It Needn't Take Eight Years

Whether you call it a Comprehensive Plan, a Master Plan or something else, it’s an idea whose time is long overdue for our Town. In Greenburgh, a Comprehensive Plan already exists that was created numerous years ago by many forward thinking leaders. Most residents don’t know of it because Mr Feiner and his Board have allowed pretty much any design or proposal to be built, regardless of whether it blended with the surrounding area or not. However, eight years ago an effort was undertaken to create a new Comprehensive Plan for the Town, citing a need for a plan for the Town’s future.

Many residents, including ABG and the G10 favored this idea. But we favored it for more selfish reasons. We wanted a Comprehensive Plan in place to slow Mr Feiner and his Board’s spot-zoning explosions throughout Unincorporated Greenburgh. You see, when there is a Comprehensive Plan for a Town or Village, it makes rezoning more difficult to do according to NYS law and sets some ground rules in place that must be followed. The ground rules in Greenburgh are pretty much “anything goes” and it shows.

In Fulton Park, for example, Mr Feiner championed the Westhab low-income apartment building that has been referred to by most who see it as The Gulag, a hideously designed building mostly of exterior grey slabs that add no warmth, feeling of neighborhood or community to it and stands out like a sore thumb. It reminds many of the drab Russian buildings seen in the 1960’s and 1970’s, hence the name, The Gulag. In fact, residents were ignored when they asked for a more attractive and conducive structure to be built, being told it was patterned after area buildings, specifically the old Nynex phone company building across the street. Even it, designed and built in the 1950’s shows more character. Now that it is being leased to the County for DSS services, it will never be given a fresh look.

Another example is the Greenburgh Library, often referred to as “The Ski Slope”, an apparently award-winning design. But that matters little after the lead agency approved it and then tried to cut corners. Who was the lead agency? Mr Feiner and his Board, of course. And, they approved the design even after Mr Feiner said he didn’t like it – he was hedging his bets and was “playing” the public by doing his typical rope-a-dope, “I like it, I don’t like it.” While the old library offered more space and utilization even though it may not have won any awards, there were immediate issues with the new addition, overseen by Mr Feiner and his Town Board sans planning, building or construction experience.

The thermal heat pump HVAC system that was supposed to be put on the south side of the building where the drive and employee parking is, was not put there because the lead agency didn’t do their due diligence, their homework, or ask the correct questions of the plans. Had they correctly followed the process they often brag about, they might have learned that moving it to the other side of the building – which they authorized – and only going half as deep as they needed, would prove ineffective and be a waste of time, money and resources. Other issues continue to plague this facility: leaks in the roof, failed boilers for heat, inadequate and failed air conditioning units, lack of community room space, frozen sprinklers and leaks every year and more. Is it any wonder the Library was unable to stay open on weekends several years ago?

At the last Town Board meeting, another hearing for the proposed Comprehensive Plan was on the agenda. The watered-down and almost ineffectual newly proposed Comprehensive Plan was more proof that this has been shaped into a political agenda and wreaked of a lack of open government from 177 Hillside Avenue. Town Councilman Francis Sheehan and then Planning Commissioner Thomas Madden were leading this project. Members from different Boards were also members of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. You must keep in mind that all Board members for Building, Zoning, Planning and others are appointed positions by Mr Feiner and ratified by his Board. All of those Board members know they must tow the Feiner-line or risk being “Sonya’d”. So the shapes of these Boards along with their decisions are easily influenced and results had by Mr Feiner. His Board just knows to go along or be jettisoned in the next election.

Speaker after speaker as well as community leaders all bemoaned the changing of so many sections and how the document no longer reflected the will of the people who were given several opportunities to not only provide initial creation input, but to review various iterations of it at 5 road-show meetings. The people were clear. They wanted more green space, less traffic, smaller buildings, bike and walking paths and cohesive designs so buildings create a beautiful community, not a disjointed, ad hoc corridor of competing designs. Why did the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee summarily dismiss the will of the people? ABG staffers believe Mr Feiner told those he controls that it was what he wanted. Why do we think this? Because almost every time Mr Sheehan would report at a Town Board meeting that the committee was wrapping up its proposal for public consumption, Mr Feiner would throw another task at them that would delay them, sometimes for more than a year! He does not want a Comprehensive Plan because it will stunt his ability to help his developer friends.

