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Two-day cleanup makes streets almost leafless 12-3-04 The Town's loaders and trucks moved into University Gardens yesterday. By the end of work today they had cleared all streets except Surrey
Rd. of most of the accumulated leaves. They will presumably get to Surrey on Monday. |
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Two more building projects are underway 11-30-04 Thanksgiving week saw work begin on the new second story of 26 Somerset Drive N.--and a very big hole in sandy soil on Somerset Drive S. where the Gardens' 212th house will eventually emerge adjacent to the Sara house at No. 14. |
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UG home values up 16% over past year 11-22-04
Two years ago we reported in the newsletter (October 2002) that, according to Nassau County assessors, 20%
of University Gardens homes were worth $1 million or more. With the latest reassessment for the tax year 2006-2007, that figure is now 80%.
All told, UG residential property values, according to the assessors, have climbed almost 45% during the past two years, to a current total of just over $270 million. The
increase over just the past year was 16%. Breaking down that average: three properties saw increases of a bit more than 20% , 48 saw increases of 15-19.9%,
88 saw increases of 10-14.9%, 61 saw increases of 5-9.9%, and 11 saw increases of less than 5%. Two properties saw substantial reductions.
The following table shows the current distribution of property values. For the distribution one year ago see the Facts & Figures
page.
| Market Value, $ | No. |
|---|---|
| Over 2,000,000 | 3 |
| 1,700,000-1,999,000 | 5 |
| 1,500,000-1,699,000 | 20 |
| 1,300,000-1,499,000 | 42 |
| 1,100,000-1,299,000 | 74 |
| 1,000,000-1,099,000 | 24 |
| 800,000-999,000 | 42 |
The rise in market values does not necessarily portend a rise in property taxes. Since reassessment is County-wide, the impact depends on whether
the percentage increase in University Gardens values is more or less than the County-wide average--and even more on what happens to local-government budgets. Gutter leaves can be As the photo suggests, while nature does its annual thing, some of our gutters are quite clean and others are quite messy. Maria issues a crime warning 11-22-04 Last month there was a spate of burglaries and "criminal mischief" among the businesses lining Northern Blvd. The criminal activity has abated
so far this month. New stop signs for In a letter dated October 21, Councilman Anthony D'Urso informed residents Janine Hinderling and Janine Phillips that the Town
Board had approved the installation of stop signs on Norfolk Rd. at the intersection with Dorset Rd. The Board acted after Diane O'Donnell, traffic specialist in the
Highway Dept., confirmed that there was substantial support for the additional signs among nearby residents. As the photo at left shows, high ground and shrubbery
at the southeast corner hides westbound Dorset traffic from northbound Norfolk traffic--a problem only because a number of westbound drivers on Dorset fail to
observe the existing stop sign. The two residents have agitated for the change at Association meetings, and Ms. Hinderling gathered signatures and submitted a
petition to the Town. Lanterns (unlit) installed Antique-looking lanterns with amber glass, one of which is shown here, have been installed at the Sussex Rd. entrance. Electrical connections
have yet to be made but are expected within a few weeks. The lanterns will be activated by a sensor like those used for street lights. The project included
replacement of the failing ironwork. Merrivale Rd. may get a lower speed limit 11-5-04 The Board's request for a lower speed limit in University Gardens (see below) has run afoul of a State-imposed 30-mph limit
of which it was unaware. The 211th house, and another, move ahead 11-5-04 For quite awhile the action at 26A Merrivale Rd. was felling trees and moving earth--sometimes at hours that violated Town restrictions on construction activity.
But recently building has moved rapidly on the site owned by George Xu. This picture was taken on November 4.
There has been progress, too, at 8 Somerset North, the "pink house"--so nicknamed for the color of the wall sheathing that has been uncovered for so many months.
The roof is done and the exterior siding is now being installed. Suddenly, a cleanup between The stretch of sidewalk between the Wensley Rd. and Sussex Rd. entrances, and the wooded area behind the fence, look as though they might
belong to University Gardens, but in fact it's all the property of Nassau County. And the sidewalk, in particular, has long been a mess--overgrown with weeds and
littered with trash. On October 7, Association Vice President Steve Perlman sent a letter to Lisanne Altman, our representative in the Nassau County
Legislature, complaining about
the situation. A few days later, Mr. Perlman received a copy of her referral to the county's Public Works Commissioner. Two weeks later, Mr. Perlman noticed that
the area had been cleaned up. There's still some trash behind the fence, and earth and grass (under the leaves) still intrude on the sidewalk, but relative to what it was, it's almost
beautiful. Dog-do is a problem again 10-5-04 A few inconsiderate residents are making others angry by failing to pick up after their dogs. In some cases, the dog has been allowed to run
loose Town to start systematic pruning this month 10-1-04 Tom Tiernan, the Town's Highway Commissioner, says that a tree-pruning crew will spend the last three weeks of this month in University Gardens.
And starting after year-end, a crew will spend one week a month in the Gardens. Assuming that this month's crew observes the detailed plan, it will start on Merrivale Rd., with Wensley, Sussex and Hereford to follow in that
order. Board asks Town for traffic safety steps 10-1-04 We have been fortunate in the absence of serious auto accidents in the Gardens in recent years. But many anecdotal reports of close calls,
as well as repeated observations by Capt. Maria D'Amelio, of the Great Neck Auxiliary Police, make it clear that this string of luck could run out any day. Car in driveway stripped of wheels 10-1-04 On September 21, University Gardens could look back on a period of 13 months in which there had been no house burglary. A week earlier,
however, one family was victimized by a bold car-stripping. Sussex lamps project lags, but is still alive 9-26-04 Way back in January, when Richard Bullion, 2 Sussex Rd., kicked off a project to refurbish the entrance arches on Sussex Rd., he projected
completion by April. That didn't happen, as the job turned out to be more complex than anticipated. But we're getting closer. This is how the lot looked for many years.
Now most of the trees are gone.
