AvalonBay's public relations campaign asks Garden City residents to believe that AvalonBay will save and preserve St. Paul's, and provide access to the main building for village use.

Let's read between the lines...

• AvalonBay is "preserving" some significant historic interior features of "our architectural jewel" only for the pleasure of those who choose to lease one of its luxury rental apartments. Nearly all of the building will be off limits to village residents.

• AvalonBay will not be giving the Village any "community space." Instead, it will be "allowing" some village residents the opportunity to use the chapel, 2,800 square feet, one day a week - a sad token to the many dozens of sports groups, social and fraternal organizations, and clubs that have long waited for ample meeting space.

• AvalonBay will restore the façade - not for residents' benefit - but to showcase its commercial enterprise. Residents passing by can gaze at a historic structure they once thought could serve community needs. As Avalon's "private property," the building will be "for tenants only: all others, keep out."

AvalonBay, a for-profit developer, is not saving and preserving the Historic St. Paul's Building for the Garden City community. AvalonBay is saving and preserving "our" St. Paul's to become just another of their many brand name developments, in this case, Avalon at St. Paul's.

Let's stop the runaway train. Let's stop a redevelopment plan that robs this community of the last, vast and priceless piece of real estate that we own.

This letter is submitted by the Committee to Save St. Paul's, whose objective is truly to save St. Paul's for the community at minimal cost, and not give away, at our community's loss, the entire historic building and immediate adjacent property to a private developer.

Peter Negri, Ed Keating and Frank McDonough

Exective Committee

Maureen Traxler,

Administrative and Communications Director

Committee to Save St. Paul's