Dismissal Granted In Favor of Town Zoning Board of Appeals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

In an entirely predictable move by Mr Feiner, he officially ruled the Edgemont Incorporation petition was not sufficient and cancelled the hope of a proposed incorporation referendum for the Edgemont community. Mr Feiner had said all along that he was against the incorporation citing a loss of revenue, approximately $17 million out of the Town budget that would be Edgemont’s portion. Regardless, what Mr Feiner and any elected official should be doing, is entertaining different ideas and listening to their constituency. Clearly that did not happen. To quote the old Gomer Pyle TV character, “Surprise, surprise, surprise.”

Mr Feiner claimed that the Edgemont Incorporation Council (EIC) had been careless with the petitions, referencing failed boundaries for the proposed village – all of their documentation stated they were utilizing the Greenville Fire District boundaries. He referenced the EIC petition not including minors in their list of inhabitants – although we would assume that would be two-fold: one to protect children’s identity and two because they cannot vote and subsequently don’t “count” toward this event.There’s additional supposed reasons Mr Feiner ruled as he did but these other issues will, unfortunately, flush out in court. That said, he ruled many of the signatures invalid. If anyone could fabricate a reason or a way to invalidate petition signatures, it’s Mr Feiner and his Board.

“Forged signatures falsely sworn to by a witness in front of a notary is a legal violation that invalidates all the signatures collected by that witness,” Mr Feiner said. Wow! His incredible statement is ironic given his own conviction by a Federal court for lying under oath in the Fortress Bible case, destroying evidence and discrimination! Could we ever witness more hypocrisy in government? It’s almost as if Mr Feiner practices doing the wrong thing to see how he can get out from under it.

He floundered helplessly several times during the hearings without his Town Board to keep him from speaking too much. Normally, they would intervene and keep him from going down the proverbial rabbit hole. We can only wonder if this time they knew what he was doing was wrong and decided to err on the side of caution and stay far away. This by no means excuses most of their bad behavior and we even believe Mr Feiner might have told them, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this one. You can stay away.” But not after they agreed to spend $50,000 to hire attorney Robert Spolzino!

“The Town had to develop the facts,” Mr Feiner said. “Otherwise it wouldn’t be a real decision.” Actually, what he should have said was the Town needed to invent the facts and in lieu of actual facts and create what they needed to kill the petition. How? He enlisted his troops from his core of regular supporters, Mona Freitag, Martin Payson, Planning Board appointee Hugh Schwartz and his wife, Town Attorney Tim Lewis and his wife, along with others. The sad part is now that he’s decided to invalidate the petition, a new petition will invariably be filed expanding the area to include portions of Hartsdale parking district – backfiring on Mr Feiner big time! At the same time, it is expected that a lawsuit will be filed by the EIC against the Town and Mr Feiner for ruling the way he did. 

The elephant in the room is that Mr Feiner, with a modicum of assistance from Councilman Ken Jones at one of the public meetings about incorporation, was against the Edgemont incorporation from the get-go. At the first hearing, Councilman Kevin Morgan could be seen whispering in Mr Feiner’s ear after he lost control of the meeting. Instantaneously, Mr Feiner said, “We’re adjourned.”

At no point did he hide his disdain or opposition for the incorporation, claiming routinely that it just wouldn’t work. ABG staffers always believed his end game was to delay the petition until after the (re)election in November, knowing that people would tire of this and he could do what he always does: wear down the opposition while he campaigns against them and rally enough votes to squash everyone in favor of incorporation.

If they don’t tire of the incorporation movement, he’ll simply assume they would forget about. He knows voter memory is minuscule at best. That strategy might have worked had he not hired retired justice Robert Spolzino, who in turn hired private investigators to try to trick pro-Edgemont incorporation residents into signing an affidavit that would invalidate their previously signed endorsement for incorporation. It was so unbelievable that one resident supplied a nanny-cam video with sound that proved what was being done to dupe residents. Watch the resident’s video here: https://youtu.be/MBR3L16s3_s

One detrimental move was when Mr Feiner adjourned the first hearing after losing control of it following his mandate that pro-incorporation residents could not speak at the hearing, only anti-incorporation residents could. At the second hearing, adding insult to injury, he allowed the President of the security firm that they hired to speak during objections, followed by Town Attorney Tim Lewis reading affidavits from the surveyor he hired and the Title search attorney he hired, all during the objections. 

The second detrimental move was when Mr Feiner held the second hearing the day before the hearing was scheduled to close the record, not giving residents or the EIC an opportunity to review statements, evidence or information presented by anti-incorporation proponents. More importantly, at the second meeting Town Attorney Tim Lewis read the previously read statements already entered into the record and then called the same anti-incorporation proponents up to the podium to re-read their statements again. The reason was surely to eat away at the precious time the pro-incorporation proponents would try to utilize for their cause, further thwarting their efforts.

As always, there were no surprises with this announcement. The one surprise we would have enjoyed would have been one where Mr Feiner did the right thing, didn’t force another lawsuit for the Town taxpayers and allowed the petition to go through. Had he done the right thing, we might have gotten A Better Greenburgh, smaller, but better.

