Today, Thursday, will see the new Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen’s soft opening in the Staples Shopping Center at East Main Street and Knollwood Rd, in Elmsford. A soft opening is their terminology to basically have a practice run before they officially open. So, now there will be two eateries in this shopping center, Popeye’s and the Bamboo Garden restaurants. Stop by and check them out.
Tuesday, December 8th.
Good afternoon,
Greenburgh CSD Civic Associations Meeting at 4 pm:
 | Greenburgh Central School District 475 West Hartsdale Avenue, Hartsdale NY 10530 T: 914.761.6000     |
Please help the Greenburgh Central School Board with their Superintendent survey
Greenburgh School Board President Darden-Cintron requested that we circulate a community survey that the School Board is taking regarding their superintendent search process. If you reside in the Greenburgh School district please respond.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY HOUSEHOLD RECYCLING DAY EVENT
We posted an article regarding the Greenburgh Central School Districts' Board of Education and their vote to let Superintendent Tahira Chase's contract expire in 2021 and not extend/renew it. Superintendent Tahira Chase championed the schools campus consolidation bond that was voted down 2 to 1 against the plan. That plan was originally said to have a price tag of $114.9 million dollars. After some investigative work, we learned that the cost would be almost double the promised amount after you added in the bond's interest. When residents questioned Superintendent Chase and the School Board about the final numbers, she insisted on that the cost was only going to be $114.9 million dollars. She neglected to add the interest which would have increased the overall project to beyond $200 million dollars! Imagine with everything going on in our Covid 19 world what would have happened had this gone through?
Proposing the $114.9 million dollars plus interest of debt to build new school buildings was publicly spearheaded by Superintendent Chase, Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary O’Neill, David Warner and Trustee Terry Williams. In fact, as we recall, during one of those meetings, Superintendent Chase made light of one of the questions raised by mockingly having a back-and-forth with Ms O'Neil. "Ms O'Neil, someone said the bond is going to cost more than $114 million dollars. Is that true?" "I don't know where they would have gotten that idea?" "So, it isn't true?" "No." In actuality the cost is $114.9 million dollars plus the unmentioned interest, again over $200 million dollars!
Now that the Superintendent's contract has been voted upon not to renew or extend, we've learned that Ms O'Neil has decided to resign her rather lucrative position from the Administration. In fact, we saw it on the agenda for this Wednesday night's meeting (below).
We acknowledge that anyone can quit a job whenever they feel like it, but the optics of this resignation come at an interesting juncture with this failed administration. The School Board appears to finally be doing something to improve what has been the inept management of the Chase administration and then suddenly Ms O'Neil decides to leave.
Some of the Administrations failures include the consolidation effort at a cost of roughly $700,000, along with spending about $270,000 for all of the moves from the Mansion to the other various schools. The premature evacuation of the Early Childhood Program from the mansion as well as concurrently contacting the media that the building was structurally unsound and needed to be evacuated immediately without engaging the Board is also troubling. She initiated a suite of offices be constructed almost immediately for her staff in the Woodlands High School, while the administration personnel continued to work in the Mansion (for another month) and the maintenance department continues working out of the mansion to this day! Roughly speaking, she wasted nearly one million desperately needed dollars that could have been used for building repairs, hiring teachers, resource officers, student programs and more.
With the sudden resignation of Mary O'Neil, we believe a full and thorough forensic audit is needed of the district and this administration to ensure that all monies are where they are supposed to be, have not been spent or misappropriated and that expenditures, bids and services are all being billed and paid for correctly. Until both Superintendent Chase and Assistant Superintendent of Business O'Neil actually leave their positions, they owe it to the district to fulfill the remainder of their time in a professional and forthright manor. Anything less would be a theft of services. It's the only way we can get A Better Greenburgh School District.
In a recent front page article in the only daily newspaper left in the region, Mr Feiner was front page, below the fold, patronizing the youngster writing the article entitled, Crisis For Every Downtown Area. His photo is in front of a vacant store front in the Hartsdale Four-Corners (4-C). While disingenuous at best, Mr Feiner feigns lamenting about this “hub” for small business. In his almost thirty years as Supervisor, he never gave this hub a second thought. Then, with the advent of the Hartsdale Neighbors Association, and a groundswell of support for the Edgemont Incorporation, and even talk of a Hartsdale Incorporation, he knew he had to do something.
Mr Feiner’s playbook for action includes a litany of faux-action points: write a letter to another politician telling them they must act on this on behalf of their constituents, pit neighbors against each other, ignore and say nothing, hoping the issue either resolves itself, goes away, the complainant moves or dies, and/or he appoints a citizen committee or student intern group to address it. The latter usually being his most effective after completing the letter writing grandstanding. After all, who wants to pick on high school kids?
