Saturday, March 31, 2018
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Abinanti Legislation Removes Greenburgh Residents Right To Vote - Again
There is no shame in politics. Mr Feiner proves that regularly. Now his Albany cohort and co-conspirator has re-introduced legislation hastily requested by Mr Feiner to remove the right of Greenburgh residents to vote should they desire to secede from the Town and incorporate as a village. This was brought about as Mr Feiner desperately tried to stop the Edgemont Incorporation Council (EIC) from succeeding.
At first, Mr Feiner played down the movement, believing it would never gain any traction. But this was big news and the lifetime supervisor was caught off guard as momentum and interest swelled. Mr Feiner wasn’t the only one against the incorporation. His Town board was most likely instructed by him to be against it as well, however Ken Jones was the only one who would speak openly against it.
When pushed at several community meetings as to why the Town leaders were not sitting down with the incorporation leaders to discuss contingency plans and the possible charging for services as presented by the incorporation proponents, Mr Feiner continued to say he didn’t believe the referendum would go through, should it come to that. He was convinced there would be no incorporation!
Next he took it upon himself to illegally hire a judge to be his scapegoat under the guise of providing advice on the ballot petition signatures to the tune of an unauthorized $50,000! His Town Board would later push through another $50,000 for the judge. On behalf of Mr Feiner, the judge engaged private investigators to go out into the Edgemont neighborhood with a new petition to get the incorporation petition signatories to sign which would unknowingly invalidate their original incorporation petition signatures! You can’t even find these kind of corruption twists in Hollywood!
Once exposed by a pro-incorporation resident’s home security/nanny-cam system, and the defecation began hitting the ventilation, Mr Feiner realized he could really lose this and decided to double-down. That’s when he reached out to his career politician friend, Assemblyman Abinanti* and asked him to push through legislation in Albany that would help him stop the incorporation. Probably a bit concerned about what he was being asked to do and his political future, Mr Abinanti was no doubt aware that former Town Councilwoman Sonya Brown had publicly stated at a Town Board meeting that Mr Feiner had told his running mates (her included) not to bother campaigning in Fairview because those residents were not intelligent. Could this come back to bite him? We’re sure if this did take place Mr Feiner instructed him not to worry and just do it.
So, once word on the street reached the Edgemont Incorporation Council (EIC), they decided to take a road trip to Albany. Once in Albany, they sought out Mr Abinanti who refused to meet with them! Phone calls and emails to other legislators were enough to slow the out-of-control Abinanti freight train from submitting the bill for a vote at one of the infamous 3AM votes. That bill, essentially the same as what’s being offered now, was to negatively affect Town of Greenburgh residents by taking away their right to vote for incorporation! Pressure mounted and the bill was withdrawn.
Like most diabolical plots hatched from the corner office, bad ideas and/or proposals don’t go away. Rather, they return repackaged as something different with the more objectionable portions sanitized and made to seem like a benefit to those about to get screwed. Such was the case with Mr Abinanti’s previous bill. First, while his original bill was Town of Greenburgh specific, the second one is for all Towns in New York State – with a voluntary “opt-in” by any Town government. Now, while most Towns throughout the state will not care about this, Mr Feiner will and will instruct his Town Board to opt-IN. So with a little massaging, one hurdle was eliminated. As an aside, no other legislator was willing to vote for the first iteration as most believe they shouldn’t be voting on what is considered Greenburgh’s home rule. Mr Abinanti obviously does not care about constituents, his own or those of other jurisdictions.
Next up in Mr Abinanti’s Eliminating Voter Right’s legislation are numerous roadblocks that force residents seeking to incorporate to perform numerous studies, which ironically the EIC had provided, among other requirements. But if one requirement is good, then two is better, and three is, well, you get the idea. The new bill is essentially the core of the hastily authored original bill. Although Mr Abinanti claims he is not attempting to affect the petition process or invalidate the Edgemont Incorporation Council petition, those in the trenches who have been following this entire process know this is too convoluted to believe. He has increased the number of steps, designed to wear-down those seeking incorporation, by putting numerous hurdles in the way.
