street Department along with the Parks Department removed 20,000 cubic yards of leaves. These leaves were then turned into mulch and were made available cost free for use by residents and landscapers. This recycling of leaves saves the village thousands of dollars annually in disposal costs. Our combined efforts will keep our village beautiful and reduce waste. If you have any questions concerning our leaf collection schedule, please call the Department of Public Works at 465-4003.

Once again, homes in Garden City are decorated with wreaths and garlands reflecting the holiday season. Our Police and Fire Departments are urging homeowners to take particular care in their decorating so as not to impair the visibility of their house numbers. A properly displayed house numeral will save precious minutes when our emergency services are responding to your home. Please cooperate and help us to help you. Residents in the Village of Garden City are very fortunate in having a vital business community comprised of merchants who are committed to serve us from their shops along Franklin Avenue, Seventh Street and New Hyde Park Road. I urge each of you to continue to patronize these local businesses during the holiday and throughout the year. Our business community wants to know how they are doing, so take a minute the next time you are shopping and let them know what you think about the quality of their products attention to customer service. The next regularly scheduled Village Board of Trustees meeting is this Thursday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. I encourage residents to periodically utilize the village's website for information regarding the village's operations, as well as items of seasonal and special interest. The address is www.gardencityny.net. Also please be aware that I have a village email address and would be delighted to hear from village residents about their concerns - it is as follows: MayorPBee@gardencityny.net.