Feiner’s Follies

During the 28 years of the Paul Feiner Administration, the residents of the Town of Greenburgh have been subjected to his mis-management and incompetency during that entire time and paying dearly for it. We’ve listed a wide collection of costly events from Mr Feiner.

Law Suits Verdicts Against The Town

• Fortress Bible Church discrimination lawsuit where Mr Feiner and his Board (at the time) $6.5 million award, which we are still paying.

• Cotswold Tree Damages. Found that the Town under-insured; Monetary award of millions; the Husband was killed and his wife was permanently disabled.

Pending Law Suits

• S&R Development Estates LLC has filed 7 lawsuits since 2007, against  the Town of Greenburgh for illegally blocking the development of a multi-family affordable & low income residential property for $26 million. This all came about due to an error on the Zoning map. The property should have been shown as being in a Residential district. Instead it was mistakenly shown as being in the Central Ave. commercial district where multi- family housing is permitted. When the mistake was discovered, Paul Feiner ordered the map to be corrected without following the legal procedure which required a Public Hearing. S&R purchased the property relying on the fact that it was zoned for multi/ family use.

• Argonaut Insurance Co., Wants to be released from covering the $26 million Dromore Road suit. They claim that they were not the insurance carrier when the basis for the initial suit (2007) took place and should be released from paying any fines since they were only retained in 2015. Actually, Argonaut maintain that Mr Feiner and Mr Sheehan acted intentionally, and as a result Argonaut should be released from coverage because public policy doesn’t allow for insurability of “intentionally caused harm.”  In other words, this isn’t an accident like a tree falling on a car: Argonaut is alleging that Messrs Feiner and Sheehan deliberately changed the maps to screw S&R and therefore they violated the insurance policy. This has happened before with the $6.5 million fine in the Fortress Bible Church. Because Mr Feiner was found guilty of lying under oath and destroying evidence in Federal Court, the insurance company only had to pay one million dollars of the entire amount. 

                  

• Ferncliff Cemetery is suing Mr Feiner and the Town for $76 million, contending that the twelve acres is actually property for cemetery burials. The Town has claimed that that property was not part of the original Ferncliff purchase and subsequently cannot be used for cemetery burials.

         

Land Use Decisions

• Shelbourne Assisted Living Facility. Disregarding the Town Zoning Ordinance re: Assisted Living and has a 3000% variance allowed - distance of more than 1 mile to State road instead of 200 ft.

• Deli Delicious Restaurant

  Appointed a tenant of the Deli Delicious owner to the Zoning Board of Appeals when the      

  property owner was seeking variances from that Board.

• Frank’s Nursery. Allowed uncollected taxes for 6 years before Town foreclosed on property. Tried to lease the property to GameOn Sports Complex – Illegal according to State and County law. He attempted to sell property without clear title. Also contracted to sell property to GameOn with a 13 year installment plan, and a way “out” if hazardous materials remediation costs exceeded a certain amount.

• WestHELP – Westchester Community College Property off of Knollwood Road. The Town was receiving $1.2 million per year for housing for homeless women and children.

Mr Feiner arranged a deal with the Valhalla School District to pay them $650,000 a year for school-age children to attend Valhalla schools. State Comptroller found the deal illegal. No children attended the Valhalla schools and a law suit was filed by private citizens to have that money returned to the Town and won. Another deal was made with the Mayfair Knollwood Civic Association to pay them $100,000 for their approval of this arrangement. The deal was found to be illegal.He also allowed the contract to lapse in 2011 causing the Town to lose over $8 million to date and forcing the property to fall into disrepair due to lack of maintenance.

• Tarryhill Housing on Old Tarrytown Road.The Town did not do its due diligence in allowing this affordable housing project to be sold to owners whose objective it is to turn the property into non-affordable housing per Wall Street Journal article.

Land Use Committees

Paul Feiner promoted the idea that land use committees would allow neighborhood residents to have input regarding proposed development in their communities. 

We have now been informed by the Commissioner of Community Development & Conservation that the rules have been changed and that land use committees will only be used when a Zoning Change is required for the project.

When a project (i.e. The Jefferson) was proposed in Mr. Feiner's “backyard”, he made sure that an outside independent consulting firm was hired to study all aspects of the proposal.

Without a land use committee, this procedure will not be followed.

There are currently 4 land use applications submitted to the Town that should be allowed to have land use committees formed to have input from the neighborhood residents that will be impacted by these developments. These are:

• ShopRite Super Market - MutliPlex theater/ Master's Shopping Center property on 9A. Mr Feiner favors allowing large tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles to use the adjoining Old Country Road. This project will impact the safety of 215 families in the Westchester Hills Condominiums and some residents of the Beaver Hill area.

• Sam's Club – 9A across from MultiPlex/Master's Shopping Center. They are seeking to install 7 underground gas tanks with 14 gas pumps in a FEMA-designated flood zone near the Saw Mill River. It would would eliminate 100 parking spaces and increase congested traffic flow for the area. This proposal was previously rejected by the Town's Zoning Board of Appeals. 

• Metropolis Country Club – Dobbs Ferry Road.They are seeking to change the Zoning Code for an Independent Living/Assisted Living/Memory Care Facility to allow for a 60% increase in density.They also want to introduce “floating zones” which could set a precedent to allow commercial entities in all residential districts.

• Maplewood Swim & Tennis Club – West Hartsdale Ave.They seek to build an Assisted Living/Memory Care Facility.They also wants a variance of 50% for the length of the building from 300 ft. to 450 ft. Neighbors in several neighborhoods nearby have expressed concerns involving increased traffic and safety on already heavily travelled roads.

         

All of the residents from these areas should be given the same opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about these forthcoming developments, just like the residents of East Irvington (solar farms), Worthington-Woodlands (Elmwood CC), Hartsdale (4 Corners) and Ardsley (The Jefferson).

Dial Democracy

This was the brain child of Paul Feiner that allowed residents to call in to Town Board meetings during Public Comments and Public Hearings to voice their opinions, concerns and ask questions when they are unable to attend these meetings in person.

For some unknown reason, this important social media tool has been discontinued for the past decade despite the urging by citizens to restore it.

In fact, Dial Democracy should also be allowed during Public Hearings at the Planning Board and Public Hearings involving variances at the Zoning Board of Appeals. It’s what will make for A Better Greenburgh.

