Greenburgh Politics Votes No Change

In a not-stunning-in-the-least primary vote, seemingly nothing will change in Greenburgh. Sure, change can be scary. So can the lethargic same-old, same-old mentality that seems to prevail. That's what the minute portion of Greenburgh Democratic voters decided last night.

With no surprises, the problems that plague the Feiner Administration will remain until the election which will invariably yield similar results. The results of the primary vote for the two Town Council seats and one Town Clerk seat played out this way:

GINA R JACKSON       2,706 or 41% of the votes. 
ERIC ZINGER              1,458 or 22% of the votes.
KEN JONES*               2,426 or 37% of the votes.
Office Totals               6,590 or 100% of the votes.

In the Town Clerks race
MARIA J PORTILLA    1,775 or 48%
JUDITH A BEVILLE*   1,947 or 52%
Office Totals                3,722 or 100%

*incumbent

Eric Zinger For Greenburgh Town Council

Dear Greenburgh,

My name is Eric Zinger and I am asking for your vote for Greenburgh Town Council at the 6/25 Greenburgh Democratic Party Primary Election. Let me introduce myself to those of you who may not know me. I was born in East Meadow (Long Island) and attended the University of Maryland where I graduated with a degree in Finance in 2006. I returned to New York, spending a few years in Manhattan, before moving to Hartsdale in 2013 with my wife Megan to purchase a home and start our family. We live there now with my son and daughter and you will see us walking our dog Pete around the neighborhood. I work for a Financial Technology company in our Treasury department and I hold the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

I have been an active member in my community since moving to Hartsdale. Some of you may know me from my role as President of the Hartsdale Neighbors Association (HNA). HNA has recently led initiatives that have included successfully advocating to close down illegal massage parlors in Hartsdale and leading the citizen’s movement to revitalize the Four Corners intersection. What I am most proud of in my time with HNA is our work to get people more involved in the community. HNA members have been appointed to several important local Town and Municipal Boards and we now have a Hartsdale that is more informed and engaged than at any point in recent memory. As we have seen in the past year of the Blue Wave, a new generation of political leadership is emerging in the Democratic Party and I want to bring that fresh energy to our Town.

I have been attending Town Board meetings for years and I know firsthand the problems that Greenburgh residents face in working with the Town. It is important that we have someone on the Town Council who has a financial background in order to help guide the Town in the new uncharted era of capped SALT deductions. Now more than ever, we depend on our local governments to respond to the needs of the community.

I have many specific ideas and policies that I think Greenburgh residents could benefit from. Here are some of the many ideas that I would work to implement in my time as Councilman:

1. Controlling property tax growth in the new, uncharted era of the SALT deduction cap; in my first two years I will only vote for budgets that hold the property tax rate flat. Greenburgh residents need tax relief while the town assesses the impact of the SALT deduction cap. This is possible with the right combination of fiscal discipline and planning.
2. Hiring a Business Development officer whose focus will be attracting business to Greenburgh, helping new and existing businesses navigate our regulatory landscape, and applying for grants to help bring jobs and development to our Town. We need to expand the property tax base by encouraging (not frustrating) responsible development;
3. Term limits are a vital reform that would encourage public participation in our town government. The lack of term limits gives rise to an insular culture that makes politicians complacent and reluctant to tackle tough issues. I am calling for 12-year Term limits for all elected Greenburgh officials.
4. Increasing Community Involvement- Our residents are our greatest asset. Greenburgh is a place filled with educated professionals in a wide variety of fields. We need to get people more involved in local government. We do that by respecting them and their time. Resolutions should be posted in detail online 24 hours prior to any vote and Public Comment should be prioritized at Town Board meetings to occur earlier in the agenda.
5. Edgemont Incorporation- As many people are aware, Edgemont is trying to become the 7th village in the Town of Greenburgh. I believe that Unincorporated Greenburgh is much stronger united, and hope that Edgemont does not incorporate into a village. Edgemont represents 17% of the population of Unincorporated Greenburgh and 27% of the tax revenues. If Edgemont were to incorporate, we would have to take a hard look at every aspect of Town Government to see what is most necessary to preserve. It is hard to see a future with an Incorporated Edgemont that does not result in some combination of service cuts and tax increases. I am running because I want to repair the relationship between the Town and the Edgemont community. I believe eventually, there will be a vote on incorporation and when that vote happens, I hope Edgemont residents choose not to incorporate.

I believe that civic engagement has never been more important than it is now.

If you have questions on these or any other topics, please email me at eric@ericzinger.com. You can also go to my website www.ericzinger.com or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EricZingerForGreenburghTownCouncil/. Thank you for your time and make sure to get out and vote!

Eric Zinger

Board Rules Feiner Guilty!

In a not-so-surprising ruling, the Town’s Ethics Board again ruled against Mr Feiner for an ethics violation for the same thing they found him guilty of twice before. Specifically, he made a post-primary fundraising letter campaign effort sent to certain residents of Irvington, Hastings and Hartsdale. This is not only a blatant violation of the Ethics Code because it was sent to residents appointed to serve on town boards, but also may have been sent to town employees. The Town’s Ethics Code specifically prohibits elected officials from soliciting campaign contributions from persons appointed to serve on town boards and to town employees. Perhaps Mr Feiner got confused with all the mailings (read: campaigning) he’s been doing lately. This is apparently different from the other Ethics Code rule of elected officials not receiving things of value from a Town employee. An example you ask? Okay, one example might be if the Town Attorney were to say, solicit campaign ballot signatures for Town Board candidates running for office, and then swearing to the signatures’ validity as a Notary Public. That is a thing of value and prohibited by the Ethics Code. Or is it?

This is the second time in three years that Mr Feiner has been found guilty of the same offense by the Ethics Board. However, being an impotent Board under the control of the Town Board, which is ultimately under the thumb of Mr Feiner, nothing will come of this latest guilty ethics verdict. Interestingly, the last time this happened the Town Board decided to not impose any fines against Mr Feiner for his illegal behavior. It seems that they are willing to condone this behavior that is so detrimental to our Town. Since his checks and balances are ultimately controlled by him, it’s no wonder he would discriminate against the Fortress Bible Church! There, however, he could not control the outcome and it is costing the Unincorporated Town taxpayers $6,500,000 ($1M by insurance).

This time it was the Ethics Board members who received the fund raising mailing from Mr Feiner. OMG - quite the conundrum. Knowing they should at least appear to be ethically motivated, they initiated an investigation into Mr Feiner’s actions. For most people, this would be a no-brainer. But for the Ethics Board, it crosses a fine line. All Ethics Board members are selected and ratified by Mr Feiner and his Board, pledging allegiance whether overtly, openly or otherwise. Unfortunately, the impotence of the Board requires it to capitulate with every decision in Mr Feiner or the Town Board’s favor – like it or not.

ABG staffers were in attendance when the Ethics Board adjourned to executive session at its December 2 meeting to discuss the matter and then privately interview Mr Feiner. Ironically, Mr Feiner’s violation wasn’t on the agenda for that night. When pushed as to why they were adjourning to executive session, the Board’s President Jack McLaughlin stated it was to discuss personnel issues. It seems that every agency, group or Board in Greenburgh is taking greater advantage of hiding information from the public with more frequent Executive sessions. This opinion, only recently publicized, found the board accepting Mr. Feiner’s excuse that he did not knowingly solicit contributions from residents serving on town boards or from town employees. His rationale was that he  purchased the mailing list from a third party and used a different third party vendor to do the actual mailing. Sounds like a convenient excuse for this Board, but a genuine crock to us. How about the admission at the end of every ad that says this ad was approved by [candidates name].

