Black Women's March in Tarrytown

The Black Women’s March across the new Tappan Zee Bridge was planned for today, Saturday. Its organizers were on schedule to march across the bridge despite the threat of mass arrests at about noon. Vanessa Green, one of the march organizers, said the march would go on as planned, as other Black Lives Matter and anti-racist groups have committed to attending and some volunteering to be the first arrested. 

There appeared to be about 100 or so people (see photo above) making up the crowd. At least half appeared to be white and the rest of color. We overheard one man offer a sign to another that said “Black Lives Matter” and when thanked, he said he was just there to hand out signs. At one point Ms Green led the crowd in several chants, with the one most often used was, “Black Lives Matter here!”

There were many apparently hand-written signs saying the same thing but differently. “Listen To Black Women” and “Slavery Never Ended, It Just Evolved,” White Silence = Violence.” There were others, but not everyone had signs. Some were there to support the movement and some frankly were just curious to see what was going on. 

With a helicopter flying overhead, which we assumed was the state police helicopter, Tarrytown police officers, as well as state police officers seemed to be everywhere, even on the rooftop of the stores in the extremely crowded CVS (formerly Stop and Shop) parking lot! We spoke to one officer who said his post was right here but the parking lot was a zoo. His sergeant happened to walk over and said basically the same thing. 

There also seemed to be a lot of media coverage here with about five news trucks, and numerous video cameras hoisted overhead to capture Ms Green as she spoke to the crowd. It remains to be seen if they make it across the bridge or not as state troopers had set up a row of officers at what would be considered their access point. We’ll just have to see how this plays out. A peaceful protest and no arrests would be preferable. That will help us toward A Better Greenburgh.

The website callblackline.com espouses a list of thirty issues that they are hoping to address, listed here as presented on their website:

A few demands provided by Black Women in Westchester, Ulster, Orange, and Rockland Counties:

• Improved services for Black LGBTQ gender non-conforming folks
• The silence and complacency regarding the continued murder and brutalization of trans women, especially black trans women
• Eradicate poverty
• Address environmental racism that occurs in communities like Newburgh’s PFOS water contamination and generational high lead levels
• Improve education, especially in the East Ramapo School District
• Transform and dismantle the police
• Disinvest in police, invest in community
• Eliminating cash bail in New York - we need legitimate Alternative To Incarceration (ATI) programs that are not electronic monitoring, probation and other fucked up governmental programs 
• Improve mental health services
• Address drug use impacting Black families, through public health not criminalization
• End the mass incarceration that is tearing Black families apart
• Address disparity in the foster care system
• End sexual violence against Black women. Believe them.
• Job opportunities that include a living wage
• Affordable childcare
• Safe, decent and affordable housing
• Safety in our homes (from state and intimate partner violence)
• Address inadequate or non-existent legal criminal defense
• Stop policing Black Women on their anger
• Stop using us for legitimacy in your predominately-white agencies
• Financial institutions cease charging fees for minor transactions
• Access to bank accounts without being charged fees for not maintaining a certain balance
• Ability for undocumented Black and Brown women to secure Drivers' licenses
• Stop arresting Black and Trans Women for survivor crimes
• Improved transportation infrastructure
• Reduce and eliminate states’ social control and punishment in the judicial system (criminal and family)
• We are not a monolithic people and the One Black Women in the room is no longer acceptable
• NY state enact racial impact laws- provide opportunity for policymakers to consider alternative approaches that do not worsen disparities. (Similar to fiscal and environmental impact statements)
• Access to necessary and needed hormone treatment
• Reproductive justice, having a say over our bodies, choice to have many children or none at all

Best Market Opens To Favorable Crowds

Mega supermarkets seem to be today’s norm. The Super Stop and Shop on Rt 119 near the borders of Elmsford and Tarrytown is the latest testimony of this. While it is certainly huge and offers a tremendous selection, there are days when you just need a few basics or just a bit “more”. The Apple Farm, also on Rt 119 nearer White Plains, is focused primarily on produce, fish and deli items, and always seems to be busy. H-Mart offers a more specified focus to the Asian community and it too is usually busy.

Sustaining what could be termed “regular” supermarkets in our area has proven to be a challenge at the very least for the A&P. Fraught with issues of sustainability and viability for years, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its Westchester (and then some) based stores. The A&P franchise included the brand names A&P, Food Emporium, Pathmark, Waldbaums and others. However, the stores at the crux of this bankruptcy were popular in our area and impacted many people when they were closed.

