Another Pedestrian Seriously Injured in Greenburgh Hit & Run

The topic du jour in the Town of Greenburgh lately seems to be about pedestrians being struck by cars throughout the Town. Sure, there are other hot topics, but another pedestrian was struck near the Hartsdale four corners area last weekend. This elderly gentleman sustained serious injuries with what we were told included a possible fractured skull. Using video evidence, police saw the victim walk on Central Avenue and turn onto East Hartsdale Avenue, where he walked past the crosswalk and was hit in the middle of the left turning lane, police said. The car didn't stop, according to police. Greenburgh police located the car, a 2018 Honda CRV that was driven by an 87-year-old Hartsdale man. No charges have been filed.

This is significant not only because someone was struck and seriously injured by a car, but that it was another hit and run accident as well. While it's a bad thing that has happened, it seems that more and more of the accidents are hit and runs, with drivers not staying at the scene. We also seem to have lost common sense when it comes to either walking in or crossing the streets. In fact, on Saturday afternoon two staffers mentioned that they were waiting at a traffic light in Hartsdale when a young millennial couple walked from between two cars to cross the street roughly 20 feet from the raised crosswalk. The guy was looking at his girlfriend and she was texting on her cell phone. Both were oblivious to their surroundings. Situational awareness: missing. Accident waiting to happen: probable.

In the Saturday local daily paper, there was a headline for an article stating that "Greenburgh Strives to Improve Pedestrian Safety After Series of Serious Accidents." Interesting perspective describing that the Town residents and officials are exasperated and grasping for solutions. And yet, at every turn, the same points are highlighted with the same non-solution solutions. Truth be told, part of the blame falls squarely in Mr Feiner and his Town Board's lap. After all, they have been allowing all kinds of construction and development to happen throughout the Town for both residential and business structures, inherently increasing traffic without redeveloping the infrastructure to handle the increased traffic, flooding, water usage and power needs. The excuse given at every project's hearings is that the traffic study doesn't prove that changes are necessary, only that it'll be a minimal increase in traffic, etc. Flooding is reduced to catch-basin usage. No one ever discusses what happens when they're full.

The Fulton Park Civic Association has been requesting sidewalks on Old Kensico Road, commonly referred to as Old Kensico Speedway, but Mr Feiner chose to place the burden of the request onto one resident and seek to have him seemingly offend his neighbors. While that backfired for Mr Feiner, Fulton Park is still without a sidewalk and two people were seriously injured when they were recently struck by cars on it. At least one was a hit and run with the young man driving leaving the scene only to be arrested by police about two weeks later. The same community had complained to the police department for not enforcing the speed limits on Old Kensico Speedway. This is a heavily walked roadway with minimal lighting. They were told unofficially by several officers that the police department were no longer doing traffic enforcement in various neighborhoods. 

A traffic enforcement expert we spoke to explained that during his police department career, speed always played a factor in accidents involving pedestrians. Given the speed we see many drivers operating their vehicles, including distracted drivers, van, truck and tractor trailer drivers with limited visibility, it's almost surprising we don't have even more accidents. But some of this is not the fault of the drivers as pedestrians dart out from between cars, don't cross at the crosswalk or traffic lights and others simply ignore it all and just arrogantly walk into traffic expecting the vehicles to just stop for them since "pedestrians have the right of way." It's a recipe for disaster.

So who is responsible for everyone's safety? Frankly, everyone. Some say it's the police department, fire department and EMS organizations. We respectfully disagree. First and foremost, it is up to everyone but this time it's the Town administrations responsibility. Had they been governing in a responsible manner for all these years, many of the roadways might have been adjusted and configured to better handle traffic. We've watched Mr Feiner urinate away funds to appease the Hartsdale community into believing he is sincerely looking out for their well-being. In the meantime, unless there is a grant or efforts by others to acquire sidewalks, not much is originating from Town Hall. We have a triple A bond rating and rates are currently as low as ever. NOW is the time to start taking advantage of that bond rating!

Next, we believe it is the Police Department responsibility. Under Chief McNerney's short tenure, he wasn't allowed to hire police officers as Mr Feiner played Russian Roulette with the Edgemont Incorporation, stating he might not be able to afford those officers should the incorporation go through and the tax revenue needed to pay for them suddenly disappear. As an appointee to the Police Chiefs position, he's beholden to Mr Feiner for his job. While we understand and disagree with this approach, you cannot operate based on "what ifs". The first thing is to hire the cops you need and the second thing is start enforcing the laws. Those include speeding, commercial traffic going through residential neighborhoods and jaywalking to mention a few. We don't believe this falls on the fire or EMS agencies as their role is reactive by the nature of what they do. But I'm sure they would all be willing to participate if asked.

One thing Mr Feiner stated is correct when he said, "I think education is probably the most important thing." In general, yes. The easy part is getting to the kids in school as they are in a captive environment and this information can be distributed and hopefully shared at home with family members. It's those not in school that will be the toughest to reach. Plus, since Greenburgh is a sanctuary Town, many of those in the shadows are not easily reachable and yet are part of the crowd they need to reach as many regularly walk to and from their destinations.

By our count, we're up to 10 pedestrians struck by automobiles within the Town. We can keep pointing fingers but the fact is there has been an increased traffic buildup for years without much done to alleviate it except for politicians to urge using buses, bikes and walking. Therein is the rub. The same stale (lack of) ideas and finger-pointing continues to take place. Since the minimal public reelected Mr Feiner and he helped get us into this dangerous situation, we're guessing that many find these odds acceptable. We don't. It needs to change. Once it does, we'll see A Better Greenburgh.

The Year In Review Part 2

Each year Mr Feiner publishes his accomplishments for the year on various Feiner-friendly websites, sends out numerous email blasts and snail-mail mailings (the latter at a significant cost to the tax-payer). Coincidentally, we publish the “rest of the story” to quote the late Paul Harvey, as Mr Feiner, convicted of lying under oath in the Fortress Bible Church Federal discrimination case, can’t always be relied upon to present accurate and transparent information. Here’s Part 2 of our year in review. This year, Mr Feiner has changed his Accomplishment List to a Highlights List. Staffers have thrown around numerous thoughts as to why the change. Because short of slowing down the Edgemont community’s incorporation efforts, there haven’t really been many new accomplishments. Mr Feiner’s info is in blue, ours in black.