Eight years is a long time for any committee to exist and not provide any substantive and positive conclusions. In fact, in Pleasantville, they are undertaking the updating of their Master Plan for themselves. Smartly, they have hired BFJ Planning to assist them with this undertaking and are already making headway. Their existing plan dates back to 1995 and they thought it time to refresh it as they have so little developable space left. One resident said he favored seeing more retail space in the center of the Village and a green gathering space instead of parking spaces. Obviously, he doesn’t get it. If you have retail, a) you must accommodate parking as to attract shoppers; b) short of restaurants, nail salons, pizza parlors and such, how much “downtown” shopping would be generated?; c) with current taxes, vis-à-vis rents, what kind of retail operation can afford to maintain their business especially if there is limited parking? Sadly, the retail they will get is limited mostly to large retail chains that small Towns and Villages seem to resist.

Having a plan for almost anything is a good idea. Undertaking such an intensive project is not for the faint of heart. The Greenburgh Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee took on a big task. They got sidetracked with city development planning terms like “charrettes” and “nodes” thanks to Thomas Madden and perhaps others. They wasted time on Climate Change when they could have used one line to say, “they would strive to have developers and the Town participate in the most ecologically sound practices to preserve our resources and environments.” In fact, the Town Board adopted LEEDS certification requirements that they never enforce that could work toward that end. The committee watered down other areas, which would allow extremely loose interpretation on zoning change requests by developers, giving Mr Feiner the carte blanche he currently has with spot-zoning changes he wishes to make.

The Greenburgh Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee needs to ask for a “time-out” and go back to the drawing board and construct a plan that is actually forward-thinking for the future and does not just explain what we currently have. This golden opportunity missed can still be salvaged. If the pressure from the corner office is too great, perhaps it’s time for a change in the committee and especially at Town Hall. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Fear of Flooding Makes Fighting HUD Difficult

The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lawsuit and settlement by former County Executive Andy Spano, has two, maybe three distinct camps whose feelings are absolute. One camp has people vehemently against the settlement, stating it’s a matter of economics that has segregated our neighborhoods; the other camp is in agreement with the settlement and feel there is housing discrimination against certain people of the lower income scale. Finally, there are those who have no clue about the settlement and insist on keeping their proverbial heads in the sand regardless of how it may affect them. Even though this group is a significant one, they are rarely involved and are easy and unwitting prey for the likes of politicians such as Mr Feiner and their schemes, lies and trickery.

This post is not about those groups of people. Rather, its about a splinter group which maintains the land usage in their community is “maxed” out, with no appreciable land onto which they could even build affordable housing. Per the HUD settlement between then Democratic County Executive Andrew Spano and the federal government, Westchester County agreed to participate in the building of 750 affordable housing units in what has been referred to as “white” communities. ABG believes the color is wrong. They should be referred to as “green” communities – segregated only by the ability to afford the housing prices and more importantly the ever-growing taxes in those communities. Simply because someone wants to live somewhere but cannot afford to do so does not constitute discrimination.

The Village of Scarsdale is already congested with existing buildings and claims little to no developable space throughout the village. Regardless of the amount of units mandated by HUD for the Village to construct, the rallying cry has always been, “We have no room to build any affordable housing units.” Whether the assumption of this statement is correct or not, whether the residents who would move into these apartments could afford to live in Scarsdale or not, and whether their children would be ostracized in school for not being able to “keep up with the Jones” or not seems immaterial to the federal government.

The federal monitor only wants units built. The federal government wants Westchester County to supersede local zoning to be able to force localities to build where they see fit. New York State is a home rule state which allows individual communities to determine their destiny. But the federal monitor doesn’t care as these communities took HUD monies and now they want payback. They will probably win by shear size in another case of “might makes right”. And you thought you finally outgrew the school yard bullying syndrome?

Scarsdale is not the only community making the “no room” argument. Yet, Scarsdale with the others, continue to entertain new buildings proposals, new designs and ultimately new buildings to be built. The Town of Greenburgh, ghettoized by Paul Feiner during his 22-year reign, was allowed to be exempted from having to add more affordable housing units. One down side to Mr Feiner’s affordable housing ghettoization that is witnessed in the Fairview area is that businesses are not able to be supported by the residents, close their doors and leave or are driven out by continued crime either directly or from the surrounding area. In the Manhattan Avenue area of Fairview for instance, Caldor’s closed their doors, the A&P closed theirs and this past week Lash Kia across the street closed as well. The deli one block away had a murder committed in it a while back and the apartment buildings have gangs, guns, prostitution and drug activity. Not very inviting and to the general public, a good place to stay far away from. But’s it’s acceptable according to Mr Feiner because he’s been able to control it to one area of the Town and keep it out of the others. That’s what wrong with the settlement’s “pass” for Greenburgh.

