Letter: The Community Wants Answers

The “agreement in principle,” as described by Village Counsel Peter Bee to repurchase Franklin Court Park is in many respects unsettlingly vague. The membership of the Garden City Residents for Accountable Government has the following questions concerning the arrangements announced by the village counsel:

1. Why has the village agreed to allow the unlawful six foot steel “ornamental” fence and the unlawful “dog fence” (each violates the deed’s restrictive covenant and the Village code) to remain on this property?

2. Will the six-foot fence on the southern boundary of the property remain unlocked and open at all times as fences are at Community Park and St. Paul’s? (There are no similar open spaces in Garden City surrounded in their entirety by fences.

3. If the village plans on unlocking the fence each morning and locking the fence at night, will this task be carried out by a village employee or does the village plan to assign this task to a local “volunteer?” If the village plans to allow a volunteer to carry out this duty who will the volunteer be? Who gets the key?

4. Will the six-foot fence and dog fence be removed immediately after Dec. 31, 2015, restoring this park to the way it was for 80 plus years until June 2014?

5. In 2013, this property was appraised as having a value of $92,000. In December 2013, it was sold by the village for $100,000. Now, a year and a half later, the village has agreed to pay $150,000 to the Mews group. Why has the village agreed to a purchase price of $58,000 in excess of the appraised fair market value?

6. What are the itemized expenses for which the Franklin Mews Group, LLC is being reimbursed? (Why has the village agreed to pay this seller’s legal fees?)

7. Why has the village agreed to obtain the Mews Group’s consent to provide recreational facilities for the residents? (There are no such restrictions on any other parks or designated open spaces in the village.)

8. Why didn’t the village exercise its right of re-entry and reclaim the property once the current owner violated the deed’s restrictive covenant by erecting certain structures/fences?

We await your prompt and substantive reply to each of the concerns enumerated above.

Resolutely

Garden City Residents For Accountable Government

Ryan and Katharine Cronin

Wilma Wierbicki

Rod and Bridget Coyne

Giustina Ienna

Ted and Kara Lord

Ann Marie Marsala

Mike and Amy Griffo

Larry and Marie Vittore

Tom and Marita Cook