Candidate Debates For Supervisor

There have been two debates (links below) this past week between 28-year Democrat Town Supervisor Paul Feiner and Independent challenger Lucas Cioffi. The first debate, while cordial, was held at the Greenburgh Library in the large conference room. There were about 50 or so people in attendance for the League of Women Voters (LOWV) led evening. As an aside, this is not the first event run by the LOWV but it sure seemed like it. While their moderators claim to not live in the Town, they still allowed Mr Feiner more time to speak than Mr Cioffi, a clear bias that has be seen at other events in our Town run by the LOWV.

All questions were forced to be censored by having attendees write their questions on 3" x 5" index cards. This control of questions, limits the information flow to voters and is counter-productive, ensuring a safety net for incumbents. Since Mr Feiner boasted of his 28-year tenure as valuable job experience, he cut off those critics who either believe he has been in office too long or favor term-limits. Mr Cioffi favors a three-term limit as a maximum. 

Ironically, at the Town Board debate several months ago between the two annointed Democratic candidates running against Democratic Hartsdale resident Eric Zinger (we believe a better choice), Councilman Jones stated that a candidate needs 12 years to get anything done if elected. His neatly-crafted and yet absurd explanation was that it takes 4 years to settle in and get past the previous position-holder's issues. The next four years to introduce his issues while working on other Board member issues and the final four to get his issues addressed. If that were truly the case, when will he seek to change the term for Greenburgh Council persons to 12-years? It seems very convoluted to us.

So with Mr Jones into his third term, he should be leaving us soon. As an aside, Mr Jones also has two pending ethics complaints brought against him during the summer months that have languished. Why have they languished? As you know, Mr Feiner, vis-a-vis’ his Town Board, chooses and appoints all members to all of the Boards he creates or sustains.This Board is no different. They had been operating for over a year with one less member than “required”. That member, supposedly a Republican for balance on the otherwise Democratic Board, had been AWOL for about a year after being appointed. Since then, two members resigned and one is out on sick leave. This is known within the Town’s various Boards as falling on the “Feiner sword” whenever necessary. By doing so, Mr Jones gets to seek re-election unencumbered by the “Ethics Complaint Albatross” overshadowing his candidacy. After Mr Jones is re-elected to his Council seat, Mr Feiner will appoint new members to revitalize his Ethics Board.

The first evening’s debate had no real drama or fireworks. Mr Cioffi mentioned early on that he had told Mr Feiner that he would keep the campaign civil and courteous. He also said that after 28-years, it was certainly time for a change. Mr Feiner said that his 28-year experience, contacts in state and federal governments have helped him get things done for Greenburgh. 

One thing that he didn’t mention was his ability to get laws changed that benefit him, such as the one he asked his cohort Assemblyman Tom Abinanti to introduce in Albany to change the incorporation laws to slow, stop or thwart the Edgemont incorporation effort. Or, like the one he asked Mr Abinanti to introduce to alter the Finneran Law. Why is this significant? Payback. Mr Feiner did Mr Abinanti a favor by blocking the Fortress Bible Church from building on property that was behind Mr Abinanti's home and neighborhood. Mr Feiner would subsequently be found guilty of lying under oath and destroying evidence by a Federal Court and fined $6.5 million dollars. That was one helluva a price for Mr Feiner to pay, but in reality, we are the ones paying! By the way, Mr Abinanti has since moved out of Unincorporated Greenburgh!

The second debate, hosted by the Hartsdale Neighborhood Association, would find an equally stifling environment of 3" x 5" index cards and a lack of community engagement. This one would offer a slightly different environment. The opening statements would be five minutes instead of two and answers would be restricted to two minutes instead of one and a half. Mr Feiner was allowed to go first, reading his accomplishments from prepared text in a loose-leaf binder with topic tabs. So there was literally no change in content this evening from him with the exception of going longer. Interestingly, he kept touting the Towns AAA Bond rating, which does little for us since the Town floats few bonds. It really only highlights the taxpayers ability to dig deeper into their wallets every time he raises taxes. He also claimed that the Town has stayed under the 2% tax cap. But if you take away the allowable exceptions when calculating the actual tax increase according to Mr Cioffi, we have seen an average 4% yearly tax increase over the last 20 years!

Mr Cioffi stated that Mr Feiner has a reputation for answering phone calls and emails at all times of the day or night. He has billed himself as the problem solver. He also said that Mr Feiner claims the Town is running well and our various departments are doing a fantastic job. That may be, at least according to what Mr Feiner says, but since Mr Feiner is the only one person receiving and responding to emails, we’ll never really know. In fact, Mr Cioffi said that this is a failed model because there is only one point of contact for 90,000 people, which is inefficient, provides little to no accountability and no open or accessible records that could be studied and quantified by residents. 

