(This letter to Village of Great Neck Mayor Stephen Falk and the board of trustees is being published at the request of the writer.)

This letter is also being sent to the mayor and trustees of the Village of Great Neck.

In the almost 25 years that I have lived in the Village of Great Neck, I have never come across a village government in place that has been as dismissive to its constituents as the one that is in place now.

Developers have been salivating over the large properties on Arrandale Avenue for some time. Some years back, when controversy surrounded putting senior citizen housing in place of the old Arrandale Avenue School, the mayor and trustees in place at the time assured the residents on the street, represented by Saul Kessler and the Arrandale Avenue Civic Association, that Arrandale Avenue would be upzoned to the highest zoning category. A park buffer was also implemented to protect the integrity of the street. All this was to assure that encroachment of multiple dwellings down the avenue would not take place. That was the concern then as well as the concern now. Surely this is on record, because there were many public meetings.

Now, "through the grapevine," I am hearing that a house on Arrandale Avenue is to be demolished to make way for an unofficially proposed apartment building's parking lot. Not just any house either, probably one of the more vintage specimens of Victorian homes that makes Arrandale so unique.

It's as if the trustees have gotten involved behind closed doors in some sort of development project, that by the time they have the required public hearings, they will just be going through the motions with their minds already made up.

If the plans are so great and beneficial to us all, as Alice Kramden said to Ralph after he proclaimed himself King of the Castle, "The peasants have a right to know."

Lauren Auerbach

As a lifelong resident of Great Neck, I have made a concerted effort to support our local shops and community. Recently I found my experience at "The Gardens" shopping center totally disheartening. On July 3, I parked in "The Gardens" parking lot, anxious to run some last minute holiday errands. I dropped my cleaning across the street at Great Neck Plaza cleaners before proceeding to Waldbaum's. Upon leaving the cleaners, which took approximately 5-10 minutes, I passed my parked car in pursuit of Waldbaum's. I noticed a metal boot attached to my car's rear left wheel. When I approached the tow truck, I was told that I had parked illegally and would have to pay $135 in cash (no checks or credit cards are accepted) immediately or my car would be towed. It was explained to me that even patrons of these shops in "The Gardens" were legally parked only while they remained on the premises. To many other shoppers' dismay, countless cars were towed or booted and prices for car release ranged from $135 to well over $300 with no recourse or appeal.

Perhaps, we have to question if "The Gardens" is worthy of our patronage.

Sharon Gale