He’s quoted as saying, “It’s very upsetting and aggravating.” We’re not sure if he meant the vacancies or the action taken by others to remedy the Four Corners’ issues, making him appear to be doing nothing. Specifically, there is a business in that area that did a study bemoaning what's wrong with the area and presented it to Mr Feiner and the Hartsdale Neighbors Association. So to again feign concern, Mr Feiner had his Board vote to spend $400,000 to purchase two uninhabitable houses on West Hartsdale Avenue behind the Dairy Del deli. The excuse proffered was to develop it into a parking lot which would be monitored and maintained by the Hartsdale Parking Authority.
Even with the wasted expenditure of $400,000 and the additional cost involved in the destruction of the two homes, construction of anything within the Four Corners immediate proximity must first be approved by the New York State Department of Transportation. The reason is that Central Park Avenue and Hartsdale Avenue, east and west, are DOT governed roadways. Regardless of the ownership, Mr Feiner is bereft of any plausible or workable ideas for the area as he has been these past 30 years during his unprecedented and mostly inept tenure. You can start to see why term limits are so necessary.
With a recently completed and presented study of the area, a small company who would benefit from several of their suggestions is Inspired Places. While we can debate the merits of it, the study has provided Mr Feiner with talking points that will eventually prove useless. In the article, Greenburgh officials claim to have already been worried about For Lease and For Rent signs before the Covid 19 pandemic. Really? We find it hard to believe as they only seemed to became interested when rumors of a Hartsdale incorporation began to circulate.
What’s also interesting is that Town officials parrot the same canned responses that the internet killed retail. Yet when we talk to business owners, specifically ones in retail, the successful ones are offering a higher level of customer support and interaction with the same goods and services that they've always offered and even increased. Luke Tancredi, the owner of Crank Cycles on North Central Avenue, discussed how he opened his store on March 1st and that bikes “Were flying out the door.” We’re extremely happy for him and our community to have a bike shop that’s thriving. When we went in to purchase a bike with a neighbor, we learned that all of the bikes in his store were only there for repairs. He had run out of new bicycles to sell. Nor did he have any used bikes for sale. We wish him continued success.
When Public Sector officials try to rationalize retail and the private sector and tell the public what’s wrong in the private sector, the words fall on deaf ears. Ultimately, retail space suffers for several reasons that our elected politicians refuse to acknowledge. Instead, in typical Feiner-fashion, he’s proposing to waste more money by increasing personnel and hire an Economic Development Coordinator (EDC), enlisting residents and Generation Z-ers to find ways to “brand” their shops and restaurants. The glaring omission in this “logic” is that this does nothing to fill the vacancies that exist throughout the Town, not only the Four Corners.
Yes, someone can assist a business owner in applying for funds but those organizations giving those funds will also work with the applicant for their success. Yet we believe the current crop of business owners who are “making it work” are already ahead of that curve. And after they apply, what then for this EDC, their salary and benefits? We might favor this position if the EDC’s remuneration for instance, were tied to successfully filling vacant spaces for 2 years. 2 years? Yes, two, as most businesses fail in the first year.
The are several real issues that are typically ignored by the Public Sector know-it-alls as to what ails businesses and specifically retail. One is antiquated zoning, permits fees (a bonanza Greenburgh’s Building Dept. currently enjoys), registration fees, insurance bonds, etc., and that's before anyone even moves in. Sky-high rents and regulations abound. But why are they sky-high? Taxes. Last year saw Mr Feiner being embarrassed into a one year moratorium on tax increases after Supervisor candidate and challenger Lucas Cioffi promised a two-year moratorium on raising taxes! This year, however taxes have increased. Those increases are passed on to the renter (store owner) through their rent and are ultimately paid for by their customers. Lowing taxes could assist in breaking this cycle.
Another issue negatively and severely impacting this Hartsdale 4-C area is flooding. There is a Flood Committee for the County, chaired by County Legislator Alfreda Williams and the Town’s own Victor Carosi. Amazingly, they’ve never met after the committee was initially formed some four years ago and done nothing for their constituents! This entire time while we did not have any crippling water events would have been the perfect time to act. Politicians such as Mr Feiner love to come out during the storms and promise anything and everything to solve all of these issues “moving forward,” simply leave after the cameras are turned off. The issue in Hartsdale permeates the entire length of the Bronx River corridor and all of the residents along its way repeatedly get flooded. FEMA, a four letter word, only exacerbates the issue by offering extremely expensive and in some cases unaffordable flood insurance for those residents in the corridor with miserly claims payout and ridiculous deductibles.
