Lucas Cioffi To Challenge Town Supervisor

Today I'm excited to announce that I'm running as an independent in the November election for Town Supervisor in Greenburgh, NY. The incumbent has been in office 28 years, usually running unopposed. Democracy works better when we have a choice.

The first step is to collect 1500 signatures by May 26th. This is quite a large number, so it will take dozens of volunteers gathering 5-20+ signatures to make this happen, and we only have three weeks to do it. If you would like to receive a copy of the petition to mail or hand back to me, please fill out this form: https://www.greenburgh.us/

If we receive these signatures by the deadline, then things will get quite exciting. The second phase will involve innovative ways to get neighbors together, talking, and listening to each other.

Contact

lucas@greenburgh.us https://www.greenburgh.us; 917-528-1831

  

About This Campaign 

This campaign will be bold yet respectful, and without personal attacks. Greenburgh collects over half a billion dollars in tax revenue from its 90,000 residents. Lucas is seeking election to the role of Town Supervisor in Greenburgh, NY in order to significantly increase transparency across the board and to give residents a substantial voice in how their tax dollars are spent.

About Lucas
Lucas Cioffi is a US Army veteran, open government advocate, husband, and father of two. He was born and raised in Greenburgh and has returned to Greenburgh to raise his family. Lucas graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, graduated from the US Army Ranger School, earned the rank of captain, and served as an infantry officer in Iraq from 2004-2005.

During the five years when he lived in Washington, DC, Lucas mobilized 1500 non-profit professionals, researchers, and government leaders in support of the federal government’s Open Government Initiative. He hosted conferences in partnership with the US Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, Treasury, Department of Agriculture, General Services Administration, and NASA. Lucas served three years on the board of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation, collaborating with talented dialogue facilitators working to bridge political and racial divides.

In 2016 Lucas and his family lived on Market Street in Charlottesville when that street erupted in large-scale race-based violence and made national and international headlines. Lucas then served on the Charlottesville Community Leadership Council which worked to build bridges in the community in the wake of that violence.

Lucas is a software engineer, entrepreneur, and business owner. He has served in leadership roles in civic organizations and large technology companies and looks forward to helping Greenburgh catch up and surpass other municipalities in how it listens to its residents and delivers the services they require.

Supervisor’s Debate: Bernstein Goes It Alone

Last Thursday evening the public, specifically the Unincorporated residents were again insulted by Mr Feiner when he chose to campaign at a Village supermarket, probably because he’s assisted in closing many of them in the Unincorporated areas. Whatever his reasoning for not attending the forum, ABG believes he should have attended.

While it was not as thorough an exercise in political discourse as we would have hoped for, and especially disappointed that Mr Feiner felt too frightened to attend, we suggest you watch the forum and perhaps you’ll get a idea of what Mr Bernstein plans to do when he is elected Town Supervisor.

Here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeTu81fhmuE&feature=youtu.be

Hurricane Damage Finally Addressed

Most people can’t even remember when Hurricane Sandy struck (October 26, 2013). Those inflicted with damage can give dates, times and particulars. Then there are those of us who witnessed the damage but luckily went unscathed, watching others get hammered by wind, rain and water. While not as devastating as Hurricane Irene or as costly to as many residents, Sandy walloped us and left quite a bit of destruction in its path.

There needed to be a cleanup period and a reasonable amount of time to allow municipalities time to clean what they could. After all, downed power lines, poles and the like needed to repaired and it takes time. One of the things that always gets discussed during and after a major storm is why “they” haven’t done anything to address preparing for future storms by moving power lines underground, adding drainage capabilities and more. And after a reasonable amount of waiting, many contacted the Town Supervisor, spoke at Town Board meetings, sent the Town letters and spoke with department heads regarding repairs, trash removal and the like that was seemingly unaddressed by the Town.

This broken phone pole on Old Tarrytown Rd was
tied to another quickly-installed pole right after
Hurricane Sandy. It stayed this way 

until the FPCA repeatedly contacted 

Town officials to instigate the correct 

agencies to make a final and safe repair.

Fulton Park Civic Association Vice President Tom Bock met with Richard Fon of the Greenburgh Highway Department to address the many trees on public property impinging upon power lines. Fulton Park easily floods when it it rains, leaving residents on edge when the forecast threatens the loss of power that will keep their pumps from working. Together, they rode through the Fulton Park neighborhood identifying trees that seemed marginally dangerous and those that should be addressed immediately. Mr Fon said he would touch base with Commissioner Victor Carosi to see what kind of schedule could be developed for the removal or trimming of as many trees as possible. Finally, after months of haranguing the Board and getting nowhere, dealing directly with Commissioner Carosi, proved successful for the neighborhood which finally got action!

It should be noted that pictures were provided for the Town employees to use in identifying trees that should be addressed. Mr Fon even stated that they have a “line certified” employee, allowing them to cut limbs near power lines. Mr Fon explained how the Town’s arborist could be utilized to identify healthy trees as well as those that are dead or dying. All of this information provided some hope for the residents and was presented to them at one of their Civic Association meetings. The last couple of minor storms saw flash flooding better controlled by the recently lowered and resurfaced Old Kensico Road. By lowering the roadway the residents now had curbs to direct the water to the two overwhelmed but functioning storm drains. Commissioner Carosi has been responsive to the neighborhood’s concerns. Now speeding has increased on the street and needs to be addressed by the Greenburgh Police Department.

Since this is a campaign year, Mr Feiner’s free mailings have begun. This week we’ve received a new campaign piece from Mr Feiner. Well actually, while we recognize this as a campaign piece, Mr Feiner identified two points in his mailing. First, is that he has complained to the NYS Public Service Commission and Verizon for damaged or neglected phone poles that were damaged as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy. On the back page he lists the poles and their addresses that have been addressed.

Frankly, residents shouldn’t have to complain about these or any other poles to get them fixed. His office, and those of other employees who are “out and about” should be reporting back to their supervisors and letting them know where poles in the Town are and in need of repair are. In fact, when Mr Bock rode with Mr Fon on their “tree tour” in Fulton Park, Mr Fon identified numerous potholes and said he would get to the right people to get a crew out to do repairs. They were fixed in three days! This is what should be going on regularly. Although it would put a chink in Mr Feiner’s “Here I am to save the day!” armor as the problem solver.

The second issue is a common ploy Mr Feiner repeatedly uses. He claims “some people” have been emailing him about proper water filtration and that Greenburgh’s water is properly purified and references John Devany, the Water and Sewer Superintendent. ABG believes one person may have mentioned something and he has transformed it into “some people”. And, his three small paragraphs could have been split into separate mailings, giving him two mailings for his campaign instead of one. Since they were combined into one, we’re sure there will be several more “updates” coming. These mailings, possibly distributed with water bills quarterly, would be more than enough to keep the electorate informed and save taxpayers money. Perhaps Mr Bernstein, the candidate running in the Democratic Primary against Mr Feiner for Town Supervisor has a different take on mailings. We’d love to hear it. It’s another expense we just don’t need given the amount of money Mr Feiner is costing the residents.

We hope every democrat registered to vote will do so in the Democratic Primary this September 10th. For those not registered, please get a registration form from the Board of Elections. If you are a registered Democrat and are unable to vote on that day, here is the link to obtain information about filing an absentee ballot.
http://citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com/absentee-ballots
We believe your vote will help to provide us with A Better Greenburgh.