Smaller food retailers seem to thrive when focusing on a specific market. Turco’s in Hartsdale did well for years. After they decided to close and focus on the northern demographic, Morton Williams took over the space. Owned by ShopRite, with several stores of the same name in NYC, they never seemed to catch on as Turco’s had. Having a limited run, they soon closed as well. Finally, Mrs Green’s, a natural and health food store closed their smaller Scarsdale location and opened in this location. Alas, their fate was predetermined as the health food market was not a viable one at this new location.

After a quick makeover of the store, the new owner of the space, Best Market, stocked shelves, cleaned and put their touch onto the facade. They have not only moved into the same space as the previous food retailers, but they’ve made a great first impression! Visiting the store has seen lines at the cash registers as their new employees master the checkout systems. Assisted with senior personnel, the lines kept moving. Walking through the store found a good mix of reasonable prices as well as somewhat higher, although not prohibitive prices for certain items.

Everyone in the store seemed to enjoy that the staff was friendly and seemed interested in helping those looking for assistance. ABG staffers visited the deli department and were asked by a younger employee how we liked the store? Whether this was instructed to the staff or he was genuinely interested didn’t really matter. He came across as sincere and sparked a bit of a longer conversation. Regardless of why the conversation took place, he represented the store and his employer well!

Judging on the crowds, the positive chatter throughout the store and a varied selection with good pricing that should engage the neighborhood, we are hopeful for a long and prosperous run for Best Markets. It’s helping to make A Better Greenburgh.

Developer Receives Preferential Treatment

An email and corresponding “snail” mail went out to Town residents of behalf of a developer by Mr Feiner immediately after a recent Town Board meeting. No sooner did he publicly say he was against the developer's project to increase the amount of buildings in the Midway Shopping Center and reduce the corresponding parking spaces due to safety concerns at a Town Board meeting, when he must have realized he had bitten another hand that feeds him! But this was no ordinary email and snail mail letter. It was a poll. There have only been two that we can recall. The other one was in support of his friends from GameOn 365.

So, Mr Feiner needed to redeem himself with some quick back-pedaling. Even though he operates unimpeded by the majority of taxpayers, he “slipped up” when he said he goes to the Midway Shopping Center daily and has had close calls there himself. He may have had close calls driving in the shopping center’s lot, but not being an expert in traffic control, it was strictly his opinion. For that matter, he may simply be a terrible driver. There may be no recognized safety issues at that shopping center except for a raised acid level when you are trying to find a parking space.

The applicant was seeking to add two more structures (initially) to the shopping center. Numerous area organizations and individuals have protested, claiming the area is saturated with traffic congestion already. The Town’s unofficial practice toward a concept called “shared parking” and “under-utilized parking”, make the argument against the expansion a difficult one. Still, the confluence of cars in this successful shopping center makes entering, parking and exiting extremely frustrating. In fact, the developer decided to offer numerous safety improvements to the area and the shopping center if their proposal was approved by the Town Board. One resident objected about the Town being held hostage by the developer who would only commit to the improvements if they could build another structure (since reduced from two down to one).

At some point, their proposal got scaled back to the addition of only one new building instead of two, perhaps as a “suggestion” by Mr Feiner. They argued, perhaps rightly, that for them to invest in the upgrades they had planned, they would need this additional building’s approval and ultimately its income to be, wait for it, “cost effective”.

Armed with the knowledge that the “willfully ignorant” will go along with almost anything he proposes, nor give the proposal the scrutiny it deserves, he sent out both the snail mailing and e-mailing, seeking “Citizen Input”. We’ll tell you shortly what we expect he will say he found. But first, how many other project developers has he done a poll for? We can recall several projects including Westhab, Deli Delicious, Dromore Road, Brightview, Stop and Shop (on Rt 119) among others, where Mr Feiner sent out emails and snail mailings (at taxpayer expense) championing these projects. But the answer is zero. The difference with GameOn 365, was that he desperately sought to initiate an illegal lease for the them with the former Frank’s Nursery property on Dobbs Ferry Road. He’s been their biggest cheerleader. The referendum for GameOn 365, carefully worded to only force a positive outcome, did just that. The Town was promised $5M as an incentive for passage of this referendum. However, the devil is always in the details and the referendum, whether legal or not, could not help an illegal lease move this ill-conceived deal forward! 

