Village of Garden City’s Mayor Report

Village Hall and administrative offices reopened for in-person inquiries and business on Monday, June 22. All full-time staff returned to on-site workplaces Wednesday, June 24. Office hours are between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Visitors are required to wear a face covering, maintain social distancing of six feet and sign in to a Visitor’s Log outside of the office they are visiting. Furthermore, while multiple people can enter Village Hall, only one person will be admitted into each office space at a time and are asked to abide by employee instructions. Please don’t forget to wear a mask when you are out and about in society and follow social distancing too.

If you don’t feel well, contact your doctor immediately. If you need immediate medical assistance, call 911. We have a Village email: mayor@gardencityny.net and a telephone number 516-465-4000. Let us know if we can help you. Should you wish to share your thoughts with me, you can reach me directly at 516-650-8847. Please be well and be safe. The people of Garden City are strong, and we will come through all of this stronger than we ever were before. All of you are in my thoughts.

POOL SAFETY PROCEDURES

As the pool readies to open on Friday, July 10, several safety procedures have been put in place to maintain a safe environment for patrons and staff. Please be mindful of the following procedures while at the Pool this summer:

1. Restrooms and showers will be available as always. We will be disinfecting them prior to the start of the day; wiping restrooms down between users; and disinfecting showers at the “break” between morning and afternoon sessions. We have acquired two “Wysiwash” disinfection washers that will allow us to treat the restrooms and showers quickly with a COVID-19 certified chlorine rinse. It should be noted that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is only recommending a “daily” sanitizing of these areas; we are going well beyond what they call for. Please note that showers will be closing 15 minutes before the end of each session.
2. D&J has provided us with a complete plan for the cleaning and service factors at the snack bar, which will be sanitized nightly with three different products. All touch points, such as door handles, counter tops and condiment stations, will be disinfected continuously on an hourly schedule. The snack bar will be divided into entrance and exit only with space dividers; only guests wearing face coverings will be permitted in the snack bar. Only 10 patrons will be permitted in at a time; social distance markings will be taped out on the floor. There will be no seating inside the concession area; all sales will be for takeout only. Plexiglass dividers are being installed on the counters to provide a barrier between servers and guests. Employees will wash hands continuously, and reminder signs are being posted. Hand sanitizer will be available for customers. The snack bar will be closing 15 minutes before the end of each session.
3. Chaises, tables and chairs will be cleaned and disinfected each day prior to opening, as well as during the “break” between morning and afternoon sessions. Staff will wipe down tables between user groups during sessions.
4. Sharing of the lap lanes will be up to the discretion of the swimmer.
5. There will be restrictions on the main slide as to one person allowed up at one time. Others will be waiting while social distancing at bottom of the slide.
6. Our kick boards will not be available for use. Members can bring their own.
7. As we published in our brochure, when the possibility of thunderstorms is in the forecast, please do not drop off a group of people at the pool. In the event of lightning or thunder, you must leave the facility and seek shelter in your car. With social distancing rules, there is not enough safe, indoor shelter at the facility to accommodate everyone.
8. At the present time, there are no plans to do temperature checks at admission.
9. Pool hours have been divided into two sessions: On Mondays the A.M. session is from 12 to 4 p.m. while the P.M. session is from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, the A.M. session is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. while the P.M. session is from 3 to 8 p.m. The pool will be closed one hour between sessions for cleaning.
10. To reserve a session, members can sign up via online (gardencityrecreation.org) or by phone (483-1714) two days in advance beginning each morning at 8:30 a.m. Members can only reserve one A.M. or P.M. session a day at this time. The reservation is good for any time during the chosen session; members do not have to come to the Pool at the opening of the session. Each session will have a strict limit of members.
11. The handicap access gate is being kept closed in order to allow us to monitor the number of users in the facility at one time. With a strict limit of members, we cannot have multiple entrances letting people in. Any member who is in need of assistance or has access issues will be assisted by staff to gain access to the facility.
12. All patrons and staff will be required to wear face coverings when they are unable to maintain social distance. Face coverings must be worn when walking around the facility, going to the restrooms, to the snack bar, etc. Face coverings are NOT permitted to be worn in the water.
13. Patrons can register for the 2020 Pool season online at gardencityrecreation.org. In order to register online you need a password. To get a password, you need to verify residency at the Recreation office located at 108 Rockaway Avenue. Membership fees have been pro-rated.
14. We apologize, but guests and non-member family members will not be permitted at the pool at any time during the 2020 Pool season. Only pool members during designated reserved pool sessions will be permitted into the facility this year.

GARDEN CITY LIBRARY REOPENS

The Garden City Public Library reopened its doors to the public on Thursday, July 9. The library will now be open 12 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The library board and administration is overseeing safe operations while providing in-library browsing for materials and reference services, as well as resuming interlibrary loan and accepting returned items. Services must be phased in to mitigate the risks. All visitors must sign in upon entering and are limited to 60 minutes in the library. Face covering must be worn covering nose and mouth, to enter the building and at all times during library visit.

