Unnecessary Law Averted... For Now

Appeasement is a difficult game to play, although Mr Feiner always seems eager to jump into that fray. His apparent knee-jerk reaction typically belies levelheaded thought and evaluation. And once again he has not failed to disappoint. Recently, a number of ecologically minded extremists approached him about all the noise caused by leaf blowers specifically being used by landscapers and other horticultural professionals. They even went so far as to complain that residential usage was a problem!

In the course of a normal fair weather week, we can hear leaf blowers being used, sometimes right next door and other times a block or so away. While the sound inconvenience is not too disturbing, we prefer it over the music and partying that takes place until 3am and that ever-present boom-boom-boom bass. But it must all somehow relate to perspective. We’ve also complained to Mr Feiner about speeding on our street as have others only to be ignored. And yet, here’s a problem that the self-proclaimed “problem solver” can actually do something about by picking up the phone and calling Police Chief McNerney and asking him to commit a few cops to traffic control to address speeding. Done. But, as a lame-duck who just won another primary, he’s content to write off the residents who complain about speeding on Town roadways for yet another unproductive term in office.

While we agreed with the apathetic few who voted in the Democrat primary, Tasha Young was not the right choice. Then again, many said they had to hold their nose to even consider voting for Mr Feiner, ultimately voting for the devil you know or the one you don’t. What a sad state of affairs when the only choices we have, given roughly 90,000 residents, are Paul Feiner and Tasha Young! And, where are the Republicans or Independents or any others and why aren’t they stepping up? According to Westchester County Republican Chair Douglas Colety, the Republican Party has written off the Town of Greenburgh. From their viewpoint, a Republican can’t win and they don’t want to expend Republican resources for an unwinnable race. Tim Hays, the Greenburgh Republican Chairman, who has admitted he likes the Democrat Supervisor, even accepted a position on the Town’s feckless Board of Ethics, ensuring at least one favorable vote should Mr Feiner or his Board members require it. It’s not that Mr Hays can’t know right from wrong. Rather, this Board, prior to Mr Hays involvement, has a history of non-decisions and ethically challenged decisions between right and wrong – always favoring the administration. And should they actually want to render a decision, it’s only a recommendation to the Town Board for them to ultimately impose judgement. Can you say fox in the hen house?

Lest anyone believe that all is well in Greenburgh, you only need to see our last two articles regarding the School District’s School Board fiasco. No, all is not well in Mudville in almost any direction you chose to cast a stone. But with his sense of pandering aside, Mr Feiner suggested a proposal that would allow leaf blower use for four days during certain hours, with an education component for landscapers and residents. He said it could be a one-year trial program. What this really translates to is that this is another unnecessary law being pushed by a group who have nothing else to complain about and creating a problem in search of a solution.
“I feel if we start with a compromise, it’s not going to be perfect, but we can work off that every year,” Feiner said at the May 25 Work Session. “Right now, I’m suggesting we have a draft that would be subject to a public hearing but I’m trying to figure out what could we do that where we might be able to at least make some progress where it’s better than now.”

So, the real issue is what’s wrong now that we need to improve it? Are all neighbors using leaf blowers at all hours of the day and night that would warrant this? Of course not. Are cars and trucks speeding down our streets? Of course they are. Are any laws being written to address that? Of course not. There are already existing speeding laws but the police choose not to enforce them. Just like there are sound and noise laws that they will not enforce. If a street has a sign that says No Commercial Vehicles Except Local Delivery, does that keep tractor trailers from driving through our neighborhoods? Of course not. Are we writing laws to stop them? You guessed it, the simple answer is no. Why? Because they already exist but are not enforced.

