To everyone observing Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, I would like to wish you a meaningful and easy fast – Tzom Kal.
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Should We Go With An ESCO After Losing Money For Two-Years
A Message to All:
The Executive Board of the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations (CGCA) urges you to watch and participate (via Zoom) in the meeting tonight, September 23, at 7:30 PM, regarding whether the Town of Greenburgh should join with other municipalities to purchase your electric supply through an ESCO (Energy Supply Company).
The current two-year contract with the ESCO Constellation will expire in December. The attached table documents information from the last nineteen (19) Con Edison bills for five households that “opted out” of this contract. As the table demonstrates, the latest cost per kWh (mainly for the month of August) was 5.4 to 5.9 cents. That is considerably less expensive than the 7.709 cents per kWh those still enrolled in the contract are paying.
Based on the monthly information circulated by the CGCA, Supervisor Paul Feiner has had to acknowledge that the current contract has been costly to the nearly 12,000 residential and small business electric users that the Town Board enrolled in the “standard” option. Under the current contract, unincorporated Greenburgh is only one of three municipalities participating in the “standard” option. Twenty-three other municipalities, including five Greenburgh villages – Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and Tarrytown – are enrolled in the “green” option. The Village of Elmsford and the nearby Town/Village of Scarsdale do not participate in the current contract negotiated by Westchester Power.
Mr. Feiner is now considering enrolling unincorporated Greenburgh residents and small businesses in the “green” option of a new contract. Going “green” means obtaining electric supply from renewable sources – wind power, solar power, hydropower – rather than fossil fuels. It costs more but it helps address climate change, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues.
At Mr. Feiner’s request, the CGCA reached out to the community (9/13/20) for advice on what action the Town should take. One resident recommended the “green” option. Every other response received to date recommended that any new contract should be on an “Opt In” basis. More information was also requested regarding the future savings to lower-income families.
The Executive Board of the CGCA is making no recommendation but rather providing the following information so residents can better understand what is being considered and are in a better position to ask questions.
As noted, those who have not “opted out” of the current contract are paying 7.709 cents per kWh for electric supply. According to Westchester Power, the average resident uses 669 kilowatt hours a month. Thus the average bill for the month, including 4% sales tax, would be $53.63 for electric supply. If you were enrolled in the “green” option, it would cost 7.959 cents per kWh and the average monthly bill, including tax, would be $55.38 for electric supply.
As the attached table indicates, Property # 1 and Property # 2 paid 5.5 cents per kWh. This means an average monthly bill for 669 kWh, including tax, would be $38.27. The savings for the “standard” option equals $15.36 which is 28.6% lower than the ESCO charged. For the “green” option, the savings equals $17.11 and is 30.9% lower. Even if one subtracts 64 cents for the monthly billing and processing payment fee, the monthly savings would be substantial.
According to the CGCA’s understanding, any new contract the Town participates in would be for the “green” option and would be offered on an “Opt Out” basis. Savings of 10% on their electric bill would be promised to “x” number of lower income residents and the Town could be eligible for up to $250,000 in grant money for sustainable projects. Westchester Power plans to go out to bid this month for a new contract, with a starting bid lower than 7.65 cents per kWh.
If you wish to participate in tonight’s Town Board discussion on this matter, see instructions below:
The current two-year contract with the ESCO Constellation will expire in December. The attached table documents information from the last nineteen (19) Con Edison bills for five households that “opted out” of this contract. As the table demonstrates, the latest cost per kWh (mainly for the month of August) was 5.4 to 5.9 cents. That is considerably less expensive than the 7.709 cents per kWh those still enrolled in the contract are paying.
Based on the monthly information circulated by the CGCA, Supervisor Paul Feiner has had to acknowledge that the current contract has been costly to the nearly 12,000 residential and small business electric users that the Town Board enrolled in the “standard” option. Under the current contract, unincorporated Greenburgh is only one of three municipalities participating in the “standard” option. Twenty-three other municipalities, including five Greenburgh villages – Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and Tarrytown – are enrolled in the “green” option. The Village of Elmsford and the nearby Town/Village of Scarsdale do not participate in the current contract negotiated by Westchester Power.
