Dismissal Granted In Favor of Town Zoning Board of Appeals

It’s no secret that there exists a contentious relationship between the Town and the Edgemont community. So much so that some in Edgemont are seeking to incorporate and break away from the Town’s governance or mismanagement. There have been numerous issues over the last several years that have caused this alienation. Regardless of which issue(s) caused these residents to pursue incorporation, many say the straw that broke the camel's proverbial back was when Mr Feiner hired private investigators through the security company he hired through the judge he hired with unauthorized Town monies, to try to negate the petition signatures of those favoring incorporation. Some that we spoke to had been on the fence. But when they learned of this despot-like move, he lost their support.

Dromore Road is another Edgemont-centric debacle that has caused an uproar in their community. As we and others often say, “If it happens in one neighborhood, it's sure to happen in another, even yours.” Don’t believe us? One towering example is the Brightview Assisted Living Center in the Glenville section of the Town. Mr Feiner instructed his Board to be in favor of it at all costs and to vote it through. Not doing so would cause them to find themselves “Sonya’d”* and be on the outside looking in. Rightfully, Mr Jones, her replacement, tows the Feiner-line like a religious zealot. Anyway, after Brightview was plopped in the center of a small residential neighborhood of single family homes, we see the same scenario unfolding once again.

The Sprainbrook Nursery has operated on Underhill Road for years, owned and operated by the Krautter family. They are seeking to sell the property to an assisted living developer for roughly $3.5 million to use as their retirement nest egg. Many in the Edgemont community as well as the Greenville Fire District had initiated a court action to stop this oversized assisted living extravaganza at the now defunct nursery. They cited the Town's own newly adopted assisted living code which among other things mandates being with 200 feet of a state right of way and on a minimum of 4 acres of land. There's a little bit more to it but this is the gist of it. The Formation-Shelbourne proposal on the former Sprainbrook Nursery meets neither of these requirements. Also cited were safety issues of emergency vehicles responding on Underhill Road with more frequency. Fire departments will rarely discuss response conditions as a concern mostly because they will always get where they are going.

This past week the Judge ruled in favor of the Town's Zoning Board of Appeals and against the civic associations and fire district that had sued to stop the egregious variances that would be required to build this facility. Being shot down in court is difficult enough, but having it happen on what seems to be a minor technicality shows why people have lost faith in the courts system. The reason given by Judge Susan Cacace was that the petitioners (Edgemont Community Council, Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations and the Greenville Fire Districts) had not filed their action soon enough after the Zoning Board of Appeals rendered its decision. We quote, “Based on the foregoing, the respondents' motions to dismiss the instant petition to CPLR 3211(a) and 7804(f) are granted due to the petitioners' untimely commencement of this proceeding in violation of the applicable 30-day limitations period prescribed by Town Law 267-c(1), and therefore, this proceeding is hereby dismissed.”

No doubt an appeal can be made. However, there is no guarantee of this happening. Sadly, this is another oversized and inappropriate facility that will be built in what is now a densely residential community. The nursery was built years ago before little if any residential properties existed there. Back in that day a nursery fit the area just fine and was later grandfathered to stay. Nowadays, the buzz is about affordable (re: subsidized) housing, senior housing or assisted living. Usually, but not always, many of the new facilities get built and after a few short years are sold to another company, reaping financial benefits upon the developer - who then walks away. Or, they go into bankruptcy and leave their residents out in the cold with no savings or little hope of ever recouping their funds or even remaining years.

So now the charade at Town Hall begins. Mr Feiner will hail the decision and out of the other side of his mouth try to convince the public that he and his Board are going to listen to the public, do their due diligence, hold hearings, whatever it takes to help them decide if this project should move forward. It's a double-edge sword for him. He's forced to placate Edgemont and appear to be listening to them, but he's already promised Formation-Shelbourne their proposal to go through. Sure, he'll say he's received many phone calls supporting this facility, even from the residents in the area. But he will never say who or how many contacted him. He'll also say he received a ton of emails. Yet again, he will not divulge any names or real figures. 

The proposal for an assisted living facility may or may not be needed in the Town. Since this Town Board was so anxious to pass an assisted living zoning change in 2014 and then ignore it so readily and quickly after its passage proves the G10 was correct when they insisted at countless meetings that it was flawed and should not be passed. When Mr Feiner (who will vote no to placate Edgemont) and his Board pass this, they should only do so to a scaled down version of what is presented. And, when the developer says it has to be the size they are proposing to be cost-effective, we only hope the Town Board members voting yes will only do so to a reduced version of the proposal, working with the residents, fire district and civic associations instead of around them. Only then will we see A Better Greenburgh.

* Reference is of former Town Board member Sonya Brown, who was shunned by Mr Feiner and his Board and later dropped from his “ticket” after she exposed him for saying as candidates they should not bother to campaign in Fairview as those residents were unintelligent and they’d be wasting their time doing so there.