It’s always sadly entertaining to find out what Mr Feiner is doing by way of lawsuits, guilty verdicts, Facebook posts and/or Blogs. It’s also quite pathetic. But his disheveled, shlub-like act has worn thin and is failing him more and more. Whatever he has done, legal or otherwise, will be excused by a Board he has appointed and made sure is comprised of friendly faces. On occasion, some may bluster a bit to appear impartial, but its just a ruse. Between rigged Boards, rigged referendums, rigged bids, rigged reports, rigged zoning, rigged meetings, rigged solutions and undisclosed information, Mr Feiner and his Board should be facing more court time than County DA Janet Difiore. But, as is typical, the usual suspects will be questioned and released without even a slap on the wrist. Carry on with business as usual. If and when this changes, we may begin to see A Better Greenburgh.

Below are copies of the opinion rendered and the solicitation letter from Mr Feiner:

Just More Lies

A short while back, Mr Feiner was stopped by a community lawsuit from illegally leasing the former Frank’s Nursery property to his preferred developer (reasons still secretly unknown). Because of the lawsuit, Mr Feiner then said he would sell the property to them. Then he said the Town would issue a new RFP (Request For Proposal) for the property. Seeming to now be resigned to follow the law with foreclosed upon property, Mr Feiner said the right things during his Democratic Primary campaign against Bob Bernstein. The law requires any municipality that acquire property through foreclosure to sell it or keep and develop it for Town use, such as a park, a library, a court or police station. Mr Bernstein was the chosen Democratic District leader’s over-whelming endorsed candidate for the November elections. But now that the Democratic Primary has past, Mr Feiner has again changed his tune.

You may recall that Mr Feiner was “gifting away” the property through rent credits, tax credits and so on, to GameOn 365, after announcing they would build an 83 ft/8-story tall sports bubble and would pay the Town $5M over the course of 15 years. Please do that very simple math and ABG believes you will see that after every credit and tax break is rendered, school taxes paid, etc., there won’t be but a couple of thousand dollars left for the Town yearly. This was not a good deal for the Town.

Mr Feiner later claimed that there was a second company, House of Sports from Ardsley, NY, interested in purchasing the property but he didn’t think their offer to purchase the property was sincere. The House of Sports owners emphatically stated time and again that their offer of double the amount for the property was sincere and that they are always serious when it comes to money. Mr Feiner stated that whomever the Town sold the property to, the other would sue the Town and Mr Feiner didn’t wish this to end up in litigation. Having been found guilty in the Fortress Bible Church lawsuit and then having that verdict upheld in the Appeals Court, coupled with the guilty verdicts that he engaged in unfair campaign practices during the Democratic Primary campaign, illegally made payments to the Valhalla School Board, Mr Feiner is wise to try to stay out of court. This is not good for the Town.

Mr Feiner continues to state that he wants the property to be environmentally sanitized by the new owners and at the new owners expense. The Greenburgh taxpayers have been responsible for paying the school district and other various taxes (fire, county and town) since acquiring the property through foreclosure. Mr Feiner says (we believe incorrectly) that it is his personal opinion to make the Dobbs Ferry Road corridor a “recreation corridor”. ABG has repeatedly pointed out that Mr Feiner’s personal opinion simply “can’t be” since he is always the supervisor and cannot simply stop being the Supervisor to render a personal opinion. Every time he speaks, like it or not, he is speaking as the Supervisor. As such, he has often said this property should be developed for recreational use. Fine. Just don’t try to sell it to a private, for-profit business as a loss-leader under the guise of offering the Town residents another sports field. The only way residents will use any of this facility’s resources is by paying for them! This is not good for the Town.

This summer found Mr Feiner changing his spin once Bob Bernstein’s fact-laden campaign began exposing his litany of lies. He insisted the Town would do another RFP, put a new sign up advertising the property and have all bidders meet with the environmental consultants to generate maximum interest and revenue for the property. Simply, this was classic Feiner-spin fabricated in the moment. This is something Mr Feiner does often, without regard for the truth, strictly to benefit himself at any given moment. This is not good for the Town.

Doing another RFP would actually shut GameOn 365 out of the process because they cannot compete against the House of Sports’ cash resources or an offer for double the amount. House of Sports offered to willingly do the environmental cleanup at their expense as long as they knew the assigned zoning usage for the property. GameOn 365 could not. That alone would have been good enough reason to “seal the deal”. Next, putting a sign out on front of the property is as absurd as Mr Feiner’s claim that he posted the sale on his blog, thinking this would result in a sale. Finally, House of Sports’ only condition for purchase was to know what the zoning use for the property would be by the Town. They also wanted the full environmental report from the Town so they could estimate how and what work would need to be done should they purchase it. The Town never replied to the House of Sports request. These two requests were then transformed by Mr Feiner into “too many conditions” from the House of Sports as a serious purchaser.

House of Sports is a proven winner with their highly successful and well-run facility in Ardsley. This should have been a no-brainer for our Town leaders. An easy $3.5M with little-to-no effort. But our Town Board only plays ball under Mr Feiner’s direction and are subsequently aligned with his chosen purchaser. Instead of making the maximum interest and maximum revenue for the property his goal, as Mr Feiner stated earlier, our Town Board co-opted for politics as usual, and towed the line as instructed. This is not good for the Town.

Many have asked when the Town-wide Comprehensive Planning Committee will unveil their five-years-in-the-making Town Comprehensive Plan. Mr Feiner really doesn’t want it because once implemented, it will severely limit his ability to spot-zone properties for his numerous developer friends. So each time the Committee gets close to completing the plan, Mr Feiner tasks them with another issue to address. The last time was reviewing and correcting the Town’s existing zoning maps. This monumental task has finally been completed by the committee. Mr Feiner maintains this plan will be ready by the end of this year. That’s factually impossible given the amount of public review, revisits, rewrites and changes that will need to be made to it and then the ultimate adoption of it. Another Feiner fabrication. 

Mr Feiner continues to make unsubstantiated claims that other developers besides GameOn 365 and House of Sports are interested in the former Frank’s Nursery property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road. When pushed for an answer as to who these mysterious developers are,  Mr Feiner refuses to answer. GameOn 365 appears to be moving forward with erecting their 83 ft/8-story tall inflatable bubble on the golf driving range property adjacent to the former Franks plot. This seems to be another Feiner-like deflection from the fact that they don’t have the money or investors to compete against House of Sports’ (or any other) bid for the property. But they have to appear committed to building a sports bubble, no matter how improbable it may be. Their intent now seems to be that they will erect their bubble literally in the backyard of the Westchester View Lane residents and seek the Frank’s property for parking. Subterfuge, lies, posturing, empty bank accounts, non-existent investors. These are just some of what Mr Feiner endorses with this charade. Mr Feiner has stated over and over again that he wants an RFP for this property. Normally, in any place other than Bizarro Greenburgh, it would be the correct way to proceed. But if an RFP took place, he won’t be able to stack the deck as easily to assist GameOn 365 in getting the property. This is not good for the Town.

Mr Feiner announced at the last Work Session that he has now decided to auction the property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road to the highest bidder without any conditions and for a minimum of $3.5M. At face value this seems perfectly viable but what happened to the RFP he promised? The Democratic Primary is over – back to business as usual. But an auction provides a way out for Mr Feiner and GameOn 365. Here’s what ABG believes will happen. 

