On Oct. 1, negotiations between the Town of North Hempstead and the Great Neck School District were held to determine if a purchase price could be agreed on within the framework of a now immediate deadline for a land swap for an East Shore Road property owned by the U.S. Postal Service and a property on Watermill Road owned by the school district.

While school board member Lawrence Gross characterized the meeting as "productive and constructive," no deal was struck at the meeting. He said, "We are still discussing the value of the land and are still concerned about full public disclosure."

The deadline for the postal service to at least have an agreement between the two entities has now passed. Congressman Gary Ackerman stated, "The postal authorities have been extremely cooperative, extending their July deadline." He expressed his frustration and disappointment that a resolution to the dilemma was not found. He said, "I thought this solution would be great for all involved. The school board would get a return on an unused piece of land; the Village of Great Neck and the town would get valuable waterfront property for other uses besides industrial."

Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman said, "I cannot express how disappointed I am for the residents of my village and the residents of the entire Great Neck peninsula. Had the U.S. Postal Service not run out of time, everyone would have benefited by the move of the post office facility from East Shore Road to Water Mill Lane. That includes, but is not limited to, residents from Kings Point to Thomaston, Great Neck Plaza and other villages, the school district and even the post office. There simply would have been no losers."

Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman was more sanguine. He said, "Given the unique circumstances, the negotiation of a multi-million dollar land swap and the reality of the need for a whole public process to take place, it's not too surprising that there just wasn't enough time to make everything happen. There was no magic bullet. We are going to continue to talk with the school district about the property and keep our options open. What I've learned in politics is that you never know what will happen. We'll just keep plugging along."