These areas never used to flood like they do now and many of these people had never got flooded even during severe storms. It’s only after all of the communities along the corridor began building and creating more and more impervious spaces that people began to get flooded. Why? Because the politicians approved all of the developments (some say over development) and channeled storm water into the Bronx River. The explosive rate of building coupled with a lack of storm water management and infrastructure improvement has proven a recipe for disaster. But what can be done?
First, our representatives must actually act and not spew the useless rhetoric of the past. Second, the different communities must commit resources in a partnership to dredge, clean out and maybe even widen the river to improve water flow. Third, after that they need to provide routine maintenance to keep it clear of debris and flowing freely. Fourth, the County, who has most of the immediate ownership of the property, must assume its responsibility and work to get the river cleaned out as a partner with the river-bound communities. They can no longer sit back, collect their ridiculously high salaries while working families are struggling with sky-high taxes, and do nothing. The time to act is now, before the hurricanes, floods and other assorted storms depend upon us.
Perhaps Mr Feiner, instead of writing a letter to the County Executive, could actually spearhead an environmental impact crusade to save the Bronx River corridor and help to alleviate those people’s pain?! And perhaps Ms Williams can intercede and get County execution to clear the hurdles of County government’s inaction?! People who get flooded are less concerned with politicians pushing bike lanes in densely trafficked areas and want real help.
After flooding is addressed, there needs to be an honest discussion and action by the Town on zoning that will control how land is use and/or be preserved, along with the integrity of our communities. Village and Town Boards must not capitulate to developers because they seek tax monies. Many of these developers are utilizing grants and low interest loans with little of their own monies invested. This undercuts the community they seek to build in strictly for their bottom line, compromising our neighborhoods. Yes, they should be allowed to build within the constricts of our zoning laws, but not at our neighbood’s expense. Zoning laws are in place for numerous reasons to help communities thrive, not just developers. This abuse has to stop. Finally, Mr Feiner needs to sit down with the DOT and develop a workable plan for improving numerous failures of our combined roadways. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
To everyone observing Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, I would like to wish you a meaningful and easy fast – Tzom Kal.
A Message to All:
Village Hall is happy to announce once again a major film production had chosen Elmsford to film some scenes.
"The Flight Attendant" is going to be filming here in Elmsford.
Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Michelle Gomez, Michiel Huisman, Colin Woodell, Rosie Perez, Zosia Mamet, Merle Dandridge, Griffin Matthews, T.R. Knight
They will be filming on Monday September 21, 2020 - 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
They will be filming at the Motel 6 located at 19 West Main Street, Elmsford.
Produced by: Norman Productions, Berlanti Productions, Warner Brothers Television.
Gerard "Rod" O'Shea
Edgemont - Gerard "Rod" O'Shea died September 9, his 53rd anniversary, at his second home, from complications attributed to Myasthenia Gravis.We wish our Jewish brothers and sisters Shana Tova and hope the millions observing this sacred day in America and around the world have a blessed start to the High Holy Days.
The last five years in the Greenburgh Central School District (GCSD) have been extremely tumultuous under the failed leadership of Superintendent Tahira Chase. She was hired to replace her boss, Superintendent Ronald O Ross, after charges of racism, harassment and abuse forced his termination. It appears that Trustee Terry Williams intervened to help Superintendent Chase be recommended to the professional search firm hired by the Board. There may have been others participating as well. Superintendent Chase then pulled her ex-mentor out of retirement and hired him as our as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. All this set the stage for five years of “lipstick on a pig” programs and numerous sideshows, such as the Mansion “emergency” evacuation in August of 2019. Meanwhile, our buildings continued to crumble and our kids’ performance on standardized tests continued to be sub-standard.
Let us not forget that it was this Superintendent who also led a failed Consolidation Bond effort. The “Roadshow” to sell $200 million of debt to build new school buildings was publicly spearheaded by Superintendent Chase, Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary O’Neill, and Trustee Terry Williams. The resounding 2-to-1 defeat of the Consolidation Bond in 2019 awakened the stakeholder sleeping giant to send three very clear messages. First, running our school buildings into the ground and then asking for the largest bond in the history of Westchester County to build new ones is unacceptable. Second, student achievement should take precedence over new buildings and is a condition for stakeholder bond approvals. Third, the residents of GCSD are not interested in developing a brand or legacy for the Superintendent and a few long-serving Trustees!