Several requirement’s in the new bill are designed to make incorporation incredibly difficult and cumbersome for those seeking to incorporate. In the earlier version the Town Board would have had approval to authorize an incorporation referendum, under the guise of whether or not incorporation would have “significant impacts on the rest of the area.” This is blatantly specific to Edgemont! How do we know? It’s the argument Mr Feiner has been making all along about Edgemont's incorporation. Huh? Still don’t see the setup? We believe Mr Feiner concocted the elements of Mr Abinanti’s bill that he would need and began the argument before the introduction of the bill so when the bill passes at 3AM in Albany, he’ll be able to continue his argument against it and say, “No!” to the EIC.
This is similar to the sidewalk to no-where when the Stop and Shop on Rt 119 near the Marriott Hotel was proposed. No one understood why he was letting them build a sidewalk there, instead in front of the supermarket. Two years after the supermarket was built, he and his Board approved the Brightview Assisted Living facility to be built immediately behind the sidewalk. Who knew? Only Mr Feiner and his Boards...
Another requirement is that this updated version will change New York State law to include “group think,” providing the rest of a given town the ability to vote against a community’s incorporation. This is one of the key points Mr Feiner so desperately needs to thwart the Edgemont incorporation. Just like the referendum for the GameOn 365 “deal” that promised to hurt the Worthington Woodlands neighborhood should the referendum pass, Mr Feiner knew he could get his faithful followers to approve it – and they did.
So Mr Abinanti, well along into his professional career as a politician, also knows to mention certain buzzwords for those not in the know to think his concerns are genuine. He uses words like “fairest approach” and “require community impact statement.” This legal change, should it happen by June as he has planned is anything but fair. It takes away voting rights of some and allows them to be controlled by others. It heightens the argument in the book 1984. What’s next, meet us in the Ministry of Love’s Room 101?
This legislation is nothing but a blatant attempt by Messrs Feiner and Abinanti to help Mr Feiner get his way and stop the Edgemont incorporation. It is wrong. Both of these politicians are proof of why term limits are so necessary. It’s time for them to go. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
* Mr Abinanti had lived near the Fortress Bible Church property that was purchased by the church with hopes of building a school and church for their congregation. We believe once Mr Feiner was found guilty of discrimination against the church, lying under oath and destroying evidence in a Federal trial among other charges, Mr Abinanti tried to distance himself from this by relocating his home to Pleasantville and office in Tarrytown.
At first, Mr Feiner played down the movement, believing it would never gain any traction. But this was big news and the lifetime supervisor was caught off guard as momentum and interest swelled. Mr Feiner wasn’t the only one against the incorporation. His Town board was most likely instructed by him to be against it as well, however Ken Jones was the only one who would speak openly against it.
When pushed at several community meetings as to why the Town leaders were not sitting down with the incorporation leaders to discuss contingency plans and the possible charging for services as presented by the incorporation proponents, Mr Feiner continued to say he didn’t believe the referendum would go through, should it come to that. He was convinced there would be no incorporation!
Next he took it upon himself to illegally hire a judge to be his scapegoat under the guise of providing advice on the ballot petition signatures to the tune of an unauthorized $50,000! His Town Board would later push through another $50,000 for the judge. On behalf of Mr Feiner, the judge engaged private investigators to go out into the Edgemont neighborhood with a new petition to get the incorporation petition signatories to sign which would unknowingly invalidate their original incorporation petition signatures! You can’t even find these kind of corruption twists in Hollywood!
Once exposed by a pro-incorporation resident’s home security/nanny-cam system, and the defecation began hitting the ventilation, Mr Feiner realized he could really lose this and decided to double-down. That’s when he reached out to his career politician friend, Assemblyman Abinanti* and asked him to push through legislation in Albany that would help him stop the incorporation. Probably a bit concerned about what he was being asked to do and his political future, Mr Abinanti was no doubt aware that former Town Councilwoman Sonya Brown had publicly stated at a Town Board meeting that Mr Feiner had told his running mates (her included) not to bother campaigning in Fairview because those residents were not intelligent. Could this come back to bite him? We’re sure if this did take place Mr Feiner instructed him not to worry and just do it.
