Under the Guise of Revitalization

When the politically powerful and not the competitive marketplace, determine winners and losers in the Town’s business decisions, taxpayers take on all of the risk and crony companies extract the profits. The cycle of political profiteering was established once our politicians began to exchange public money in return for campaign contributions. This method of using the government to find a profit has become a trademark in our Town. Having an open door policy for developers, our Supervisor responds favorably to developers and law firms representing them while discarding the wants and needs of his constituents. 

Under the guise of some type of revitalization, their methods promise local governments that its development projects will generate desperately needed jobs, housing, economic development, and tax revenues. Utilizing well-funded public relations campaign teams, politically-connected and well-paid lobbyists, and campaign contributions to local politicians, they acquire subsidies, tax breaks, and property through eminent domain. However, they’ve received public financial support, renegotiations are the first order of business once they’re “in”, with implementation delays for the promised benefits quickly superseding the original promises. In short, they lobby, profit, and then bilk the taxpayers by breaching its public promise to the community and simply smile to our officials once again.

There are companies doing business in our Town that most taxpayers have likely never heard of, even though they, the public taxpayer, finance much of their revenue. Their business model is dependent upon political profiteering, relying on public money and government influence to reap millions in profit. Oft times operating as a Not-for-Profit organization to elicit a favorable context of helping the less fortunate, they thrive with highly paid personnel, lobbyists, back-room meetings and handshakes, cultivating political connections via campaign contributions, and even strategic hiring of local officials. The results? They obtain lavish public money, tax-exempt financing and seize desired private land from eminent domain, condemnations, spot-zoning and the like.

Contributing to the morass that escapes the average taxpayer, are the deal-making meetings, dinners, “winks and nods” and assurances that the public will never learn of, or find out about: the predestined outcome. In meetings unseen by the public, key personnel make directional and developmental decisions for an unsuspecting populace. The revamping of the Rt 119 corridor in the Unincorporated Town is a classic example of this change, as is Westhab’s latest future slum in Fulton Park. Under the guise of revitalization, Mr Feiner has sought the participatory nod of Town Planning Commissioner Thomas Madden to develop every parcel of land currently undeveloped. When broaching the topic of a building moratorium or a plan from the Comprehensive Steering Committee to better assess the increase in impervious space, Mr Feiner’s boilerplate response is a mere flick of his hand, similar to brushing an inconvenient piece of lint from a shirt, condescendingly brushing away those pesky taxpayers looking out for their best interest. What is his?

Collecting and assimilating data, utilizing news reports, studying specific cases, Town departments, and well-crafted press releases is not enough to expose the collusion in our Town – a hallmark of the Feiner administration. Controlled data can sometimes be found on our Town’s website although the average person’s detective abilities may often fail them as they seek answers. Without better transparency from our local government on the funding deals, it will remain difficult if not impossible to figure out how much public money developers are getting for their projects. Mr Feiner knows this and thrives on it. Financial benefits, such as full value, tax-exempt bonds, prime real estate giveaways, spot-zoning and the like, ensure continued revenue producing developments in his desperate hope of staving off million dollar guilty verdicts, acquiring new voters from the uninitiated, questionable campaign contributions and well, the list is almost endless.

Residents within the Town’s villages elect a mayor and village board to represent them and seemingly protect them from the Town’s overreaching wallet gorging. Unincorporated Greenburgh should have this same protection with our supervisor and town board but sadly, do not. The old joke about “kiss me first” comes to mind as the G10 publicly go against the town overlords twice a month. What we do have is a developer driven golden gate with Mr Feiner working the tollbooth! Accessing campaign contributions is said to be as transparent as Mr Feiner’s government and yet unarmed with specific information, even the Federal Election Campaign’s obscurity and subsequent searchable information will cloud legitimate efforts to uncover information. Between late filings, fines, political action committees, etc., searching money trails would challenge the seasoned tracker. How can the taxpaying public stay ahead?

Political diversity, term limits and vibrant citizen scrutiny are just three methods we can utilize. In a study spanning from 2002 through 2012, one organization we learned about spent $23 million on lobbying and campaign contributions, which returned $2.6 billion in subsidies and $533 million in net profits. A good return unfortunately proving its worth. Private real estate development shouldn’t be driven by political connections that are systematically purchased with campaign contributions. Yet, they are, bastardizing and compromising an already broken system. Taxpayer money shouldn’t replace the role of the market in ensuring what’s best for consumers, nor should it be used to line the pockets of real estate executives, developers and their law firms. Combined there are few public benefits on the amount of subsidies they receive.

If the Town is to improve, we need to rid the well-cultivated campaign system Mr Feiner has built of patronizing willfully ignorant voters. If a candidate can run unopposed garnering 10,000 votes, how can we ever expect to inject new ideas and better execution of more diverse programs into our Town? These same 10,000 voters, whom we believe executed their right to vote, need to become more learned as to Mr Feiner’s, his Town Board’s and our Town’s crafty manipulations of a broken system. Only then will they see the duplicity, lies, and back-room deals our stalwart G10 have come to decry bimonthly.

Term limits would be a long overdue benefit for the costly and sometimes extreme mismanagement of our Town. Arguments pro and con regarding term limits are futile. Yes, we will lose some good politicians when they are term limited out of office. Yet the system would also ensure bad politicians be shown the door before they can wreak too much havoc on the beauty of our Town and its finances. Our house of cards is wobbling and soon to collapse. What then? Will we return to our traditional yearly double-digit tax increases?

Variety beyond single party rule, regardless of which party it may be, would also contribute to a healthier decision making process and an infusion of fresh ideas beyond the fungus producing decisions to which we have been subjected. Tax increases every year, disguised as being within an arbitrary tax-cap that ultimately is not being adhered to through verbal chicanery, are open proof of why a change is needed. It’s as if Mr Feiner believes as long as he can say he has stayed within the NYS 2% tax cap, all is well. It’s not.

Open government, and dare we say good government, should be the goal of every resident, Town employee and elected official. Only then will be rid of illegal GameOn 365-like back room deals. As Mr Feiner struggles to maintain his upper hand in gifting the property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road to his favored beneficiary, public diligence and a lawsuit crippled his blatant disregard for the law. But its not enough. It’s time to seek and deliver a major change to the Town Board, it’s decision-making policies and integrity. Only then will we start to see A Better Greenburgh.