Formation Shelborne Should Go

We’ve previously written about the Formation Shelbourne scam that Mr Feiner and his Town Board have thrust and continued to perpetuate upon the residents of Edgemont and the Town. Prior to his leaving the Town as our Planning Commissioner to pave over greener pastures in Stamford, CT., Thomas Madden assured the management team from Formation Shelbourne that their assisted living project would sail through the process, guaranteeing the proverbial “done deal”. Mr Feiner was also a willing participant and he too assured project approvals and a resistant-free project from the Town.

Others have also reported this egregious violation of public trust and spoken about it at Town Board meetings. The fallacy of doing this is the wanton lack of attention paid by the Board members as they have appeared to have been instructed by Mr Feiner to ignore the concerns of the residents. In fact, if it weren’t for Town Attorney Tim Lewis’ berating of residents who go past the emperor's allotted three-minute public speaking constraint, there might not be any Board involvement with the public. Complaining, questioning and offering suggestions as often as is done by residents results in the Town Board only feigning deafness.To help get these issues out in the forefront, another frustrated resident, Edgemont resident Jeff Sherwin, has created a new website to address some of these illegalities.See it by clicking on this link:
https://www.greenburgh-zoning.org/#greenburgh-is-spot-zoning

The silence from Town Hall about doing the right thing with this project has almost been deafening. It is blatantly obvious that Mr Feiner and his instructed Board will not alter their support of a project laden with many needed zoning variations, questionable neighborhood concerns and safety issues. The property in question, owned by the Al Krautter family, currently houses the Sprainbrook Nursery. They are continuing to operate the nursery while the conditioned sale stagnates during the Town’s mishandling of this oversized proposal. Should they cease the nursery's operation, the current zoning that allows the business to operate under a "grandfathered" zoning clause, would revert back to residential, ending the Formation Shelbourne’s ability to utilize the property for their proposed assisted living facility. And, quite probably, wind up terminating the sale of the property.

Many examples of concern have been given as to why the proposal should not be approved and continued. But closed-door promises were made - as has been done for the last 24 years - and must be honored at all cost, no matter how ethically or legally improper those promises might be! You’ll recall the Town Board beaming and postulating as they passed the Brightview Assisted Living Center-written bill specifying assisted living proposal conditions for future projects. The trouble with it was it was written to Brightview’s specifications for their project! Obviously flawed, adopting it is just another misstep made by this administration.

Trying to circumvent the new zoning regulations for their own profit, Formation Shelbourne is seeking variances to the requirements of being within 200 feet of a state right of way and being built on a minimum of 4 acres. There are other conditions to be met, but these are the two most glaring that should easily negate this proposal. The property is less than the newly adopted zoning law's required 4 acres and is more than 6,000 feet from the nearest state right-of-way. Mr Sherwin’s website video drive proves the distance is miles away, not feet. Mr Feiner has again violated the the trust of the taxpayers and residents. He should immediately resign if he wishes to show any kind of good faith toward the residents and prove he is not in the pocket of these and other developers. But rather than step down, we're sure he will "step it up" and do several more Town financed mailings and email blasts lauding this project. 

Regardless of what he does, there promises to be another lawsuit on the Town's horizon over this project. There are many projects in the Town that may have merit. There will be more in our future that will also be good. But illegal promises made by Mr Feiner behind closed doors and condoned by his Board should put an immediate end to this project. We hope that some day, this Board will find a moral compass and try to do the right thing. Until then, we keep seeking A Better Greenburgh.

The Town's Largess Is Costing All of Us

There are several bulk mailing rates that the Town uses for their snail-mail mailings. One piece of mail in a business envelope goes for $.23; another goes for $.46.5. This costs all tax payers a lot of money during the course of a year each time a mailing is done. Why are these mailings done and why so often you may ask? Simply, it’s politics. It’s a cost free way for Mr Feiner, albeit the Town Board, to campaign without using his/their own money, campaign funds or donations. As long as it can be done under the pretext of providing information to the public, there are no campaign finance laws broken nor are any election bank accounts emptied, drained or depleted.

When there is an issue Mr Feiner wishes to promote, you might receive almost daily mailings arriving to you at either rate. We witnessed this numerous times in the past. One recent proposal has been Mr Feiner’s push for the ill-conceived and zoning deficient assisted living facility by the Formation Shelbourne organization where the current Sprainbrook Nursery sits. They are seeking to build a four-story, 94-bed facility on less than four acres of property and roughly 6,000 feet from a County of State right-of-way roadway – requirements under the two-year old zoning law recently adopted by Mr Feiner and his Town Board.