GameOn 365 will bid whatever amount they do (its really immaterial). House of Sports will bid $3.5M. Any other bidders who participate are mere icing on the cake. The bids will either be too low, have too many conditions or will simply not happen because the Town will not be forthcoming with the zoning information for the property or the requisite cleanup of it. Knowing how the property is intended to be zoned and used mandates what must be done for hazardous remediation to the property. This is what was holding back House of Sports with proceeding with their offer into a sale. Mr Feiner also knew they would not proceed if he didn’t provide the information. Common sense tells us that no CEO or company in their right mind would purchase property not knowing this. Mr Feiner is banking on this and its his ace in the hole to be able to make sure GameOn 365 gets this property for “a song” with the Town on the hook for everything! This is not good for the Town.

Regardless of how many people or organizations bid on this property, Mr Feiner will have some reason for them to be disqualified or have the secret bid, under the guise of an auction, declared null and void. Not surprisingly, Mr Feiner will announce no one bid properly or the required amount, or had conditions and didn’t meet the criteria. With his normal media blitz, he’ll announce he’s made a decision to sell the property, awarding the sale to GameOn 365. He will say we need to move this process forward because the Town is losing so much money, knowing full well it was what he had intended to do now that he’s forced to follow the law he had previously tried to ignore. The amount of the sale will be the lesser amount he originally tried to gift to GameOn 365 with the illegal lease. Either way, can you say, “Done Deal?” This is not good for the Town.

This saga has gone on for way too long and unfortunately will go on longer because of the  earlier mentioned subterfuge, lies, posturing, empty bank accounts, non-existant investors and the like. It needs to end. This is not good for the Town. Greenburgh taxpayers deserve A Better Greenburgh.

“Like A Bad Zombie Movie”

Unknowingly being filmed by the Town video system, three Town Council representatives Morgan, Jones and Juettner were having a casual conversation that was broadcast to the public. In it, Councilman Morgan seated at the conference table asks Councilman Jones, “So Ken, did they clean up [the] WestHelp?” Walking back on camera, Jones shrugged his shoulders almost suggesting a dismissive response.
Morgan continued, “Because, the main building, I had Victor and Richie* in there... ”
“Was it bad?” Juettner queried.
“That building was probably...” stated Jones.
“It looked like one of those bad zombie movies, B movies, with s*** thrown everywhere. So I said, I had them up there because I knew the County was going to try to make us look bad. So they sent like 10 guys up there ”
“Good.” injected Juettner.
“And cleaned up and put everything outside, so.”
“You know what, (unintelligible) its so stupid.”

You can watch the entire video here:

The balance of the conversation finds them discussing what might need to be done to the apartments, and other work to perform at the site. This was quite a different presentation than the unified “Everything will be okay,” or “the mold is manageable,” statements usually made in public. Its disturbing to learn of the actions taken by Morgan and the Board/Supervisor. Now, the County is pursuing taking back control of the property after two years of intentional neglect caused by this same Board and Supervisor. Equally disturbing is that this one action could have been taken over two years ago to close the facility, winterize it or at least keep the heat on to a minimum temperature to preserve the existing conditions of the apartments at that point in time. Even Mr Feiner’s handpicked, unqualified and inexperienced choice to manage the facility said the same thing!

The intentional neglect of this facility by Mr Feiner and his Board is reprehensible. As ABG has stated previously, the Greenburgh Housing Authority has maintained a list of people, residents, seeking housing in the Town. At the time Mr Feiner decided to abandon the facility, there were approximately 250 applicants waiting for a place to live. With 100+ applicants, Mr Feiner and his Board could have moved these people into these apartments with little or no effort. But he chose to play a game with their lives for election votes from Valhalla. This is a very sad state of affairs for our Town. Unfortunately, we’ve learned to expect deceit and lies from this current leadership based past performance. But playing these games when people need a place to live should not be tolerated.

Greenburgh residents have experienced the worst from our leadership numerous times as they rubber-stamp approve projects for developer after developer in the Unincorporated section of Town. No matter how logical, factual, truthful or well-stated, they lose to the developers and Mr Feiner’s goals. Guilty verdicts against the Supervisor and the Town (Fair Practices Committee, Fortress Bible Church, Valhalla School District) abound. Tax increases every year for property taxes, sewer taxes, water taxes) abound. Last year our management-lacking Board did away with leaf pickup under the guise of saving taxpayer dollars. When pushed for the amount saved, the Board offers silence. When neighborhoods fought large projects in their neighborhood based on facts (Fulton Park [Westhab], Edgemont [Dromore Road, ShopRight], Glenville [Stop & Shop, Brightview Ass’t Living], Sprain Road (Toll Bros.), Worthington-Woodlands (GameOn 365), they were dismissed in lieu of the developer’s requests. Spot-zoning, the illegal rezoning of parcels to accommodate a developer, seems to happen as a matter of routine course for developers – especially one represented by a particular White Plains law firm. The Town’s strategy appears to be one of divide and conquer.

When the Bronx River and Saw Mill River sides of the Town suffered from severe flooding from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, Mr Feiner pointed to everyone but himself for residents, his residents, to approach for assistance. Every news media outlet regurgitated his “we seem to care” rant, but never followed up to show what he actually did (or didn’t do) to help his residents. Each event finds him pointing to everyone else to help his constituents except himself. That’s not being a leader or providing real leadership. When it came time to renew the WestHelp contract with then County Executive Andrew Spano, Mr Feiner decided to not renew it in hopes of gaining support from the Valhalla voters. After all, he was going to be running against a formidable candidate with Bob Bernstein (or whomever the unknown future candidate would be) and would need every edge he could muster.

This post only scratches the surface of what’s wrong. This video shows the insolent nature that this Board treats serious issues before the Town. The residents got what they voted for in this past Democratic Primary election. The amount of Democratic voters who participated was miniscule. Many are willfully ignorant and simply vote the party line because that’s the easiest thing they can do. But their cavalier attitude is severely costing all of us more than we should have to bear. Greenburgh residents deserve A Better Greenburgh.

* Victor Carozi, Highway Commissioner, Richard Fon, Deputy Commissioner

Indifference And Insensitivity

September 11, 2001. It’s known as the Second Day of Infamy. The cowardly murders perpetrated upon us under the guise of a few skewed religious zealots affected many, many lives, families, friends and acquaintances throughout our Town and our country. Many Towns and Villages had September 11th services to remember and honor those taken away from us so swiftly. There were numerous events during the day around the County. In fact the County had a service held during the day at the Kensico Dam Plaza’s The Rising Memorial Statue. While the County rarely does anything at the Dam in the evening when most people can attend (except fireworks), it was a nice tribute to those fallen Westchester residents, our relatives, friends and others.

Totaling ignoring the solemnity of the day and casually acting as though nothing happened was our Town Board. They held the regularly scheduled Town Board meeting, with nothing more than a moment of silence for those victims of the September 11th attacks hastily reminded by Mr Sheehan. This callous and even impenitent action for such a horrific event can only be rationalized with distain for this Board. This is the same Board that will shamelessly campaign at each Town Board meeting, cut residents off from speaking and do whatever they please without regard for legality or ethics. Obviously, their bad behavior is an effective strategy given the results of this past Democratic primary.

The meeting was attended by a few Hartsdale residents seeking more garbage cans in their “downtown” area and some plants near the train station. Several of these people engaged in conversations back and forth from their audience seats, never once being asked by the Board to go to the microphone as they so often do to members of the G10 or anyone else who is critical of them. Playing (?) dumb, Mr Feiner kept his microphone off so neither exchange could easily be heard. One of the G10 stalwarts, Mr Hal Samis was in attendance. When he went to the podium, he asked a number of questions. In a surprising turnaround, Mr Feiner answered several until Mr Samis re-asked questions that were not answered. After not being satisfied and pushing back for answers, Mr Samis was finally told they would answer his questions once he sat down. This is a perfect example of the duplicity of our Town Board. They’re back.

