Elmwood Preserve FEIS Public Hearing Still Open and Need Your Support

To all Unincorporated Town of Greenburgh Residents:

We are asking for your support (below) by writing letters, sending emails and making phone calls to the Town Board, the Zoning Board and Planning Board asking that they adhere to the Comprehensive Plan and not change the zoning for this project.

Re: ELMWOOD PRESERVE FEIS PUBLIC HEARING STILL OPEN

The Elmwood Preserve property should be developed within the existing Town Zoning Ordinance in accordance with the Greenburgh Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2016. We’re looking for Unincorporated Greenburgh residents to support this request by sending emails, letter and phone calls to the above mentioned Town Council and Commissioners.

Density:
The 2 requested zone changes for the 3 Multifamily Town House alternatives will result in a density increase between 34% and 55% more than the 2 Single Family Residence alternatives. The Town’s Comprehensive Plan, the Conservation Advisory Council and the Westchester County Planning Board do not support increased density in residential areas. On 3/3/22, the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations representatives voted unanimously to support Single Family Residences on the Elmwood property.

Traffic:
This increased density will result in a substantial increase in traffic on Dobbs Ferry Road. Dobbs Ferry Rd. (State Rd - 100B) only has a single lane each way which accommodates 3 school districts (busses, private cars/vans) and the Westchester County # 6 bus line. In addition, there are the entrances and exits to the Sprain Brook Parkway.

Carlson’s Nursery (undergoing expansion to be developed into a Farmer’s Market), the Chelsea Assisted Living Facility, the Game On golf driving range, Landers Manor (9 SFRs), Westchester View Lane (24 SFRs) and another 15 SFRs, which are in the process of currently being built on Drago Way, are all across the street from the Elmwood property. On the corner of Dobbs Ferry Rd. and Worthington Rd. is the Fairview Fire Station #2 with E. Rumbrook Park on the other side of Elmwood. Also, there is a DaySchool /Camp on Dobbs Ferry Rd., right next to the Fire Station, which operates all year long. These properties are all within 8/10ths of a mile along Dobbs Ferry Rd..

Safety:
Fire Dept:
The number of Incident calls made by the Fairview Fire Station #2 in the last 4 years are as follows:
2018 - 1,171
2019 - 1,033
2020 - 1,110
2021 - 1,159

Police Dept:
The number of events responded to by the Police Dept. in this area for Police/EMT calls in the last 3 years are as follows:
2018 - 1,190
2019 - 1,225
2020 - 1,975
2021 - 1,730

The number of accidents on Dobbs Ferry Rd. between the Sprain Pkwy. and 9A are as follows:
2018 - 42
2019 - 41
2020 - 28
2021 - 33

These Fire Dept. and Police Dept. statistics will increase because of the Elmwood development and could result in more serious outcomes to all Greenburgh residents because of traffic jams.

Setting a Precedent:
By granting these 2 zone changes, a precedent will be set which will allow down-zoning to any large parcel of land, such as the 5 remaining golf courses in Greenburgh or any large camp property such as Mohawk or Hillard.

The Single Family Residences Alternatives (119 or 113) are zoning compliant (as of right) for this property of 106+ acres according to the Town Zoning Code.
According to the CAC’s SEQR Findings - FEIS (3/4/22), “the current zoning rules existed in the Zoning Code when the applicant bought the Elmwood property. Amending the Zoning Code is a legislative act. The Town Board has the unfettered right, in its discretion, to maintain the Town’s existing zoning, and is under no obligation to approve the application.”

– Dorrine Livson, President – Worthington Woodlands Civic Assoc.

Elmwood Country Club Development

  Letter to the Editor.

************************************************************************************************************************

To All:

The Public Hearing on the DEIS for the Elmwood Country Club Development was closed on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 but the Public Record will remain open to accept comments/concerns/questions until Monday, Feb. 22, 2021.

I strongly encourage everyone in our community to send an email ASAP to the Town Board expressing your opinion concerning the construction of 175 Town House Condos on this property which would require 2 zoning changes and be assessed at 60% of what Single Family Homes would be assessed at, thereby losing tax revenues for the Town, County, 2 School Districts (Elmsford & Greenburgh Central) and the Fairview Fire District.

This Condo plan also calls for a donation to the Town of 14.2 acres for use as ballfields. This would remove the property from the tax rolls and require the Town to be responsible for the future maintenance of the property. In addition, the developer would be donating the property "in lieu of" the required fee of $4,320 per unit to the Greenburgh Parkland Escrow Fund, which would be a loss of $756,000 to the Fund.

The Alternative Plan B in the DEIS for 119 Single Family Homes would not require any zone changes and would preserve the character of our neighborhood.

With this plan, the developer would be required to pay $8,640 per home, over $1 million dollars, into the Parkland Escrow Fund.

The Condo plan would result in a density increase per acre which is not in accordance with the 2016 Greenburgh Comprehensive Plan.

Feel free to share this email with your Greenburgh friends and neighbors as this development will set a precedent for all future developments in Unincorporated Greenburgh.

 State the following in your email:

Please include my statement in the Public Record re: TB 18-02 - Elmwood Preserve.

        

To: townboard@greenburghny.com

Cc: tlewis@greenburghny.com (Town Attorney)

      gduquesne@greenburghny.com (Planning Commissioner)

  townclerk@greenburghny.com (Judith Beville)

      clobrutto@chazencompanies.com (Caren Lobrutto)

  wwcagreenburgh@gmail.com

Subject: Public Hearing Comments: Elmwood Preserve - TB 18-02

Note: Request a confirmation that your email has been received and placed in the Public Record for TB 18-02 - Elmwood Preserve

Dorrine Livson

President

Worthington-Woodlands Civic Association (WWCA)

Eagle Energy To Purchase Power and Resell Same Power Back to ConEd - Part 4

What can the solution be that will serve the Town and its residents the best way possible regarding energy storage units in our Town? Several things come to mind, including developing Energy Storage laws, a Citizens Committee to administrate the application and approval process for proposals of energy storage locations poised and ready to be submitted, in progress and operational or soon-to-go online. Of course, anything that might be put in place could easily be compromised by Mr Feiner and his Town Board, negating any real hope of positive change for the Town. How so you ask? He could go back to his cadre of hand-picked submissives he routinely uses on committees who will do his bidding under the guise of their own genuine concern.