So, once word on the street reached the Edgemont Incorporation Council (EIC), they decided to take a road trip to Albany. Once in Albany, they sought out Mr Abinanti who refused to meet with them! Phone calls and emails to other legislators were enough to slow the out-of-control Abinanti freight train from submitting the bill for a vote at one of the infamous 3AM votes. That bill, essentially the same as what’s being offered now, was to negatively affect Town of Greenburgh residents by taking away their right to vote for incorporation! Pressure mounted and the bill was withdrawn.
Like most diabolical plots hatched from the corner office, bad ideas and/or proposals don’t go away. Rather, they return repackaged as something different with the more objectionable portions sanitized and made to seem like a benefit to those about to get screwed. Such was the case with Mr Abinanti’s previous bill. First, while his original bill was Town of Greenburgh specific, the second one is for all Towns in New York State – with a voluntary “opt-in” by any Town government. Now, while most Towns throughout the state will not care about this, Mr Feiner will and will instruct his Town Board to opt-IN. So with a little massaging, one hurdle was eliminated. As an aside, no other legislator was willing to vote for the first iteration as most believe they shouldn’t be voting on what is considered Greenburgh’s home rule. Mr Abinanti obviously does not care about constituents, his own or those of other jurisdictions.
Next up in Mr Abinanti’s Eliminating Voter Right’s legislation are numerous roadblocks that force residents seeking to incorporate to perform numerous studies, which ironically the EIC had provided, among other requirements. But if one requirement is good, then two is better, and three is, well, you get the idea. The new bill is essentially the core of the hastily authored original bill. Although Mr Abinanti claims he is not attempting to affect the petition process or invalidate the Edgemont Incorporation Council petition, those in the trenches who have been following this entire process know this is too convoluted to believe. He has increased the number of steps, designed to wear-down those seeking incorporation, by putting numerous hurdles in the way.
Several requirement’s in the new bill are designed to make incorporation incredibly difficult and cumbersome for those seeking to incorporate. In the earlier version the Town Board would have had approval to authorize an incorporation referendum, under the guise of whether or not incorporation would have “significant impacts on the rest of the area.” This is blatantly specific to Edgemont! How do we know? It’s the argument Mr Feiner has been making all along about Edgemont's incorporation. Huh? Still don’t see the setup? We believe Mr Feiner concocted the elements of Mr Abinanti’s bill that he would need and began the argument before the introduction of the bill so when the bill passes at 3AM in Albany, he’ll be able to continue his argument against it and say, “No!” to the EIC.
This is similar to the sidewalk to no-where when the Stop and Shop on Rt 119 near the Marriott Hotel was proposed. No one understood why he was letting them build a sidewalk there, instead in front of the supermarket. Two years after the supermarket was built, he and his Board approved the Brightview Assisted Living facility to be built immediately behind the sidewalk. Who knew? Only Mr Feiner and his Boards...
Another requirement is that this updated version will change New York State law to include “group think,” providing the rest of a given town the ability to vote against a community’s incorporation. This is one of the key points Mr Feiner so desperately needs to thwart the Edgemont incorporation. Just like the referendum for the GameOn 365 “deal” that promised to hurt the Worthington Woodlands neighborhood should the referendum pass, Mr Feiner knew he could get his faithful followers to approve it – and they did.
So Mr Abinanti, well along into his professional career as a politician, also knows to mention certain buzzwords for those not in the know to think his concerns are genuine. He uses words like “fairest approach” and “require community impact statement.” This legal change, should it happen by June as he has planned is anything but fair. It takes away voting rights of some and allows them to be controlled by others. It heightens the argument in the book 1984. What’s next, meet us in the Ministry of Love’s Room 101?
This legislation is nothing but a blatant attempt by Messrs Feiner and Abinanti to help Mr Feiner get his way and stop the Edgemont incorporation. It is wrong. Both of these politicians are proof of why term limits are so necessary. It’s time for them to go. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
* Mr Abinanti had lived near the Fortress Bible Church property that was purchased by the church with hopes of building a school and church for their congregation. We believe once Mr Feiner was found guilty of discrimination against the church, lying under oath and destroying evidence in a Federal trial among other charges, Mr Abinanti tried to distance himself from this by relocating his home to Pleasantville and office in Tarrytown.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
A Utility Worker, A Meteorologist and a Politician Walk Into A Bar
Sure, the headline is a take on how
most jokes used to start before political correctness hijacked our ability to
laugh at ourselves, considering us insensitive should we tell one.