Back in Scarsdale, the KOS Building Group, is working with others to gain a six-lot subdivision in an 8-acre site at Cushman, Garden and Woodland roads. The Church of St. Pius X in a bid to renovate classrooms and create a new sanctuary entrance with other expansions, sought and received site plan approval for a house at 2 Brittany Close, a lot created as a result of a cluster subdivision. Two existing houses, at 119 Cushman and 1 Woodland, are slated for demolition. A subsequent subdivision will create four new lots and result in a net gain of two houses. Another two-lot subdivision that would create four new lots at 2 Ogden Road was on the agenda but removed and held over. Two more lots are adjacent to area wetlands were the property buffers the wetlands into the neighborhood. The argument of no space in Scarsdale doesn’t really hold water (pun intended). And that seems to be the various Scarsdale neighborhood’s argument against the increased housing: flooding. Just as is seen in the Fulton Park area with the Bronx River and the Saw Mill River area throughout the opposite side of Greenburgh, nothing is being done to alleviate the flooding for those people while Mr Feiner routinely “green lights” every developer’s proposal.

ABG is not saying Scarsdale (or any other community) should be required to build affordable housing. Greenburgh has mandated 10% of all new housing be required to include affordable housing, we’re just not sure this as a viable solution toward increasing housing options throughout any of our communities. Just having affordable housing, utilizing either DSS (welfare) to pay for the housing or Section 8, where the low wage worker/resident pays up to 30% of their income toward housing and then the balance is subsidized again by DSS (welfare), continues to perpetuate dependencies and never-getting-out-from-under government assistance syndrome.

But the argument that there is no room to build in a community, this time easily exemplified by Scarsdale’s own actions, makes it difficult to say, “No” to HUD and be convincing. Other communities are suffering from the same lack of room problem as well as other issues. In northern Westchester, ABG is told that much of the land which readily appears available is actually considered watershed property that is part of the ecosystem that supplies water to the New York City region. Simply saying there is developable land there just isn’t so. Current County Executive Rob Astorino has been fighting the HUD monitor tooth and nail. We think some of his arguments may be a bit extreme and are election scare tactics. However, it is good that someone is standing up to the schoolyard bully known as HUD, even if for the wrong reasons.

NAACP Continues Fight Against Feiner, Sends WestHelp Support Letter to Cuomo

Steeped in controversy, the housing facility known as WestHelp languishes while people in need of a home wallow in despair. There was controversy when the facility was proposed and ultimately built, as there still is now, many years later. Back in the day, it was so bad that the racist NIMBY’s in Valhalla fought the low income housing tooth and nail. It got so bad that residents in the Mayfair area of the Town threatened to secede from the Town of Greenburgh, and form their own village. And while the residents fought hard to stop the facility, then HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, now our governor, persevered and succeeded in getting the housing built. Tough love aside, the facility was erected on the campus of the Westchester Community College campus. 108 new apartments were then made available to people within the DSS system. Some were single women and others had kids. In the end, 108 families were living in their own apartments thanks to Andrew Cuomo (and others)! To keep Valhalla residents safe from the hoards of roaming single women from entering other neighborhoods, The Paul had a chain link fence installed, topped with barbed wire to contain them. Perhaps The Paul used the same company that installs fencing at our corrections facilities?

Between New York State and Westchester County, the housing was built and then the Town was assigned to collect rent from the County to the tune of $1.2 million dollars per year. Greenburgh has the Greenburgh Housing Authority whose function is to work with and maintain existing housing as well as those in need of housing. They currently maintain an active list of about 250 people in need of shelter.

Imagine everyone’s dismay once The Paul decided to not renew the housing contract with the County and cost the Town $1.2M per year! Many, including the G10, went to Town Board meetings and asked The Paul and his Town Board why he would not renew the lease. The Paul stated it was County Executive Andrew Spano’s fault. He said that Spano never sent a lease for him to sign. Residents quickly proved this was a lie! ABG has learned two Lease requests were sent to The Paul. Spano’s office claimed it was The Paul who didn’t respond. In a desperate attempt to cover his butt, The Paul then fabricated fake emails he claimed were sent to the County Executive requesting a lease. It’s shameful that not only would The Paul lie to everyone, but that he would fabricate emails to compound his lie.