In fact, even more potent than this seemingly casual request for a yay or nay vote for Midway, knowing full-well that the foregone conclusion would be in the affirmative, is the fact that Mr Feiner made the case for the developer by laying out all of their points. Why would Mr Feiner do this and not the developer? Why did GameOn 365 have a strategically worded referendum created on their behalf and now a taxpayer-funded mailing? If you think this expansion is a good one, drive a bit north to the Westchester Square shopping center and get ready to use your imagination. It’s the one on Central Avenue that houses Trader Joe's, CVS and Best Buy. They have proposed expanding Trader Joe's store, and adding a standalone building to the north east of Best Buy for a CVS drive through. There will also be a new walk-in medical facility built on the south side near Trader Joe’s. To allow for the additional traffic, new entrances and exits will be built out onto the side streets on both sides of the shopping center.

Mr Feiner is trying to cover both sides of his backside as he speaks out of both sides of his mouth. At a recent Town Board meeting, when he said he was against the expansion of the Midway Shopping Center unless safety improvements were performed, he placated the Edgemont group and others who have spoken vehemently against this expansion. Edgemont satisfied, he knew one of his first phone calls the following morning would be from the owners of the Midway Shopping Center. What to do? Deflect - and fast. So, Mr Feiner did what he always does when he is caught lying. Mr Feiner, who could also be known as “The Deflectomatic”, has a lot of hustling to do. Soon we will hear that he received a lot of responses about this project. He’ll say the majority were in favor of it. He’ll need to tread lightly. If he angers Edgemont, they will threaten again to incorporate. Make the developers mad, and donations of food and campaign monies may go away. What to do?

This is far from over. There are many issues taking place on the Central Avenue corridor as Mr Feiner tries to orchestrate a change to that area to his vision of what Central Avenue, and then Rt 119, should be. Is it what you want these two thoroughfares to be? If banks were only open from 9AM until 3PM, shared parking with a restaurant might work. Otherwise, ABG believes it’s a recipe for over-congestion and ultimately a disaster. It must be stopped. Only then will we see A Better Greenburgh.

The Sidewalk To Nowhere Finally Makes Sense

We posted an article on July 8, 2011 Paul Feiner: Three Card Monty – The Deception Continues - Part 2 about a sidewalk to nowhere being built by the Stop and Shop Supermarket developer on Rt 119 in the Glenville section of Town. You may not be aware of this, but Town law requires that all new commercial construction include a new sidewalk be built by the developer (in this case Robert Martin) in front of their property. In some cases, these are simply sidewalks to nowhere that the developer installs because it’s required, not because it makes sense. Case in point? There are many, however, the new mega-housing being built on Westchester View Lane off of Dobbs Ferry Road has a brand new sidewalk that fills the length of the property line and meets up with, well, nothing on each side.

Stop and Shop is located in what is now known as the Premier Plaza, in Glenville on the south side of Rt. 119. The Premier Plaza is an obvious reference to the location, which was where the old Premier Theatre had been located. Robert F. Weinberg, president of Robert Martin Company, espoused the site’s location as, “The center will sit near hotels, offices, and homes and is “the beginning of a new era of thinking” about mixing property uses. It’s starting to recognize that you can put several uses together, and you can reduce traffic,” he said. “You have to think about how can we improve our way of life without using more energy.” The use of buzzwords, such as consolidation, less energy, mixed usage, reduce traffic, new era of thinking, masks the future intent of the corridor. It also preps the public into being more acceptable to changing zoning under the guise of having mixed use as a good thing. It’s not.

The town originally approved site plans in 1983 for two office buildings, but granted a special permit for retail use in 2009. A second phase of the original Stop and Shop project is currently underway as can be witnessed with new construction taking place between the Stop and Shop and Rt. 119.

In 2009 we exposed a plan being worked on by the Westchester County Government and supported by Supervisor Feiner and his Board to build just over 1,000 units of residential apartment buildings (12) in the unincorporated section of Greenburgh along Rt 119 from the Marriot Hotel all the way to Rt 9 in Tarrytown. To do this, they proposed utilizing unused parking spaces in corporate building parking lots. This would require numerous zoning changes, which Supervisor Feiner has repeatedly proven he has no qualms doing for the right price. But what about the sidewalk to nowhere?

