I would like to provoke an open and frank discussion as to the lack of park facilities within the Manhasset Park District. The park district was started back in 1921 with the acquisition of the triangle park on Park Avenue and Nassau Avenue, which is less than 1/10 of an acre. We did not acquire any additional land until Nassau County deeded us three parcels on Shelter Rock Road. The Manhasset War Memorial on Northern Blvd. and Shelter Rock Road, which is 1/80 of an acre; the parcel next to Lord and Taylor's on Shelter Rock Road which is one acre; and lastly the parcel that is to the right of Country Club Drive and Shelter Rock Road, which is about four acres. In total we have less than 5 1/2 acres of parkland.

I have gone to this length to inform people of exactly what land is available in the Manhasset Park District. I do this also to elicit some fond memories of urban or city parks. Everyone had a neighborhood park, it could have gone by any name; Bell, Prospect, Central, Forest, Bay or Golden, it did not matter if it was around the corner and down the block. It was yours and it fit you to a tee.

Everyone has memories of that local park - a romantic stroll, a big ball game, a family gathering, a playground, a snowball fight, a bike ride or a lazy afternoon alone. Acre for acre, hour to hour the complex rhythms that make up a town park have no equal. Unlike our great national parks, the local park is the place where most of us enjoy the open space and outdoor recreation. It is the place where we will see our children grow up and interact with our neighbors.

I would like to point out that there is not a city or town in this country, that is not defined by its open space. That open space could be a park, a plaza, square, circle, a waterfront, a linear greenway, or a public garden, without open space our towns would be unrecognizable and unmemorable.

I believe that the Whitney property stands as that anchor of green space that defines the value of Manhasset. No matter how you enter the town, either by way of Community Drive or Shelter Rock Road the green open fields are there to greet you. It is with that belief that I think the Manhasset Park District should move with due diligence to protect that open space for the public trust. The Whitney property falls within the boundaries of the Park District and as such the Manhasset Park District would be the perfect entity to preserve it as a community park.

New York City supplies its residents 6.6000 acres of park land per 1000 people,

Tampa supplies its residents 10.2000 acres of park land per 1000 people,

Kansas City is the highest with 30.2000 acres of parkland per 1000 people,

Chicago is the lowest with 4.0000 acres of parkland per 1000 people,

Manhasset supplies its residents .0003 acres of park land per 1000 people.

Over the years the objection has been that we could not afford to buy Whitney but with recent developments on the estate it appears that the Manhasset Park District may be the perfect fit to take on the multi-national interest who are looking to change the residential zoning use of the property.

In 1996 the Great Neck Water District condemned about 10 acres of Whitney and paid them about $35,000 per acre. If you realize there has been little inflation since then, and the whole estate has about 430 acres, at $35,000 per acre, it would cost about $15 million. The new library was proposed as a $14 million project.

The new caretakers of Whitney are rumored to have their own agenda in trying to remove the property from the tax rolls. If we in Manhasset are going to shoulder the increase in taxes caused by Whitney being moved to non-profit status maybe it is time to bring the property into the public trust. The need is real - the lack of sports facilities, playgrounds and simple open green space is apparent every year we try to schedule baseball, lacrosse and soccer.

I would like to point out that the preservation of Whitney as a park also preserves and protects the aquifer that supplies water to Manhasset - Lakeville Water District, Great Neck Water and Jamaica Water. When you realize the amount of people that are serviced by the aquifer on that property you can understand that preservation is not just a Manhasset problem but also an issue for Western Nassau County and Eastern Queens.

If you believe as we, the Commissioners of the Manhasset Park District, Bernard C. Rolston, Patricia Roberts and Mark Sauvigne please let us know.

Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Bernard C. Rolston

Chairman