Mr Feiner has openly developed a sanctuary Town for just about anything someone may want to do. It’s okay to dump refuse wherever construction crews, landscapers or residents (even non-residents) want to because they know they will not be caught and prosecuted and the Town will eventually pick it up and dispose of it at our cost. No policing and no confidence. We have single family residential homes being routinely used as multi-family, costing us more in resources at every level. No policing and no enforcement. We have unchecked trucks driving through our residential neighborhoods and all kinds of unchecked motorcycle and automotive speeding in those same neighborhoods. No policing and no enforcement. We have developers purchasing every piece of available and/or buildable land throughout the Town and promise Workforce, Affordable, Senior and Assisted Living housing until it comes time for them to challenge the Zoning code requirements to achieve their goals, discarding our residents’ concerns and feelings only to have Mr Feiner side with the developer and ignore the Comprehensive Plan (more a political statement than a plan). You’ll recall that the roadshows that were held all heard different residents state they wanted more open and green space, less impervious space, bike and walking paths and smaller buildings. In effect, they wanted to maintain and preserve the suburban feel for our Town.

Mr Feiner and his failed policies may be enjoyed by some progressives who wish to live in an urban environment. Most do not. Most moved to Greenburgh because they wish to have green space, with or without leaf blowers, bike paths, walking paths, green and open space and be able to ride a bicycle without fear of being struck by a car or truck. Our Town needs to change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Virtual Open Forum

 

Should We Go With An ESCO After Losing Money For Two-Years

 A Message to All:

The Executive Board of the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations (CGCA) urges you to watch and participate (via Zoom) in the meeting tonight, September 23, at 7:30 PM, regarding whether the Town of Greenburgh should join with other municipalities to purchase your electric supply through an ESCO (Energy Supply Company).

The current two-year contract with the ESCO Constellation will expire in December.  The attached table documents information from the last nineteen (19) Con Edison bills for five households that “opted out” of this contract.  As the table demonstrates, the latest cost per kWh (mainly for the month of August) was 5.4 to 5.9 cents.  That is considerably less expensive than the 7.709 cents per kWh those still enrolled in the contract are paying.

Based on the monthly information circulated by the CGCA, Supervisor Paul Feiner has had to acknowledge that the current contract has been costly to the nearly 12,000 residential and small business electric users that the Town Board enrolled in the “standard” option.  Under the current contract, unincorporated Greenburgh is only one of three municipalities participating in the “standard” option.  Twenty-three other municipalities, including five Greenburgh villages – Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and Tarrytown – are enrolled in the “green” option.  The Village of Elmsford and the nearby Town/Village of Scarsdale do not participate in the current contract negotiated by Westchester Power.

Mr. Feiner is now considering enrolling unincorporated Greenburgh residents and small businesses in the “green” option of a new contract. Going “green” means obtaining electric supply from renewable sources – wind power, solar power, hydropower – rather than fossil fuels.  It costs more but it helps address climate change, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues.

At Mr. Feiner’s request, the CGCA reached out to the community (9/13/20) for advice on what action the Town should take.  One resident recommended the “green” option.  Every other response received to date recommended that any new contract should be on an “Opt In” basis.  More information was also requested regarding the future savings to lower-income families.

The Executive Board of the CGCA is making no recommendation but rather providing the following information so residents can better understand what is being considered and are in a better position to ask questions.

As noted, those who have not “opted out” of the current contract are paying 7.709 cents per kWh for electric supply.  According to Westchester Power, the average resident uses 669 kilowatt hours a month.  Thus the average bill for the month, including 4% sales tax, would be $53.63 for electric supply.  If you were enrolled in the “green” option, it would cost 7.959 cents per kWh and the average monthly bill, including tax, would be $55.38 for electric supply.

As the attached table indicates, Property # 1 and Property # 2 paid 5.5 cents per kWh.  This means an average monthly bill for 669 kWh, including tax, would be $38.27.  The savings for the “standard” option equals $15.36 which is 28.6% lower than the ESCO charged.  For the “green” option, the savings equals $17.11 and is 30.9% lower.  Even if one subtracts 64 cents for the monthly billing and processing payment fee, the monthly savings would be substantial.

According to the CGCA’s understanding, any new contract the Town participates in would be for the “green” option and would be offered on an “Opt Out” basis.  Savings of 10% on their electric bill would be promised to “x” number of lower income residents and the Town could be eligible for up to $250,000 in grant money for sustainable projects.  Westchester Power plans to go out to bid this month for a new contract, with a starting bid lower than 7.65 cents per kWh.