For Mr Feiner to say that he wants people to talk to him so he can address why they didn’t vote for him in the recent Democratic primary election, to engage new or dare we say unobtrusive residents with minor issues and then to put off someone else during the same exchange highlights just one of the glaring problems found in our Town government. Perhaps if Mr Samis had asked for another garbage receptacle anywhere else in the Town, he might have received more of an exchange from our chatty Board this night. This also highlights one of the serious campaign issues brought up by Mr Feiner’s challenger, Robert “Bob” Bernstein, that of a Town Board which is aloof, condescending and unresponsive to its engaged and experienced residents – no matter how many times they insist otherwise.

Back to our original assertion, which was about disrespectful way this Board regards the victims, families and friends of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Ceremonies that were happening throughout the Town in Villages were respectfully attended by many, a fact that is easily recognized given the lack of participation of the public this night. We’re sure there were others who decided not to attend because they were disappointed in the Democratic primary results, which is totally understandable. Yet this same Board will delay and cancel Town Board meetings on a whim. They will delay the start of these meetings when issues of substance requiring public hearings need more time than they will allow. They delay meeting after meeting to allow poetry recitals, musical performances, magic shows, and other illusional distractions. The Board will delay the meeting to present certificates of appreciation, watch movies made by kids and they will dress up in period costumes in a counterfeit attempt to entertain their detached cohorts. But why won’t they cancel a meeting to observe a national day of reflection? After all, Mr Feiner released one press release after another to announce the building of and the later renovation of our Town Memorial on Central Avenue. Why not do have a ceremony there?

It has been suggested on more than one occasion that this Town Board will cancel meetings during the summer months for several reasons. One is that there is less to do during the summer. Really? Does government stop during warmer months? Hardly. In fact, it appears there is more going on throughout the Town that should be addressed by our detached and elitist Town Board. But, the most recurring reason that always comes up is if there is a primary or an election that year, Mr Feiner and his Board will need a way to limit his or his Board members’ exposure and their opponents exposure. By canceling the Town Board meetings they’re assured to limit their opponents free exposure on the cable access/Verizon channels and aid their campaign. This year Mr Feiner needed to limit Mr Bernstein and Ms Brunson Fantauzzi’s exposure. It worked. Its amazing how the system is stacked against a challenger and for the incumbent.

Every move Mr Feiner makes has a personal motive. Sometimes, as in the WestHelp debacle where the Town has already lost $2.4 million and counting, it may take two or more years to see why he did what he did. Of course, deflection. He went against the Fortress Bible Church years ago to help protect the neighborhood of his buddy, Tom Abinanti, then a County Legislator and now State Assemblyman. He met with GameOn 365 approximately one year before the Town acquired the property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road, the former Frank’s Nursery, secretly offering to gift it to them with an illegal lease and way below market value. He assisted Westhab with acquiring funds and then the property at 22 Tarrytown Road long before he informed the Fulton Park neighborhood that they were about to be assaulted again with low income, subsidized Section 8 housing. Studies have shown that crime follows Section 8 housing and Fulton Park is living proof of it. Ever since the building has begun occupancy, break-ins to cars and homes in the neighborhood has returned. “I’m going to prove to the resident’s of Fulton park how I feel about them. You’re going to change your opinion of me,” said Mr Feiner after doing nothing after Hurricane Irene wiped out so many residents. It was another lie from Mr Feiner. So, yes, they’ve changed their opinion of him.

So what can we do about a bereft Town Board interested in only their own agenda and not the peoples’  issues? Apparently, very little without a united Town. The Republicans have dismissed Greenburgh. According to the Greenburgh Republican Leader and the Westchester Republican Party leader, they will not waste their time and energy to fight a battle in Greenburgh. The Democratic leaders handily supported Mr Bernstein over Mr Feiner in their nominating meeting as the endorsed candidate. Does this mean Mr Feiner is bulletproof? Of course not. Looking at the numbers, Mr Feiner received 3,801 to Mr Bernsteins 2,121 votes out of the 42,000 registered democratic voters in Greenburgh! Just under 6k Democrats voted in another typically low-turnout primary event. This is hardly a justifiable representation when Mr Feiner only received 1,680 more votes than Mr Bernstein out of 42,000 possible votes.

We hope that next year, the showmen and women that sit on the Town Board will observe and celebrate the Second Day of Infamy with more than a simple, afterthought moment of silence. In spite of this indifference and insensitivity exhibited by the Town Board, we refuse to acquiesce. While we observe and respect those whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001, we can only hope our Town Board will do the same next year. In spite of them, ABG believes we can still have A Better Greenburgh.

Ethically Challenged & Resorting To Lies

During the last forum at Town Hall which was not attended by Mr Feiner, his opponent for the Supervisor position, Mr Robert “Bob” Bernstein, had the spotlight shone on himself and the Town Clerk candidate Sherron Brunson Fantauzzi. The fact that Mr Feiner and Ms Beville chose to not attend  the event was nothing short of disrespectful to the residents of Unincorporated Greenburgh and those in attendance.

Several people have stated that Mr Feiner, speaking on behalf of himself and Ms Beville, did not attend because the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations were campaigning for Mr Bernstein and against him and they are a partisan group. Ironically, the CGCA is run by Madelon O’Shea, who insists that all meetings, functions and discussions remain non-partisan. The League of Women Voters may or may not be partisan but the moderator, Ms Sue Weisfeld was specifically chosen as she has been known to be fair while forcefully maintaining control of a forum and the time constraints necessary.

We’ve always maintained Mr Feiner is shrewd. He proved it again by not attending the forum and then having a one-half an hour commercial run on the cable access channel immediately after the forum ended. It allowed him a relatively captive audience, a half an hour of uninterrupted and unquestioned time to talk about what he wanted to discuss, not what residents might be interested in hearing. It reminded us of the night he went to the NAACP forum about WestHelp and never answered any questions and rambled on about everything but answering the questions that were asked. ABG is relatively sure we’ll see a repeat performance of that behavior again tonight.

Watching the video he produced found him in front of numerous locations discussing topics relating to where he was. One location he illegally entered to film his commercial was the Elmsford Fire Company, a private corporation who did not authorize his film crew to enter or film there, where he professed his love of the villages volunteer firefighters. At the end of that video, he must have realized he offended the paid firefighters in the three Greenburgh Departments and quickly praised them too. ABG understands why he filmed this piece there. The paid firefighter’s union has endorsed his opponent, Mr Bob Bernstein.

He spoke in front of Frank’s nursery (loss to Greenburgh: $3.5M), WestHelp (loss to Greenburgh: $1.2M/yr), the Fortress Bible property (loss to Greenburgh: up to $8M), the Theodore Young Community Center and so on. At each location he staked his claim against Mr Bernstein as being against what he was trying to do at each of these locations. ABG believes Mr Bernstein was on the right side of each of these escapades. Mr Feiner could be found weaving half-truths with out and out lies about Mr Bernstein. We already have documented that Mr Feiner is ethically challenged and in desperation is resorting to lies to make his case for re-election. Residents are smarter than that but Mr Feiner is hoping they will only remember what he has said, not what he has done.

Mr Feiner has been in office for 22 years now. In the beginning, when many residents tired of the Anthony Veteran administration, the voters decided to try something new with Mr Feiner. What we have learned in those 22 years is that the old saying about how “power corrupts” is absolutely true. While Mr Feiner may have been a logical and even good choice 22 years ago, his lack of management skills, lack of private sector knowledge and experience, lack of ever working in the real world has shifted his focus from doing the right thing for residents to favoring developers, contributors and special interest groups.