DISABLED

Metro North announcing plans to build elevator at Hartsdale train station- work to start in 2020. 

Whether or not MTA builds an elevator at any of their locations or not is totally up to them. While we’d prefer every site have everything it needs, this is an entity that usually asks for rate increases right after getting rate increases and cannot manage the money they have.

Reactivating disabled advisory committee. Why was this ever discontinued?

RECREATION- CRICKET!

Greenburgh opened up Westchester County's first cricket field at Richard Presser Park in Hartsdale.  Encouraging the county and other municipalities to recognize how much people love cricket. 

Hard to get excited about this when pedestrians are being struck at an alarming rate; our roads are in such disrepair; flooding is being ignored and traffic congestion is out of control as Mr Feiner and his Board green-light massive construction projects without accommodating any changes in our infrastructure.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The abandoned WESTHELP[sic] homeless shelter is now being renovated for affordable senior housing. It's exciting to see the WESTHELP [sic] parking lot fill [sic] of cars--contractors doing the renovations.  The affordable senior housing will open up in 2021. 

Wow! This condition was CREATED by Mr Feiner and his Board when they ignored repeated attempts by the County to renew the contract for WestHelp. He instructed Town employees to leave the facility open and unoccupied so as to condemn it and force it to be torn down by the County to build a new school for a handicapped school in Yonkers. The facility was supposed to be transitioned into a senior living facility. It's a shame that he is taking credit for a horrendous condition that needn't have happened. So he forfeited with a nod from his Board a guaranteed contract promising $1.2 million dollars a year for the Town.

NEW POLICE CHIEF AND COUNCILPERSON TRANSITIONS

A smooth transition of Police Chiefs--Brian Ryan is our new Chief, replacing Chris McNerney who now is Chief Investigator for the DA. 

We wish Chief Ryan well and thank Chief McNerney for his hard work.

EDGEMONT

NY Court of Appeals upheld my interpretation of Edgemont incorporation petition. Appellate division had previously found that the petition for incorporation did not comply with statute requirements. A second petition was filed. I found that the 2nd petition also did not comply with the statute. Those who filed the petition have filed a lawsuit which is pending. 

Mr Feiner’s sole responsibility is to sign off on the petition. He didn’t do that. He decided, along with Councilman Jones, to politicize the issue, publicly saying that they didn’t want it and would not work with the Village of Edgemont should the referendum pass – which would ensure the Unincorporated budget not lose as much money as it might. They are supposed to remain neutral. HE hired people who hired more people to dupe Edgemont residents into signing another petition to negate their original petition signature. But in Greenburgh, ethically challenged politicos never have their feet held to the fire, lose their jobs or go to jail. They just get re-elected. Shame on them.

POLICE AND COURTS

A shooting at an Ardsley Motel resulted in no fatalities of innocent bystanders or police. Our SWAT team responded quickly, a Greenburgh police officer who was shot at was wearing a bullet proof vest and is OK. Highlights the importance of being trained and prepared. 

A suspect in an FBI raid was killed and two SWAT Team officers were injured during the shootout at the Ardsley Acres motel. The FBI said members of the FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force were at the motel assisting the FBI New Haven (Connecticut) Safe Streets Task Force. One of the SWAT Team officers who was shot, a Greenburgh police sergeant, was saved by his bulletproof vest. The other injured officer, a Dobbs Ferry sergeant, may have been struck by a ricochet. They were treated at a hospital and released.

We have saved over 12 million dollars so when we sell the current court house/police we won't have to borrow as much --enabling us to address infrastructure in an affordable manner. 

We had a hard time deciphering this sentence as we haven't saved anything until the building is remediated, which is almost a guaranteed necessity due to its age, and then sold. We think he meant that $12 million was put in a reserve fund from money already collected from taxpayers. But the $49 million dollar bond (or $37million) will still negatively impact the Unincorporated residents. Once the Greenburgh School Board puts their new bond up, it will be a double-whammy against the taxpayers.

Town hired CBRE and Lothrup to help us review real estate options and design. We hope to present the community with a proposed plan for the court house and police station in 2020. And, will be conducting tours of our existing facilities and community meetings before we finalize any decision. 

This is Feiner-speak for, “We’re moving forward with the construction bond for a new police station and courts, regardless. Rather than legally follow the process, we'll be doing what we want by getting everything in place.”

NYS STARTED TO REPAVE SAW MILL RIVER ROAD IN ARDSLEY

NYS started repaving Saw Mill River Road in Ardsley –a road fill of potholes. Work to be completed next year. 36 student interns had lobbied for the road repaving in 2018. NYS promised to repave Hillside Ave but the company went under so there were delays with the project. The state did start some sidewalk, drainage work and will complete the road repaving in 2021. 

Funny, the Village of Ardsley gets what the Village of Ardsley wants because their Mayor and Village Board actively petition other governmental branches when there is something they seek, such as sidewalks. While the Town relies on interns to do the heavy lifting, the public still mistakenly believes Mr Feiner and his Board are doing this. Just look behind the curtain periodically and you'll be very surprised and dismayed. As a side note, every time there is something close to home for the Supervisor or his Board, things get done. This time benefitting Mr Feiner and Ms Juettner.

RECYCLING and food scraps

We increased recycling of paper and plastics from every other week to every week. 

This is a good thing even if studies show that recycling costs us more than we’re saving.

We obtained a grant from NYS for $250,000 to purchase trucks to begin curbside recycling of food waste. Trucks to be ordered in 2020. Service to be offered to villages and unincorporated Greenburgh. 

The one grant doesn't include maintenance or replacement. So, the grant which we pay for with even more of our taxes, is not a freebie.

We have started seriously considering the possibility of opening up a food scrap composting site on Taxter Road ---currently food scraps from around the region are sent out of county. 