Another interesting proposal by newcomer/fresh voice/outside thinker Lucas Cioffi is a two-year tax moratorium once he takes office. This idea, which has several reasons behind it was copied by Mr Feiner who has recently started saying that the Town will have a 1-year tax moratorium this coming year. This exemplifies why we need to have term limits and why it’s time for a change: different ideas, different thinking, different solutions. 

Want another idea that highlights different thinking? When his opening 5-minutes started, Mr Cioffi said that he would address all questions from where he was seated but would go in front of the crowd for this one part. “This one part” turned out to be him saying to everyone, “Think about what it is that brought you here tonight?” The second question is, “What does Greenburgh need right now and going forward?” Then he asked everyone to introduce themselves to the person next to them and tell them why they were here. This was a powerful and creative gesture, the likes of which we promise will be copied and reused by Mr Feiner.

After this unique opening, Mr Feiner and Mr Cioffi danced around the issues. Mr Feiner read most of his answers from his playbook and Mr Cioffi comfortably responded to the questions without a prepared set of answers. Now, we don’t believe for a minute that Mr Cioffi wasn’t prepared, but he seemed thoroughly knowledgable with the information he was putting forth. He also said that this election was about building bridges across our neighborhoods.

The first debate spent a lot of time, questions and answers about the Edgemont Incorporation issue gnawing at the Town. The second debate did not. Mr Feiner spoke often about the unsanctioned Hartsdale 4-Corners revitalization. He has already spent an unauthorized $400,000 dollars on purchasing two properties behind the old DairyDel corner store. He also mentioned that there are many priorities throughout the Town, including storm water and traffic issues including at the four corner area. What he didn’t mention was that he has ignored those problems especially in that area during his 28-year tenure and only got interested in them when rumors of a Hartsdale Incorporation began circulating.

Mr Feiner also mentioned a food scrap recycling program. He didn't discuss getting our taxes under control. Mr Cioffi did. Mr Cioffi said the budget is 220 pages with only three charts. He pointed out that Mr Feiner said Mr Cioffi’s two-year tax freeze wasn’t a good idea, and then a week later copied the Cioffi campaign’s idea with a one-year freeze. Feiner supporters will justify this as smart - taking a good idea and running with it. Realists, however, will be critical and wonder why he never did this before? 28-years of complacency.

We can go on but won’t. As Mr Cioffi said in his summary remarks at the second event, “Mr Feiner talks about how he can get Albany to listen but he can’t get Edgemont to listen.” This election is not about who is the best candidate, but to quote Mr Cioffi, “It’s about what is the best system to run Greenburgh?” Mr Cioffi has a lot of good ideas, something we have not had in years. This might just be the change we need to make for A Better Greenburgh.

Learn more by watching the debates for yourself (links below). Or, come to the next debate to be held on Monday, October 28 at the Theodore D. Young Community Center (32 Manhattan Ave, White Plains) @ 7pm.

Debate Links:
https://youtu.be/1qW4O4tdXnE
https://youtu.be/6h0_skPh7Tc

Upcoming Supervisor Candidate Debates

If you live in Greenburgh -- including Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings, Irvington, Tarrytown, or unincorporated (Edgemont, Hartsdale, Fairview) -- this is the first time you can vote for a new town supervisor in a general election in over a decade. Challenger Lucas Cioffi, an Independent candidate, is running against Paul Feiner for Greenburgh Town Supervisor November 5th.

You are Invited to these three debates:
• Oct 21: League of Women Voters Debate, Greenburgh Public Library (300 Tarrytown Rd, Elmsford) @ 6:30pm
• Oct 22: Hartsdale Neighbors Association Forum, St Paul's United Methodist Church (130 N Central Ave, Hartsdale) @ 7pm
• Oct 28: NAACP Candidates Forum, Theodore D. Young Community Center (32 Manhattan Ave, White Plains) @ 7pm

Please mark your calendars.

Early voting starts Oct 26th: details about early voting and absentee ballots.

Lucas Cioffi’s simplified message about his campaign. Please share with your friends and neighbors:
1. Place a two-year freeze on town tax levies
2. Use real community involvement to get the budget and spending under control
3. Significantly increase openness and accountability
4. Implement term limits

Here is his full 8-page platform for your consideration. For info:

Lucas Cioffi
Candidate for Greenburgh Town Supervisor
Greenburgh, NY
Website: https://www.greenburgh.us

PS - You are receiving this email, because you receive our town's email updates. The New York State Committee on Open Government has confirmed that candidates running for office in Greenburgh may use the email list as long as we do not use it for fundraising purposes.  Please let me know if you'd like to unsubscribe, and thank you for your time!