Mr Feiner has taken to endorsing projects that are primarily commercial by nature, regardless of whether they are built in a commercial or residentially zoned area. There are several examples that come to mind. The first was Westhab which he suggested to then County Legislator Lois Bronz be built on the former Kings Inn Motel site in Fulton Park. That was a transition parcel of land that was zoned half commercial and half residential.  But he didn’t care about zoning. By making the Town Board the lead agency for the project, they were able to disregard any and all legal standings previously maintained and allowed building to proceed. Mailings were done throughout the Town seeking support of this project. People sympathetic to Mr Feiner in the neighborhood also received these mailings. The rest did not. However, the multiple mailings cost us a significant chuck of money. Shouldn’t the Supervisor remain neutral about any projects?

Another project was the GameOn 365 proposal in the former Frank’s Nursery property on Dobbs Ferry Road. Emails acquired under the Freedom of Information Law confirmed Mr Feiner promised in private meetings with the GameOn 365 principals that he’d push the project through. When the area neighborhoods learned of the proposal, they revived their civic association to fight the 8-story sports bubble Mr Feiner felt was okay to build in this residential neighborhood. You see, the zoning had been allowed for a commercial establishment years ago. When Frank’s Nursery defaulted on the mortgage, they went into foreclosure and the Town acquired the property. Instead of selling it within the first 6-months of acquisition, as required by County and State law, Mr Feiner decided to hold onto it. Consequently, the zoning for the land reverted back to residential zoning. Had he not begun playing politics with the property and simply sold it, it would have been “grandfathered” to remain commercial. Not only were there multiple mailings supporting this project, he did separate mailings about holding a referendum, poorly written by his administration, in hopes of getting a passing vote. It worked but he ultimately lost because all of the neighborhoods stood united to only have residential housing built there. There were so many mailings for this project it’s actually hard to tally it all up.

Next up was the Brightview Assisted Living facility at Rt 119 and Benedict Avenue in the Glenville section of Unincorporated Greenburgh. This small tight knit neighborhood would soon be overwhelmed with a building that a) doesn’t fit the neighborhood; b) looms over Rt 119 and the beginning of Benedict Avenue; c) does not allow the average Greenburgh senior citizen on Medicare to live there; and d) could wind up following suit as so many other assisted living facilities and go bankrupt and need to repurpose itself into a condominium or co-operative apartment. Could this entire assisted living facility be a pretense to build an assisted living facility where apartment buildings would not be allowed due to zoning? We don’t know but wonder. There were numerous mailings from the Supervisor pushing the Brightview project. All we wonder is at what cost was all of this done and why was the Supervisor so invested in promoting it?

Beyond the major projects such as mentioned above, and there are more, he goes out of his way to do mailings vis-à-vis advertising for private companies and corporations. The latest recipient of Mr Feiner’s largess is the Hartsdale Kumon Center. While this may be a terrific business doing great work with kids needing additional help with their schoolwork for a fee, it is not the job of the Town to do a mailing or advertising blitz throughout the Town for private, for profit businesses. At $.46 per piece mailed, this is an unnecessary expense for taxpayers to bear and must stop. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Town Wrong Again, Snubs Nose At Process and Residents

It's no secret that when Mr Feiner wants a project to go through, he will do everything possible to stack the deck for that project's developer. Such is the case with the Formation-Shelbourne's oversized assisted living facility project that would replace the Sprainbrook Nursery. It's the first proposal for an assisted living facility that clearly does not meet the Town Board's newly adopted (2-yr old) assisted living zoning code. It was adopted specifically to allow the Brightview facility to be built at Rt 119 and Benedict Avenue - another project Mr Feiner favored. In fact, after adopting the code change that Thomas Madden, then the Planning Commissioner, along with Mr Sheehan and others, insisted another assisted living facility could not be built anywhere in Unincorporated Greenburgh because there is no space that could accommodate it!

This debacle, highlighting the public's outcry that the Town Board follow the process and allow the project to proceed, or not, of its own volition, has routinely been ignored by a deaf Town Board. But since Mr Feiner wants this project to go through even though it violates the zoning, he insisted on pushing it through against protests of the taxpayers. He's again violated the process he so often refers to, claiming that the residents should have confidence in the process. Actions such as these reinforce the residents’ lack of confidence in any processes Mr Feiner and his Board may discuss. The only confidence they seem to get is the confidence game he and his Board are running against taxpayers! 

At this meeting, he had his Town Board vote to accept the negative declaration on the State Environmental Quality Review Assessment (SEQR) before it was required to be performed. The "neg dec SEQR" report means the project will not have a negative environmental impact on the project. Perhaps this would be the outcome anyway. But testing and reports are needed to make that determination. Mr Feiner and his Board have performed none and by not following the real process, are cheating everyone except the developer. Emboldened by the public's inability to stop them has created this nightmare scenario.