Apparently, Taxter Road needs more truck traffic as it is already used as a vehicular cut-through. Surely there are other places this can be done. Greenburgh needs more than just scraps.

ASSISTED LIVING  DISCOUNTS

The Chelsea Assisted LIving Facility is offering discounts to Greenburgh residents--they hope to open in 2020 on Dobbs Ferry Road. They also have some affordable units for those who meet income guidelines. They expect to open in 2020. 

So instead of paying $8k a month rent, it will be reduced to $7k? The few affordable units allotted here won't make a dent in or for the Greenburgh population.

DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS

Brightview seeks to build independent living, assisted living facility at portion of Metropolis. Plan under review.

Maplewood is seeking approval to sell their swim and tennis club on W Hartsdale Ave to an assisted living facility. We are reviewing traffic, neighborhood concerns.

We created land use advisory committees around town involving residents impacted by proposed developments in the land use review early on. These land use committees also help us select the traffic and environmental consultants we hire to review the application.  We want the community to be involved in partnering with the town government.

This is pure BS. The neighborhood residents requested land use committees for Brightview (Metropolis CC), Maplewood, ShopRite & Sam's Club gas station developments but were refused by everyone at the Town!

SOME SMART PEOPLE—INCLUDING A NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

A Tarrytown man won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Gregg Semenza attended Sleepy Hollow HS, one of the schools serving the Greenburgh community. No disrespect intend toward Gregg Semenza, but this really a a stretch by Mr Feiner.

GRANT FROM STATE FOR NEW AMBULANCE-ARDSLEY SECOR VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORP

Mayor Nancy Kabbolian and I met Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins two years ago seeking state funding for a new ambulance for the volunteer ambulance corp. Senator Cousins  recently announced that NYS will fund the new ambulance for the volunteers. 

Good for Ardsley-Secor Ambulance Corps. Keep in mind, these grant monies are grants that we all pay for.

VOTING

First time Early Voting was tried in Greenburgh during the town elections. Voter turnout was higher than usual in an off off year election. 

The verdict is still out as to whether this ploy to get early votes actually contributed to election fraud or not.

TECHNOLOGY

Progress  being made - implementation of a work order system in the Department of Public Works. Will enable the town to better track complaints and work requests. 

Perhaps Supervisor Candidate Lucas Cioffi was correct and Mr Feiner IS the bottleneck for all the work that is being or needs to be done in the Town. Mr Feiner’s goal to develop a system is 30 years overdue. You can’t say you’re a visionary with this kind of track record.

Town Board approved funding for enhanced social media initiative –want to get our message out to those who don’t subscribe to traditional media. 

We’re pretty confident that this isn’t about enhancing anything. This is to ensure Mr Feiner has a way to disseminate information of his choosingto residents of his choosingwithout having to share the lists he maintains. He had been able to do this until he was sued and ordered by the courts to share his list.

Taking steps to formalize an official Technology Committee that can help the town keep up to date with technology. 

Another committee that will be able to talk about something but impotent to act. Mr Feiner needs to be able to say, “I’ll turn that idea over to the Technology Committee to investigate and get back to me with a recommendation” – which will never actually happen. It's another black hole for Mr Feiner to use at his discretion.

HOT ASPHALT MACHINE ENABLES TOWN TO REPAIR POTHOLES IN WINTER

Greenburgh is one of the few communities around that has purchased a hot asphalt machine to repair potholes in the winter months. The asphalt companies don't operate in the winter months and most communities use cold patches to repair potholes. These pothole repairs don't last long. This investment enables us to repair potholes efficiently and for the work to last. 

We don't know enough about asphalt to know if this is a good thing or not. At face value, however, if the industry shuts down for the winter, there must be a good reason for it.

The Year In Review Part 1

Each year Mr Feiner publishes his accomplishments for the year on various Feiner-friendly websites, sends out numerous email blasts and snail-mail mailings (the latter at a significant cost to the tax-payer). Coincidentally, we publish the “rest of the story” to quote the late Paul Harvey, as Mr Feiner, convicted of lying under oath in the Fortress Bible Church Federal discrimination case, can’t always be relied upon to present accurate and transparent information. Here’s part 1 of our year in review. This year, Mr Feiner has changed his Accomplishment List to a Highlights List. Staffers have thrown around numerous thoughts as to why the change. Because short of slowing down the Edgemont community’s incorporation efforts, there haven’t really been many new accomplishments. Mr Feiner’s info is in blue, ours in black.

TAXES WON’T GO UP…AND FINANCIALS

A tax rate reduction and a tax levy freeze in the 2020 town budget.
We have previously written about this. Returning Edgemont resident Lucas Cioffi, ran against Mr Feiner in this last election. One of his campaign promises was to have a two-year tax freeze if elected. A week after Mr Cioffi made that announcement, Mr Feiner started saying that he would promise a 1-year tax freeze. When asked about the tax levy, Mr Feiner was unable to answer the question. Part of the reason that he can do this – and why for only one year – is that there have been a number of people who have left the Town's employ and whose positions will not be filled.

We are tightening many of our management procedures. Department heads are being asked to develop step by step work plans so we can review tangible measurable goals. We are working with department heads on developing cost benefits for each new project. 

It's surprising to learn that these management principals – basic management principals – haven't already been implemented. After all, after ten terms as Supervisor and countless interns, citizens groups and advisors, surely someone must have told you how to do this?

At our last Town Board meeting the Board voted to install GPS systems in all town vehicles. 

Several vehicular points here. First, if there is a vehicle policy? Second, why weren’t GPS systems already installed? Third, If there is no policy, why did it take so long to develop one? Fourth, what was the cost to retrofit all of the Town vehicles? Finally, what happened to cause this decision to be made? Did someone go joy-riding with a Town garbage truck that was found abandoned somewhere because somebody forgot to lock the truck door or the yard's fence?

We continue to conduct independent reviews of different departments --looking for ways to make government more efficient. 
Who is conducting these supposed reviews? What have they found so far and how do we access this information? 