Pre-Primary Democratic Candidate Forum

Three ABG staffers attended the Candidates Pre-Primary Forum at Town Hall on Thursday night. It started on time, unlike every Town Board meeting which starts late to the detriment of many audience members or taxpayers wishing to speak or be heard or are being time-constrained by childcare issues or work the following day. Remember this point, you'll see this again. The event was hosted by the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations and moderated by the League of Women Voters. When CGCA Chair O'Shea asked the audience to join in a pledge of allegiance, the apathetic crowd hesitantly and seemed to begrudgingly participate. Pathetic.

The first face-off was between 10-year incumbent Town Clerk Judith Beville and her challenger, Maria Portilla, who is endorsed by Mr Feiner. Having won the draw, Ms Portilla read her opening statement first, saying that the Town Clerks office is in crisis. While it was a good catch-phrase, and may be correct, she used it a little bit too much. However, it also established the core argument for her candidacy and apparently rattled incumbent clerk Judith Beville. Ms Portilla is a Senior Case Worker for the Westchester Department of Social Services and mentioned several innovations that she will implement as Town Clerk. Frankly, they should have been implemented long ago.

When it was Ms Beville's turn, she listed the accomplishments that she has overseen, stressing that she has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master's degree in Public Administration, stating that the Town Clerks position is not an entry-level one. That said, elections are about change if warranted or desired by the populace. And yet, Ms Beville started out as the Town Clerk after being elected and did not work her way up through the ranks to become Town Clerk. So it appears that it is an entry-level position after all.

During this brief period of campaigning, we've seen Ms Beville out and about more than usual and heard people discussing her office more than ever. Specifically, that she's had a complete changeover of personnel, disclosed HIPAA information of a former staff member and shredded numerous boxes of files erroneously. She mentioned her Masters Degree in Public Administration several times which is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of and we respect. However, simply having an academic degree doesn't necessary make you qualified in a particular field. A bit of irony was that while Ms Beville was speaking, the buzzer/timer that she usually operates for the Town Board went off and forced her to stop speaking -- another issue people have complained about during her campaign is that she injects herself into discussions during the Town Board meetings.

The next phase was the asking of questions which were all submitted by audience members prior to the event's start. The t-ball questions that were asked were quickly answered at which point the moderator said they were out of questions and then asked the audience if anyone had any additional questions? There was a flurry of activity in the back of the room as audience members submitted more questions, which were mostly a rehash of what had already been discussed, and covered no new ground. It was embarrassing that so little specific issues and actual solutions went unaddressed. 

It was also disappointing that Ms Beville's record remained unchallenged. While she touts improving response times for freedom of information requests, she contradicted herself by saying it's the department heads that don't respond in a timely manner. So while it may not be her fault specifically, she hasn't improved those response times. She boasts about internships and while Mr Feiner also touts and utilizes interns, that hasn't reduced our taxes or facilitated a better operating government. It also seemed that she started each of her answers with a qualifying comment that she was not responsible for this or that. It was always someone else's fault.

Finally concluded with no real enlightenment for Town voters, a short intermission allowed for some unearned back-slapping until the Town Board candidates took to the dais with the same moderator. Those candidates were Eric Zinger of the Hartsdale area, Ken Jones of Parkway Homes area and Gina Jackson, all of Unincorporated Greenburgh. The moderator seemed to struggle reading the questions that were submitted. These questions were now elevated to softball-level questions, a step up from the t-ball questions asked earlier. It should be noted that these are all candidates of the same party so going into this already accounts for a lack of challenges. Again, we had hoped for more.

All three gave an opening statement with Mr Zinger going first, stating that this was the first time in 12-years that voters had an opportunity to vote for challenged seats. That remains to be seen. As an incumbent, Ken Jones enjoys a certain amount of "incumbency lead" that should automatically help him in the primary vote. So, if the voters follow past practices, they'll re-elect the incumbent and elect one new candidate. The real "choice" might only be between Mr Zinger and Ms Jackson. We hope that is not the case and finally breaks the stranglehold at Town Hall.

We expected Mr Zinger to go after Mr Jones and his ethical challenges (read our previous article of Monday, June 10, 2019 - Misdirection, Lies and Ethics). Instead, Mr Zinger discussed his time living in Hartsdale, working in the financial world, and how the Hartsdale 4-Corners has declined for years until he, along with others, formed the Hartsdale Neighbors Association and got more involved with the Town government. He stated he would like to see the Edgemont Community not incorporate and stay within the Town and is willing to work towards that end. He also lamented how frustrating is is for residents to have to wait for an opportunity to speak at Board meetings. And of course, he, as well as the others, said we must make Greenburgh more affordable.