The Stop and Shop payoff, apparently brokered by the law firm DelBello, Donnellan, Weingarten, Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP, was to build a limited sidewalk near the Halston House apartments between Benedict Avenue and Rt 119. The cost in 2009 was about $238,000. ABG’s original post about this was on December 14, 2009, entitled “Sucking the Life Out of Route 119”. This sidewalk is across the street from the Stop and Shop location. Let that sink in. It’s across the street from Stop and Shop. We always wondered why they would build a sidewalk in a different location than on the property’s lot? Mr Feiner and the Town Board simply ignored the question and approved any application placed in front of them. Now it makes sense.

The Brightview Assisted Living facility project had not been exposed to the general public until, ahem, it was too late for the Glenville neighborhood. Obviously, Mr Feiner and the Town Board knew of their plans. Why else would they allow the developer across the street build a sidewalk someplace other than their property? Because this fits into Mr Feiner’s grand scheme to transform Rt. 119 before the Comprehensive Plan can be passed and put a halt to his wholesale over-developing of Rt. 119 and what’s left to the remaining open space in the Town.

Sidewalks to nowhere, over-development such as what is underway in north Greenburgh, failing infrastructures Town-wide, increased flooding without mitigation, added traffic congestion with no viable solution other than to suggest taking a bus, high-rise apartment buildings in lieu of parking spaces, discrimination lawsuit guilty verdicts, contractual violations with the County, blatant disregard for businesses, decreased Town services. The list is almost endless. Twenty-two years is simply too long to remain honest and effective. We see it now as we realize that yesterday’s actions are being done for tomorrow’s political moves. It has to end. Only then will we see A Better Greenburgh.

Densification

The last several years have proven that The Paul is not interested in preserving the “green” in Greenburgh. He’s not alone. The County has a master plan that incorporates an increased densification of the southern portion of the county as well as the Unincorporated sections of Greenburgh, especially on Rt 119. Regrettably, The Paul and his cohorts, from his Stepford Board to the developers to other politicians, all believe in a master plan that includes blacktopping our green space.

Many projects throughout the Town exemplify this endorsed densification. Planning Commissioner Thomas Madden, knows where his “bread is buttered”. Not only does he go along with The Paul’s plans, he goes beyond them. He pursues every avenue to help create larger and more grandiose plans throughout the Town. Residents will find Madden routinely endorsing plans that will add to his job security and eliminate our suburban Greenburgh into a more urban one. Stop and Shop on Rt 119 and Brightview Assisted Living in Glenville are obvious ones that come to mind.

Changing the zoning in the Town at the whim of a developer’s request has allowed The Paul to give away our green space, congest our neighborhoods, lessen the attractiveness of purchasing a home in the Town, increase traffic, flooding and overwhelm an outdated and beleaguered infrastructure. The latest example of this is the zoning change requested by the Brightview Assisted Living Center in the Glenville Neighborhood. ABG has previously written about this particular issue. In short, Brightview is utilizing a lack of definition in our zoning code for Assisted Living in hopes of getting a “custom made” zoning change that will benefit them.

There are several issues at stake with this. First, the Comprehensive Planning Committee, which was tasked for developing a Town Comprehensive Plan, continually has new requests asked of it, forcing their Comprehensive Plan to be delayed for submission and adoption by the Town. Second, each time another task is requested, the Town Board proceeds with any changes it pleases to keep the developers happy. This thwarts any benefit we might get if our Comprehensive Plan was presented and approved. Third, it’s currently overdue with no visible submission date on the horizon.

Spot-zoning is illegal. Simply, spot-zoning is when the Town Board changes the zoning for a particular project, developer, neighborhood or parcel of land. This is routinely done throughout the Town by The Paul and his Stepford Board. Again, it is illegal. We’ve witnessed spot zoning for numerous projects such as for Stop & Shop in Glenville, Westhab in Fulton Park, Dromore Road and Central Avenue in Edgemont, soon-to-be for sports bubbles in Veteran Park and at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road and Assisted Living Centers in Glenville. If The Paul wants it, it will happen. ABG recognizes the need for some change and the right for property owners to do what they desire with their property. But there needs to be a balance of uniformity and conformity within Town guidelines when this is done to maintain a level of attractiveness and functionality within the Town. That’s what our planning and zoning regulations should do. Yet, with The Paul and the Stepford Board subverting them, the planning and zoning boards are impotent to stop them.