This September 10th is the date for the Democratic Primary. The outcome will decide who will be the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Party in the November election. It’s not about which yard sign was more impressive or readable when speeding down our residential neighborhood streets. It’s not about wondering who will help you as you watch your possessions float away during a misting rain because overdevelopment has no place for the water to go. It’s not about standing in the shadows of a larger than zoned-for building wondering how to watch a sunset in our Town. It’s not about watching our already overdeveloped green space turn black from macadam. It’s not about wondering if traffic will begin to move in time for you to play with your kids before they go to bed. It’s not about watching our seniors move out of their homes of 30 and 40 years into a subsidized studio apartments because taxes became greater than their Social Security checks. No, it’s about the fundamental and sweeping changes our Town has gone through and deciding if enough is enough! It’s time to return Greenburgh back to it’s residents. It’s time for A Better Greenburgh!

Fulton Park Street Picnic & Barbecue

It’s Saturday. There’s a threat of rain. Heat. Humidity. Sunshine. Clouds. Vacations. Holiday weekend. Politics. Campaigns. No shows. These were just a few of the issues the Fulton Park Civic Association had to contend with as they planned their first neighborhood street-closing picnic and barbecue. Under the deftly executed control of President Maria Gomez and help from Vice-President Tom Bock, the first of what is hoped to become an annual street festival was successfully enjoyed by about fifty or so residents and their friends.

Fulton Park neighbors visit with each other
during the neighborhood picnic

With music playing and the smells of a summer barbecue wafting through the neighborhood, curious residents as well as invited guests began to arrive at 4PM. Neighbors brought everything required to have a good time. There was music, barbecued food, salads, soda and bottled water to quench every appetite and thirst. Several families had their kids with them and for a small donation of only $5 per family, they were invited to consume as much as they wanted. Many left very satisfied after eating both store-bought food and an assortment of home-made dishes. Later, the deserts table was quickly left made bare.

50/50 raffle tickets were sold during the event and the drawing was held at the end of the event. A woman named Donna from Hastings, visiting a Fulton Park friend, was the lucky winner of $64. In a noble gesture, she asked the group there to accept her winnings as a donation to the Civic Association, saying she thoroughly enjoyed herself and wanted to help their future efforts. Many residents in attendance personally thanked her for her generosity. What a great way to end an event.

Greenburgh Town Supervisor candidate
Bob Bernstein stopped by for a hot dog,
cold water and conversation.

Speaking with many of the residents elicited the same response. They all wanted to do this again! It was a great way to meet more of their neighbors, enjoy some good food and spend some time with friends and family without the hustle of having to travel to another location. Fulton Park Civic Association President Maria Gomez says now they know what they can do differently or better for next year’s event. That sounds great – count us in!

Candidate Questions for the Supervisor’s Forum on Sept 3

ABG staffers were discussing issues in the Town and questions we have for the candidates that we thought might  have or should have been asked at the previous forum that Mr Feiner and Ms Beville did not attend. Here are some of the questions we’d like to see asked of our candidates for Supervisor and Town Clerk.

Here’s an offer we’ll extend to both Mr Feiner and Mr Bernstein. If they choose to respond, staying on topic, ABG will publish their answers unedited. In no particular order, here’s some of what we came up with and hope to hear asked this Tuesday night at the forum to be held at the James Harmon Community Center on Main Street in Hastings -on-Hudson. We’d love our readers to give us any others we may have missed.

Questions for:
Incumbent Supervisor Paul Feiner:
1) You were found guilty in the Fortress Bible Church case. You lost the appeal, yet you and Diana Juettner haven’t been disbarred or removed from office. How are you legally able to stay in office?
2) Another ethics charge was just brought against you? How do you justify the act and why did you sue your own Town Board member and confidante, Francis Sheehan?
3) When will we see sidewalks throughout Greenburgh if you really want to promote “green space” walking, biking and public transportation?
4) What good is a AAA Bond rating if we never borrow any money to maintain and improve our infrastructure?
5) According to a resident, you were seen campaigning at a supermarket instead of attending the forum for you and Supervisor candidate Robert “Bob” Bernstein. Why didn’t you go to the forum?
6) How do we know you’re not lying to us and will attend the Hastings forum?
7) What are you doing to address flooding in the Town, especially in Fulton Park at the Bronx River side and Babbitt Court at the Saw Mill River side?
8) Why don’t you trust the non-partisan Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations and the League of Women Voters?
9) Why was the Scarsdale Inquirer and the ABetterGreenburgh the only media to cover the forum?
10) Why did you keep Dave Mackay Wilson of the Journal News from entering the former WestHelp site in Valhalla?
11) WestHelp remains vacant. Why won’t you put people in these apartments?
12) Certiorari adjustments by the Town reach new heights at each Town Board meeting. Why has it taken so long to just talk about doing a Town-wide reassessment?
13) Westhab and now Brightview both wrote zoning code changes to Greenburgh’s Town Zoning Code. Why isn’t our legal department writing our bills and departmental changes? Don’t you have confidence in the people you’ve hired?
14) Why do developer’s projects always get priority over neighborhood needs and concerns?
15) Your tenure is an obvious reason to have term limits. Why should voters allow any politician to remain in office for more than eight to ten years?
16) You live in a prestigious private community at Boulder Ridge? Why not live in Fairview where you’ve place almost all of the affordable and low income housing?
17) Villages already have a Purchasing Consortium where they purchase as a group and save money. Why doesn’t the Town participate with them?
18) Do you believe in term limits?
19) If you believe in term limits, what is an acceptable limit?

20) How long have you been a resident of Unincorporated Greenburgh?
21) Why are F.O.I.L. requests routinely ignored by your, the Town Clerk and Legal departments?
22) What are your plans to lower taxes beyond raiding the reserve funds?
23) Why have you refused a $3.5 million offer for 715 Dobbs Ferry Road (Frank’s Nursery) for over two years now?
24) The Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee never seems to offer a final Comprehensive Plan. Each time they’ve gotten close to being finished, you’ve tasked them with another responsibility to address. One of the last ones was the Zoning Map updates. Will we ever see a Comprehensive Plan in Greenburgh or is this another scheme?

Questions for:

Supervisor candidate Bob Bernstein:

1) You’ve mentioned often that you favor a professional administrator if after assessing the condition of the Town’s operations one may help the Town’s efficiency and non-partisanism. If that’s determined to be required, what becomes of the Supervisor’s position?

2) You are a successful attorney in NYC, will you continue your practice if elected?

3) Poor decisions by Mr Feiner have cost the Town millions of dollars. How will you stem the flow of payments currently being paid out by the Town?

4) Fortress Bible Church was a bad decision by Mr Feiner that will cost the Town dearly. Will the Villages be required to participate in payment of this guilty verdict against Mr Feiner? Will you seek their help?

5) Flooding has grown for the “river sides” of Greenburgh near the Bronx River and Saw Mill River. What will you do to help these people get relief beyond promising FEMA buyouts?

6) Overdevelopment of the Town is continuing at breakneck speeds. What will you do to control it?

7) You recently attended a forum that Mr Feiner snubbed and then had a video played immediately afterwards on the Town’s cable access channel. Is this transparency in government?  

8) Morale for Town employees is at a historic low. How will you address this?

9) Will you utilize private citizens to help run the Town?

10) Villages already have a Purchasing Consortium where they purchase as a group and save money. How will you as Supervisor of the Town participate with them?