Incumbent Ken Jones opened with the statement that since he has been on the board we haven't had any Fortress Bible Church-type lawsuits. That's one hell of an accomplishment. Perhaps after being surrounded by so much bad that this actually looks good to him. It's not. You'll recall that Mr Feiner and the Town were found guilty of 7-counts of discrimination, including lying under oath, destroying evidence and more in the Fortress Bible Church discrimination lawsuit and fined $6.5 million dollars. $5.5 million of which the insurance company refused to pay (nor has to) because Mr Feiner was found guilty in Federal Court. Mr Jones conveniently neglected to mention the two pending lawsuits currently underway and during his watch: the Dromore Road lawsuit and the Ferncliff Cemetery lawsuit.

Ms Jackson stated that she had lived in Atlanta and moved back to Greenburgh and is living with her mother, "Thanks, Mom." She did say she cannot afford her own home. This seems to be a never-ending complaint of every younger generation. Many of us couldn't afford our own places when we started out so we lived with our parents, got a place with friends and had roommates until we got married or better jobs or both. Sorry, but owning a home where you prefer to live is not a right and is something to strive towards. Government trying to control housing either directly or through legislation never accomplishes much except creating more government jobs and restrictions that keep many of these same generations that it's said to be for unable to move in. That's why there are apartments. However, in this case the argument made her the face of the point which could help her.

One question that was asked of all the candidates was what they would do to increase public participation at Town Board meetings. We've written often about the G10, those ten or so regulars that show up to the meetings and speak. In fact, we've also mentioned how the Town Board actually engages in back and forth conversations with new, uninitiated first-timers. The G10 are never given the same courtesy unless it's to somehow make the Board look good.

Mr Zinger said he would start the meetings on time, have documents that are slated to be discussed or voted on available at least 24-hrs earlier so residents have a chance to study them and treat people with respect. Ken Jones said starting the meetings on time would help. The audience laughed, acknowledging that he is a part of the reason the meetings start late. He also stated he wants to get Dial Democracy working. Keep in mind that Dial Democracy hasn't worked in years and falls under the Town Board's purview. For those unaware because it doesn't work and may note know about it, Dial Democracy is the hypothetical ability of Town residents to telephone directly into Town Board meetings, on air, and ask questions of the Board during the meeting. Mr Jones is the one candidate in the position to do something about this but has not. When the question of creating leaf blower usage legislation came up, he stated there were already leaf blower ordinances on the books but enforcement is difficult as response times after a complaint is made may find the offender finished or gone before the police can get there.Mr Jones apparently can recognize the problems but is unable to solve them even years later.

Ms Jackson would like questions to be able to be submitted online so that more people could be engaged in issues. She also said she is a stickler to start on time. When responding to the question of leaf blowers noise, Ms Jackson clearly didn't know there were already ordinances on the books and suggested we could use ordinances to control the noise. We appreciate that Ms Jackson is newly returned to the area. Perhaps its a bit premature for her to run at this juncture, perhaps not. Even with this faux pas, we need fresh, non Feiner-mandated thinking on the Board. Although, the fact that she is on Team Feiner means she won't really have to worry about what she knows or not.

We'd like to mention one other question that was asked and that was if the candidates supported term limits. Mr Zinger readily said yes, he supports term limits. Ms Jackson said she did not and stated that that was what elections were for. Mr Jones said he would support a three-term limit and gave an obviously well-thought out and yet convoluted answer. He said yes but for three terms of 4-years each (currently at $79k/year plus benefits that, if declined pays them even more money). He claimed that the first term you are learning the ropes and are voting on issues that were not yours. The second term you are starting to work on your issues and the third term you are bringing them to fruition. It was an impressive conveyance of what is wrong with government and many of our elected officials. If you need twelve years to implement anything, but cannot get Dial Democracy working in four, you are the wrong person in that office.

In the end, many people left this meeting disappointed because they didn't learn much if anything they didn't already know. However, we believe Eric Zinger was the strongest of the three candidates and actually offered a few solutions while the other two spoke in generalities and platitudes. Even so, we wish the candidates luck and hope the democratic crowd that will vote in this primary on June 25th will give some thought to this year's vote and consider a different mindset when voting. It will help to make A Better Greenburgh.