If you wish to participate in tonight’s Town Board discussion on this matter, see instructions below:

PUBLIC DISCUSSION Advance signup via PublicComment@GreenburghNY.com is required. Please mention ESCO or Sustainable Westchester in the subject line or the body of the email. Sustainable Westchester 100% Renewable ESCO

Ella Preiser, CGCASecretary

Edgemont Victorious Against Town For Referendum

The New York Supreme Court has ruled that the Edgemont Incorporation petition is legally valid and overruled Supervisor Feiner's decision to deny the petition. This is the second time that the Edgemont group has been forced to sue Mr Feiner, a Democrat, because he allowed his own prejudice to get in the way of making a simple decision: did their petition meet the rule of law standards? We believe it did.

The court ordered an election to be held within 40 days. However, this is the same thing that occurred over a year ago when Edgemont prevailed in the courts initially to subsequently lose on appeal by the Town. We are not alone believing that the Town will appeal the decision again. This is a strategy that worked for them before so we're sure, sadly, it will be done again.

While we wish to see the law upheld and support Edgemont's right of self-destiny, we are also concerned should the incorporation pass for several reasons. First, everyone against the incorporation has said that the canyon this will leave in the Town budget could be as much as $17 million dollars. Second, the Edgemont leadership has stated that they wish to contract services such as police, sanitation and highway maintenance with the Town. This would provide needed revenue and avoid the laying off of Town employees. Mr Feiner, Mr Jones, a Democrat, and possibly the rest of Mr Feiner's Board, all Democrats, have vehemently and repeatedly claimed that they have no desire to contract these services with them. This is an obvious and egregious display of a lack of concern for the rest of the Greenburgh Unincorporated residents!

Time will tell how this will all play out. We're unsure of what was different between the first and this latest petition submission and the court cases. All we know is that when Mr Feiner and his Board, all Democrats, try to restrict the public's exercising of law, it's time for them to go. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

ESCO Probably Costing You Money Instead Of Saving It

From Ella Preiser,  Communications Administrator, Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations

A Message to All:

At this time when so many people are out of work and small business owners are concerned about their survival, some Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations (CGCA) representatives are deeply troubled that the Greenburgh Town Board has not taken the opportunity to inform people about a possible way to save some money.

The CGCA urges you to check your monthly Con Edison bill.  If the bill indicates your electricity supplier is Constellation and your supply cost is 7.709¢ per kWh, you were probably enrolled in this ESCO (starting January 2019) by the Greenburgh Town Board.  If enrolled, you have been paying considerably more than those of us who “opted out” of this ESCO.  Please review the attached table which provides information on the kWh costs per billing cycle for seven different property owners who did “opt out.”  These figures were taken from actual Con Edison bills.  The first five properties are residences. Properties #6 and #7 are small businesses.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the “history” of the Town’s involvement with this ESCO, attached is information you may find helpful.  At the very least, skip to the last lines of the document below which illustrates the cost savings ($37.15 and $115.53) for a single month for two different properties.  Paying the higher price could be very costly over the two-year contract.

The Greenburgh Town Board is not alone.  Twenty-six other Westchester municipalities participate in this CCA.   The concept was good but it is not working to the advantage of electricity users.  The ESCO named Constellation is raking in millions of dollars from residents and small business owners.

If you are paying too much, contact the Town Board for an explanation of why they did not keep you informed.  Feel free to pass this message on to your neighbors.

Stay safe and well.

Ella Preiser, CGCA Secretary

First Document:

First CCA Contract – How it began – Modest Savings

In 2015, the Town Board discussed with residents the possibility of participating in a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program.  The concept was simple and good – if a large number of users joined together to purchase huge numbers of kilowatt hours of electricity, they could negotiate a cheaper price. Supervisor Paul Feiner issued an email blast 9/29/15 claiming that participation in a CCA could reduce our Con Edison bills by “hundreds of dollars.”  