Work starts on 26A Merrivale 9-2-04 For three-quarters of a century the lot pictured here was part of the property at 1 Dorset Rd. Now it will become the site of UG's
211th house. The house is being built for George Xu and his family, who live in Floral Park. Police issue a bunch of tickets 8-24-04 For some time drivers have been speeding on Merrivale Rd. and going through the stop sign at Merrivale Rd. and Somerset Drive North. On July 27, August 1
and August 2, according to Capt. Maria D'Amelio, of the Great Neck Auxiliary Police, the police moved in and issued a bunch of "moving-violation" tickets, each
carrying a potential fine of $150 for a first offense. Trashing a 'frig'? Get the coolant out first 8-17-04 In the October 2003 issue of the UG Reporter, and more recently on this website, we implied that Waste Management had to remove
the coolant from a refrigerator or airconditioner before it could crush it and cart it away. It turns out that WM won't do this itself. It won't pick up such an item unless
it sees a special tag indicating that the coolant has been removed--by someone else who's licensed for such work. Beautification comes to For years one of the unlovely sights of Sussex Rd. has been the trash bin that collects the refuse from users of the pool and tennis courts.
Last week, thanks to the intervention of Board member Jacob Majnemer, in charge of the pool this year, the bin was moved back from the street. It is still readily
accessible to the pickup truck, but the driveway entrance now is adorned with freshly planted shrubs. Recycling truck has open sides, no compactor. Paper to the left, cans and bottles to the right. Here comes (finally) the recycling truck 8-11-04 On Wednesday, August 11, Waste Management's specially designed recycling truck did indeed show up and collect recyclables from our curbs. Do you recycle? Anyone who has closely observed the crew of a Waste Management truck in our neighborhood might well ask: "Why bother recycling?" Cost pressures The arrangement with Waste Management dates back to about 1998 when Dr. Seymour Coopersmith, then president of the Association, reached
a handshake deal with the company on a contract set at a monthly $29 per residence. Subscriptions to the service are voluntary, but the only legal alternative that
we know of is carting your own waste to the Town's dump-your-own site in Roslyn. How recycling sort-of works UG residents have expressed various degrees of outrage as they see recyclables dumped into the garbage hopper and their own recycling efforts
nullified. Offsetting the frustration somewhat is the realization by some that, compared to many localities, the Town imposes minimal recycling requirements. Scraping a load from the garbage pile.
Mixed paper trash waits for a truck.
At one time, the Town operated its own landfills and incinerators. The first three landfills have long since been deactivated--a long process of capping the pile, flaring
the methane gas, and neutralizing the "leachate" that seeps from the bottom. The Michael J. Tully, Jr. indoor swimming pool now sits on one of those former
sites, the Spring Park Golf Course on another. The final two landfills, a 100-acre site on a former sand mine, next to the Harbor Hills golf course, have not
accepted municipal waste since the late 1980s and are in the final stages of capping, with some years of monitoring and effluent control still ahead. One of the
landfills has been listed as a federal Superfund site, making it eligible for federal funds to help clean up associated land and water pollution. Commissioner Gilbert Anderson.
One of the Town's capped landfills.
So, then, what happens to all the stuff that piles up on the floor at the transfer station? Huge open trucks enter a "tunnel" in the transfer shed, and a
front-loader scrapes one load after another from the floor, dumping them into the massive trucks coming through the tunnel. The nonrecyclable waste travels to a landfill site in
Tullytown or adjacent Falls Township, in Bucks County, Pa., along the Delaware River. The distance is short enough so that a truck can make two roundtrips a day.
WM pays those towns as much as $4.50 a ton to dump. Highway Commissioner strolls the Gardens 7-21-04 On the morning of July 20, the Town's Highway Commissioner, Tom Tiernan, took a walk through University Gardens to get a first-hand look at
some of our concerns. He was accompanied by Councilman Anthony D'Urso, who suggested the visit; by Mr. D'Urso's assistant, Allison Wohlgemuth; and by
Board members Steve Perlman and John Campbell. From left: Tom Tiernan, John Campbell, Anthony D'Urso, Steve Perlman. The discussion resulted in recommendations and tentative agreements that will be put before the full Board in September. In the No. 1 area, though,
Commissioner Tiernan made some solid commitments that the Board is certain to endorse. Specifically-- Prior to this meeting, Board members had been told by various sources that the Town did not have the resources needed for systematic pruning. The
Board had resolved to seek the Town's OK to have our own contractor do the job and had set aside $20,000 in this year's budget to start that process. There was extensive discussion of traffic safety, and a number of possible remedies were suggested. These include a posted limit of 25 mph
for Merrivale Rd. and perhaps elsewhere in the community, use of the larger, higher-intensity stop signs, and, at certain intersections, white lines and yellow "tails"
similar to those at the Northern Blvd. entrances. Tax settlement to cut expenses by $32,000 per year 7-19-04 On July 15, the Board voted to accept a tax settlement offered by assessors at Nassau County's Assessment Review Commission (ARC). A drastic
reduction in the 2003/04 and 2004/05 assessments on the Association's common property--notably the pool/tennis area, but also including certain UG entrances
on Northern Blvd.--would reduce the taxes owed for each of those years from about $36,800 to $4,800. The settlement must now be confirmed by the
ARC following the Board's acceptance, although it appears unlikely that the ARC will renounce its assessors' offer. Board members meet with Councilman D'Urso 7-1--04 Anthony D'Urso is Deputy Supervisor of the Town of North Hempstead and a long-time member of the Town Council. Fourteen months ago,
when voters approved a change that created councilman districts, Councilman D'Urso wound up with University Gardens as one of 11 communities under his wing. On
the evening of June 30, four members of the Board sat down with Mr. D'Urso (photo, right) to discuss ways in which he might help University Gardens address some of its
continuing problems. Most house numbers are hard to find at night 6-25-04 A recent test showed that, as expected, a majority of homes in University Gardens are tough to find at night. That’s because so many house
numbers are difficult to see. Capt. D'Amelio finds these observations troubling. When the police, firemen, or emergency medical services get a call, it is likely that the
crews dispatched will not be all that familiar with how house numbers run along our streets. If your own house number is hard to see, it not only can slow
response to a call to your house but can also slow response to a neighbor's house. However, the best solution probably is to invest in reflective numbers. These are not costly, and they stand out sharply in the darkness. You can find
out about them on the Internet or at a local sign shop. If dealing with your house number is too difficult, you could figure on running out into the street and waving a flashlight to signal an
emergency crew. But a visible house number would be a better way to go. Mothers say thanks Every day when the Lakeville Elementary School lets out, Capt. Maria D'Amelio of the Great Nect Auxiliary Police is there on
Somerset Dr. South to control traffic--slowing down passing cars and helping direct the many drivers who park in the vicinity to await
their children. She also acts as a crossing guard. And she makes sure that no child has to walk home alone. LIRR reduced midday schedule starts June 21 6-21-04 From now until September 6, trains to and from Great Neck and Little Neck will run hourly instead of half-hourly during the hours between 10 am and
3:30 pm. You can see the new schedules by click on the quick links at the bottom of the home page. Revised Bylaws approved at special meeting REVISED 6-19-04 A revised set of Bylaws was accepted at a special meeting of the Association held Wednesday evening, June 16,
at the Russell Gardens village hall. The previous Bylaws had been in force since 1954. Other business In other reports:
Streets and sidewalks Mr. Campbell also reviewed briefly a number of other matters concerning our streets and sidewalks:
Mr. Campbell also urged those present to get acquainted with the Association's new website. "If you haven't seen it," he said, "you'll be surprised."