Desperate Last Ditch Effort

Desperate people do desperate things. No doubt Mr Feiner is desperate. At the debate held in Hastings-on-Hudson last week between himself and his opponent Robert “Bob” Bernstein, we half expected him to start foaming at the mouth as his lips were quivering while Mr Bernstein recited negative facts and figures about Mr Feiner with confidence. Armed with only a small pad compared to Mr Feiner’s stack of documents, Mr Bernstein simply recited failure after failure within the Feiner Administration in general and Mr Feiner directly.

Prior to the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations' debate and knowing that he would not be attending the scheduled event, Mr Feiner had previously instructed the Town Videographer to play a 30-minute political rebuttal commercial prepared in advance immediately after the Solo Debate! He had been invited several weeks earlier and never responded to their invitation per the written instructions from the President of the CGCA. Judith Beville finally replied the day before the event, saying they would not be attending. He claimed he made the decision at the last possible moment. Really? Then how did he happen to have his video ready for primetime and submitted to run on the Town’s cable access channel if his decision was so late? Obviously, he had no intent on participating in the debate.

The video of the debate was posted on the Town’s website. At a specially requested Town Board meeting, Mr Feiner asked the Board to allow him to put a second video online. Amazingly, the Board voted 4 to 0 to not allow Mr Feiner’s request! He stated that he was allowed to do this because Mr Bernstein had the debate online and election rules allow it. Actually, our understanding of Greenburgh rules only allow posting a debate if the League of Women Voters is moderating a debate. And, you can only post a certain number of videos online if they are for election purposes. Apparently, the Town Board didn’t agree (gasp!) with Mr Feiner. After the Hail Mary stunt he pulled by throwing Town Councilman Francis Sheehan under the proverbial bus when he challenged his ballot petition signatures in court, ABG is guessing Mr Feiner has some real butt-kissing to do to get back in the good graces of Mr Sheehan.

The Solo Debate video that had originally been posted on the Town’s public access channel has now been removed by Mr Feiner and the Town Board so as to not give Mr Bernstein’s campaign any edge against Mr Feiner. This decision to remove the Solo Debate video was authorized by an impromptu and secret vote of the Town Board to aid Mr Feiner’s campaign. Open government? This vote was executed before the second debate took place and seemed as though one decision would help Mr Bernstein and a reciprical one would assist Mr Feiner. ABG doesn’t believe Mr Bernstein should suffer because of another bad decision made in a last ditch effort by Mr Feiner to control the outcome of the primary election. ABG is now questioning the motives and ethical behavior of the entire Town Board regarding this secret vote. There are two debates that our readers can watch on YouTube if they are interested. The first link is to Mr Bernstein’s original “solo” debate and the second one is the two of them in the Hastings-on-Hudson debate.
Bob’s Solo Debate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeTu81fhmuE&feature=youtu.be

Bob and Paul Debate in Hastings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjkon6RXmbs

It’s ridiculous for Mr Feiner to think by removing the cable access video of only Mr Bernstein that he can stop people from viewing what he chose to ignore. Mr Feiner insulted the Unincorporated residents by not attending, as well as the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations and the League of Women Voters. This Tuesday, September 10, is the Democratic Primary for registered Democrats only to decide who will be the endorsed Democratic candidate for the November election for Town Supervisor. 22-years of mismanagement, fiscal irresponsibility and questionable decisions is a long time under one rule. It’s time for Greenburgh to get real management skills, financial planning, open government and to have Town Hall returned to the residents. It’s time for developers to wait in line. It’s time for neighborhoods to be heard. It will come as no surprise that ABG is endorsing Robert “Bob” Bernstein and Sherron Brunson Fantauzzi in this race. It’s time for A Better Greenburgh.

News Blackout Extended for Supervisor’s Debate

It’s now been two days since the Supervisor Face-Off at the James Harmon Community Center in Hastings-on-Hudson. Nothing has appeared in the mainstream media as to the debate held in Hastings. ABG has written previously as to how the lamestream media is in the tank for Mr Feiner. (See: Greenburgh News Blackout, May 30, 2013 and News Blackout Continues, May 31, 2013 on ABG to read more. Add to the lack of coverage for all-things Greenburgh or if you will, the selective coverage for all things Paul, and you’ll see why so many “willfully ignorant” residents continue to vote for more of the same old thing. There was nothing written of the debate in Westchester’s only daily newspaper or their Express version. Neither was there any coverage from News 12 or Channels 2, 4, 5 or 7. Why not?

