Senate Resolution No. 1559

BY: Senator THOMAS

COMMENDING the Village of Garden City, New York,
upon the occasion of celebrating its 100th
Anniversary

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to observe and
commend the beautiful and majestic villages that can be found throughout
the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is proud to commend the Village of
Garden City, New York, upon the occasion of celebrating its 100th
Anniversary; and

WHEREAS, During 1869, New York City merchant millionaire Alexander
Turney Stewart set out to create a place that embodied his ideals, his
wisdom and his wealth; the widely known business genius purchased 10,000
acres of Hempstead Plains on Long Island; there, at almost 70 years-old
and with no children, Stewart began creating his legacy...his Garden
City; and

WHEREAS, One of America's earliest planned villages, Garden City was
developed with wide avenues, hundreds of trees and shrubs, 60 well-built
homes on spacious lots, a handsome hotel on a 30-acre park, all reached
via its own railroad line, A.T. Stewart's Central Railroad of Long
Island; and

WHEREAS, When Alexander Turney Stewart died in 1876, his wife,
Cornelia, built the landmark Cathedral of the Incarnation, Bishop's
Residence and two church schools in memory of her husband; and

WHEREAS, She agreed to deed these properties to the Episcopal Church
of Long Island with one provision - that her husband be entombed in the
Cathedral; they agreed; and

WHEREAS, After Mrs. Stewart's death in 1886, her heirs formed the
Garden City Company in 1893 to continue the orderly development of the
Village; for many years there was little change in the original
Village's overall dimensions; and

WHEREAS, In 1907, a period of explosive growth was ushered in with
the building of Garden City Estates; three years later, the Garden City
Company developed another tract known as Garden City East; and

WHEREAS, In September 1919, three sections of the Village were
incorporated under an unusual and highly successful non-political form
of government called the Community Agreement; this Agreement was
modified in 1931 to include the newly developed Western Section of the
Village; and

WHEREAS, For more than 100 years, Garden City has grown and
flourished and, to this day, remains one of the most desirable
residential communities in the country; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend the Village of Garden City, New York, upon the occasion of
celebrating its 100th Anniversary; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Village of Garden City, New York.