Beware Of ConEd Scammers

A reader posted this on a neighborhood website and we thought it was important enough to post here to alert our readers to exert caution when receiving what appears to be a phone call from ConEd. Please let your family, friends and neighbors know about this. If this happens to you, please call the police department and report it.

Con Edison phone scam

Con Ed scammers are still active. I had a call today - with caller ID that indicated Con Edison and their correct 800 number - from a "dispatcher" informing me they'd be turning off my electricity today due to unpaid bills. They had my address but not my account number. Of course I knew I have no unpaid bills, as I auto-pay, and I asked for the supervisor, to see what I might pull out of them, and instead he gave me a different 844 number to call - the "Con Ed billing department" - which of course it is not. I wanted to bring it to neighbors' attention, particularly because the caller ID looks legit. I didn't let the guy get as far as telling me to run down to CVS and get a debit card - but I'm sure that's where they were going. I reported this to Con Ed and government officials - I would speak to the police as well, especially f I had actually been scammed rather than the threat. Be careful - this is more insidious than the usual obvious scams.

Black Women's March in Tarrytown

The Black Women’s March across the new Tappan Zee Bridge was planned for today, Saturday. Its organizers were on schedule to march across the bridge despite the threat of mass arrests at about noon. Vanessa Green, one of the march organizers, said the march would go on as planned, as other Black Lives Matter and anti-racist groups have committed to attending and some volunteering to be the first arrested. 

There appeared to be about 100 or so people (see photo above) making up the crowd. At least half appeared to be white and the rest of color. We overheard one man offer a sign to another that said “Black Lives Matter” and when thanked, he said he was just there to hand out signs. At one point Ms Green led the crowd in several chants, with the one most often used was, “Black Lives Matter here!”

There were many apparently hand-written signs saying the same thing but differently. “Listen To Black Women” and “Slavery Never Ended, It Just Evolved,” White Silence = Violence.” There were others, but not everyone had signs. Some were there to support the movement and some frankly were just curious to see what was going on. 

With a helicopter flying overhead, which we assumed was the state police helicopter, Tarrytown police officers, as well as state police officers seemed to be everywhere, even on the rooftop of the stores in the extremely crowded CVS (formerly Stop and Shop) parking lot! We spoke to one officer who said his post was right here but the parking lot was a zoo. His sergeant happened to walk over and said basically the same thing. 

There also seemed to be a lot of media coverage here with about five news trucks, and numerous video cameras hoisted overhead to capture Ms Green as she spoke to the crowd. It remains to be seen if they make it across the bridge or not as state troopers had set up a row of officers at what would be considered their access point. We’ll just have to see how this plays out. A peaceful protest and no arrests would be preferable. That will help us toward A Better Greenburgh.

The website callblackline.com espouses a list of thirty issues that they are hoping to address, listed here as presented on their website:

A few demands provided by Black Women in Westchester, Ulster, Orange, and Rockland Counties:

• Improved services for Black LGBTQ gender non-conforming folks
• The silence and complacency regarding the continued murder and brutalization of trans women, especially black trans women
• Eradicate poverty
• Address environmental racism that occurs in communities like Newburgh’s PFOS water contamination and generational high lead levels
• Improve education, especially in the East Ramapo School District
• Transform and dismantle the police
• Disinvest in police, invest in community
• Eliminating cash bail in New York - we need legitimate Alternative To Incarceration (ATI) programs that are not electronic monitoring, probation and other fucked up governmental programs 
• Improve mental health services
• Address drug use impacting Black families, through public health not criminalization
• End the mass incarceration that is tearing Black families apart
• Address disparity in the foster care system
• End sexual violence against Black women. Believe them.
• Job opportunities that include a living wage
• Affordable childcare
• Safe, decent and affordable housing
• Safety in our homes (from state and intimate partner violence)
• Address inadequate or non-existent legal criminal defense
• Stop policing Black Women on their anger
• Stop using us for legitimacy in your predominately-white agencies
• Financial institutions cease charging fees for minor transactions
• Access to bank accounts without being charged fees for not maintaining a certain balance
• Ability for undocumented Black and Brown women to secure Drivers' licenses
• Stop arresting Black and Trans Women for survivor crimes
• Improved transportation infrastructure
• Reduce and eliminate states’ social control and punishment in the judicial system (criminal and family)
• We are not a monolithic people and the One Black Women in the room is no longer acceptable
• NY state enact racial impact laws- provide opportunity for policymakers to consider alternative approaches that do not worsen disparities. (Similar to fiscal and environmental impact statements)
• Access to necessary and needed hormone treatment
• Reproductive justice, having a say over our bodies, choice to have many children or none at all

Beware of the Utility Bill Payment Scam!

