Mr Feiner wasted no time in sending out his list of (tattered) initiatives as the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve. As usual, there was much that wasn’t correct about Mr Feiner’s posturing (aka campaigning). Many of his “initiatives” are simply previously incompleted or screwed up deals he had tried to pull-off during 2013. Thankfully, there is an ever-vigilant group of residents (we aptly refer to as the G10) fighting to keep the Town leaders on the right track. We’d have said honest, but we’re way past that point.
Below is Mr Feiner’s list for 2014, not necessarily in its entirety. Our Reality Check responses follow in hopes of presenting a more accurate account of what is actually going on. We’ve italicized each of his initiatives followed by our Reality Check response in bold.
Mr Feiner’s email:
Subject: 22 GOALS/INITIATIVES FOR 2014 --happy new year!
NO TIME TO WASTE STARTING TO WORK ON
2014 INITIATIVES....
Reality Check: No expense is too great, regardless of the impact, cost or liability upon
the Unincorporated taxpayers that will invariably experience no benefit. So, it’s time to begin. Mr Feiner has learned how to ensure votes by pandering to groups through “gifts” and “programs” they are interested in.
1) FRANK'S NURSERY SALE-- The Town
Board is planning to sell Frank's nursery later this winter (probably in
March). We hope to generate over $3.5 million from the property.
Reality Check: There isn’t much left of this can for Mr Feiner to kick farther
down the road. Mr Feiner secretly met behind closed doors with Martin Hewitt of
GameOn 365 to broker an illegal lease for an extremely undervalued amount of money which would be costly
to the Town at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road (Frank’s Nursery). Mr Feiner was engaged
in an obvious attempt to hide the multiple contamination issues on the property from the public and the purchasers, not making known the assorted remediations that would be necessary to make the property
usable. When the public caught wind of his deal and cried foul, he backpedaled
and said he would sell, then auction and finally have a bid for the property.
To continue letting Mr Hewitt and GameOn 365 maintain favored and preferred
access to the property, Mr Feiner and his Board fabricated more lies to keep a
real bid from being accepted. G10 investigations continued and uncovered that
GameOn 365 was a “paper company” without the resources to purchase the land,
remediated or not.
Elm Street Sports (ESS), owner/operator of Ardsley’s House of Sports, made a cash offer of $3.5 million. This was twice the amount offered by Mr Feiner’s favored and unproven startup pals, GameOn 365. What should have been a no-brainer for the Town officials was rejected. Mr Feiner lied and stated ESS had too many conditions attached to the $3.5 million offer. What were the conditions you ask? ESS wanted to know the level of contamination/remediation for the property and what zoning would be applied as it was originally zoned residential and had been changed to commercial for the host of nurseries that resided there, with Frank’s Nursery being the last one. Properties in the Town that have variances made to their zoning revert back to that property’s original zoning if unoccupied for six months. Such is the case here, explaining why ESS questioned what the zoning would be. Neither the Town Board, nor Mr Feiner, nor the Town Attorney, nor the Zoning, Planning or Building Departments would provide them or anyone else an answer. Mr Feiner had effectively stopped GameOn 365’s only opposition to the purchase.
Soon after, Mr Feiner began publicly lying that the Elm Street Sports’ offer was not a serious one and they had too many conditions. How did he determine it was not a serious offer? And, you just counted all of the conditions – only one! Mr Feiner’s purported reasons were lame and preposterous, constructed purely to benefit one bidder, GameOn 365. He instructed his Town Board to start pushing the phrase, “We want to do our due diligence before we act.” They did. We guess there’s a first time for everything, but what has been done since then? Nothing except Mr Feiner has postponed the sale numerous times to aid GameOn 365 and hurt the Town. The latest issue regarding this is next – see #2 below.