Democratic Primary, Not So Cut And Dry

The Democratic primary will be held on Tuesday. For a change, while not the actually election, there are some choices other than the tenured members of Club Democrat. Each candidate has produced the requisite position draft and the incumbents have touted their “accomplishments”. Fact or fiction? You’ll have to decide. Worth noting: there is an ethics complaint that’s been filed against incumbent candidate Councilman Ken Jones by Rodney Lederer-Plaskett, that relates to the Greenburgh Housing Authority(GHA), and Mr Jones’ participation while working for the law firm that represents the GHA, working as the Town Board liaison to the GHA, and that that same law firm, Bozeman Law firm of Mt Vernon, also sues the current residents and past residents of the GHA facilities!

Read the details of the complaint:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IiCywtfceH00lS2GBwecVJeH71yMoLqF
(if the link doesn't automatically take you to the document, copy and paste the link into your URL address field)
Read the details of the exhibits:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DLPUd39IJgRwdTC-DsMsc_7-AWkYtfHR
(if the link doesn't automatically take you to the document, copy and paste the link into your URL address field)

If that weren’t enough, new candidate Gina Jackson, recently returned from living in Atlanta Georgia, utilized the GBList (Town email list), violating court rulings established in the judgement in Livson v Town of Greenburgh. You may recall that Ms Livson took the Town to court after being refused the GBList from Mr Feiner and the Town Attorney. They stated it was confidential and didn’t want it used for political (really anti-Feiner) purposes. In short, Ms Livson was battling Mr Feiner and GameOn 365 and believed he was sending out false information to residents via the GBList and wanted to be able to present the other side to the many arguments and statements being made and the truth to residents. She won the court case with a determination that the list would not be used for political or commercial purposes.

Ms Jackson is on Team Feiner, which means the rules and laws don’t apply to her or them. We watched Mr Feiner disregard the law whenever he found it to be a nuisance or simply inconvenient. The GBList was used by her for political purposes several days ago to solicit campaign funds. That was wrong. But the beauty of being on Team Feiner is that there are enough Democrat District Attorneys and Judges that will not do anything about this. So even if someone were to hold her feet to the fire, nothing will come of it. She may have even asked (we doubt it) Mr Feiner about using it to which his reply would be to not worry about it, we’ll beg forgiveness. It’ll go no where. In fact, Ms Jackson sent out a second email utilizing the GBlist.

New candidate Eric Zinger appears to be the only candidate unencumbered by the politics of politics and appears to be the one honest candidate who has followed the letter of the law, played by all of the ridiculous rules designed to favor the incumbents and is doing this for the right reasons. In fact, when the Democrat Club shunned him as he sought a Town Board nomination, he went out on his own and got the required petition signatures necessary to qualify for a run in the primary anyway. This is the kind of drive that should impress voters of any party. 

At the end of the day, this election should be about what our Town Council is doing for all resident taxpayers and business taxpayers and not about special interests, returning favors and/or ignoring the laws. The current Town Board does what it wants with impunity and without regard to what the taxpayers want or need. Instead of complaining about President Trump or the federal government this or the state government that, we need to focus on not getting sued all the time and losing. We need a real Town Legal department that will guide the Town officials to make legally sound decisions and not because it’s something they want but because it’s the right thing to do. If we had new people filling these positions, not the same old, same old, year after year and not under Mr Feiner’s thumb and reliant on his campaign machinations, funds and GBList, maybe we’d see a change that the Town so desperately needs. It needs to start with this primary. It’s the only way to get A Better Greenburgh.

Elmwood Country Club - Ridgewood Development

I find it necessary to respond to “Hartsdale Resident’s” August 30, 2018 comments in response to my Letter to The Editor of August 25, 2018.

The first comment regarding the reservation of parkland or payment of fees in lieu thereof is premature. Such discussion properly takes place during the final stage of approval of subdivision and/or site applications regarding residential developments.

And, according to both NYS enabling legislation and the Greenburgh Code, it is the Town’s decision, not the developer’s, whether parkland should be reserved or recreation escrow fees paid. In the Ridgewood case, no subdivision or site plan application has been submitted.

Hartsdale Resident accuses the Town Board of “holding the developer  hostage,” requiring the developers “to submit plans for something  they have zero intention of doing,” and delaying projects  “for months if not years before referring projects to the planning board.”

Hartsdale Resident is misinformed. This application does not require  Planning Board input at this time. The only application Ridgewood  has submitted is for rezoning property and amendments to the official  Zoning Map. Zoning changes are discretionary actions that properly  belong before the Town Board. If it so chooses, the Town Board can decide not to entertain the application.

Hartsdale Resident is agreeing with me when he/she states that "the exploration of alternative uses for the site and their impacts  should be done during the SEQR review.”

If the Town Board chooses to consider this application, the following  steps, previously used when considering other large projects  (The Jefferson, Regeneron, Avalon, Stop & Shop, GameOn)  should be employed:

• Issue an Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP) for an outside independent consultant Interview replying consultants

• Declare Town Board intent to be Lead Agency under State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) and identify the action as a Type I

• Choose the consultant

• Affirm Lead Agency status, issue a Positive Declaration, order that a DEIS be prepared and direct the consultant to prepare a draft “scope”

• Hold public scoping session(s)

• Refer the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) when prepared to the Planning Board and other involved agencies for review and recommendations

• Hold public hearing(s) on the DEIS

• Prepare an Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS)

• Prepare Findings

Dorrine Livson

President

Worthington Woodlands Civic Association

Proposed Development Of The Former Elmwood County Club

Another large development saga has been slowly unfolding in the Town for about a year now. That is the sale and more importantly the development of the former Elmwood Country Club, located on Dobbs Ferry Road. The company that is undertaking the Elmwood development is the Ridgewood Realty Company of New Jersey. The two proposals to the public were to build either 119 single-family homes and the other is to down-zone the property from R-30 to R-20 so they can build 175 town-houses instead of about 120 town-houses for an adult of 55 years or older that sell for an average price of $900,000 each!

As an aside, if single-family homes are built, the Town will receive a taxable income of 100% from each home. Town houses on the other hand are taxed at a reduced rate of about 60% and produce less taxable income for the Town. Why is this important to us? Mostly to pay off guilty verdicts levied by the courts against Mr Feiner and his Board, such as the Fortress Bible Church discrimination lawsuit. Mr Feiner and his Board members were found guilty on seven counts including discrimination, lying under oath and destroying evidence.