With the Town zoning in place, when an owner/landlord/developer wishes to use the property for a proposal the zoning does not allow, property owners and/or developers are required to go to the Zoning and Planning Boards and request a variance or change. Most often, this is exactly what happens for an owner or landlord. And, depending on the proposal, they may rightly be refused their request until concessions and accommodations are made to conform with the zoning. There are many reasons for refusal by numerous Boards. Sometimes, the refusal is based on size (too large), style (doesn’t blend), traffic (increases/hinderances/flow) and the like.

When it’s for an individual homeowner, or small landlord, they are tasked with redoing their plans and proposals at their own additional expense and re-applying to that particular Board. When it is a developer asking, and they are refused, they simply confer with The Paul behind closed doors. When they emerge with their marching orders, they’ll all dance the dance as required by The Paul and present their proposal to the Board with soft, attractive water color renditions with the lovely landscapes to his “go-along” Board. From there, the developer’s game is in play. The Board will vote to become the lead agency and begin the sham approval process – regardless of what’s wrong with the project.

As was done with the Hebrew Hospital Home of Westchester, at 61 Grasslands Road, The Paul told them they could receive site approval to add buildings to their site if they donated a fire truck to the Fairview Fire Department. Once Rescue 3 was ordered and delivered (since replaced), site approvals sailed through the Town Board like beer flows at an Octoberfest! When The Paul told the Fortress Bible Church to donate a fire truck to the Fairview Fire Department, they said, “No!” Not surprisingly, Fortress Bible Church began receiving no site approvals and the internal departmental run-arounds that residents are so used to. Ultimately, with no additional fire apparatus in the offing, no site approvals took place and nothing could be built. Fortress Bible Church refused to play “FeinerBall” and sued the Town on seven counts AND WON! The Town went to an Appeals Court and again Fortress Bible Church WON! One of the reasons The Paul claimed against the Church was the increased traffic and safety issues it would cause on Dobbs Ferry Road. If this was an issue then, why did he not see it as an issue for the proposed GameOn 365 property across the street which promised more traffic?

The Town’s Zoning and Planning Boards are appointed positions by The Paul. Perhaps this would be okay if The Paul and his Stepford Board were not part of the process. The Zoning and Planning Boards can only make recommendations to the Town Board as the lead agency. Subsequently, when the Zoning or Planning Boards make a recommendation to the Town Board, it is just that, a recommendation and no matter how competent, correct, caring or pellucid either of these Boards are with their information, the Town Board is not bound by it. Whether it involves receiving a piece of fire apparatus or not, the lead agency moves ahead with more developments throughout the Town. The increased densification of the Town needs to stop. Projects that increase our impervious space are not helping the Town’s residents who routinely get flooded in normal rain storms. The aging infrastructure, ignored by The Paul for his entire 20-plus years tenure have left the Town residents hurting. The illegal actions of The Paul and his Board have taken it’s toll. It has to change. We can only hope.

It’s Been Said Before

The G8 has said it before. Other residents have gotten up at Town Board meetings and said it before. Town employees, with and without contracts have said it before. The lamestream media has quietly said it albeit in a muted voice. And of course, ABG has said it before. The King of Greenburgh, aka The Paul, lies and treats those not in his close circle of giving, with distain, deceit, and duplicity. Of course, very simply, he lies to those he doesn’t like or care about: his constituents.

We continually refer to The Paul and his Stepford’s spot zoning debacles in most neighborhoods. There are numerous examples and more awaiting the sweep of his crippling hand. He has routinely spot zoned throughout the Town as lead agency for so many projects, developers recognize it as their “norm”. He made sure that those trains don’t even slow down as it approached the Planning, Zoning, Building and Codes Department stations.

When Westhab purchased the former transitional housing property in Fulton Park from “Z” that had been used by the County to house the homeless, The Paul openly lied to the neighborhood in private meetings, along with his Stepfords, saying they (meaning Westhab) would need to find another location for the proposed seven story apartment building. Did they? No! He rezoned the .7 acre property from M-22 (22 units per acre) to match Hartsdale’s worst zoning nightmare of M-174 (174 units per acre).  He maintained the value of the location because of the “walking distance” of area supermarkets, even though those supermarkets are now gone.

Next, The Paul and his Stepford’s leveled crippling demands of the Fulton Park Garden Apartments, when they applied to the Town to rezone their property from it’s current zoning to match the newly spot-zoned Westhab neighbor next door. They informed the Board that they were requesting the change so they could remove the existing buildings, rebuild in the same footprint, with no ground level apartments or utilities as they currently flood with most rain storms. The utilities would be on the roof, away from flood conditions and the apartments would be up higher. They were looking to increase their buildings by six stories to match the Westhab height. The Paul mandated they develop flood mitigation plans, offer flood control solutions throughout the neighborhood and so on. It was clear that The Paul sought to discourage this project by overburdening them with untenable demands. When Deli Delicious sought to pave almost the entire property for a flawed drive-thru window, no similar demands were made of him. Another lawsuit seems imminent. 