But this time, it isn’t really a laughing matter. All we have heard for the
last week are sensational claims that the fourth nor’easter was headed our way.
Many businesses that can have their employees working from home are doing so. Those that cannot work from home and must report to work to get paid will lose a day’s pay because their employer has closed as the doomsday predictions have been so incredibly hyped. All schools in the area were closed in anticipation of the snowmageddon. Of course, we do it for the kids.
Many businesses that can have their employees working from home are doing so. Those that cannot work from home and must report to work to get paid will lose a day’s pay because their employer has closed as the doomsday predictions have been so incredibly hyped. All schools in the area were closed in anticipation of the snowmageddon. Of course, we do it for the kids.
In general, we are thankful that we
can go to sleep knowing what the weather holds in store for us the following
day. We can get the kids off to school properly dressed as well as ourselves.
We know to bring an umbrella even though it might not be raining as we leave
for our respective destinations. Yet in spite of any fore-warnings we may
receive, it should be incumbent on those proffering the information to not
over-hype it. In this age of 24-7-365 information overload, it seems that every
media outlet makes what we used to simply experience as a snow storm into a
state-of-emergency event.
As we sit perched atop the hill in
the ABG office, we believed we were going to get clobbered at approximately 1PM
when the snow's intensity appeared to be growing. Maybe the forecasters were
correct after all? We decided to close at 2PM and go our separate ways.
Everyone made it home without incident as the roads had little traffic and mostly
covered with slush. One person joked, “This just in… there is 1-3” of rock salt
on the roadways. Please stay inside and off the roads for your own protection…”
Yes, it was humorous in a sarcastic way, but it highlighted what was going on
and a bigger problem down the line.
Once the media pundits begin to
make the lead story the impending weather and then make it a perpetual story
for each of their newscasts, including the scrolling banner on the bottom of
your TV screen and the interruptions of the shows you are watching, they’ve
become part of the problem and part of the news they should only be reporting. We’ve also seen every politician come out and add
to the hysteria. The governor has declared a state of emergency and the Town is
closing early under the better safe than sorry mantra – which does make sense.
So what’s the problem?
The public is getting weary of the
weather-related hype to the point where they’re starting to ignore the real information.
That’s the real problem. We saw it during Hurricane Katrina when the populace were
told to evacuate. Reporter after reporter would interview residents who
insisted they would stay and ride or tough it out as they’ve been through this
before and everyone is just trying to make news. With traffic jams and limited
roadways, a shortage of fuel, seniors with the inability to relocate and more,
it’s understandable why staying put may have made some sense to them. But as
more and more people come to realize these storms as reported are not coming to fruition, people will
continue to adopt a wait and see attitude or worse – they’ll ignore it. And,
while it’s an understandable reaction, it could be deadly.
Our suggestion is to weigh the
information as objectively as possible. Go online, watch television and listen
to the radio. You can even check out the National Weather Service and get
weather information that may not be local but will show the storms, their
projected paths and what we can expect. All of the media forecasters are
watching it too! Then watch the local news and listen to the area radio
stations. With all of that information, you can make an informed decision. If the police department and various levels of government officials are saying to do something, pay attention to that too. Obviously, if you have kids, your decisions could very well be different.
Either way, sift through the hype and make better choices for your own safety.
It will make for A Better Greenburgh.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Snow Clearing Operations
While our local Snow Ordinance ended on March 15th, we are asking for the public’s assistance during this upcoming late season snow storm. Snow is expected to start during tonight’s overnight hours and continue until approximately11:00pm Wednesday night. Please make all efforts to keep cars off town roads to expedite snow clearing operations. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Respectfully,
Chief Chris McNerney
Chief of Police
Town of Greenburgh Police Department
(914)989-1740
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Beware of ESCO Scam Mailing
With all of the junk mail the post office delivers on a daily basis, it’s easy to get it confused with legitimate mail. Couple that with scammers, identity thieves and the like, it’s no wonder that some people are easily duped. Mr Feiner has continually railed against the postal service for poor service and spotty mail delivery, but as a government entity, can we really expect a change? This is more an example of the pot calling the kettle black.
