There was irony at Sea Cliff's village board meeting June 21, the first day of summer. On one hand, the village's architect showed off immaculate renderings of the planned $500,000 renovation and expansion of the public works garage facility on Altamont Avenue. On the other, about 20 residents of the area were there to complain about three eyesores on the site, one of them still only potential (or so we think!)

The cell tower issue that won't go away was vigorously discussed again. It seems the village is still intent upon building a 120-foot-high flagpole behind the garage that residents claim will be a blight on the neighborhood. This, despite the fact that the Sea Cliff Water Company has announced its plan to erect a new water tower in its present midtown location behind the post office, which will be capable of housing several cell-phone antennae free from public view and likely give better reception to all of Sea Cliff. Aquarion, the parent company of the SCWC, is reportedly offering cell-phone companies complete access to its water towers in more than 50 communities in New York and New England.

Mayor Eileen Kreib assures us that a sprint race between the village and the water company to accommodate antennae does not exist, while village administrator Dan Maddock holds to his view that the public garage is the one and only site to consider. What are we to believe? Who's in charge?

According to one adjacent neighbor, another travesty is the mounds of leaves that have been left in a wooded area behind the garage. The rotting leaves either smothered, or poisoned with methane gas, six beautiful old maple trees that lined the area and had to be cut down and removed by the village last fall. Those woods were the childhood playground for the mayor while growing up in her parents' home on Irving Place, a stone's throw from the garage. How, why and under what financial arrangement were these leaves allowed to be dumped by out-of-town landscapers?

The third question raised at the meeting was whether the recycling center has outlived its usefulness to the community, since the same services are supplied by weekly curbside pickups throughout the village. The trustees' first order of business, before resident participation took place, was to declare a reduction in the amount of materials that residents will be allowed to bring to public works for disposal on Saturdays and the banishment of non-residents who have tried to illegally take advantage of this strictly Sea Cliff service. Would a complete shutdown of the center, unsightly as it has become, better serve the village to stem abuse by outsiders?

These are all legitimate questions that come from area residents, but should be the concern of all of us living and paying taxes in Sea Cliff. Let's hear some answers at the next village board meeting on Monday, July 12, at 8 p.m. in village hall.

Joe Krupinski