Elm Street Sports (ESS), owner/operator of Ardsley’s House of Sports, made a cash offer of $3.5 million. This was twice the amount offered by Mr Feiner’s favored and unproven startup pals, GameOn 365. What should have been a no-brainer for the Town officials was rejected. Mr Feiner lied and stated ESS had too many conditions attached to the $3.5 million offer. What were the conditions you ask? ESS wanted to know the level of contamination/remediation for the property and what zoning would be applied as it was originally zoned residential and had been changed to commercial for the host of nurseries that resided there, with Frank’s Nursery being the last one. Properties in the Town that have variances made to their zoning revert back to that property’s original zoning if unoccupied for six months. Such is the case here, explaining why ESS questioned what the zoning would be. Neither the Town Board, nor Mr Feiner, nor the Town Attorney, nor the Zoning, Planning or Building Departments would provide them or anyone else an answer. Mr Feiner had effectively stopped GameOn 365’s only opposition to the purchase.
Soon after, Mr Feiner began publicly lying that the Elm Street Sports’ offer was not a serious one and they had too many conditions. How did he determine it was not a serious offer? And, you just counted all of the conditions – only one! Mr Feiner’s purported reasons were lame and preposterous, constructed purely to benefit one bidder, GameOn 365. He instructed his Town Board to start pushing the phrase, “We want to do our due diligence before we act.” They did. We guess there’s a first time for everything, but what has been done since then? Nothing except Mr Feiner has postponed the sale numerous times to aid GameOn 365 and hurt the Town. The latest issue regarding this is next – see #2 below.
2) THREE MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD
HAVE ASKED THE COMMISSIONER OF PLANNING TO INITIATE REZONING OF DOBBS FERRY
ROAD for recreation uses. A rezone could happen in 2014.
Reality Check: Remember that can he’s tried to kick farther down the road?
It’s caught in a pothole due to lack of infrastructure maintenance. At a recent Town Board meeting while Mr Feiner was
throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what would stick, he suggested the
Dobbs Ferry Road stretch be turned into a recreational corridor. He wanted the
Town Planning Commissioner, who never says no to any project and even tries to
beef them up, will also never say no to Mr Feiner. With his Board right where he
needs them, Mr Feiner and his two Councilmen Morgan and Jones, voted to have Mr
Madden research establishing a Recreational Zone for the Town, with the other
two Council representatives, Juettner and Sheehan, voting against the proposal.
This isn’t about recreation, residential housing (which is the current zoning) or income for the Town. If it were, the property would have been sold long ago. No, this is about Mr Feiner controlling who will bid for and ultimately receive the property. He claims there have been several other people/companies that have expressed interest in the property but refuses to identify them. This tells us Mr Feiner is lying again and only interested in controlling the playing field for his intended outcome: completing the deal he started with GameOn 365.
This isn’t about recreation, residential housing (which is the current zoning) or income for the Town. If it were, the property would have been sold long ago. No, this is about Mr Feiner controlling who will bid for and ultimately receive the property. He claims there have been several other people/companies that have expressed interest in the property but refuses to identify them. This tells us Mr Feiner is lying again and only interested in controlling the playing field for his intended outcome: completing the deal he started with GameOn 365.
3) LEASE OF WESTHELP FOR AFFORDABLE
HOUSING--We hope to persuade the County Executive and Legislature to authorize
the town to lease the abandoned WESTHELP property for affordable housing.
Disappointed that the county was not cooperative in 2013.
Reality Check: Reading this blurb on face value, once again written very
carefully by Mr Feiner, suggests the County government is the root of the
problem with WestHelp. They most certainly are not! The property is abandoned
because Mr Feiner chose to not renew the contract the Town had with the County
to operate the property. Mr Feiner made the decision to leave the windows of
the facility opened inviting ruination, pillaging and causing millions of
dollars in renovations to make the facility habitable again. He’s disappointed that the County was not cooperative
because he wanted to tear the intended homeless facility down to have a
developmentally handicapped school be built in its place. Why? Valhalla votes. He sought to remove the affordable housing element now that he lost another court case for illegally giving the Valhalla School Board millions of dollars in payoffs to stop fighting the homeless residence. Mr Feiner’s racism is
becoming more and more apparent every day. What is disappointing is that there
is no major news media, the Attorney General’s office, or County Government
willing to investigate his illegal actions. This is not the County’s fault, it’s
another one clearly created and perpetuated by Mr Feiner and his Board.