During the same Town Board meeting was a scheduled hearing for the 7-8 year old Comprehensive Plan that has yet to be adopted. The Town Board cancelled it. Why was the hearing cancelled? The Comprehensive Plan is the one official obstacle that might restrict Mr Feiner and his spot-zoning ways if adopted. However, changes to it seem to have watered down its effectiveness. It should provide a map for the Town's zoning which would slow and possibly stop Mr Feiner's wanton wholesaling of every piece of undeveloped land in Unincorporated Greenburgh. It's no wonder he decided to postpone the hearing. Every delay, change or review slows its adoption and keeps him in the driver's seat. He's spent the last two years throwing more considerations for them to review knowing it slows them down.

To add dramatic flair to the proceedings, Councilman Ken Jones had said at an earlier meeting that he had unanswered questions and wished to have a delay in the vote. This night, he said his concerns had been answered and he would support the project. No surprise there. ABG believes these theatrics were Mr Jones' turn to appear to be the “concerned Board member”. We believe that Mr Feiner instructs the Board members who can challenge and even vote "no" on any given issue. It was his turn. Ironically, Mr Jones' questions were less environmental and more traffic oriented. It was perceived and ultimately believed by many to be nothing more than a ploy for appearance sake.

Many residents have been concerned about increased traffic, accidents, emergency vehicle responses, flooding, lack of blending into the neighborhood and more. Others, including friends of the Sprainbrook Nursery owners have championed the sale. While we appreciate they're trying to help their friends, this is about adhering to the zoning code changes Mr Feiner and his Town Board adopted against many residents objections with valid concerns. He and his Board ignored that input and it was passed. Now, Foundation Shelbourne is asking for variances for some of those same concerns. They should not be allowed and the zoning code Mr Feiner and his Board passed should stand. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Tensions Run High In Emotional Protest

Emotion filled the packed room. Overflow was in an adjacent room and the cafeteria. Little did the Ardsley residents know how Mr Feiner operates and he was using them for his benefit. Knowing he would be sworn in this night having been re-elected yet again after running unopposed, he wanted a big crowd. He got it. There were 376 people in attendance. In fact, Police Chief McNerney informed us that after 150 were counted and allowed into the main hall, they began directing people toward others rooms in the building to adhere to the fire code occupancy restrictions.

Mr Feiner worked the Town’s GBList to its maximum. The GBList is the email list Mr Feiner treats as his own even though he continues to violate a court order for him to release its contents under the Freedom of Information Law. Between the proposed Jefferson Apartment complex project and other area construction in the Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, and Hastings area, neighbors have a lot to be upset about. This proposal is for the abandoned and unused property on Lawrence Street, formerly used and currently owned by the Netherlands-based company Akzo Nobel. ABG is against the over-development of Unincorporated Greenburgh, but recognizes that this proposal is a legal use for this land. The zoning is commercial and Greenburgh zoning for commercial property includes multi-family housing use.

Traditionally, Mr Feiner and his Town Board operate with flagrant disregard of neighborhood concerns and over-sized projects. This clearly falls in that category. There are many examples of where a developer has built too large a project, blessed by Mr Feiner and his Board even after hearing from upset residents at packed meetings. Several, but not all, include Westhab in Fulton Park, Brightview Assisted Living in Glenville, Regeneron in north Elmsford/Tarrytown, Dromore Road and the proposed Shelbourne Assisted Living facility in Edgemont at the former Sprain Brook Nursery and more. The point is, this Town Board routinely favors the developer over the homeowner, taxpayer and resident. So, what will happen?

Speaker after speaker bemoaned numerous points against this project. No one spoke in favor of ithe Jefferson proposal except the developer. Obvious issues with this proposal are increased traffic, increased school enrollment, no tax benefits for Ardsley and our constant harangue of flooding and future increased flooding to the area. Ironically, PO1 on the agenda was for the Town Board to vote for a resolution adopting the 2015 Westchester County Hazard Mitigation Plan update. This is classic Town Board. Why fix the problem on both the Bronx River and Saw Mill River corridors when we can talk about it and say the County has a plan? It will never get better as long as these politicians are in office.

There was also a litany of varied speakers in attendance. They included current and former Ardsley Mayors, Trustees, Ardsley school Board members and several emergency responders from the Ardsley Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The emergency responders stated they have about 30 or so members and while their call volume is increasing, their membership is not. The point being that whenever you increase the amount of residents, the responders’ call volume increases. This was exactly the issue broached by Police Chief McNerney at a previous Town Board meeting when the discussion was about adding another assisted living facility, this time at the old Sprain Brook Nursery site. More personnel would be needed, whether paid or volunteer.

Retired Judge Herbert Rosenberg apologized to the residents of Ardsley as a resident of Dobbs Ferry for the nightmarish construction and disruption caused to them from the Rivertown Square development currently underway. Many have been stuck on area roadways caused by traffic backups, accidents and construction equipment being positioned on the site.

