Maplewood Walk-Through Provides No Answers For Neighbors - Only Developer

Yes, it was a beautiful day. Sadly, the people that were in attendance truly believed that they were being part of an honest appraisal of the property sought to be purchased by the developers. They went there honestly thinking that they were going to experience an open dialogue with the Planning Board and the developer for the Maplewood assisted living facility. What they learned however, was that this was probably a well coordinated effort between the developer and the planning board to benefit the developer by learning, before a hearing, what the issues were of the surrounding community. You see, these residents have not had to deal with Town Hall or a developer before, so they went there with open and honest questions, but did not receive the same in return.

What they did receive was an opening salvo letter from Walter Simon, the chair of the planning board, prior to the meeting, instructing them of what they could and could not do during the walk-through. Equally disappointing was that not all of the Planning Board members were in attendance with this event being scheduled specifically for them. It begs the question why were they not there?* And what would be the purpose of having a walk-through with the public if the walk-through was for the benefit of the Planning Board and not the public? Could it be that this was simply smoke and mirrors and designed specifically for the Planning Board to provide the developer a way of finding out what all the neighbors’ issues are and have prepared answers before they make their pitch to the Planning Board or the Town Board?

Putting traffic aside momentarily, and it's difficult to ignore traffic because it is such a rampant problem throughout our town, another issue that is significant throughout the town is flooding. We’re now seeing flooding even during normal rain events. Claims that we are starting to see 500 year storms on a regular basis are being proven out more and more throughout the Town and yet the flooding issue is routinely ignored by the Town. This has a significant impact on how every roadway, general and rush-hour travel and traffic flow are affected. When the Bronx River corridor experiences flooding, it backs up into many of our neighborhoods as well as effecting Central Avenue. In fact Mr. Feiner and his Town Board recently purchased and demolished two houses for a cost of $400,000 to try to increase the space near the four corners and create a right hand turning lane to alleviate a little bit of the increased traffic congestion going from West Hartsdale Avenue onto Central Park Avenue southbound.

So if we can put traffic and flooding aside, what other issues will impact this neighborhood with this project? The Maplewood property where the assisted living facility will be placed must be excavated and leveled so that the building, which we were told will be three stories, can be built. This includes blasting and multiple pieces of construction equipment and worker vehicles for that and grading of the site. Many of the homes in the area are extremely old, some having been built in the mid 1800’s. Those homeowners are concerned that blasting will not only disrupt their lives but damage their homes. Mr Simon referenced the Town’s blasting laws to allay any concerns. However, we know from experience that these laws and the insurance company’s resistance to pay from technicalities will leave these homeowners in the lurch should their homes incur damage just as has happened throughout the Town in the past.

This project reminds us of an individual who goes house shopping looking for a new home. As you start look at homes, you find something you like about one and dislike about another. As you go around and you see what you do like you slowly begin to make your decision as to what to purchase. If you believe there is something about a particular home that you disliked and can't change it, you have to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision about whether to proceed or not. Sometimes it means walking away. This project is dependent on getting approvals from the town and all of its boards, and once they get those, the sale transaction will be made. This project, as almost all of the assisted living facilities in the Town, is too big for the property and the surrounding area and should be denied!

They claim the staff-to-patient ratio is 1 to 8 and there would be 26 to 28 staff on duty for a day shift. They claim that some of the staff might live in the neighborhood. While that's doubtful, anything is possible. They state there would be 15 to 20 people on the night shift and 12 people on the overnight shift. The traffic argument from the developer is that these people will not all be driving cars, will be using public transportation and shuttles to get to and from work – not affecting traffic much at all. They’ll also say that the residents won’t drive but they won’t mention their families and friends coming to visit them. Again, exacerbating the impact on traffic. The flooding issue will be addressed with water basin collectors. They don’t say what happens to the rest of the water when these basins are full. But, we know. DOT hasn’t weighed in on anything with Central Avenue and probably won’t. So traffic, water, right hand turns and everything else affecting this project will go unchallenged.

We believe Mr Feiner has already met with the developer as he does with all developers. He would have given them a few lame conditions to meet with the public and indicated that this project would get his approval once the Town Board becomes the lead agency. We also believe this to be a done deal, especially if the residents don’t get more vociferous with their protests and highlighted by the fact that he wasn’t at the walk-through. By the way, a requirement to build a sidewalk in front of the property will be enforced and Mr. Feiner will take credit for having a sidewalk (to nowhere) built on West Hartsdale Avenue. 

It’s these kinds of contradictions and lack of support from the town for its existing residents and taxpayers that make projects like this so frustrating and ultimately unwelcome. Greenburgh is changing as we become the assisted living capital of NY, where current Greenburgh residents cannot afford to move into the facilities once constructed. These projects, forcibly shoehorned onto inappropriately small pieces of properties need to stop. It’ll make for A Better Greenburgh.
* Planning Board member Hugh Schwartz was recovering from surgery.