I have a rather simple New Year’s resolution for my neighbors and friends in Great Neck Plaza – in 2011, we should resolve to do all that we can to oust (Mayor) Jean Celender from office, a career politician who doubles as a part-time mayor and whose audacious acts over the past 25 years have demoralized a once thriving community. While we are at it, we should also oust all those that the mayor has personally ushered into Gussack Plaza through political appointments and lucrative service contracts.
As we search for new beginnings, we have an opportunity to save this small but important village by retiring (Village of Great Neck Plaza Trustee) Gerry Schneiderman from office, and ending the vicious decade-long cycle that has allowed the mayor to appoint the likes of Marion Green and others as trustee.
To some, my resolution might seem bold. To others, it may seem trite. But to the four trustees who have failed to govern and who have abdicated their legislative and fiduciary responsibilities to the mayor, I hope it serves as a wake-up call. In 2011, let’s impose term limits, end salaries for these part-time self-important politicians and make our village more transparent.
Gerry Schneiderman should be ashamed that he refuses to explain (or even discuss) the decisions he has made over the past decade since his appointment in 2000, and Marion Green should be embarrassed that she remains completely unaware of how the village works, especially after serving as a member of the zoning board for more than a decade. (I guess we could all show up to their campaign launch event on Jan. 9 at Esparks at 11 a.m and address these issues with them directly?).
In the coming year (before and after the March 15 election), we should all focus on the particulars and inundate the village with requests for information under New York State’s Freedom of Information Law to shine a light on the reckless spending habits of our one-day-a-week $40,000 a year mayor (who also collects a full salary through a local consulting firm). We should also focus on those trustees appointed (by the mayor) and elected by voter apathy who cost this village more than $200,000 a year in salary, pension contributions, and free health insurance benefits. Let’s not forget the personal cost we bear as our property values continue to erode with every decision imposed by this group!
In the coming year, we should demand that both apartment owners and house owners are apprised of the way in which village officials indiscriminately assess our property values for tax purposes, something they currently refuse to discuss.
In the coming year, we should strip the trustees and mayor of the special perks they grant themselves without discretion or oversight by the more than 6,000 tax-paying residents of this community. (Sorry Gerry, I know how important the little brass plaque is that adorns your car, but free parking isn’t everything, is it?).
In the coming year, we should address the many quality of life issues we face daily, such as a defunct downtown (after 25 years in office, why should any of us think the mayor will finally be able to address this issue?). We should also address the ever-growing parking issues that plague thousands of residents who live in apartments and who must park on the street. And we should address the fact that this community will face enormous difficulty when the current tax roll fails to keep up with the shameful spending habits unilaterally imposed by an ineffective legislature in Great Neck Plaza.
2011 could be historic. Together, we can resolve to take back our community by removing Schneiderman and Green from the payroll of this small but marvelous village.
Michael S. Glickman
Great Neck
