He's Lying Again!

Most projects in Greenburgh take years before a shovel even touches the ground, but Supervisor Feiner wisked Westhab’s publicly funded, 4-story apartment building, squeezed onto a .7-acre piece of land, through the process in months! When it's a pet project of Feiner, all rules and regulations are summarily waived. When, not if, someone objects, he finds a way to either remove them from the equation or will deflect attention from himself to something else, such as a bridge or two percent tax cap.

This Westhab project will overwhelm the transitional space from light commercial to residential into the small residential neighborhood of Fulton Park. Supervisor Feiner promised them a senior assisted living facility if the homeless were ever to leave. Lie! Then he promised workforce housing for Greenburgh employees. Lie! The neighborhood favored workforce housing for Greenburgh employees but wanted it scaled to fit the property. The Paul said no, siding with Westhab, saying that it had to be big for it to be cost effective. One resident at one of the hearings, which are only a nuisance to Feiner and his projects, asked to see the final offering from Westhab so the community wouldn’t have to repeatedly waste their time coming to different meetings and hearings to see the newest plans. 

The neighborhood learned that Feiner repeatedly and routinely lied every step of the way! It turns out that this project wasn't for Greenburgh Municipal employees. In fact, it was not for anyone from Greenburgh, employees or not! All lies! He stated the project was needed there because it would be a convenient location for the residents to go to Central Avenue restaurants, the train station, bus stops. Originally, he had a different tune, one where these residents would walk to nearby supermarkets. Well, those are closed and now he’s touting workforce residents dining at Central Avenue restaurants, not about closed supermarkets or people needing food at home. How much spendable money do these residents have to use on recreational dining? 

In a recent press conference held by Feiner, he now states, “Something is going to be built here and I think this is the best option.” What? Are there new plans – or did he re-re-rezone the space for them yet again? He and the Town Board have routinely changed zoning and requirements most people could only dream of or read in a fictional novel about government deceit, greed and corruption.

Unable to rent these tiny apartments at market rates, Westhab will approach DSS and rent them to Section 8 recipients. When the public refuses to rent these overpriced, postage stamp sized apartments, they’ll be used to house parolees, addicts and worse. It’s a well paying business model for Westhab. It a sham for us and a shame for this neighborhood to be punished like this after tolerating the homeless there for over 25 years.

Fulton Park is still reeling from Tropical Storms Irene and Lee with no relief from Feiner and crew. They’ll see a permanent increase in flooding, traffic, noise, crime and gangs to a once beautiful little neighborhood. Crime and Section 8 housing go hand-in-hand. Think, North Memphis, TN.

More of Feiner’s lies equals more pain for another already neglected and suffering neighborhood! I wish them luck!

Guest Commentary submitted by Whitney P. 

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!

Invigorating Government

Growing up many years ago, I recall listening to my parents and their friends discussing politics. I particularly remember them arguing the qualities of Barry Goldwater’s campaign. I had no idea back then what was good or bad, although, to those having the discussion, their impassioned debate told me it would be bad for America if he won. As an adult looking back, it seems political parties of old purported to have stood for something. But now, political parties seemingly resonate one thing: get elected at all costs and never mind what the people want (or need). Politicians have decided they know better than us what’s good for us. And even if they’re wrong, we’ll vote them back in because we always vote the incumbents back into office. It’s disappointing.

Values, judgment, integrity, character, the ability to see and do the right thing is what should matter to the electorate, not a party affiliation or dare I say, a manipulatable ideology. It seems that more often than not, our political parties are creating issues they can later solve, riding in on the proverbial stallion to save the day. The bigger the issue, the more we need government to step in and rectify it - at least, according to them. Small issues are growing exponentially, becoming more and more perilous as the media over-hypes their reports and every politician with a media contact is quoted every fifteen minutes about this latest catastrophe until their stage has been properly set. I find disturbing this blind party allegiance that is allowed to rule the day. Regardless of who is in power or whom we vote for, the answer seems to only be more big government with the requisite big spending and ultimately, bigger taxes. This is all in the name of “helping all of us”. It reminds me of the oxymoron, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Nowadays, we have an ever-increasing portion of society who isn’t interested in doing the right thing or being responsible for themselves. They are more interested in their  “nanny-state” existence, where the ever-engorged government nipple is tendered, providing financial, residential and entertainment sustenance. It’s bad enough they feel entitled and boast a cradle-to-the-grave, womb-to-the-tomb mentality, but their only level of personal responsibility seems to be to teach their offspring this same dependency. Could this be what we have “taught” the youth of America to expect in the insanely liberal public school system? It seems so.

Simply, and some may say simplistically, our politicians are afraid to stand up to any special interest group because they don’t want to lose a vote. Yes, I believe it’s that simple. Whether they believe in abortion, gay marriage, nuclear energy, cap and trade, the war in Afghanistan, universal health care or whatever cause celebre may be surfacing, they will blindly follow the party leadership or the loudest voice because they are afraid to lose. They are so fearful they cannot envision their gaining votes by taking a moral stand with those whom think similarly. It should be less about the cause and more about doing the right thing. Ironically, when the Republicans bailed out big business, the Democrats said they were in bed with big business. Now that the Democrats have bailed out big business, they acknowledge the same sleeping arrangements. Is there really a distinction between the two any more?

When I look at the bailouts of the so-called giants of industry, I wonder why our politicians have ignored small and medium sized businesses (the real giants), which employ a large percentage of the populace? We’ve bailed out over-extended homeowners drowning with mortgage “deals”. Why are we not helping the average American homeowner who, while struggling to keep afloat by doing the right thing, could use a little help with their mortgage? As a matter of fact, why is government helping any of them at all? You should live by and ultimate endure with your decisions, good or bad. The TEA “party” people seem to get this. They are not a third party, although some would seek to co-opt them for their own. This is not what they appear to be about (to me). And, do we really need a third party as some suggest they might evolve into? I think not.

I want to speak with politicians with a moral compass, those not afraid to say ‘no’ to the social services recipient who wants more because they feel entitled. I want politicians who won’t exacerbate our financial situation under the guise of a “save-the-day” stimulus for those not capable of succeeding on their own merits. Will it hurt? Unequivocally, yes, it should. Growing up we all learned by the mistakes we made. Sometimes, you learned by your successes, but by and large, more was learned through our mistakes. If you don’t fail, you don’t grow. Ultimately, it is what it is. Our politicians must have missed that life lesson. It’s also what’s missing with what we teach our youth today. If there are no scores in a soccer game and everyone gets a trophy, how do you learn to lose? How can you learn anything? Equally important, how do you learn to win gracefully?                 

Let’s get engaged and improve the system. We need everyone to step outside his or her comfort zone and be heard. Don’t worry about getting it right as you venture into new waters. If you’re not sure how or what to do, start small. Attend several of your local village or town board meetings. Preferably, you can go to several in a row, establishing a feel for the issues that are discussed and those that are held over, postponed or require more than one meeting. They cannot keep you from attending and in most cases will welcome your attendance. Go. Just listen. If you have a question, ask it. They are there working for you and are required to answer you. In time, you will learn who the players are, who the stalwart residents are and feel more comfortable understanding the issues and the process. Then, when it’s time to vote, you will be able to make an informed decision, as opposed to most people who just vote the party line, unable to decide between good, mediocre, and poor candidates. We need to rejuvenate government for the people. Be a part of the rejuvenation. We must all stand united!