Formation Shelborne Should Go

We’ve previously written about the Formation Shelbourne scam that Mr Feiner and his Town Board have thrust and continued to perpetuate upon the residents of Edgemont and the Town. Prior to his leaving the Town as our Planning Commissioner to pave over greener pastures in Stamford, CT., Thomas Madden assured the management team from Formation Shelbourne that their assisted living project would sail through the process, guaranteeing the proverbial “done deal”. Mr Feiner was also a willing participant and he too assured project approvals and a resistant-free project from the Town.

Others have also reported this egregious violation of public trust and spoken about it at Town Board meetings. The fallacy of doing this is the wanton lack of attention paid by the Board members as they have appeared to have been instructed by Mr Feiner to ignore the concerns of the residents. In fact, if it weren’t for Town Attorney Tim Lewis’ berating of residents who go past the emperor's allotted three-minute public speaking constraint, there might not be any Board involvement with the public. Complaining, questioning and offering suggestions as often as is done by residents results in the Town Board only feigning deafness.To help get these issues out in the forefront, another frustrated resident, Edgemont resident Jeff Sherwin, has created a new website to address some of these illegalities.See it by clicking on this link:
https://www.greenburgh-zoning.org/#greenburgh-is-spot-zoning

The silence from Town Hall about doing the right thing with this project has almost been deafening. It is blatantly obvious that Mr Feiner and his instructed Board will not alter their support of a project laden with many needed zoning variations, questionable neighborhood concerns and safety issues. The property in question, owned by the Al Krautter family, currently houses the Sprainbrook Nursery. They are continuing to operate the nursery while the conditioned sale stagnates during the Town’s mishandling of this oversized proposal. Should they cease the nursery's operation, the current zoning that allows the business to operate under a "grandfathered" zoning clause, would revert back to residential, ending the Formation Shelbourne’s ability to utilize the property for their proposed assisted living facility. And, quite probably, wind up terminating the sale of the property.

Many examples of concern have been given as to why the proposal should not be approved and continued. But closed-door promises were made - as has been done for the last 24 years - and must be honored at all cost, no matter how ethically or legally improper those promises might be! You’ll recall the Town Board beaming and postulating as they passed the Brightview Assisted Living Center-written bill specifying assisted living proposal conditions for future projects. The trouble with it was it was written to Brightview’s specifications for their project! Obviously flawed, adopting it is just another misstep made by this administration.

Trying to circumvent the new zoning regulations for their own profit, Formation Shelbourne is seeking variances to the requirements of being within 200 feet of a state right of way and being built on a minimum of 4 acres. There are other conditions to be met, but these are the two most glaring that should easily negate this proposal. The property is less than the newly adopted zoning law's required 4 acres and is more than 6,000 feet from the nearest state right-of-way. Mr Sherwin’s website video drive proves the distance is miles away, not feet. Mr Feiner has again violated the the trust of the taxpayers and residents. He should immediately resign if he wishes to show any kind of good faith toward the residents and prove he is not in the pocket of these and other developers. But rather than step down, we're sure he will "step it up" and do several more Town financed mailings and email blasts lauding this project. 

Regardless of what he does, there promises to be another lawsuit on the Town's horizon over this project. There are many projects in the Town that may have merit. There will be more in our future that will also be good. But illegal promises made by Mr Feiner behind closed doors and condoned by his Board should put an immediate end to this project. We hope that some day, this Board will find a moral compass and try to do the right thing. Until then, we keep seeking A Better Greenburgh.

Town Comprehensive Plan Leaked To Developer Before Official Release

  The Town has had a Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee developing a new Comprehensive Plan for release to address what the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee believes to be the best plan for Greenburgh’s future. We applaud this move. Our dismay has been that obstacles were repeatedly and knowingly placed in their path to hinder their work process. This appears to be nothing but a stalling tactic to allow more apparent Town Board spot zoning for developers.  We wish we were wrong but actions repeatedly taken by this Board make it difficult to believe.

Greenburgh Past shows a history of rapid growth with development throughout the Town. This development was undertaken in both residential and commercial sectors. A good thing that happened during this time was that our Town Building Code was strengthened and safety was made to be a paramount concern in buildings throughout our Town. Our Town exceeded state requirements and was validated as other communities and entities following our lead. Kudos to those involved, such as Emily Bayer, Robert Brunner, Robert Stiloski and others.

Greenburgh Present has had a similar blast of development, primarily limited to the Unincorporated portions of Greenburgh. The Villages seem more reticent to overdevelop what little open space is available and preserve it. Conversely, this Board seems bent to fill every last piece of open space, change usage requirements (i.e., shared parking) to accommodate developers and not residents. Regrettably, we’ve witnessed spot zoning for spot parcels owned by favored developers. Although, to make sure it doesn’t appear as spot zoning, the Town Board will adopt it as a zoning change that can be used throughout the Town (i.e., Assisted Living facilities), even though that zoning was specific and written by Brightview Assisted Living’s attorney’s and will never be used elsewhere in the Town.