In January of 2016, the Town Board passed a local law granting Westchester Power authority through a CCA program to procure electric supply from an ESCO (Energy Supply Company) for a two-year contract for all unincorporated Greenburgh residential and small business users who did not “Opt Out.”  The program began with June 2016 meter read dates at a fixed cost of $0.0738 per kWh for the “Basic Supply Option” or $0.0768 for the “Green Option.”  The cost was subsequently increased for residential users to $0.0770 per kWh for the “Basic Supply Option” and $ 0.0800 for the “Green Option.”  There was no penalty to “Opt Out.”

In April 2018, residents received notice from Westchester Power that the rate of the soon-to-expire contract would “remain in place until your January 2019 meter read date.”  No approval for this extension was given by the Town Board. Once again residents were made aware they could “Opt Out” of the program without penalty.

Resident Ken Stahn had opted out of the program. Despite his repeated requests to the Town over the two-year period, no information was provided to the thousands of residents and small business owners the Town Board had enrolled in this ESCO. Thus, unincorporated Greenburgh electricity users had no way of knowing whether they were actually saving money and/or whether they should take advantage of the “Opt Out” provision.   The Council of Greenburgh Civic Association (CGCA) was asked to get involved.  Following a unanimous vote at the June 19, 2018 CGCA meeting, a letter was sent to Supervisor Feiner seeking information.  

The CGCA received a response.  In an email blast on July 24, 2018, Mr. Feiner reported that over the 25-month period from June 2016 through June 2018, residents in the “Basic Supply Option” had saved an average $7.78/month, residents in the “Green Option” saved $6.00/month, small business owners in the “Basic Supply Option” saved $2.01/month, but it actually cost small business owners in the “Green Option” 22 cents a month.  

However, for the very first time the public learned that only 52.67% of the savings actually came from the supply cost per kWh that had been negotiated.  Much of the total savings (47.33%) came from a $1.20/month billing and processing payment charge to each customer and sales tax avoidance (3% for residential and 7.375% for small businesses) on the delivery portion of the monthly bill. Savings from avoiding these two charges had never been mentioned earlier.  And, these two savings were not unique to the ESCO in which the Town enrolled users, but rather were available to any customer enrolled in any ESCO.  

Second CCA Contract – Huge Loses

Although the savings had been modest, the Town Board nevertheless voted to continue participation in the CCA for another two-year contract.  Beginning with the January 2019 meter read date, all residential and small business owners were enrolled for electric supply in the “Standard Option” at a cost of $0.07709 per kWh with the ESCO Constellation unless they “Opted Out.” 

Resident Ken Stahn, who had opted out again, noted each month his Con Edison per kWh costs were lower than the 7.709¢ per kWh costs charged by the  ESCO in which the Town had enrolled residential and small business owners. Mr. Stahn’s continued requests to the Town to provide information to the public were ignored.

Finally, on October 15, 2019, Westchester Power was invited to make a presentation at a Town Board work session.  At that meeting it was revealed that the Town had enrolled a total of 11,777 unincorporated Greenburgh residential and small business owners in the ESCO Constellation.  At the meeting, there was brief acknowledgement that the default Con Edison price for electric supply was at a historic low, but more time was spent blaming higher bills on Con Edison delivery charges.  Praise was given for the metric tons of carbon saved – although Greenburgh deserved little credit since few were enrolled in the “Green” option. It was stated electric supply costs would probably increase next year and reference was made to saving money regarding a Community Solar Project.  The need for a public update was mentioned, but there was no follow through. 

Some CGCA representatives who had opted out of the CCA contract felt the Town Board should inform the public about the higher costs to them.   Data was collected from the actual Con Edison bills of eight properties – five residential and three small businesses – from different areas.  Seven of those properties had opted out of the CCA contract but one business was enrolled.  The data revealed that the seven properties that had opted out had saved between $50 and $700 over the 12 billing periods starting in January 2019.  The one business property enrolled by the Town in the ESCO actually paid more than $1,000 in additional costs over the 12-month period.  Rest assured, that business promptly opted out when presented with this information!

