Bob Bolebruch: Number of Solicitors Off the Charts

Bob Bolebruch is amazed at the amount of people constantly knocking on his door on Kenmore Road.

"I think we set a new record in town with the amount of people soliciting," he told trustees. "I find it amazing that in Garden City we constantly have people coming to our doors. Believe me, I give to the fire department, I give to the police department, I give to whoever I can but for this board to continue to approve organizations to come to our homes if they are not in Garden City this has to stop some place."

He is concerned with what he believes is an excessive amount of solicitors to the village, especially since his wife is often home alone. "These are total strangers coming to my door," he said. "The amount of solicitiors we have in our village is off the charts."

Mayor Don Brudie advised Bolebruch to put his name on the village's "Do Not Solicit" list, a green ribbon ordinance that protects residents from unwanted invasions of privacy. Half of Garden City households (approximately 3,500 out of approximately 7,200) are currently on the list, according to village clerk Brian Ridgway.

Newmarket Road resident Betsy Andromidas said her name is on the list and she still sees a large amount of solicitor traffic coming to her home. "I am on that list and it really doesn't matter," she said. "They come anyway."

Police Commissioner Ernest Cipullo advised residents to call police if they're on the list and still being approached. "If a solicitor comes to your door and he's not on the solicitor list, call the police because we want to know who he is too," he said. "We have in the past several times when a resident calls about a solicitor we found they had a warrant for an arrest in another jurisdiction so people coming to your door are not necessarily always reputable even if you are on the list so call the police [465-4100]."

Trustee Dennis Donnelly advised residents that no one on the board is in favor of solicitors. "I think we question every single instance of someone applying to be a solicitor ... There are certain laws ... we are required to allow certain groups to solicit. In the time I've been on the board ... we have put solicitors through the gauntlet so to speak - if their certificates aren't up to date, if they didn't have this, they didn't have that. We don't make it easy but at the same time there are instances where we can't turn people down. We do not allow commercial solicitors ever ... it's only non-for-profits but there are certain rules which require us to let some of them in."

Village counsel Gary Fishberg said numerous First Amendment cases allow solicitation of non-commercial speech and noted that the village board can prohibit only so much when it comes to these requests. For example, a village can regulate time frames and the requirements that people carry proper identification. Ridgway said his office issues a letter of approval that solicitors must carry while canvassing the village. 

Garden City's solicitation law "prohibits all unwanted commercial solicitations and distributions on all private residential property in the village and prohibits non-commercial solicitations and distributions on private property to the extent desired by the resident."

The law protects residents from unwanted invasions of their privacy; any resident can complete a "Notice of Objection" form at Garden City Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue or download it from the village's new website under the heading "Departments" and then "Business Office."

Under the local law, residents have three choices: permit those organizations which have an office or house of worship in Garden City to continue to call on you for donations, like the Girl Scouts or Community Fund; prohibit all solicitations of any kind at your home; or list specific churches, charitable organizations and public institutions whose solicitors you do not want at your door. 

Residents can withdraw the notification at any time by notifying Ridgway in writing.

Currently, the board of trustees has authorized the Citizens Campaign for the Environment to solicit door-to-door now through Jan. 20 between the hours of 4 and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and invited call backs only are permitted between the hours of 8 and 9 p.m.