Vehement debate
Two traffic issues raised by Janine Phillips occupied quite a bit of time toward the end of the meeting. What underlies the two issues is the reality that the Town
normally will not force traffic signs on a community against its will, which, in these instances, it considers to be expressed by the Board. Taxes: a glimmer of hope 6-18-04 It is just possible that an annual bill of $38,000 now being paid by the Association will be largely, if not completely, canceled. New stop signs (finally) Ten new stop signs were installed in April. But, what with one thing or another, they didn't get their
reflective strips until yesterday. First steps in a phone-system overhaul 6-18-04 First came the gas-line guys. Then the sewer-line guys. Now it's the phone-line guys. Sewer checkup almost complete UPDATED 6-18-04 The biennial work on UG sewers which has been going on the last two weeks is almost complete. "We might have to come in for a day or two
next week," says crew chief Tim Conroy. New gas mains just keep coming UPDATED 6-18-04 Hawkeye LLC, a contractor for Keystone Energy Delivery, has just finished installing 1,400 feet feet of new gas mains, 1,100 feet under
Somerset Drive South (photo) and the
rest around the corner under Rutland Rd. It still has to complete connections to the 13 houses to be served. Check out these additions to the website UPDATED 6-18-04 Since this website went "public" on May 20, several features have been added. You may want to check out ... The May issue of the UG Reporter is also online. Paving and striping are done on Northern Blvd. UPDATED 6-14-04 Paving and striping on Northern Blvd. and the entrances to it appear to be done. The big plus for us: a left-turn lane the entire length of the
Gardens. Dozens enjoyed all-resident free brunch on May 30 5-31-04 The weather was sunny and cool--just about perfect for a party. And dozens of members and their children showed up on Sunday to converse,
soak up the rays, and partake of a delicious buffet at the Pool & Tennis Club. Click here for photos. Pool will open Saturday, May 29 5-11-04 The Pool & Tennis Club will officially open for the season on Saturday, May 29. Letters inviting membership went into the mail on May 10.
An all-resident brunch on Sunday, May 30 (see next item below), will allow newcomers to get a good look at the facilities. Assessment is a 'mess' but fixes are coming 5-5-04 The County's Dept. of Assessment is considering many ways to improve the process for property owners. But some or all of
the improvements may be as much as two years away. Mr. Michalet cited a study that showed that property owners generally do better on grievances they file personally than
they do when they hire attorneys for the process. One owner present disputed this, saying that he had seen a study
that showed the opposite. Car takes a chunk out of Hereford entrance 5-4-04 On Sunday, May 2, at about noon, a 1999 Nissan Suburban apparently trying to make a left turn onto
Northern Blvd. from Hereford Rd. was struck by a 2003 Volkswagen convertible going east on Northern Blvd. The impact spun
the Nissan 180 degrees, and it plowed across the western side of the Hereford Rd. entrance, hitting a tree and then
smacking up against the brick pillar.
The photo at left below shows the path taken by the vehicle. A number of bricks were dislodged (photo at right), and
a crack also formed. Both vehicles were towed. The car struck broadside was driven by a 17-year-old man from Flushing and held
two other occupants. The other driver was alone. Apparently there were no serious injuries. Drop off hazardous waste on Saturday, May 22 4-7-04 Do you have a container of used motor oil or "bad" gasoline or skimmed-over paint sitting in your garage?
an unsightly mess 11-22-04
In many cases, the difference occurs because some residents carefully instruct their gardeners to clean up the gutter as well as the lawn, and others
do not. A weekly cleanup can't prevent new accumulations, especially after a hard rain, but it helps. And untended accumulations eventually spread out into the street
and, when wet, create a hazardous driving condition.
While there has been no crime in University Gardens during that period, Capt. Maria D'Amelio of the Great Neck Auxiliary Police, who watches over our
community, is concerned about residents who seem too complacent about security. In particular, she often has to remind residents to close their connecting
garage. Sometimes, she says, she finds that the connecting door is unlocked.
She notes that just a few blocks away, in Lake Success, two men entered an open window and surprised a woman who was showering. Fortunately, they took money
and left quickly.
Norfolk-Dorset intersection 11-5-04
at Sussex entrance 11-5-04
.
However, Diane O'Donnell, a traffic specialist in the Town's Highway Dept., says that a lower limit is possible for a well-defined stretch of road where there is a
particular problem. She feels that Merrivale's use as a "cut-through" for traffic between Lakeville Rd. and Northern Blvd. should qualify for the exception, and she
will seek an ordinance to implement a 25-mph limit on that street.
The Board hopes that a lower limit will slow some traffic and, for speeders, increase the likelihood of convictions resulting from tickets.
