Since so many letters to the editor are focused on presidential politics, I thought I would keep the spirit alive and offer a quote from William Howard Taft. President Taft once said, “Failure to accord credit to anyone for what he may have done is a great weakness in any man.”
With that, I have taken Taft’s words to heart. I have written to this publication for some time with a critical eye towards the mismanagement of Great Neck Plaza.
In fact, my statements are sometimes misconstrued as political rhetoric because I have been so unabashed in my disgust for the carelessness by which this village has been run. (Note: I am not running for office in Great Neck Plaza in the next election cycle.) So let me offer a mea culpa for failing to credit Mayor Jean Celender and ‘The Plaza Trustees’ for their work.
With our formal days of reflection behind us, I recognize I was wrong to blame Jean Celender for the demise of our downtown and this community. I came to this decision based on the fact that Mayor Celender has done the best job she can possibly do and she deserves plenty of credit. It’s true, the decisions our mayor has made and the votes she so carefully oversees, cast by those she keeps in office, were not directed out of harm, but rather out of ignorance. And so Jean, I apologize for always pointing out your deficiencies and never giving you credit for what you have accomplished.
Mayor Celender’s resilience and courage to continue serving as CEO of the village should be credited, particularly after so many years of economic erosion, failed policies, cronyism and simple inaction.
It is no surprise that our mayor, as an unsuccessful businessperson herself, can’t see what the future holds.
As businesses in this neighborhood continue to shutter, we all recognize that local government shouldn’t get all of the credit or blame. Business owners deserve much of that credit too.
However, when every major community on the North Shore is starting to rebound from the doldrums of a bad economy, Great Neck Plaza continues to see further erosion. Kossoffs and Maddy B’s are among the latest casualties in this last week alone. Ten other businesses join their ranks if you look at the last couple of months.
Our simple reality is that these career politicians won’t be able to breathe life into this community. Weekly visits to the assisted living centers to ensure future votes, superfluous village expenses such as the cost of healthcare premiums for trustee spouses, an illogical plan to improve the local economy by beautifying empty storefronts with “educational displays,” a weak and ill-equipped Business Improvement District (BID), public art next to parking lots, and feeble attempts to “show” transparency by the $40,000 a year one-day-a-week part-time mayor, is simple-minded and won’t spur growth.
Mayor Celender, as someone who deserves credit for leading the worst downturn in this community in recent memory, perhaps you should rethink your political ambitions. And while you’re at it, why don’t you demand that the blemish of empty and dirty storefronts that line our main thoroughfare get cleaned up?
Dismantle the BID and hire a qualified professional to implement and lead an economic development plan. Walk through your village and speak to the very people who live and shop here. Create an advisory council of real business leaders and seek their advice, not simply the advice of your disastrous colleagues. Boldly support the work of the Great Neck Art Center and champion that cause on behalf of the community – they produce the sort of “art” that leads to economic development.
Call on the MTA to address the dilapidated Great Neck train station and improve the first impression given to all those “out of towners” who come to Great Neck. Participate in a way that makes you useful. Just do something, and please, do it soon.
Michael S. Glickman
Great Neck