There is a Battery Energy Storage System Model Law Guidebook for Local Governments that exists from NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The Model Law is designed to help local government officials and Authority’s Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) adopt legislation and regulations to responsibly accommodate battery energy storage systems in their communities. The Model Law lays out procedural frameworks and substantive requirements for residential, commercial, and utility-scale battery energy storage systems. So there it is, a no-brainer solution for Mr Feiner, his Town Board and the Town legal department to create and adopt a law regarding battery power storage.

This Model Law references a “Battery Energy Storage System Model Permit” that is available as part of NYSERDA’s Battery Energy Storage Guidebook. The Model Permit is intended to help local government officials and AHJs establish the minimum submittal requirements for electrical and structural plan review that are necessary when permitting residential and small commercial battery energy storage systems.

The Model Law isn’t intended to be adopted precisely as it is written. It’s simply a guide. A municipality is not required to adopt this Model Law. Municipal officials are urged to seek legal advice from their attorneys before enacting a battery energy storage system law. Municipalities must carefully consider how the language in this Model Law may be modified to suit local conditions, comprehensive plans, and existing land use and zoning provisions.

Interestingly, it’s noted that before enacting this Model Law, a comprehensive plan outlining the goals and policies for the installation, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of battery energy storage systems must be adopted by the local governing board (city or common council, town board, village board of trustees). Some local governing boards can satisfy this requirement by updating an existing comprehensive plan while others must adopt a new comprehensive plan. And while our Comprehensive Plan morphed from a Comp Plan to a political document addressing things that really didn’t matter, it’s an opportunity to right that wrong as well.

There are several other considerations that municipalities should adhere to, including but not limited to, adopting a resolution or policy statement that outlines a strategy for municipal-wide battery energy storage system development. The Town should appoint a Battery Energy Storage Task Force (“Task Force”) that represents all interested stakeholders, including residents, businesses, interested non-profit organizations, the battery energy storage industry, utilities, and relevant municipal officials and staff. The Town should prepare an action plan, adopt or amend a comprehensive plan to include battery energy storage system planning goals and actions, and develop local laws and/or other regulations to ensure the orderly development of battery energy storage system projects with the Task Force being apprised during the development and planning phases of these projects.

The Task Force should conduct meetings on a community-wide basis to involve all key stakeholders, gather all available ideas, identify divergent groups and views, and secure support from the entire community. The Task Force should also conduct studies and determine whether existing policies, plans, and land use regulations require amendments to remove barriers to and facilitate battery energy storage system development goals.

The Town’s Battery laws should always incorporate and establish a training program for first responders, local staff and land use boards. Municipalities are encouraged to utilize State and Federal technical assistance and grants for training programs when available. This should all happen as a partnership with adjacent communities to adopt compatible policies, plan components, and zoning provisions for battery energy storage system projects.

For a change, the Town is in the unique position to do the right thing for all involved. While we are not confident that will happen, we are hopeful that Mr Feiner’s Town Board is less concerned for him to foot their campaign costs and stand up for the residents. During each campaign we hear them all say, “I will fight for you.” And, once in office, they forget who we are. This has to change. To that end, the Planning Board and the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations have filed appeals questioning the Building Inspector’s interpretation of the Town Zoning Ordinance in connection with the proposed Knollwood Country Club project. The appeals will be heard by the ZBA on February 18, 2021.This is a first step in the right direction. Maybe now we can get closer to getting A Better Greenburgh.

Eagle Energy To Purchase Power and Resell Same Power Back to ConEd - Part 3

So, we’ve laid out in the two previous articles that Mr Feiner will invariably ensure success for another non-resident, outside developer with a proposal that not only has no boundaries, but promises nothing for the Town except for a few fees and a minute amount of tax revenue as they seek to have a direct underground connection with the ConEd substation in Elmsford next to Bed Bath and Beyond. The link will go to their currently proposed battery storage array setup they are proposing on the Knollwood Country Club. 

While seeking more information, we learned that there are two additional applications for solar powered battery storage to be built in Greenburgh on Central Avenue. As far as we can tell, the difference between these applications is that the Knollwood Country Club proposal is fed with direct power from ConEd and is not impinging on residential housing. The other is intended to be put in the Greenville and Midway Shopping Centers behind the buildings but nearer to residences. Apparently, these two will be solar powered energy storage units similar to what has already been installed at 660 Tarrytown Road, Tarrytown & 555 Taxter Rd , Elmsford.

While digging into this Knollwood Country Club debacle – debacle because Mr Feiner has suggested a compromise only after the Knollwood Country Club proposal gets its approval, we learned that these other proposals are similar but different and are being requested by IPP Solar based on the current installations at 660 Tarrytown Road.& 555 Taxter Rd.

They are now seeking to install 2 more energy storage units comparable to what was installed in the West Elmsford section of Greenburgh. Designated by some as Greenburgh’s wild, wild west, this is an area bereft of zoning adherence or concern to neighborhood concerns and plights. It’s where Mr Feiner ignored the Glenville Civic Association’s concerns about Stop and Shop and later, Brightview Assisted Living. It’s too bad for them that one of the Town Council members didn’t live there. Then they never would have been built.