The Paul has tried to systematically fine many of our already beleaguered businesses with more “fees” if they put products for sale on the sidewalk in front of their establishment. One such victim was The Apple Farm on Rt 119. The Board wrestled with wording and dollar amounts continually entertaining more fees and fines for the Town to utilize for financial collections. The temporary situation for the Apple Farm is that they store their produce (and sometimes other) deliveries on their private sidewalk until their staff can bring it inside. We hope the Stepfords see the light and do what they can to help maintain this store without additional taxes through fines - just for doing business. 

Stop and Shop recently closed in Tarrytown at the intersection of Routes 9 an 119, to reincarnate into a CVS. We need more CVS stores like we need Alan Hochberg chairing another useless committee. Having been there as a supermarket for years as First National, Finast and then Stop and Shop, the corporate decision was made to close this branch and relocate to a new space on Rt 119 near several hotels close to Benedict Avenue. This is all part of The Paul’s, Planning Commissioner Thomas Madden and Westchester County’s grand plan to transform the entire Rt 119 corridor into an industrial, mega apartment building and thoroughfare like many of the “Central Avenue”-like corridors in New Jersey.

The Glenville area protested with complaints of increased traffic, flood mitigation and congestion as well as other concerns. These all fell on deaf ears. The Paul had decided along with his Planning Commissioner Thomas “Let Me Help You Build It (for my job security)” Madden, that Stop and Shop’s new megastore would be built, regardless of the objections. But the zoning wasn’t correct for this store to be built. No matter, The Paul waved his hand over the plans, the soft watercolor presentation and it was a done-deal. Interestingly, according to Councilman Kevin “Henchman” Morgan, who recently said when the Dobbs Ferry Road residents (no real count or names provided) protested the police department’s proposed move to 715 Dobbs Ferry Road (the former Frank’s Nursery), The Paul and the Stepford’s acquiesced and withdrew the plans. Given the GameOn 365 debacle currently underway, it now makes more sense than it did then. 

The old Union Carbide property in North Elmsford has continued to quietly be (over)developed in recent years. The Eastview property houses a now expanded corporate park to the west of Old Saw Mill River Road, with several huge new buildings and the requisite parking capability, increasing and adding to the impervious surfaces there. They have gotten approval from The Paul and his Stepford’s to build 400+ condominiums on the property as well. Water that would previously be absorbed into the ground will increase and head south toward the Fairview Park area, which itself has been increasingly developed.

This section of the Town no longer has the previous water absorption capability and forces its runoff south. Sam’s Club, at the sight of the old Drive-In Theatre, knew about the flooding and built their property up five to ten feet to be above the flooding problem. It worked for a while, but the over-development north of them has caused so much water flow to come south, it became the new marker for where flooding begins as water encompasses the businesses and residences south of it, culminating at Babbitt Court lake. The Paul and his Stepford’s authorized all this development with the blessing of  Commissioner Madden. They just won’t say no to any developer.

On the opposite side of the Town, in the Fulton Park lake region along the Bronx River, The Paul searches out the tiniest parcels of land and offers them up to not the highest bidder, but the most connected bidder. And while residents wrestle with the Planning Department employees, rules and high fees for even the simplest fixes, changes and additions to their homes, the developers are hand-held and walked over to the express lane for their projects. Of course, the Westhab seven-story project mentioned above is but one glaring example of this. Right next door the “former” Deli Delicious, which illegally installed signs stating he was closed for business and for lease has not been fined for illegal signage or not paying the sign permits and fees. This move was not only blessed by The Paul, but probably suggested to him by The Paul. The owner continues to work from the basement office.

While no change in taxes is an impossibility in this Town, The Paul has mastered the double-digit tax increases for property, sewer, water, building fees and so on for our residents, all while managing to drive out struggling businesses, seniors and our young couples looking to spend their twilight years and/or start their lives together in something other than the Greenburgh mecca of public housing. His tax and spend policies, along with guilty lawsuit verdicts, have driven out two key and strategically located supermarkets forcing many residents to shop for their staple food items at various dollar stores and occasional farmers markets. This just in: SanMar Laboratories in north Greenburgh, which benefitted with a $750k grant from the Empire State Development, the real Bank of New York, to stay in NY, and then an additional $250k, will be relocating to Pennsylvania. Well played.