Announcing Nothing Says It All

All they want to do is vote. All they want is to become a Village. All they want is to control their destiny. All they want is to get out from under the incompetent, illegal, and bad decisions repeatedly made by this Town’s mismanaged and incapable Town Board. Hey, wait a minute... we all want this. But we all can’t afford to do what the Edgemont Incorporation Committee (EIC) has undertaken. Be it the expense, the lack of expertise or the support that doesn’t exist elsewhere in the Town, most of the rest of Unincorporated Greenburgh is saddled with what the EIC has confirmed is a problem. The Town not acting in their/our best interest.

In another calculated move this week, Mr Feiner chose to announce he had reached a decision as to the sufficiency of the EIC petition but would not make it known publicly until after he met with his Town Board early this week. If the decision has been made, why not just announce it? The legal requirements involved are simple: determine the sufficiency (or not) of the petition and let the EIC specifically, and the public in general, know the decision. But Mr Feiner, the Master of Deflection, the King of Compounded Confusion, the Purveyor of Publicity, the Convolutor of Crappola, decided early on that he was against the incorporation and attempted to thwart this effort at every juncture. Hence, the delayed announcement. But again, why?

The EIC’s move to incorporate and the efforts against it may or may not be legitimate. There are other events at play that factor into the Master of Deflection’s suspect actions. Take, for one instance, the Town’s maneuvering with the Dromore Road fiasco; or another instance to get the Shelbourne Assisted Living facility approved by any means necessary and take some of the attention off of the EIC case. The reality however is that it highlights the exact reason the EIC is seeking to incorporate!

What's also interesting is that Feiner Planning Board appointee Hugh Schwartz has been a vociferous proponent on the anti-incorporation side of the fence. Mr Schwartz has publicly positioned himself as being recused as a Planning Board member from the Shelbourne project because his wife works for the law firm representing Shelbourne. However, we came across this piece of information that may indicate otherwise where he requests to talk to Town Attorney Tim Lewis about it. Hmm, this makes us wonder.

Mr Feiner usually has many irons in the fire, enabling him to dance from one controversial issue to another. What he fails to publicize is why. We believe it is simply to be able to change any conversation from the question raised to something else, hence the moniker, Master of Deflection. The issue at hand, beyond Edgemont's right to vote for incorporation, is what else is he doing?

Some have said Edgemont activists fear Mr Feiner will reject the petition, and is conferring with his Town Board to plan a response once the announcement is made. We've also learned from some in Hartsdale that the EIC is considering circulating a new petition, and expanding the boundaries of the proposed village to include parts of Hartsdale, including the hamlet's parking district. The boundaries must be determined by the proponents of the village incorporation. Not the Town, an existing fire district map or school district map. In fact, it can be drawn by a kid with a crayon and agreed to by the EIC and submitted as final. Clearly, there is more going on and wonder how much is from the corner office?

Strangely, when questioned at numerous meetings about what preparations were made by the Town should an incorporation take place, Mr Feiner hesitated and said, “Nothing, because I don’t believe it will pass.” Many were taken aback. Shortly after one of the last meetings about Edgemont incorporation, Mr Feiner said he wanted a citizen’s group to look into what the Town could do should incorporation takes place. He subsequently appointed Luis Polit to chair the Greenburgh Unincorporated Area Citizen’s Contingency Committee which would be tasked with seeking solutions. 

One condition of acceptance was that Mr Polit would receive no interference from the Town or Town Board and get to appoint all of the committees members. While this sounds above-board, a documented video exists of Mr Polit physically pushing Robert Bernstein after a disagreement the two had while serving on a different Town committee. Additionally, Mr Polit recently made this statement after being forced to cancel a meeting with department heads and town commissioners, “I suspect they were told not to participate in this meeting until the petition gets resolved, so I kind of read between the lines.” Obviously, while Mr Polit might believe in preparedness, open government and independence, Mr Feiner is clearly not interested in any of these!

Mr Feiner’s ability to “game” the political system to his advantage is well-known and he surely has another ace up his sleeve. Or, he’s looking to delay this until after the (re)elections. It remains to be seen exactly how this will play out. All bets at this point indicate that Mr Feiner will reject the petition on the grounds of some obscure or undefendable technicality. It will warrant yet another taxpayer lawsuit that didn’t have to be. That is not acting in the best interest of the Town. What is in the best interest of the Town is for this administration to step down. With or without a seventh village, it’s what will help us get A Better Greenburgh.

Town Reacts After Screw-Up

After many battled with the Feiner Administration for over two years, the Town finally adopted a law regulating massage establishments – not to be confused with massage parlors. What’s the difference? Massage establishments offer legitimate massage and massage therapy services, usually by licensed massage therapists. There is little or no objection to these types of establishments or the massage therapists working there.