10) How long have you been a resident of Unincorporated Greenburgh?
11) How and when will the Comprehensive Planning be adopted when you’re elected?
12) If you believe in term limits and if so, what is an acceptable limit?

Questions for:

Incumbent Town Clerk Judith Beville:

1) You seem to do a lot of speaking at Town Board meetings. Is that the role of the Town Clerk at Town Board and Work Session meetings?

2) Is it you that transcribes the Town’s video recording of Board meetings into the official Town records or does your staff do this? 

3) You seem to spend a lot of time organizing events for the Town. Is that the responsibility of a Town Clerk?

4) Residents often complain that they cannot find information that has been said to be posted on the Town’s website. Why haven’t you made the Town website easier to use and find information?

5) Why do Town Council members edit what is posted on the website? Isn’t that the job of a Town Clerk?

6) Why do you spend so much time out of the office?

7) What management skills do you bring to the office?

8) You’ve been accused of impropriety as a school board member? Mr Feiner and Ms Juettner were found guilty in the Fortress Bible Church discrimination case. Please explain how yours and theirs are not a conflict of interest?

9 ) Villages already have a Purchasing Consortium where they purchase as a group and save money. Why doesn’t the Town participate with them?

10) How long have you been a resident of Unincorporated Greenburgh?

11) If you believe in term limits and if so, what is an acceptable limit?

Questions for:

Town Clerk candidate Sherron Brunson Fantauzzi:

1) Do you have a management background that may help you as Town Clerk?

2) How long have you been a resident of Unincorporated Greenburgh?

3) Villages already have a Purchasing Consortium where they purchase as a group and save money. How will you as Town Clerk participate with them?

4) How will you improve the Town’s website and access to information?

5) How will the Town Clerk’s office change if you are elected?

6) Will you have any change in operational hours to give residents better access to your office if elected?
7) If you believe in term limits and if so, what is an acceptable limit?

ABG knows there are many other questions but believe if we could get some of these questions answered in a concise and straightforward manor, perhaps democratic voters will come out on September 10th and make for A Better Greenburgh.

Back To The Wall (Running Scared 3)

It’s no secret that Mr Feiner campaigns 24-7-365. It’s also no secret that Mr Feiner uses Town resources as though they were his personal campaign tools. And while he may legally be able to get away with this, it is morally dishonest and contemptible. Undaunted nevertheless, Mr Feiner instructed the Town videographer to begin playing his campaign commercials immediately following Thursday night’s “forum” at Town Hall that he did not attend. The Town Clerk didn’t attend either. Mr Feiner chose to campaign at a local supermarket rather than attend the forum. Perhaps he’s learned they might be closing based on his policies and wanted to get his last campaign licks while he could?

The forum held at Town Hall was disappointing from the perspective of not having all the candidates present to discuss what it going on in the Town and ideas that can help the Town. A staffer called our office immediately after the forum to make the comment that the event was really a non-event because Mr Feiner and Ms Beville failed to attend. A resident mentioned he and his wife had seen Mr Feiner at the supermarket campaigning and didn’t actually expect him to show up. The League of Women Voters’ moderator for the evening’s forum, Ms Weisfeld, waited a half an hour past the original start time to allow Mr Feiner an opportunity to arrive. It was wasted time.

Underneath his well-cultivated, disheveled, “woe-is-me” facade, is a shrewd and calculating politician. Mr Feiner knows that he his not a great public speaker. He also knows that Mr Bernstein is quite an accomplished public speaker, having been on the receiving end of numerous visits from Mr Bernstein at Town Board meetings, blog posts and letters to the editor. As such, ABG is of the belief that Mr Feiner took a calculated risk with his decision to not show up at the forum, knowing he could not compete with an issue savvy, seasoned trial lawyer, saving himself from being a verbally trounced again and unable to defend his record. In his mind, it would be better to pass and just give any reason for not being there and hope for the best at the next forum in Hastings-On-Hudson’s James Harmon Community Center, in a democratic leaning, Feiner-friendly Village.

ABG’s guess is that Mr Feiner will not have a strong performance in Hastings or in any other public venue with other candidates present. He does do reasonably well going one-on-one with promising residents anything they want to hear – and then doing what he wants anyway. It’s common knowledge at Town Board meetings, Mr Sheehan usually controls Mr Feiner’s outbursts and off the wall ideas. But since Mr Feiner recently threw Mr Sheehan and his family “under the bus” with a lawsuit and accusations of lying on ballot petition signatures, it remains to be seen how “helpful” Mr Sheehan will now be? Ms Juettner, along with Mr Feiner were recently found guilty of violating the Fortress Bible Church’s Constitutional rights and then losing their appeal of the guilty verdict. Why haven’t they been disbarred and removed from office? Mr Feiner’s lawsuit against Mr Sheehan also accused a group of nuns (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament) of lying on their ballot petition signatures as well. Is there no one Mr Feiner will go after to run unopposed? Apparently not.

In the end, it seems Mr Feiner is more concerned with maintaining the corrupt status quo. The airing of his own campaign commercials in a non-stop loop as informational videos is reprehensible. He has chosen to avoid public scrutiny and to play “scripted” pieces instead. Again, he is shrewd if nothing else. His yard signs have magically begun to appear next to Mr Bernstein’s yard signs. That’s normal in a contested race. Although sadly, Mr Feiner’s supporters have already started to remove Bernstein signs in many locations, thinking this will help Mr Feiner’s campaign.

Removing yard signs. Not participating in forums. Running campaign videos on the Town cable access channel. Suing fellow Board members. Slandering nuns. Violating the civil rights of churches. The list, while seemingly endless, all amount to lying to the public. And for what? To maintain a power base and remain in office? The reality is Mr Feiner is running scared! His lawn signs say “Paul and Judith” with the slogan, “Keep Paul on Call”, even giving his home phone number. His slogan should be, “Keep Paul’s Back to the Wall”. This is nothing but campaign schtick to the willfully ignorant, headline reading public and party-faithful who vote the party-line regardless. While some may believe this past Thursday night’s forum might be considered a non-event, the choices were made clear. We want and deserve representatives who aren’t afraid to show up and face the music, even if the music isn’t a song anyone can dance to.

ABG urges the Town’s registered democrats to vote in the upcoming Democratic Primary on September 10 and help to make A Better Greenburgh.

Bernstein & Fantauzzi Score Forum “TKO”

Our title for this post is a bit facetious in that there were no real “winners” in last night’s forum. The participants who benefitted were the two candidates and the public who showed up, sans Mr Feiner and Ms Beville. The forum, no longer referred to as a debate because we don’t want anyone to experience failure, was a technical knockout for Mr Bernstein and Ms Fantauzzi as Mr Feiner and Ms Beville chose to boycott the forum and utilize a different strategy. This forum, which began at 7:30PM instead of 7PM to give both candidates time to arrive, was hosted by the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations. The CGCA represents and culls together the leaders of various civic association members and issues throughout the Town and speaks on behalf of residents with issues brought before the Town Board and other agencies. Moderated by the League of Woman Voters’ Susan Weisfeld, the questions asked were only those presented for the one present candidate and not the other. And since Mr Feiner and Ms Beville chose to not participate, the few questions asked were specific to Mr Bernstein and Ms Fantauzzi.

The lack of an opponent for both Ms Fantauzzi and Mr Bernstein appeared to make the moderator Ms Weisfeld appear disoriented. She even stated that she has never experienced this situation in any other forum and was unsure as to how to proceed after the two candidates answered their questions, occasionally adding nervous laughter. Yet, she read off the ground rules that were almost nonsensical given the lack of opposition. Once everything was set up and ground rules laid, the abbreviated evening got underway.