Regardless, these energy companies are seeking to install storage array units seemingly throughout the Town. We haven’t heard of any other communities being saddled with these, so it appears once again that Mr Feiner’s Developer Open Invitation policy is starting to spread as more and more outsiders look to install money making devices in our Town without much if anything coming back to the taxpayer. So regardless of how they are acquiring the energy, they will be making money simply by selling it back to ConEd at a higher price.

At 660 White Plains Road, the unit itself sits in what might be considered the flow of traffic for the office building - it’s in front of or the Marriott Hotel nearby (see picture). Surrounded by posts to stop vehicles from coming into contact with it.

 

 

 

While another “done deal” is quickly materializing, Mr Feiner has promised a proposal to issue a Moratorium on applications for battery energy storage systems, solar farms and wind turbines. Make no mistake, this is no compromise nor does it address the battery storage system that he is pushing to install in the Knollwood Country Club property! Why isn’t it a compromise? Here’s what he “proposed” about how his Town Board shall proceed (our highlights in red):

1) We accomodate [sic] Knollwood by stating that, if a special permit has satisfactory conditions regarding the environment, public safety and absolute restriction on any further battery energy storage facilities on the land now owned by Knollwood, then the Town Board does not see any reason that the application cannot move forward at this time. 

2) Most importantly for the community, the Town is providing immediate notice that a moratorium may be imposed. Potential applicants are on notice as of today, December 29, 2020, that they could be subject to the moratorium on any and all applications for battery and energy storage facilities, solar farms and wind turbines.
… The moratorium will have a fixed date and not be subject to renewal. This is in response to concerns some people had that moratoriums tend to get extended. My goal is not to delay… 

As is so typical for Mr Feiner, rather than protect the environment, the residents and ultimately the Town, he’s doing his usual double-speak rope-a-dope to appear as though he cares. When, in reality, all he truly cares about is the developer. This has to change. Only then, will we get A Better Greenburgh.

 

Eagle Energy To Purchase Power & Resell It Back To ConEd - Part 2

Arizona fire highlights challenges for energy storage 

While we remain confident that Mr Feiner will “green light” the Eagle Energy Battery Storage system on the Knollwood Country Club property by whatever means possible, there are still many lingering and unanswered questions. We touched on the firematic side of things in our previous article. We’d like to continue with that as we’ve discovered more information than originally thought. Specifically, an article written and published by Jonathan Cooper for the AP News, entitled Arizona Fire Highlights Challenges For Energy Storage, about an Arizona fire in an energy storage facility. The unit in question has only 4 individual units compared to the one for the Knollwood Country Club, which consists of 7.

The Arizona Public Service has been an early adopter of battery storage technology seen as critical for the wider deployment of renewable energy and for a more resilient power grid. But an April fire and explosion at a massive battery site west of Phoenix that sent eight firefighters and a police officer to the hospital highlighted the challenges and risks that can arise as utilities prepare for the exponential growth of the technology.

“This is getting attention, and I think everyone realizes that too many safety incidents ... will be detrimental going forward,” said George Crabtree, director of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, a partnership of national laboratories, universities and companies funded by the U.S. Energy Department. “So I think it’s being taken very seriously.” These people are experts. Mr Feiner is not, nor chooses enlightenment from experts. And, to assume (we know) his decisions will err on the side of caution and safety, past experience proves that not to be the case.

Utility-scale batteries such as these are massive versions of the same lithium ion technology that can be found powering cellphones and laptops. When the batteries in these devices get too hot, a fire can start and trigger a phenomenon known as thermal runaway, in which the fire feeds on itself and is nearly impossible to stop until it consumes all the available fuel. According to Jay Apt, of the Carnegie Mellon University’s Electricity Industry Center, “Anytime you store a lot of energy in a small space you’ve got to be very cognizant of the controls that you have to put in place so that energy doesn’t get out when you don’t want it to,”

There have been three fires in similar setups owned by APS, causing them to continue pushing forward with their plans to develop more facilities. This issue has grown in severity and has been recognized by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to the point where they have developed an online training course for first responders. Mr Feiner may not care about the safety of our first responders but this issue is too serious to ignore. Apparently he doesn't care.

The Town Board held a Special Meeting where Mr Feiner decided to create a moratorium on all future similar proposals until a decision could be made at another meeting. Just not the Knollwood Country Club proposal. His excuse was that he wanted to be fair to the Knollwood Country Club. Baloney! In a difficult financial year, which still has the Edgemont Incorporation hanging over his head like mistletoe at a Santa's Village, we’re sure he’s still starry-eyed by the suggestion of being able to get $30,000 to $50,000 in property tax payments from this. Just because someone makes a proposal doesn't mean it has to be acted upon immediately or in fact, at all. Doing business the right way will help to make for A Better Greenburgh.

Eagle Energy To Purchase ConEd Power & Resell It Back To ConEd - Part 1

There is a push into Greenburgh by a shell corporation called Eagle Energy Storage, apparently doing business as Strata Solar, whose tagline is Making Solar Work. Naturally, as long as Mr Feiner sees the word ‘solar’ or ‘green’ or ‘bio-anything,’ somewhere in the name, he’s all in. What this company is seeking to do is not so simple. And, there is a move afoot by Mr Feiner to “green light” this project without even having a law or code in place or in our Comprehensive Plan on governing these types of projects. And, apparently there are more in the pipeline.

What we’ve learned thus far is that the applicant is apparently a shell company seeking to build a battery storage structure on a portion of the Knollwood Country Club property. Then they will capture energy in the off-hours when power is cheaper in the mornings and evenings when demand and prices rise and resell that same stored power, generated by ConEd and others, back to ConEd when the rates are higher. 

 

Aided by Mr Feiner who appears to be trying to get this application through the process before any code or law is adopted by the Town (ostensibly by Mr Feiner and his Board), this proposal is fraught with unanswered issues that should be addressed before anything moves forward with this project. So much so that there is a prepared paper with answers to some of them.