During the proceedings of this “scoping” session, Mr Feiner played the crowd as we’ve seen done before. Most recently he protested the shopping center expansion on Central Avenue only to capitulate. Unfortunately, that's what we believe will happen here. He will postulate often about being against this, injecting sound bite snippets that he will later post on his websites (greenburghny.com, greenburgh.dailyvoice.com) and YouTube. He'll have the Town videographer carefully craft his swearing in, showing the huge crowd and then the scoping session, again, utilizing the crowd. Sadly, we think he'll capitulate again and approve this project. After all is said and done, he knows the Ardsley residents that showed up last night will be reduced to half for the next meeting. In time, he will wear them down until there is no opposition. We hope this won't happen.

The demands currently being made of the developer can be considered reasonable or unreasonable, depending on which side you are on. ABG would like to see a scaled down project on this site if it were to proceed. There may be other ideas in the works for this location. The Town Board usually meets with developers two years before their proposals are made public. One of the former project leaders for this told ABG staffers during a meeting a year ago that they had previously pitched this project to Mr Feiner, who gave them a favorable response back then. Something is going to be built at this location. We’ve seen Mr Feiner go through hell and high water to push the GameOn 365 sports bubble into a residential neighborhood. We hope that doesn't happen here. We also hope that all sides are willing to sit down and work together to create a proposal that all those involved can live with when that time comes. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Town Board Goes Against A Good Project

There is a proposal in front of the Town Board to build an apartment complex at Lawrence Avenue and Saw Mill River Road (and Parkway). It is comprised  of 272 apartments, down from its original proposal of 296, based on feedback the Jefferson Management team received from the community. Almost immediately after the proposal “hit the bricks,” Mr Feiner came out against it, as did Ardsley resident and Town Board member Diana Juettner, claiming it would burden the infrastructure. While hypocritical to say the least, the Jefferson offered to make significant changes to the area, even going as far south of the project itself to Jackson Avenue. The Loft complex approved by Mr Feiner and his Board near Jackson Avenue offered no changes. Nor has Mr Feiner and Ms Juettner ever offered help to the area.

But the lies have already begun from the corner office. The offering has not generated as much “significant controversy” as Mr Feiner would have you believe. It is he that is trying to create a controversy where controversy does not exist. The development, while overgrown with weeds, dumped dirt and debris, offers value from the stand point of flooding and water absorption Still, they resist this property in a commercial area, ideally suited for a project such as this. You can read more about this project in our earlier post from Sunday, April 19, 2015
JPI Proposing 296 Multi-Family Apartments Jefferson at Saw Mill River(http://abettergreenburgh.blogspot.com/search?q=jefferson)

Mr Feiner claims he is “proposing initiatives” that frankly are either already in the original proposal or too ridiculous to entertain. However, Mr Feiner's standard method of operation is to throw these types of inane ideas out there and hope that something gains traction. But he knows that if he can get some of his supporters to be at the meeting to parrot these points, he’ll get what he desires in publicity from the media, a quote or two on News 12 and possibly other TV stations - depending on whom he invites.

Here's a few of his “initiatives.” Ours are in black, his are in blue:

Widening of both Lawrence Street and Saw Mill River Road to include turning lanes as appropriate from Lawrence street to entrance of the thruway. I believe that the entire length of Saw Mill River Road from Jackson Ave to Ardsley downtown should be widened. 
The plans show a widening and turning lane added on 9A at Jackson Avenue to allow for an increase in traffic heading south on 9A. As we’ve written previously, the Ginsburgh developer of The Loft should be doing this but is not. Nor, is Mr Feiner saddling them with similar conditions.

Construction of sidewalks and bike lanes on both Lawrence and Saw Mill Road from Jackson to downtown Ardsley to promote safe pedestrian/bicycling.

Sidewalks are a condition in our Town for all new construction, regardless of whether or not they connect or lead to anything. These were in the initial plans that had been submitted. The Jefferson project has also made accommodations for bike path use as well as creating a section of public parking that bikers can use to come to the site by car, park and ride the bike path.

Construction of an overpass from Lawrence Street westbound to Saw Mill River Parkway Southbound. As it is the light is problematic, prone to back up and causes systematic delays.

Our staffers travel this route every day and say the light is not so much the issue as are the quantity of construction vehicles moving to and from the area, slowing things down. As our elected representatives, if the traffic light is problematic, then it is up to he, Ms Juettner and the other Town Board members to get it fixed, not the Jefferson!

Construction of additional parking in downtown Ardsley to address the shortage of parking in the business district. Almost 300 new apartments will definitely increase parking problems.
While parking in Ardsley has been an issue for at least 24-years, Mr Feiner’s tenure as Supervisor, he has never made any overtures to address their parking issues. In fact, their Village Board had sidewalks added in Town through grant money Mr Feiner didn't even apply for. The Jefferson plans show all parking for the facility will be provided on their property and not utilize any from the Village proper. If this facility was in the Village itself it might affect parking – but it’s not and it won’t.

Possible construction of additional parking at area train stations to address commuter parking problems.

Even after being lifelong residents, this has us baffled as we cannot locate a train station in Ardsley.