At Mr. Stahn’s request, the Town Board invited Westchester Power to make another presentation at its March 10, 2020 work session.  The representatives again acknowledged that Con Edison default rates were at historic lows. The presentation included a slide showing that those enrolled in the ESCO paid $1,133,210 more for supply, with the additional monthly costs being between $5.71 and $6.92 for residents and between $4.46 and $10.07 for businesses.  However, it was emphasized that those enrolled still had savings over the past three years.  Also emphasized was the amount of carbon saved, likely Con Edison cost increases later in the year, the community solar project and how helpful Westchester Power could be to utility users.  

Ella Preiser, Dorrine Livson and Ken Stahn attended the meeting.  Two tables were presented showing the data collected for the eight properties. Westchester Power representatives were dismissive of the data provided because it contained actual (four-decimal place) per kWh supply costs and did not include a small “Merchant function charge.” They emphasized Con Edison’s rates were unpredictable and the bill was difficult to read.   The Town mentioned the need to provide information to the public.  The next day (3/11/20) at the regular Town Board meeting, Mrs. Livson mentioned the more than one million dollar cost to Greenburgh users and tens of millions to other Westchester County electric users. She asked the Town to release such information.  The Town once again remained silent.

At the April 22, 2020 meeting, held via Zoom, Mrs. Livson again asked the Town Board to inform the public about the electric costs.  The Board agreed to invite Westchester Power to the first work session in May.

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH?

See the attached table which has been revised and lists the one-decimal place costs Con Edison recommends to compare ESCO charges. To determine if you are paying too much, examine the electric supply page on your Con Edison bill and compare the cost per kWh with those shown on the table for the seven properties.  

Contrary to the information presented on March 10, it may be costing you far more than the $6 to $10 per month Westchester Power mentioned.  Just as an example, following is computation illustrating the cost differences of recent bills for Property #5 (residential) and Property #6 (business).  As you can see Property #5 saved $37.15 in just one month and Property #6 saved $115.53 in one month.

1374 kWh @ 7.709¢/kWh = $105.92 + 4.24 (4% sales tax) = $110.02           

1374 kWh @ 5.100¢/kWh = $  70.07 + 2.80 (4% sales tax) = $  72.87

4086 kWh @ 7.709¢/kWh = $314.99 + 26.38 (8.375% sales tax) = $341.37

4086 kWh @ 5.100¢/kWh = $208.39 + 17.45 (8.375% sales tax) = $225.84

                                                                                               

Also note:  Westchester Power cannot rely on 47% savings from other sources on this contract.  The $1.20 per month billing and processing fee remained at $1.20 for businesses but was reduced to 60¢ per month for residents in 2019 and is now 64¢ per month.   Since last spring, the monthly bills no longer mention sales tax avoidance (now 4% for residential and 8.375% for small businesses) on the delivery portion of the bill. 

Another Pedestrian Seriously Injured in Greenburgh Hit & Run

The topic du jour in the Town of Greenburgh lately seems to be about pedestrians being struck by cars throughout the Town. Sure, there are other hot topics, but another pedestrian was struck near the Hartsdale four corners area last weekend. This elderly gentleman sustained serious injuries with what we were told included a possible fractured skull. Using video evidence, police saw the victim walk on Central Avenue and turn onto East Hartsdale Avenue, where he walked past the crosswalk and was hit in the middle of the left turning lane, police said. The car didn't stop, according to police. Greenburgh police located the car, a 2018 Honda CRV that was driven by an 87-year-old Hartsdale man. No charges have been filed.

This is significant not only because someone was struck and seriously injured by a car, but that it was another hit and run accident as well. While it's a bad thing that has happened, it seems that more and more of the accidents are hit and runs, with drivers not staying at the scene. We also seem to have lost common sense when it comes to either walking in or crossing the streets. In fact, on Saturday afternoon two staffers mentioned that they were waiting at a traffic light in Hartsdale when a young millennial couple walked from between two cars to cross the street roughly 20 feet from the raised crosswalk. The guy was looking at his girlfriend and she was texting on her cell phone. Both were oblivious to their surroundings. Situational awareness: missing. Accident waiting to happen: probable.