One issue is that Mr Feiner and others queried the financial benefits to the town. Specifically, how much property taxes will this generate? Property taxes applicable to the project will ultimately be determined by the tax code and the judgement of the Town Assessor. This is a sneaky way to say, “Your guess is as good as ours.” The Strata Solar team estimates that the project may ultimately pay $30k-$50k per year in property taxes over the life of the project (up to $1.5mm over 30 years). Reread that sentence. It says MAY, not WILL. The actual number will be determined in coordination with the Town Assessor. This is lawyer-speak for, “We don’t have a clue.” 

But since specifics have never been a hallmark of any of the Feiner administrations, they’ll contend that this doesn’t really matter. In fact, you’ll recall the ESCO that Mr Feiner placed every resident and small business into after he promised individual savings of $400 to $600 dollars a year? Not only were his figures never able to be substantiated, it turns out that everyone in the ESCO paid more for the power transmission costs than had they simply stayed with ConEd!

An issue was asked by a Town Councilperson who asked what would happen if the lines between the battery array and the Elmsford substation went down. We wanted to confirm that the battery project could in no way negatively impact the Town’s power supply. Really? Let’s actually examine two small pieces of this pie. First, the substation in question (next to Bed Bath and Beyond) has had minor issues through the years but has never actually “been down” at any point. Second, the plan is to run power lines from the substation underground and on existing poles to the Country Club. This would be no different than any other power lines on a pole. And since the battery array seems to be nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme to sell power back to its supplier, there should be no impact to the local power supply, the grid or the region. In fact, we lose power in our area more often due to fallen trees throughout the Town during storms and other weather events.

Another question was about fire department response should there be a fire at one or more of these 7 proposed units. By the way, the proposed 7 units, which could easily be increased later with more petitions from the developer. Naturally, the Town Board would approve their excuse for by-passing any subsequent code changes/requirements as they should be considered “grandfathered” as their unit was installed pre-code change. Regardless, the Authority-Having-Jurisdiction (AHJ) is the ever-capable Elmsford Fire Department. 

While the Elmsford FD is an all-volunteer department, the developer proposes any fire as only taking three-and-a-half hours to burn off. What they failed to mention is that battery fires aren’t so much about the fire, but the heat generated and keeping the units cooled off. They don’t say how long that will take, but they also mention that the second fire department who would be called to respond is the Fairview Fire Department. Interesting how they would presume that the Fairview FD would be the next department called? They also state that they have met with Chief Malone of the Elmsford Fire Department on site, and he has submitted a letter supporting the project. While we don’t doubt that Chief Malone signed off on this nor did anything wrong, but full disclosure is that he is a retired Deputy Chief of the Fairview FD. 

Make no mistake about it, for all of the lipstick being put on this proposal, for all of the upstate to downstate power considerations, for all of the solar comments (of which this project has none), of all of the clean energy issues mentioned and especially the lack of regulations and/or codes in place, the Town should slow this train down and not allow this project to move forward until numerous conditions are put in place. That’s how we can make sure to have A Better Greenburgh.

Open Letter To The Supervisor and Town Board

Dear Mr. Feiner and Town Board members,

I would like to share my concern about the development issue that is before you this Wednesday November 14th, namely the proposed development of the Elmwood Country Club.

The developer is granted an as of right for 119 homes on the property, but is seeking a zoning change (downzoning) so they can build a 175 unit Townhouse development.

My neighborhood (Hilltop Farms) is the first neighborhood east of the development, after the Sprain Parkway. I have several issues of importance about this, but my primary concern is the increase in density and the impacts of traffic on our neighborhood.

As I’m sure you are well aware, there is already significant rush hour congestion around the Dobbs Ferry Road / Hartsdale Ave intersection, as well as on E Hartsdale Avenue, all the way down to the 4 corners area. Adding the anticipated number of commuter cars to our already busy roadways will decrease the quality of life in our town. The traffic jams on these roads have already added to the commute times for residents. There will also be consequences for the traffic on Dobbs Ferry Road heading to both the Sprain, and into Ardsley.

The developer is claiming that an over-55 community will not have as many people heading out to work in the morning, but I think that might only be true when the residents reach full retirement age, and at that point, they might even seek to relocate and be replaced by a younger household. I am also concerned that a developer faced with slow sales of their $1,000,000 townhouses might move to create rental property on part of the parcel, and I don’t know if they would be prohibited from doing that. Speaking of the demographics, Senior communities are less likely to support bond issues such like the one currently proposed by our district.

The proposal by the Greenburgh Central School District to consolidate onto a campus that would have E Hartsdale Avenue as its primary egress/entrance, and that will also create traffic nightmares for people traveling our roads at least for 2 periods in the morning and
afternoon. Add into that a new Assisted Lving at Metropolis, and a proposed Assisted Living at Maplewood Swim Club and you can see where there can be serious problems.

There is also the problem of creating a zoning precedent if you were to down-zone Elmwood, and you would leave the door open for anyone else to demand equal treatment. We have several other large country club parcels that are ripe for development.  I don’t want to see our town so packed with housing, that we will see people looking to move away, rather than come here.

Now, passing over the myriad other issues brought to light with this proposal, taxes, cost to the town for upkeep of parkland with dubious suitability, loss of tax revenue due to townhouse vs. single-family homes and loss of revenue to both the school district and fire
district.

I am quite disappointed with the attitude and stance taken on behalf of the developer in this matter. They are trying to pressure the surrounding homes with scare tactics by threatening to remove any buffer between the neighboring homes. Indeed, if you look at their 119
home proposal, they have purposely not only placed a swimming pool behind every home, but they have drawn the bordering homes to the north in a disproportionate manner, making the backyard tiny and the front yard huge so as to place the homes as close to the setback as possible. I don't think this type of tactic escapes notice, and furthermore, this developer has no future interests in the town, seeking only to pave the way for another company to come in and build, and that builder might have no interest in any kind of “vision
statement” proffered during the permit process. The object here seems to be to generate the maximum profit possible with little regard for the effects on the surrounding community.