Regardless, a new mailing found it’s way into our offices from a company called North American Power of Norwalk, Connecticut. Make no mistake about it, this is a solicitation from an ESCO trying to sign up unwitting residents to use them as your power supplier with a confusing and official looking document.
Regardless, a new mailing found it’s way into our offices from a company called North American Power of Norwalk, Connecticut. Make no mistake about it, this is a solicitation from an ESCO trying to sign up unwitting residents to use them as your power supplier with a confusing and official looking document.
Notice there are several telltale issues with this very official looking document. First and foremost as you remove the paperwork from their envelope, the first thing you’ll see is CONEDISON CUSTOMERS: Please COMPLETE, SIGN and RETURN this Emrollment Consent Form/Terms of Service in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. This is nothing more than an attempt to fool ConEd customers into thinking this is official and from ConEd and to act immediately. YOU SHOULD NOT!
We have previously written about ESCO's and especially the ESCO that Mr Feiner got into bed with here in the Town of Greenburgh, Sustainable Westchester (ESCO). Mr Feiner and his Town Board enrolled all 90,000+ residents into it without their authorization or approval. Next, he and his Board passed a law forcing ConEd, most likely your current supplier, to release your information to this group of lawyers. Finally, after extensive studying of ESCO’s elsewhere, it was proven that the savings are minuscule at best, if at all.
You are certainly free to choose who you wish your energy supplier to be, whether it’s ConEd or someone else. Keep in mind though that ESCO's are not providing you with the energy itself, but the transmission of it. You’ll still be paying ConEd for your energy and now another company for the transmission of it. If you look on your current energy suppliers bill, you’ll see the transmission rate and your cost. It’s usually only a couple of dollars at most and sometimes only manages to be pennies. And, once you sign in, you cannot easily or inexpensively opt-out. Another ploy they’ll use is to tell you they are using “green” energy. That too is difficult to validate and worth further investigation.
Do what you will, but we are simply providing a caveat emptor for those who may not be aware of what ESCO’s are about or trying to do. We just want you to be informed. It will make for A Better Greenburgh.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Storm Highlights Frustrations
It seems that every politician is trying to grab more and more headlines during the two most recent storms. Newly elected County Executive George Latimer has had numerous television clips showing him basically yelling into the phone at ConEd executives. Anyone who has gone to and had to deal with the Town Board at a meeting will certainly empathize with his level of frustration. These first 100-year storms and now 500-year storms seem to be happening every year, often several times in one year. But why? There is no easy answer to this unless you are a politician. Of course, it’s climate change – or is it?
In Mr Feiner’s most recent email blast, he says:
“I'm very aggravated. Thought and hoped that everyone would have their power back yesterday as Con Ed promised earlier in the week. Was wrong. Although many residents did contact me--delighted that their power was restored sometime yesterday, others are still out. As of 9 AM there were 338 homes in Greenburgh out of power, down from over 1000 at some points yesterday. Last week there were over 4,000 outages. Con Ed has not been notifying local officials from anywhere in the county what streets they are going to next. We can yell, scream, beg them to help. We can highlight hard luck stories. Sometimes they listen. They also have not always responded to some of our requests. Every municipal official I speak with from other communities has shared similar stories. And some communities are worst off --have more outages.” Now he is starting to know how residents feel whenever we’re trying to get answers from him and his Board!
Mr Feiner has also gone to great lengths to highlight some of those without power or the resources to be able to leave for a stay with relatives, friends or simply a hotel. We truly sympathize with those people without power and with damage to their homes. Oddly, the hotels in our area are all rather expensive, now including a new 3% room tax that Mr Feiner and his Board, along with Assemblyman Abinanti and Senator Stewart-Cousins could not wait to impose on guests. Their claim was that this would not cost residents because they, ahem, don’t rent rooms in Greenburgh. How’s that working out now? Karma.
After the storm always seems to be a political free-for-all to see who can beat up the big bad utilities for not doing something right, not doing anything at all or not doing enough. One way or the other the news media will jump at each one of their attempts to point fingers and replay it incessantly. The utilities are Public Service organizations, regulated by what must seem like billions of regulations put in place by, yes, politicians. This seems to be a sort of Catch-22. One thing the politicians never do is to blame themselves!
