Fairview Golf Driving Range To Close

It has been known for months but Mr Feiner has chosen not to use the information as ammunition in his goal to help his friends, GameOn 365, but we’re confident he will. He’s fought the urge to blurt out at a Town Board meeting about the other golf driving range in Town closing. Instead, he’s tried to put the onus upon the Dobbs Ferry Road area residents, claiming the Visioli’s Golf Driving Range on Dobbs Ferry Road could close. GameOn 365 and Mr Feiner, with Board members Morgan and Jones, are ignoring the area neighborhoods and simply brushing aside their concerns. They are still, after five years, seeking to build something, anything, on Dobbs Ferry Road in hopes of “cashing in” on the lucrative sports market. Their building can be inflatable, fixed, it doesn’t matter. But, according to Mr Feiner, it must be there and it must be now.

As has been well known in the community circles, the Fairview Golf Driving Range, with two miniature golf ranges, is scheduled to close its 300 Waterside Drive location, this Friday on April 24th. It was located in the industrial complex since 1994 across from the Westchester Skating Academy ice rink facility – a commercial entity in a commercially zoned area. The Dobbs Ferry Road driving range facility has been in existence longer. One notable difference is the Fairview Golf Driving Range facility always paid their Town taxes. 

Sporting a double-decker structure with a pro shop inside, the heated “booths” provided a year-round practice facility with practicality and comfort. While we are always sad to see any business close their doors, we see this as Mr Feiner’s next argument at future Town Board meetings as he continues to stump for GameOn 365, but not for the Fairview Golf Driving Range. We envision the argument to almost tearfully be, perhaps performed by character actors from a nearby deli, “We must not lose this treasure, this icon, this multi-generational business as we attempt to completely pave this area into a sports corridor. We must save the driving range. GameOn 365’s proposal does that.” Actually it does not.

Fed Ex, located behind the Fairview Golf Driving Range facility, has submitted an application to build a new distribution center. The Town Board has already approved the FedEx expansion onto the 27-acre site occupied by the golf driving range. Variances were granted in February to increase the height of the building and outdoor lights. Situated here, it will not interfere with any residential neighborhoods. The application also involves subdivision approval from the Planning Board and a special permit from the Town Board so that a new road can be built within the industrial park. The road would be deeded to the Town and connect to Fieldcrest Drive to the north.

In part, this FedEx expansion onto previously unpaved surface, will increase the amount of impervious space for that area and cause more water to drain off into the Saw Mill River and the businesses and homes along the Route 9A corridor. Additionally, just north of this location will be the 100-acre development of a box store, strip mall, movie theatre and whatever else is planned at the Landmark at Eastview. It only promises to increase the amount of water flowing downhill. Not much concern is given by our Town Board and Mr Feiner’s hand-picked appointees sitting on his other Boards to the over-development of every inch of land in Unincorporated Greenburgh. It has to stop before unincorporated Greenburgh resembles the worst of the Bronx. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

What Can Be Done?

The residents of Greenburgh as well as Westchester County are suffering from political incompetence and malfeasance. We have elected politicians pandering to developers and campaign donors giving money to incumbents like beer flows at an Oktoberfest. We have more specks of Unincorporated land being approved for development, in fact, over development, at an alarming rate. These projects are validated by producing bendable traffic studies, yet incremental increases result in heavier traffic, flooding when we have simple rain storms, increased illegal housing, increased infrastructure abuse and ultimately town-wide failures and over-worked public employees (not the elected ones). More importantly are the beleaguered tax payers who are beaten down year after year. When they turn to their elected politicians, they are "yessed" to death and then ignored as the project of their concern is green-lighted. What can be done?