Ms Fantauzzi was the first speaker and gave a 2-minute prepared opening statement, thanking numerous people. She touched on several topics in this statement. One of her big campaign contentions was that the Town Clerk should attend Town Board Work Sessions and Town Board Public Meetings in silence and only speak to clarify information or to answer a direct question addressed to her or her office. The Town Clerks position is to record the information of the meetings. She offered residents real time record-keeping and website posting. She also stated she would bring her managerial experience developed at Chase Bank to add to the professionalism that is lacking in the current Town Clerk’s office. She offered to have a true open door policy and make information accessible to all. 

Ms Fantauzzi seemed to falter several times when presented with random questions from the audience. It was difficult to tell if this was due to inexperience, nervousness or a lack of command of information. She did state that she had so many things she was thinking and was unable to quickly organize and articulate her thoughts. Given that, let’s write it off this time to nerves and hope for a more commanding performance in the next forum. 

Unfortunately, many in the audience were dismayed that a break was taken after the abbreviated time spent with Ms Fantauzzi. Regardless, the forum next returned with Mr Robert “Bob” Bernstein, the second and final speaker for the event. He made an opening statement as well, highlighting the work the CGCA does and how it has remained non-partisan. He promised to bring his own management skills to the Town and if warranted was willing to investigate whether or not the Town should hire a professional Town Administrator, similar to what other Towns have done.

He was asked how and why he got into politics and said it happened 22 years ago; ironically the same time Mr Feiner first took office. Neighbors often complained to him that they could not get answers from the Town or Mr Feiner and he began coming to Town Board meetings on their behalf. He discussed his plans to make the Town more revenue efficient as well as operationally transparent. He offered to develop an attitude of cooperation, civility and efficiency why doing away with back-room deals and secret meetings.

There were numerous questions submitted that were never read and several people were stunned when the moderator ended the evenings event. Many queried why Mr Feiner and Ms Beville were not in attendance. Not only were they given the information in a timely manor, Mr Bernstein spoke about the debate at the last Town Board meeting’s public session. One resident said he saw Mr Feiner campaigning in front of a supermarket just before arriving at the Town Hall forum.

Time was on the side of the residents who attended and while ABG believes more could have been done with questions and answers, we appreciate the time we had with these candidates. The next forum will be held in Hastings-On-Hudson at the Jim Harmon Community Center on Main Street at 8 p.m., September 3. We hope to see Mr Feiner and Ms Beville there as well as you.

Ethics Complaint Filed

On August 17, a Code of Ethics Citizen’s Complaint was filed against Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul J. Feiner (“Feiner”) and Judith Beville, Greenburgh Town Clerk, (“Beville”) alleging violations of the Greenburgh Code of Ethics in connection with their having solicited or accepted services in aid of their political campaigns for re-election from Town Attorney Timothy Lewis in violation of Chapter 570-7(A); and against each of them for aiding each other in the violation of such section of the Ethics Code in violation of Chapter 570-13. The allegations of this complaint are supported by the complainant’s sworn statement under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of New York, being filed herewith with the Greenburgh Town Clerk, that the allegations contained herein are true and correct to the best of the complainant's knowledge, information and belief.

It is readily accepted by residents in the Town that Mr Feiner seems to operate, or “play”, by his own set of rules when it comes to what he wants or wants to do, regardless of ethics or legality. One example that comes to mind is his willingness to change Town zoning codes for a developer’s proposal. Not only is this illegal and known as “spot-zoning”, these changes are usually detrimental to the particular neighborhood affected and the Town overall. A recent case in point would be the Affordable Living Facility zoning change enacted by the Town Board which was written by the attorneys for the Brightview Assisted Living Facility proposal in the Glenville section of the Town. Needless to say, Brightview fared extremely well with the enactment of this change while the small Glenville community will be irrevocably changed.

At the Democratic Nominating Convention, held at Town Hall for free/no charge on May 24th, Mr Feiner lost the endorsement of the Democratic Party for Supervisor in this November’s election to Mr Robert Bernstein in what’s known as a weighted vote of District Leaders. Because there are two candidates vying for the endorsement, it forces a Democratic Primary vote which will be held on September 10th. At that time, registered Democratic voters will cast their votes to choose which candidate becomes the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Party. ABG urges all registered democrats to come out and vote.

The ethics complaint filed alleges that Mr Feiner (Supervisor) and Ms Beville (Clerk), as Public Officials, accepted contributions from Town Attorney Tim Lewis, who is an Appointed Town Officer, with his collection of ballot signatures for their respective candidacies. The Code of Ethics specifically states, “Chapter 570-7 of the Greenburgh Code of Ethics is entitled, “Prohibited Political Activities” and subsection A thereof is entitled, “Contributions.” Subsection 1 thereof states (in pertinent part) that “No Public Officer ... shall directly, or indirectly, solicit or accept any contribution or money or services or thing of value for any political party, campaign committee or any Candidate from any Appointed Officer or Employee ....” .”

The issue of “any contribution... or services” is the contention of this complaint. Obtaining signatures from an appointed town official in aid of an elected town official’s campaign for reelection is a violation of the code. Collecting signatures takes time and effort and is a service with value. Elected town officials should know better than to accept such services from their appointees, and appointees should know better than to aid such violations by the elected officials who appoint them. Mr Feiner, a non-practicing attorney recently had his last lawsuit tossed NY Supreme Court on a technicality. It’s no wonder Mr Feiner would easily “dismiss” his ethical responsibility to the Town and its residents in a desperate attempt to remove Mr Bernstein’s candidacy against him. 

In a previous posts on ABG, we discussed Mr Feiner’s dismissed lawsuit in more detail and how Mr Feiner disingenuously claimed he welcomed competition and that this was democracy in action. Apparently, he was not telling the truth as he challenged signatures acquired by the Bernstein campaign and even his Town Board colleague Councilman Francis Sheehan, even challenging an order of nuns who had gotten petition ballot signatures for Mr Bernstein! 

Political candidates have many resources available to them from the Board of Elections. When they are in doubt of a proper procedure or interpretation of a requirement mandated of a candidate, they can easily call the Board of Elections in White Plains or Albany for clarification and explanation. In fact, both the Democrats and Republican hold “Campaign Schools” for candidates to discuss the “rules” to help them navigate the maze of paperwork, deadlines, filings and donation requirements. After 22-years in office, Mr Feiner seems to have forgotten or chosen to ignore most of these requirements. Perhaps his time in office has exhausted him. Or, if he intends to remain in politics, he consider returning to school – Campaign School. The electorate has the ability to let Mr Feiner know they are exhausted too. By voting in the Democratic Primary, they might just help the Town be A Better Greenburgh. 

Bernstein Press Conference Scheduled

Town of Greenburgh Supervisor candidate Bob Bernstein will hold a press conference Thursday, August 15, 2013 at Noon (12 p.m.) at the former WestHELP affordable housing facility (1 WestHELP Drive, White Plains, NY 10603). The press conference will address the town’s continued mismanagement of the site and the proceedings begun by Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) and Legislator Alfreda Williams (D-Greenburgh) to take back control of the land from Greenburgh. Mr. Bernstein expects to be joined at the press conference by Lena Anderson, President of the Greenburgh/White Plains chapter of the NAACP.

Contact: Gil Kaminer
Email: gkaminer1426@gmail.com
Phone: (914) 776-3379

Bernstein To Debate in Two Venues

Town of Greenburgh Supervisor candidate Bob Bernstein announced today he has accepted invitations to debate current supervisor Paul Feiner on two different occasions in the weeks leading up to the Democratic Primary to be held on September 10. Town Clerk candidates Sherron Fantauzzi and Judith Beville have been invited to debate as well.