The law that was proposed initially and crafted by Robert Bernstein, after highlighting the issue of massage parlors brought to the forefront at an Edgemont Community Council meeting, was left untouched (no pun intended) by the Town Board. Despite regular discussions of the subject at regular Town Board meetings and various civic association meetings, no action was taken. Eventually, with the assistance of Mr Bernstein, a bill was introduced. Sadly, Town Attorney Tim Lewis was against it, saying he didn’t think it was legal.  In fact, before the Town Board would vote the bill into law, he altered it.

Mr Bernstein, an attorney now practicing law in Scarsdale, NY, complained about the changes, stating that they actually weakened the bill and would have a deleterious effect on the police department’s ability to enforce it. It would also not afford protection to the young women working in these locations, whether by choice or not. It has been claimed that many of these “spas” are nothing more than facades for prostitution, sex slavery, and more. By having a watered-down law such as what Mr Lewis ultimately passed on to the Board, helping these young women would be more difficult.

At the last Town Board meeting, Mr Bernstein commented that while the Town had actually passed the Massage Establishment law, Mr Lewis determined they should remain open while their appeals for being shuttered were decided. Ironically, the Town Board condoned Mr Lewis’ action by postponing the appeals process which was supposed to be addressed at that same meeting but was put off until March 14th!

A mere two days following the Town Board’s blatant disregard for the law, a hallmark of Mr Feiner’s career as Supervisor with the Fortress Bible discrimination verdict, WestHelp, Dromore Road, Frank’s Nursery, GameOn 365 to mention just a few, Mr Feiner sent out an email blast announcing that four massage establishments had been shuttered. The charges were unauthorized practice of a profession and prostitution. The first charge was based on the fact that several employees were allegedly operating as licensed massage therapists and were not. The second charge does not need clarification. These are just charges at this point and it remains to be seen if the participants are found guilty and what the punishment might be.

We still don’t know the reasons Mr Lewis did not want these massage establishments closed as each time there is a supposed discussion about his rationale, it’s behind closed doors – another hallmark of the Feiner administration’s "open government” policy. These types of discussions, along with the back room deals, phone conversations that cannot be reviewed under the Freedom Of Information Law (FOIL), and more must end. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Town Board Threatened, Delays "NegDec" Cancellation Vote

Stating that they have followed the process for over a year and a half, the attorney for Foundation Shelbourne spoke at the Town Board Work Session, stating that taking a vote on the already approved NegDec to rescind it was strictly political! He also stated he would not be able to attend the Town Board meeting Tuesday night but the owners might attend and speak. Mr Sciaretta claimed that this was quite a surprise that the Town would vote to rescind a NegDec that was vetted from the traffic and planning departments. He claimed it was illegal, improper and a slap in the face to them. While we are against the Shelbourne project because it does not meet the zoning code recently adopted, we believe he was right!

The Town voted prematurely to approve the NegDec regarding the proposed Formation Shelbourne Assisted Living Housing facility that would replace the existing Sprainbrook Nursery. Opponents had said that approving the NegDec prematurely was not following the process that Mr Feiner and his Board can’t wait to espouse at meetings. More importantly, opponents stated it would have made everything fall into place more easily for the developer, claiming there was no fact-finding done, no reports of conditions had and no studies performed by those normally engaged in such actions. Because Mr Feiner wanted this project to go through, facts, figures and real information didn’t matter! His compliant Town Board voted the NegDec through. Is it any wonder that residents no longer have faith in the process, the zoning codes or the Town administration?

The real problem is that while the attorney for Formation Shelbourne didn’t say it outright, he alluded to the fact that while this had never been done before, it appeared to him to be setting a precedent and his clients might be prepared to sue the Town over this. We all know Mr Feiner has always said, “If you don’t like what I'm doing, sue me.” And many have. But, as we have said before, this is not about Shelbourne per se, or the Krautter Family who owns the property and operates the Sprainbrook Nursery at that location. It’s about publicity for Mr Feiner as well as leveraging Edgemont from incorporating into a Village and having the Town lose their chunk of revenue for the Unincorporated budget!

We’ve written before about how many in Edgemont are disappointed and dismayed with Mr Feiner’s actions and the actions of his Board toward them. So much so, that there have been talks and meetings about Edgemont incorporating to get out from under the Town’s, and more specifically, Mr Feiner’s control. Many communities feel the same way but are without the resources to act upon it. Regardless of whether or not Edgemont moves to incorporate, the Town Board’s disingenuous acts are now coming home to roost. The Town Board should have waited to make a decision after the Zoning Board of Appeals either granted the variances requested by Shelbourne or not. That would have been correctly following the process. The NegDec they approved was a blatant political move by Mr Feiner and his Board. We still believe it was a setup to appease Shelbourne and then to rescind and appear to be appeasing Edgemont. But all of this may have backfired on Mr Feiner.