On the practical side, I think that the 119-home proposal that cost a million dollars on this parcel would be a potential great benefit to the town. It will attract business to the Route 119 corridor and hopefully we will see an increase in quality shopping and dining. Those 119 homes will pay full freight to our tax rolls, and hopefully not add as much traffic to our roads.

Thanks for taking the time to hear my thoughts. I urge you to disallow a proposal that would lead to a request to downzone the Elmwood property.

Sincerely,

Paul C.
(Full name and address of writer intentionally withheld.)

Memorial Day Services

  

Fairview FD Member Robert A. Mentrasti Passes

Mentrasti, Robert A. 54, A longtime resident of Hartsdale died April 14th, 2017. Robert was born July 28, 1962 in Mount Vernon, NY. Son of the late Louis P. Mentrasti and Josephine A. Mentrasti. Beloved brother of Andrew (Donna), Andrea and Ronald Mentrasti. Loving uncle of Timothy (Amy), Christopher (Christine) and Brandon Mentrasti and great uncle of Jordan and Chase Mentrasti. Also survived by many cousins especially Daniel Esposito. 

Robert served as a firefighter for 32 years and was a first responder at Ground Zero following the terror attacks of September 11th. Visitation will be held at Ballard-Durand Funeral Home, 72 E. Main Street, Elmsford, NY on Monday April 17th and Tuesday April 18th 2017 from 4pm to 9pm. Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated on Wednesday April 19th at 9:45am at Sacred Heart Church, Hartsdale, NY. 

Robert was a tireless fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy and in lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations to MDA, 5 Dakota Drive, Suite 101, Lake Success, NY 11042 Attn: Mary and Ref: Bert/Bubba.

Published in the The Journal News from Apr. 16 to Apr. 17, 2017

Fire Consolidation: Up To His Old Games

Today is the Fire District elections for the three paid fire departments in Greenburgh. In the last Fire district elections, Mr Feiner successfully utilized Milt Hoffman, who has since passed away, and his support group in an attempt to “take over” the fire districts. The ultimate goal by Mr Feiner is to control not only the decision making process, but their budgets. Not content to bastardize only the Town’s finances, he seeks to wield total control over all of the Town’s municipal services. But there are problems with Mr Feiner’s takeover bid.

First, is that the voters are smarter than that, although not many come out to vote in fire district elections, they were quickly brought up to speed by this and other site’s voluminous information as to how they operate and requirements thereof. Additionally, local visits by the Fairview Fire and Hartsdale Fire Departments’ Chiefs to neighborhood meetings quickly dispelled falsehoods created by Mr Feiner, parroted by Mr Hoffman and crew and informed the public as to what the “real deal” was regarding their budgets and expenditures.

Second, state law will not allow Mr Feiner to simply take over. In order for a fire district to disband an existing Fire Board of Commissioners in NY State, for whatever reason, they are required to have referendum requesting the change. At that point, 10% of the voters would need to approve it. That number goes up if the change is voted through and then the community decides to “undo” that change. Regardless, it’s the Board that must initiate the vote to go to referendum. Since the existing Board will not do what he wants, he will begin the process slowly and when there is a majority of his people sitting in Board positions, he’ll have them vote in favor for a consolidation referendum. He’s in no rush as long as it will happen. Don’t believe us? Look at all the other Boards in Town where he has appointed the members and the decisions they make, usually in his favor.

Third, Mr Feiner will have no issue coercing his State representative friends to change the law to accommodate his desires. As witnessed with the Finneran law change to assist his friends from GameOn 365, he had our State Assembly and Senate representatives change the Finneran Law to allow sports bubbles throughout the Town. He used a potential offer from the Sportime organization as the low hanging fruit to prove this was not for GameOn 365. He insisted Sportime would renovate the basketball and tennis courts at Veteran Park if they could erect sports bubbles over the tennis courts and then manage the courts for a fee throughout the year. They objected after he saddled the deal with more than they could afford. It was all a scam and never intended to happen. Deal dead, he was able to push for the 8-story GameOn 365 bubble on Dobbs Ferry Road. But the residents resisted his strong-arm tactics, insisting the property be used for what it was zoned, residential housing.

Since these options were quickly dispelled by many who read the story beyond the headlines, Mr Feiner was forced to drop back, regroup and try to change from within. In the last election, he participated in robocalls to fire district constituents asking them to vote for certain candidates, who unknowingly to most, were “his” chosen people. One such election that was successful in the Fairview Fire District was with Claire Pizzuti, a member of the Fairview Fire Monitors, the group run by Mr Hoffman. Whether or not Mr Feiner continues this path simply means those of us trying to keep politics out of firefighting will also continue to be diligent in making sure the facts are distributed and understood by the public.

It’s alleged that Mr. Feiner may have one of his supporters also running as a write-in candidate in Greenville. As mentioned earlier, these elections typically have low voter turnout. It sets the stage for a write-in candidate to possibly win the election “out of the blue”. In Hartsdale, we understand that Mr. Feiner is backing attorney Guy Novo, challenging incumbent Anthony Frasca. Residents have said they’ve been receiving robo calls from Mr. Feiner endorsing Mr Novo again in this election cycle. Mr Feiner’s up to his old games again. While still pushing for consolidation in Fairview and Hartsdale, he does not live in any of the three fire districts. If you listen to the rumor-mill, he either lives in Scarsdale or Hastings. Regardless, we think the public will see through the charade. And, that’s what will make for A Better Greenburgh.