We implemented consultant recommendations dealing with the courts a few years ago and are implementing recommendations from DPW consultants--a work order system for DPW and a health and safety initiative for employees.

We'll be kind and just assume this is correct. Again, Lucas Cioffi had said that all the work orders should be able to be filed by residents online and then trackable by residents online to see at what stage their resolution might be. This was a great idea as Mr Cioffi highlighted (no pun intended) that the one choke point in our Town lies with Mr Feiner as people email him directly and only he knows what the constituent's issues are.

Maintaining Aaa bond rating by Moody's and Standard & Poor's --bond rating increased 3 times during my tenure to highest rating possible. 

Having a good bond rating is good if and when you float bonds – don't worry, one is coming to us soon to the minimum tune of $49,000,000 for a new court and police station. Mr Feiner backed off of this bond as the Greenburgh School District was trying to get the taxpaying public to buy-in to their $200,000,000 (principal and interest) Consolidation Bond. With the election looming, even Mr Feiner was nervous to propose it, stating openly that he was against the Consolidation Bond proposal. With the democratic change in the bail laws under the guise of reform, aptly referred to as “catch and release”, shouldn't the courts workload and demands be less? Maybe another already existing location could work instead of building something new.

We had two auctions of foreclosed properties-the last auction generated 2.7 million dollars.  We have started using a professional auctioneer to help us maximize revenues from auctions. 
The Town has maintained a lackadaisical approach to foreclosures with Mr Feiner's excuse being that he doesn't want people to be kicked out of their homes. That's understandable, however, we've seen the law ignored and foreclosures sit idle for IE., 7 years.

Forming committee to review proposed requests for proposals to maximize competition from bidders. 
Great, another committee so we can talk about something instead of dealing with it.

HISTORY--the Odell House and 9-11

We received a $600,000 grant from NYS to restore the historic Odell House on Ridge Road, Hartsdale.  We hope to turn the building into a museum. This house played a major role in the Revolutionary War.  At long last – we’re close to getting the Odell house transferred from the Sons of the American Revolution to the town. Last week the NYS Attorney General's office authorized the SAR to transfer the property to the town--which will happen in early 2020. 

It's interesting how Mr Feiner has bent over backwards to tranquilize the Hartsdale community after there was talk of incorporation by them, contingent with the Edgemont incorporation. So much so that he purchased two homes costing about $400,000 for a possible Central Avenue project. Now the Town will also be on the hook to demolish and provide any asbestos and other remediation before they can do something with the property. We do want to see the Odell house preserved but given the Town's track record as a landlord (WestHelp is one that comes to mind), we're not sure this is the best direction for this historic property.

We started the 9-11 Living History stories--video interviews of those impacted by the 9-11 tragedy. The interviews air on public access TV and can be accessed on the web. The 9-11 living history stories is modelled[sic] after the Veterans living history initiative (about 150 veterans of World War II, the Korean conflict have each participated in half hour interviews). We have no issues with this.

PEDESTRIAN AND MOTORIST  SAFETY

New sidewalks completed at Columbia Ave, Fair Street, Lawton, a small portion of N Washington Ave and Glendale Road. Construction of new sidewalk to begin shortly on Central Ave between Marion and West Hartsdale Ave.  About six miles of new sidewalks have been built or funded in recent years --with more to come! In April the town received some more good news: We received two grants (from NYS and from CDBG) totaling $1.2 million dollars to build a new sidewalk on Hillside Ave and on Old Tarrytown Road.  Residents will be able to walk from Route 119 to the Parkway Gardens/Homes neighborhood and from Town Hall to Knollwood Road! 

While these sidewalks are good to have, the Town only recently began seeking grant monies for sidewalks even though the money has existed for years! The sidewalk policy has been all new construction developers add a sidewalk at that property. This is a good idea for new construction but does nothing for roadways that will never have new construction. While walking on Hillside as well as Old Kensico Roads can be terrifying, especially in the dark, we're told we have to accept something as better than nothing. Tell that to the person recently struck by a car on Old Kensico Road.

5 different pedestrian accidents around town. Town Board includes substantial funding in 2020 budget for pedestrian safety improvements. 

Specifically such as what? 

We also are studying the possibility of either building a sidewalk on Ft Hill Road or making road one way ( a suggestion raised by residents). A community meeting has been scheduled with a local Edgemont civic association in January to discuss plans to hire a traffic consultant to review options. 

Mollifying the Edgemont community seems to be Mr Feiner's main focus since turning down their Incorporation petition; as well as placating the Hartsdale community.

There are other safety concerns on streets around town. We will use funding that has been approved by the Town Board for digital speed boards and other traffic calming devices. 

We don’t need digital sign boards and have no idea what traffic calming devices are, but what we need is police enforcement. Currently, the police department is not doing traffic enforcement on local roads. 

The town has offered to pay for a traffic light on Central Ave in front of Sacred Heart Church if NYS allows us to install a light at this location--where there was an accident earlier this fall. NYS said they don't have funds in their budget for the safety improvement. 

This location has literally been an accident waiting to happen – and it finally did. This is on Mr Feiner and his 30 years in office focusing on giveaways and vote purchasing rather doing what the Town needs.

Starting to review need to improve traffic flow on E Hartsdale Ave. Board agrees to study upgrading of traffic lights. Sensors, synchronizing lights to reduce congestion and to increase traffic flow. 

What does “starting to review” mean? This is a not a DOT controlled road. As the top elected official in the Town, he should have been all over this for years! It wasn't until the Hartsdale Neighbors Association starting pushing for changes in that area coupled with Edgemont's Incorporation did Mr Feiner agree to evaluate the area.

We enhanced crosswalk at Edgemont and Ardsley Road. Enhancement completed just a week ago.

We added a crossing guard to Ardsley Road/Fort Hill Road--making it safer for children to crossduring school hours. 
Again, placating Edgemont in hopes that they will drop their movement to Incorporate this time under the guise of “for the children.” For the uninitiated, Mr Feiner is very much about quid pro quo and should be impeached.

We awarded the bid for a traffic light at Ardsley Road/Sprain Road. We expect installation to be completed in the spring of 2020. This location will be much safer.