Please stay 6-feet apart, if you don’t live together. Please request staff assistance only where desk partitions are installed, and observe all floor markings. When approaching staff in an office, please knock and stand behind the floor markings until someone can assist you. Patrons who wish a consultation (Reference, Readers Advisory) with staff must sign the log book. Congregating in groups is not allowed. Rearranging of library furniture is not allowed. Occupancy limits for social distancing will be enforced. The lower level is closed entirely, including restrooms, computer lab, media room and step down café. For media items (CDs/DVDs), please ask a librarian for assistance. On the main level, the study rooms and computer areas are unavailable.

The library reserves the right to require visitors to leave who are not following these rules. The Library Board and Administration will continuously review these procedures for safety. EXPRESS Pickup Service continues; please request online or call in advance for assistance. Returns may be made in front of the library via the front book drop or bins or carts marked “RETURNS ONLY.” The Friends of the Library are not accepting book donations at this time.

GCPD PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE BACK PROGRAM

In an effort to combat the abuse and unsafe disposal of prescription drugs, the Garden City Police Department has placed a metal drug collection box in the front lobby of the Police Department on Stewart Avenue. Citizens can drop off unwanted or expired medications 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The following guidelines have been set for the Garden City Police Department Drug Disposal Program:

• Accepted – unwanted or expired prescription and/or non-prescription medication by citizens; pills and patches are accepted.
• Not Accepted – Liquids, syringes, inhalers, aerosol cans, creams, ointments, biohazard waste or restricted controlled substances (illicit drugs).

The Garden City Police Department continues to find solutions to address the growing use and abuse of opiates in the community as well as the environmental impact when disposing drugs improperly. Therefore, working in partnership with the Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment to provide services and work toward solving emerging social and environmental issues, the Department officially launched its Drug Disposal Program in 2015 to help provide a safe, secure and anonymous collection and destruction of unused and unwanted prescription and non-prescription medications. The ultimate goal of this program aims to decrease access to dangerous unused, unwanted or expired medications. Studies have shown medications that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. The department is hopeful that citizens will take advantage of this convenient service, which has eliminated the obstacles for community members to properly dispose of their medications. The department has also partnered with local civic groups, Adelphi University and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the collection of unwanted, unused and expired medications.

The program has been very successful. During the past year, the department has collected more than 500 pounds of unwanted, expired and unused prescription medications. The Garden City Police Department will continue to work with the community to provide solutions that aim to eliminate opiate abuse, while protecting the environment. Through this effort, the Garden City Police Department strives to decrease overdoses and drug crimes associated with this abuse.

BOND RESOLUTIONS

At the June 18, 2020 meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted the following bond resolutions:

• Improvements to Village Hall HVAC System: $907,500
• Improvements to Village Hall Exterior Walls: $1,515,000
• Improvements to Sewer Buildings: $235,000
• Replacement of Roof at Vehicle Storage Garage: $198,000
• Improvements to Sewer Lines: $870,000
• Improvements to Library HVAC System: $1,159,000
• Replacement of Water Mains: $1,990,000
• Replacement of a Truck Lift at Mechanic Shop: $385,000
• Improvements to Curbs and Sidewalks: $204,000
• Replacement of the Library Roof: $111,000
• Parking Lot Improvements: $126,500
• Repaving of Various Roads: $1,030,500

BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ SUMMER MEETING SCHEDULE

During July and August, the Board of Trustees meets once a month. The dates are Thursday, July 16 and Thursday, August 13 at 8 p.m. These meetings are held in the board room at Village Hall. I encourage all residents to attend board of trustees meetings so as to be thoroughly informed of village issues from a first-hand perspective.

WESTERN NASSAU TRANSMISSION PROJECT

The Western Nassau Transmission Project consists of the construction, operation and maintenance of a proposed new 138 kilovolt underground transmission line primarily within the public roadway rights-of-way for a total distance of approximately seven miles between the East Garden City substation (located in Uniondale) and the Valley Stream substation (located in Lynbrook).

The project is expected to reinforce LIPA’s electric transmission system in the southwest Nassau area and ensure continued reliable service. The underground transmission line will be located wholly within the Town of Hempstead and will traverse the Villages of Garden City, Malverne and Lynbrook, and will be constructed primarily underground. The project is on schedule for a December 2020 completion. The two-week construction schedule in Garden City entails:

• On Monday, July 6, crews continued drilling and marshaling in the grassy area along the eastbound side of Stewart Avenue, near the former Chase Bank at the corner of Clinton Road for Horizontal Directional Drill No. 2.

PLEASE WATER OUR VILLAGE TREES

If you have recently had a tree planted in front of your home, please take the time to water it. The proper way to water is to first loosen the soil around the tree if it has become baked hard and then allow a hose to run at the base of the tree at a rate slow enough so that the water will be absorbed into the area around the tree trunk. If you are using a hose at the base of the tree, please do not block any village sidewalks to avoid injury to pedestrians.

Residents are reminded that watering hours are from 5 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. Odd-numbered addresses on odd-numbered days and even-numbered addresses on even-numbered days. Thank you for your cooperation.