The other recent Board request--for white lines at stop signs--has already been implemented.
Wensley and Sussex 11-5-04
This is nothing new. There are always a few uncooperative citizens in every community. But a couple of recent incidents in which pedestrians unwittingly stepped into a fresh
pile prompted vociferous complaints to Capt. Maria D'Amelio, of the Great Neck Auxiliary Police, who patrols the Gardens.
The law in this matter is very clear. But simple courtesy should be enough. The dog owner, or walker, is expected to
scoop up the mess
right away in a plastic bag and dispose of the bag in the garbage.
If you seriously want to help solve the problem, when you witness a violation, confront the perpretator. If you can't bring yourself to do that, report the incident verbally
to Capt. D'Amelio as soon as possible or send us an
email. Name names and
specify time and place. We won't reveal your name, but we will talk to the perpretator.
If followed, the plan will fulfill a promise made by Mr. Tiernan in a meeting with two Board members in July (see earlier story).
For this reason, at its September 28 meeting, the Board agreed to ask the Town of North Hempstead to make several changes intended to increase traffic safety
in the community.
Perhaps most important, the Board voted unanimously to request that the posted speed limit for University Gardens be lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph. It believes
that the change would be only a minor inconvenience for residents. The upside is that it would increase the likelihood that speeders would be stopped by the police.
Normally the police give speeders a "cushion" of 10 mph because when a ticket is challenged, the judge tends to throw it out if the driver had exceeded the posted
limit by less than 10 mph. It is hoped that the change would lead to more fines and fewer speeders.
The Board has requested that the limit be posted at each entrance to the Gardens.
The Board also voted, by a narrow margin, to request that the Town restore the white lines--but not the yellow double-lines-- that used to mark the location of stop
signs. The stop lines have been recommended by the Town's safety officials. The Board recognizes that some residents believe that the lines will detract from the
aesthetics of the neighborhood. The Board majority believes that any such effect will be minimal, citing Russell Gardens as a case in point.
Before the white lines are restored, the Board is asking that the Highway Dept. survey the position of all current stop signs and relocate those
that are not properly located. Quite a few are, for some unknown reason, so far from the corner that a driver who stops there cannot know if it is safe to proceed.
In the early morning hours, a gang of professional thieves stole all five wheels from a BMW parked in the driveway, leaving the rear end of the car blocked up on
bricks. According to the owner, the thieves drilled the lock and disabled the security system. The theft presumably occurred after 3 am when a timer turned off the
house's externor lights. Estimated value of the wheels is $4,000 to $5,000.
According to the Board's Jacob Majnemer, who has worked with Mr. Bullion on the project, the electrical work on the two lamps is done, and they are now in
the hands of a specialty glass shop, Custom Creations Stained Glass in Lynbrook. The assemblies will then go to Forest Iron Works in Locust Valley for final
detail work on the metal. That company will also make structural repairs to the existing grillwork of the arches. After the lamps are installed, the Public Works
Dept. of the Town of North Hempstead will, we hope, make the electrical connections.
At this point, no one is predicting a completion date. But when it's all done, says Mr. Majnemer, the Sussex Rd. entrance at night will be lit by a "warm, amber glow."
The combined lot became one of the Gardens' first building lots when Leo Fogler's house was built there in 1928. The lots, which became part of the
Hirschland estate, were separated in 2001.
We're late in reporting these actions because Capt. D'Amelio was trying to get more specific details for us. But variations in location coding, coupled with vacations, at the
6th Precinct have slowed the process. We are delivering the incomplete report because a number of residents have complained about the situation on
Merrivale Rd. and presumably will be happy to know that some action has been taken.
Prior to the police action, only 1-2 northbound cars out of 10 were seen to stop at the Merrivale-Somerset intersection. We have not done a recount yet. Some,
maybe most, of the cars that were stopped were taking the shortcut from Lakeville Rd.
In other police action, 10 tickets for overnight parking were issued on August 22. These tickets carry a $70 fine. Residents are reminded that if there is a special
reason that a car must remain on the street overnight they should contact the 6th Precinct in advance, explain the situation, disclose the license-plate number, and ask
for a break.
Some local appliance repair shops will do this job. One Great Neck firm, Fisher Home Appliance Service Co. (627-4836), quotes a price of $75 for a refrigerator or freezer,
and prices of $50 and up for airconditioners depending on whether the unit is the slide-out type (cheaper) or has a case that must first be removed. If the airconditioner
is small, the vendor may simply take it away to be processed in the shop.
If you are replacing an old unit with a new one, and considering WM's $45 charge plus the considerable coolant-removal charge, you might do better to offer the
deliverer of the new unit $50-$100 to take away the old one--if he's willing.
If you put a refrigerator or freezer at the curb, be sure to remove the door first. It's the law, designed to protect children who might trap themselves inside.
pool trash bin 8-15-04
The truck is designed with open sides and divided into two bins, one for paper waste, the other for cans and bottles. It has no compactor.
8-6-04
Do you wonder why?
Conscientious residents put cans and bottles in the orange pail, bundle their newspapers and magazines, and put pail and bundles at the curb. Then the WM guy picks
them up and tosses them in the rear hopper with the garbage and other trash (see photo above).
There was a period when cans and bottles would be dumped into a separate bin on the front of the truck--at least some of the time. But not lately, judging from
personal observation and other eyewitness reports.
When queried about this practice on Tuesday, August 3, Scott Smith, district manager for Waste Management of Long Island, said that the company picked
up recyclables only one day a week, currently on Wednesdays. And sure enough, the next day a second truck came through to pick up recyclables.
That's the first time we--or anyone else in the Gardens, so far as we know--has been informed that recycling is limited to one day a week. It was also the first time
in many months that we have seen a second truck.
According to Mr. Smith, WM uses a special truck with no compactor to pick up recyclables. However, there was nothing special about the second truck that
appeared this week. It was just like the ones we are accustomed to seeing.
Since the policy of picking up recyclables only once a week has never been communicated to UG residents, most of us put them out whenever our bins or pails
are full. Fortunately for the looks of the neighborhood, the WM crews treat them like any other waste--but that doesn't contribute to the Town of North Hempstead's
recycling goals.