Greenburgh Future shows promise in that the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has finally completed their proposal for the Town. We welcome that proposal. And while we may not agree entirely with it, it will accomplish two very specific things. First, it will help control the future development, some say overdevelopment, of our Town. Second, it should significantly limit Mr Feiner and his Town Boards wholesale green lighting of projects that are too large for limited size parcels. A Comprehensive Plan is a greatly needed mechanism to control the look, feel, and future of Greenburgh. Hopefully, it will all but eliminate the spot zoning typically referred to by this Administration as Town-wide.

The Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has worked for quite some time now confidentially developing this plan. Numerous participants on this Board have respected its necessary confidentiality and not leaked any of the information – except one: Town Planning Commissioner Thomas Madden! In an unprecedented and frankly disturbing move, he revealed the confidential zoning information with GameOn 365’s Planner John Saccardi since July of 2013! While this is certainly an ethical violation in our minds, we’re sure the Ethics Board will see nothing wrong with his betrayal of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, the Town and its residents. When pushed at the Town Board Work Session, Mr Saccardi said (paraphrasing), “We’re both planners and we talk to each other.” Mr Saccardi is free to discuss whatever he chooses with whomever he chooses. Mr Madden has violated a sacred tenet to which public officials must be held: confidentiality! Confidentiality, and specifically the absence of it, must not be taken lightly! Although ABG is confident no punitive actions will be taken against Mr Madden.

Now that the Town Board has begun to fast track overdevelopment on Dobbs Ferry Road and specifically GameOn 365’s burgeoning, prohibitive and ill-conceived sports extravaganza, the leaking of the Comprehensive Plan information gives GameOn 365 the inside track and unfair advantage with information unavailable to any other potential developer or purchaser. Mr Madden’s cavalier divulging of this information to Mr Feiner’s anointed and favored developer aligns with Mr Feiner’s anxiousness that GameOn 365 be the only developer to move forward on Dobbs Ferry Road. As such, there will be no recriminations for Mr Madden, nor will he be forced to withdraw from the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, as he should be. His leaking of this information is akin to insider trading and frankly should result in at least a suspension without pay!

Ironically, when residents asked to see preliminary copies of each section of the Comprehensive Plan, it was Mr Madden who refused to do so, saying, “We don’t want this to go out piecemeal.” His explanation at the time was a logical one. So the public waited – but not the developer, which begs the question, how many more developers did he share this information with? Since he did not respect the confidentiality of the process, we wonder did he also send copies out? This is a gross violation of the integrity of the Town government, his office and the process with which he was asked to participate. Rather than face disciplinary action, we expect to see him receiving a Special Recognition Award from Mr Feiner and the Town Board during the first hour of the Public Discouragement Process preceding the next Town Board meeting. This has to change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Where’s Our Comprehensive Plan?

ABG knows there’s a committee at Town Hall, but all there has been from the administration is a lot of lip service as to the importance of having a Comprehensive Plan, without actually having one. Lately, along with comments that it’s due for a review, adjustments and changes and so on, will we ever receive any notifications from the Steering Committee that we’ll soon see some “rubber hitting the proverbial road”?

Mr Feiner rushes development proposals through the Town’s review processes as if being chased by the Steering Committee seeking his sign-off on their Comprehensive Plan. He’s cavalierly making numerous zoning changes, mostly recommending larger buildings in the Town at numerous locations before a plan can be adopted. An example is his convoluted efforts to make sure GameOn 365 is the only winner for the former Frank’s Nursery property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road. He has instructed his Town Board to now have Planning Commissioner Thomas “Build It Bigger” Madden into developing a possible recreation district for the corridor where neighborhood civic associations have emphatically said their needs are to have it scaled down.

It would seem that a serious look at Greenburgh’s future is in order. Just last week County Executive Robert Astorino mentioned at a candidate’s debate that White Plains is likely to be the transportation hub for any mass transit coming off the new Tappan Zee Bridge and along the 1-287 corridor. Mayor Tom Roach has been heard saying the same thing. Mr Feiner has ignored the difficult traffic conditions and flooding in Fulton Park, which is the last touch of Greenburgh on the path into White Plains and their transportation parking lot. He routinely supported more mass transportation even though the infrastructure doesn’t support it or has been addressed for future improvements. The proverbial, “Build it and they will come,” mentality will give little, if no relief to traffic congestion in the area.

The CEO of White Plains Hospital has been very outspoken about the need for more real estate for a medical center that is bursting at the seams on its current campus. There are plans for more retail development on Bloomingdale Road and another on the Post Road. Central Avenue has been targeted by Mr Feiner and Mr Madden for even more development. Who will fill these businesses? Where will all these shoppers come from? How will an area already dying a slow death with overdevelopment survive even the smallest storm, where flooding practically happens when it gets cloudy? Can we work to fill the vacant store fronts and offices with more than Dollar Stores and Nail Spas? Parking that costs more than the merchandise being sold says volumes.