Numerous readers have emailed ABG to let us know about several other people in attendance that night. Specifically present, but not mentioned (unintentionally) at the debate were Greenburgh Town Board Council members Diana Juettner and Francis Sheehan. You’ll recall Ms Juettner was part of the Town Board recently found guilty with Mr Feiner in the Fortress Bible Church discrimination case. Mr Sheehan was one of Mr Feiner’s confidantes and co-architects with most Town projects, developer approvals and web site jockeying. Mr Sheehan’s also the same Town Councilman Mr Feiner threw under the bus when Mr Feiner sued Mr Bernstein and Ms Brunson Fantauzzi over ballot petition signatures, alleging that Mr Sheehan lied on those same petitions! The case was thrown out of court. We’re reminded of the line from the Godfather movie that Mr Sheehan may want to keep in mind. “Michael, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Many have forwarded the text from David McKay Wilson’s recent blog saying we could do with it what we wish. While it certainly is good reading (as is all of Dave’s work), it’s his post and we will not reprint it without his express permission or request. ABG would still like to thank our readers who thought highly enough of us to take the time to send it to us. We trust you’ll understand our position regarding it. 

You can read it here:

http://taxes.lohudblogs.com/2013/09/04/feiner-says-open-westhelp-for-tax-watch-tour-but-town-attorney-needs-to-check-with-town-board/

There were several statements made in this debate by Mr Feiner that warrant mention and clarification. Mr Feiner came “out of the gate” on defense. Mr Bernstein was convincingly on offense. Mr Bernstein tried to discuss the points of projects throughout the Town while Mr Feiner continually attacked Mr Bernstein’s character and professional work (see below). Whenever Mr Bernstein quoted facts about Mr Feiner, Mr Feiner would appear agitated and then hastily rifle through the stacks of papers he had. Mr Feiner said several times that Mr Bernstein was lying, or sued the Town too much, costing the voters and forcing increased taxes on the Villages. Or, he would quote something Mr Bernstein had said in old newspaper articles from 2008 as if changing a position after five years was a bad thing.

Feiner Fact:

Mr Feiner said Mr Bernstein was against Westhab’s affordable housing in Fulton Park.

Accurate Fact:

Mr Bernstein’s stated he said he was against the oversized building because it was 28 units being put on .7 acres and surrounded by blacktop and the deal had already been agreed to by Mr Feiner and his Town Board.

Feiner Fact:

Town Attorney Tim Lewis denied Wilson’s request to tour the facility today, saying he needed to check with other members of the Town Board.

Accurate Fact: 

http://taxes.lohudblogs.com/2013/09/04/feiner-says-open-westhelp-for-tax-watch-tour-but-town-attorney-needs-to-check-with-town-board/

Feiner Fact:

Mr. Bernstein and his former law firm were sued for malpractice, but the case was dismissed with prejudice with no finding of any wrongdoing by Mr. Bernstein or the firm, and the $107 million was paid by a former client to settle price-fixing litigation.

Accurate Fact: www.dropbox.com/s/lan6j02iids634e/Stipulation%20%26%20Order%20of%20Voluntary%20Dismissal.pdf

Feiner Fact:

Mr. Feiner claimed he didn’t destroy evidence in the Fortress Bible lawsuit, the judgment would be for less than the $5 - $7 million expected, and that insurance would cover the cost.

Accurate Fact:

Judge Stephen C. Robinson said in his ruling, “at no time did Mr. Feiner refrain from destroying documents, including electronic documents such as email,” and the Town’s insurance carriers have notified the Town they would not cover intentional violations of federal law, which is what occurred here.

Ruling: 

www.dropbox.com/s/qlp08z9izrfcmc6/Fortress%20Bible%20Church%20v%20Feiner.pdf

Letters: www.dropbox.com/s/vswqezsaxn7czou/FB%20insurance%20letters%20declining%20coverage.pdf

ABG believes the reason there was no media coverage was because Mr Bernstein was the stronger candidate in the debate and they refuse to show a failing Mr Feiner. Mr Bernstein exhibited confidence, knowledge and command of the facts and seemed cool, calm and collected during the entire debate and while speaking. Mr Feiner spoke better than he usually does in public, but seemed frazzled at times and kept holding up paperwork and in hopes we might believe it “proves” Mr Bernstein was lying. Mr Bernstein was the one who was sticking to the facts and maintaining accuracy during the event. We almost expected Mr Feiner to cover his ears and start saying, “I can’t hear you, na, na, na, na, na, ” over and over again.

