I am writing to address the recent letters written by the Kushners as residents of Roslyn Country Club addressing the issue of a town take-over of the club property.
Like the Kushners our family has been long-time residents of the community. I have also been both an active member, officer, and member of the board of the civic association. In these roles I have been aware of numerous residents considering an offer to purchase the facility, both before and since Corona’s acquisition. None of these has ever been something of merit or based in any real business sense of reality.
I place the most recent trial balloon, in the same category. At no time during his presentation before the town board did the attorney Goldberg offer any concrete indication that these discussions were substantive or moving forward. In point of fact further discussions with the civic association leadership have indicated that this like those before it, is going nowhere.
In comparing the costs of this facility, the Kushners fail to take into account the fact that costs for the other facilities are based upon acquisition costs, if any, and construction costs of a much earlier era. I wonder what they would be if adjusted for 20 to 30 years of inflation.
The only fact they seem to have right is that the property would come off the tax rolls. The costs of acquisition and operation, as stated by Supervisor Kaiman were clearly to be borne by the membership. Any shortfall would result in higher usage fees for the membership. Any tax shortfall impact as a result of the eminent domain action would be town wide and diminimous.
The process in concert with the town comes as the result of the inability of Mr. Malekan to abide by any agreements arrived at. He is entitled to a reasonable profit for operating the club. Numerous court cases laid out a procedure for arriving at a reasonable fee, all including a clear accounting of costs, which he has refused to do. It is not the community that is unreasonable but the operator.
Burton Roslyn
Roslyn Heights