We selected a consultant to review the proposal to revitalize the 4 corners in Hartsdale--and will address stormwater[sic], traffic issues. 

A review should indicate that there are both flooding and traffic issues at that location. The irony, and ultimately failure, of the study is that it will focus in that one specific area while the problem exists due to local, County and State government failure to address it for the entire Bronx River corridor. Again, why fix it when we can talk about it. Public Works Commissioner Victor Carosi sits on the County Flooding committee chaired by County Legislator Alfreda Williams. Ask any of them and they will say that they haven't met and done anything to even begin to address flooding. Go take a look at any section of the Bronx River and you'll see the entire river is clogged with debris and overgrown vegetation. Maintenance is not sexy so no one addresses it.

Building a sidewalk, installing lights  or enhancing crosswalks takes a lot of work. Our town professionals have to coordinate with other government entities if work is going to take place on state or county roads. We have to coordinate with Con Ed -moving utility poles. We need to make sure that we're in compliance with ADA requirements dealing with the disabled and have to make sure that the work we do does not create drainage related problems.  The crosswalk light fixtures took months to arrrive[sic] at Edgemont and Ardsley Road. After we awarded the bid for a traffic light on Ardsley Road/Sprain we were advised that it takes 4-6 months for the special fixtures to arrive.  Most people are not aware of all the details that go into designing and implementing safety improvements. 

It sounds like he's describing them doing jobs, which they get paid very well to do, including excellent benefits.

Upcoming Supervisor Candidate Debates

If you live in Greenburgh -- including Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings, Irvington, Tarrytown, or unincorporated (Edgemont, Hartsdale, Fairview) -- this is the first time you can vote for a new town supervisor in a general election in over a decade. Challenger Lucas Cioffi, an Independent candidate, is running against Paul Feiner for Greenburgh Town Supervisor November 5th.

You are Invited to these three debates:
• Oct 21: League of Women Voters Debate, Greenburgh Public Library (300 Tarrytown Rd, Elmsford) @ 6:30pm
• Oct 22: Hartsdale Neighbors Association Forum, St Paul's United Methodist Church (130 N Central Ave, Hartsdale) @ 7pm
• Oct 28: NAACP Candidates Forum, Theodore D. Young Community Center (32 Manhattan Ave, White Plains) @ 7pm

Please mark your calendars.

Early voting starts Oct 26th: details about early voting and absentee ballots.

Lucas Cioffi’s simplified message about his campaign. Please share with your friends and neighbors:
1. Place a two-year freeze on town tax levies
2. Use real community involvement to get the budget and spending under control
3. Significantly increase openness and accountability
4. Implement term limits

Here is his full 8-page platform for your consideration. For info:

Lucas Cioffi
Candidate for Greenburgh Town Supervisor
Greenburgh, NY
Website: https://www.greenburgh.us

PS - You are receiving this email, because you receive our town's email updates. The New York State Committee on Open Government has confirmed that candidates running for office in Greenburgh may use the email list as long as we do not use it for fundraising purposes.  Please let me know if you'd like to unsubscribe, and thank you for your time!

Continued Subterfuge

ABG has just recently discovered that the suspension of a Woodlands teacher accused of alleged inappropriate conduct may not be true. Our sources informed us that the issue was over a grade the student received from the teacher who works/worked at the school. We have yet to be able to verify this information with theGreenburgh Central School District Board or Superintendent Chase. And if it truly was over a grade, why the subterfuge? Didn’t we have enough of that during the school consolidation proposal that was overwhelmingly defeated by a 2-to-1 vote?

You’ll recall that the teacher who works at Woodlands Middle/High School in Hartsdale, was placed on leave on Thursday, April 4. Greenburgh Central School District Superintendent Tahira A. DuPree Chase said in a statement, "The matter has been referred to the proper authorities, including the Greenburgh Police Department. However, please know that the District places the utmost importance on our students’ safety and well-being and that all of our actions in this matter have been for the purpose of ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of our students," she added. But was safety really the issue?

The superintendent went on to say that while many may have questions, she cannot provide further comment as this was turned over to law enforcement and that it is a personnel and student matter. We see another executive session in the School Board’s future. As you know, they usually adjourn to executive session in the middle of their Board meetings, leaving those taxpayers from the public in attendance for up to an hour wondering if they will return and continue. Executive sessions are primarily used to discuss personnel issues. And, while we find the Town Board's meetings reprehensibly convoluted to the public they supposedly serve, at least they hold their executive sessions at the end of their meetings - especially when the audience is in a particularly hostile or disagreeable mood based on the Board’s actions.

The Greenburgh School District recently came under fire for almost secretly crafting a scheme to allow the current school buildings to deteriorate to further their agenda of creating a unified, one-location Warburg campus where the Woodlands High School campus now exists. On top of being derelict in executing their required duties, they rebuff claims that they put the children's lives in jeopardy. Yet their plan was touted by the School Board and Administration as necessary because the new classrooms would affect the students’ learning performance. If that were really true, then well-maintained classrooms would have been vital. 

During this gestation period, we viewed classrooms in several similarly aged schools, such as Sacred Heart in Hartsdale, Pocantico Hills Central School in Pocantico Hills to find condition similarities to the Greenburgh schools. When it comes to student safety, we were told that the NYS Board of Education has safety standards that have to be met but that the Greenburgh schools were deficient. If this is the case, obviously these standards are simply recommendations. Otherwise, wouldn’t the NYS Board of Education intervene and make sure these safety standards were being met? Isn’t it always about the children?

Legacy dreams were openly discussed by the Superintendent and long-time Board members later on as resistance to their dream grew. Perhaps that was the issue all along: the dreams of the few were pushed regardless of the requests many people made, asking to slow the bus down and provide answers that had to be acquired elsewhere. It seemed they even "doubled-down" as opposition grew. An example at one of the meetings was made of a superintendent who made changes to his district from the west coast. Dr Chase said that person was his own "brand" when it came to the transformation he was able to perform. It seems as though Dr Chase might be trying to create her own brand - not for anything as noble as the children, the taxpayers she answers to or anything else.

