North Hempstead residents have a great deal on their minds. Unfortunately in their recent letter to the editor, one couple appears to have looked somewhere other than a fact-based universe to define their views. The public deserves better.
In their letter, Robert and Sheila Kushner malign both public officials and unpaid volunteers of the Roslyn Country Club Civic Association. They decry efforts to add a unique jewel to the town park system as “deception,” suggest secret agendas and hint at unspecified conspiracies.
Instead of the “facts” the Kushners articulate that they have “uncovered,” we urge you to focus on the unique opportunity before us . . . and actual facts.
The town cannot provide a monolithic daisy chain of cookie-cutter facilities, each serving the interests of all residents. Instead, a palate of facilities, together, serve myriad needs of diverse communities.
For example, not all residents can sail, play golf or fly private aircraft, yet municipalities routinely provide such facilities. Suggesting that a public facility is inappropriate because not all residents will choose to partake is pure screed. And the baseless suggestion that it might be “illegal,” or is “immoral” or discriminatory is as irresponsible as it is inflammatory.
Every household from anywhere in the town would have the same right to join the proposed new park on equivalent terms. It is an unhappy fact that any facility costing money will be beyond the means of some residents.
The Kushners, however – whose home is assessed within 10 percent of North Hempstead’s median home value as reported by the town – simply don’t make the case that this would be a sizable group.
Unlike many public facilities, the town has been explicit in its commitment not to undertake the park unless its experts project zero cost to residents (other than those who use it).
This facility is unusual in that a caterer leases part of the property, which creates a large revenue stream. This reduces risk of any to residents because it would offset hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual costs. Additional cash flow would come from food and other concessions. The town certainly has experience in park operations sufficient to reliably estimate whether remaining costs would be covered by annual user fees.
In the factual desert that comprises the Kushners’ letter, perhaps the ugliest assertions are their shrill and hyperbolic personal attacks.
Mr. Kushner has accosted our president in public, agitated because she thanked councilpersons “on behalf our community.” He excoriated RCCCA volunteers because his e-mail did not receive a same-day reply. Now he accuses them of deception and pursuit of personal agendas.
The Kushners suggest information was withheld concerning “ongoing negotiations,” that the RCCCA purportedly knew about, to effect a private transaction that would open the facility – albeit an exclusive one that the Kushners could join, but 99 percent of North Hempstead households could not. Even assuming this were a better outcome for town residents, these assertions warp the facts mercilessly.
In early May, a resident approached RCCCA members to discuss his interest in operating a tennis facility. He did not indicate that real “negotiations” had taken place (for good reason-they hadn’t). He elaborated that the property owner had provided no documentation, material information, site access or proposed lease or sale terms or agreement – which might at least be a starting point for “negotiations.”
As recently as June 13, two weeks after the May 31 town meeting, the resident reported zero progress in this regard.
He said he had had no discussions of substance, and that nothing that we would ever call “negotiation” or otherwise material had occurred. The resident went further, saying he fears the owner is simply disinterested in a deal. To our knowledge there was not then or now, any reason to believe that a private transaction is imminent, or is expected to become imminent at any point.
Mr. Kushner was offered an opportunity to meet the RCCCA board or officers to better understand its views or persuade the organization of his own. He has our e-mail. He hasn’t availed himself of either opportunity.
Instead, he chose to air unsubstantiated facts and cast himself as the arbiter of morality in the pages of this newspaper. Residents are well advised to chew before they swallow concerning Mr. Kushner’s version of the facts.
Town residents who make their decisions based on innuendo or unsupportable “facts” risk missing an opportunity to gain a unique park space at what the town estimates to be no cost, other than to those who join.
Like the Kushners, we urge you to gather facts and ask that officials act in residents’ best interests. We believe this means moving forward with this project. A letter of support, ready to deliver to the town, is available for your signature at our website, www.rccca.org.
If you have questions, e-mail us at rccca@hotmail.com. We extend this invitation to Mr. and Mrs. Kushner as well.
Heather Schwartz and Todd Zarin
Roslyn