Residents had been preached to by Mr Feiner of his plan to create the Dobbs Ferry Road corridor into a recreational corridor by allowing his friends from GameOn 365 to develop the former Frank’s Nursery property into an ill-appropriate 8-story sports bubble for mostly indoor tennis and soccer along with outdoor ballfields in a residential neighborhood zoned for residential housing. Fortunately, the Worthington Woodlands Civic Association, with help from others, were able to stave off this assault.

Town residents would have had to pay to use that facility even though they were also told they could use it at reduced rates but only during specific and limited times. The rest of the time would have been dedicated to leagues and non-residents from as far away as New Jersey and Brooklyn. In fact, some of those non-residents spoke, without providing addresses of course, in favor of the project claiming there were not enough soccer fields anywhere for them to play soccer. The obvious question was why don't they try to develop fields in their own hometowns?

While GameOn 365 has purchased the 16-acre Visioli Golf Driving range with additional prpoerty amounting to a total purchase of 32-acres on Dobbs Ferry Road, it remains to be seen how it can or will be developed – especially since the surrounding neighborhoods were vehemently against it as the land is zoned for residential housing, not commercial 8-story buildings. The Visolis had been in a contract dispute with their lessees as to who was responsible to pay the taxes, forcing them to be in arrears. Since Mr Feiner was favoring any deal the GameOn 365 partners could broker, the Visoli’s financial health or business’ viability was not of much concern. He just needed the headlines to keep appearing with his name in them. 

Another recent change is the former Frank’s Nursery property that was sold for $3.5 million to a developer named Capitol Seniors Housing, who will be building an assisted living facility at that location for about 100 residents. Sadly, after Mr Feiner and Mr Lewis claimed remediation of the former Frank’s Nursery property would be capped at $100,000, we now know that the cost to the Town will be just under $2 million! Is this why there are so many jokes about not trusting lawyers? Regardless, after back taxes are paid on the property including the remediation, the Town taxpayers will not see a profit on another piece of property it owned.

There are several other factors in play while these two developments are underway. We’ve learned that part of the Metropolis Country Club may be for sale soon as they are experiencing the same shrinking market that Elmwood had. In fact, we’ve heard that Hartsdale's Maplewood Swim and Tennis Club may also be up for sale soon due to the same issues. Finally, there have been rumors that the Knollwood Country Club’s shrinking base may force a partial sale of some or all of their property. It appears that millennials are not into golf, tennis and swimming as much as previous generations.

With the certain proposal for the Elmwood Country Club property, the Greenburgh Conservation Advisory Council met and crafted the below letter to the Town Board objecting to the down-zoning of the property which would result in an increase in density. This is important for several reasons: these Board members are “Feiner-friendly” as they are appointed by Mr Feiner; and because they recognize the harm that can be done by down-zoning. Down-zoning goes against the recently approved Comprehensive Plan that was 8-years in the making and cost taxpayers over $600,000. Mr Feiner cheered about it through email blasts, print media and at every public event he attended.

Here's the Greenburgh Conservation Advisory Council’s letter in its entirety:

TO: Greenburgh Town Board 

FROM: Greenburgh Conservation Advisory Council 

DATE: Feb. 12, 2018 

Statement of the CAC RE Proposed Development of the former Elmwood County Club 

The Conservation Advisory Council has discussed the proposed development of the former Elmwood County Club by Ridgewood Real Estate Partners. The CAC noted that one of the options being discussed is tied to a “down zoning” in the existing zoning of R30 on the property to R20 zoning, which would result in an increase of about 50 additional residential units. 

As a result, the CAC voted to issue a statement in support of the Comprehensive Plan, as adopted by the Town Board on Sept. 28, 2016. The Comprehensive plan states expressly, without qualification, there are no planned policies to increase density in residential zoning. 

11.6.4 Projected Sales & Net New Development No policies are recommended to extend existing one-family and multi-family residentially zoned districts into other areas of unincorporated Greenburgh. There are also no planned policies to allow a greater density of residential units or residences per acre in existing one-family and multi-family residentially zoned districts. It is anticipated that residential subdivision and site plan applications will trend in a manner similar to that depicted in the 12-year snapshot in Table 11.15, which had a proportionately higher percentage of new developments with lower numbers of new residential units. 

Under New York law, all Town use regulations such as zoning must be in accordance to the Comprehensive Plan. As stated in N.Y. TWN.LAW 272 – A (11) (a), “Effect of adoption of the town comprehensive plan. (a) All town land use regulations must be in accordance with a comprehensive plan adopted pursuant to this section.” 

The applicants request to increase density is not in accordance with the express provision of the Comprehensive Plan pertaining to density in residentially zoned districts. 

The determination to not allow an increase in density in the residential zones was in direct response to the valid concerns of the residents. Starting with the initial outreach meetings and at all subsequent public meetings the public comment consistently focused on the concerns about the impacts on residential communities resulting from allowing more dense housing options, such as road congestion, changing the look 2 

and feel from suburban to urban, diminished air quality and general diminishment of quality of life. A review of residents’ comments shows 256 complaints about traffic and 205 complaints against development. During the multi-year process of development of the Comprehensive Plan, believing in its importance, the CAC issue three reports to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee which among other issues highlighted the impacts of increased traffic on air quality and quality of life. The determination provided in the Comprehensive Plan not to increase density in residential areas is consistent with public input, rational and environmentally sound. 

The CAC further notes that any change in zoning to permit more density would set a precedent for the possible future development of the remaining golf courses and other large parcels in the Town. 

Conservation Advisory Council 

Cc Judith Belville, Town Clerk 

Garrett Duquesne, Commissioner, Community Development and Conservation 

Ultimately, all of these assisted living and senior living facilities may have a detrimental effect on our school systems as many seniors, empty nesters, etc., typically vote against school budgets. With more and more people moving here and not feeding students into the school system and voting against the budgets, it will have a detrimental effect on property values. So Mr Feiner’s scheming may work against us again. 

With the hopes of Mr Feiner’s sports corridor dashed, the development of the Elmwood Country Club in tandem with the former Frank’s Nursery, and other spaces throughout our Town, it now appears that Mr Feiner’s new corridor will be a housing and/or residential corridor. Or will it? There needs to be a better balance without Mr Feiner in the mix. Let the Town, its zoning laws, Comprehensive Plan and neighborhoods control our destiny. It’ll make for A Better Greenburgh.