The traffic situation in the area is already overwhelming as our roadways and tempers are bursting at the seams. Mr Feiner and his Board blatantly ignore all traffic reports which reinforces the fact that all of our areas being expanded upon receive a failing grade. Numbers can be presented in many ways, assuring the outcome desired by the presenter. Every neighborhood that complains about traffic is pushed to the side so Mr Feiner can wave his “payoff wand”, granting another developer carte blanche over the beleaguered residents. We don’t count. But how much more can the Town of Greenburgh absorb? How much longer until a willfully ignorant electorate rises from the couch of indifference and begins to take note of the metamorphosis of their Town? Is this what they signed on for when they bought their homes? This explains why the expression of not being able to fight City Hall resonates among so many.

Mr Feiner talks about riding bicycles for moving residents but offers no bike paths, racks or ideas to improve biking throughout the Town. Traffic and cyclists, and lets not forget those pesky pedestrians, just don’t mix. Not all of us live in expensive gated communities such as his bucolic Boulder Ridge where riding a bicycle is a relatively safe adventure. It seems that much more thought needs to go into how much Greenburgh can do. Actually, ABG wonders if any thought has been given to what Greenburgh should and might do? We welcome a Comprehensive Plan for the Town. We trust it will slow or even stop our out-of-control Town Board from spot-zoning for every project and every developer.

It’s time for a Comprehensive Plan for the Town of Greenburgh. It’s also time for Mr Feiner to stop playing games with the Steering Committee and let them come forth with a proposal, have the review process and get this show on the congested road.

Residents To Lose To Outside Developers

There was a new organized proposal about two Town Board meetings ago that had an immediate buy-in from The Paul from Homes for Westchester, a consortium of six affordable housing groups that work toward “streamlining” the affordable housing projects process in Westchester. Their aim is to speed up the approval process and get their affordable housing projects sped through the system. Their claim is that it takes much too long for them. They cite not-for-profit as well as for-profit companies having to spend so much time time for approvals that it can make affordable housing unaffordable. Really?

The process in the Town is extremely convoluted sometimes but more complicated than other communities. In Greenburgh for instance, to re-roof your home doesn’t require a permit. But if you use more than one sheet of plywood during the renovation, a permit is required. Approvals for homeowners require plans and their submission, attendance at zoning and planning board meetings, etc. The process can go for as long as a year and may be more. And, there’s no guarantee that your project will get the green light from the Town. There are some good things that come from this process from a safety perspective.

Tony Hoeltzel, the “front man” for this consortium, along with Joan Arnold, gave examples of the supposedly difficult process he’s been a part of in numerous communities. In Greenburgh, The Paul and his go-along Stepford Board will rush affordable housing projects through the system in the blink of an eye. Planning Commissioner Thomas “Can’t Say No” Madden will even meet with and assist developers with their planning. Residents don’t get this same hand-holding. In fact, if they miss something on their submission applications, they are denied, told the application is not correct and sent to the back of the line to start all over again. This doesn’t often happen with affordable housing proponents. Residents are seeking changes to their largest investments while the outside developers are simply coming in to make a buck!

Hoeltzel claimed of one project that took thirty three meetings to get approved, thus his comment about the unaffordability of affordable housing. ABG is sure this project was not in Greenburgh. Perhaps he should seek another line of work if he doesn’t like having to participate in the same processes the residents and taxpayers must to protect and cultivate their Towns and Villages. In particular, in our Town where The Paul will rubber stamp all projects from a select group of developers as affordable, ABG doubts this service really needed? The Paul with his complicit Board, along with Thomas “Can’t Say No” Madden and in concert with Building Inspector John Locido, approve every project, no matter how inappropriate, as long as the developer mentions a few buzzwords: affordable, low-income, workforce, municipal workers and of course veterans and senior citizens.

This effort is nothing more than a special interest group seeking to circumvent the rules and regulations of the Town for their own gain. They are playing the “not for profit” card like its some sort of panacea for housing. Its not. These “not for profit” owners garner extremely attractive salaries. Many of their more senior employees, such as their attorneys, engineers and designers also make very enviable salaries while living under the “not for profit” moniker. So, at the end of the year, when their well-paid accountants are preparing their books to show “no profit”, their balance sheets may not show a profit but everyone was handsomely compensated. That is the only significant difference between them and a “for profit” developer. Well, that and the various tax breaks afforded to them that the “for profit” developer doesn’t receive, increasing the playing field to be even more disproportionate.

The Paul favors this action. Why wouldn’t he? Its right in line with his continued “ghettoization” of the Fairview section of Greenburgh which is currently running on all cylinders. While the Town did not have to participate in the Westchester County HUD Housing Settlement because there was, to quote The Paul, “An over abundance of affordable housing in Greenburgh,” the reality is he’s over-saturated this one area while protecting votes in others. It’s time for the residents to be heard! We do not need special interest groups with their own agendas having a special line that allows them to get their own dispensation for their projects while the owners of the Town, the resident taxpayers, are forced to wait on longer and slower moving lines. This must be stopped! We can only hope.