March 12 was an interesting evening for those who walked past the limousines and attended the public hearing at Town Hall regarding the Greentree Foundation. Residents of Great Neck, Sands Point, Kings Point and New York City showed up to tell wonderful stories about the philanthropy of the Whitneys in connection with the application of Greentree Foundation to run a UN Conference Center on the former Whitney property. In the midst of the accolades, Dr. Curvin, on behalf of Greentree Foundation, indicated that in anticipation of the fact that the change in zoning will take the property off the tax rolls, the foundation was "volunteering" to make payments over a five year period at a reduced rate to somewhat compensate both the town and the school districts for the loss of tax revenue. I had written to Supervisor May Newburger expressing my outrage on the tax issues on March 6. Dr. Curvin called me on March 11 and said that he had received my letter from Supervisor Newburger, telling me that they were working closely with the town board on this application. Frankly, I believe the voluntary proposal was in response, at least in part, to my letter.

At the hearing on March 12, Jim Judge pointed out that under the resolution Greentree had to put in 50 parking spots for each facility that was going to be used principally for a conference center, and that they had 10 residences on the property, thus requiring potentially 500 parking spots. Supervor Newburger expressed surprise and asked if this was true. (One would have thought she would have read the resolution and known the characteristics of the property.) Dr. Curvin came forth and gave his second commitment of the evening, that at present they only intended to devote two buildings to this purpose and thus only 100 parking spots would be required. He pointed out that they already had the capacity for all these 100 spots. Supervisor Newburger and the others all expressed relief. Nobody had the foresight to restrict future growth, and Greentree can go forward with that expansion at any time without further approval. There is no significance or enforceability of Dr. Curvin's statement that at present, they only intend to develop two of the 10 houses as conference centers. The 500 parking spots can still be introduced over time. There is no restriction as to how many of the properties can be devoted to conference centers. The only restriction is if they refurbish properties, what they can do on the refurbishing. Bear in mind that they have already introduced all the electrical capability to the property to more than refurbish all 10 buildings. Incidentally, Dr. Curvin will be gone by year end.

No one seemed concerned that only two of 10 dwellings are going to be used for this purpose at present and taking all 10 structures into account, a maximum of 12.6 of the 408 acres are going to be used for this purpose and nevertheless all 408 acres and all 10 buildings are coming off the tax roll. No one seemed concerned they were achieving this as a result of what was clearly "spot zoning," i.e. zoning designed that could only be used by the specific applicant in a manner totally different from the surrounding area. If anyone else in Manhasset has 380 acres of property and wishes to become a conference center, please step forward.

There seemed to be a fear among those who spoke in favor of the proposal that unless Greentree Foundation got its way, these 408 majestic acres (which we have foolishly classified as "farm land" thus providing the Whitneys a significant tax saving for 70 plus years) would end up as a development property. I do not understand that fear or apprehension. Greentree acknowledges they are already using one house as a conference center and they are anticipating converting a second property shortly. The whole purpose of the March 12 application was not to become a conference center (they are doing that and indeed have already spent over $1 million on "upgrades"), but to take this "farm land" with its main house, nine ancillary houses, its nine-hole golf course, and its 394 open acres of "farm land" off the tax roll completely. Yes, this magnificent estate is classified as a "farm" depriving us of millions of dollars of tax revenue each year.

Have any of you driven past or attempted to drive past the UN when visiting dignitaries are in town? We have no control over who they will invite to their conference center (by the way, they charge the groups), and they are not subject to any commitment to reimburse the town for any kind of extraordinary expense (forget the inconvenience) that these gatherings will inevitably cause on a going forward basis. Our four councilmembers in attendance did not bother to ask any of these questions, choosing instead to lavishly praise the applicant (Greentree Foundation) for the prior philanthropy of the Whitneys (both deceased), speeches (solicitations?) which totally missed the mark. Supervisor Newburger made the astonishing admission that "her vote was based on a leap of faith." Greentree Foundation has done very little since 1998 for the Manhasset community and it has refused in its meetings with various representatives of the school board, the library, the park district or the community to make any specific commitment to benefit the Manhasset community on a going forward basis. They have requested a "spot zoning" variance which the board gave them without question, comment, inquiry or restriction. They are seeking to avoid the minimal tax that we receive from this plush mansion (classified "farm land") and are now being permitted, without any monitoring by the supervisor or the town or anyone else, to run a bed and breakfast for the UN. This is their payback to the Manhasset community that has subsidized their property taxes for over 70 years.

Do you care about any of this? Do you feel comfortable paying Greentree's share of taxes without any protections or restrictions on what goes on? Would you support a citizens group to bring a legal challenge on the "spot zoning" issue? Be forewarned, because our elected officials have failed in their duties and rolled over on this issue, those that now pick up the challenge will inevitably have to fund that effort. On the other hand, the supervisor and her colleagues have set it up so that if you don't stand up and speak up, you'll pay to subsidize this UN Conference Center. In fact, Greentree has prepared "unofficial" calculations as to the extent of your increased taxes. Those figures don't tell the story; they don't reflect what you are already paying to subsidize the "farm." It's your choice.

Edward J. Boyle