Leadership Remains Stale as Ideas and Creative Thinking Wither

As the Shelbourne assisted living saga continues to drag out with both sides knowing the probable outcome after all of the lawsuits, we’re faced with other construction proposals elsewhere. By the time the public learns of these other projects, we usually uncover that Mr Feiner has had secret meetings with them long before the breath of public knowledge. They pitch their ideas in the corner office, seeking help, advice and strategies. Such was the case with GameOn 365, friends of Mr Feiner who would be positioned by him for a windfall property gain at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road, the former Frank’s Nursery property. Regardless of the tactics employed by Mr Feiner, the neighborhoods surrounding the property were able to beat him at his own game, stood united and thwarted the illegal deal he made with them.

Now we have the Shelbourne assisted living proposal that has already visited the halls of justice. Mr Feiner openly stated he was for the assisted living facility before the Edgemont community protested and then he was against it. It also appears that Mr Sheehan has publicly stated he is against the variances that were granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals. You may also recall Mr Sheehan chaired the questionably received Town Comprehensive Plan, making it nothing more than a weak politically correct statement of current events – none of which can be certified scientifically – and not a vision for the Town’s future. It was a golden opportunity whose capital was squandered away for a brief moment of political acknowledgement. Sadly, this seems to be what our past 25 years of stale leadership is providing the Town. If misery loves company, we’ll not alone.

After some 20-years of dormancy, the former General Motors assembly plant site in Sleepy Hollow, seems poised to begin construction of the Edge-on-Hudson mega-development. After completing remediation (none of which Town Attorney Tim Lewis offered to provide estimates for) the below-ground infrastructure needs were addressed. With that completed, vertical construction should finally proceed at an estimated $1billion cost. It is a joint venture between two developers, SunCal of California and Diversified Realty Advisors of Montvale, New Jersey. But what are they proposing to build at the end of Beekman Avenue that Toll Brothers, a Pennsylvania company, will be constructing?

Once again, this mega-development will include 1,177 units of condominiums, townhouses and rental apartments; a 140-room boutique hotel; 135,000 square feet of retail space and 35,000 square feet of office space. This proposal has the hallmarks of touching every issue for any community that entertains a developer’s vision: increased traffic, flooding, increased school enrollment, increased emergency services call volume for police, fire and ambulance, the need for more parking, bus and taxi services, undersized roadways and traffic systems to name a few. They’ll also include millennial favorites such as a state-of-the-art exercise facility, a pool, community room and a coffee shop. There will be limited parking as the developers will insist these same millennials do not drive – usually disproved as the sales and rentals steadily increase. How long will it take before we start seeing For Rent signs in these new vacant retail spaces that becomes the status quo?

Every developer we’ve ever listened to provides a traffic study after their initial proposal utilizing the state’s figures for the size of the development. What it doesn’t account for is the fact that Sleepy Hollow, like all of the other river towns, can only have 180 degrees of access as it has the Hudson River utilizing the other 180 degrees of that travel circle, effectively halving their span of attraction, a factor that all river town businesses suffer from. Consequently, Edge of Hudson begins its struggle with a half-capacity for traffic relief right out of the gate. But, not to worry – millennials don’t own cars or drive. Regardless, the traffic study will reflect what the developer needs it to be: a marginal increase in traffic during the 7am through 9am and the 4pm through 6pm rush hour periods.

Most of the developments nowadays appear to have first floor retail space on most, if not all of their ground floor buildings. Why stay with this staid and non-functioning model if brick-and-mortar retail is dying? It’s simply because first floor units are the least desirable to live in. Hence, the use of the old standby for retail space. So more coffee shops, nail salons, dry cleaners, Subway-like fast food businesses and dollar stores. It’s absurd! Yet community leaders will continue to discuss the changing landscape of retail – while having absolutely no experience or direct knowledge of running a business for profit – and tell us how the internet is changing the shopping paradigm. With this being the case, shouldn’t we look for a different and more viable plan? Of course we should.

The office space seems like a fairly innocuous offering. Are zoning changes being made to accommodate these retail and business inclusions into this residential housing? Are they really necessary? While 35,000 square feet isn’t that great a space, what happens to it if it cannot be rented out? And what of the hotel that will be constructed on the property? What will be the daily impact of its operation to the area? Will traffic conditions affect the flow of traffic in just Sleepy Hollow or will it also attack Tarrytown, Elmsford, Pocantico Hills, Scarborough, etc.? We’ve been told repeatedly that millennials don’t drive. If they do own a car will they drive their cars back and forth to work? Will the hotel have customers walking to them or only taking their shuttle from outer points because it doesn’t allow or have enough parking? Will there be docks that boaters can use? If there are, who will oversee them?

This project isn’t in Greenburgh per se. However every project done in one location can be easily cannibalized and imported to another. Just look at the Shelbourne project on the heels of the Brightview assisted living monstrosity that was inflicted at Benedict Avenue and Rt 119. If it happens in one neighborhood, it can happen in yours. A true Comprehensive Plan could have spared us this type of real estate debauchery. Instead, we were given platitudes about global warming and 500-year storms that are happening every year. This stale thinking needs to change – everywhere. But it needs to start here and then be moved to other neighborhoods just like the bad developments have. Only then can we get A Better Greenburgh.

Former Frank’s Nursery Finally Sold

It was announced by Mr Feiner, in conjunction with the daily newspaper of record for Westchester County, that Greenburgh town officials finalized the $3.5 million sale of the old Frank's Nursery property. He also touted the future opening for a new assisted living facility at the site. Having lost his battle to develop Dobbs Ferry Road into a sports corridor, his carefully worded explanation avoided all hints of the calamity he created with the property.

The 7-acre property on Dobbs Ferry Road had been vacant since the nursery shut down. In 2011, the town foreclosed on the property and took possession. From that point on, Mr Feiner made the property a political football. The property was required by County and State law to be sold as municipalities cannot be landlords. What Mr Feiner tried to do was “gift” the property to his new friends from GameOn 365. So egregious and offensive was this move, it forced residents to organize and form the Worthington Woodlands Civic Association!