Political Machine Wins, Consolidation Moves Closer

Tonight’s Fire District elections proved once again that Mr Feiner can get his candidates to win an election. Like communism, where they aren’t concerned with this generational time frame, but the next one, Mr Feiner has begun laying the ground work for his takeover of the Fire Districts via consolidation with this “generational election”. He posted two candidates who favor consolidation and with no surprise, after his robo-calls and expensive mailings, handily won the Fire Commissioner election in their respective communities.

Next year he will do the same thing and the year after. Once his “Friends of Paul Feiner” are installed on these Boards, Consolidation will be back on the table. Only this time, instead of trying to strong-arm the districts into Feiner-compliance, he’ll do it from within by having a three to whatever number vote favoring a referendum on consolidation. And as he proved with GameOn 365’s illegal lease, then sale, it will pass, delivering him control of the independent fire departments in the Town.

The election results winner in Fairview was predictably Claire Pizzuti of the Fire Monitors, over the other two candidates. In Hartsdale, the winner was also predictably Michael Goldstein who sat on Alan Hochberg’s consolidation committee that Mr Feiner put together in his initial push for consolidation that failed. And, Anthony Frasca won his limited term election in Hartsdale. In Greenville, Walter Grodin, running unopposed also won. While it went against Mr Feiner’s wishes, the three propositions in Greenville passed by a large margin, proving Mr Feiner still has reason to sweat over Edgemont.

While we cannot prove Mr Hoffman used his considerable Journal News influence to fabricate a story about the Greenville Fire Department accident requiring an investigation while responding to a fire call in Pelham, it is amazingly coincidental that the request for an investigation over a two year old accident happens to surface a day or so before a Fire District election.

The sad part of these elections, beyond the obvious stacking of the Boards, is that out of thousands of people who could have voted, roughly only 300+ did vote. How disappointing, especially when people in other parts of the world are fighting for a right so many here take for granted. Most of those who voted probably did so because they were contacted by a robo-call from Mr Feiner or the candidates. The rest just didn’t care. We’ve written about them often, the willfully ignorant OIMBY’s.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to the other candidates for participating. To the winners, we promise, we’ll be watching.

It's Getting Dark Again

No, this isn’t about Daylight Saving Time - although you will need to set your clocks back an hour tonight when you go to bed. Rather, it is about Mr Feiner making more maneuvers under the cover of darkness. In an almost daily email campaign from Mr Feiner, he writes about the Edgemont Community’s desire for sidewalks. He fears Edgemont. He knows all too well not to ignore or disrespect them. This is because he understands they’re poised to secede from the Town by incorporating, becoming a Village and get out from under Mr Feiner’s bad decisions, costly and horrible management of the Town. So when they tell him to jump, he asks how high and for how long? He’s what he sent out:

“The Greenburgh Town Board discussed a letter that I received from Bill Darger President  of the Edgemont Association to construct sidewalks on Seely Place at our Town Board  work session meeting on October 28th.  Our Tuesday morning work sessions are archived on the town website: www.greenburghny.com.

We decided to  hold a work session discussion on Tuesday December 2nd at 9:30 AM. The next possible steps: retaining the services of a firm to review options and to design a sidewalk that complies with ADA standards and has the least negative impact for residents of Seely Place.

The Police Chief has expressed his support for sidewalks at Seely and at other locations in Edgemont (Fort Hill Road and Ardsley Road).  

You are invited to join us at this meeting. Let’s work together to improve safety of our children.”

Numerous residents and civic associations from various neighborhoods throughout the Town have requested sidewalks from the Town to make their neighborhoods, residents, and oh yes there it is in the last sentence, the children, safer. They’ve all been ignored by the Town. Let’s briefly recap a few of those requests:

1) North Elmsford Civic Associations (there are two different ones involved) requested sidewalks near Payne Street, both north and south as well as beyond Sam’s Club so people walking north of Sam's Club would be on a relatively protected space, as opposed to walking in the street. After two people were struck by automobiles walking on 9A, still nothing has been done.

2) Fulton Park Civic Association asked for sidewalks on Old Kensico Road as well as Hillside Avenue beyond Town Hall. This time we can’t say Mr Feiner did nothing about sidewalks on Old Kensico Road. Oh don’t worry, the Old Kensico Speedway is still without sidewalks, but Mr Feiner did take the opportunity to send a letter and email to the Fulton Park residents saying the Civic Association’s Vice-President requested installing sidewalks and that it be paid for (installation) and maintained by the residents where the sidewalks would be. Not only was this reprehensible behavior on Mr Feiner's part, it was totally inaccurate. Mr Feiner suggested sidewalks at a Town Board meeting and asked if the civic association representatives would be able to poll the residents to see if they wanted them. The vice-president said due to the assumed legal issues surrounding a project like this, he would defer to the Town to discuss this with residents. More deflection by Mr Feiner.

3) Requests for sidewalks have come from the Dobbs Ferry Road area during countless Town Board meetings. Sidewalks would benefit people that often walk along Dobbs Ferry Road at all hours of the day and night and in all kinds of weather, creating an extremely dangerous situation. Their request fell on deaf ears.

4) The Broadview Civic Association has continually petitioned the Town Board to mandate the installation oif sidewalks from the "new" Greenburgh Community Health Center on Knollwood Road per the construction agreements made with the Town by the developer of the failing condominiums just south of the health center. Again, they are being ignored by the Town.

As you can see, Edgemont is not the only community in need of sidewalks. In fact, if Mr Feiner and his Town Board were doing the right thing during his 22-years in office, he would have been insisting on infrastructure investments which would promote walking and a safer way for people to get around in our Town. But because Mr Feiner is a terrible manager, he’s neglected what is important to residents - infrastructure, lowering taxes and improving services, not eliminating them. It would also be an attractive marketing point for realtors trying to sell homes and/or rent space to businesses as it would promote more foot traffic. Instead, we have Mr Feiner cancelling $1.2M yearly leases (WestHelp), being found guilty of discrimination and fined $6.5M (Fortress Bible Church) and going after our fire department taxes which have nothing to do with him and he doesn’t even pay. It’s time for Mr Feiner to leave as this needs to end. Only then will we have A Better Greenburgh.