4) RELEASE OF HUD FUNDS FOR
MANHATTTAN AVE BEAUTIFICATION/9A SIDEWALKS --The Town has lost some federal
funds for the Manhattan Ave beautification and 9A sidewalks because of a
HUD/County Executive dispute over compliance with an affordable housing
lawsuit. The town has complied with federal affordable housing laws. We are
exempt from having to build additional housing. We're innocent victims. I would
like the federal government to release funding that had been promised to us and
to let the town find a state or other local agency to administer CDBG funds.
Union Baptist Church will be celebrating their 100th birthday in May. It would
be nice if Manhattan Ave could be beautified in 2014.
Reality Check: The North Elmsford Civic Associations
have been asking for sidewalks since cars and trucks have travelled up and down Rt
9A. They asked for a traffic light at the then-Masters Discount Department and Grand Union stores’ intersection that is now a movie theatre. It wasn’t until there was a
traffic accident related death that a traffic light was installed. Several
people have been killed walking along 9A, usually in the darkness when visibility
is at its worst. Somehow, we’re sure the 9A corridor as well as other dangerous streets in need of sidewalks for pedestrian safety will not be addressed, but Manhattan Avenue will be, even though they already have sidewalks and can be beautified without CDBG funds.
Mr Feiner continues to say we are exempt
from building affordable housing. This is simply not true. All communities were
included in the settlement. Several were not required to build more because
they already had enough. This is very different from being exempt. Had Mr
Feiner not oversaturated Fairview with affordable housing, we would be building
even more subsidized housing in an already over-congested low income area.
5) INITIATING REVALUATION PROCESS--In
2013 the Town Board appropriated funds for the first revaluation in over 60
years. The actual process begins in 2014. Revaluation will take a few years and
should reduce certiorari/tax refunds --and provide residents with more
stability and predictability.
Reality Check: Yes, it’s been 60 years, the last 20 under Mr Feiner’s watch!
The only reason Mr Feiner is even moving forward with initiating revaluation is during the Democratic Primary debates he
was forced to confront his mulish negligence of the last 20 years by his
challenger, Robert Bernstein. Only then did Mr Feiner acquiesce and
begrudgingly admit it should be done. Why does this matter? The Town cannot
realistically refuse a certiorari challenge adjustment because revaluations
have not been done in such a long period of time. Their lack of action makes the arguing in defense to the challenge incontrovertible. The Town’s minimum certiorari
adjustment payouts at each Town Board meeting (twice a month) averages $100,000. The
highest adjustment in one recent meeting was just over $3,000,000! We’re seeing
higher and higher numbers at each meeting, which may be why Mr Feiner cancels
so many meetings.
6) ROLLOUT OF NEW SANITATION TRUCK
THAT USES ONE EMPLOYEE INSTEAD OF THREE- We authorized the purchase of the one
arm bandit sanitation truck in 2013. The truck should arrive in 2014. We need
to make sure that the neighborhoods where the truck will be used will continue
to be able to rely on efficient service. A smooth transition.
Reality Check: Nothing smooth about it. It should come as no surprise that Mr Feiner is seeking to reduce
the Town’s workforce. Mr Feiner has maintained a contentious relationship with
the Town employees/unions, rarely bargaining at the table fairly and openly. Just ask
any Town employee and see what you learn. But more importantly, the one-arm
bandit did not work as promised during their demonstration, embarrassingly witnessed by numerous
residents and officials. So much so, that Mr Feiner deleted the failing
performance section from the video about it he posted online!
Whether or not the one-arm bandit is viable for the Town or not is unknown. There have been no studies or any proof to determine if these trucks or this change will benefit the Town. We’ve only gotten the typical knee-jerk reaction from the Supervisor and his Board that we need this and it will reduce employees and take my word for it. What are the cost savings or increases to the Town to go down this road and the positive or negative impact on the taxpayer? In fact, the only proven aspect to purchasing this truck is that if it doesn’t work or we don’t change the sanitation fleet, Mr Feiner is throwing our taxpayer money away. We will now have one truck with specific garbage cans that can only be used in one area of the Town. As usual, we’re being forced to accept his and his Town Board’s one-sided opinion.