Maybe that will change now. Mr. Smith says that the pickup day may change very soon--possibly to Friday. If so, he says, a circular will be distributed to all
residents.
At the time, the WM contract represented a considerable saving, at least 30%, over what UG residents had been paying previously.
The WM charge has since crept up to $31.65 plus a variable "fuel surcharge" which most recently was 93 cents. When sales tax is added in, the total monthly cost
most recently was $35.43.
Waste Management has operations in all 48 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Canada, and they include not only collection but also landfills and incinerators.
The company operates nearly 26,000 collection and transfer vehicles, employs 53,000 people, and has 20 million customers.
But collecting waste is a highly competitive business. Mr. Smith's district covers Nassau and Suffolk Counties and, he says, "we have about 10% of the market."
On average, the company says, it costs about $10,000 a month to operate each collection route.
In recent years, trapped between intense competition and rising costs, WM and its competitors have been trying to reduce the number of trucks and crew that they
deploy. The effort to deploy resources most efficiently helps account for the occasional change in pickup schedules in the Gardens. But there is also good reason
to believe that the on-and-off commitment to a separate recycling truck in the Gardens is related to cost-cutting goals.
For example, we dump metal cans, glass bottles, and certain types of plastic containers into the same pail. And the Town makes no distinction among
newspapers, magazines, other paper waste, and paperboard--though it has not communicated this clearly to residents. So household separation of waste
need hardly be onerous.
The absence of more separation at the source is part of a trend to so-called "single-stream processing." It speeds collection and thus reduces those costs, and
it probably maximizes the total amount of recyclables collected. However, some recycling experts say that it also tends to reduce the quality of the recycled
material.
When a WM truck is full it travels to the Town's waste transfer facility on West Shore Rd. in Roslyn. It dumps its compacted
trash and garbage on the concrete floor
of a covered site. If it has a separate load of cans and bottles, it dumps those in a separate pile, and the same is true of paper waste. Gardening waste is supposed
to go to still another pile. Mostly, of course, all of our trash, including recyclables, is dumped into the first big pile. "We do occasionally check a compactor truck
to make sure it doesn't have recyclables," says Gilbert Anderson, Public Works Commissioner for the Town and deputy executive director of the
Town's Solid Waste Management Authority. Though WM operates the site for the Authority, other carters also pay to dump there.
The Town's two incinerators, one on Denton Ave., the other near the Roslyn landfills, were shut down 20-25 years ago. A plan to build a big new one on
property next to the Roslyn landfills, purchased for $30 million, was shot down by community opposition in the 1990s. The property was subsequently transformed
into the Harbor Links golf course, but much of the Town's financial difficulties originated in the debt assumed for that property.
The recyclables go a much shorter distance--to Omni Recycling in Westbury. That's where newsprint is separated from the coated paper that most magazines
and catalogs use, and from the paperboard that makes up cardboard cartons. It's also where metal cans, glass bottles, and plastic containers are separated from
each other. Some of the separation techniques exploit the materials' response to a magnet or their differences in density--but there's hand-sorting, too.
The Town of North Hempstead pays WM about $1 million a month to truck away the nonrecyclables. Under the best of circumstances, it might expect to
make a little money selling recyclables. But, says Mr. Anderson, "the market is in the toilet." In April, the last month for which he had figures readily at
hand, the Town paid $136,000 to get rid of the recyclables. "We pay to get rid of bottles and cans," says Mr. Anderson. "We get a credit for the paper."
We all pay, in our tax bill, part of the cost of the Town's solid-waste operation. However, that cost is buried in a more general tax category and does not
show up in the breakdown on our tax statements.
The No. 1 issue discussed was the care and replacement of our street trees. Other topics that fall within the purview of the Highway Dept. included traffic
control, signage, street cleaning, snow removal, road maintenance, and sidewalk repair.
As to replacement trees, we had been told that fruit trees were being planted because their root system is more compatible with sidewalks. The on-site look,
however, revealed that our median strips are wider than most and probably could accommodate more substantial trees.
The specific types of trees to be planted will depend on what species are available from the nurseries at planting season and what species will work best in a
particular spot, depending on the amount of sunlight available and other factors. It is conceivable that the Association may incur some costs in choosing
higher-value trees.
In other areas of concern, Commissioner Tiernan indicated that--
The point of the 25 mph limit, which is 5 mph below the existing limit, is to slow down through traffic and to make it more likely that the police will ticket
speeders. They generally do not issue tickets for speeding less than 10 mph above the limit because, they say, such tickets rarely stand up if challenged in court.
The Board will discuss the various traffic suggestions at its September meeting.
The settlement will be reflected in much smaller quarterly tax bills in October 2004 and in the first three quarters of 2005. A refund of the overpayments made
during the past four quarters, with interest, probably will not be received until early next year. At that point, the law firm that took the Association's case on a
contingency basis will collect one-third of the total two-year reduction, about $21,300, as its fee, and the Association will receive a net refund of about $10,700.
There is no guarantee that the assessment will not be boosted again in the following tax year starting in October 2005. The Department of Assessment
has a track record of ignoring settlements by the ARC. However, spokesmen for the department have said that this is a matter of poor communications
which will be improved. Steve Perlman, the Board member who attends to legal matters, says that "our attorneys are trying to get the ARC to include the
2005-2006 tax year in the settlement, but if they boost it, we'll appeal it again." Mr. Perlman was responsible for retaining the firm of Siegel, Fenchel & Peddy, PC
to handle this case.
In arguing for the Association, attorney William Siegel relied upon a precedential case involving Gramercy Park in Manhattan. The plaintiffs argued that
Gramercy Park was privately owned and was reserved for the exclusive use of the owners of certain properties surrounding the park. Therefore, the market value
of the park was already "reflected" in the values of those properties and taxing the park itself would amount to double taxation. Mr. Siegel argued that the
properties owned by the Association were in an analogous position.