The crooks continue to get more and more creative as the find new ways to steal your money. This time we've learned that they are going after small businesses in an attempt to steal money from them.

Several local businesses have recently been contacted over the phone by persons claiming to be representatives of Con Edison and telling the business that their utility services are going to be shutoff if they don’t make payment right away. The caller then instructs the person to go to CVS and wire a specific amount of money to prevent the utility service from being turned off. It's a scam.

While the focus seems to be on business customers, residential customers of Con Edison should be cautious as well. If you receive such a call, it would be wise, prior to making any payment, to contact Con Edison on your own first to confirm the call actually came from the company.

This is similar to other scams, such as the Grandparent Scam, where they call senior citizens pretending to be a grandchild of theirs and that they were arrested. If you question their "voice" as not sounding like their grandchild, they usually say they have a cold. They'll proceed to explain they've been arrested somewhere distant and don't want to tell their mom and dad, and that's why they're calling them. They'll continue to explain how they need money wired to them for bail (or a lawyer) and instruct the grandparent to withdraw several thousand dollars, go to CVS and send it to them so they can be released from jail.

Most grandparents are loving and unsuspecting and their initial impulse is to comply. There are several things you can do. First, call that loved one directly and ensure they are okay. Call the police and ask for their assistance or call your child, the child's parents and confirm everyone is okay. Never, under any circumstances, should you comply with their request. Many seniors wind up wondering how these people knew so much about the grandchild to be able to sound legitimate? It's as easy as going on Facebook and reading about their next mark.

Additionally, if you have any cause for alarm, doubt or nervousness, you should contact your local Police Department. If the person telling you they are from ConEd or a utility, call Con Edison directly and verify the claim at 1-800-752-6633.

Good News? Pedestrian Struck On Knollwood Road

It has often been said that only good news emanates from Town Hall emails, press leases and interviews. Bad news is mysteriously shuffled to some place inside Town Hall, rarely exposed unless residents uncover it and publicize it. This is such a story.

One such piece of good news was when Mr Feiner announced that the former Cooke’s Florist facility on Knollwood Road had been sold after entertaining ruin for years when the owner passed away. It was purchased by the Mount Vernon Health Organization that does business in Greenburgh as the Greenburgh Health Center (GHC). Let’s not concern ourselves with pesky details such as the 1986 law that was passed mandating the property revert back to residential zoning should it ever be sold. No bother. Good news everyone! The Greenburgh Health Center is finally moving to Knollwood Road from Rt 119!

But wait, there’s more good news. People will no longer be crossing Rt 119 trying to get across the street for a White Plains bound bus. That’s right, no more playing Frogger on Rt 119. The new facility will be bigger and better able to handle more people. Let’s not concern ourselves with pesky details such as the size of the building on the non-reverted residential to commercial to residential back to commercial piece of property. Or it’s size, or it’s stadium-like lighting, or its lack of shrubbery.

But wait, there’s more good news. The Health Center will be building a sidewalk on their side of Knollwood Road. And, since that is one-busy stretch of road, think of how much safer the young mothers with strollers and kids in tow will be walking from the bus stop to the facility. What’s that? There are no bus stops there? Well, uh, wait a minute. Good news! There’s a state initiative to get money to build sidewalks in different communities. The only flaw is that your Town actually has to apply for the money, not just talk about. More good news! The Town is embarking on a new slogan: “Why fix it when we can talk about it?”

But wait, there’s more good news. The condominiums next to the location of the new GHC was required to build sidewalks in front of their property, practically extending the safe zone from Rt 119, where there wasn’t a bus stop to the A&P shopping center. However, the Town is not enforcing that tidbit and are allowing the condominium to get away with breaching their agreement. So if a young mother pushing her stroller and dragging her kids gets tired or needs to eat or even needs diapers while seeking a bus stop, they can walk in the northbound lane of Knollwood Road to go to the A&P, CVS, P&B, or DD. Although, if they are getting services from the GHC, they might not have enough money to shop there. But wait, there’s more good news. The state is raising the minimum wage, so all is well.