Job Growth
Too many people in Greenburgh have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Putting people back to work should be all elected politician's top priority. Unfortunately, it's not. Mr Feiner and his Town Board cater to developers and donors. All this while we teeter toward the verge of prosperity that could be unmatched in Greenburgh's history. Yet our biggest obstacle is our own local government officials as they continue to place roadblocks in the way of businesses with new regulations, fees and requirements, These are nothing more than taxes stifling entrepreneurs and businesses under the guise of what, safety? In fact, at the last Town Board meeting, Mr Feiner tried to make one of the larger businesses in town out as the bad guy. Aren't these same businesses the ones that employ our residents? Of course they are. And of course, they are not the bad guys Mr Feiner wants to make them out to be.

Medical diagnostic technology, R&D, gene-therapy, information technology, 3-D printing, new energy methods, transportation advances and more will all impart upon us and our children a standard of living our forefathers could not have even dreamt about. The Landmark at Eastview grand plan was originally designated by the Town Board to be developed as a research, development and technology mecca within the Town. Now that the favored developer for that location promised $5 million dollars per year in taxes to the Town, Mr Feiner is agreeing to truncate the original plan for increased construction of more of the same type of buildings currently vacant throughout our Town with no hope of occupancy. The developer claims there is no market for R&D but rather a big box store (i.e. Target, Costco), some retail stores, a motel and a movie theatre. Apparently we don't have a motel, big box store or movie theatre in the vicinity. Immediately and directly across the street, Regeneron, a pharmaceutical company, can't seem to build R&D facilities fast enough. Somebody's lying to us. Hint: he was found guilty of lying in Federal court.

The responsible development of Greenburgh’s energy resources could produce high-quality engineering, environmental, management and service-oriented jobs that will revitalize the Town's economy for generations. But who will work to ensure that the citizens of Greenburgh have a say in their economic and energy development future and that the federal bureaucracy down to the local levels provides guidance and not more roadblocks? Certainly, this won't happen with this Town Board. They have gone out of their way to be anti-business, all the while professing to be business friendly. Actions have certainly spoken louder than their empty words, but Mr Feiner has taught them well: just say it and the media will quote them, ultimately making it so.

Next, we must fix the paralyzing road-congestion and flooding issues which are discouraging both people and business from locating to Greenburgh and Westchester County. The I-287, Rt 119, Central Avenue and 9A corridors will continue to grow and so will the traffic congestion. Phony bypass lanes along each of the corridors will further congest traffic conditions during construction and already be outdated if and when they are ever finished. We must prioritize road projects which reduce commuting times for residents and even guests who tire of being stuck in the daily crawl. This does nothing but harm any local attractiveness, regional competitiveness and job growth for our Town and region.

Finally, we must reorient our regulatory and fee structures to not be taxing our residents to death! We must have tax policies that encourage job growth rather than encourage tax growth. It is a false argument to state that pro-growth tax policies and a steady, predictable stream of tax revenue are conflicting priorities. As both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan demonstrated, growth-oriented tax policies can provide for vibrant job growth and the necessary revenue to fund the services provided for in our Constitution.

Tax Reform and Cronyism
A simpler and fairer tax code might incentivize both domestic and international businesses to make investments here in Greenburgh, which will lead to job growth. But that's a state and/or federal issue. Locally, however, we must have our Town officials seeking to work with our homeowners and business owners to stimulate growth and most importantly, reinvesting back into their businesses and homes which will ultimately benefit us all. Lowering everyone's taxes would be helpful as opposed to giving tax breaks to the big guys.

This might even increase some workers take-home-pay while eliminating some big-business cronyism here in Greenburgh. Cronyism you say? In Greenburgh? Really? Here's one example. There's a supposed "land donation" happening in East Irvington at the behest of one or two residents under the cloak of their civic association*. Danny Gold, President of the East Irvington Civic Association finagled a deal with the old Robert Martin (Construction) Corporation, who has pledged a donation of one million dollars to Greenburgh to purchase some 28 or so steep slope acres of land from the Reverend Moon estate in Tarrytown. The stipulation is that it be used in perpetuity as parkland. Why choose to do this in Greenburgh instead of Tarrytown? Because Mr Gold has his house on the market and this covert operation through his friend Mr Feiner can only happen because of Mr Feiner's past relationship with Robert Martin, et al. The Mayor of Tarrytown doesn't have this "special relationship that Mr Gold needed to guarantee this deal be consummated. Again, why? Because the value of Mr Gold's home will increase in value even more if the purchaser can be assured no development will take place nearby.

