At my request, Sheldon L. Cohen, Director of Real Estate Planning and Development for Nassau County, met with me and Village Clerk Michael Arens to answer concerns of mine regarding the sale of the Department of Social Services and surrounding parking lots that currently accommodate over 1,000 vehicles.

I am deeply concerned that if the County proceeds with this sale which is set for closing this coming March, Mineola businesses and residents will see an influx of dispersed vehicles into the village. When I receive Mr. Cohen's response, I will be sharing it with the Board of Trustees at the January 19 board meeting and will report back to the residents and business owners.

Upon further review of the Nassau County Planning Commissions' report on the issue, there were many discrepancies stated in the meeting. Therefore, I wrote Mr. Cohen the following letter giving him an opportunity clear them up:

Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you to discuss Nassau County's Real Estate Consolidation Plan. I am respectfully requesting clarifications to statements you made during our meeting that appear to contradict the Findings Statement issued by the Nassau County Planning Commission.

As I mentioned at our meeting, my primary concern is the process of developing needed parking for the thousands of vehicles that will be displaced as a result of the sale of parking fields 10, 14, 15, 17 and 18. I was somewhat surprised to hear that Nassau County had entered into a contract for the sale of the social services building and parking fields with a closing date in March 2005. I was shocked that a plan is not in place to address the tremendous parking shortfall created by the said sale. As I understand from our meeting, only verbal assurances seem to be available that a suitable construction timeline will be created to ensure additional parking is available before the sold property is turned over to the new owner in 2006.

In reviewing the surrounding areas, the residential neighborhoods of the Village of Garden City do not allow on-street parking. The dearth of parking in the immediate vicinity will inevitably result in a wave of vehicles entering Mineola's residential and business districts in search of parking. The detrimental impact to the Mineola community is obvious and dire and should have been taken into account before entering into the contract.

The single most important issue facing most downtown areas throughout Nassau County is lack of parking. In Mineola, as part of our downtown revitalization project, we have made parking a priority and have undertaken projects as a community to expand our pool of parking in the downtown area. I fear that in one step, the county threatens to undermine all we have done to protect our community.

The foregoing becomes all the more significant if, in fact, the Family Court is relocated from 200 Old Country Road to the Court Complex. During our meeting you assured us that the Family Court would not be relocated to this area, as it would compound the parking concerns exponentially by bringing in hundreds of cars to an area where there will shortly be thousands less parking spaces. In short, with the elimination of the parking fields there will not be enough spaces to accommodate the needs of the current court structure, let alone adding additional cars from the Family Court. I notice that notwithstanding your assurances, the Planning Commission has identified the relocation of the Family Court to the Court Complex as an element of this consolidation.

I am requesting copies of the contract regarding the sale of the County Property, traffic and parking studies, and plans and timelines stating that all construction of new parking facilities, adequate to accommodate the need, will be completed before parking fields 10, 14, 16, 17 and 18 are permanently closed. I am also requesting copies of any resolutions passed by the Nassau County Legislature, as lead agency, approving the above, including the contract of sale.

Furthermore, please clarify the following in writing:

1. That parking fields 10, 14, 16, 17 and 18 will not be transferred to the prospective owner until adequate parking facilities are constructed to accommodate the displaced parking spaces.

2. That the Family Court will not be relocated from 1200 Old Country Road to the Court Complex.

3. Will above or below grade parking levels be constructed at existing parking fields 6 and/or 7? If above grade, send copies of resolutions passed by the Village of Garden City approving your variance.

4. Since you seem to randomly point to different "green" areas on the map for possible locations for additional parking, please give written assurances that the Planning Commission's Findings Statement's references to additional parking plans are final.

Once again, I must strongly reiterate my commitment to the residents and business owners of the Village of Mineola and assure them that their livelihoods and businesses will not be impacted by this plan. I am sure that you would agree that displacement of parking during construction is a critical component of avoiding any negative impact during construction.

Thank you for your cooperation. Please respond to this correspondence prior to Jan. 18.