The Board of Education election in 2019 brought two newcomers to the Board, Ashley Pineda and Tanya Dragic, finally ousting Lloyd Newman after 18 years on the Board. We are still “served” by Terry Williams who is in his 15th year, and David Warner who is in his 13th year on the Board. So much for term limits! However, it seems that the new faces were enough to bring about some change. The current Board President, Antoinette Darden-Cintron, recently sent out a message from the District stating, “The Superintendent's contract expires on June 30, 2021. The Board has determined not to extend that agreement or negotiate a successor agreement and we have begun the process of seeking a new Superintendent of Schools.” (See below document for the entire text). We applaud the Board for taking this action. We also applaud the Board’s hiring of Dr. Corey Reynolds as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum earlier this year. We believe that a new, professional and dedicated leadership is a first step to helping our kids learn.
HIGHLIGHTS OF SUPERINTENDENT CHASE’S PERFORMANCE:
The 2020/21 school budget:
The development of the 2020-2021 budget demonstrated that Superintendent Chase, supported by Terry Williams, remained deaf to the needs of the community, while trying to please a small group of supporters, such as the Friends of Greenburgh (FOG). The first draft of that budget started with an increase of over 4% from the previous year! Repeated pleas to curb the budget due to the economic devastation of COVID19 were ignored until a few days before the Board of Education had to vote to accept a budget. It was the behind-the-scenes intervention of certain community members with the Administration that brought the increase down to 1.3%. When asked about her personal salary increase in the budget, Superintendent Chase responded that it was “contractual”. Same for the Assistant Superintendent for Business. Teachers, however, were asked to forego their contractual increases in order to save money for the district. What hypocrisy!
Wasteful Spending
In August of 2019, Superintendent Chase blindsided the Board at the beginning of their summer retreat by saying that the Mansion was unsafe and required immediate evacuation. The Board was not given ample time to react properly to this announcement. The Early Childhood Program (ECP) was promptly relocated to the Lee F Jackson school. The staff however, remained there for another month until the Superintendent’s new office suite was constructed in Woodlands MHS. The cost to move the administration from the mansion was over $250,000. Almost a year later, we learned from the condition report a month later that the mansion did not need a complete evacuation. Now the superintendent is trying again to manipulate a condemnation of this building by playing up the findings of an essentially benign air-quality report. Her shenanigans are a slap in the Board’s face and an affront to taxpayers.
Where are the COVID 19 savings?
Everyone knows that the school year was truncated in March because of the COVID19 pandemic. What happened to unutilized funds for student transportation, after school programs, summer school and special programs from mid-March through August? Some transportation money, but not all, went for food distribution for eligible, needy students. In addition, the district spent money for technology to support on-line instruction and for cleaning and disinfection, but where is the accounting for the money that was spent as well as the savings?
What about academic programs?
Multiple educational programs, such as iReady, Eureka Math, Science Fusion and Naviance have been purchased and then abandoned, wasting taxpayer dollars. Students did not have access to an advanced Physics Program during the 2019-2020 school year, and our very first cohort of IB kids was instructed to retake Chemistry! This glaring deficiency makes a mockery of our calling GCSD, “a world class school district” and undermines the alleged excellence conferred by participation in the International Baccalaureate program.
Public allegations were anonymously raised in Fall 2019 regarding attendance problems and falsified grades of high school students. Results of the subsequent investigation have been withheld from the community. The excuse we're always told is, "This is a personnel issue and cannot be discussed publicly." Perhaps, but an outside agency was contracted to do this investigation for nearly $100,000 of our money. The taxpayers footing the bill have a right to know the results of an investigation that they paid for!
What about behavioral problems?
Are the schools, especially Woodlands MHS, a safe learning environment? Concerns have been raised by the community and parents about the lack of student discipline in the high school, including videotaped fights and violence against teachers. Questions have been raised about the accuracy of DASA reporting (Dignity for All Students) to the NYS Dept. of Education by the aforementioned anonymous allegations. There is no evidence that these concerns have been investigated and addressed.
Teacher hiring, retention and morale
During 2018/19, concerns were raised about the Early Childhood Program being a hostile work environment but the Director of that program remains in her position to this day. Highly qualified teachers are resigning from the district rather than enduring a hostile work environment. A large number of teaching staff have been mysteriously placed on “home assignment”, generating both staffing and supervision issues and fiscal concerns.
What’s our future?
The Board of Education must change! Those Trustees who have been in their positions for years are a big part of the problem. School Board elections will be coming around soon. It's time to clean house and elect more new blood, bringing in fresh thinking and fresh ideas to the Board. That’s how we'll get A Better Greenburgh School District.
GCSD Announcement:
