More Phony “Good News” From Town Hall

Phony “Good News” is nothing more than a campaign email from Mr Feiner. They happen daily - sometimes even twice daily. Several thousand people will receive this email and that will be followed with a physical postal mailing. We know because we get both forwarded to us from our readers. 

Here’s what actually happened:
Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney said today that a 27-year old woman was struck by a car on East Hartsdale Avenue while walking her dog. She was not in the crosswalk when she was hit. A number of residents had said that she was. The woman was reported today to be in critical but stable condition at Westchester Medical Center. Police say that the woman’s dog died from injuries suffered in the accident.

The email below supposedly discusses what has transpired in Hartsdale regarding pedestrian safety after a woman was struck by an automobile and what Mr Feiner is “doing” about it. The well-crafted email actually offers very little commitment nor resolution from Mr Feiner and alludes to pedestrian safety but not where this accident happened. As always, he has soft-tossed the issue from his lap to Police Chief McNerney, similar to the kid’s game of Hot Potato. We’ve commented in blue what we read from the email.

Mr Feiner’s email is in red and ABG comments in blue:

Subject: PROGRESS REPORT--E HARTSDALE AVENUE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY INITIATIVES
A few weeks ago  there was a pedestrian accident on E Hartsdale Ave. Accidents do indeed happen. But why not mention what actually happened? Was it a simple slip-and-fall, a bicyclist colliding with a person walking on a sidewalk or a car striking a pedestrian crossing the street? Was the pedestrian failing to give a three-foot berth to the biker or was it the other way around? Thankfully, the woman survived. Survived, got bumped and bruised and/or broke something? A flair for the dramatic certainly makes for good reading. I asked Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney to have our traffic and safety division consider ways to make the avenue safer for pedestrians. Should they first identify what is unsafe before making anything safer for pedestrians? Is there something actually unsafe or was this in fact a simple accident that Mr Feiner is seizing upon for his daily campaign emails? Would sidewalks have been the answer? For instance, Hartsdale seems to be one area in the Town with sidewalks. Most other neighborhoods are clamoring for and not receiving sidewalks or even an answer about planning for and/or receiving sidewalks. Again, it would help to know what actually transpired. Prior to the accident some senior citizens recommended that the town prohibit bicycling on sidewalks. Was this the issue? Was a pedestrian struck by a bicyclist or merely startled by a bicyclist on the sidewalk stumbled and fell? Many elderly residents walk up and down the avenue. Are these elderly people walking on sidewalks or the roadway? If a bicycle hits an elderly person it could cause serious injury. I am  hopeful that we will be able to implement this recommendation early in 2015. Yes, if a bicyclist hits anybody, especially an elderly person, it can be serious. Translation: don't expect anything to change.

Chief McNerney indicated that the town is reviewing the safety of the East Hartsdale Avenue corridor. We are taking all recommendations from the public under advisement. Our Traffic and Safety Supervisor has initiated the following:

• New lights were installed today - Where were these new lights installed? In Hartsdale? Were they installed at the scene of the accident and was lighting the issue that caused this pedestrian to get struck by this mystery person? Otherwise, why mention it? Because it feels good.
• Old street light bulbs were replaced with High Intensity LED bulbs - Were these replacement bulbs installed in the location of the accident or someplace unrelated? Otherwise, why mention it? Because it feels good.
• Digital Speed Display signs were installed - Do these digital displays pick up bikers if indeed it was a bicyclist that struck the pedestrian? Displaying the speed of any vehicle is useless if we don't enforce the speed limits. And what are the biking speed limits? Otherwise, why mention it? Because it feels good.
• When manpower permits, we are assigning a patrol car to the area to enforce the vehicle and traffic laws, with concentration on vehicles failing to yield to pedestrians In other words, don't expect to see any real enforcement prevail beyond a normal patrol.
  Otherwise, why mention it? Because it feels good.
• We have budgeted for several crosswalk beacons that will have a button for pedestrians to push to activate strobe lights to assist with pedestrian visibility and crossing. Are these new crosswalk beacons going to be installed where the accident happened and will they help prevent accidents in the same place from happening again? Otherwise, why mention it? Because it feels good.

We are studying the feasibility of additional safety measures. Our findings will be completed in early January. Translation: It will be buried on the website after a brief mention at a work session where Mr Feiner and his crew can feign sincerity and concern only to bury this with the need for sidewalks, outdoor gun range control, lost WestHelp payments, the $6.5 million guilty verdict, the former Franks Nursery property contamination debacle - the list is seemingly endless. 

In order for things to change, the electorate must change. They must speak up and say, “Enough!” Only then will we see A Better Greenburgh.