In the Saturday local daily paper, there was a headline for an article stating that "Greenburgh Strives to Improve Pedestrian Safety After Series of Serious Accidents." Interesting perspective describing that the Town residents and officials are exasperated and grasping for solutions. And yet, at every turn, the same points are highlighted with the same non-solution solutions. Truth be told, part of the blame falls squarely in Mr Feiner and his Town Board's lap. After all, they have been allowing all kinds of construction and development to happen throughout the Town for both residential and business structures, inherently increasing traffic without redeveloping the infrastructure to handle the increased traffic, flooding, water usage and power needs. The excuse given at every project's hearings is that the traffic study doesn't prove that changes are necessary, only that it'll be a minimal increase in traffic, etc. Flooding is reduced to catch-basin usage. No one ever discusses what happens when they're full.

The Fulton Park Civic Association has been requesting sidewalks on Old Kensico Road, commonly referred to as Old Kensico Speedway, but Mr Feiner chose to place the burden of the request onto one resident and seek to have him seemingly offend his neighbors. While that backfired for Mr Feiner, Fulton Park is still without a sidewalk and two people were seriously injured when they were recently struck by cars on it. At least one was a hit and run with the young man driving leaving the scene only to be arrested by police about two weeks later. The same community had complained to the police department for not enforcing the speed limits on Old Kensico Speedway. This is a heavily walked roadway with minimal lighting. They were told unofficially by several officers that the police department were no longer doing traffic enforcement in various neighborhoods. 

A traffic enforcement expert we spoke to explained that during his police department career, speed always played a factor in accidents involving pedestrians. Given the speed we see many drivers operating their vehicles, including distracted drivers, van, truck and tractor trailer drivers with limited visibility, it's almost surprising we don't have even more accidents. But some of this is not the fault of the drivers as pedestrians dart out from between cars, don't cross at the crosswalk or traffic lights and others simply ignore it all and just arrogantly walk into traffic expecting the vehicles to just stop for them since "pedestrians have the right of way." It's a recipe for disaster.

So who is responsible for everyone's safety? Frankly, everyone. Some say it's the police department, fire department and EMS organizations. We respectfully disagree. First and foremost, it is up to everyone but this time it's the Town administrations responsibility. Had they been governing in a responsible manner for all these years, many of the roadways might have been adjusted and configured to better handle traffic. We've watched Mr Feiner urinate away funds to appease the Hartsdale community into believing he is sincerely looking out for their well-being. In the meantime, unless there is a grant or efforts by others to acquire sidewalks, not much is originating from Town Hall. We have a triple A bond rating and rates are currently as low as ever. NOW is the time to start taking advantage of that bond rating!

Next, we believe it is the Police Department responsibility. Under Chief McNerney's short tenure, he wasn't allowed to hire police officers as Mr Feiner played Russian Roulette with the Edgemont Incorporation, stating he might not be able to afford those officers should the incorporation go through and the tax revenue needed to pay for them suddenly disappear. As an appointee to the Police Chiefs position, he's beholden to Mr Feiner for his job. While we understand and disagree with this approach, you cannot operate based on "what ifs". The first thing is to hire the cops you need and the second thing is start enforcing the laws. Those include speeding, commercial traffic going through residential neighborhoods and jaywalking to mention a few. We don't believe this falls on the fire or EMS agencies as their role is reactive by the nature of what they do. But I'm sure they would all be willing to participate if asked.

One thing Mr Feiner stated is correct when he said, "I think education is probably the most important thing." In general, yes. The easy part is getting to the kids in school as they are in a captive environment and this information can be distributed and hopefully shared at home with family members. It's those not in school that will be the toughest to reach. Plus, since Greenburgh is a sanctuary Town, many of those in the shadows are not easily reachable and yet are part of the crowd they need to reach as many regularly walk to and from their destinations.