Whether or not the one-arm bandit is viable for the Town or not is unknown. There have been no studies or any proof to determine if these trucks or this change will benefit the Town. We’ve only gotten the typical knee-jerk reaction from the Supervisor and his Board that we need this and it will reduce employees and take my word for it. What are the cost savings or increases to the Town to go down this road and the positive or negative impact on the taxpayer? In fact, the only proven aspect to purchasing this truck is that if it doesn’t work or we don’t change the sanitation fleet, Mr Feiner is throwing our taxpayer money away. We will now have one truck with specific garbage cans that can only be used in one area of the Town. As usual, we’re being forced to accept his and his Town Board’s one-sided opinion.
7) BACK TAXES COLLECTION
PROCESS--Earlier this year over 23 million dollars was owed to the town in back
taxes. We initiated an aggressive effort to collect back taxes. The effort
seems to be working. As of the end of the December the amount owed has gone
down to just over $18 million. We will continue to aggressively collect back
taxes owed. This will be a continuing initiative.
Reality Check: The Town’s back-taxes revelation was uncovered by a
G10/resident and it was a major surprise that not only did Mr Feiner not want found out, let alone publicized, but continued to be kept under wraps even after exposure! Once
this information went public, Mr Feiner began his spin/solution by offering tax
amnesty. We should note that this $23 million deficit happened only during Mr
Feiner’s tenure! It was he and his assorted administrations, along with his complicit
Town Boards, made up of current and past Town Council representatives, which
allowed this to perpetuate. During a portion of this time, Mr Feiner received much
news from then-Town Comptroller Michael Kolesar, about numerous problems with
Town finances. Could this be why Feiner fired Mr Kolesar? You bet it is! To date, how
much in interest and penalties were waived to collect the $5 million the Town has received so far? We’re now beyond the amnesty grace period provided to taxpayers. When and what will
be done to collect the remaining $18 million? Silence from that corner office.
8) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN--The Town Board
will review a draft comprehensive plan that will be released early in 2014. The
plan will address land use/planning issues.
Reality Check: The Town has undertaken developing a Comprehensive Plan since
roughly 2009. The committee, chaired by Town Councilman Francis Sheehan, has
made progress but can’t seem to make it to the finish line. Each time they get
close to rounding the final curve and come into the homestretch, Mr Feiner
tasks them with something else to do/investigate/stall. There are also several members of the committee that refuse to allow the committee to use the vague and open-ended verbiage that allows multiple interpretations without conclusion on issues. We applaud them. In the meantime, over these many years,
Mr Feiner has continued his zoning-change extravaganza (read: spot zoning) for
his developer friends. With all the spot zoning Mr Feiner and his Board have
done, we again question why bother having zoning laws? Could the amount of
changes in the Town zoning and the amount of new tasks for the Comprehensive Steering
Committee be a coincidence? You decide.
9) COURT AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS---Last
year the Town Board retained the services of an independent auditor to address
internal control issues at the Town Court. We don't want the study to gather
dust. In 2014 we need to follow up on the recommendations and implementation
plans.
Reality Check: This audit was merely another deflection to mask Mr
Feiner’s less than desirable hiring practices along with a significant
lack of management that again, was only during Mr Feiner’s 20+ years tenure. We
are still waiting to know how many of the tens of thousands of tickets, lost
revenue and court backlog has been cleared up? Conterminously, how much work
was performed by our salaried staff and how much by unpaid interns? Finally, if our paid staff cannot perform the work, it
might seem more judicious for us to call for an evaluation of staffing in the
courts and possible outsourcing.
10) SMOOTH IMPLEMENTATION OF
INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES--We will start installing new water meters, LED
lights around town.