He said, “It’s significant because now, for the first time, it’s not town property and it’s back on the tax rolls. The construction of the assisted living facility will start. They’ll start with the remediation of the contaminants.” The remediation was promised by Town Attorney and pseudo-environmental expert Tim Lewis to cost no more than $100k to remediate. And, while Mr Feiner was trying to illegally lease the property to GameOn 365, he had insisted the Town would pay for remediation. In actuality, the Town will be responsible for $1,899,283 million of the cleanup.

During the entire time of this bad behavior by Mr Feiner, he enraged the group of people he should have been representing! Instead, he created a tug of war with the area civic associations and taxpayers for the sole benefit of an out-of-state for-profit company. During this time, secret emails between Mr Feiner and his friends at GameOn 365 were uncovered. One damning statement from GameOn 365 to Mr Feiner was that they should stop the email communications and only discuss things by phone as emails are subject to F.O.I.L. requests and phone conversations are not. They did just that!

After a proposal for a sports and recreation facility fell through, the town reached a deal in 2015 with Capitol Seniors Housing for an assisted living facility. That deal was finalized Thursday with the closing of the sale. The sports facility proposal didn’t “fall through” as Mr Feiner wants the uninitiated to believe. The proposal was out and out rejected by all the residents in the area! Once Mr Feiner and his Board ignored the property beyond 6-months, during which point he could have legally given it away, it reverted back to residential zoning. Since the adjacent residents have a right of refusal, they did just that. As Mr Feiner scrambled to meet with residents individually and in small groups to persuade them to acquiesce and support the GameOn 365 proposal, they stood united!

Mr Feiner said the new facility is expected to generate $500,000 in property taxes. But he doesn’t say if that is yearly, as a lump sum from the sale or how he’s come up with that figure. He routinely throws out figures without corroboration, validation or proof, hoping for the sensational and unsubstantiated reproduction in print newspapers. He also said, "I think it’s going to be a big asset to the town having an assisted living facility at that location. The neighborhood supported it.”

Actually, the neighborhood did and does support it. All along they insisted that the only proposal that could be acceptable at that site was residential housing. He even tried to propose other commercial activities at that location. The civic associations saw what he was trying do. If they said yes to that proposal he could use that to make the argument that there is no difference from placing one type of business over another at that location. The civic associations remained steadfast and eventually won out! It’s this kind of civic involvement that makes for A Better Greenburgh.

Clarification On A NYS Constitutional Convention (Con-Con)

A lot of people have been discussing the Constitutional Convention in order to make an educated vote! Here’s our take on both sides of the issue.

For – Vote Yes

A Constitutional Convention only comes along once every twenty years. Many people say it’s the public’s opportunity to change what they don’t like in the NYS constitution. The attraction of this idea suits those who are proponents of a constitutional convention, believing the constitution is a living document. As is typical, there are those who do not believe it to be a living document.

It is said that potential improvements from a Con-Con could include a reform of election law, achieve nonpartisan redistricting, setting term limits and mandating budget-making transparency. A big gripe that many New Yorkers have against the state is the amount of unfunded mandates New Yorkers are saddled with as the current crop of politicians cannot seem to stop themselves from creating a new tax, fee, requirement, statute etc. that someone mysteriously comes up with, claiming, “It wasn’t me,” but costs us more in money, businesses, residents fleeing and so on. As everyone is fond of saying, New Yorkers are voting with their feet and leaving.

If the proponents of “Yes” were to win, it will set off a year of primary and general election voting to choose Con-Con delegates. There would be three per state Senate, plus 15 at-large ones. Rest assured that many, if not all of our current representatives would be actively seeking one of the positions – the same people who have either put us in this predicament or are contributing to it! 

One aspect is the great pay they would receive in addition to their existing salary. The other is they would be able to change the constitution to further allow whatever their own agenda might be. They could also “gang up” together with other legislators to ensure minimal resistance. The convention would meet in Albany with an expectation that would either offer individual amendments or one package with everything lumped into it. Then it would go to voters in 2019 for either passage or rejection. And, as voters have proven time and time again, they vote not knowing what both sides of an issue might be.

Need an example? In 2012 Mr Feiner wanted the GameOn 365 project to be built against the wishes of the entire neighborhood.  He tried to virtually give them the property on a very favorable lease to only meet resistance from that neighborhood, civic associations and other residents who recognized why this was so wrong on so many levels. What did he do? He delayed everything so he could have a referendum on allowing the proposal. Twenty-two thousand people in the Town who were not given all the facts, voted to allow it, superseding the neighborhoods desires. Fortunately, the residents prevailed on a technicality as foreclosed property has to be sold, not leased; but the lack of trust was now out in the open. By the way, Mr Feiner will get relected this Tuesday as the Republicans and other party’s have abandoned Greenburgh as a democratic stronghold not worth using resources on.

Against – Vote No
At least $350 million in taxpayer dollars will be spent on a Constitution Convention. Delegates will pocket $80,000 each! Delegates who hold NYS office[s] will get their full salary and their convention paychecks at the same time. That’s double dipping for hundreds of politicians. Delegates get paid every year, for unlimited years. Plus, they can hire family members and cronies for their staffs, and pay them, too. Delegates don’t have to accomplish anything to be paid. Sort of sounds like a politician, doesn’t it?

At the last convention in 1967, 4 of 5 delegates were Albany insiders. No person can seriously expect a convention of Albany insiders to take on Albany’s culture of corruption. They never have. Voting NO stops greed, corruption and insider politics. 

The NYS Constitution can be changed at ANY time through amendments. There is no need for a long, costly, inefficient convention. The Constitution has been amended over 200 times since 1894. After the last Convention in 1967, voters rejected every single change that the delegates proposed. After spending tens of millions of dollars, the convention accomplished nothing! Voting NO stops waste and inefficiency. 

Here are some of the changes wanted:

Article 5 protects cops, paid firefighters, nurses, and other first responders by guaranteeing the retirement safety they’ve earned on our streets. PBA’s and NYSP reject the Constitutional Convention. NYSPFFA, the statewide firefighters organization rejects the Constitutional Convention. NYSNA, the statewide nurses organization rejects the Con Con. UEMSO, the statewide EMS organization rejects the Con Con.