Mr. Feiner is now considering enrolling unincorporated Greenburgh residents and small businesses in the “green” option of a new contract. Going “green” means obtaining electric supply from renewable sources – wind power, solar power, hydropower – rather than fossil fuels. It costs more but it helps address climate change, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues.
At Mr. Feiner’s request, the CGCA reached out to the community (9/13/20) for advice on what action the Town should take. One resident recommended the “green” option. Every other response received to date recommended that any new contract should be on an “Opt In” basis. More information was also requested regarding the future savings to lower-income families.
The Executive Board of the CGCA is making no recommendation but rather providing the following information so residents can better understand what is being considered and are in a better position to ask questions.
As noted, those who have not “opted out” of the current contract are paying 7.709 cents per kWh for electric supply. According to Westchester Power, the average resident uses 669 kilowatt hours a month. Thus the average bill for the month, including 4% sales tax, would be $53.63 for electric supply. If you were enrolled in the “green” option, it would cost 7.959 cents per kWh and the average monthly bill, including tax, would be $55.38 for electric supply.
As the attached table indicates, Property # 1 and Property # 2 paid 5.5 cents per kWh. This means an average monthly bill for 669 kWh, including tax, would be $38.27. The savings for the “standard” option equals $15.36 which is 28.6% lower than the ESCO charged. For the “green” option, the savings equals $17.11 and is 30.9% lower. Even if one subtracts 64 cents for the monthly billing and processing payment fee, the monthly savings would be substantial.
According to the CGCA’s understanding, any new contract the Town participates in would be for the “green” option and would be offered on an “Opt Out” basis. Savings of 10% on their electric bill would be promised to “x” number of lower income residents and the Town could be eligible for up to $250,000 in grant money for sustainable projects. Westchester Power plans to go out to bid this month for a new contract, with a starting bid lower than 7.65 cents per kWh.
If you wish to participate in tonight’s Town Board discussion on this matter, see instructions below:
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Filming in Elmsford-"The Flight Attendant"
Village Hall is happy to announce once again a major film production had chosen Elmsford to film some scenes.
"The Flight Attendant" is going to be filming here in Elmsford.
Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Michelle Gomez, Michiel Huisman, Colin Woodell, Rosie Perez, Zosia Mamet, Merle Dandridge, Griffin Matthews, T.R. Knight
They will be filming on Monday September 21, 2020 - 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
They will be filming at the Motel 6 located at 19 West Main Street, Elmsford.
Produced by: Norman Productions, Berlanti Productions, Warner Brothers Television.
Flight attendant Cassandra Bowden (Kaley Cuoco) wakes in her hotel room hungover from
the night before inDubai with a dead body lying next to her. Afraid to call the police, she continues her morning as if nothing happened, joining the other flight attendants and pilots traveling to the airport.
In New York, she is met by FBI agents who question her about her recent layover in Dubai.
Still unable to piece the night together, she wonders if she could be the killer.
Every year major Films and TV Series are filmed right here in Elmsford starring big name actors and actresses.
These filming days have proven to be beneficial to the Village and to businesses in Elmsford.
The movie company pays a permit fee to the Village, they pay to use the facility they are filming at, and they shop at many Elmsford Businesses for food and supplies for the filming.
Many of the crew have returned to Elmsford after the filming to do business with a business they saw, or did business with while here.
Plus when you go to see the movie, or watch the show on TV, you can say, that scene was filmed in Elmsford.
You should stop by to see what goes into filming a scene.
Passing of Gerard "Rod" O'Shea
Gerard "Rod" O'Shea
Edgemont - Gerard "Rod" O'Shea died September 9, his 53rd anniversary, at his second home, from complications attributed to Myasthenia Gravis.Rod was born November 3rd, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of seven children, to Michael and Sarah O'Shea. After graduating from LaSalle Academy, he served in the Air Force during the Korean War as a cryptographer. After discharge he continued his education at St John's University (B.A.) and Columbia Teachers College (MAT).
During the 1960's he taught speech & drama and produced plays at Scarsdale High School. In 1967 he married Madelon Kavey, retired from public school teaching, and started Gerard P. O'Shea Associates, Inc., the communications company he ran for the next 45 years. In the early 1980's Rod wrote THE NEW READING, establishing him as a nationally recognized reading expert. This book was followed by several others, including a series of how to effectively coach kids to play youth sports.