Reality Check: There is little if anything done smoothly in this Town unless we’re discussing the abuse of the Unincorporated taxpayers. When
Mr Feiner wants something to happen quickly he instructs his Board to make it
so. The water meters project is less of an infrastructure improvement than it
is a scramble to increase Town income to offset the financial disasters caused
by Mr Feiner. In the end however, residents will have new water meters, new
rate hikes and be paying more for water without any infrastructure
improvements. The installation of the new water meters were supposed to start being
installed this past October according to a Feiner mailing/campaign piece. As
far as our staff has been able to find out, no meters have been installed.
Surprised?
Similarly, the “scheduled” three-year LED light replacement
program may or may not move forward, depending on any new expenses taxpayers
are hit with. ABG has said this before, The Town should slowly replace
failing lights and ones that either have increased usage or excessive
maintenance with new, energy efficient ones in a systematic, scheduled
approach. Spending a lot “up front” to save a little to remove light fixtures and bulbs we have already paid for is not a judicious use of our resources and doesn’t make sense.
11) LIBRARY BOILER-- Last year the
library was closed when the heating system broke down. To reduce that
possibility a new boiler should be installed.
Reality Check: It’s always interesting to hear about the problems at the
library. You may recall who the über-construction-qualified “lead agency” was? That’s
right, it was our Town Board. There have been a host of problems with the library
and the heating system because it wasn’t installed correctly to specifications.
There are other HVAC issues beyond the boiler. This past year also found the
fire sprinkler system compromised with broken pipes because those pipes run in
an uninsulated, unheated area of the ceiling area. This design flaw should have
been caught by someone with building and construction, inspection knowledge.
Hey wait a minute; don’t we have a Building Department, Zoning Board of
Appeals, Planning Commissioner, Planning Board with a host of inspectors? Of
course we do. Maybe the Town Board should have conferred with them?
Similarly, when Theodore Young Community Center Commissioner William Carter attended the Town Board work session to review his budget, he was grilled about numerous line items. One of those line items was $10k for boiler maintenance and upgrades. As he said then, if we spend a little now on maintenance, we may be able to avoid spending a lot later on. What was he thinking? Did he not see the can in front of him waiting to be kicked?
Similarly, when Theodore Young Community Center Commissioner William Carter attended the Town Board work session to review his budget, he was grilled about numerous line items. One of those line items was $10k for boiler maintenance and upgrades. As he said then, if we spend a little now on maintenance, we may be able to avoid spending a lot later on. What was he thinking? Did he not see the can in front of him waiting to be kicked?
It’s difficult to know if installing a new boiler is needed
or not. With this Town Board so often operating behind closed doors and
adjourning to executive sessions, while continuing to say they endorse open government,
it’s difficult to get solid information for evaluation. What the Town Board
should be doing is a needs assessment. Then they can objectively (ha!) decide to
keep the existing boiler, upgrade the existing one if it’s cost effective/feasible,
and replacement as the final choice.
12) STUDY--SHOULD THE LIBRARY
BE INDEPENDENT OF THE TOWN GOVERNMENT? The Greenburgh Library is always
packed with appreciative residents who love the services being offered.
Should the library be independent of politicians --have their own
independent elected Board? Should the budget of the library be approved by
taxpayers and not be part of the town budget deliberations? We should
study this option- independent library boards exist in other communities.
Reality Check: Mr Feiner knows this is a red herring and throws it out there
so he can beat his chest later and say, “Um, I, um, tried to help you be
independent so I couldn’t hold you hostage again during budget times. You
declined my offer. So, now you have to do what I want.” It’s a setup. If the Library becomes
its own entity as Mr Feiner suggests, it would require becoming a Library Taxing District, adding another taxing district. Mr Feiner knows that
taxpayers are taxed enough already (sorry: T.E.A.) and would probably not go for creating
another taxing agency when we already have so many others. It plays into his hand and forces the Library to capitulate.
13) GREENBURGH NATURE CENTER WOULD
LIKE DEVELOPER ESCROW FUNDS (NOT TAXPAYER DOLLARS) TO BE USED TO BUILD
CHILDREN'S TRAIL AND DISABLED TRAILS.- GNC Children's Wing, introducing early
education and hands on learning in conservation education..