Still don't believe in cronyism in Greenburgh? Well, this same property is also up for a certiorari challenge as well a tax discount if this convoluted deal does not go through. How does it need to proceed for the deal to be done? Mr Feiner and his Town Board must simply accept the donation of the one million dollars from Robert Martin, who has previously donated to Mr Feiner and possibly his Board members and then sign a check for the property in Mr Gold's backyard. Can you say done deal?

Once we see an adjustment to taxation in the Town, it will provide predictability for families and businesses alike. Families will be able to budget more effectively while businesses will be able to map out long term goals and expansion. If the federal government were to initiate a fair tax or flat tax, it would allow the less-fortunate to keep more of what they earn as well as eliminate the proverbial gray and black markets that deal solely in cash. It would seem like a win-win regardless of what your political leanings might be.

Immigration Reform
Immigrants can enrich our lives by bringing their culture and skills to our country, state and our Town. They also add wealth to our nation through human capital and occasionally innovation. However, breaking the law is unacceptable. That is why securing the border on a national level to stop trespassing and narco-trafficking should be a national priority. At the same time, we must cease Mr Feiner's broad-brush "sanctuary town" mentality that puts these same residents in peril by turning a blind eye toward illegal housing throughout our many neighborhoods in our Town. This is a safety issue that has proven to be a killer time and time again. It must stop! And yet we seek to encourage immigration done through an orderly and legal process. We are a country of laws and providing incentives to circumvent those laws will do irreparable damage to our system of governance.

Prioritizing Education
We must commit to education reform and school-choice. Our schools must inspire the next generation of doctors, engineers, scientists, and mathematicians. Email propaganda from Mr Feiner via a Town email list doesn't correct issues or improve our student's educational ability. To be equipped with the knowledge and skills our kids need to thrive in the new economy, we have to ensure that every child, regardless of their neighborhood, has access to quality education. We can provide educational opportunity by expanding parental choice in education and maintaining local control over local schools. Teachers are the bedrock of our education system and they should be rewarded on a merit based system. They should be given the freedom and flexibility to work in an environment that is not stifled by bureaucracy and archaic work rules. Our teachers are the solution, not the problem. Our kids are our future, not a commodity!

Energy
The need to reduce our prices at the pump and regain our independence from foreign oil is not just an economic issue, it is a national security issue. While we can increase our domestic sources of energy through environmentally responsible energy production, this is a much bigger scale than we can tackle alone. Domestic energy production will not only help reduce gas prices, it will also lead to an increase in job creation. Renewable energy sources such as wind, and solar should be allowed to compete in the free market without government involvement or interference. If and when that is allowed to happen, and government subsidies are no longer involved, the market will dictate price and demand. In the meantime, we can assist manufacturers by waiving some fees and bureaucracy issues to make their start up a bit easier.

Mr Feiner has used Town Hall for his own rallies (without paying the rental fees) against nuclear power without providing alternatives beyond the stereotyped suggestions we always hear from the environmentalists. They may be worthwhile additions, but can they replace what we already have? Has he installed solar panels on his home? Does he drive a battery operated or flex-fueled car? Of course not. What's good for you and I never seems to apply to him.

 He claimed to be putting in an electric car charging station at the Greenburgh library at no cost to the taxpayer. Scrutiny of the details proved that not only did it not make sense to put it there, but there would be costs and the Town taxpayer would be stuck paying for them again. When he proposed spending $500,000 to replace all of our current light fixtures with LED fixtures and bulbs, he never studied or completed a Return On Investment or qualified his desires with facts and figures. If he had a more structured and cost effective methodology, his "pitch" might have been substantiated. In fact, if all of this is so good, why hasn't he begun to convert the Town fleet of cars and trucks to battery operated vehicles, with charging stations at Town Hall?