There are variables in play here that will have long-term ramifications on Unincorporated Greenburgh. In effect, Mr Feiner has blessed the Shelbourne and consequently, all other commercial projects in all residential neighborhoods. He tried to do this with an 8-story inflatable bubble for his friends from GameOn 365 on Dobbs Ferry Road. Once this is allowed to begin, it sets the precedent to allow it in other neighborhoods. Mr Feiner was successful in doing this in the Glenville section with the Brightview Assisted Living facility. Brightview was the author of the Town's Assisted Living Zoning Code that is about two years old. By allowing them to write the code, they accommodated everything they needed. Now, the Town Board and the Legal Department’s laziness has resurfaced and is creating this issue. 

Shelbourne is too large a facility for the size of the property and it is not within 200 feet of a state or county right of way. Those two conditions were put in the zoning code by Brightview and agreed to by Mr Feiner and his Board when they approved the Zoning Code change. Had the Town written the law, overseen the writing of the law or at least been involved with its authorship, perhaps this wouldn’t be happening. This is more proof that we need term limits to aid us in stopping laziness and unconditional and unchallenged decisions from Town Hall. It's no wonder Edgemont continues to discuss incorporation. This madness has to change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Embarrassed Town Leaders To Vote To Undo Scam

A campaign was recently mounted against the latest actions of Mr Feiner and his Town Board. You’ll recall they previously pushed through a Negative Declaration statement regarding the proposed Formation Shelbourne Assisted Living Housing facility that would replace the existing Sprainbrook Nursery. Opponents to this scam said that would have made everything fall into place more easily for the developer, claimed that there was no fact-finding done, no reports of conditions had and no studies done by those normally engaged in such actions. Because Mr Feiner wanted this project to go through, facts, figures and real information didn’t matter, what he wants is all that does! Naturally, his compliant Town Board will vote however he instructs them because they know to stay in the position, they must go along to stay along - or be “Sonya'd”.
 
Now, finally, after weeks of all of us trumpeting the injustice done, Mr Feiner has acquiesced and decided to undo, at least temporarily, the damage he has inflicted on all those involved. Sneak a peak at the upcoming agenda and you’ll find this:


Opponents of the project cite numerous issues that are no surprise to anyone following this project with the size and scope of this proposal. And, that’s all it would normally be in any other community, a proposal. But in Bizarro-Greenburgh, the Town Board votes themselves in as the Lead Agency, and then either ignores or dismisses any objections to a particular project Mr Feiner favors. But there is another “game” in play here and as such we see Mr Feiner as the Town Chessmaster, who is calculating his closing moves even as he unleashes the start of another publicity sting somewhere else and over something else. By the way, the next step in the process for Shelbourne is a continuation of the Public Hearing before the ZBA on July 21, 2016.
 
As we’ve mentioned numerous times, Mr Feiner will do whatever the Edgemont Community wants him to do. Edgemont is against this project. Simply, he cannot afford to lose the income accumulated for the Town from the Edgemont section of Greenburgh. If Edgemont were to secede from Greenburgh and incorporate as a Village, Mr Feiner would have no power over them. It’s kind of like when we as a Country went against the British monarchy by declaring independence. The difference is that once Incorporated as a Village, numerous services would need to be established or contracted for. It is unknown what those expenses might be either in total or per household, but the Village of Edgemont would need to accommodate police, sanitation, sewer, water, highway and a Village Clerk’s office, where hopefully the Village Clerk doesn’t speak during meetings unless requested to, to name a few things. Insurmountable? Not at all. But invariably these contracts would be established with the Village of Edgemont’s newly elected Mayor and Village Board, unless they hire a Village Administrator, and Mr Feiner. So they don’t get away “Scott free” with having to deal with him.
 
Back to Bizarro-Greenburgh. Mr Feiner has been in favor of this project, hands down, all-in! He will now announce at the next Town Board meeting that he has changed his position and is now against the NegDec. Naturally, his Board will be against it as well. He’ll pontificate that he spoke with so-and-so in the whatever office at Town Hall, he got emails from more residents who are slowly convincing him that he was wrong to support this and so on. He may even say we need to follow the process. This was his plan all along. He needed the publicity and what better way to get it than to pit two groups against each other, for and against? One of the Board members, and we’re not sure whose turn it is this time, will comment that he/she too has been getting feedback and realizes now that they were mistaken to move forward with the NegDec, but now we have a chance to undo this mistake, and so on.
 
In the end, the property’s zoning does not allow an assisted living facility to be built at this location. It is strictly based on the 2-year old zoning law this same Board voted for. To blatantly disregard it and slap the residents in the face with it is wrong. It is also wrong to lead a developer on for his own political gain or publicity. Mr Feiner owes the community, the developer and the Krautters a public apology for stringing them along. Until then we can only strive for A Better Greenburgh.

Shelbourne Decides Not to Sue

Formation Shelbourne finally made a decision to cease trying to sue individuals that were against the assisted living facility they have proposed to build at the current site of the Sprainbrook Nursery location. Mr Feiner claims he intervened and convinced Shelbourne to withdraw the lawsuit. The Edgemont Community Council, residents in the Sprain Road & Deer Hill Lane area as well as the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations were named in the lawsuit. We believe the organizations and the individuals should not have been sued simply because they exercised their right to free speech protestation. Everyone that was served papers has yet to be notified that the lawsuit has been withdrawn, only that Shelbourne has agreed to withdraw the suit. ABG has just learned that Shelbourne says it filed a Notice of Discontinuance today, July 6^th.

