Reducing Tax Rates May Save Greenburgh

Last nights Town Board meeting was more of the same. There was an hour of fluff, per the now-elected Supervisor and his Clerk, before we got close to starting the Town Board meeting. It’s his proven campaign strategy. It also detracts from and reduces the amount of people unwilling to wait additional time for the meeting. Again, it’s a proven strategy.

When the meeting finally began last night, we saw a full house. The major topic was no surprise. Flooding.  The difference tonight was the packed room had residents from all four sides of the Town: Old Kensico Road near the Bronx River; East Hartsdale Avenue; Babbitt Court and the businesses along the northern Rt. 9A corridor. Everyone that spoke made impassioned pleas for the Board to supply any relief from the flooding.

The owner of Glen’s Towing and the Sunoco Service Station on 9A, said he’s been flooded numerous times now and loses money because he must move vehicles to higher ground, clean and re-clean tools and equipment and questioned why any business would want to stay in Greenburgh? He further stated that he had spent several hours on Saturday with an engineer going downstream at the Saw Mill River and found all kinds of natural and man-made debris blocking water flow. Just cleaning out all that’s there would help the area.

A representative of the East Hartsdale Apartments Shareholders group spoke of their need for higher ground parking. Their underground parking gets flooded when it rains, the area around them gets flooded and they must move their vehicles to save them from being flooded and ruined. There aren’t enough spaces in the municipal garage. So, she asked the Board to allow them to park during a storm on several nearby streets and not be ticketed. She joked that the parking enforcement officer does a really good job, an outstanding job, and they should be proud of his efficiency. Then she said, seriously, they just need relief!

A gentleman from Babbitt court told of how his home was raised by FEMA after years and years of flooding and damage. He also said all the development north of him has affected what happens with the water. Sams Club, Fairview Park’s expansion with FedEx, DHL, Coca Cola, Brookfield, the Animal Shelter and others have all affected the water absorption and increased the water down stream toward his neighborhood as well as others. He insisted the Board think about the ramifications of any future building that is contemplated.

The President of the Fulton Park Association, lambasted Feiner as irresponsible and unconscionable for promising buyouts of Fulton Park homes that were flooded. She stated it was false hope to tell these people during such terrible devastation that maybe FEMA would buy them out. She then detailed some of the parameters that FEMA follows for buyouts. She finished the buyout information with the fact that it will never happen based on the requirements the Town and State would have to comply to. Then she added if they wanted to really help the affected residents, allow them to pay a reduced tax rate to offset their losses. That garnered a tremendous round of applause. The Board sat staring at the desk.

The Vice-President of the Fulton Park Association, stated he lost roughly $40k worth of equipment, appliances, tools, records, clothing, computer equipment and more during this last flood. He referenced an article in a weekly paper where Feiner said people have only been getting flooded this year. He stated that he’s been coming to these meetings asking for help with flooding for the last five years, only to be ignored. He brought up the additional 450 condominiums to be built at Eastview and the 400 or so at Avalon Green on Taxter Road and the constructions impact farther south at the Babbitt Court and Rt. 9A corridor with more water. These projects are using up space that currently absorbs water and making those areas impervious. It will all be directed into the Saw Mill River, adding to an already overtaxed waterway. It has to stop.

Once he finished, Feiner said he never promised buyouts. The Fulton Park President stood up and shouted from the audience that that was a lie! Others in the room agreed with her. Shuffling quickly, he said he was going to explore all options. When Feiner finished, the Vice-President asked why was he was now looking for options after five years of asking? He didn’t answer.

A Beaver Hill (Rt. 9A) resident, referenced the Fulton Park’s five years of asking for help and said she has flood study documents as well as having asked for flood relief for Rt. 9A for over thirty years. Nothing has been done to alleviate the situation. The resident referred to some businesses as being better able than others to deal with the flooding. She also stated Sams Club had millions of dollars worth of damage even though they raised their building above the flood plane levels when it was built. With this additional height, they still had damage. So the water level is getting higher.

The Town Board, often the lead agency for many projects being built in the Town, needs to step down and cease being the lead agency for developers. They’re not capable, lack the training and expertise. They need to assess the areas in question and how the land use around them will affect them if any construction takes place. They need to impose a moratorium on all construction in the Town so they can evaluate and establish a plan to control water and flooding. Until then, anything they do is just another drop in the bucket.