Kudos to BID for Halloween, but not library voters

The Island Now

I feel the need to address two current topics, although neither is connected in any way except for the time period in which they occurred.

First, I want to applaud the Great Neck Plaza Business Improvement District (the “BID”) for producing a Halloween celebration in the center of town that was well conceived and implemented, and gave young families an opportunity to engage with the community in a thoughtful and enjoyable way. Congratulations to the men and women who pulled this off and thank you for creating a sense of community for a group that is all too often ignored!

Second, I would be remiss if I did not turn attention to the recent election of the library board and express my most sincere disappointment with the lackluster turnout last week. While I am certain that the candidates seeking a position on the board were thrilled to have been all but guaranteed a spot since they all ran unopposed, it strikes me as a lost opportunity for those of us who favor fair and open elections that are based on candidates taking positions on issues and having to explain themselves for supporting such positions.

In a community – the entire Great Neck peninsula – that has tens of thousands of eligible voters for such an election, it is truly unfortunate that so few of us decided to cast our ballot.

Let me remind the taxpayers of the peninsula that the library board is in the process of obtaining zoning approval to build a new library that could cost as much as $30 million, and that all of us will be footing the bill for such a project. All things being equal, there is no excuse that only 200-plus people came out last week to install board members who are all but certain to support that expansion and push it through in the most arduous of economic times.

In a community of well-educated and well-read voters, why do we allow our voices to be silenced? And at what point will we realize that by ignoring our right to vote, we are essentially supporting the status quo?

While I personally support some physical revamping of the main library, I’d like to be convinced that the decision to rebuild is one that is being made based on need, and on the ability to demonstrate that a new building will in fact increase demand and usage and provide the community with something that it is currently missing.

Unfortunately, I just don’t think the current board has made an appropriate case for a new building and I don’t think that they could (or should) claim that there is a need.

Finally, if the “get out the vote” effort to elect board members for the library board was purposefully hidden (buried in an announcement or two in the library newsletter and a few ads in the local papers), I can only imagine how elusive information will be for the impending vote to approve or reject a referendum for the library expansion.

While the library should be recognized for their efforts to be semi-transparent with the information they post online (more so than any village in the peninsula), I think they served voters inadequately with this last election.

Michael S. Glickman

Great Neck

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