Mr Feiner favors this development and has gone out of his way to stack the deck on behalf of Shelbourne. To insure a better outcome for the developer, Mr Feiner and his Board unnecessarily advanced through a SEQR study or negative declaration for the proposed parcel. It was his attempt to influence the other Boards, whom he appoints, to follow his lead and approve the project. While many people protested the proposal at various Town Board meetings, there were others who favored it. However, the impression we got was that those in favor didn’t necessarily favor the proposal as much as they did the sale, which would benefit the Krautter family.

You’ll recall that Shelbourne has proposed building their assisted living housing on what will revert back to residentially zoned property once the Sprainbrook Nursery property is sold. The area is zoned residential, but Mr Feiner has given the nod to Shelbourne and that has emboldened them to push forward.

The developer wants to build in a residential zone without having the 4 acre minimum and not being 200 ft. from a State or County Right-of- Way. The Shelbourne proposal is 6,000 ft. from a State or County Right-of-Way (Central Park Avenue). The ZBA would have to grant them a 3,000% variance. The Assisted Living Facility that is being proposed for Frank's Nursery property does not need any variances.

What’s also troubling is that after reviewing the Neg-Dec document, there were numerous errors. Yet Mr Feiner and his Board thought it perfectly acceptable to approve as though there were no problems. Again, they will tell the public to have faith in the process, to trust the process, they are doing their due diligence but then they pull a stunt like this. It’s difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to have faith in this Board when they routinely pull these kinds of shenanigans.

James Kane offered an apology on behalf of Shelbourne. He claims Shelbourne didn’t know it was filing a lawsuit against private citizens and that they just received bad advice from its legal team. We find that extremely difficult to believe. He claims Shelbourne has never filed a lawsuit and was able to make its case successfully in other towns.  Court records show Shelbourne sued the ZBA in Waldwick, New Jersey last year when the ZBA denied variances to build an assisted living facility. Apparently, we aren’t the only ones saying, “No” to them. He claims Shelbourne is not a “litigious corporate bully” but just “a small group that provides senior living services.” Shelbourne’s website boasts it has been “involved in the development, operations and ownership of over 180 senior living communities in the United States and Canada with an aggregate value of over $2.7 billion.” This hardly seems to be the resources of a small or even medium sized company!

We are convinced that Formation Shelbourne has been working very closely with the corner office in Town Hall. We’re also convinced the lawsuit may have been at the suggestion of the same corner office. If Shelbourne was actually as small as they claim and do not routinely sue, why would they initiate a lawsuit before “the process” had really begun? There is no developer that Mr Feiner doesn’t like or want to work with. Subsequently, there are probably none that his Town Board wouldn’t work with. This kind of behind the scenes activity is what makes so many people mistrust government. It needs to change. It’s also a proof of why we need term limits. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Like A Good Neighbor, Formation Shelbourne Sues Everyone Hoping To Stop Free Speech, Then Realizes Their Blunder

About two years ago, of course with Mr Feiner and his Board’s assistance, Formation Shelbourne (Shelbourne) proposed an assisted living facility on the piece of property that is currently owned and operating as the Sprainbrook Nursery by the Krautter Family. Assisted Living, also known to include Senior Living, are the latest buzzwords in the housing development debacle running amok throughout Unincorporated Greenburgh. Sadly, instead of letting the process run its course and either grant or deny the project legitimately, Mr Feiner continues to be the shill for Shelbourne.

Even though it was not time in the process for a SEQR study, Mr Feiner pushed his Board to approve the premature SEQR findings. These findings, known as a Negative Declaration or Neg Dec, were adopted by Mr Feiner and his Board without any studies, facts or information being provided. The intent was clearly to sway the Zoning and Planning Boards into approving this project. The Zoning Board previously found that variances were required under Greenburgh’s zoning code. The building inspector’s determination that no variances were required was objectionable to many, including most civic associations. Bob Bernstein, President of the Edgemont Community Council, led the charge and filed an appeal of the decision. He also paid an outlandish fee instituted in Town Hall as a deterrent for future appeals by civic associations and community groups which were never charged previously.

The Shelbourne lawsuit claims that the zoning board’s determination that variances were required under Greenburgh’s zoning code was arbitrary and capricious and should be reversed. The zoning code requires that assisted living facilities be located within 200 feet of a state or county right-of-way, excluding interstate highways and state parkways. This requirement was put into the Town’s two-year old Zoning Code change to accommodate the Brightview Assisted Living facility at Rt 119 and Benedict Avenue. Additionally, that particular provision was to ensure residents would not have emergency vehicles driving through their neighborhoods with lights and sirens.