Mr Latimer, while new in the County Executive position was a County Legislator, Assemblyman and Senator before assuming this new position. So none of this is new to him, and he has not done much in his previous positions to alleviate any of these difficulties. He remains culpable to a degree and should not get a pass because he’s in a new position. Mr Feiner on the other hand, has been in office even longer and actually exacerbated the problem.
After Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, the Fulton Park Civic Association leaders met with Commissioner Victor Carosi and Richard Fon about trying to get the trees in the area trimmed to prevent further trees from coming down and taking out wires. To their credit, and the efforts of many, a good number of problematic trees were taken down. Because of that effort, no trees have come down onto wires, causing any power outages in that corridor. This type of maintenance needs to happen regularly. Mr Feiner, while always happy to talk about issues, is also very unwilling to take action – unless of course he can get publicity from it. Instead of focusing on the 2% tax cap – which isn’t really followed anyway, Mr Feiner should focus on spending some money on maintenance for the taxpayers well being, instead of $6.5 million fines from guilty verdicts as with the Fortress Bible Discrimination case.
Indirectly, however, Mr Feiner has had trees removed by authorizing all of the overdevelopment throughout the Town. Yes, hundreds and maybe even thousands of trees and pervious space have been removed or will be removed to permit zone-busting, oversized and inappropriate buildings wherever a developer asks for it. The latest will be the former Elmwood Country Club, which succumbed to a falling membership and sold the property to a developer seeking to alter the property’s zoning to create 175 townhouses.
Each time we create more impervious space through these types of construction projects, the remaining permeable spaces wind up getting abnormally inundated with water. As the area saturates more and more, to the point of over-saturation, the soil’s stability is undermined and the trees, usually the older, taller and heavier ones come down. Maintenance of the large trees, as well as a reduction of these over-sized projects and a stricter adherence to our zoning and building codes would surely help.
Several years ago, after Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, Mr Feiner lied to a flood ravaged resident on Old Kensico Road that F.E.M.A. would purchase their home to help them get “out from under”, that resident learned an inconvenient truth: Mr Feiner will say anything without regard to whether it is true or not! Regardless, yesterday Mr Feiner sent out another Feiner email blast that Town employees had finished clearing the trees off of all roadways. Yesterday. Why is that important? Because the utility workers were often unable to access their power equipment until the Town cleared a way for them to get in and operate safely. So, while we feel bad for those residents who have been suffering without power, there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with Mr Feiner’s and his administration.
We will continue to get more severe storms such as this. Mother Nature, while full of surprises, can afford some predictability that will allow us to be better prepared. First, we must dredge the Bronx and Saw Mill Rivers to help storm water flow unencumbered. Second, we must have a tree trimming initiative that operates all of the time, not just when it’s convenient for a TV sound byte. Third, any new construction should mandate underground wiring. Fourth, Mr Feiner needs to operate during storms at the County’s Emergency Command Facility in Hawthorne. That’s where government leaders, utility leaders, police, fire and other heads of organizations operate from during an emergency. Why does this make sense? Because Mr Feiner could simply turn to the head of ConEd and ask direct questions and get direct answers.
There are other things that need improvement such as our sorely neglected infrastructure. How this Town operates is woefully inefficient and it shows up painfully for the abused and beleaguered taxpayers time and time again, especially highlighted during storms. This has to change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
In Mr Feiner’s most recent email blast, he says:
“I'm very aggravated. Thought and hoped that everyone would have their power back yesterday as Con Ed promised earlier in the week. Was wrong. Although many residents did contact me--delighted that their power was restored sometime yesterday, others are still out. As of 9 AM there were 338 homes in Greenburgh out of power, down from over 1000 at some points yesterday. Last week there were over 4,000 outages. Con Ed has not been notifying local officials from anywhere in the county what streets they are going to next. We can yell, scream, beg them to help. We can highlight hard luck stories. Sometimes they listen. They also have not always responded to some of our requests. Every municipal official I speak with from other communities has shared similar stories. And some communities are worst off --have more outages.” Now he is starting to know how residents feel whenever we’re trying to get answers from him and his Board!