Economics
Greenburgh's economic condition could dramatically improve for our Town and revitalize our infrastructure, schools and public services by cohesively addressing all of our energy requirements, budgeting, growth and development as a comprehensive strategy such as in our oft-delayed Comprehensive Plan. But that would require a genuine ability for our elected politicians to stop pandering for votes, parceling out gifts or certificates to the willfully ignorant and propose decisions that may be controversial but able to be validated and stand up to the scrutiny of the residents. Their validation must not fall under the aegis of Mr Feiner. Mr Feiner and his Board have no problem making decisions against less affluent neighborhoods for his donors and friends and leaving the affluent ones undisturbed. Perhaps its time for all the neighborhoods to unite for a common goal and stop this madness!

Getting our fiscal house in order by reducing overall spending levels must be a top priority. Having double-digit tax increases one year and then claim to stay within the state 2% tax cap is not a fiscal plan. It is not only fiscally irresponsible, it is immoral! Offering various pieces of property to chosen recipients violates the tenets of trust voters have placed in our officials. Jumping from one issue to another because you can get free publicity is an abuse of the position that should only be regarded as a privilege to hold. That privilege has been abused. In fact it has been over-abused! It must change. Only then will we see A Better Greenburgh.

* Read more at https://www.facebook.com/greenburghupdate

No Smoke, No Mirrors, No Breaks

We’ve been treated poorly. Yet, we’ve waited. We’ve hoped. We’ve cajoled, complained and practically begged – all to no avail. We’ve hoped to learn what the criteria was as the Town Board routinely stated they were doing the “due diligence” regarding the WestHelp property that had provided a $1.2M annual “gift” to the Town. The Paul made a non-public decision to not renew the lease. Then he insisted it was the former Westchester County Executive’s decision, not his. Several phony emails later, it was shown to be The Paul who in fact refused to renew the lease, not the County Executive.

The implementation of the covert WestHelp plan from The Paul, aka “Mr. Open Government” with his media buddies, was underway. He had “someone” leave doors and windows of the facility kept open to allow the site to be pillaged of appliances, piping and other components. It also increased the likelihood that mold, animal infestation and weather would further degrade the facility. But for what reason? Once WestHelp ceased to use the facility, The Paul lost the  $1.2M annual golden goose and knew he needed to replace it. Money woes in the Town continue spiraling out of control for The Paul. On top of the lost WestHelp $1.2M annual payments, there was the Fortress Bible Church guilty decision, reaffirmed by an appeals court that could cost The Town upwards of $8M. There was the $4M water department deficit, the “windfall” of returned monies from the Valhalla School District for illegal payments The Paul and his Board made yearly are a drop in the proverbial bucket. And where was his complicit Stepford Board? Nowhere to be found unless they were rubber-stamping all of The Paul’s actions!

The latest move by The Paul and his Board is during almost every meeting, someone will make a motion to adjourn to “Executive Session” so they can collude unimpeded and get out from under the scrutiny of the public eye. The G10 performs the watchdog function long ago abandoned by the media as its members attend various meetings held at different times and locations throughout each day. As they report back we can’t always learn of the misaligned decisions the Board has made due to secrecy. They seemingly violate laws as well as the public trust, and we’re made aware only after it appears on a Town agenda. For a Town administration that espouses open government, there surely seems to be an inordinate amount of secret meetings and decisions taking place.

One decision that was asked about over and over again was the criteria being used in seeking investors for the former Frank’s Nursery property, the WestHelp property, the Brightview Assisted Living property, the Eastview (former Union Carbide) property and others. We’ve received shrugged shoulders and silence to our questions. Franks’s Nursery’s property is contaminated with numerous pollutants, oil and debris (underground). The Paul tried to illegally lease the property to GameOn 365. When the project met resistance from residents, he “offered” it for a referendum at the upcoming election. The referendum passed. A lawsuit followed because the referendum was illegal and he withdrew the lease. Legally, the Town must sell the property. To bolster his desire to give the property to his favored vendor, GameOn 365, he had an appraisal done by a firm that does other work for the Town. The appraisal came in at the exact amount of money GameOn 365 had proposed to pay for the property! Ironically, Elm Street Sports, which operates the House of Sports in Ardsley, has offered roughly double for the property. The Paul is doing whatever he can to stall the higher bid as it does not include GameOn 365.

