Paul Stresses, Hill Counters, Court Closed

The Journal News published a story entitled, “Administrator Quits, Cites Stress at Greenburgh Court”. While the headline said it all, it was from The Paul’s point of view. The article’s lead sentence is, “ The administrator of Greenburgh’s troubled Town Court is resigning after only 16 months on the job.” The article explained that Regina Hill, who would be leaving in the beginning of January, could not be reached for comment. 

It’s no secret that the Town of Greenburgh court system is in complete and utter disarray, mismanagement and legal standing. And hiring Regina Hill from the Port Chester courts as our Court Clerk/administrator seemed to be a good idea at the time. While on the job only a short time, she tackled clearing up a backlog of more than 80,000 unresolved traffic tickets going as far back as the 1990s.

The courts are besieged by poor record keeping, and infighting by the judges. Things are so bad that even the Greenburgh Democratic Party wanted to clean the judicial house, nominating 3 different candidates for the three judgeships that were “up” in this past election. While three weren’t exchanged as hoped, two sitting judges were replaced with new people. The democrats felt that was a substantive change.

In the first article about Hill’s resignation, Feiner stated and we quote, “ “She basically told me she was stepping down because the position was too stressful,” Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said Sunday night. “In terms of tightening up the court, making it more professional, she did a lot. Obviously, I’d prefer she stayed but she wanted a less stressful position.” ” 


The second article, titled, “Stress Not a Factor In Leaving, Court Administrator Says”, Hill stated that stress was not the reason for her departure. In a statement released by Hill, she didn’t mention the stress issue. She claimed that she resigned because it was time for her to move on after she had put a lot of effort in improving the courts. She felt with two new judges the Greenburgh Town Court will become more efficient and effective. Finally, she said, “It is my hope that the person who will replace me will be allowed to work with as little outside interference as possible.”

ABG believes Hill played Feiner like an easy mark, using him to get out from her position as Assistant Court Clerk in Port Chester to what she wanted it to be: Port Chester Court Clerk at $100k + benefits. She left the assistant clerks position and came to Greenburgh as Court Clerk for an initial salary of $75,000. We agree that Hill knows how to do her job and do it well. But ABG also believes she leveraged her Port Chester position against the Greenburgh position in between her and the Port Chester administration. Push came to shove and she left Port Chester for Greenburgh. Not happy about the move, she trudged on anyway. ABG assumes she voiced her displeasure about her salary to The Paul. What was The Paul’s reaction? He raised her paltry $75k + benefits salary to $100k + benefits. Didn’t she take the position knowing it would only pay $75k +? But even a $25k increase wasn’t enough to stay! What else did The Paul promise her? What didn’t The Paul tell us? Who’s lying to whom?

It’s been said that the “Greenburgh” reason Hill is leaving is the interference and lack of cooperation from the Paul. Part of that is probably true. According to a letter on the Edgemont Community Council website, Hill was fed up with The Paul’s interference with her job. For example, when she sought additional employees to attack the ticket backlog that seems to bother few residents, save the regulars at the Town Board meetings, The Paul gave her college interns – probably more qualified than The Paul with government administration. Any real-world manager knows when you have good employees you leave them alone and let them do what they do with minimal intervention.

But hold on, court’s not adjourned just yet! In a different twist of events, the Town’s drug Court also has problems. The purpose of a drug court is to settle nonviolent drug offenses with education, counseling and rehabilitation, rather than incarceration. Sounds easy enough. 

Judge Alan Scheinkman, the administrative judge for the 9th District, said he ordered the closure of he Town of Greenburgh Drug Court because Justices Sandra Forster and Doris Friedman are leaving the bench. They had both lost the Democratic primary and did not run in the general election. Scheinkman said he did have “some concerns” about how the drug court was operating, but the decision was primarily based on ensuring its smooth operation.

Judge Charles Apotheker, supervising judge of the 9th Judicial District, had shut down the town’s drug court as of Dec. 2. He said judges mishandled several cases and felt defendants rights were not being protected. The ten open cases in that court were transferred to White Plains’ courts in the interim.

Judge Apotheker said Town Justice Sandra Forster violated the rights of defendants on multiple occasions. In Greenburgh? Really? It’s not hard to believe giving the actions of The Paul and our Board. Why should judges be any different? Instances were cited but the damage was done. Judges Scheinkman and Apotheker were concerned about the courts operations and the way cases were being managed. As such, until the Greenburgh justices are properly trained in drug court operations, another Greenburgh court is adjourned.

The taxpaying residents and businesses of Greenburgh deserve better. For those who say they are not into politics, it’s why ABG urges you to be engaged and at least minimally involved. And while judges on the bench should not be legislating from the bench, its important for you to get to know the judges you are voting for. This isn’t a partisan issue, rather a civic one. The Town of Greenburgh is a sum of its parts. There are a lot of good parts to the Town. Admittedly, there are some not so good ones. Improvement must start from the top and filter down. We can only continue to hope to get to an improved “normal” for our Town, we can only hope..