Article 14 promises places like the Catskills and Adirondacks “shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.” Constitutional Convention would expose lands to clear cut logging, hyrdro-fracking, and development. Sierra Club, Food and Water Watch, Adirondack Council, Friends of the Forest, Protect the Adirondacks, Environmental Advocates of NY, ADK Mountain Club - these are just some of the environmental groups that oppose Con Con. Voting NO on Con Con would preserve wildlife, trees, parks, and open space.

Article 11 guarantees all children the right to free public education. Advocates of vouchers, religious schools, privatization, and charter schools want a Con Con so they can diminish our constitutional right to public schools. One of the changes adopted at the last convention in 1967 allowed public monies to be used to pay for religious schools. If voters hadn’t rejected it, our entire public education system would have changed drastically. 

Article 5 protects teachers’ safe retirement after decades of service to children. Voting NO to Con Con will defend kids, public schools and teachers.

Article 17 protects the vulnerable by guaranteeing the “aid, care and support of the needy.” Mental health, public health, SNAP, veterans’ services, HEAP and elder care are just some of the programs operated under the umbrella of Article 17. Voting NO on Con Con shields the vulnerable.

Article 1 promises that labor, like electricians, steelworkers and plumbers, can form unions. Right-to-work predators want to use the Con Con to turn NY into an anti-worker state like Wisconsin or Alabama. Article 1 guarantees workers comp for people injured in the job. AFL-CIO, CSEA, NYSUT, IBEW, and unions across the state oppose Con Con. Voting No on a Con Con is standing for working people.

In addition to all the organizations noted above, here are just a few more of the 100-plus coalition partners that have formed New Yorkers Against Corruption to oppose the Con Con: 

LEFT: Working Families Party, Equality NY, Planned Parenthood, NAACP, LGBT
RIGHT: Conservative Party, Council of Churches, NYS Rifle & Pistol Association, NYS Right to Life, NYS Republican Party. Voting NO to a Con Con will sustain political diversity.

An informed voting decision and an informed and engaged voting electorate is the key to making changes to New York, Westchester County and the Town. This is not the only information about the Constitutional Convention and we encourage our readers to research and learn more before Election Day. Do we really want our current crop of politicians, who have made us the highest taxed, highest regulated and highest intrusion into everything we do the stewards of changing their own bad behavior? We hope not. Regardless of your position, we encourage you to vote. Only then will we see A Better Greenburgh.

So, What's Next?

The Edgemont incorporation fiasco needn’t be. Mr Feiner could simply find sufficiency in the Edgemont incorporation petition and schedule the referendum to take place. But then again, Mr Feiner is leading this publicity campaign with the hopes of being able to swoop in and save the proverbial day – from himself – and gain another major media exposure extravaganza. What is obvious to those following this sham is that the Edgemont Incorporation Committee (EIC) has dotted their “i’s” and crossed their “t’s”. So, why not just let it happen? Control. Mr Feiner, without the benefit of public input, also decided with secret meetings to hire an attorney and private investigators without telling the taxpayers. Remember this, you’ll see it again.

We spoke previously of an Edgemont resident who had initially been against the incorporation until he learned of the private investigators hired by Mr Feiner and his Board to try to invalidate resident petitions in favor of incorporation. Once he learned of this he changed his tune and said he was disgusted by Mr Feiner’s actions and changed his position. Many that we spoke to at the different hearings echoed these sentiments. Had Mr Feiner left the process to run itself out, followed the law, not tried any of his typical shenanigans, actually done his due diligence, etc., the proposition probably would have died a natural death.

This is not the first time we’ve seen Mr Feiner “muck up” the process. You’ll recall the former Frank’s Nursery property debacle that did not play out as it should have. Years ago, when the former Frank’s Nursery was operating at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road, they defaulted on their taxes. Many have speculated as to why. Some said it was just the natural progression of a company failing and ultimately going out of business. Others claimed they walked away from the property because it was laden with contaminants and cheaper to take the loss on the property than to remediate it. After several years, though, the Town acquired the property through foreclosure. And, Town Attorney Tim Lewis stated the cleanup would be no more than $100,000. Not an environmental attorney, or an environmental anything, he was very wrong.

New York State and Westchester County laws mandate that a municipality cannot be a landlord. As such, the Town is required to sell the land or turn it into a park or utilize it as Town property. Mr Feiner, without the benefit of public input, also decided in secret meetings (here it is again), emails and phone calls with GameOn 365 that he and his Board would lease the property to that commercial entity. In fact, email communications acquired under the Freedom of Information law (FOIL), exposed Mr Feiner's promise to supply the land to GameOn 365 at a ridiculously low rental price. The catch was that instead of selling the property, which is required by law, he wanted to lease it to them to install an 83-foot inflatable bubble. That's 8-stories high. More importantly, it is illegal!

But the property in question was zoned residential. By ignoring the contamination and leaving the property dormant for many years instead of selling it as required by law, Mr Feiner made the situation worse than it needed to be. Then again, Mr Feiner enjoys a tradition of ignoring laws he doesn’t like or wants to follow. And, it appears his Board condones these actions. Consequently, the property reverted back from the special business zoning it had enjoyed for decades back to residential! Oops! But Mr Feiner also knew he would make his Board the lead agency and able to change the zoning to whatever GameOn 365 needed it to be. What he hadn’t factored in was the civic associations and the unity of the neighborhoods around the property. Because of their due diligence, they thwarted both Mr Feiner and GameOn 365 and kept the property zoned residential.

Then there’s the Westhelp debacle created by Mr Feiner strictly to manufacture another event to garner publicity at the expense of a school for the handicapped. We are unsure as to the reasoning behind Mr Feiner deciding in secret meetings and without the benefit of public input (here it is again) to not renew the lease from the County of Westchester for the Westhelp property on the Westchester Community College campus. This was affordable housing for homeless mothers built under now-governor Cuomo’s reign in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The property was then turned over to the Town of Greenburgh with a yearly income to the Town of $1.2 million.

There’s nothing wrong with having elected officials who are independent thinkers, unless their thinking doesn’t help their constituents. The Edgemont incorporation issue has become just another one of Mr Feiner’s side shows. Regardless of the impact the people of Edgemont may cause the Town by incorporating and becoming another village in the Town, they have followed the law to get to this point. It would be nice if we had a Supervisor who also followed the law. Perhaps if we did, the people of Edgemont might not be seeking incorporation. Mr Feiner must make a determination this coming week. Hopefully, he’ll do the right thing by all Greenburgh residents. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Town Reacts After Screw-Up

After many battled with the Feiner Administration for over two years, the Town finally adopted a law regulating massage establishments – not to be confused with massage parlors. What’s the difference? Massage establishments offer legitimate massage and massage therapy services, usually by licensed massage therapists. There is little or no objection to these types of establishments or the massage therapists working there.

