Edgemont Destiny

The evening started out as a contentious one when it was advertised to be simply one of discussion. Upon our arrival at approximately 7PM, we found Mr Feiner already engaged in conversation with another attendee regarding the Edgemont Incorporation. It was then that Karen Kelly, one of the organizers, asked him to stop “politicking”. Mr Feiner claimed he had a right to speak to whomever he pleases. She loudly told him that this was not his meeting, it was a Hartsdale residents’ meeting and he would be given a chance to speak. He shouted back that he had a first amendment right to free speech and she said he should respect that this was their meeting not his. At this point, Police Chief McNerney intervened and tried to diffuse the situation. It would have been more cordial of Mr Feiner to have respected her wishes and the organization and stepped outside to have a private conversation.

The meeting began late as the members of the Hartsdale Neighbors group that organized it scrambled to find and set up more chairs as the growing audience eventually exceeded 100 people. Three members of the Hartsdale group ran the meeting. Dan Weinfeld first explained the ground rules: this was not a night for political discussion, it was not about attacking the Edgemont group seeking incorporation and that everyone should remain civil to each other. It was an informational session. Mr Feiner would be given five minutes at the end to make a statement, as would Edgemont Incorporation member Jeff Sherwin. You may recall that Mr Sherwin made two unsuccessful attempts the previous week to deliver the incorporation petition signatures and the $6,000 filing fee to Town Hall, being told that the only person allowed to receive them was Mr Feiner - who was on vacation!

No other Town Board members were in attendance, although Town Attorney Tim Lewis and Town Clerk Judith Beville were there. There were several police officers whether on duty or as community members, one of whom asked legitimate questions. The standing room only audience remained mostly quiet, respectful of any speakers, only occasionally asking them to speak louder as there was no microphone or amplification available.

Mr Dan Weinfeld gave a brief video presentation explaining the makeup of the Town’s Unincorporated sections of Greenburgh, focusing primarily on the Hartsdale and Fairview sections of the Town. He explained the makeup of the river town villages, including Ardsley and Elmsford, populations of both the Villages and the Unincorporated Town, and the services used by all. It was a very encompassing presentation and well-received. During his presentation, Mr Weinfeld stressed that all of this information is on their website (www.hartsdaleneighbors.org) or on the Edgemont Incorporation site (www.edgemont2017.org).

After Mr Weinfeld concluded his portion of the presentation, Mr Luis Polit presented a breakdown of the financial facts of what is currently being collected in revenue to the Town, Edgemont’s portion of it and the projected changes should Edgemont incorporate and become the Town’s 7^th village. Once he concluded, another of the citizen organizers, Jason Muldoon, stepped in and explained that Mr Feiner and Mr Sherwin would be speaking next, reiterating that this is not a political discussion. He also did a quick show of hands to see how people found out about this meeting. Clearly most were there through Mr Feiner’s GBList email notifications. 

He then offered Mr Feiner five minutes to speak. He addressed the crowded room by giving an example of a Village that had incorporated in 2010 without stating it was Mastic Beach. He then proceeded to either find fault with the Edgemont incorporation or say why it wouldn’t work. As is often the case, Mr Feiner deflected away from the topic at hand, changing his story, only to refer to his sheet of talking points to return to his reasons why the Edgemont incorporation was not going to work. After five minutes, Mr Muldoon cut Mr Feiner off, stating his five minutes were up – a bittersweet moment for those who attend Town Board meetings and are only given minutes to discuss anything in front of his Board.

Mr Sherwin was the last speaker who took the opportunity to quickly debunk Mr Feiner’s example of Mastic Beach, which had incorporated and then several years later voted to undo the incorporation. Mr Sherwin pointed out that it was not a fair or accurate comparison as the population of Mastic Beach was 12.8 thousand versus Edgemont’s 7,300 and the disparity in revenues was equally different. Mr Feiner often relies on incorrect information for shock value and doesn’t often encounter immediate and correct informational challenges.
 
Mr Sherwin proceeded to read a prepared statement, thanking the Hartsdale and Unincorporated residents for allowing him the opportunity to speak. He mentioned that like the Hartsdale group, they were just a group of citizen volunteers seeking to control their community’s destiny as the Town has not worked with them multiple times, citing the Dromore Road and Shelbourne projects as two recent and drawn out examples. The focus was also not as much about saving money for Edgemont taxpayers, although that would be a benefit based on their calculations, but about their destiny, zoning and development considerations.

Once the speakers concluded, Mr Muldoon opened the floor to questions. Many of the residents seemed to focus on information as to how they would be affected financially, through tax increases and personnel cuts should incorporation move forward. One gentlemen, who is obviously one of Mr Feiner’s supporters began to raise political points and was quickly shut down. One woman asked Mr Feiner if this information was on the Town website. Mr Feiner did not directly answer her and when pushed by others who followed up said he would have to discuss it with his Board. Mr Sherwin said that the information, feasibility study and more is on the EIC website as well as the Hartsdale Neighbors website. ABG would suggest in the interest of fairness that the Town at least publish a link on the Town’s website to these other two sites.

Occasionally, a question would arise that the Hartsdale members could not answer and they were very candid and simply said so. Mr Sherwin seemed well prepared with facts and figures and offered information numerous times without seeming to be adversarial or confrontational. It was a relief and pleasant to see both sides working together even though they have different interests and outcomes at heart. Also in attendance were several people who claimed to be from Edgemont who did not favor Edgemont incorporation, including Mr Hugh Schwartz, a Feiner appointed Planning Board member. And while they were able to make their points behind their rationale, it never became a tug of war between the two factions.

Several questions were directed at Mr Feiner, asking what contingencies the Town had planned should the incorporation move forward, as it was obviously doing? Mr Feiner stated that he sent an email and snail mail out to constituents asking for volunteers to serve on a Citizen Task Force to work with his Commissioners on this. Long-time Greenburgh Central School Board President Terry Williams asked why the Town was not hiring professionals to address this. He said that that may be the Task Force’s recommendation and direction they go. Several followed up on that and asked why something wasn’t done sooner. Mr Feiner ultimately fell back to his position that he didn’t believe the incorporation would happen but never gave an tangible answer. 

In the end, this will be decided by only Edgemont residents in the Town who can vote for incorporation. Many believe Mr Feiner will increase his email blasts and snail mail mailings to thwart the EIC's efforts all on the taxpayer dime. Regardless, it promises to be an interesting ride for the next several months. While we too are anxious about how the incorporation will financially impact the unincorporated Town, we applaud both groups for their respective efforts and civility. This is what helps to make A Better Greenburgh.