It appears that the ARC recognized the validity of that argument, to the extent of 87% of the original assessment. As is its practice, the ARC did not explain why
it did not reduce the assessment to zero. But Mr. Perlman advised the Board to accept the settlement, as the alternative was a prolonged court fight of
uncertain outcome, and the Board agreed.
Originally, the reassessment of the common property two years ago would have resulted in an annual tax bill of about $50,000. This was reduced to $36,800
when Mr. Perlman appealed to reviewers at Cole Layer Trumble, the County's reassessment contractor.
The considerable reduction in tax expense, coupled with the termination of the paid security patrol and last year's hike in the property mil tax, should result in
considerable "headroom" in next year's budget. There are any number of ways in which that headroom might be used. One that the Board is considering is
a major reduction of the Pool & Tennis Club fee--possibly to zero--on a trial basis.
The Board members present were Robert Leighton, president (center in photo); Steve Perlman, vice-president (left in photo); Jacob Majnemer; and John Campbell.
The first item on the agenda was the care of street trees. Mr. D'Urso has a special interest in trees and he introduced the two ordinances that make up the
Town's tree-removal policy. We explained that the Highway Department apparently lacks the resources to prune our street trees and that we were willing to do the job ourselves, but that so far we hadn't received approval to do it. Furthermore, we wanted to replace street trees that had to come down with
trees that would ultimately become "stately" instead of the fruit trees being planted by the Highway Dept.
We also discussed problems with street cleaning and snow removal. It may be that recent stepped-up street sweeping signals a positive change, but we still
remember the long wait to have leaves removed last fall and the long wait to have sand removed after the snow season. As for snow removal, we noted that
the Town had been reasonably prompt in plowing our streets during several snowfalls but had, in some cases, failed to return to clear the last two inches--resulting in
dangerously icy and slushy streets.
Policing is a Nassau County responsibility. But we expressed the hope that Mr. D'Urso would lend his weight to our frequent requests for police patrols in
University Gardens. We emphasized the need to bring under control the speeding and running of stop signs that we have all observed.
Mr. D'Urso indicated a willingness to arrange meetings with appropriate officials to address these problems. He also suggested that we might consider the
possibility of achieving economies in other areas by creating a Garbage District and a Park District. A Garbage District, for example, would substitute a mil tax
for the individual monthly payments we now make for waste collection, and that tax would be income-tax-deductible. The Board members present indicated an
interest in studying these possibilities.
Mr. D'Urso, who has lived in New Hyde Park for 32 years, has a master's degree in city and regional planning from Pratt Institute's School of Architecture. He
served as Assistant Commissioner for New York City's Housing Preservation and Development Commission, and is now retired. He continues to participate in a
wide range of civic activities. You can see much more on his interests and achievements at the Town of North Hempstead
website.
On June 24 two residents cruised the Gardens with Capt. Maria D'Amelio, of the Great Neck Auxiliary Police. By the time we had wearied of the task we had
tried to find 153 houses, or almost three-quarters of the total. The results:
Furthermore, not all emergency vehicles come equipped with a searchlight. First responders in University Gardens often arrive in their personal cars. And even when
a searchlight successfully picks out a number, it can take a bit of time.
Many numbers do not contrast sufficiently with their background, are overly small, are behind the reflective glass of storm doors, or are partially obscured by
shrubbery or a tree limb.
That's not all. In University Gardens, homeowners put house numbers on the front door, on the door frame, on the adjacent siding, over the front door, over the
garage door, on lamp posts, hanging from lamp posts, on separate posts stuck in the ground, near the sidewalk, or on trees. Some numbers on trees are well
above eye-level. It takes time to sweep all of the possibilities. It takes even more time if an emergency crew has to zero in on your house by process
of elimination, that is, by locating your neighbors first.
Some of the house numbers we found easily visible had the advantage of being illuminated by a nearby street light. Many others were illuminated by porch or
garage lights. But in many cases, nearby lights were not strong enough, or positioned well enough, to do the job. In a few cases, lights were too intense, so that
the glare obscured the number.
We strongly recommend that each homeowner run his or her own test some night soon. First, turn on any lights that you would ordinarily turn on if you were
awaiting emergency help. Then get in your car and approach your house while pretending to be responding to an emergency call. Do your best to be objective
about the visibility of your house number. Make notes as to how visibility might be improved.
Improvement could mean relocating the numbe--for example, to be in a spot that is better illuminated, to be more at eye-level, or so that it is no longer
obscured by a storm door or by shrubbery. Or it could mean--
to Maria D'Amelio 6-25-04
To show their appreciation, many of the mothers banded together and wrote individual checks to the Great Neck Auxiliary Police. On Friday, June 25, the last day of
school, Mindy Rosenfeld, acting on behalf of those mothers, presented a shopping bag of checks to Capt. D'Amelio.
The schedule change was made to permit track work. New ties will be installed between Great Neck and Bayside.
The final vote, following extensive discussion, was 24 in favor, six opposed. The 80% favorable vote comfortably exceeded the Bylaws requirement of a
two-thirds vote. Five proxies were voted in favor of the revisions.
The key changes in the Bylaws were summarized in the May issue of the UG Reporter. A summary was also published on this website and can still be seen
on the revisions page. The changes were drafted by Steve Perlman, a Board member and attorney, in consultation with
corporate counsel Stephen Limmer, a specialist in village law.
To a large extent, the changes were made to better reflect existing practice, new communication technology, and the impact of 50 years of inflation. The most
important substantive changes eliminate the role of a nominating committee, shift the annual meeting date from January to February, and shorten the grace period for
payment of Association dues and the annual assessment.
Added was a proviso that none of the Association's common property, such as the swimming pool area, can be sold without 75% approval of property owners
attending a special meeting called for that purpose. This proviso fills a hole that had become worrisome as property values escalated.
The lengthy discussion was dominated by resident Joel Bloom, who said he generally favored the revisions but nonetheless raised a number of questions and
criticisms. Many of these were technicalities that seemed to be resolved by explanations made by Mr. Perlman (pictured below to the right of Mr. Leighton). Substantively, Mr. Bloom's most important objection
was to the elimination of the Nominating Committee. The existence of an independent nominating committee, he said, is important in case residents come to feel that
the Board is "dictatorial."