By our count, we're up to 10 pedestrians struck by automobiles within the Town. We can keep pointing fingers but the fact is there has been an increased traffic buildup for years without much done to alleviate it except for politicians to urge using buses, bikes and walking. Therein is the rub. The same stale (lack of) ideas and finger-pointing continues to take place. Since the minimal public reelected Mr Feiner and he helped get us into this dangerous situation, we're guessing that many find these odds acceptable. We don't. It needs to change. Once it does, we'll see A Better Greenburgh.

Greenburgh Election Results

The race in Greenburgh results are as follows:

For Supervisor:
28-Year incumbent Paul Feiner received 10,974 combined votes (68%).
Challenger Lucas Cioffi received 5,190 votes (32%)

All other Greenburgh seats were unchallenged, including Ken Jones* and Gina Jackson for Town Board. For Town Clerk was incumbent Judith Beville.

* Jones currently has two ethics complaints pending against him.

Duplicitous Meeting Obscures Truth - Again

To the uninitiated, when taxpayers receive a neighborhood invite from Mr Feiner, they think it’s something special. Such was the case on Saturday when they were invited to the former Multi-plex for a site visit and another meeting with all of the interested players seeking to build another ShopRite store in Westchester, this time in Greenburgh, known as North Elmsford. It will be directly across the street from Sam’s Club. The same diagrams that had been used back in June were regurgitated for this meeting. In fact, no changes had been made since the initial offering. The only difference this time is all of the players were willing to acknowledge what we had learned even before June, that this would be a new ShopRite supermarket.

One might wonder why ShopRite would want to build at this site? Location, location, location. Don’t be confused, it’s not a great location yet. It will take about two years or less depending on how much green-lighting they need from the Town Board once they take on Lead Agency status. ShopRite knows what we have been reporting for years. The Mt Pleasant portion of property adjacent to Greenburgh’s Northern Elmsford has discussions underway to be developed with numerous apartments, motel, etc., giving them a perfect position to cater to those families. Already existing residents will also benefit. We’re sure Mr Feiner had his hand in this offer as he traditionally is planning for projects several years into the future.

But here’s what doesn’t gel. Residents who participated with this site visit were told numerous things. In part, they heard Feiner-speak and the other part, code for done-deal. So the proposed ShopRite will be 75,711 square feet. Also proposed will be a yet-to-be-announced restaurant or retail business that will be 13,765 square feet in size. The proposal also includes an additional 3,000 square foot restaurant that should be close to the entrance/exit off of 9A. The 20,000 square foot multi-plex theater as well as the stores and bank will be demolished. When looking at the dimensional layout of the project, it’s been crafted to solely benefit the developer and ultimately, ShopRite, by moving the building closer to the Westchester Hills Condominiums and the Orchard Lane residents in the Beaver Hill community.

But this walk through was not about hearing the community residents’ concerns. Rather, it was the developer and Mr Feiner, along with his Town Board, and Commissioner Garrett Duquesne letting the residents know what they can expect with this project. There was nothing different this day from the previous meeting held in the Westchester Hills Condominium’s Rec Center room in June. Everyone here continued to say they had no objection to ShopRite coming into the space. What they all seemed united about was that they did not want an entrance/exit onto Old Country Road. They said an already dangerous area would be made worse by even more tractor-trailer and truck traffic as trucks currently use Old Country Road as a cut through to get to the businesses in the Executive Boulevard complex, which is zoned for light commercial businesses. Old Country Road, which currently prohibits commercial traffic, is the only access/exit road for the Westchester Hills Condominium complex.

The developer’s plans call for major working of the property’s grade from what it is now to a more leveled one. The excuse given was that the zoning requires it and they also wanted to control runaway shopping carts. That was almost laughable. Mr Feiner, his Town Board, and/or his hand-picked Planning and Zoning Boards give out zoning variances like candy at Halloween. Some recent projects where this was done was on Old Colony Road for steep slope; Brightview Assisted Living for setbacks; Deli Delicious for setbacks; Westhab for setbacks, building size; Shelbourne Assisted Living, with a 3,000% variance and setbacks; and on a Central Avenue office building at Ardsley Road and Central Park Avenue for setbacks, undersized building parking and structure heights.