One Problem The Problem Solver Won’t Touch

A concerned citizen reached out to ABG and asked if we would publish his letter to the editor. After discussing it with us and that he had already sent it to another media outlet, we made an exception to run it because it touches on an extremely sensitive topic in Greenburgh. That subject is that Mr Feiner routinely and repeatedly uses Town resources for his own agenda. Here is Mr Hirsch’s letter, unedited and in it’s entirety:

Town Supervisor Feiner would like everyone to view him as a leader who runs the Town “openly” but the reality is far from that truth. For years I have written how Mr. Feiner is a master at controlling the media which enables him to control the message. The media I am most often referring to is his control over the Town resources he employs to communicate with his constituents (email distribution lists, Town website, televised meetings, etc.). Personally I don’t believe that Town resources should be used to help keep him in office but it truly offends me when Mr. Feiner uses these same town wide resources to sway public opinion in support of his agenda. It should be noted that these same resources are NOT available to residents (nor am I suggesting that they should be) but it’s awfully hard to speak out on issues when the Supervisor has a good lead on controlling their outcome.

Although I have over 20 years of history from which to pick, Mr. Feiner handed me the perfect timely examples to highlight his selective reporting style.

For weeks Supervisor Feiner has been using town resources to sway public opinion on last night's [March 4th] Fairview Fire District Vote. Included in today's email [March 5th] he stated that “The room was packed with residents of the Fairview Fire district-the overwhelming majority of attendees objected to the funding of another administrative position.” I'll agree that out of context this is a factual statement but I am merely borrowing some of its words to help make my point.*

The 2/26/14 Greenburgh Town Board meeting was also “packed with residents” where most (all save I) spoke up against the board approving resolution CD1-2/26/14 (zoning change study for GameOn). Putting both issues aside and sticking to my point, there was NO such email or story reporting on this event to the public. Also, if you listen to Mr. Feiner at the 3/4/14 Town Board work session, while he acknowledges the event he also continues to move his agenda forward even claiming that residents he has since spoken to are no longer against the proposal. There he goes again changing the message with the town wide resources primarily available to him.

The days of “Control the Media, Control the Message” have got to end and I implore the Town Board to finally create, initiate and follow Policies and Procedures for town wide communications from how we choose to disseminate information (mail, email, website, etc.) down to reviewing guidelines for acceptable content.

Below are the other communications Mr. Feiner chose to write about the vote for the Fairview Fire District while at the same time selectively withholding to write about the opposition surrounding the zoning change for GameOn on the Dobbs Ferry Road corridor (Please excuse the typo's, I wanted to share Mr. Feiner's communications verbatim).

* Unlike my example above, on 2/24/14 Supervisor Feiner wrote regarding Fairview “I believe that this proposed expenditure is a big waste of taxpayer dollars. I encourage residents of the Fairview fire district to attend the meeting on Tuesday March 4th.” This would directly support my notion of how Mr. Feiner shares his thoughts to help sway public opinion towards his objectives.

Feiner Lies About Fairview Fire Department

As could be expected, Mr Feiner sent out an email blast from his personal email list – oh wait, it’s the Towns email list. No matter, its used by him as his own. He sent out the blast stating the Fairview Fire Department is creating a $160,000 position and how they shouldn’t do it, it will affect the 2% tax cap and more. He also asked residents to attend the Commissioners meeting this Thursday night.

Here’s what he said (Mr Feiner’s comments in black; ABG’s in blue:

FAIRVIEW FIRE DISTRICT TO VOTE ON APPROVING NEW POSITION THAT WILL COST YOU $160,000+A YEAR---EXECUTIVE DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF.  MEETING THURSDAY NIGHT AT 7:30 PM  FAIRVIEW FIRE HOUSE  19 ROSEMONT BLVD, WHITE PLAINS YOU MIGHT LOSE YOUR TAX REBATE FROM THE STATE IF TAX CAP IS OVERRULED BY FAIRVIEW FIRE DISTRICT, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, SCHOOL DISTRICTS--- 
The Fairview Fire district Board of Commissioners is proceeding with plans to approve a new position that will cost taxpayers at least $160,000 a year. The position: Executive Deputy Fire Chief. The position never existed before. Some residents have contacted me and  have asked me to encourage residents of the Fairview Fire district to attend the next meeting of the Fire District: THIS THURSDAY February 13 at 7:30 PM--- 19 Rosemont Blvd.  It is possible that the Fairview Fire District Board of Commissioners could finalize their decision to fund this position this Thursday night and to hire someone. They had previously indicated that they would create the position.
This is simply another lie from Mr Feiner! The position has always existed and is not new. It has simply not been filled. If you understand the hierarchy within our paid fire department, you have (working upwards) firefighters, captains, deputy chiefs, one executive deputy chief and the chief. Not all paid fire departments mirror ours and may have other levels, such as lieutenants. For instance, in the Scarsdale Fire Department, they don’t have deputy chiefs, but simply have captains. Their function is the same firematically, but their pay is less. You could argue Scarsdale has a better financial control over their budgets with personnel. And, all of the ancillary costs that go with a captain versus a deputy chief position would be less as well.

Residents whom have contacted Mr Feiner are being lied to by him. Mr Feiner HAS NO CONTROL, INPUT or IMPACT on the fire department. Like us, he is on the outside looking in. 

