Given that the one with the vendetta is Ms. Rosenthal, I was tempted not to respond. However, as with much that she writes, her facts are wrong and should be corrected – this is the same pattern she used in her fight against the LED lights in the Village of Great Neck.
Re. our protest of the proposed student parking lot on the corner of Beach and Polo roads, her premise as to the reason for our objection is totally incorrect.
The view from our house should actually be improved by the lot. The Board of Education has proposed placing shrubbery and trees around the periphery, which should improve the appearance; the school district has allowed the wooded area to deteriorate so as to make the current field appear more depressed and needing rehabilitation.
As to our property value, the presence or absence of a school parking lot shielded by trees and shrubbery should have minimal effect.
The value of our property is affected by our being near a school. However, the school was present when we bought the house and will likely be there if and when we sell it. Thus, the effect of the school on our property value was factored in from the day of purchase, so this has no further impact.
Finally, I am actually a strong supporter of the school system. I am a product of public school education, so I am much in favor of an excellent public school system such as we have in Great Neck.
However, that does not mean I must blindly support everything the Board of Education decides to do. The proposed parking lot has no educational value, will bring increased traffic by inexperienced drivers to the area, and will destroy green space which is important for the environment and maintains the suburban nature of the Village (which Ms. Rosenthal and her compatriots consider important as evidenced in their complaints about the village rezoning plans – she should try to be consistent).
These are the issues that my wife and I object to, as well as the fact that the Board of Education never discussed the lot with the neighbors surrounding the school in the planning stages, a true lack of due process (in contrast to the public discussions the village has had about rezoning and the impact this is having on that process).
The parking lot is a waste of money, especially since the Parkwood lot is only two blocks away with plenty of space. We can support the public schools and object to the Board of Education pandering to a small number of parents and their children, using our money to do so.
As in the past, Ms. Rosenthal either does not understand the facts or manipulates them so that she can support her argument.
Robert Mendelson
Great Neck
