It was learned some time ago that the shopping center is planning to “expand” and add at least two additional retail buildings onto the site. One would be opposite the Panera Bread store and another would be in the roof area of the existing main building that is currently used for parking. Talk at the time was that these would each be restaurants, sharing parking spaces in the already at-capacity parking lot. Additionally, they are seeking to eliminate the entrance and exit onto Ardsley Road as well; with access/egress from Central Avenue only. Shop-Rite is against this expansion, claiming it will significantly alter their business operation and contractual agreement in their lease agent and the Town.
As can be read in the above letter from the Hayes-Boone law firm, an injunction has been filed to prevent Midway from proceeding with the proposed plan. While no court date has yet been set, ABG finds it a bit ironic that Mr Feiner, found guilty with the Fortress Bible Church discrimination case and finally decided to settle on the damages we must pay them, will go right back into court and start all over again wasting more of our Town resources. An unrelated sidebar is that the A&P on Central Avenue near Curry Chevrolet, is scheduled to close soon. We believe this will increase the already exasperating traffic congestion for the Midway Shopping Center and the immediate area.
Shared parking spaces is currently the rage with our Supervisor and his Planning Commissioner, regardless of how unworkable it is and that reality proves its a failure. If you are not sure about the feasibility of shared parking spaces, visit the Loehmann’s/White Plains Bowl/Apple Farm shopping plaza on Rt 119 on any given day now that Smashburger is open. Visit on the weekends, and you’ll experience a nightmare of congestion, frayed tempers and non-moving traffic in the area’s already F-Rated roadways. The lot as well as the roadways surrounding it simply cannot keep up with the traffic demands. The traffic lights in the area are controlled by the City of White Plains. Guess who the traffic lights are set to benefit? In fact, what is currently happening L/W/A lot is taking place at the Midway Shopping Center with one exception on Saturdays, when one of the stores is closed until the evening (during the holidays), freeing up their spaces for other businesses.
The theory behind shared parking is one that has become popular in other parts of the country where real estate is more affordable and expansive. The businesses utilizing the concept are not open with the same kind of extended hours we see here in our region. It is truly an apples to oranges comparison. Mr Feiner endorses it because he needs as many rate-ables as possible to pay for the damages incurred by he and his administration’s guilty verdicts. Shop-Rite had already petitioned the Town to allow for fewer spaces upon construction renovation in a variance to Town codes. Now that there are fewer and fewer supermarkets in the Town, this one always seems busy. With operating hours during two shifts, numerous eateries and shared parking space congestion, two additional businesses is madness.
Mr Feiner is fond of creating supermarket-free zones in the Town, especially in the Fairview area that he has saturated with lower income, non-driving, lesser-resources residents, forced to shop in their immediate area. But, there’s so few staples you can purchase from Dollar stores. He has helped to close supermarkets such as Pathmark, Crossroads A&P, Morton Williams and now the Central Avenue A&P. Yet he continues to espouse affordable housing in these same areas because they are within walking distance from the subsidized housing for non-residents he insists on building. As a non-experienced manager, aided with a planning commissioner seeking job security, Mr Feiner continues to tax businesses through fees, registrations, taxes and other impediments toward doing business. In one Town Board meeting, the Board struggled to find a way to tax The Apple Farm through violations for storing their food delivery crates on the sidewalk in front of their store until employees could bring them inside. Fortunately, they failed to come up with a fine (tax), which saved this small market from Mr Feiner’s Midas Touch. The solution is to stop the lawsuits, certiorari payouts and increased application and permit fees that are punishing our entrepreneurs businesses.
Central Avenue has seen its ups and downs. Those residents who have endured the changes may recall the Steak and Brew restaurant that was a mainstay of the “strip” years ago. That space is still empty. Many store fronts along Central Avenue are vacant with For Lease or For Rent signs for a reason. A new development of a four story building is being “pitched” across from the Hess Gas Station that promises more traffic and congestion. This is a plan of increased building sizes on Central Avenue and Rt 119 is endorsed by our Town Board and the Planning Department – job security. Gas stations have been assaulted by the Town with a new tax because of Mr Feiner and his Board’s missteps with the Cumberland Farms Corporation. These other established owners found themselves at Town Hall complaining about the new “fee” (tax) but the barn door was already closed after the horse was already out. Our Town Board listened, but did they hear? Of course not – they were instructed not to.
It remains to be seen what will happen on these two thoroughfares. We need to see a Comprehensive Plan that address the increases favored by Mr Feiner. With a real plan, we should see a real vision toward a positive, cohesive growth for our Town. While we’ve been promised a Comprehensive Plan, we’re past it’s “birth” day. Time and scrutiny will tell if we’ve been sold another of Mr Feiner’s lies or if this is truly a forward thinking plan for the Town. If it is, we may finally see A Better Greenburgh.
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