Mr Feiner has also gone to great lengths to highlight some of those without power or the resources to be able to leave for a stay with relatives, friends or simply a hotel. We truly sympathize with those people without power and with damage to their homes. Oddly, the hotels in our area are all rather expensive, now including a new 3% room tax that Mr Feiner and his Board, along with Assemblyman Abinanti and Senator Stewart-Cousins could not wait to impose on guests. Their claim was that this would not cost residents because they, ahem, don’t rent rooms in Greenburgh. How’s that working out now? Karma.
After the storm always seems to be a political free-for-all to see who can beat up the big bad utilities for not doing something right, not doing anything at all or not doing enough. One way or the other the news media will jump at each one of their attempts to point fingers and replay it incessantly. The utilities are Public Service organizations, regulated by what must seem like billions of regulations put in place by, yes, politicians. This seems to be a sort of Catch-22. One thing the politicians never do is to blame themselves!
Mr Latimer, while new in the County Executive position was a County Legislator, Assemblyman and Senator before assuming this new position. So none of this is new to him, and he has not done much in his previous positions to alleviate any of these difficulties. He remains culpable to a degree and should not get a pass because he’s in a new position. Mr Feiner on the other hand, has been in office even longer and actually exacerbated the problem.
After Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, the Fulton Park Civic Association leaders met with Commissioner Victor Carosi and Richard Fon about trying to get the trees in the area trimmed to prevent further trees from coming down and taking out wires. To their credit, and the efforts of many, a good number of problematic trees were taken down. Because of that effort, no trees have come down onto wires, causing any power outages in that corridor. This type of maintenance needs to happen regularly. Mr Feiner, while always happy to talk about issues, is also very unwilling to take action – unless of course he can get publicity from it. Instead of focusing on the 2% tax cap – which isn’t really followed anyway, Mr Feiner should focus on spending some money on maintenance for the taxpayers well being, instead of $6.5 million fines from guilty verdicts as with the Fortress Bible Discrimination case.
Indirectly, however, Mr Feiner has had trees removed by authorizing all of the overdevelopment throughout the Town. Yes, hundreds and maybe even thousands of trees and pervious space have been removed or will be removed to permit zone-busting, oversized and inappropriate buildings wherever a developer asks for it. The latest will be the former Elmwood Country Club, which succumbed to a falling membership and sold the property to a developer seeking to alter the property’s zoning to create 175 townhouses.
Each time we create more impervious space through these types of construction projects, the remaining permeable spaces wind up getting abnormally inundated with water. As the area saturates more and more, to the point of over-saturation, the soil’s stability is undermined and the trees, usually the older, taller and heavier ones come down. Maintenance of the large trees, as well as a reduction of these over-sized projects and a stricter adherence to our zoning and building codes would surely help.
Several years ago, after Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, Mr Feiner lied to a flood ravaged resident on Old Kensico Road that F.E.M.A. would purchase their home to help them get “out from under”, that resident learned an inconvenient truth: Mr Feiner will say anything without regard to whether it is true or not! Regardless, yesterday Mr Feiner sent out another Feiner email blast that Town employees had finished clearing the trees off of all roadways. Yesterday. Why is that important? Because the utility workers were often unable to access their power equipment until the Town cleared a way for them to get in and operate safely. So, while we feel bad for those residents who have been suffering without power, there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with Mr Feiner’s and his administration.
We will continue to get more severe storms such as this. Mother Nature, while full of surprises, can afford some predictability that will allow us to be better prepared. First, we must dredge the Bronx and Saw Mill Rivers to help storm water flow unencumbered. Second, we must have a tree trimming initiative that operates all of the time, not just when it’s convenient for a TV sound byte. Third, any new construction should mandate underground wiring. Fourth, Mr Feiner needs to operate during storms at the County’s Emergency Command Facility in Hawthorne. That’s where government leaders, utility leaders, police, fire and other heads of organizations operate from during an emergency. Why does this make sense? Because Mr Feiner could simply turn to the head of ConEd and ask direct questions and get direct answers.
There are other things that need improvement such as our sorely neglected infrastructure. How this Town operates is woefully inefficient and it shows up painfully for the abused and beleaguered taxpayers time and time again, especially highlighted during storms. This has to change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
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