For over 25 years, Rod and his wife had local weekly radio shows on WFAS, White Plains radio - TALKING WITH ROD O'SHEA and MR. OPEN NIGHTER. A firm believer in giving back to his community, Rod served as President of The Edgemont Association, currently serving as treasurer; Chairman of The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations; and on town committees too numerous to name. In recognition of his years of dedicated service, he and Madelon received the Edgemont Community Council's Silver Box community service award.
He was very active in veterans affairs, made written contributions to various veterans publications, served on the Veterans Service Advisory Board of Westchester County and worked to help raise money for Canines for Combat Veterans and wounded warrior groups. He was most proud of the work he did to help create memorials to Gold Star Mothers and to gain recognition for non-citizen mothers into Gold Star Mothers in America. Rod was a proud member of 2285 VFW and American Legion 979. He also belonged to the Korean War Vets and the DAV. Rod loved his little piece of heaven in Florida; he valued his family time over everything else. He rarely missed a game, a performance or an opportunity to spend time with his children. He really lived a full, active, erudite life.
Rod is survived by his wife Madelon, his sons Mitchell (Lisa), and James (Elisha), his daughter Michele-Ann (Matt), grandchildren Morgan, Kevin, Allison, Acelyn, Makenna, Eleanor and Samuel. He was pre-deceased by all his siblings.
Burial, with military honors, was in Florida National Cemetery. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Eastchester Veterans Foundation, 433 White Plains Road, Eastchester NY; Fisher House at James J. Peters VA Hospital, Bronx, NY.; or a veterans group of your choice.
Rod is survived by his wife Madelon, his sons Mitchell (Lisa), and James (Elisha), his daughter Michele-Ann (Matt), grandchildren Morgan, Kevin, Allison, Acelyn, Makenna, Eleanor and Samuel. He was pre-deceased by all his siblings.
Burial, with military honors, was in Florida National Cemetery. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Eastchester Veterans Foundation, 433 White Plains Road, Eastchester NY; Fisher House at James J. Peters VA Hospital, Bronx, NY.; or a veterans group of your choice.
Friday, September 18, 2020
Happy Rosh Hashanah
We wish our Jewish brothers and sisters Shana Tova and hope the millions observing this sacred day in America and around the world have a blessed start to the High Holy Days.
Friday, September 11, 2020
School Board Terminates Superintendent Contract, Looks To Do More
The last five years in the Greenburgh Central School District (GCSD) have been extremely tumultuous under the failed leadership of Superintendent Tahira Chase. She was hired to replace her boss, Superintendent Ronald O Ross, after charges of racism, harassment and abuse forced his termination. It appears that Trustee Terry Williams intervened to help Superintendent Chase be recommended to the professional search firm hired by the Board. There may have been others participating as well. Superintendent Chase then pulled her ex-mentor out of retirement and hired him as our as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. All this set the stage for five years of “lipstick on a pig” programs and numerous sideshows, such as the Mansion “emergency” evacuation in August of 2019. Meanwhile, our buildings continued to crumble and our kids’ performance on standardized tests continued to be sub-standard.
Let us not forget that it was this Superintendent who also led a failed Consolidation Bond effort. The “Roadshow” to sell $200 million of debt to build new school buildings was publicly spearheaded by Superintendent Chase, Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary O’Neill, and Trustee Terry Williams. The resounding 2-to-1 defeat of the Consolidation Bond in 2019 awakened the stakeholder sleeping giant to send three very clear messages. First, running our school buildings into the ground and then asking for the largest bond in the history of Westchester County to build new ones is unacceptable. Second, student achievement should take precedence over new buildings and is a condition for stakeholder bond approvals. Third, the residents of GCSD are not interested in developing a brand or legacy for the Superintendent and a few long-serving Trustees!
The Board of Education election in 2019 brought two newcomers to the Board, Ashley Pineda and Tanya Dragic, finally ousting Lloyd Newman after 18 years on the Board. We are still “served” by Terry Williams who is in his 15th year, and David Warner who is in his 13th year on the Board. So much for term limits! However, it seems that the new faces were enough to bring about some change. The current Board President, Antoinette Darden-Cintron, recently sent out a message from the District stating, “The Superintendent's contract expires on June 30, 2021. The Board has determined not to extend that agreement or negotiate a successor agreement and we have begun the process of seeking a new Superintendent of Schools.” (See below document for the entire text). We applaud the Board for taking this action. We also applaud the Board’s hiring of Dr. Corey Reynolds as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum earlier this year. We believe that a new, professional and dedicated leadership is a first step to helping our kids learn.