The property at Eastview has been undergoing constant expansion in the last several years. During all of this expansion there has been no attention paid to the flooding this will cause south of the site. The Rt 9A corridor floods with any steady or significant rain storms now as the Saw Mill River quickly overflows it’s boundaries. It wreaks havoc on the residents and businesses that parallel the river. The Paul made a big deal of cleaning out the river once a Village of Elmsford trustee mades arrangements to do so. The Paul has been asked to do the same thing for the Greenburgh residents along the Bronx River. As with most Fairview needs and no news crews present, The Paul does nothing.

The WestHelp income of $1.2M annually is forever gone for the Town. The Paul had a plan to buy the votes of the Valhalla people by removing those pesky low-income, single, female parents with children that lived there, endearing himself with those voters. He proposed putting a self-contained developmentally disabled school in the space. Funded by New York State, the state said, “No!” A side benefit for The Paul would be to charm the county’s Republicans Rob Astorino, Michael Smith, Ned McCormack and others. This would be a win-win for The Paul. Shady operations? Racism? Sure, but The Paul knows he’s guaranteed to win re-election as there are no democrats strong enough to challenge him from within the party and the republicans have written off the Town of Greenburgh as forever blue!

This morning’s work session promises to raise the Town-wide use of Tums for many residents. Slated to begin at 9:30AM, we’re sure a 10AM start is more realistic. Today is the day The Paul has promised to pick a developer for the WestHelp property. There are several deals being offered and what we don’t know are the deals being made behind closed doors. Town Attorney Tim “Remediation” Lewis has claimed it wasn’t fair for the Board to disclose information to the public because these were sensitive negotiations that required secrecy. There were no contracts signed, just proposals. So they could have shared information but chose to remain silent – again. The Paul said they would keep information from the public because a resident spoke with one of the developers, a childhood friend of The Paul. His company subsequently withdrew their offer. Was The Paul’s “deal” so fragile that one conversation would cause its collapse? ABG thinks a more likely scenario was that once the bidder learned of all the misplays, misdirection and illegal activities that The Paul and his Board were doing with this property, they thought it better to exit post haste!

ABG is not convinced a decision will be made this morning. If one is, it will be interesting to see which one they accept. ABG also believes the Board will jump into executive session after exhausting themselves with one decision to hide the rest of their meeting from the public. ABG has also predicted that The Paul will award the sale of Frank’s Nursery to GameOn 365 with some babbling excuse as to why they should get it. Fortress Bible’s financial determination is about to land in the Town’s lap. The Saw Mill River and Bronx River neighborhoods are still flooding. Aging infrastructure collapses can’t keep up with the speed of The Paul’s decisions. More and more bad decisions seems to be the norm from this Town Board. The Paul’s further insulating the public from a truly open government through Executive Sessions and closed door meetings with developers. It has to end. We can only hope.

It’s Been Said Before

The G8 has said it before. Other residents have gotten up at Town Board meetings and said it before. Town employees, with and without contracts have said it before. The lamestream media has quietly said it albeit in a muted voice. And of course, ABG has said it before. The King of Greenburgh, aka The Paul, lies and treats those not in his close circle of giving, with distain, deceit, and duplicity. Of course, very simply, he lies to those he doesn’t like or care about: his constituents.

We continually refer to The Paul and his Stepford’s spot zoning debacles in most neighborhoods. There are numerous examples and more awaiting the sweep of his crippling hand. He has routinely spot zoned throughout the Town as lead agency for so many projects, developers recognize it as their “norm”. He made sure that those trains don’t even slow down as it approached the Planning, Zoning, Building and Codes Department stations.

