Board issues statement on
Franklin Court controversy
Given how acrimonious the atmosphere was at the Feb. 10 Garden City Village Board of Trustees meeting over the ongoing dispute of a fence that was erected on a piece of green open space formerly owned by the village that was sold to a group of private citizens, some expected more of the same at the subsequent assembly on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Among the ongoing issues that have been brought up in the past few months regarding this sale of village property located by the Franklin Court Mews dating back to Dec. 20, 2013 was how the transaction was seemingly passed in violation of New York State’s open meetings law, in addition to the six-foot-high-gates fence that was erected in early June of last year. Families who previously had access to this open space were effectively locked out while the village received $100,000 in the sale. In addition, no variance for the fence was issued despite the fact that the village’s building department has stringent codes about fences, specifically 200-55, which states “…a fence, wall, gate of play yard [shall not exceed] four feet in height.” Instead, during this particularly swift meeting, Trustee Richard Silver issued this statement on behalf of the entire board of trustees during the trustees’ report section of the meeting.
“We wanted to address two things that are not on this evening’s agenda as action items. The first is to report that the village, through its counsel, has reached out to the purchasers of the Franklin Court property in an effort to see if we can find a solution that will address the concerns that have been raised since that property was sold. Although discussions are still at a preliminary stage, we believe the purchasers are sensitive to those concerns and have expressed a desire to try to find a workable solution. From the perspective of the village, all options are on the table. We are hopeful that we can find an appropriate solution and will provide an update at our next regularly scheduled board meeting on March 5.”
Silver added, “Secondly, and more broadly, the board has heard the concerns that have been expressed regarding the process that was followed in connection with the sale of this property. While the board disagrees with how its motives and actions have been characterized by some, it agrees that it is appropriate to enhance the public notice procedures going forward in order to assure even greater transparency when it comes to the proposed sale of village-owned properties. With that in mind, at the direction of the mayor, the board’s legal committee is working with village counsel to develop procedures that would help assure that there is both enhanced notice and opportunity for public debate prior to any future property sale. We expect that such procedures will be ready for discussion at our next meeting and that they will be in place prior to any future property sales.”
No comments or questions were asked during the public comments section of the meeting.