The law that was proposed initially and crafted by Robert Bernstein, after highlighting the issue of massage parlors brought to the forefront at an Edgemont Community Council meeting, was left untouched (no pun intended) by the Town Board. Despite regular discussions of the subject at regular Town Board meetings and various civic association meetings, no action was taken. Eventually, with the assistance of Mr Bernstein, a bill was introduced. Sadly, Town Attorney Tim Lewis was against it, saying he didn’t think it was legal.  In fact, before the Town Board would vote the bill into law, he altered it.

Mr Bernstein, an attorney now practicing law in Scarsdale, NY, complained about the changes, stating that they actually weakened the bill and would have a deleterious effect on the police department’s ability to enforce it. It would also not afford protection to the young women working in these locations, whether by choice or not. It has been claimed that many of these “spas” are nothing more than facades for prostitution, sex slavery, and more. By having a watered-down law such as what Mr Lewis ultimately passed on to the Board, helping these young women would be more difficult.

At the last Town Board meeting, Mr Bernstein commented that while the Town had actually passed the Massage Establishment law, Mr Lewis determined they should remain open while their appeals for being shuttered were decided. Ironically, the Town Board condoned Mr Lewis’ action by postponing the appeals process which was supposed to be addressed at that same meeting but was put off until March 14th!

A mere two days following the Town Board’s blatant disregard for the law, a hallmark of Mr Feiner’s career as Supervisor with the Fortress Bible discrimination verdict, WestHelp, Dromore Road, Frank’s Nursery, GameOn 365 to mention just a few, Mr Feiner sent out an email blast announcing that four massage establishments had been shuttered. The charges were unauthorized practice of a profession and prostitution. The first charge was based on the fact that several employees were allegedly operating as licensed massage therapists and were not. The second charge does not need clarification. These are just charges at this point and it remains to be seen if the participants are found guilty and what the punishment might be.

We still don’t know the reasons Mr Lewis did not want these massage establishments closed as each time there is a supposed discussion about his rationale, it’s behind closed doors – another hallmark of the Feiner administration’s "open government” policy. These types of discussions, along with the back room deals, phone conversations that cannot be reviewed under the Freedom Of Information Law (FOIL), and more must end. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Bad Proposal Repackaged

It has now been confirmed that the 32-acre golf driving range owned by the Visioli Family on Dobbs Ferry Road has finally been sold to GameOn 365. You will recall that GameOn 365 was the proponent of installing an 8-story-plus permanent inflatable sports dome at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road, the former Frank’s Nursery location. Community outrage and unity stopped this travesty from happening. Now, because of the relentless work of the Worthington Woodlands Civic Association, the Fulton Park Civic Association, the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations and others, GameOn 365’s inappropriate proposal was squashed, only to see another iteration be born for the adjacent golf driving range. The new plan called for a much larger sports complex which included a 55 foot building, outdoor soccer fields, 90 ft. lights and retail shops. 

Many thought the project had finally been killed when GameOn 365 lost their bid for the Former Frank’s Nursery property and subsequently dropped their plans for the driving range. Obviously, they have not.

We proved in earlier posts that Mr Feiner and GameOn 365 had made backroom deals long before the former Frank’s Nursery property became available. In fact, when those emails were uncovered through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, the GameOn 365 representatives were found to have told Mr Feiner that they should not be emailing each other as emails can be FOIL-ed and telephone conversations cannot. Is this type of deceit what we want or expect from our leaders? We certainly don’t want it but sadly have accepted that it is what can be expected from this administration.

As of this date, there is no additional information about the intended use of the property, which,as you may already know, is zoned Residential (R-30) - Single Family Homes. We expect to have Garrett Duquesne, the Commissioner of Community Development and Conservation (a contradiction of terms unless you know what you're doing) to inform us when plans to develop the property are submitted. He had promised the Civic Associations and the public that he would keep everyone informed about this project. 

The entire surrounding neighborhood, as well as other Town residents, signed a petition stating that they were against the project. The reason for the wide-spread opposition to this project: a change to the zoning code which would allow a commercial entity to be built in this residential neighborhood would set a precedent that would effect every residential neighborhood in our Town. It's too bad that Mr Feiner doesn't care about this. Only when Mr Feiner starts to care about all neighborhoods, other than his own, will we finally get A Better Greenburgh. 

Counterpoint To Year In Review, Part 2

Each year Mr Feiner sends out his list of “accomplishments”. Since Mr Feiner has a difficult time with facts and truthfulness (he was convicted for lying under oath) ABG posts the other side of those same “accomplishments”. This is part 2, our responses are in blue.

31. Painted water tanks--addressing infrastructure concerns.  Others will be done also.

Maintenance is typically ignored by this administration, so it was surprising and possibly more costly because it had been ignored for so long. Sadly, Mr Feiner is bragging about something that was long overdue.

32. Opened new dreamcourt basketball court at Old Tarrytown Road Park.

It’s a basketball court.

33. 3,400 LED street lights installed - to cut streetlight energy usage by 61%.

The cost of this energy savings was over $600,000. The return-on-investment was never mentioned. While the Town may save 61% (there is no substantiation of this number), it may have been better to phase these in as existing fixtures and bulbs failed.

34. Greenburgh Shopping Center on Knollwood Road improves striping in their existing parking lot.

This effort was brought up by, carried by and seen through fruition by the Council of Greenburgh Civic Association after they pointed out many illegal aspects of what had been done to the lot by the owners without the proper permit and approvals processes performed by the Town. It’s amazing that the building department, whom we're told is woefully overwhelmed with work, was able to stumble upon a Fulton Park resident’s minor construction but missed an entire shopping center's parking lot renovation. The Fulton Park resident had the charges against her dismissed in court.

35. 11 year old reporters from Greenburgh Xposure have their own radio program.

The Exposure program is not a Town run program.

36. Our Greenburgh Police Department is first law enforcement agency in the county that committed to outfitting each patrol officer with their own individual body camera.

The Town’s Police Department is among the best there is. We believe it can only have a positive outcome.