Robert Leighton, president, explained that the Nominating Committee under the existing Bylaws was not truly independent, since its members are chosen by the
Board and invariably nominate the candidates proposed by the Board. Mr. Perlman pointed out that under both the existing and the proposed Bylaws as few as
10 residents could get together and propose a slate different from the one proposed by the Board. For all of these reasons, he said, the existing provision for a separate
nominating committee, and the mailings required to support its work, seemed to be unnecessarily cumbersome.
The differences of opinion on other matters resulted in a number of suggestions for rewording certain clauses. Mr. Leighton explained that the meeting could not function as a
committee, and that the revisions could be either accepted or rejected as a whole. Even if the revisions were accepted as a whole, individual objections could be
raised later on to be considered by another special meeting.
In the end, Mr. Bloom, along with five others, chose not to support the revisions.
One case has to do with Ms. Phillips' often expressed desire for stop
signs on Norfolk Rd. at the intersection with Dorset Rd. There are stop signs on Dorset Rd. at that intersection. After Town traffic specialist Diane O'Donnell toured
the Gardens in late 2003, she recommended the
addition of ten new stop signs, which have since been installed. She did not see the need for more signs at the Norfolk-Dorset intersection. However, Ms. Phillips,
who lives at 15 Norfolk Rd., and some of her neighbors felt strongly that those additional signs were needed, citing poor visibility and the near-accidents that occur
when a driver on Dorset Rd. runs the stop sign at that intersection. One of her neighbors, Janine Hinderling, of 8 Dorset Rd., actually collected signatures on a petition
earlier this year, which she sent to Ms. O'Donnell. According to Ms. Phillips, Ms. O'Donnell has been persuaded that the new signs on Norfolk would be helpful, but so far the Board has declined to
ask for them.
The second case has to do with white lines on the street at stop-sign locations. There used to be such lines, but they have worn away and have not been repainted.
Ms. O'Donnell did recommend that they be restored, but a majority of the Board did not agree, citing aesthetics as the major reason. Ms. Phillips believes strongly
that the lines should be restored and is outraged that the Board "puts aesthetics over safety."
Ms. Phillips pressed these issues vehemently and repetitively. Mr. Leighton said the Board likely would discuss these issues again, presumably when it resumes
regular meetings in September. However, he noted that there are people in the community who feel just as strongly on the other side--believing that University
Gardens already has too many traffic markings.
As many residents know, the reassessment folks decided that a lot without a house on it was "commercial" and therefore should be assessed at the
a higher rate than residential property. Some UG residents who owned empty lots saw their assessments soar as a result. Reports from residents suggest
that the County has backed off in this matter.
But one issue affecting University Gardens remains unresolved. That same "commercial" designation was
applied to our common property, which includes the entrances and, of principal importance, the pool/tennis area. The immediate result was that the Association's tax
liability soared to about $50,000. An administrative appeal reduced this number to about $38,000, and the Association is now paying taxes based on this number.
But William Siegel, the tax attorney
retained by the Association, now says that he has been informed by an assessor for the County's Assessment Review Commission that the common-property
assessment assessment will be revised downward substantially. As a result, Mr. Siegel told Board member Steve Perlman, the current tax bill will drop to about
$4,500. If that happens it will have a major, favorable impact on our budget. There would also be a refund of excessive taxes paid.
Mr. Perlman cautions that so far this is just talk. The assessor's finding must be reviewed at a higher level. And nothing counts until we see it in writing.
Meanwhile, Mr. Siegel is not letting up. He believes that the assessment on the common property should be zero, arguing that the value of that property is already
reflected in the value of our individual properties and thus in our individual assessments.
get reflectors 6-18-04
Like the previous reflectors, these were installed by residents Henry Schulman (shown in photo at left) and John Campbell.
If you see a strange man in your backyard over the next two weeks, he's likely to be a Verizon employee. A phone-company
team has begun a comprehensive survey of the poles, transformers, and lines in University Garden. Not long after it's done,
engineers and then linemen are expected to move in. The purpose, according to Joe Murtha, one of the current survey team, is
"complete replacement of the phone lines."
The new lines will be optical fiber, enormously increasing their information-carrying capacity. That, in turn, will improve clarity of voice
transmission, as well as make feasible such applications as photo sharing, interactive gaming, telecommuting, video conferencing, and surveillance of premises.
For a good tutorial on how fiber optics works, see
how it works.
The work here kicks off what is expected to be a five-year project for Nassau County. According to Mr. Murtha, residents will
shortly receive complete information packages.
Every two years, the Belgrave Pollution Control District sends a crew into University Gardens to inspect and, where necessary, ream out our
sewers. Such a crew, headed by another chief, Chet Steban, showed up on Monday, June 7. Both Mr. Conroy and Mr. Steban have been tending to UG sewers
for about 17 years.
According to Mr. Conroy, University Gardens is a particularly tough area. Any area with lots of trees is tough because the roots invade the lines and have to be
periodically reamed out. However, Russell Gardens also has plenty of trees, and "we do them in one week," says Mr. Conroy. The difference is that many of the
manholes in University Gardens are difficult to get to with the reaming equipment. (Photo at left shows some of the tools employed.)
Yesterday, for example, the crew spent hours on a line of more than 350 feet
running between Norfolk Rd. and Surrey Rd., between Somerset Drive North and Dorset Rd. The reason was that the manhole at the south end had long ago been
covered up and was inaccessible. "Russell Gardens has a much tighter system," says Mr. Conroy.
According to foreman Greg Kearney, the project was not in response to a specific leak. Such major replacements, he says, happen when Keystone decides that
there have been too many leaks and that wholesale replacement of a line is cheaper than continually fixing links. To his knowledge, no further projects of this
size are currently booked for the Gardens. Efforts to reach the right person at Keystone have been unsuccessful.
The new main is made of polyethylene plastic pipe. It replaces steel pipe that was laid more than 70 years ago.
