A Word From Mayor John Watras

Annual Leaf Removal Collection: The Department of Public Works and Recreation and Parks began collecting leaves on Thursday, Oct. 31. Collections began in the western section and will continue toward the eastern section and then to the Central and Estates sections. During the leaf collection season, the village’s website will be updated weekly to allow residents to track the collection process. The notice will be listed on the Home Page under “Notifications and Alerts.”

We ask that residents observe the following guidelines:

• Place only leaves in the street. Other items such as sticks and old plant material may damage machinery and slow down operation.

• Do not place leaves on medians and malls as this will kill or damage the grass. For reasons of safety, our streets are cleaned of leaves on a more frequent schedule than are the medians.

• Avoid parking cars over leaves as this slows our operation considerably  and is also a fire hazard. Each year a number of cars are seriously damaged or destroyed by fire as a result of their being parked on dry leaves.

• Please do not obscure fire hydrants by piling leaves around them.

• If you have a gardener, instruct him to place your leaves in the street, and not on the malls. Many gardeners find it convenient to bring leaves in from other communities to which they work for disposal by the village. This practice is prohibited and the Police Department will be issuing summonses.

• For safety reasons, please do not allow children to play in the leaves once they are placed in the street for collection.

Last fall the Street Department, along with the Recreation and Parks Department, removed 20,000 cubic yards of leaves. These leaves were then turned into mulch and were made available cost free for use by residents and landscapers. This recycling of leaves saves the village thousands of dollars annually in disposal costs. Our combined efforts will keep our village beautiful and reduce waste. If you have any questions concerning our leaf collection schedule, please call the Department of Public Works at 465-4003 or 465-4004.

Veteran's Day: Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, is the one day each year in which America remembers her sons and daughters who served in the Armed Forces of the United States. It is right that a gratified nation set aside one day a year to recognize and remember these men and women.

On Monday, Nov. 11, the William Bradford Turner Post of the American Legion of Garden City will hold a short memorial salute to these veterans at 11 a.m. at the war memorial opposite the Garden City Hotel at Seventh Street. All residents are invited and encouraged to attend this brief ceremony.

Village Offices Closed in Observance of Veteran's Day: Village offices will be closed on Monday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veteran’s  Day. For your convenience, correspondence for the village may be placed in the “Letter” drop slot at the front door.

Veteran's Day Sanitation Collection: There will be no regular garbage or recycling pickup on the day that the village observes Veteran’s Day, Monday, Nov. 11. The holiday week collection will be as follows:

Western Half of the Village (west of Rockaway Avenue)

• Garbage: Tuesday and Thursday

• Rubbish: Wednesday, Nov. 20

Eastern Half of the Village (east of Rockaway Avenue)

• Garbage: Wednesday and Friday

• Rubbish: Wednesday, Nov. 20

Residents scheduled for recycling on Veteran's Day are asked to put their recyclables out on Monday, Nov. 18. All other recycling days remain the same.  Rubbish collection has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Continue to Shop in Garden City: The residents of Garden City are very fortunate to have viable retail businesses on Seventh Street, Franklin Avenue and New Hyde Park Road where there is a good variety of quality merchandise and family dining experiences available to be enjoyed. Please support these businesses and enjoy the products, variety and outstanding customer service.  Keep in mind that these merchants save you from traveling outside the village for your needs. Consider the harsh reality if we did not have these businesses here to service our needs. I look forward to seeing everyone in town.

Board of Trustees' Meeting Schedule: The next regularly scheduled Board of Trustees’ meeting for the month of November is on Nov. 21. I encourage all residents to attend Board of Trustees meetings so as to be thoroughly informed of village issues from a first-hand perspective.

S.T.O.P. Program: The Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department will conduct one of its S.T.O.P. (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) program on Saturday, Nov. 9. The program, which is being held at various locations throughout the Town of Hempstead, will make disposing of hazardous waste materials accessible to as many residents as possible.

Saturday’s program will be held at Baldwin Park, 3232 South Grand Avenue in Baldwin. The hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It literally takes minutes to drop off the materials. Workers are at the site and will remove the material directly from your car.

Under the S.T.O.P. Program, residents are able to take polluting materials to the facility and have them disposed of by a registered professional disposal company, free of charge. The facility will not accept the following materials: ammunition, explosives, fire extinguishers, fireworks, electronic recyclable waste, infectious or medical waste, propane tanks larger than 20 pounds, oxygen tanks, radioactive materials and unlabeled materials. If you have any questions, please call the Town of Hempstead’s Department of Sanitation at 378-2200.