Mayor's Committee Releases St. Paul’s Site Visit Report

When elected and sworn in as your Mayor last Spring, I promised an Administration committed to transparency and professionalism. That promise has been kept ever since, as we addressed various critical Village-wide issues, including the annual Budget, the LIRR impact, resident fire safety, traffic enforcement and how best to use the St. Paul’s campus.

Two months ago, I formed a new Mayor’s Committee to continue the search for suitable community uses in a renovated and preserved historic St. Pauls’ structure, or to determine if demolition should be considered with an alternate plan. Thirty-seven residents who are experts in law, architecture, design, engineering, construction, historic preservation, program development and usage, budget, finance and communications volunteered and were formed into Committees. I’m happy to report before starting their research, ALL Committee members agreed that volunteering for this massive study meant leaving agendas at the door and doing the job assigned objectively and thoughtfully.

Recently, I toured the St. Paul’s building, along with our Village Assistant Fire Chief, the Superintendent of Buildings and two Architects/Engineers who currently serve on the Mayor’s St. Paul’s Committee. The Site Report, which can be found on the Village website, www.gardencityny.net, contains details of that tour. I was alarmed by the building's general lack of care and maintenance that has taken place since the Village acquired the campus in 1992 and more recent “stabilization” work.

Please recall the Village has a responsibility to maintain Village property, which includes St. Paul’s. I have therefore asked the professional engineers on the St. Paul’s Committee to review the past Engineering Reports authorized by prior Boards of Trustees and report what their recommendations were to those Boards and whether and to what extent those recommendations were or were not properly evaluated and implemented.

I have also asked the Village’s financial professionals to provide a Forensic Accounting on the extent that any of the $2.0+mm authorized in the 1992 St. Paul’s bond transaction for building preservation and protection, as well as the recently authorized (2018-2019) $3.0+mm for the building’s roof repair and stabilization, has been spent on those clearly articulated purposes.

The Mayor’s Committee on St. Paul’s is pursuing a thorough and professional evaluation of potential future use of St. Paul’s and will report periodically. In that spirit, the Village has posted a new report of the conditions inside the building based upon the recent inspection by the Assistant Fire Chief and the Superintendent of Buildings, two Committee members and myself. I urge you to read it.

As the Mayor’s Committee on St. Paul’s continues, we welcome all helpful, constructive advice as well as other recommendations from our residents and friends as we strive to preserve our truly unique, historic treasure. Ultimately, a referendum will be proposed to determine the fate of the St. Paul’s Main Building.

Cosmo Veneziale

Mayor, Incorporated Village of Garden City

View the site report and more photos from the visit on the Village website, www.gardencityny.net.