Monday, August 1, 2011

Eyesore On Old Army Road & Central Avenue; Tarrytown Road & Old Kensico Road

At a recent Town Board meeting, Supervisor Feiner discussed the boarded up former Gulf gas station located at the south east corner of the intersection of Central Park Ave at Old Army Road/Underhill Road. He claimed, “The station has been boarded up and reminds me of the Old South Bronx. Empty buildings do not generate the same revenue to the Edgemont school district, town, fire district as revenue producing buildings.” Why doesn’t the illegal boarding-up and signage at the Deli Delicious site not invoke the same sympathy? It’s probably because the deli is still in operation behind the boards and it’s owner Ernie Tartaglione has contributed to Feiner's multiple campaigns.

The Town Board held a public hearing to consider a special permit application from Cumberland Farms Inc to operate a gas station/convenience store. The service bays will be demolished and a 1,697 square foot convenience store will replace the repair station. In addition Cumberland Farms would remove one existing gas dispenser and the related dispenser island. There would be substantial landscaping improvements on the property. The school distict, fire district, town will generate more tax dollars. More importantly for Greenburgh residents is they will have another place to get coffee, milk and lottery tickets. Wait a minute... Greenburgh doesn't need a food store in that area, but does need it at the other end of Central Avenue nearer the recently abandoned neighborhoods formerly served by Pathmark and the A&P.

Apparently, there is a controversy as some residents have highlighted that under the town code if a gas station on Central Avenue is closed for more than six months the station loses their right to operate as they are non conforming usage (Central Avenue only). Cumberland Farms representatives claim that they never intended to discontinue the use of the property as a gas station. They temporarily closed the station to do some repairs to the property. The owners of the property claimed to always maintain a gas station at the location. The Supervisor is for this project. So it stands to reason the Town Attorney’s office and Building Inspector agree with Cumberland Farms interpretation.

Supervisor Feiner said, “I am speaking personally. There are a number of vacancies on Central Ave. I believe that if we reject the application the property will likely remain vacant for a while. I do not think this is good for property values in the immediate neighborhood. Would you like to live near a boarded up eyesore? I also think that the town should try generating revenue from this property. If the property is developed the town and Edgemont school district will receive needed tax dollars (substantial cuts in services can be expected in the future due to the tax cap). Another concern of mine: the town is trying to encourage new businesses to open up on Central Ave –to replace the vacant stores. If the town turns down this application –will we be sending the wrong message to the potential new tenants that the town is a difficult place to do business in? Will a rejection of this application hurt our efforts to attract new stores to our business districts? Look at the Dilmaghani property (the abandoned spa on Central Ave—it’s been empty for many years). One of the biggest eyesores on Central Ave and in the entire town is the Gulf gas station located at the south east corner of the intersection of Central Park Ave with Old Army Road/Underhill Road. The station has been boarded up and reminds me of the Old South Bronx. Empty buildings do not generate the same revenue to the Edgemont school district, town, fire district as revenue producing buildings.”

It's interesting to ABG as we try to understand the supervisor’s rationale for how he treats one neighborhood to another. Why is it acceptable for Deli Delicious to be boarded up and not an impact on the neighborhood but the same situation is at another part of town? Could it be a powerful and vociferous community group and their strong neighborhood association? We believe that is part of it. ABG believes the supervisor picks and chooses who should succeed and who can fail based on neighborhoods, votes, income and his control as the lead agency as well as influence over other Town resources. This is just another example of his poor, misguided governance. It’s time for Paul Feiner to go!

We’d like to hear from you about other communities Paul Feiner, the Town Board and others have treated unfairly. E-mail us at ABetterGreenburgh@gmail.com

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