Approximately two years ago with the aid of Greenburgh officials Shelburne sought to build an 80-unit, 94-bed assisted living facility at the corner of Underhill and Sprain Roads in Edgemont. The zoning variance point of discussion is that the proposed facility is over a mile from the area where such facilities may be located under the Greenburgh’s zoning code. It is somewhat coincidental that Shelbourne proposed this facility about two years ago and the Zoning Code change was enacted about two years ago as well. And, Mr Feiner is fighting to allow Shelbourne to build their inappropriate facility where it doesn’t belong. What’s next? There will probably be a push by Mr Feiner and Shelbourne to “grandfather” the proposal to a point before the zoning code change was adopted.

Formation-Shelbourne Senior Living Services, LLC., filed a suit in Westchester State Supreme Court on June 9, 2016 against the zoning board, the Edgemont Community Council, the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations, and 19 neighboring residents. They went after everyone involved with the appeal because they were united with the ECC in appealing the Town’s former building inspector's decision last July that the Shelbourne facility did not need any variances. Yet, if they follow the zoning code, they do need variances!

In an email blast from Mr Feiner, utilizing the GBList that he was ordered by court decree to release to the Worthington Woodlands Civic Association but refused, Mr Feiner said, “I just learned about the lawsuit today when I received some e mails [sic] from residents who live near the proposed facility. Am very upset.”

In a new twist to this story, we received a copy of an email to Mr Feiner from Shelbourne announcing they were dropping the lawsuit. Perhaps they realized the futility of suing what might become their future neighbors. Perhaps as they realized that the limited support they had in the area was turning against them as neighbors were being penalized for expressing their opinion - still a legal right even here in Greenburgh - that they should change their tact.

Here’s what it said:

From: Jim Kane
Date: July 1, 2016 at 12:01:50 PM EDT
To: Paul Feiner <pfeiner@greenburghny.com>
Cc: Mark Maberry
Subject: Shelbourne Senior Living

Paull,
Attached you will find the follow up response to our discussion of yesterday. As I mentioned we have decided to withdraw the Article 78 proceeding and focus our attention our current application for variances before the Zoning Board.
Jim
James W. Kane III|Shelbourne Healthcare Development Group LLC

This is a plausible project for someplace else, not Unincorporated Greenburgh! Ironically, several members of the Feiner administration had insisted after the passage of the new Assisted Living facility Zoning Code change that allowed Brightview to be built, that there were no other locations in Unincorporated Greenburgh that would accommodate another Assisted Living facility. Apparently, if this proposal is approved by Mr Feiner and his Board, which they appear to be ready to do, it will again prove they lied to the public for the benefit of a developer. Sadly, this seems to be a hallmark of this administration. It must end. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Shelbourne Sues Wrong Groups

Below is a letter printed with permission from the Secretary of the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations regarding the lawsuit brought against many organization:

I am writing to keep you informed. In case you haven’t heard, the CGCA as well as the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), the Edgemont Community Council (ECC) and a number of residents living in the Deer Hill Lane/Sprain Road area have been named in a lawsuit filed in Westchester County Supreme Court on June 9, 2016 by Formation Shelbourne Senior Living Services, LLC. Shelbourne is the firm seeking to build an 80-unit, 94-bed assisted living facility on the Sprain Brook Nursery property at 448 Underhill Road.

As you may recall, last August the ECC/CGCA filed an application with the ZBA appealing the Building Inspector’s decision that Shelbourne required no variances to build. The Zoning Ordinance requires that assisted living facilities have a minimum lot size of four acres and be located within 200 feet of a state or county right-of-way. The nursery property is only 3.79 acres and is more than 6,000 feet from the nearest state road, Central Avenue.

At its April 21, 2016 meeting, the ZBA ruled in favor of the ECC/CGCA appeal regarding the 200 feet from Central Avenue requirement but reserved decision on the necessary four-acre provision since Shelbourne was advised it could seek a special permit from the Town Board on that issue.

Before the ZBA even announced its ruling, on April 8, 2016, Shelbourne filed an application with the ZBA seeking variances from both requirements. The ZBA has held Public Hearings on the application at both its May and June meetings and is scheduled to continue the hearing at its July 21, 2016 meeting.

Regarding the lawsuit, the Town has not provided the CGCA with information on when it was served with the legal papers, but we know early Saturday morning, June 25, 2016, neighbors in the Deer Hill Lane/Sprain Road area were served with the approximate three-inch thick piles of papers stating they were named in the lawsuit. Bob Bernstein was served with papers on Monday morning, June 27, 2016. To date, no one from the CGCA has been served with papers.

The lawsuit against the ZBA is premature (not ripe) since Shelbourne is seeking the variances. The lawsuit against the ECC, the CGCA and the individual neighbors who joined in appealing the Building Inspector’s decision is frivolous and meant to intimidate and deny our First Amendment rights of free speech. The ECC and CGCA will respond in court to this frivolous lawsuit. Bob Bernstein has graciously offered to prepare and file the necessary legal papers.

Town Continues Video Cover-Up!

