I am writing in response to the June 4 article entitled, “Nine Story Condo Complex Proposed For 250 Old Country Rd.” This is the site of the former KeySpan building. This building has been off the tax rolls for seven years. Your article quotes several people from Garden City. I attended the hearing and spoke at the hearing. Your article refers to Deputy Mayor Donald Brudie’s statement: “We’re kind of persona non grata with the residents of Mineola.” Mr. Brudie went on to say, “They feel we should keep our noses in Garden City and they’ll keep their noses in Mineola.” This is not the thoughts of the residents of Mineola. He also said, “It’s the residents [of Mineola] who don’t understand the situation…”
The truth is Mineola residents are quite informed about what is going on. We have a very transparent government; nothing takes place behind closed doors. We have participated as a community for years developing a comprehensive master plan. The plan was presented to the Garden City community on at least two occasions and was applauded by the folks in Garden City, who knew what was going on.
To Mr. Thomas Trypuck’s comments, a board member of the Cherry Valley apartment, who said residents should be given some sort of compensation: It was the Village of Mineola that went to great lengths lobbying the MTA to secure a landscape grant for those apartments. As good neighbors would do, perhaps the wishes of the mayor of Garden City, Robert Rothschild, “hopefully we can mend some fences” and “I don’t like hearing that people don’t think Garden City is a good neighbor” can be realized if he publicly disowned the hurtful statements of the attorney, Gary Fishberg. “What you have here unfortunately is, you have what’s commonly known as zoning for sale- Mr. Fishberg offered this statement at a different subdivision hearing before the Mineola Planning Board. He represented the people of Garden City that night and left a stinging frost in the air.