You may also recall that the Fortress Bible Church refused to be coerced into donating a fire truck to the Fairview FD for approval to build on their property near Dobbs Ferry Road. Actually, its also alleged the church was refused permits and approvals to help out then County Legislator Thomas Abinanti, who lived in that neighborhood and didn’t want the church there and is a friend of Mr Feiner. He has since become a NYS Assemblyman and moved to Tarrytown, possibly to distance himself from all of this. Fortress Bible Church sued Mr Feiner, Ms Juettner and the Town for discrimination and won! Mr Feiner appealed and lost the appeal. They were found guilty on seven counts, including lying under oath, destroying evidence and well, you get the idea.

The Fairview Fire district is totally independent of the Town of Greenburgh.  Commissioners are elected to their positions (elections are held in December) and commission meetings are not televised.  Very little scrutiny by the public.  Some people incorrectly think that the Fire district tax is part of the town taxes. The fire district tax bill is included in the town tax bill--the town acts as a collection agent. It's interesting -- most people now pay almost the same for fire district taxes as they do for town municipal services even though the town offers many different services.
The Fairview Fire District is a separate taxing district that does NOT fall under the auspices of the Town – at all! They operate independently from the Town and are funded solely by taxing us independent from the Town taxes. They receive no money from the Town whatsoever! What they do receive from the Town are fire truck donations from developers when Mr Feiner informs them that to get approval for a project, they must donate a truck to the Fairview FD. 

As for scrutiny, look at the pot calling the kettle black! While the Town taxes may equal the fire district taxes, the Town taxes also provide a police department, garbage and trash removal and highway services (snow removal, water supply). If an argument can be made for a disparity in a tit-for-tat exchange between taxing entities, it apparently doesn’t matter to voters as they just keep going along with it by voting the same people back into office.

I share the concerns people have. The position never existed. I doubt that it is needed.  The cost to the taxpayers will be enormous: over $160,000+ a year (new position).   If the position is funded it will make it more difficult for the Fairview Fire district to comply with the tax cap next year (some of the fire districts have over-ridden the tax cap in previous years).
THIS IS A LIE from Mr Feiner! THE POSITION HAS ALWAYS EXISTED but not been filled. The last time it was filled was when the current Chief Anthony LoGiudice was being “groomed” as then-Chief Robert Mauro’s replacement upon retirement. The decision to not fill the position until now was a financial one. This position is already in the budget but IS NOT a new $160k position! Deputy Chiefs in the Fairview Fire Department are union members and make $140k. The reality is that this is a $20k stipend to offset whomever gets appointed to the position due to their relinquishing of union membership and more significantly, overtime. The position is in actuality the ASSISTANT Chief’s position. In this position, the person will be required to attend more meetings, deal with personnel and confidentiality issues and will make less money than if they stayed as an acting deputy chief.

There is a proposal in Albany that will penalize communities that do not comply with the tax cap.  State lawmakers are considering a plan that will reward citizens who live in communities that comply with the tax cap with a tax credit or check from NYS. If your local government entity overrules the tax cap you will not get the tax credit from NYS or a check from the state to help reduce your property taxes. Among the proposals: Governor Andrew Cuomo's state of the state address on January 22 recommended a two year property tax freeze for homeowners if their local school districts and local governments stay under the tax levy cap for two years and share services or consolidate with other districts to save 1% of the levy a year for three years. The rebate would likely be between $150-$350 a year per household.
Governor Cuomo’s refund will be based on Town property taxes, not taxing entities who tax for their funding such as the Fire District. While ABG is not happy about the tax increases and and expenses that the Fire District is saddled with, Mr Feiner is only posturing. For all the bragging about staying under the NYS tax cap, Mr Feiner raised our taxes 3.4%, above the 2% NYS tax cap!

If the Fairview Fire district creates a new position that never existed before (and some people feel may not be needed) the tax bills of every Fairview resident will go up to pay for the costs. And, your future tax credit could be in jeopardy.
THIS IS A LIE from Mr Feiner! Again, the position has always existed but not been filled. Your tax bill will be unaffected by this change. And, your future tax credits are not in any jeopardy by the FD filling this position!

If you reside in the Fairview Fire district you should attend the meeting on Thursday, February 13 at 19 Rosemont Blvd (Fire house) at 7:30 PM.
If you can't attend the meeting you could write to the Fairview Fire Commissioners at 19 Rosemont Blvd, White Plain, NY 10602.   Ask for justification about the position.
I will be attending a meeting of other municipal officials on Thursday night and will not be at this meeting  but will be expressing my concerns about the position to the commissioners and will invite the Board to appear before a Town Board meeting to discuss ways we can all chip in and cut costs.

Yes, you should come out to these meetings. You should attend the Town Board meetings to see how poorly the decisions are coming from there.

Mr Feiner has gotten all the “play” and attention he can from this issue by sending this email out. He will not attend because he doesn’t have any control over the meeting or frankly, matter. His fire protection for his multi-million dollar home is provided by the Hastings-on-Hudson all-volunteer fire department. He is trying to create a stir over something he doesn’t pay for and has no control or involvement over. The firematic tax rate between what he pays, approximately $10 per thousand is quite a bit lower than what Fairview residents pat, about $140 per thousand.

If Mr Feiner wishes to cut costs and chip in, perhaps he can start by stepping down as Supervisor. We would save $150k per year in his salary with his $10K medical benefits buy-back for using his wife’s NYS health insurance. It would stop the $6.5 MILLION verdicts against him. It would allow us to rent the WestHelp property for $1.2 MILLION a year. Thie list of what Mr Feiner has cost us is close to $40 MILLION. His stepping down would allow a reassessment that would stop the certiorari adjustments made at every Town Board meeting. BTW, the fire district must pay back close to $1 MILLION because Mr Feiner has not done a Town-wide revaluation! If Mr Feiner steps down, then we might begin to see A Better Greenburgh!