When Westhab purchased the former transitional housing property in Fulton Park from “Z” that had been used by the County to house the homeless, The Paul openly lied to the neighborhood in private meetings, along with his Stepfords, saying they (meaning Westhab) would need to find another location for the proposed seven story apartment building. Did they? No! He rezoned the .7 acre property from M-22 (22 units per acre) to match Hartsdale’s worst zoning nightmare of M-174 (174 units per acre).  He maintained the value of the location because of the “walking distance” of area supermarkets, even though those supermarkets are now gone.

Next, The Paul and his Stepford’s leveled crippling demands of the Fulton Park Garden Apartments, when they applied to the Town to rezone their property from it’s current zoning to match the newly spot-zoned Westhab neighbor next door. They informed the Board that they were requesting the change so they could remove the existing buildings, rebuild in the same footprint, with no ground level apartments or utilities as they currently flood with most rain storms. The utilities would be on the roof, away from flood conditions and the apartments would be up higher. They were looking to increase their buildings by six stories to match the Westhab height. The Paul mandated they develop flood mitigation plans, offer flood control solutions throughout the neighborhood and so on. It was clear that The Paul sought to discourage this project by overburdening them with untenable demands. When Deli Delicious sought to pave almost the entire property for a flawed drive-thru window, no similar demands were made of him. Another lawsuit seems imminent. 

The Paul has tried to systematically fine many of our already beleaguered businesses with more “fees” if they put products for sale on the sidewalk in front of their establishment. One such victim was The Apple Farm on Rt 119. The Board wrestled with wording and dollar amounts continually entertaining more fees and fines for the Town to utilize for financial collections. The temporary situation for the Apple Farm is that they store their produce (and sometimes other) deliveries on their private sidewalk until their staff can bring it inside. We hope the Stepfords see the light and do what they can to help maintain this store without additional taxes through fines - just for doing business. 

Stop and Shop recently closed in Tarrytown at the intersection of Routes 9 an 119, to reincarnate into a CVS. We need more CVS stores like we need Alan Hochberg chairing another useless committee. Having been there as a supermarket for years as First National, Finast and then Stop and Shop, the corporate decision was made to close this branch and relocate to a new space on Rt 119 near several hotels close to Benedict Avenue. This is all part of The Paul’s, Planning Commissioner Thomas Madden and Westchester County’s grand plan to transform the entire Rt 119 corridor into an industrial, mega apartment building and thoroughfare like many of the “Central Avenue”-like corridors in New Jersey.

The Glenville area protested with complaints of increased traffic, flood mitigation and congestion as well as other concerns. These all fell on deaf ears. The Paul had decided along with his Planning Commissioner Thomas “Let Me Help You Build It (for my job security)” Madden, that Stop and Shop’s new megastore would be built, regardless of the objections. But the zoning wasn’t correct for this store to be built. No matter, The Paul waved his hand over the plans, the soft watercolor presentation and it was a done-deal. Interestingly, according to Councilman Kevin “Henchman” Morgan, who recently said when the Dobbs Ferry Road residents (no real count or names provided) protested the police department’s proposed move to 715 Dobbs Ferry Road (the former Frank’s Nursery), The Paul and the Stepford’s acquiesced and withdrew the plans. Given the GameOn 365 debacle currently underway, it now makes more sense than it did then. 

The old Union Carbide property in North Elmsford has continued to quietly be (over)developed in recent years. The Eastview property houses a now expanded corporate park to the west of Old Saw Mill River Road, with several huge new buildings and the requisite parking capability, increasing and adding to the impervious surfaces there. They have gotten approval from The Paul and his Stepford’s to build 400+ condominiums on the property as well. Water that would previously be absorbed into the ground will increase and head south toward the Fairview Park area, which itself has been increasingly developed.