A requirement that frequent shuttle service be provided to train station and downtown Ardsley.
Again, there is no train station in downtown Ardsley.This indicates that this is purely a boilerplate exercise by Mr Feiner.

We need to analyze ability of first responders to come to the assistance of those with emergency medical needs if the Parkway is closed and there are major traffic jams on Lawrence and on Saw Mill River Road.
This is a phony excuse. There has been no study for any other projects anywhere in the Town that was ever denied for lack of access to emergency responders. Emergency vehicles always get through traffic. In fact, the one project that actually does have inadequate access for emergency vehicles is the Brightview Assisted Living facility at Rt 119 and Benedict Avenue. Yet, Mr Feiner and his Board made themselves the lead agency for the project and then approved every aspect of it. Fire trucks responding there are forced to pull in, do whatever is needed and then back their rigs out when they are finished. This is absurd! But, Mr Feiner wanted this regardless of what was needed. In fact, a similar project endorsed by him is the Shellbourne Assisted Living project where the old Sprain Nursery was located. They too, will be building more than the property and surrounding area can handle, thwarting the effectiveness, efficiency and safety of the emergency services responders. Apparently, the safety of assisted living living residents also means little to Mr Feiner and his Board.

There has also been discussion that the Ardsley Schools District will be overrun with new students. According the a spokesman at The Jefferson, the goal of this project is to attract single and newlywed Millenials, and not families with school age children. In fact, our discussion with them indicated that this is a “starter” home for both of those groups, leading them toward purchasing a home when the do have kids. While no one can guarantee this will be the case, the Jefferson Management based their information and projections on other projects of theirs throughout the country.

You may be wondering why the Town Board would object to this project when it seems to be in the right spot, doesn't negatively impact the area, and in fact improves it, falls in line with the other developments Mr Feiner and his Board readily approved and can add to the tax roles, albeit at a discounted tax rate? Because Ms Juettner is afraid of making her constituents mad and losing votes. But, it’s not just her, it’s also Mr Feiner not wanting to lose any votes from Ardsley. After all, the Villages add an awful lot of votes to their campaigns. Sadly, they’re not doing what’s right for the taxpayers and constituents. Rather, they’re acting in their own best interests.

This project is right for the area and needs to be approved. Ultimately, it will go through and be built. In the meantime, we believe Mr Feiner will try to coerce more from the Jefferson Management than is required for approvals. Don’t believe us? Just look at the disastrous results of the Fortress Bible Discrimination case that Mr Feiner lost in Federal court and was found guilty on seven counts. Come and weigh in this Wednesday night at the Town Board meeting at 7:30PM. Be an active part of the Town. Only then will we see A Better Greenburgh.

Sprain Nursery Fire Could Accelerate Deal

At approximately 9PM on Sunday, a fire broke out at the Sprain Brook Nursery, located at 448 Underhill Road and burned into Monday morning. The building that caught fire at the  nursery literally burned to the ground during the multi-hour event. While the operation was strictly a “surround and drown” operation, no people were injured during the fire. This was the Nursery’s second fire in two years.

In December of 2014 the nursery suffered from a fire and three propane tank explosions. Numerous fire departments were dispatched to the site after 10 p.m. for a blaze of an outbuilding on the property. Back then, explosions of at least three 50-pound propane tanks shook nearby homes and generated numerous 9-1-1 calls. According to accounts at that time, Fire Chief Daniel Raftery said they had received reports from at least a quarter mile away from people who heard the explosions.

The last few years has found many area nurseries struggling to stay afloat. The Sprain Brook Nursery, which is owned by Al Krautter, was begun by his parents in 1944. This past year saw him revamp the operation into an all-organic facility with a much smaller staff. It had been reported that he might be closing due to a tougher-than-usual economic climate. He was closed for a short period of time this year apparently to determine what he would do with the nursery.

The Sprain Brook Nursery property is now under contract with a company called Formation Shelbourne Senior Living Services, to build what is turning into a somewhat controversial 80-bed, 70 square foot, assisted living facility at that location. A poorly and yet specifically written bill, crafted by the attorneys for the Brightview Assisted Living facility and later adopted when presented to the Town Board, has left the door open to allow for a new facility to be built on this postage size plot. However, the controversial aspect of this proposal relates to what is considered normal conditions that must be addressed with any undertaking such as this.

Several reasons Civic Associations and neighbors are against the proposal are due to fire safety, health, traffic, noise and that assisted living facilities do not belong in the middle of residential areas. To those who say that the nursery did not belong there as it is a commercial entity in a residential neighborhood are also right, but it had been grandfathered into the residentially  zoned area, which explains why it was there. The space is covered by the Greenville Fire District, with a paid fire department. It is the one paid fire department Mr Feiner chose to not include when he was pushing fire consolidation amongst the Fairview, Hartsdale and initially Greenville Fire Districts. When the Edgemont neighborhood protested, as well as the Fire District, Mr Feiner realized he had bitten off more than he could handle. He once again risked an Edgemont secession which would negatively affect his bloated budgets. He could not afford to lose that income so he backed down.