HIGHLIGHTS OF SUPERINTENDENT CHASE’S PERFORMANCE:
The 2020/21 school budget:
The development of the 2020-2021 budget demonstrated that Superintendent Chase, supported by Terry Williams, remained deaf to the needs of the community, while trying to please a small group of supporters, such as the Friends of Greenburgh (FOG). The first draft of that budget started with an increase of over 4% from the previous year! Repeated pleas to curb the budget due to the economic devastation of COVID19 were ignored until a few days before the Board of Education had to vote to accept a budget. It was the behind-the-scenes intervention of certain community members with the Administration that brought the increase down to 1.3%. When asked about her personal salary increase in the budget, Superintendent Chase responded that it was “contractual”. Same for the Assistant Superintendent for Business. Teachers, however, were asked to forego their contractual increases in order to save money for the district. What hypocrisy!
Wasteful Spending
In August of 2019, Superintendent Chase blindsided the Board at the beginning of their summer retreat by saying that the Mansion was unsafe and required immediate evacuation. The Board was not given ample time to react properly to this announcement. The Early Childhood Program (ECP) was promptly relocated to the Lee F Jackson school. The staff however, remained there for another month until the Superintendent’s new office suite was constructed in Woodlands MHS. The cost to move the administration from the mansion was over $250,000. Almost a year later, we learned from the condition report a month later that the mansion did not need a complete evacuation. Now the superintendent is trying again to manipulate a condemnation of this building by playing up the findings of an essentially benign air-quality report. Her shenanigans are a slap in the Board’s face and an affront to taxpayers.
Where are the COVID 19 savings?
Everyone knows that the school year was truncated in March because of the COVID19 pandemic. What happened to unutilized funds for student transportation, after school programs, summer school and special programs from mid-March through August? Some transportation money, but not all, went for food distribution for eligible, needy students. In addition, the district spent money for technology to support on-line instruction and for cleaning and disinfection, but where is the accounting for the money that was spent as well as the savings?
What about academic programs?
Multiple educational programs, such as iReady, Eureka Math, Science Fusion and Naviance have been purchased and then abandoned, wasting taxpayer dollars. Students did not have access to an advanced Physics Program during the 2019-2020 school year, and our very first cohort of IB kids was instructed to retake Chemistry! This glaring deficiency makes a mockery of our calling GCSD, “a world class school district” and undermines the alleged excellence conferred by participation in the International Baccalaureate program.
Public allegations were anonymously raised in Fall 2019 regarding attendance problems and falsified grades of high school students. Results of the subsequent investigation have been withheld from the community. The excuse we're always told is, "This is a personnel issue and cannot be discussed publicly." Perhaps, but an outside agency was contracted to do this investigation for nearly $100,000 of our money. The taxpayers footing the bill have a right to know the results of an investigation that they paid for!
What about behavioral problems?
Are the schools, especially Woodlands MHS, a safe learning environment? Concerns have been raised by the community and parents about the lack of student discipline in the high school, including videotaped fights and violence against teachers. Questions have been raised about the accuracy of DASA reporting (Dignity for All Students) to the NYS Dept. of Education by the aforementioned anonymous allegations. There is no evidence that these concerns have been investigated and addressed.
Teacher hiring, retention and morale
During 2018/19, concerns were raised about the Early Childhood Program being a hostile work environment but the Director of that program remains in her position to this day. Highly qualified teachers are resigning from the district rather than enduring a hostile work environment. A large number of teaching staff have been mysteriously placed on “home assignment”, generating both staffing and supervision issues and fiscal concerns.
What’s our future?
The Board of Education must change! Those Trustees who have been in their positions for years are a big part of the problem. School Board elections will be coming around soon. It's time to clean house and elect more new blood, bringing in fresh thinking and fresh ideas to the Board. That’s how we'll get A Better Greenburgh School District.
GCSD Announcement:
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Monday, September 7, 2020
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