Dear Friends and Neighbors:
We are former trustees of the Great Neck Library Board responsible for the successful renovation of the Bayview Avenue Main Building of the Great Neck Library. This achievement was managed with the help and input of the membership community, staff, political and civic endorsement and was one of complete transparency, with a Building Committee of 16 members.
This election Oct. 25 provides you with the ability to vote for Dr. Barry Smith and Donald Panetta. Both candidates, selected by the Great Neck Library Nominating Committee, have the endorsement of the trustees who have signed this letter. Both candidates stand on a platform of financial transparency and have demonstrated their ability to understand budgeting. They understand that all residents not only have the right to provide input on all tax-funded library issues, but encourage participation of the Public at all meetings.
These candidates will continue providing planned improvements ensuring the future of branch building programs, and the landscaping of the Main Building, which was to be the final action for the Main Building.
Please join us and vote for Donald Panetta and Dr. Barry Smith. They will provide us with dependable, reliable and quality service for the entire membership community.
Former Trustees, Great Neck Library Board
Marietta DiCamillo
Francine Ferrante Krupski
Michael Fuller
Joel Marcus
Josie Pizer
Robert Schaufeld
Varda Solomon
How disingenuous to claim that these candidates have “the endorsement of the trustees who have signed this letter” when in fact none of the people who signed are current trustees!
Of course the “old guard” wants to keep their favorites on the board, so they can continue to influence the board even though they are no longer on it. Is this fair and representative of what the community wants and needs? NO!
And to boast of the “successful renovation of the Bayview Avenue Main Building of the Great Neck Library” (is there any other Main Building of the Great Neck Library??) is strange, given that the overall public opinion of the renovation was that it was, to put it mildly, less than successful.
To state that Panetta and Smith “encourage participation of the Public (sic) at all meetings” is blatantly false. In fact, these candidates are favored by the former trustees because they know they can count on them to continue the same old, same old policies with little to no public input.
In the three years since these “former trustees” left the board, new trustees including Mimi Hu have made vast improvements, including getting the Great Neck Library back into Nassau Library System and welcoming back Denise Corcoran as permanent Library Director. They brought fresh perspective and listened to the community.
We need more new energy and new ideas on the Great Neck Library Board. Vote for Kim Schader and Doug Hwee for Great Neck Library Trustees!