This section of the Town no longer has the previous water absorption capability and forces its runoff south. Sam’s Club, at the sight of the old Drive-In Theatre, knew about the flooding and built their property up five to ten feet to be above the flooding problem. It worked for a while, but the over-development north of them has caused so much water flow to come south, it became the new marker for where flooding begins as water encompasses the businesses and residences south of it, culminating at Babbitt Court lake. The Paul and his Stepford’s authorized all this development with the blessing of  Commissioner Madden. They just won’t say no to any developer.

On the opposite side of the Town, in the Fulton Park lake region along the Bronx River, The Paul searches out the tiniest parcels of land and offers them up to not the highest bidder, but the most connected bidder. And while residents wrestle with the Planning Department employees, rules and high fees for even the simplest fixes, changes and additions to their homes, the developers are hand-held and walked over to the express lane for their projects. Of course, the Westhab seven-story project mentioned above is but one glaring example of this. Right next door the “former” Deli Delicious, which illegally installed signs stating he was closed for business and for lease has not been fined for illegal signage or not paying the sign permits and fees. This move was not only blessed by The Paul, but probably suggested to him by The Paul. The owner continues to work from the basement office.

While no change in taxes is an impossibility in this Town, The Paul has mastered the double-digit tax increases for property, sewer, water, building fees and so on for our residents, all while managing to drive out struggling businesses, seniors and our young couples looking to spend their twilight years and/or start their lives together in something other than the Greenburgh mecca of public housing. His tax and spend policies, along with guilty lawsuit verdicts, have driven out two key and strategically located supermarkets forcing many residents to shop for their staple food items at various dollar stores and occasional farmers markets. This just in: SanMar Laboratories in north Greenburgh, which benefitted with a $750k grant from the Empire State Development, the real Bank of New York, to stay in NY, and then an additional $250k, will be relocating to Pennsylvania. Well played.

The list of issues being pummeled by The Paul continues with other locations and neighborhoods. One project that appeared successfully “discouraged” was that of the Fortress Bible Church. Until Fortress Bible Church went to court for help. The Paul thought he had succeeded in helping out his buddy, Tom “Proclamation” Abinanti, to keep the church out of his neighborhood. When Abinanti realized The Paul would lose the case, he moved to Tarrytown! Then the Federal Courts found The Paul and the Board guilty of discrimination, perjury, willfully destroying evidence and more. The Appellate Division Court upheld the verdict. It will soon cost the Town’s Unincorporated residents millions of dollars because The Paul feels he’s exempt from laws only others must follow. We may finally be able to take advantage of the AAA Bond Rating that The Paul feels obliged to brag about at the most inopportune times. We can borrow the money to pay his fines and try to not be assaulted with his high tax increases while claiming fiscal restraint due to the NYS 2% Tax Cap. That is a sham in itself. We need a change at the top, in the middle and throughout the Town. We can only hope.

Our Residents Need Relief

A Sunday story ran about Industrial Development Agencies in New York and the “positive” affect they are having on business. While ABG doesn’t agree with IDA’s for numerous reasons, the article highlighted one company in particular, noting that they are the “Poster Child” for IDAs. That company is Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical developer at the Eastview campus of the former Union Carbide site on Old Saw Mill River Road. It has the hidden beauty of a Tarrytown (mailing) address while being in the less glamorous Town of Greenburgh.

Back in the heyday of Union Carbide, the site had several mansions on it, a holdover from the Rockefeller days when many parcels of land were owned and utilized by the Rockefeller Empire. But as we’ve previously posted, the site has been a hot bed of building activity with the projected blessing from The Paul and his Stepford Board to increase the traffic and flooding by encouraging 400-plus new condominiums be built at the location, in addition to the newly erected office buildings to the west of the “spine” that links the two sides together. Additionally, there will be another 400-plus condominiums built as part of Avalon 2 on Taxter Road. Across and farther down Rt 119 near Benedict Avenue will also see the 90 unit Brightview Senior Living Center* begin construction.