More importantly, fire investigators are looking into the cause of this year's blaze. Coincidence? Perhaps. Accidental? Perhaps. Intentional? Perhaps. ABG is not saying there was any foul play. However, with a pending sale, similar timing, hard times and retirement ahead, investigators will have their hands full trying to sift through all of this. We hope that this was another accidental fire and that there was no wrong-doing. We also hope the Town truly sees the error of their adoption of an ill-conceived and executed law and decides not to build this huge facility at this location. But, it doesn't seem to matter to Mr Feiner and his Town Board what the residents think. He only cares what matters for his developer friends and residents be damned! And this fire might just be the impetus to speed his process along. This has to stop. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Union Protests At Brightview Assisted Living Center

On Thursday, Mr Feiner’s exclusive, if not discriminatory*, pet project witnessed union protesters picketing the construction site. From across the street, you can view the skeleton of the new facility. We witnessed about 30 or 40 carpenter union protesters marching and decided to have a look and find out more.

When we asked one of the protesters why they were picketing and was it related to Brightview facility under construction, we were told to go speak to one of the leaders at their sign-in location at Dunnings Drive. This facility is located at the intersection of Rt 119 and Benedict Avenue.

When we arrived at the sign-in area, we asked one of the gentlemen signing up protesters if he would explain why they were protesting. He said the contractor is not paying fair wages or using union workers. We asked if fair wages was a euphemism for union wages? He told me to contact the union at their headquarters but refused to supply that information, stating he was busy. We asked if the other trades at the site were union workers or not? He stated again to contact the union at their headquarters. He had sign-in cards that the picketers were filling out. Asked if we could take one to scan the logo and have the address, he told us no and that it was private property.

Since he was unwilling to answer a few basic questions, we were unable to pursue the rest of this story.

* Greenburgh residents on Medicaid (or low/no income) without assets or funds to sign over to the facility and rely solely on Medicare for housing cannot reside here. Mr Feiner and the Town Board ignored this point when it was repeatedly brought up during the public hearings.

Too Much of One Thing

The political pundits are transmitting in high gear now that the elections are over. Republican wins have shifted the balance of power once again – although not here in Greenburgh. In fact, when nothing changes things usually seem to get worse for the electorate, just as we’ve seen in Greenburgh. Without a balanced Town Board, Ethics Board, Planning Board (insert the Board of your choice), we do not get the best of what the Town (cities, villages, hamlets, etc) could offer. There is no creative thinking, no new ideas, little variety, limited progress and never any challenge to do more or better for the taxpayers. Quite the contrary.

Mr Feiner decided to discriminate against the Fortress Bible Church when the Church purchased property near Dobbs Ferry Road. While his reasons to discriminate may have only been known to himself, his attack on the Church was not only morally wrong, but after a protracted court battle and opportunity to settle, finally cost the taxpayers $6.5 million. Had the first Town Board had a mix of parties and personalities when Mr Feiner’s crusade against the Church began, and the subsequent Town Boards had more of a variety of members with a backbone to stand up to Mr Feiner, perhaps this disaster could have been averted. It’s one tremendous black-eye for Greenburgh.

Mr Feiner, convicted for discrimination, decided to not renew the lease at WestHelp on the Westchester Community College campus, costing Greenburgh taxpayers $1.2 million per year. This project for affordable housing was the brainchild of then HUD Chairman Andrew Cuomo, who was appointed to the position without any “housing” or management background. After insulting the NY public with several derogatory comments during his now-forgotten first gubernatorial campaign, he was told to accept the job from President Clinton, keep his mouth shut and in a few years they would let him be governor. He needed to make a name for himself and did so offering subsidized housing in Westchester for those in the DSS system. It was supposed to transition into senior housing after ten years. The state made the project happen and construction was done. Cuomo now had something to show on his HUD resume. The County gifted it to the Town. And for years, the Town raked in $1.2 million per year with little or no effort on our part. Cuomo towed the line and was anointed governor. You have to love New York.

But Mr Feiner decided to try to win votes from the Valhalla community by not renewing the contract when it came due, allowing it to languish into disrepair, in hopes of necessitating the demolition of the facility and delivering what Valhalla had wanted. Mr Feiner hoped for said votes. But by doing this, he stopped the largest non-tax income-producing revenue stream to the Town, forcing taxpayers to make up the difference. Had any of our Town Board members been of another political party and not dependent on Mr Feiner for re-election and feared being “Sonya’d”, we may have seen this move curtailed or at least brought to the public’s attention and be stopped before the damage was done.