Greenburgh Nature Center - GNC
Sensory Trail for the disabled population which would widen the scope of
nature's landscape
Reality Check: If the Nature Center, which is a private entity and only
leasing the space from the Town, wants to build children’s trails, let them
raise the funds themselves. The escrow funds are earmarked for other purposes
and when Mr Feiner discussed this at a recent Town Board work session, even
Town Attorney Tim Lewis informed Mr Feiner that the escrow funds could not be
used that way. To say this won’t be taxpayer dollars is disingenuous because
that money is not available or allowable by law for his pleasure or campaign
promises. And while no one wants to say “No” to any segment of our population,
in this case the disabled, perhaps the GNC can get private donations (i.e., the
Lanza Foundation) to do the work they seek. Had Mr Feiner not broken the law
and been found guilty to the tune of $6,500,000, we might have had a different
position.
14) INITIATION OF YOU TUBE
NEIGHBORHOOD VIDEO'S ABOUT DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS IN TOWN--HIGHLIGHTING WHY
GREENBURGH IS GREAT PLACE TO LIVE. You tube neighborhood video's will help
realtors get top dollars for homes. We're going to highlight the best that the
town has to offer.
Reality Check: The first video was poorly done and inadequate. That’s not to say don’t do
them, but some real direction is needed to make this work. Whoever did the
first one tried to do everything in one attempt and it needs to show
individual topics in about one to one and half minutes. Otherwise, people will
go to something else instead of watching the entire piece. Real Estate agents may like having the video, but they would be better served with lower taxes, a balanced budget without raiding the fund balance and less lawsuits and guilty verdicts.
15) PAVILIONS AT VETERAN POOL (PING
PONG, SHUFFLEBOARD, MINIATURE GOLF A POSSIBILITY)... Secure parkland
funds (NON TAX DOLLARS) to build pavilions for AFV Park Pool Complex and Secor
Woods Park and install by fall of 2014.
Reality Check: ABG has always been amazed at everything the Town will do
around the pools but never to the pools themselves. Also note the coded message
in this initiative: “Secure parkland funds (NON TAX DOLLARS) to build…” What
this really means is Mr Feiner would like to build these things but doesn’t
have the money in the budget to do so and must get grant money, developer
sponsors or private donations to do this. Without these monies none of these
items can happen, especially using NON TAX DOLLARS!
16) AN UPGRADED MASSARO PARK
WITH WATER SPRAY PAD Secure parkland funds (NON TAXPAYER
DOLLARS) to build a water spray pad at Massaro Park to be opened for the 2015
season.
Reality Check: You’ll see the misnomer: “Secure parkland funds (NON TAX
DOLLARS) to build…” often, in Mr Feiner’s initiatives. That’s because it’s a pipe
dream to make the willfully ignorant voter think he’s doing a lot for them.
What’s a lot is the $6,500,000 million that the Unincorporated taxpayers will
be paying out for the Fortress Bible Church guilty verdict. Or, the $1,200,000
million per year the Town is losing because Mr Feiner’s decided not to renew
the WestHelp affordable housing for Valhalla votes? Massaro Park is an underutilized park that doesn’t warrant major improvements unless an increased user base can be created. It can’t because the facility is maxed out. This is about pandering for votes.
17) Secure parkland funds (NON
TAXPAYER DOLLARS) to build new tennis surfaces for tennis courts at AFV Park
(3) and Massaro Park (1).
Reality Check: There’s that pesky NON TAXPAYER DOLLARS again. Mr Feiner
promised the Payne Street Civic Association security video cameras and even
openly discussed it with then Police Chief DeCarlo. The fact that he openly
discussed it is a telltale sign of things not
to come. Chief DeCarlo has since retired and cannot be held responsible for Mr
Feiner’s lies. NON TAXPAYER DOLLARS really means it probably will not happen.
In addition, Mr Feiner raced to have his “best buds” Assemblyman Tom Abinanti and Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins introduce legislation before they adjourned for the year (last year) to allow the Town to ignore the Finneran law and contract with Sportime, a private, for profit company, to install tennis bubbles at Veteran Park and resurface the same courts. What happened with that scheme? There are no bubbles, no refinished courts and no private contractors to be found. The reason? Mr Feiner demanded so much in return for awarding the contract that they simply couldn’t afford it and walked away. Perhaps if they donated a fire truck...