In the end, Mr Feiner, a shrewd and crafty politician, changed his persona for the debate, but it wasn’t enough. He kept slipping back into the old persona and just made up what he needed to assault Mr Bernstein. It didn’t work. When Mr Bernstein spoke, Village residents could be heard saying , “That’s not true, oh, that’s not true either.” When Mr Feiner spoke, those same people could be heard saying, “Uh-huh, That’s true, that’s true.” Interestingly, the crowd was split with two camps, one for each candidate. What seemed missing was a third camp without a preconceived notion of which candidate they might vote for based on what they heard  that evening. Both candidates stayed on their message. Mr Bernstein sought to publicize and challenge Mr Feiner’s policies, decisions and actions and how they are costing Unincorporated and Village residents a lot of money. We think he succeeded. Mr Feiner was trying to prove Mr Bernstein has contradicted himself and lied. He staked the claim that Mr Bernstein left his old law firm because of a $107M lawsuit against him (see above). It didn’t work. 

The Democratic Primary Election will be on next Tuesday, September 10^th. Only registered democrats can vote in this primary election. We hope our readers will view the video of the exchange and make an informed decision. We also hope the “willfully ignorant” will start paying attention – and fast – and also make an informed choice. It will help us to have A Better Greenburgh.

Ethically Challenged & Resorting To Lies

During the last forum at Town Hall which was not attended by Mr Feiner, his opponent for the Supervisor position, Mr Robert “Bob” Bernstein, had the spotlight shone on himself and the Town Clerk candidate Sherron Brunson Fantauzzi. The fact that Mr Feiner and Ms Beville chose to not attend  the event was nothing short of disrespectful to the residents of Unincorporated Greenburgh and those in attendance.

Several people have stated that Mr Feiner, speaking on behalf of himself and Ms Beville, did not attend because the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations were campaigning for Mr Bernstein and against him and they are a partisan group. Ironically, the CGCA is run by Madelon O’Shea, who insists that all meetings, functions and discussions remain non-partisan. The League of Women Voters may or may not be partisan but the moderator, Ms Sue Weisfeld was specifically chosen as she has been known to be fair while forcefully maintaining control of a forum and the time constraints necessary.

We’ve always maintained Mr Feiner is shrewd. He proved it again by not attending the forum and then having a one-half an hour commercial run on the cable access channel immediately after the forum ended. It allowed him a relatively captive audience, a half an hour of uninterrupted and unquestioned time to talk about what he wanted to discuss, not what residents might be interested in hearing. It reminded us of the night he went to the NAACP forum about WestHelp and never answered any questions and rambled on about everything but answering the questions that were asked. ABG is relatively sure we’ll see a repeat performance of that behavior again tonight.

Watching the video he produced found him in front of numerous locations discussing topics relating to where he was. One location he illegally entered to film his commercial was the Elmsford Fire Company, a private corporation who did not authorize his film crew to enter or film there, where he professed his love of the villages volunteer firefighters. At the end of that video, he must have realized he offended the paid firefighters in the three Greenburgh Departments and quickly praised them too. ABG understands why he filmed this piece there. The paid firefighter’s union has endorsed his opponent, Mr Bob Bernstein.

He spoke in front of Frank’s nursery (loss to Greenburgh: $3.5M), WestHelp (loss to Greenburgh: $1.2M/yr), the Fortress Bible property (loss to Greenburgh: up to $8M), the Theodore Young Community Center and so on. At each location he staked his claim against Mr Bernstein as being against what he was trying to do at each of these locations. ABG believes Mr Bernstein was on the right side of each of these escapades. Mr Feiner could be found weaving half-truths with out and out lies about Mr Bernstein. We already have documented that Mr Feiner is ethically challenged and in desperation is resorting to lies to make his case for re-election. Residents are smarter than that but Mr Feiner is hoping they will only remember what he has said, not what he has done.

Mr Feiner has been in office for 22 years now. In the beginning, when many residents tired of the Anthony Veteran administration, the voters decided to try something new with Mr Feiner. What we have learned in those 22 years is that the old saying about how “power corrupts” is absolutely true. While Mr Feiner may have been a logical and even good choice 22 years ago, his lack of management skills, lack of private sector knowledge and experience, lack of ever working in the real world has shifted his focus from doing the right thing for residents to favoring developers, contributors and special interest groups.

This September 10th is the date for the Democratic Primary. The outcome will decide who will be the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Party in the November election. It’s not about which yard sign was more impressive or readable when speeding down our residential neighborhood streets. It’s not about wondering who will help you as you watch your possessions float away during a misting rain because overdevelopment has no place for the water to go. It’s not about standing in the shadows of a larger than zoned-for building wondering how to watch a sunset in our Town. It’s not about watching our already overdeveloped green space turn black from macadam. It’s not about wondering if traffic will begin to move in time for you to play with your kids before they go to bed. It’s not about watching our seniors move out of their homes of 30 and 40 years into a subsidized studio apartments because taxes became greater than their Social Security checks. No, it’s about the fundamental and sweeping changes our Town has gone through and deciding if enough is enough! It’s time to return Greenburgh back to it’s residents. It’s time for A Better Greenburgh!

