After attending two AvalonBay presentations in January, and following the extensive St. Paul's development coverage, we have become very concerned about the direction this project has taken.

What started out as a community-supported preservation of the St. Paul's Main Building has morphed into a high-density rental complex, totally out of scale on this corner of St. Paul's. AvalonBay's plans include an outdoor swimming pool behind the Main Building and four-story townhouses along Rockaway Avenue, which may very well obscure the view (heading west) of the beautiful St. Paul's building that we are trying to preserve. The trustee heading the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's has resigned due to a possible perceived conflict of interest and AvalonBay has shown itself for what it really is---an aggressive residential real estate developer interested only in maximizing profits by building the highest density possible.

It is of great concern to us that the profits AvalonBay will earn from this high-density rental development will come at a huge expense to the Village of Garden City in the form of real estate and sales tax exemptions (for all construction equipment and building materials), as well as pressure on our infrastructure, services and schools. AvalonBay may also receive historic preservation tax credits, which can be sold, and most importantly, the ground lease of the land, on which this project would stand, could eventually be sold by AvalonBay for millions of dollars. Clearly, saving the St. Paul's building provides many benefits for AvalonBay, other than historical preservation on behalf of the Village of Garden City.

It is interesting to note that in the Village Facts, May 2006 (Deciding the Future of St. Paul's), the village, in consultation with real estate consultant K. Backus, felt that converting the Main Building to condominiums would be most beneficial, and "restoring the building to the tax rolls would generate an estimated $20 million in additional property tax revenues over the first 20 years." By December 2007, this picture changed dramatically. Again in consultation with K. Backus, AvalonBay, the rental property developer, was designated to develop St. Paul's, and our potential village revenues dropped significantly. We would receive nothing more than a $1 million "upfront" payment and unsubstantiated PILOT payments. There would be no tax income paid to Garden City until AvalonBay's tax abatements expire in approximately 35 years. In addition, the village would have to pay rent for any community space used within the Main Building. This high-density housing project will earn AvalonBay many millions in tax-free rental income annually, and provide no financial benefit at all to the Village of Garden City.

The AvalonBay development plan for St. Paul's does not meet the "Smart Growth" principles that are currently being implemented all across Nassau County. The publications, Getting to Smart Growth, 100 Policies for Implementation I and II (March 2002) describe Smart Growth as the creation of pedestrian-oriented development close to shops, grocery stores, restaurants and workplaces. The development at St. Paul's would not meet these criteria. A resident who wished to walk to a shop, grocery store or restaurant must cross what Smart Growth describes as an "inhospitable pedestrian streetscape" at the intersection of Cherry Valley Avenue and Stewart Avenue. This intersection is so dangerous that the Garden City police report that their police officer/school crossing guards have been hit by vehicles three times. One officer sustained injuries that necessitated major surgery.

The reality is that residents of the AvalonBay development at St. Paul's will have to use cars to get everywhere. Each adult resident will need a car to drive to their workplace, shops or even the railroad station, causing more traffic and cars at the Garden City, Nassau Boulevard and Merillon Avenue stations. Cars exiting the St. Paul's property will find it virtually impossible to make a left turn during rush hour, onto Rockaway or Stewart Avenues. They will instead turn right, and drive through residential streets in the Estates (most likely Hampton Road and Whitehall Boulevard), to travel to points north or east on Old Country Road.

It is highly unlikely that AvalonBay can provide enough parking for all the cars that this high-density residential project will generate. AvalonBay Glen Cove provides parking for one car per apartment and additional cars must pay a fee or park elsewhere. The AvalonBay development at St. Paul's must also provide parking for their employees (HIDA Tax Exemption Guidelines require 50+ employees) and visitors. Has the Village of Garden City considered how they will stop these additional cars from parking in the free parking spots that are reserved for the sports complex, the senior center and Cathedral Nursery School? It will be completely impossible to monitor the parking situation at St. Paul's, thereby causing untold frustration to village residents.

It is unclear to us why the trustees have not provided Garden City residents with a statement, as to how this project will affect our taxes. We have been informed, in the Village Facts, December 2007, that the AvalonBay proposal will have "minimal or no direct expense to village taxpayers." This is extremely misleading and untrue. A high-density rental development of this size will certainly require extra police, fire/emergency and sanitation personnel, which would mean more salaries and benefit payments. It will require extra water, sewage and sanitation capacity, which must be provided for. It will also increase the number of students in our schools (at approximately $15,000 per student). Since approximately 80 percent of our school taxes are paid by Garden City residents and only approximately 20 percent are paid by business, this development will definitely cause an increase in our taxes. It is extremely irresponsible for the village to support this project without acknowledging the hidden costs.

We do not believe that the trustees fully understand how negatively this high-density rental development at St. Paul's will affect Garden City taxpayers. Please do not let AvalonBay exploit the preservation of St. Paul's for their own profit. This situation deserves to be studied further, before this disastrous plan is approved, to ensure that Garden City is getting its fair share of the profits.

Sonja and William Slattery