A Word From Mayor John Watras

Friday Night Promenade: Tonight, the band FiveStone and vocalist Gina Naomi Baez (country style pop music) will be performing on Seventh Street. This program began last month and I am looking forward to seeing many residents and visitors on Seventh Street as we continue to close Seventh Street, between Franklin and Hilton Avenues, each Friday evening, so that residents and visitors to Garden City can enjoy the outdoor dining and live entertainment offered by local restaurants as well as shopping in the stores and shops who will remain open during the evening. I hope that you make it a point to bring your family out to see all that is offered each Friday evening in the village.

Rosh Hashanah: The board of trustees and village staff join me in extending wishes for a very Happy New Year to our village residents and friends of the Jewish faith.

Pool Season to End Monday: With the arrival of Labor Day and the anticipation of school reopening, comes the third harbinger of autumn - the closing of the Garden City Swimming Pool. (The pool will be open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Labor Day). Much to the credit of the pool staff, village residents experienced another safe and enjoyable pool season. I offer my compliments to the recreation commissioner and the entire recreation staff. 

Village Offices Closed: Village offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2, in observance of Labor Day. Offices will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 8:30 a.m.

Sanitation Collection: Due to the observance of Labor Day, there will be no garbage or recycling pickup on Monday, Sept. 2. Residences west of Rockaway Avenue will have their garbage collected on Tuesday and Friday and those east of Rockaway Avenue will be collected on Wednesday and Saturday. Rubbish will be collected on Thursday. Those residents scheduled for recycling pickup on Monday, Sept. 2 should place recyclables out on Monday, Sept. 9. All other recycling days remain the same.

Drive With Care - Schools Open Next Week: All motorists are reminded that next week (Sept. 3) marks the opening of the 2013/14 school year in Garden City. Hundreds of youngsters are walking to and from school, many for the first time. Please pay particular attention when driving in the area of recommended pedestrian routes and schoolyards. This will not be any different than prior years in that a few preoccupied young people will inevitably dart out from in between parked cars or fail to look for oncoming traffic when crossing the street.

Please drive slowly. While the police and crossing guards are on duty at school crossing zones, many children will be crossing at unprotected areas.  Parents are urged to discuss safe practices with their children and to remind them that it is very difficult for passing motorists to see them and affect a safe stop.

A reminder to motorists that the posted speed limit in the area of schools is 20 mph.

Continue to Shop and Dine Outdoors 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. I look forward to seeing everyone in town.

Help Keep Our Central Business District Clean and Beautiful: It is gratifying for everyone to walk through our business districts and observe the noticeable improvement in the cleanliness of the streetscape and parking fields. This was achieved through the collective efforts of our residents who shop within the area, our shopkeepers and the village employees. My colleagues on the village board of trustees join me in thanking and complimenting all who are involved with this ongoing effort to support the vitality of our business community.

The Village of Garden City continues to invest a great deal of time and money to keep our central business district attractive and clean to make it appealing to our residents and to encourage people to shop in Garden City.  While the shop and business proprietors are required to keep the front and rear of their properties clean and swept, the village supplements these efforts with many receptacles and by having personnel remove paper and debris and to operate a sidewalk sweeper throughout the business district several times each week. The streets and parking fields are swept once a week and the sanitation department collects refuse and garbage within the business district seven days each week.

Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule: The next meeting of the board of trustees will be on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m. I encourage all residents to attend board of trustees meetings so as to be thoroughly informed of village issues from a first-hand perspective.