Supervisor’s Debate: Bernstein Goes It Alone

Last Thursday evening the public, specifically the Unincorporated residents were again insulted by Mr Feiner when he chose to campaign at a Village supermarket, probably because he’s assisted in closing many of them in the Unincorporated areas. Whatever his reasoning for not attending the forum, ABG believes he should have attended.

While it was not as thorough an exercise in political discourse as we would have hoped for, and especially disappointed that Mr Feiner felt too frightened to attend, we suggest you watch the forum and perhaps you’ll get a idea of what Mr Bernstein plans to do when he is elected Town Supervisor.

Here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeTu81fhmuE&feature=youtu.be

Bernstein & Fantauzzi Score Forum “TKO”

Our title for this post is a bit facetious in that there were no real “winners” in last night’s forum. The participants who benefitted were the two candidates and the public who showed up, sans Mr Feiner and Ms Beville. The forum, no longer referred to as a debate because we don’t want anyone to experience failure, was a technical knockout for Mr Bernstein and Ms Fantauzzi as Mr Feiner and Ms Beville chose to boycott the forum and utilize a different strategy. This forum, which began at 7:30PM instead of 7PM to give both candidates time to arrive, was hosted by the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations. The CGCA represents and culls together the leaders of various civic association members and issues throughout the Town and speaks on behalf of residents with issues brought before the Town Board and other agencies. Moderated by the League of Woman Voters’ Susan Weisfeld, the questions asked were only those presented for the one present candidate and not the other. And since Mr Feiner and Ms Beville chose to not participate, the few questions asked were specific to Mr Bernstein and Ms Fantauzzi.

The lack of an opponent for both Ms Fantauzzi and Mr Bernstein appeared to make the moderator Ms Weisfeld appear disoriented. She even stated that she has never experienced this situation in any other forum and was unsure as to how to proceed after the two candidates answered their questions, occasionally adding nervous laughter. Yet, she read off the ground rules that were almost nonsensical given the lack of opposition. Once everything was set up and ground rules laid, the abbreviated evening got underway.

Ms Fantauzzi was the first speaker and gave a 2-minute prepared opening statement, thanking numerous people. She touched on several topics in this statement. One of her big campaign contentions was that the Town Clerk should attend Town Board Work Sessions and Town Board Public Meetings in silence and only speak to clarify information or to answer a direct question addressed to her or her office. The Town Clerks position is to record the information of the meetings. She offered residents real time record-keeping and website posting. She also stated she would bring her managerial experience developed at Chase Bank to add to the professionalism that is lacking in the current Town Clerk’s office. She offered to have a true open door policy and make information accessible to all. 

Ms Fantauzzi seemed to falter several times when presented with random questions from the audience. It was difficult to tell if this was due to inexperience, nervousness or a lack of command of information. She did state that she had so many things she was thinking and was unable to quickly organize and articulate her thoughts. Given that, let’s write it off this time to nerves and hope for a more commanding performance in the next forum. 

Unfortunately, many in the audience were dismayed that a break was taken after the abbreviated time spent with Ms Fantauzzi. Regardless, the forum next returned with Mr Robert “Bob” Bernstein, the second and final speaker for the event. He made an opening statement as well, highlighting the work the CGCA does and how it has remained non-partisan. He promised to bring his own management skills to the Town and if warranted was willing to investigate whether or not the Town should hire a professional Town Administrator, similar to what other Towns have done.

He was asked how and why he got into politics and said it happened 22 years ago; ironically the same time Mr Feiner first took office. Neighbors often complained to him that they could not get answers from the Town or Mr Feiner and he began coming to Town Board meetings on their behalf. He discussed his plans to make the Town more revenue efficient as well as operationally transparent. He offered to develop an attitude of cooperation, civility and efficiency why doing away with back-room deals and secret meetings.

There were numerous questions submitted that were never read and several people were stunned when the moderator ended the evenings event. Many queried why Mr Feiner and Ms Beville were not in attendance. Not only were they given the information in a timely manor, Mr Bernstein spoke about the debate at the last Town Board meeting’s public session. One resident said he saw Mr Feiner campaigning in front of a supermarket just before arriving at the Town Hall forum.

Time was on the side of the residents who attended and while ABG believes more could have been done with questions and answers, we appreciate the time we had with these candidates. The next forum will be held in Hastings-On-Hudson at the Jim Harmon Community Center on Main Street at 8 p.m., September 3. We hope to see Mr Feiner and Ms Beville there as well as you.