Okay enough! There is no good news on Knollwood Road. In fact, according to Police Chief McNerney, “On November 24th, at approximately 6:55pm, a pedestrian was struck on Joan Avenue at the intersection of Knollwood Road. The pedestrian was crossing Joan Avenue, from the north side to the south side and was struck by a vehicle that was traveling south on Knollwood Road, making a right onto Joan. According to the report, the pedestrian suffered minor injuries.” This piece of information was unreported to the media. Just so you know, the Journal News has someone call all police departments every day to see if there is anything they can report about crime in their next edition.

Whether or not we had sidewalks at this location, a stones throw from the GHC, may not have mattered for this person as they were on the opposite side and crossing a sidestreet and not directly on Knollwood Road. Or were they? This pedestrian was more than likely walking south (toward Dobbs Ferry Road) on the rough-to-navigate shoulder of Knollwood Road. There is no sidewalk there. So it just so happened that the pedestrian was crossing Joan Avenue while walking on Knollwood when they were struck by a car. Why is this important?

We spoke to a few people about the accident and were told by a Town employee that when Mr Feiner found out the accident took place on Knollwood Road near the GHC, he instructed the police not to release this information. They didn’t until a resident asked. Hmm, why would he do that? It doesn’t matter now, but it’s this kind of control over the Town’s independently operated fire districts and fire departments that Mr Feiner doesn’t have but seeks with the election of his hand-picked candidates.

The Broadview Civic Association has been lobbying the Town at countless meetings and with letters to have the sidewalks not only ADA compliant, but constructed per the plans and agreements made for them to get approval to first build the condominiums and then the GHC. It really depends on what Mr Feiner wants and the Town Departments will fall in lockstep. Sidewalks have been a missing safety ingredient throughout the Town and discussed often. The time to install them is obviously during construction. In fact, we recall when Mr Feiner coerced the developer of Stop and Shop on Rt 119 near Benedict Avenue to build a sidewalk by the apartments across two streets from them to receive building permit approvals. And now Brightview is building their facility nearby. Hmm, what did Mr Feiner know way-back-when that he wasn’t sharing?

Students from Westchester Communit College (WCC) petitioned Mr Feiner during a Town Board meeting to construct sidewalks from the college down Grasslands Road to the bottom of the hill. They came in with signs and enthusiasm that we’re sure are long forgotten now that they’ve either graduated or been struck by a car on the way to school and are in physical therapy. One speaker even commented to them that it was nice to bring this up but it would never happen. Good news! For a while, the sign the young man carried was left on display in the Town Hall lobby. It’s since been relegated to the same place bad news goes to at Town Hall. Mr Feiner got his publicity and nothing has happened for the walking safety of students at WCC.

Recently, there was a meeting in Edgemont about sidewalks at the Seely Place School in Edgemont. The long and short of it is Mr Feiner did his usual rope-a-dope that sidewalks here would be good but committed to nothing. While we have no issue with Police Chief McNerney suggesting they do a three season survey to assess the safety concerns, the simply goal of one sidewalk morphed into a much larger project that would require all areas in the Town with schools to be reviewed. Translation? Death. At the following day’s work session, Mr Feiner and the Town Board quickly changed the topic from sidewalks to something else.  Civic leaders in different parts of the Town have repeatedly requested sidewalks.

Death of a sidewalk, death of a student, death of a pedestrian crossing the street. Regardless how many people get hit and don’t die, government always installs what was needed after somebody gets killed. Ardsley just got a sidewalk installed because the Mayor and Village Board applied for state and federal grants. That’s the only flaw in the process with Mr Feiner and his Board. They actually have to apply for the money that’s there to get it. Why fix it when we can talk about it. The time to talk is over. The time to act is now. Only then will we have A Better Greenburgh.

Staples Shuttered; CVS to Move In



Shuttered Staples store as of July 5th at
Tarrytown Rd & Old Kensico Road.



After announcing several months ago of the impending closure of the Staples store at the corner of Rt 119 and Old Kensico Roads, the Staples organization finally put the key in the lock and turned it one final time. The nearest Staples store for the neighborhood is in Elmsford or all the way down Central Avenue in the same shopping center as Racconelli's (formerly Pizza & Brew) and TGI Fridays. Food establishments seem to fair better than other types of retail ones in Greenburgh.