The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations (CGCA), a politically non-partisan organization established in 1955 to represent the interests of residents in unincorporated Greenburgh, has invited Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Feiner to a debate to be held Thursday, August 22 at 7 p.m. at Greenburgh Town Hall. The debate will air live on public access cable (channel 76 on Cablevision and channel 35 on Verizon FIOS).

The Hastings-on-Hudson and Dobbs Ferry Democratic Committee’s will co-host a debate September 3 at 8 p.m. at the Harmon Community Center in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Mr. Feiner is currently refusing to participate in the CGCA debate, insisting instead he will only take part in the debate taking place in the villages. “I am sure Mr. Feiner will not snub the voters of unincorporated Greenburgh, who pay 95 percent of the Town’s taxes,” Mr. Bernstein said. He further noted that in 2005, Mr. Feiner showed up minutes before the debate was to begin, after refusing the CGCA’s invitation to debate then supervisor candidate Bill Greenawalt. At the time of this release, Ms. Beville had not responded to the invitation from the CGCA.

Mr. Bernstein and Ms. Fantauzzi were overwhelmingly endorsed by the Greenburgh Democratic Committee at its convention earlier this year.

“This debate is an opportunity to speak about the issues plaguing our Town,” Mr. Bernstein said. “Residents need to hear how I will lead the Town out from under the bevy of lawsuits filed as a result of Mr. Feiner’s conduct in office. His mismanagement has resulted in the Town being found liable for violating the Constitutional rights of a church; for losing millions in revenue at WestHELP, which he has kept vacant and deteriorating for two years; and most recently, for failing to sell the Frank’s Nursery property to the highest bidder. Greenburgh taxpayers have shouldered the ‘Price of Paul’ for too long.”

“Campaign Mailing” and Beautification

Mr Feiner recently sent out another campaign mailing under the guise of touting action that is needed to improve the former WestHelp property on the Westchester Community College campus in the Valhalla portion of the Town of Greenburgh. Had Mr Feiner simply renewed the contract with the County for the WestHelp facility when former County Executive Andrew Spano requested it, the Town would still be reaping $1.2 million per year. But Mr Feiner decided not to renew the contract to gain favor (re: purchase votes) from the Valhalla residents in this election and several key Republican politicians. He knew he would be running against someone in the upcoming election, but couldn’t know who. His formidable opponent this year is Mr Robert “Bob” Bernstein, a resident of Edgemont, an attorney and civic leader who has beaten Mr Feiner in other venues.

Mr Feiner sounded nervous during his acceptance speech at the Democratic Nominating meeting held for free at the Greenburgh Town Hall. In accepting the nomination, he proceeded to state that he welcomed the competition and that this was democracy in action and he looked forward to the campaign with Mr Bernstein.

Separately, this is not the first time democrats have been allowed to utilize Town Hall as Mr Feiner’s personal resources at no charge, but never availed to the republicans at no charge. This all-democratic administration obviously has its perks! Another perk he does enjoy is that of being able to lie to the public and have the mainstream media regurgitate it verbatim.

Almost immediately afterwards, during the campaign ballot signature acquisition period, he challenged the signatures submitted by Mr Bernstein for Supervisor, Mr Sheehan for Town Council and Ms Fantauzzi’s for Town Clerk as fraudulent, as well as Mr Sheehan’s residency as fraudulent. The case was thrown out of court after three day of courtroom melodrama by Mr Feiner and his counsel Assemblyman Abinanti, Mr Feiner shrugged off the loss stating he was looking forward to the competition. If he were looking forward to the competition, why the court action?

Mr Feiner’s flawed decision to not renew the County’s WestHelp contract for $1.2 million per year, which would have guaranteed the Town 10-years worth of income for little if any effort, affects more than just our bottom line. The 100+ units of housing that was championed by our now-Governor and then-HUD Housing Chairman Andrew Cuomo(D), was slated to transform from affordable/subsidized housing for the homeless into affordable/subsidized housing for seniors.

Regardless of whether it was subsidized housing or not, the need for it and its usefulness has never diminished. Mr Feiner determined that the Town should not renew the contract. Not the Board, not the Greenburgh Housing Authority, not the County and certainly not the State. And now that the State has finally said “No” to Mr Feiner’s folly to sell the County property the Town doesn’t own to the Ferncliff School of Yonkers, Mr Feiner awarded the property through a falsified bid to an upstart company named MRH. Then he attempted to accuse the public, especially the G10, of bid-rigging. Bid-rigging cannot happen from the public or Mr Feiner’s critics. It will usually have to happen between politicians who set the parameters of the bid and bidders.

Mr Feiner’s letter claims the fire department’s recommendations to increase the paved space to make access of emergency (fire) vehicles more effective is going to ruin the look of the facility. He also claims these are expensive changes. What will the cost be is conveniently not mentioned. Would it be under $1.2 million? Apparently the lives of seniors in their sunset years are not as important as trying to save them in the event of an emergency. His claim that implementing these changes will make the housing less desirable because of the removal of the grass in this “stunning environment” is absurd. The fire department proposal setting senior residents’ safety as paramount should take preference over the look of the facility. His argument to keep the good-looking facility the way it is is amazingly short-sighted, risky to the lives of those living there, and contrary to his actions taken with almost every other project. How so you ask?

When Westhab purchased the property at 22 Tarrytown Road with county, state and federal funding, they requested variances for the setback, seeking to build literally from the curb to the respective edges of the property. To ensure approval of this variance, they promised a green roof in place of the resulting less porous area. Mr Feiner could not approve their request fast enough! Residents clamored about the safety of a recreational green roof, the increased impervious space and flood water runoff. Mr Feiner did not flinch and illogically supported their proposal. When Brightview Assisted Living sought to do the same thing, again Mr Feiner was first in line. The list continues as Mr Feiner chooses whichever side will garner him more votes. It must stop!

WestHelp will eventually begin to change as MRH moves to begin implementing the contract with the Town that they got by lying on their bid application to the Town. Lying seems to be a hallmark of the Feiner Administration. The lies that germinate from the Town’s administration changes as quickly as the headlines do. The public never seems to remember and whatever the Supervisor says must be true. This behavior is finally catching up with the Mr Feiner.

“Would you prefer to live in a campus environment-with beautiful gardens and lawns? Or, would you want to live in an apartment complex that is paved over? We want the parking placed a short distance from the current WESTHELP campus.” Generally, so do we. But we refuse to stay with the status quo while risking the lives of the residents there! If the alternative is being homeless, we’re pretty sure most people will be happy to walk across the paved lot and enjoy the view of the woods some 50 feet away. Drop this facade Mr Feiner and work on undoing the damage done by you and your administration.

While Mr Feiner continues to show interest in green space, solar energy, shutting down Indian Point, saving the TZ bridge, biking to Timbuktu and the like, he should be spending his time administering the Town’s government. He has spent 22-years not doing that and it is why we find ourselves with convoluted regulations, fees and fines against businesses that are increasing the For Sale and For Rent signs throughout the Town. Our businesses need a business-friendly environment. Once we have this, the exodus from Greenburgh will ebb. We need real tax relief for our residents to slow and stop their exodus. We need our infrastructure updated and modernized. We need flooding addressed Town-wide. The list goes on. Speaking of exoduses, it’s time for the Democratic portion of the electorate to make an important decision regarding an exodus on September 10. Please come out and vote. We need A Better Greenburgh.