According to County Legislator Alfreda Williams, the County subsequently told Mr Feiner and the Town Board to rent the apartments or else the County will terminate the lease with the Town, take back the facility and do with it what was planned. The Town would continue to lose $1.2 million with no chance of ever getting that money back. Currently no action has taken place but Mr Feiner’s repeated attempts to gift the management to unqualified companies (see Cuomo above) who promised more than could be delivered and tried to re-negotiate the contractual terms. Eventually, he was dropped as Mr Feiner’s preferred management vendor.

Mr Feiner insisted on green-lighting the Brightview Assisted Living (and Stop and Shop, and Westhab, and Deli Delicious, and the Central Avenue car dealerships special treatment, and Ferncliff, and Taxter Ridge, and well, you get it) project on what is considered by many as an inappropriately-sized piece of land. And now, as the construction of the building glaringly hovers over the intersection of Rt 119 and Benedict Avenue, we think they were right. Not only did Mr Feiner endorse and promote this project, he knowingly allowed them to turn Greenburgh residents on Medicare away from this upscale and private organization!

The point is a simple one in that having elections is part of our heritage and is a good thing. As the saying goes, too much of something isn’t always a good thing. We’ve had twenty-two years of Mr Feiner’s mismanagement, illegal actions and not enough creativity, open government and new ideas. It’s time for a change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Job Opening In Greenburgh

Thomas Madden, Commissioner of the Department of Community Development and Conservation, formerly known as the Planning Commissioner, has submitted his resignation to the Supervisor. Mr Madden was appointed as Commissioner of the Department of Community Development and Conservation for the Town in February 2008, after serving for four years as the Deputy Commissioner. While Mr Feiner claims to be upset about the resignation, residents we’ve discussed this with are overjoyed with the pending departure!

As Commissioner, he has been instrumental in the over-development of numerous areas throughout the Unincorporated Town and convoluted ideas that are simply a hindrance to business and doing business in the Town. More recently, as a member of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, he has leaked confidential information under review by the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee to developers with a financial interest in the Town. He also worked closely with the GameOn 365 people to help them build a for-profit recreational sports facility at the old Frank’s Nursery property. When questioned as to the ethical or even legal nature of a Town employee working on behalf of a private corporation (conflict of interest), he poo-pooed those critics.

Mr. Madden was a member of the Westchester County’s Central Park Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Study. Regardless of the outcome of this study, Mr Madden’s belief of increasing public transportation while doing nothing to alleviate traffic congestion is well-known. To focus on creating more bus routes while automotive traffic remains backed up almost everywhere is nothing more than social engineering gone awry. Why was the County looking to eliminate the Bee Line Bus System Express Route to New York City via Central Avenue, returning via Madison Avenue? Why was the County seeking to eliminate a Rye bus route only two years year ago? Because mass transit in a suburban area won’t work as it does in a city. Add the cost of running these systems and we, the beleaguered taxpayers, will be overburdened with another layer of increased taxes. Maybe now that Mr Madden is leaving Greenburgh, he'll be more apt to share his metropolitan vision in a more appropriate arena.

He will be taking a job in Stamford, Connecticut as their Economic Development Director. It’s ironic that he will be in a position for economic development giving his anti-business acumen here in the Town, highlighted when his suggested plan for taxing businesses was proven to be illegal. He can certainly “talk the talk”, but has difficulty actually working on behalf of businesses, unless of course they are a developer. Then, all bets are off, all the stops unplugged, and any resource they need is at their disposal.

He also worked closely with the Brightview Assisted Living Facility’s management to ensure success with their private assisted living project at Benedict Avenue and Rt 119. They, with Mr Madden’s assistance, wrote the zoning law change that Mr Feiner and the Town Board could not pass fast enough to allow the project to move forward. He did the same thing in Fulton Park by working intimately with Westhab to create an oversized subsidized housing project through changed zoning code that easily went contrary to why the zoning was in place to begin with. But Mr Madden needed a legacy and how better to get it than to be sanctioned by his convicted criminal boss, Mr Feiner.

While the Business Council of Westchester County recognized Thomas as one of their “Rising Stars – Forty Under Forty” program, in 2012, the criteria for this award is unknown. The program pays tribute to individuals who surpass expectations, raise the bar, set new standards for success, and make their mark in their chosen profession at a young age. We’re not saying he should not have gotten it, but given the number of vacant office spaces, retail spaces and taxpayers who are leaving the Town as fast as they can, we think the award may have been a bit premature. He had been instrumental in helping Mr Feiner shape the downward direction of the Town. Greenburgh certainly is a leader because of some of the actions of Mr Madden...the leader of what a Town should not do.

The Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has been holding community outreach meetings at Town Hall. Mr Madden was a key architect of the plan. The plan has gotten hammered by residents throughout the Town, leaving many to speculate that this could be Mr Madden’s Waterloo. Since the meetings have produced such a negative response from the community, and many of Mr Madden’s back room dealings are now being made public, it seems a good time for Mr Madden to accept the position in Stamford and "get out of Dodge" while the getting is good. Interestingly, his leaving may bring us one step closer to A Better Greenburgh.