You may recall the property was a restaurant called The Ground Round which succumbed to a fire and was subsequently torn down. Then, an upscale store named Conran's moved into the space, similar to what we have now with Crate and Barrel or Pier One. After that was CompUSA, the computer superstore, who signed a twenty-year lease - only they didn't make it that long. When Staples moved in, the property was cleaned up and added a nice touch to the neighborhood. Soon, CVS, will renovate and open another one of their stores here. CVS is a chain of pharmacy/convenience stores that originated in Rhode Island as the Consumer Value Store.

ABG spoke to a Staples executive under the promise of anonymity to find out why this store was closing. Simply, they weren't bringing in the revenue that was expected or comparable to other Staples stores. Retail sales were suffering as residents from the area also purchased more supplies online, usually with free shipping/delivery. Another complaint was there were numerous obstacles and fees in place from the Town of Greenburgh, making it more difficult than other areas to operate a retail store. He added closing or moving the operation was the path of least resistance for them.

In anticipation of closing numerous stores, Staples also shut down their distribution center in Port Chester and laid off their delivery drivers. They switched to the latest fad which is to offer them their old job, at less money, and work as independent contractors to the company. The problem with that, he said, was most of those workers were not highly paid to the point where they could afford to purchase and operate their own trucks, doing per diem deliveries.

Sadly, we've said this before about businesses in our Town, but once again another one bites the dust. Once our Town Board begins to understand what it takes to run a business and stops the incessant taxation through fees, fines and regulations, maybe then we can start to see A Better Greenburgh.

Stop and Shop or Stop and Steal?

The new 67,500 square foot Stop and Shop Super Center store will be opening this week. The location of the new supermarket is actually where the old Premier Theater had been located many years ago. The difference today is when the theater had been there, with the amount of impervious space it had, there weren't any other buildings in the area. Water drainage was not a problem back then! According to The Paul, and we quote, “Unlike many development application projects that experience significant opposition from the community - this supermarket had an enthusiastic group of immediate residents behind it from day one. I received many calls and e mails from residents expressing a desire for a quality new supermarket.” It's only a true statement when you study how the question of the new Stop and Shop was posed. 


When asked if people would favor a new supermarket offering? The answer was usually yes. Would you be in favor of a new super center style supermarket with a larger variety? Larger variety? The answer was yes. So, as people were polled about a new supermarket, the carefully asked questions guaranteed certain positive answers. No one was asked if closing the existing Stop and Shop would impact the neighborhood negatively. No one was asked about the amount of impervious space that would be created, affecting the water runoff in the already saturated and heavily flooded areas – except the Glenville Community Association, the Babbitt Court Residents and the business and home owners along the 9A and Rt 9 flood zones along with the G-8. 


Many in Tarrytown’s Rt 9 and surrounding area who were able to walk or bike or take a bus  to the existing Stop and Shop (formerly First National, and then Finast) were vociferously against the new Stop and Shop! The Paul prefers to ignore this in his post. Once the existing Stop and Shop closes, the space will be used for yet another CVS. Apparently, we don't have enough drug stores in the area. We have nothing against CVS, but there is a claim that they will have an “expanded convenience food department”. What, more Twinkies?


Also in the mix, as part of Thomas Madden’s job security initiative, are plans to create an assisted living facility nearby. This effort, along with The Paul’s devaluing of the Unincorporated Town space, has been proposed to create multiple apartment buildings, actually twelve, along the Rt 119 corridor. This all dovetails into the proposed train, bus, car corridor they plan to develop Rt 119 into with the expansion of the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement.


An issue ABG has with this expansion is not to utilize mass transit in the area, but we are a suburban area they are trying to develop into a more urban setting. There will condemnations and eminent domain utilized to take over homes and businesses properties to make this happen. The goal of the  separate elevated bus route is to have a bus stop for pickup/drop offs at all of the bus stops every five minutes and then have the buses all exit (near exit five of I-287) onto Rt 119 and proceed to the White Plains Transit Center. After this visit, it starts all over again. If you think there’s congestion on Route 119 now, just wait!


The Paul has assisted in closing two major supermarket outlets. While we recognize he didn’t do it alone, the soon-to-open HMart in the old Pathmark location will serve a limited clientele. That’s okay. But the A&P that closed in the Crossroads Shopping Center is continuing to devalue that neighborhood. As the store stands vacant, and falls into disrepair, fewer new tenants will be interested in revitalizing this store or the neighborhood. Unfortunately, it’s the neighborhood’s residents that suffer. Since The Paul and his Stepford Board have declared the Manhattan Avenue area low income in perpetuity, ABG believes little will be done by the Town to improve this area - stealing it’s future. We can only hope!