In our post on Thursday, June 26, 2014, entitled Town Edits-Out Incriminating News From Official Town Board Video Record, we detailed what transpired with the official video recording of the Town Board meeting. During Edgemont resident Robert Bernstein's time at the podium, the former candidate for Supervisor against Mr Feiner shared information about the Toll Brothers high-end development called Ardsley Chase, the known shooting range adjacent to it and donations to Mr Feiner's campaign war chest while Toll Brothers had applications before the Town. To the uninitiated, this is business as usual in the 80th Best Place To Live. To the regulars and developers, its just another day in Gotham.

If you listen carefully to the video on our previous post of Mr Bernstein, what he said in the live meeting was deleted in the officially posted video. On the officially posted Town video you can only hear him say, “...was one of the largest financial con...Toll Brothers application was pending.” The gap in the video was created to remove the reference that Mr Bernstein made about Mr Feiner receiving campaign contributions from Toll Brothers while they had applications before the Town! Faces in the audience showed shock and dismay. Many of those residents were "first-timers" to the Town Board meeting and were unaware of Mr Feiner's unethical behavior. They were stunned as they learned Mr Feiner accepted money from a developer while they had applications pending with the Town.

During his 3-minute time at the microphone, Mr Bernstein actually stated that, “Toll Brothers knew they were building adjacent to a gun range. And, what many might not be aware of is that Toll Brothers was one the largest campaign contributors to Mr Feiner while their application was pending.” Those in attendance heard Mr Bernstein loud and clear. In fact, since most developers working in the Town knew this was acceptable and possibly even encouraged, it got so bad that the Ethics Committee was tasked to address it. Watching the video tape afterwards provided an unsettling realization that our elected leaders could not be trusted. Did "they" doctor the video again? Once might be a mistake, but twice is more than a coincidence.

You may recall the meeting with the Town Board and Theodore Young Community Center Commissioner William Young, where he detailed the TYCC's budgetary needs. During the course of discussion he made a comment about the Lanza Foundation and how the Town would not want to upset the Golden Goose. A day later that fifteen-minute section of the video tape mysteriously disappeared from the official video record of the meeting. How could that be? Upon questioning at the following Town Board meeting, Town Clerk Judith Beville said they would investigate what might have happened. The final excuse offered was that an intern deleted that section of the video. That lie was provided as they could not, or would not, disclose the real cause for the deleted section. The video is streamed over the internet live and during the live stream, the signal is sent/picked up by SwagIt, the video company that segments the video and supplies it online for the Town. An intern would be unable to alter the streaming video SwagIt receives.

Much speculation was made at that time as to what might have happened. Could the Town videographer, George Malone, have made the change? No, he was out of town on vacation. Could it have been the intern? Doubtful, as they cannot edit the streaming video that goes to SwagIt. Could Judith Beville, who is the overseer and manager of the video department have made the changes? Possibly, but no one was able to confirm her knowledge of the software used by the video department. Ultimately, something happened to cause Mr Carter's portion of the official video recording of the meeting to be deleted and now Mr Bernstein's portion has been deleted. The Town contacted SwagIt who was able to supply the Town a corrected version for the Bill Carter incident. Will they be able to do the same thing again and replace Mr Bernstein's deleted comments? As of this posting, the deleted official Town video record of the meeting is still missing from the Town's website. Why?

There are many critics of the Town. In fact, the G10 are suspect of many of Mr Feiner and his Town Board's actions based on their past history of "skirting" the fine line between right and wrong. They have also blatantly fallen on the wrong side of many issues. The Fortress Bible Church decision is one that originates from 2007 and is costing Unincorporated Greenburgh $6.5M - money we simply don't have. How much money has the Town lost through the actions, inactions and questionable actions of this group of elected officials? Its time for a change. It's time to get elected officials willing to clearly and steadfastly act on behalf of the taxpayers first and everyone else second. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Town Edits-Out Incriminating News From Official Town Board Video Record

The schedule had been changed from the traditional Wednesday night Town Board meeting to Monday night. Yet, this Town Board meeting was uncharacteristically filled with residents from Unincorporated Greenburgh. In fact, the Town Board, fearing a loss of votes from the same residents, decided to change the agenda and jump right into the 3-minute public comment portion to placate them. ABG staffers had watched the meeting online while it was underway as well as conferred with attendees. Imagine our surprise when we went to the Town website to review the video – which is the official record of the Town’s meeting – only to find it had been altered and then removed! Why? Read on.

The first portion of the meeting was solely outraged resident after outraged resident complaining about a shooting range next to the new Toll Brothers’ Ardsley Chase development, which consists of about two dozen million dollar-plus new homes. In fact, there is a police investigation currently underway because a resident was apparently “hit” by a stray bullet fragment that is alleged to have originated from the firing range. The police investigation is underway and should provide all of the facts.

Frankly, as lifelong residents, no one in the ABG offices were even aware that there was a shooting range in Westchester beyond the Yonkers shooting range on McLean Avenue and at the Westchester County Police facility in Hawthorne. Ironically, one shooting range that has existed for years was mentioned under the chapel at Archbishop Stepinac HS. It has been dormant for years.