37. Organizing a new initiative: musicians to perform for homebound elderly.

Please focus on infrastructure, lowering taxes, have more police on patrol and stop with the publicity stunts. There are plenty of people already doing this.

38. Proposal submitted to lease former Scarsdale A&P to a 24 hour fitness facility on Central Ave.  Application is before the Planning Board.  Hyundai car dealership approved and opens on Central Ave.--first new dealership since we approved the use on Central Avenue.

While approving the use of Central Avenue for car dealerships, the new taxes levied on gas stations has forced the closure of two long-time service stations as their profit margin on gasoline was pennies. As far as the Feiner administration is concerned, this was never about helping businesses that have been in the Town for years, paying taxes and helping the Town.

39. Town Board adopts law that will enable the town to close down illegal massage businesses that employ unlicensed masseuses.  A lawsuit filed against the town in NYS Supreme Court was dismissed.

While enacting this law, originally written by Edgemont resident and former Town Supervisor candidate Robert Bernstein, the Town attorney watered it down and diminished its viability. It also has not been put into practice in over a year.

40. Town Board approved parking on East Hartsdale Ave. during winter months, with exception of snow emergencies.

The Town Board has repeatedly said that enacting special parking permits that are not useable Town-wide was illegal. What changed? Actually, nothing. This appears to be selective governing based on what's popular at the time.

41. Discussions with community - new possible look in 2017 for Manhattan Avenue: trees and islands in middle of road to reduce speeding and make the avenue look more like a boulevard.

It’s interesting that the same neighborhoods receive an inordinate amount of attention, focus, money and renovations while others cannot even get sidewalks to keep pedestrians safe.

42. We plan to repair indoor pool at the Theodore Young Community Center.  An attractive new roof will be constructed on the building in 2017- providing pool patrons with natural light.

While we enjoy the TYCC and appreciate that things need to be repaired, recent years have witnessed a lot of spending on what seems to be the same things over and over again. Perhaps low-bid and the Town running these projects isn’t providing us with the best results.

43. Working with Westchester County Association- pushing for high speed broadband gigabit service that is 14 times faster than current service.

We still are at a loss as to how and why the Town needs to be doing this.

44. Trader Joe's to expand on Central Avenue.  A compromise was reached with some members of the community.  No driveway will be built at North Washington Avenue.  Expansion of a medical office building near Best Buy approved.

There was no compromise. Mr Feiner caved into the developer's wishes after appearing to be concerned about the area residents complaining about the added traffic that would bombard their neighborhoods once residential roads were opened up. 

45. Town Board appointed new Town Comptroller, Roberta Romano, after former Comptroller retired.

Congratulations.

46. Former Commissioner Bill Carter, who led the Theodore Young Community Center, passed.  Former Deputy Commissioner Andre Early appointed as new commissioner.  Steve Fraietta appointed as Building Inspector after John Lucido retired.

Congratulations.

47. Town Board approves creation of a Beautification Committee for East Hartsdale Avenue.

The Beautification Committee is not a paid position(s) and may result in a positive impact to the area.

48. Town Board appoints additional members to the newly formed Human Rights Committee.

There is a redundancy here that simply doesn’t need to exist since there are County, State and Federal Human Rights Commissions already. This is a politically calculated move only.

49. Greenburgh Police Department holds our first annual successful National Night Out at Town Hall, a wonderful police-community event.

Congratulations.

50. Board approves resolution against SPECTRA AIM pipeline 105 feet from Indian point Nuclear Facility.

This is a useless and empty political effort that will bear nothing for the Town. 

51. Town obtains $225,000 grant from the New NY Bridge Community Benefits Program and used it to purchase a new rescue vehicle.

What is this new rescue vehicle replacing? If it’s not replacing a vehicle, it means there is an added cost to stock, equip and maintain it. How is all of that being paid for?

52. Town received a $55,000 grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for a new SWAT vehicle that was purchased.

Mr Feiner is being disingenuous by claiming the area fire districts are over-taxing residents and wasting their money, while he is not. The County Police maintain a SWAT team that the Town could use at no cost to them when needed. And, the County also maintains a Hazardous Materials Response Team and a Technical Rescue Response Team that also costs nothing to utilize – yet the Town pays for this duplication of services and Mr Feiner condones it by allowing this overtime generator to continue.

53. Town received a grant of $15,880 from the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, to train our officers in the specialized area of Elder Abuse.

This seems like a good thing. 

54. Greenburgh Housing Authority plans to build affordable 62+ senior housing on Manhattan Avenue that will have no impact on local school district. 

The reality is that the Greenburgh Housing Authority's plans to build affordable senior housing is simply to replace it. So, unlike the artfully worded sentence, this is not an addition in housing units.

55. Hartsdale Parking District created pay stations at two sites, a convenience for motorists.  The district is looking at alternative ways for users to pay metered parking rates.  (Some parking authorities let people pay by phone.)  District is independent of town government.

First, why comment on something that is independent of the Town? Second, having the pay stations requires less maintenance and labor to collect money from separate meters.

56. Greenburgh Nature Center became the first nature center in Westchester to achieve the green best business practices certification. The Nature Center worked in partnership with the Edgemont School Foundation and Moses Feldman Family Foundation to implement a materials management/recycling/food waste composting program at the school district’s three campuses. The Nature Center, with the support from the St. Faith’s Foundation, delivered over 150 programs to students at R.J. Bailey.  And sponsored an indoor exhibit (with support from Con Ed) “A Forest’s Life” to highlight the importance of forests for maintaining the health of our environment.

The Greenburgh Nature Center is an independent organization that rents the space from the Town and is merely a tenant. What they do and the programs they run is up to them and not controlled by Mr Feiner.

57. The Greenburgh Nature Center - with the generous support of Cathy Capasso and Steve Sprague, constructed a Native American longhouse and wigwam, to support a new and exciting education platform, The Native American Experience.

See #56.

58. The Nature Center continued the development of our Native Plant Meadow and completed construction of a uniquely designed Butterfly Arbor, which sets the natural stage for our yearly Butterfly Exhibit.

 See #56.

59. One of the most successful Summer Jazz Series to date sponsored by the Department of Community Resources named for William L. Carter featuring Grammy award winning and local artists that entertained record attending music enthusiasts.

 These were good and honoring Bill Carter was as well.