Do the prospective tenants of these condos realize the site was a chemical development and testing site many years earlier? It was replaced with the MSG training facility, occupying a larger footprint than the previous building. One of the biggest fires the area has seen was when the automotive products testing building ignited and exploded in the early evening in the late 1970’s – early 1980’s. Can you hear the gasps and outrage after the new condo owners find out they may be exposed to toxic automotive chemicals? They can query Town Attorney Tim “Remediation” Lewis as to how much testing and cleanup may cost based on his SuperFund knowledge.

One of the tenants across the street from the projected condos is Regeneron, a medical testing and creation laboratory. They have been touted as “one of the most successful IDA-backed projects in the region with nearly 1,000 employees in Greenburgh and annual revenue of $446 million,” said former Entergy Public Relations Officer and current Westchester Economic Development Director, Laurence Gottlieb. He went so far as to say Regeneron is “the poster child for a great IDA project”. Maybe it’s great for everyone at the IDA and at Regeneron, but what about the Greenburgh residents? Gottlieb claims they “just keeping adding employees left and right.”

Are the employees working at the Regeneron location in Tarrytown, actually Greenburgh residents or are they people relocated from Regeneron’s other locations in Basking Ridge, NJ, or Rensselaer, NY? If they are transferring from these other two locations, do they really “count” as adding jobs “left and right” and do they know about The Paul and how he is slowly reducing Greenburgh to nothing but affordable housing without any supermarkets near the populace? The question remains are Greenburgh residents being hired by Regeneron?

There is always an economic upside when businesses move to an area, bringing increased purchasing and property tax income to those communities. Tax income is a hot topic in the Town because of the misguided actions of The Paul. But doesn’t the IDA bring jobs and spending to an area? Sure – at the expense of the existing residents through property tax abatements, reductions and other tax incentives! In the case of Regeneron, their pharmaceutical failures frequently found them at the brink of and even in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. So are we to marvel at a company that seems to often be at the edge of insolvency that finally scored big with their macular degeneration drug or just shrug our shoulders? ABG is glad they’ve survived. Can Greenburgh?

There are millions of dollars shelled out every year by Westchester, Rockland and Putnam’s ten IDA’s that many believe could be better used to rebuild crumbling infrastructure or invest in our schools. Even with the artificial 2% Tax Cap the State passed this past year, practically every municipality has seen increases in their school taxes. Not to be outdone, County Executive Astorino recently created his own Westchester IDA because apparently his rhetoric of cut, cut, cut, is catching up to him politically as he cannot dole out money to various special interest groups in hopes of maintaining existing voters and “purchasing” new ones. Could The Paul be far behind?

Critics of IDA’s say IDA tax exemptions often temporarily lower the sales and property taxes those companies will pay, reducing revenue to the localities, county and state. This creates shortfalls that must continually be offset by residents. It’s also argued that IDA’s are said to help New York state compete with lower-costing states, as New York has a recognizably higher cost of doing business. Could it be that New York’s massive taxes (and regulations) are overburdening business in general, any of which politicians are quick to bail out, make concessions for, and promise a virtually rent-free existence? Of course they are! These same politicians do nothing of substance for the existing businesses who may find themselves silently struggling. Yet they turn their collective backs on the rest of us who could use a break but continue to pay our mortgages, rent and taxes as well as all their other bills on time! It’s disingenuous and needs to change! 

We want to see our Greenburgh companies succeed as well as our residents. We are happy that Regeneron was finally able to turn things around through the IDA’s help. The Paul, his Stepford Board and his administration continue to help his developer friends. And, IDA recipients are doing very well for themselves while Greenburgh constituents are suffering through some of the worst economic decisions made in the last twenty years. Regeneron and others continue to receive lower sales and property taxes, forcing the Town and it’s residents to pick up the difference of the reduced revenue to the Town and school districts. It’s time for companies who we have helped for so long to step up and make it on their own. We don’t want them to be abandoned, but stop dipping into the residents’ pockets that have been carrying them for years and then rubbing it in our faces. The residents need an IDA to help them! Vote; and vote differently for a better outcome. Our residents need relief. We can only hope.

* A meeting for this will take place at the Marriott Hotel, Thursday, Oct. 18th, at 6PM.