During the entire discovery of, and resultant exposing of the consolidation plan that had been kept well-hidden from the taxpaying public and the information people requested, the questions that remained unanswered and the lacking nature of the presentations and subterfuge ultimately led to the downfall of the proposal. The fact that we saw the same Board members speaking out in favor of the proposition and one Board member violating the law and illegally sending an email pushing the proposal only later to apologize to say he used the wrong email account speaks volumes. Those Board members not in attendance speaks volumes as well. Now we wonder if the suspension of this teacher has to do with something else going on that we’re not being told. Security at the schools has been increased and their security programs have been reviewed by other school districts according to Superintendent Chase. Was this really a safety issue or an excuse to address a personnel issue of a different nature?

Our school district seems in turmoil and begging for real leadership, accountability and results. While teaching Mandarin and STEAM/STEM classes may be all the rage, getting our students English and Math proficiency up from 35% should be a priority. Truthfulness, openness, and a willingness to improve the buildings we own, improve the education our students receive and work with the community to effect a competent change should be their agenda. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh School District.  

School Board Discusses Proposing Defeated Bond In May

The School Board’s referendum bond proposal was defeated by a wide margin of Greenburgh School District voters during Tuesday’s vote. The final tally was 1,257 (35.5%) in favor and 2,284 (64.5%) against the proposal, with a difference of 1,027 votes against. The taxpaying public, including some students’ parents, voted overwhelmingly to stop this project. There are roughly 1800 kids in our district’s schools. Assuming that there is a variety of dual and single-parent households, some with one child, some with more, there could be an equal number of parents that would have voted. It’s apparent that while many student parents favored this, some of those parents did not. 

This was a record setting turnout vote for the Greenburgh School District. In our previous article we mentioned that the Board and Dr Chase poked a sleeping giant. People who usually don’t bother coming out to vote for school board events obviously had had enough. 

The various Greenburgh Civic Associations within the School District were invited by Dr Chase on November 7, 2018 to join her on November 14, 2018, “... for delectable treats at my Superintendent’s Dessert... The Superintendent’s Dessert will be a combined gathering with the Community Engagement Committee.” The meeting was to discuss the progress of the schools and status of the facilities. See below:

The back side of the letter was a flyer asking to please join them for Dessert & Discussion. The key point was conversations about our latest initiatives, which one would have to go there to learn about. See below:

So an effort was made back in November to feed dessert to community leaders without actually revealing much if anything about the gist of the meeting. Those we discussed this with felt at the time it would be a waste of time as having dessert with the Superintendent, while pleasant, was imposing on their already busy schedules with no fruitful reason to do so. Little would they know.

Having just been handed a humiliating defeat at the hands of the sleeping giant, the School Board refuses to take “No!” for an answer and we’re told at their Board meeting they contemplate proposing a reintroduction of the Referendum Bond yet again in May when the school budget vote comes around! They’ve done this before when their budgets were voted down. They would state that they would have to adopt an austerity budget  “to get by” cutting busing and sports. They are well practiced with the “austerity argument”, having learned and provide a response claiming their hands were tied and they would have to rework the budget. Then what they did was reintroduce the same budget that would not get much exposure and usually passes. Is that the ploy here?

Several other issues relating to this failed proposal need clarification , such as Trustee Terry Williams’  apparent illegal blast email from his official School Board email account to the residents to vote for this proposal as well as his robo call. School Board members are prohibited from actively promoting certain things, such as this type of proposal. Honest mistake? Perhaps if this were a new Board member we might believe so, but Mr Williams has been on the Board as well as been President during a fifteen year tenure.

Then there’s the offer to bus people to the Woodlands High School from the Theodore Young Community Center on the Royal Coach buses. See below. Royal Coach is the bus company that is used by the School District to bus our students. We’re all for helping people get to the polls but if someone “put the arm” on the bus company or requested it with payment coming from the District funds, we deserve to know as well as know by whom.

The mantra the School Board members used every time they were challenged about past performance was, “That was the old Board, not us. This is the new Board.” Dr Chase also repeatedly stated, “We’re moving forward. That was a previous administration. we’re moving forward.” True, it was an old administration and a partially new School Board. But it’s still the same old taxpayers being disrespectfully treated. Old Board indeed! 

If you want to work with us, we’re willing to have an open an honest dialog. And just because “your side” disagrees with the “other side” doesn’t mean you try to shut them down. There’s no rush here if we are going to do things correctly, which means ALL of the facts and figures should be transparently presented to all of the School District’s residents. Let’s all stop the phony arguments and plan something that we all can get behind. It’s the only way we’ll get A Better Greenburgh School District.

Poking A Sleeping Giant

The School Board’s dream of having one campus on the Warburg property was defeated by a wide margin of Greenburgh School District voters on Tuesday. The final tally is 1,257 (35.5%) in favor and 2,284 (64.5%) against the proposal, with a difference of 1,027 votes against. That’s a significant amount of votes! Dr Chase was quoted in a statement saying, “Although we are disappointed in the outcome of our Capital Project vote, we are unbowed in our determination to improve our school surroundings and the education of our precious students. I am humbled by the massive turnout, and I respect our community’s decision."

Humbled? She should be embarrassed. And, there’s that word again, respect. It was the one thing that appeared missing during many of the meetings as Dr Chase, the primary moderator for the “information sessions”, chose to brush past questions raised by the very concerned taxpayers, telling them their 2-minutes were up and to let others have their turn to speak. While this may work well for her in a school environment, the stakeholders for all of this deserved better. Instead of trying to shut residents down, she should have embraced them. She did not. Had they been open and transparent with all the facts & figures to all the GCSD residents from the start of this proposal, maybe the outcome would have been different. Respect.

Then there’s the issue of the School Board’s questionable behavior during this entire event. At first they remained silent except when Dr Chase introduced them and other employees, educators, students, former students, parents of students and others in attendance who favored the proposal. While it’s nice to have a packed audience, it seemed there were more employees and Board members than the residents these sessions were designed to inform. We have maintained as the opposition’s voice grew, “running out the clock” became more and more prevalent at these meetings. So, not only was valuable time eaten away with introductions, accolades and anecdotal stories, but the 2-minute limit was strictly adhered to unless the speaker had something in support of or in favor to say about the proposal.