Mr. Kearney emphasizes that the 2-inch-deep, foot-wide strip of asphalt covering the road cut is temporary. In two or three months, after the fill in the excavation has had time
to settle, a 3-foot-wide strip of pavement will be milled, a new concrete base poured, and fresh asphalt spread.
The Somerset South project is just the latest of many gas line jobs in the Gardens this year. New gas mains were installed under Surrey Rd. and Rutland Rd. during
late March and early April. A leak was fixed on Somerset Drive North. This month, crews tore into sections of Hereford Rd.,
Norfolk Rd., and Rutland Rd.
In many of these cases, the contractor was not Hawkeye but another Keystone contractor. "We don't do leaks," says Mr. Kearney. "Just the big jobs."
He was particularly interested in disassociating Hawkeye from a recent incident in which a car trying to enter or leave a driveway on Rutland Rd. plunged into a
ditch of fresh concrete and had to be towed out. The contractor had failed to cover the ditch with a protective plate. "That wasn't us," says Mr. Kearney.
However, the project is not complete. According to Charles Maaft, engineer in charge of the state project, there are several weeks of work ahead in "restoration,"
rigging the new traffic signals, and miscellaneous tasks. All such work will be done in the daytime.
Yes, there was swimming, too. But early on it was a bit chilly to stand around wet, and the swimmers seemed to be only young kids, who never seem to care about the
air temperature. The water was at 82F, so it paid to stay in it.
The party, which ran from 11 am to 2 pm has become an annual affair, and under the leadership of Jacob Majnemer, the Board member in charge of the pool, a very
festive one. There was an abundance of pennants and balloons--and even soap bubbles. Plenty of umbrellas shielded those who wanted to avoid the sun.
The food, catered by Dairy King, was excellent. It included tasty wraps, pasta and green salads, egg salad, tomato-and-cheese rolls, bagels, dips, fruit salad, and ice cream.
And Howard Suttenberg, a relatively new resident, contributed brownies and muffins.
Mr. Majnemer had help from his wife, Pamela, and from Vivian Leighton. Also pitching in were Andrew Tuomey, the Pool Director, and his crew of five
lifeguards.
The tennis courts became available on May 8. Starting May 29, Club membership will be required for access to all facilities—the pool, the courts, and the
adjoining playground. The fee is the same as last year, $475, except that first-time members need pay only $375.
Andrew Tuomey, an earth sciences and astronomy teacher at Great Neck South High School, will return as Pool Director. Three of last year’s lifeguards
will also return: Jake Dardeshien, Kyle Krakauer, and Mitchell Steinberg. Two new lifeguards, Adam Bakhash and Christie Gottlieb, will also share the work.
All of the lifeguards are students at Great Neck South, though last year’s crew are seniors and will be departing for college in the fall.
The mailing lists the hours of operation and the rules that must be observed to insure safety and fairness. All such information is also posted currently on this
website--see Pool & Tennis Club.
So said Marc Michalet, Deputy Assessor for Exemptions, at a community meeting held at Great Neck House on Tuesday
evening, April 27. The meeting was arranged by Lisanne Altmann, Great Neck's representative in the Nassau County
Legislature. Lieutenant Raymond Cotè of the 6th Precinct was also present to field questions about police performance.
In responding to complaints and queries about reassessment, Mr. Michalet acknowledged that the current assessment system,
inherited from the previous administration, "is a mess," and his office has a "tremendous backlog." He said that there had
been no certified appraisers on the staff;
now there are 40 to 50. "We are still hiring people and retraining people," he said.
Several residents complained that while they had won a reduction in appraised property value, the following year the
appraised value jumped right back to the original value. The problem, Mr. Michalet said, is that there is "a tremendous
lack of coordination." The actions of the Assessment Review Commission do not find their way into the database of the
Dept. of Assessment. "The whole system needs to be redone," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Michalet said, the department was studying ways to make it easier for owners to file grievances. The goal
is to broaden access beyond normal office hours at 240 Old Country Rd., which usually require a 3-4-block walk from the
nearest parking spot. Some ideas:
Another owner pointed out that getting a 10% reduction wasn't much comfort when you learned that the Great Neck school
budget would be going up by 9.9% in the fall. Legislator Altmann concurred, noting that the school budget accounted for
65% of the tax burden. "Someday," she said, "Great Neck residents will have to have a serious discussion about the
school budget. It's insane."
The most pointed queries for Lt. Cote had to do with the lack of police presence in the community. Ms. Altmann said
she was advocating that the police force, which has been reduced over the past few years, be expanded again.
Other queries dealt mostly with traffic. Among the complaints were difficulties in making turns at the intersection of
Middleneck Rd. and Great Neck Rd.--the "Waldbaums corner." The mile-long pileup on southbound Middleneck Rd. that
sometimes occurs because of the short green light at the LIE service road was also brought up. Ms. Altmann said she
would explore whether it might be possible to adjust somewhat the timing of that light.
All of these, to the Town of North Hempstead, are "hazardous waste." You should not dispose of them with your garbage
or trash. They might react with other materials in a dangerous way. In any case, they would unduly contaminate the
soil of the landfill.
To get rid of oil and gasoline, take them to a service station, which is required to accept them. To get rid of other
substances--not only old paint but paint removers, household cleaners, and other harsh chemicals--take advantage of
the Town's STOP program.
STOP, an acronym for Stop Throwing Out Pollutants, runs four collection days a year at one of two facilities, in New
Hyde Park and Port Washington. The first STOP date this year was April 24, in Hyde Park. The next is Saturday, May 22,
Port Washington. That collection point is the Solid Waste Management Authority building at 802 West Shore Rd., next to
the Harbor Links Golf Course. The facility opens at 9:30 am and closes at 3:00 pm.
Do not bring latex, or water-base, paints. These can be dried and put out with regular household trash. Also not
accepted are explosives, ammunition, and radioactive materials.
The other collection dates in 2004, also Saturdays, are September 11 in New Hyde Park, and October 17 in
Port Washington. The New Hyde Park collection point is at the Michael J. Tully Park/Indoor Pool at 1801 Evergreen Ave.,
off Denton Ave.