In addition, Mr Feiner raced to have his “best buds” Assemblyman Tom Abinanti and Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins introduce legislation before they adjourned for the year (last year) to allow the Town to ignore the Finneran law and contract with Sportime, a private, for profit company, to install tennis bubbles at Veteran Park and resurface the same courts. What happened with that scheme? There are no bubbles, no refinished courts and no private contractors to be found. The reason? Mr Feiner demanded so much in return for awarding the contract that they simply couldn’t afford it and walked away. Perhaps if they donated a fire truck...
18) OUTDOOR FITNESS STATIONS
Purchase and install 4 outdoor fitness stations at
Travis Hill Park for teenagers and adults.
Reality Check: This is an existing project that was undertaken by a private
citizen and already slated to happen. Isn’t it nice how Mr Feiner will take
credit for something he didn’t do? And, he’ll issue numerous press releases, hold a press conference and take full credit for someone else’s efforts. In school we used to call this cheating.
19) BACKGROUND CHECKS
Pass a town board resolution requiring background
checks for all town seasonal and part-time available employees (annually) and
for new fulltime hires only during the screening process.
Reality Check: Frankly, ABG staffers were shocked that this wasn’t
already being done. The liability ramifications are huge. Then a staffer made the comment that just because Mr Feiner put it
on his list doesn’t mean is isn’t already being done. Ah, she learns fast. Let’s hope it is being done.
20) DISABLED PARKING
Build additional handicapped parking for the AFV Park Multipurpose
Center by June, 2014.
Reality Check: Getting a can of paint, a roller or sprayer, with the handicap parking space template
should have aleady been a done deal. Why is this an initiative and not
completed already?
21) REDUCED RATES FOR
LATE HOURS AT POOL Establish twilight rate for general admission to the
Anthony F. Veteran Park Pool Complex in 2014.
Reality Check: How about a reduced rate or better yet, no rate for
residents – period? Why should residents pay more to use their pool during the day? Why should they pay at all? It’s
typical of Mr Feiner to want to treat people differently and this is just one
more example of that. He’s making the taxpayers who own the pool pay to use it. Isn’t this double taxation?
22) TIGHTENING UP
INTERNAL CONTROLS, LOOKING FOR WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR TAX DOLLARS MORE EFFICIENTLY
-- Last, but definitely not least, will work hard to tighten up internal
controls. And, to look for ways to manage your tax dollars more efficiently.
Reality Check: The best way to tighten up internal controls is multilayered.
First, Mr Feiner should resign. Since we aren’t sure if that will happen, we
feel there should be several Review Boards that have authority to override/undo decisions made by other Town leaders. Most of the current Boards are impotent
figurehead-types that cannot actually implement change or improvements. They can only make recommendations.
What have we left out of the list?
Let me know.
Reality Check: How about ethical behavior? In Greenburgh, however, Mr Feiner has situated himself in such a way that ethics,
the Ethics Board and the media cannot affect his bad and often illegal behavior. Did he leave
anything out of the list. Sure he did, but we won’t say what. He needs things he can claim as accomplishments if any of these don’t come to fruition. Email him with your
points and he will use that as one of his accomplishments at the end of the
year. Rest assured, if you email him and he cannot control the outcome, he’ll acknowledge your email and the response will be shuffled to
someone else. Mr Feiner will not be sucked into having to perform for you, the lowly taxpayer.
And if you try to follow up with Mr Feiner, you will simply be
referred to the person whose lap Mr Feiner has dumped the issue, all via email. Ah yes, the Problem Solver.
The Town taxpayers, both residential and commercial, hunger
for relief. The Town Board just voted themselves a 10% salary hike for their already well-paid positions. When residents complain about our elected officials’ behavior, we hear with a resigned bitterness,
“That’s government,” or, “You can’t fight city hall.” Maybe, but they don’t even try. It doesn’t have to be this way and it needs to change. It’s time for
A Better Greenburgh.
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