On the evening before the vote, Trustee Terry Williams used the Greenburgh School District email to send an email to residents asking them to vote yes for the proposal. This is clearly in violation of the law. Yet after he made sure his message was sent, he later cried mea-culpa begging forgiveness for using the wrong email account. We don’t buy it. He has been a Board member and even President for far too long to not realize what he was doing. He should at least be reprimanded for this action and possibly removed from the Board. They’ve poked a sleeping giant with this proposal. We’re sure that potential candidates are being solicited to change the makeup of the Board. It's time.

Contrary to finding excuses that bemoan the victory by those opposed to this proposition, there is little solace in this otherwise hollow victory. What the majority said was no to moving forward with this idea, but recognize that the buildings still need attention. To what level remains the uncertain. We believe many conditions were thrown into the mix to validate the proposal’s urgency. Some might otherwise remain dormant and able to be addressed in a more planned and scheduled fashion. Perhaps now the School Board, flaws and all, Dr Chase and others will work in concert with us. Mr Falcone, who seemed open and honest during these events, should discuss building needs with everyone and detail the emergency needs, would-like-to-haves and the can-wait-to-haves. Then maybe we can discuss a plan of attack that will accomplish what we all want: A Better Greenburgh School District.

Taxpayers Speak Loudly And Say, "NO"

Awaiting the outcome of today's Greenburgh School Referendum Bond Vote has been a roller-coaster of a ride for many with vested interest in the results. But with a final tally of 1,219 in favor and 2,101 against, Dr Chase's legacy proposal crashed and burned. Residents of the Greenburgh School District handed her a resounding defeat, even factoring in the 244 absentee ballots, enough people said, "No!" by participating in this historic, record setting vote. Rarely can we recall seeing this kind of turnout.

Once the dust settles, we implore the School Board to actively and earnestly seek to work with the resident taxpayers, the real stakeholders, by putting all of their cards on the table, openly and honestly, and look to develop a plan that will not cripple the taxpayers, our schools and not rely on talent shows and obfuscation to make a change for our future.

We will follow up with more information as this story progresses. It's how we'll get A Better Greenburgh School District.

Vote NO!

Talent Show Scheduled, Opposition Member Threatened, A Failing Grade

We’ve readily admitted that Greenburgh School Superintendent Chase is a dynamic personality. She’s also very smart. As the referendum proposal supporters encounter more and more resistance from the community, they keep dropping back and regrouping. We keep digging in and writing about it. Armed with real information, those against the referendum proposal have been exposing the flaws in what little has been presented to the public. But Dr Chase needs this win. It’s her and the Board’s legacy. So in a move right out of another School District’s play book, she has scheduled a Talent Show for Tuesday night (tomorrow) at the Woodlands High School to ensure that parents will be in attendance to vote. What it doesn’t ensure is that they will vote in favor of it.

ABG now has learned that a bond supporter has threatened an opposition member because they received an unsolicited email containing a flyer from concerned citizens stating facts regarding the referendum bond proposal to Vote No. What hasn’t happened thus far from the School Board or the supporters is an explanation with a detailed plan of what they want to do with costs and real figures attached to it. Why have they purposely remained obscure about all of this? We believe there is something amiss. But more importantly, why threaten someone over an unwanted email? Their claim was that the GBList was used. That person is correct. There have also been robo calls to everyone and there haven't been any threats made over that.

As one of the interested parties in the GBList lawsuit, ABG as well as many civic associations felt handicapped in getting information to affected parties when Mr Feiner would do one of his email blasts. Specifically, this happened during the GameOn 365 assault on the Worthington Woodlands community. What was frustrating to all of us was that Mr Feiner had been compiling this list under the auspices of the Town, using it for Town email notifications and to push his own views on GameOn 365 and other topics. Everyone involved felt there often needed to be clarification, explanation or elaboration of points he was making. To that end, we decided to go to court.

A suit was filed. The courts found in our favor. We could access the list through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) but could not use it for political or commercial purposes. In fact, Mr Feiner has said, “In 2014 the town lost a lawsuit and was ordered by the courts to release our glist emails to those who asked for the lists. The lawsuit was actually filed by a leader of one of the civic associations. It’s been given out over the past 5 years to those who have filed a freedom of info request. We do not break down the email addresses by school district or by individual addresses.” He is correct, they do not. So if someone received the email from those against the referendum bond proposal, it was strictly to offer information not presented by the School Board. They were not singled out nor could they be.

The School Board has brought this problem unto themselves. They originally decided in December to hold a bond vote in February, when many snowbirds are not in the area or the frigid weather would keep many home. That planned backfired. They rescheduled the vote for tomorrow. There has been even more push-back than before. The cost has been reduced two times and their final figure remains at $114.6 million for 30 years, approximately $840 per single family homeowner for 30 years. That's in addition to the regular school district taxes. They’ve claimed that figure includes the interest but the NYS Board of Educations facts and figures shows an additional $84 million, giving us a real figure of $198.6 over 30 years. They claim the opposition people are wrong. When someone says they’ve lost our trust, they say it wasn’t them, it was the old Board. Sorry, but as the same old taxpayer, you can’t have it both ways. This debacle is on you!

Too many questions remain unanswered or poorly answered with this referendum bond proposal. Even if it had been a stellar plan, this School Board has failed. The plan gets a failing grade, the School Board gets a failing grade and the School Administration gets a failing grade. We urge the voters - the true stakeholders in all of this - to turn down this proposition. It doesn't mean we don’t want to plan for the future. It just means we want to be a part of it. Yes, we usually do it for the children. This time let’s do it for the children and their families so they can stay in their homes and still afford to go to our schools. It's how we’ll get A Better Greenburgh.