In fact, every developer that pre-meets with Mr Feiner privately before they submit plans at a Town Board work session already know what few obstacles they may face. Regardless, this was a fake argument to make for this crowd because they don’t follow these Boards, nor understand that this deal is already underway. How do we know? Because everyone from the applicant’s side, Mr Feiner and Walter Simon, the Chair of the Planning Board said that once the Planning Board has the project on their agenda, residents can come and speak about it. This is interesting because the Planning Board doesn’t allow comments to be made.

So, looking at the unrevised site plans that everyone struggled to see because the presenters stood by the front of the building’s glass doors and windows with the bright sun blinding the crowd of about 50 or so people, we were shown how the trucks will be coming in and going on a two-way roadway on the perimeter of the property. They will head northward, making a right-hand curved turn toward the rear of the building, pulling past the rear loading docks with their tractor-trailer trucks and then backing into the loading dock proper. Once unloading is completed, the trucks will pull out onto Old Country Road. The unchanged site plans also allow the tractor-trailers to enter from the proposed Old Country Road entrance. An unmentioned aside is that the condominiums are built on what used to be marshland. The piping for the condominium’s storm water, waste, etc., were not built for truck traffic, but for residential vehicles. Let’s not forget that there have been numerous shifts in that entire complex and Old Country Road itself as settling and sinking still occurs.

We see no reason that the developer cannot make adjustments to their plans to be a good neighbor with the three existing residential surrounding this property. Instead, they’ve dug their heels in and continued with the phony slope argument. The Town is famous for allowing steep slope variances and could do so here. The trucks can continue around the building and come down the south side of the drive and exit at the same light that they enter. This isn’t rocket science and in this day and age, computers are doing the reworking once new coordinates are put into the developer’s CAD system. The next step in this scam would have been for Mr Feiner to offer to help create a neighborhood committee so they can meet with a few neighbors to discuss this. He prefers this angle as he likes to try to talk to one or two people at a time to sway their opinion. But since he didn’t offer this, it proves our “done-deal” theory.

This may not be the right project for this property. On a much smaller level, when people are looking to purchase a home, they shop and look at numerous properties before making a decision. Frankly, if there’s something they don’t like, the driveway is too long or too small, or, they don’t like the schools, or the area floods, whatever the reason, you walk away. Will ShopRite walk away? Maybe they desire this property enough to work with the neighbors, maybe not. Another one of Mr Feiner’s ploys is trying to coerce neighborhoods to accept what he wants by saying you don’t know what else might come in here. It could be a methadone clinic or a homeless hotel. It doesn’t have to be if he stuck to the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.

We don’t have to accept this either. You can keep pressure on him, his Town Board and yes, ShopRite. You’re entitled to have a good quality of life and what you want, just as they can want what they want. The difference is that we live here – they are outsiders looking for us to give into their pressure. We’re convinced that this not a good deal as it stands. Let them come back to the Town and its residents with an reworked proposal and see if there can be a compromise. It’s what will make for A Better Greenburgh.

Greenburgh Politics Votes No Change

In a not-stunning-in-the-least primary vote, seemingly nothing will change in Greenburgh. Sure, change can be scary. So can the lethargic same-old, same-old mentality that seems to prevail. That's what the minute portion of Greenburgh Democratic voters decided last night.

With no surprises, the problems that plague the Feiner Administration will remain until the election which will invariably yield similar results. The results of the primary vote for the two Town Council seats and one Town Clerk seat played out this way:

GINA R JACKSON       2,706 or 41% of the votes. 
ERIC ZINGER              1,458 or 22% of the votes.
KEN JONES*               2,426 or 37% of the votes.
Office Totals               6,590 or 100% of the votes.

In the Town Clerks race
MARIA J PORTILLA    1,775 or 48%
JUDITH A BEVILLE*   1,947 or 52%
Office Totals                3,722 or 100%

*incumbent

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.