Things were going well for Greenburgh while the County kept using WestHelp. But once they claimed to not need it as temporary low/no income housing facility, The Paul decided to break the lease and hatch a plan to get Valhalla votes. Whether this was done with or without a complicit Town Board is moot, as they went along and continue to go along with the charade. As mentioned earlier, the Greenburgh Housing Authority has clients that could have moved right in after the apartments had been vacated by the previously homeless women tenants. It would have almost halved their client list in need of a home! But this wasn’t part of The Paul’s grand vote-getting scheme. He wouldn’t be collecting any where near the rent he was getting from the County he needs to offset the year and a half loss relying on the Greenburgh Housing Authority.

There were two meetings hosted by the White Plains Chapter of the NAACP to discuss the WestHelp property and it’s fate with legislators and concerned citizens. We’ve written about this previously and won’t rehash what we’ve said before.  NAACP President Lena Anderson, has just sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking him to maintain the apartments. ABG has posted a copy of her letter below:

When everything is said and done, this is still a landlord/tenant issue. The fact that The Paul’s racism has been exposed, along with Rob Astorino, Michael Smith, Ned McCormack, Matt Richter, and media sap Phil Reisman (of the Journal News), doesn’t come as a surprise. The fact that so many other “leaders” would go along with it all, does surprise us. Actually, it disappoints us more than surprises us. ABG understands that the electorate has short memories. The Paul and the other politicians realize this too. They are assuming when the next election comes around that this will all be forgotten and they’ll get re-elected. Since that is what has happened for the last twenty years for The Paul, he figures he has a lock on being re-elected. ABG hopes not. Then again, we can only hope.

He's Lying Again!

Most projects in Greenburgh take years before a shovel even touches the ground, but Supervisor Feiner wisked Westhab’s publicly funded, 4-story apartment building, squeezed onto a .7-acre piece of land, through the process in months! When it's a pet project of Feiner, all rules and regulations are summarily waived. When, not if, someone objects, he finds a way to either remove them from the equation or will deflect attention from himself to something else, such as a bridge or two percent tax cap.

This Westhab project will overwhelm the transitional space from light commercial to residential into the small residential neighborhood of Fulton Park. Supervisor Feiner promised them a senior assisted living facility if the homeless were ever to leave. Lie! Then he promised workforce housing for Greenburgh employees. Lie! The neighborhood favored workforce housing for Greenburgh employees but wanted it scaled to fit the property. The Paul said no, siding with Westhab, saying that it had to be big for it to be cost effective. One resident at one of the hearings, which are only a nuisance to Feiner and his projects, asked to see the final offering from Westhab so the community wouldn’t have to repeatedly waste their time coming to different meetings and hearings to see the newest plans. 

The neighborhood learned that Feiner repeatedly and routinely lied every step of the way! It turns out that this project wasn't for Greenburgh Municipal employees. In fact, it was not for anyone from Greenburgh, employees or not! All lies! He stated the project was needed there because it would be a convenient location for the residents to go to Central Avenue restaurants, the train station, bus stops. Originally, he had a different tune, one where these residents would walk to nearby supermarkets. Well, those are closed and now he’s touting workforce residents dining at Central Avenue restaurants, not about closed supermarkets or people needing food at home. How much spendable money do these residents have to use on recreational dining? 

In a recent press conference held by Feiner, he now states, “Something is going to be built here and I think this is the best option.” What? Are there new plans – or did he re-re-rezone the space for them yet again? He and the Town Board have routinely changed zoning and requirements most people could only dream of or read in a fictional novel about government deceit, greed and corruption.

Unable to rent these tiny apartments at market rates, Westhab will approach DSS and rent them to Section 8 recipients. When the public refuses to rent these overpriced, postage stamp sized apartments, they’ll be used to house parolees, addicts and worse. It’s a well paying business model for Westhab. It a sham for us and a shame for this neighborhood to be punished like this after tolerating the homeless there for over 25 years.

Fulton Park is still reeling from Tropical Storms Irene and Lee with no relief from Feiner and crew. They’ll see a permanent increase in flooding, traffic, noise, crime and gangs to a once beautiful little neighborhood. Crime and Section 8 housing go hand-in-hand. Think, North Memphis, TN.

More of Feiner’s lies equals more pain for another already neglected and suffering neighborhood! I wish them luck!

Guest Commentary submitted by Whitney P.