These residents were at the Town Board meeting to complain that this shooting range, supposedly a mile away, according to the Toll Brothers prospectus, was is in fact much closer. Back before the project was moving forward at full steam, Toll Brothers illegally removed the forest of poplar trees on their site for their project. They were fined, subsequently paid the fine, and then sold the same trees to a lumber mill for a significant profit, much more than the fines cost them. Those trees, along with other forest and shrubbery, provided a natural barrier between the shooting range and the rest of the then-uninterested world. Consolidated Edison, the property owner and landlord of the shooting range, also removed many trees in the area from their property. This reduced the sound and protective barrier that had existed for years.

During the Town Board Public Comment session, after many of the residents had spoken, former Town Supervisor candidate Robert Bernstein took to the podium. During his 3-minute time at the microphone, he stated that, “Toll Brothers knew they were building adjacent to a gun range. And, what many might not be aware of is that Toll Brothers was one the largest campaign contributors to Mr Feiner while their application was pending.” If you listen to the video below of Mr Bernstein, what he said in the live meeting was changed when he says, “...was one of the largest financial con...Toll Brothers application was pending.” The gap in the video was altered to remove the reference that Mr Bernstein made about Mr Feiner receiving campaign contributions from Toll Brothers while having applications before the Town!

Some might consider Mr Feiner’s financial acceptance of money from a developer to be a bribe or at the very least an unethical way to purchase approvals for various requests for their multi-million dollar development. They would be considered wrong, because this is Greenburgh, and its just part of “doing business” in our Town. Most developers know this. Most residents do not. Mr Feiner taking Toll Brother money while their application was pending is a matter of public record. Ironically, this is not the first time the Town’s public record has been altered for to cover up bad information. A fifteen-minute section of video with Theodore Young Community Center leader Bill Carter was removed and later restored after the G10 went on the offensive with the Town.

Mr Feiner accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Toll Brothers when the developer sought approval to build ttwo dozen luxury homes in what is now called Ardsley Chase. Its a subdivision next door to a live outdoor shooting range on Ardsley Road. Sadly, Mr Feiner pandered to this crowd and told him he would contact everyone ELSE and do everything he could to close or at least regulate this gun range, which has been here for about 41 years. He has just done about everything he will do for them. And, Toll Brothers got their approvals, Mr Feiner got his contributions for his campaign fund and the text of what Mr Bernstein said has not seen the light of day.

It’s a long time overdue for this Town Board and Supervisor to go. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Greenburgh News Blackout

We reported the official announcement of Robert “Bob” Bernstein’s candidacy for Greenburgh Town Supervisor in our previous post. There were numerous members of the press in attendance. Amazingly, in our 24-7-365, internet enabled, nobody sleeps society, ABG was the only one to report this. And, we did it last night, almost immediately after his announcement. Why haven’t the other media outlets reported this?

It is well understood that the media is not only friendly to Mr Feiner, but they couldn’t offer him better coverage if he was their owner and publisher! The Journal News, a daily newspaper with the corresponding Lohud.com website, usually posts breaking news and follows it with a story in the paper. Greg Shillinglaw, a reporter from the Journal News, was at the announcement. So were reporters from the Scarsdale Inquirer and the Greenburgh Daily Voice, neither of which published the announcement. In all fairness to the Scarsdale Inquirer, they are a weekly newspaper that goes to press on Wednesday, is delivered on Thursday. So, we understand they may not have a published story. But they do have a minor presence with a shell of a website that could have had a small story posted.

Another interesting point that we touched on was the need to have a police presence at the abandoned site. With about a hundred or so people in attendance, most car pooled and parked next door in the lot that divides the former Franks parking lot and the driving range’s parking lot. When Mr Feiner held his press-conference there a week earlier, he had no issue with unlocking the gate, letting people in and utilizing the police for protection. Quite the double-standard!

It is also well known that Mr Feiner will not get much, if any, negative press for anything he does that’s wrong – except from Mr Dave Wilson of Tax Watch fame, a writer with the Journal News. Wilson has gone after Mr Feiner’s lease-busting, racist deal with County Legislator Michael Smith, formerly the President of the Valhalla School Board, who fought to secede from Greenburgh rather than allow the 108 affordable apartments be built on the Westchester Community College campus. While Mr Astorino, Mr McCormack, Mr Smith and others have supported Mr Feiner’s efforts to tear down the sight, and eliminate low income housing, the state saw fit to keep it as intended: for housing.

Bob Bernstein is a former President of the Edgemont Community Council and, maintains in part, the ECC website. We are not affiliated although we share a number of common goals. Regardless of whether the news blackout is legitimate or simply that several reporters banged in sick last night, we’re disappointed they chose to go down this road. We also realize that like the Town Board who refuses to answer questions raised by residents, they are just as guilty by omission. We will keep the information flowing to our loyal readers.

What do we want in our Town? You’ll have a chance to decide.