I see from articles in the paper that Garden City's Board of Trustees will soon be considering action on two important building projects here in our village, 550 Stewart Avenue and the St. Paul's property. I see from the Long Island Index '08 that our housing problems continue to get worse. Indeed the lack of housing for our own young children and bright young workers is dragging down our whole economic prospects.

As a resident of Garden City and as a member of the Housing Committee of the Nassau County League of Women Voters, let me urge the board to choose to find ways to include next generation housing in the St. Paul's and the 550 Stewart projects. This means housing for our own kids, and for new young workers in vital high tech industries. The leaders of Long Island agree that these workers are key to our economic survival. We also need to help our own village workers and police officers, our schoolteachers, professors at Adelphi and Hofstra as well as health care professionals at Winthrop Hospital.

We have an opportunity to help solve this urgent Long Island problem, and we can benefit our own village at the same time. Next generation workers can live here and be next door to good jobs and have easy access to LIRR service. As residents they can bring fresh perspectives and energy to the life of our village. Further, as consumers these young workers are highly sought after buyers who can strengthen our retail stores sales. Indeed, the Long Island Index and many well-respected national studies predict that the communities that thrive in the 21st century will be ones with strong downtowns including next generation housing. And, this commitment to next generation housing might be a positive factor in getting the approvals we will need in Albany.

It's time to act responsibly in our own interest and become part of Long Island's solution, not part of Long Island's problem. Many, many other fine cities have found ways to do this. We can too!

Donald J. Skinner