The list of issues being pummeled by The Paul continues with other locations and neighborhoods. One project that appeared successfully “discouraged” was that of the Fortress Bible Church. Until Fortress Bible Church went to court for help. The Paul thought he had succeeded in helping out his buddy, Tom “Proclamation” Abinanti, to keep the church out of his neighborhood. When Abinanti realized The Paul would lose the case, he moved to Tarrytown! Then the Federal Courts found The Paul and the Board guilty of discrimination, perjury, willfully destroying evidence and more. The Appellate Division Court upheld the verdict. It will soon cost the Town’s Unincorporated residents millions of dollars because The Paul feels he’s exempt from laws only others must follow. We may finally be able to take advantage of the AAA Bond Rating that The Paul feels obliged to brag about at the most inopportune times. We can borrow the money to pay his fines and try to not be assaulted with his high tax increases while claiming fiscal restraint due to the NYS 2% Tax Cap. That is a sham in itself. We need a change at the top, in the middle and throughout the Town. We can only hope.

Stop and Shop or Stop and Steal?

The new 67,500 square foot Stop and Shop Super Center store will be opening this week. The location of the new supermarket is actually where the old Premier Theater had been located many years ago. The difference today is when the theater had been there, with the amount of impervious space it had, there weren't any other buildings in the area. Water drainage was not a problem back then! According to The Paul, and we quote, “Unlike many development application projects that experience significant opposition from the community - this supermarket had an enthusiastic group of immediate residents behind it from day one. I received many calls and e mails from residents expressing a desire for a quality new supermarket.” It's only a true statement when you study how the question of the new Stop and Shop was posed. 


When asked if people would favor a new supermarket offering? The answer was usually yes. Would you be in favor of a new super center style supermarket with a larger variety? Larger variety? The answer was yes. So, as people were polled about a new supermarket, the carefully asked questions guaranteed certain positive answers. No one was asked if closing the existing Stop and Shop would impact the neighborhood negatively. No one was asked about the amount of impervious space that would be created, affecting the water runoff in the already saturated and heavily flooded areas – except the Glenville Community Association, the Babbitt Court Residents and the business and home owners along the 9A and Rt 9 flood zones along with the G-8. 


Many in Tarrytown’s Rt 9 and surrounding area who were able to walk or bike or take a bus  to the existing Stop and Shop (formerly First National, and then Finast) were vociferously against the new Stop and Shop! The Paul prefers to ignore this in his post. Once the existing Stop and Shop closes, the space will be used for yet another CVS. Apparently, we don't have enough drug stores in the area. We have nothing against CVS, but there is a claim that they will have an “expanded convenience food department”. What, more Twinkies?


Also in the mix, as part of Thomas Madden’s job security initiative, are plans to create an assisted living facility nearby. This effort, along with The Paul’s devaluing of the Unincorporated Town space, has been proposed to create multiple apartment buildings, actually twelve, along the Rt 119 corridor. This all dovetails into the proposed train, bus, car corridor they plan to develop Rt 119 into with the expansion of the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement.


An issue ABG has with this expansion is not to utilize mass transit in the area, but we are a suburban area they are trying to develop into a more urban setting. There will condemnations and eminent domain utilized to take over homes and businesses properties to make this happen. The goal of the  separate elevated bus route is to have a bus stop for pickup/drop offs at all of the bus stops every five minutes and then have the buses all exit (near exit five of I-287) onto Rt 119 and proceed to the White Plains Transit Center. After this visit, it starts all over again. If you think there’s congestion on Route 119 now, just wait!


The Paul has assisted in closing two major supermarket outlets. While we recognize he didn’t do it alone, the soon-to-open HMart in the old Pathmark location will serve a limited clientele. That’s okay. But the A&P that closed in the Crossroads Shopping Center is continuing to devalue that neighborhood. As the store stands vacant, and falls into disrepair, fewer new tenants will be interested in revitalizing this store or the neighborhood. Unfortunately, it’s the neighborhood’s residents that suffer. Since The Paul and his Stepford Board have declared the Manhattan Avenue area low income in perpetuity, ABG believes little will be done by the Town to improve this area - stealing it’s future. We can only hope!