A Satirical Look As The Fly On The Wall

We imagine being a fly on the wall in a satirical look at a meeting where the School Board, Superintendent and several employees got together to discuss a strategy to push forth with consolidation and ultimately the bond referendum. Here’s how we imagine it might have gone:

“We know we want this consolidation. Now, how do we make it happen?”

“I’ve been on the Board for years, we’ll propose a bond. We’ll say it’s for the children and it’ll go through. The residents eat up that ‘for the children’ argument, it’ll be easier than you think.”

“Who could be the voice for it?”

“We’ll find someone to use as the front. Our hands will be clean.”

“Dr Chase can proctor the meetings. Get it, the school terminology?” 

“But what if they have questions about the Board?”

“Easy, we’ll say it wasn’t us, it was a previous Board.”

“What if they bring up the cost of the loan? “

“And the interest?”

“We’ll just say it’s for the principle.”

“The interest on the loan is on the NYS BoE website, no?”

“Just say it’s for the principle. Keep saying it’s for the principle.”

“Hey, talk about transition. That’s not something that can be quantified.”

“Yeah, and that new buildings don’t need maintenance.”

“About that, what if they bring up the lack of maintenance to the buildings?”

“Pay attention. It wasn’t us.”

“Yeah, but weren’t you two guys there?” 

“What if they bring up the bad image of Woodlands, the fights, the stabbings?”

“Focus on the younger grades.”

“Let’s tout some information that makes us look good.”

“Like...?”

“96% of Woodlands seniors graduate.”

“What if they ask about the others?”

“Not everybody graduates. Get over it. It’s a fact of life.”

“Use the Mandarin agenda. I just don’t know if that’ll fly with President Trump and the China stuff that’s happening.”

“This is Greenburgh, its all democrats. Don’t worry about him.”

“How about our SAT scores. They’re below college readiness?”

“Just say we’re working to raise them. We have tutoring and special prep classes.”

“What if they question needing tutoring and special prep classes?”

“Grades 3-8 have a 35% proficiency in math and English.” What do we say to that?”

“(Chuckle)C'mon people. That’s why they’re in school, to learn. We’re working on that too with prep and special instruction classes. We’re working to produce world class students.”

“People are fleeing New York State in record numbers. Enrollment everywhere is declining. What do we say to that?”

“Try saying this: This will raise property values and bring people to our Town and schools.”

“Really?”

“It could work.”

“You just have to sell it.”

“Push that we have good teachers.”

“We do have good teachers.”

“Push it.”

“What if they bring up the past superintendent, what’s his name?”

“It wasn’t us, it was a previous Board.”

“Ronald Ross.”

In unison, “It wasn’t us.”

“New buildings will be nice. Can we get some of those soft, eye catching watercolor pictures from the architects to use?”

“Yes! Good idea. That always works on the Town Board. They’ll approve anything with a pretty picture.”

Good point. You know Supervisor Feiner is looking to put up his own bond for $49 million dollars.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, he wants to replace the police station and courts and was going to do a referendum this year too.”

‘This sucks.”

“Don’t worry, this will pass. We just need to make sure we get the parents out to vote.”

“I have an idea.”

“Open to anything at this point.”

“Why not have a talent show that night at the high school. Parents and their kids will come and we’re guaranteed to get them to vote!”

“Excellent!”

“Let’s do it, it’s brilliant!”

“Getting back to the topic at hand, should we order pizza?”

“We’re allowed to.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“I have a different issue I want to discuss.”

“Go ahead.”

“What if they bring up the seniors or fixed-income folks and their inability to afford this?”

“They’ll move.”

“You still don’t understand the dynamic here, do you?”

“Huh?”

“In order for us to get what we want, we need kids in the district. Legals, illegals, it doesn’t matter. Feiner has made this a sanctuary Town. That means everyone gets to stay wherever they are and come to us for a free education.”

“Pay attention to what I'm going to say. Senior citizens live here. Their taxes go up and their fixed incomes don’t. When it gets to be more than they can bear, they sell their homes and move out. The new people who can afford to buy a house, do. Then they simply include their taxes in their mortgage payment and they don’t even know what they’re paying in taxes. It’s a veritable legal Ponzi scheme”

“It’s like what we’re doing with the $114.6 and not saying anything about the $83 million dollars in interest.”

“About that. I’m still confused about how much we are actually borrowing if the $114.6 includes the interest. It seems like it would be less than the $79 million figure we’ve said is needed to refurbish.”

“Who did this math?”

“Dunno.” 

“Seriously, how can the $114.6 million include the interest? Is that what we are borrowing or the amount we’re paying off? And what about increased traffic?”

“We don’t control the roadways. New York State and the Town do.”

“Yeah but it’s bound to come up.”

“Again, just say it isn’t us. We can skate on most of this traffic stuff.”

“There is a Town traffic study that goes against ours. It isn’t helping us.”

“We can get traffic studies to say whatever we want. Don’t worry about that.”

“Is there anything else we can brag about?”

“How about 90% of our graduates go onto college?”

“Yeah, that works.”

“What else?”

“C’mon, we need more. 

“We have a secondary honors program.”

“I still don’t know what that means…”

“We have an Elementary Advanced Learning Program.”

“Talk about how selling Highview And Bailey will bring in $20 million dollars that we can use toward Woodlands.”

“What if we don’t get $20 million dollars?”

“Not our problem. We can say the market dropped or there was more remediation needed than we planned for.”

“I’m not comfortable with doing that.”

“Talk about having an expanded Pre-K program that goes all day.”

“Can everyone use it?”

“Of course not. It’ll be the same as what we have now except it’ll go all day. Doubt we can add anyone else to it.”

“If they ask about the new auditorium and sports press box, what do we say?”

“This is going to be a state-of-the-art facility. Don’t our children deserve this?”

“How can we counter someone who says the kids are already doing well in the current facilities?”

“Just imagine how much better they could be doing.”

“So, just how bad off are these buildings that haven’t been maintained?”

“Hey, they work. We can swap out windows, doors, boilers and roofs and be much better off for less. But we want new. New is better. That has to be our mantra.”

“Ok, let’s take it to the streets.”

“Meeting adjourned. Where’s that pizza?”