I am writing this letter in support of Julia Shields, a candidate for trustee of the Village of Great Neck.
Julia has lived in our community for over 40 years, and has been a board member of the Great Neck and Manhasset Equal Opportunity Council and the NAACP.
She has frequently attended Village meetings over the years, advocating for the occupants of the Academy Gardens Apartment complex here in our Village, among other issues. She has long been a leader at her church the St. Paul AME Zion Church.
Julia is an advocate and brings a vital perspective. She has been instrumental in objecting to the current administration’s proposed changes to the zoning code, working to expose the concerns regarding expanding the incentive overlay district, which would have affected the very building in which she lives.
Her concerns were not addressed by the current administration.
She was also clear in identifying one of the major faults in the petition put forward by the current administration in favor of the changes: the majority of the signatures on the petition did not belong to residents of our village.
Any administration that would put forward a petition comprised of so many void signatures needs to be defeated. Notably, an opposing petition was put forward within a few days with legitimate signatures.
It was Mayor Bral who proposed that the Village’s zoning board of appeals’ power to approve special and conditional-use permits, particularly those involving religious institutions, shift to the elected trustees, a power grab.
This course of action eliminated input from neighbors and gutted the decisional process in place, which was guided by neutral principals of land use law.
It is time for a change to a fresh set of candidates, who will not engage in shenanigans for political gain.
We need to elect candidates James Wu, Harold Citron and Julia Shields to achieve a representative democracy in our Village.
Lisa Mevorach
Great Neck
