Censorship in Greenburgh, The New “Norm”

 The “sanitizing” of Mr Feiner’s illegal actions with last night’s just-passed AT-1 resolution because he generated a guilty verdict in the Fortress Bible Church discrimination case, borders on a new low. It is illegal, illogical and ill conceived. More appreciably, it’s a new level of dishonesty and something that should not be tolerated in our Town. Why? Because whomever authorized and subsequently made the changes are illegally altering official Town records for their own benefit. But Mr Feiner and his Board know that there will be no consequences for these actions. Mr Feiner is an expert skirting the law instead of directly violating it with his actions. And when called to task, he just shrugs it off and say, “If you don’t like what I’m doing, sue me!”

This sanitizing of information is clearly nothing less than censorship. Need another example? More Town censorship reared its ugly head during last night’s meeting when the G10 revealed a (roughly) 30 minute deletion from the November 26th Town Board work session with Theodore Young Commissioner William Carter. Viewers of the work session watching on computer or TV were able to witness the entire meeting during the live transmission.

The question you may be asking yourself is why was anything censored and why did someone go back to review an old video archive in the first place? It’s simple really. Questions about the Xposure program had been raised. At a following Town Board meeting, the Board was asked about the Xposure program and Councilman Jones tried to answer the questions. He said the issue was less about Xposure, and more about the TYCC generating revenue. After Mr Jones apparently failed to provide a satisfactory answer for the resident who was seeking a direct and concise answer to the questions, the meeting adjourned. The resident querying the Board decided to go to the Town website shortly thereafter to see what was actually said. That’s when she found the gap of about thirty minutes where the information she sought should have been.

Several residents brought up the subject of the video deletion at the December 16^th Town Board meeting. The three remaining Board members claimed to have no knowledge of the censorship they were referencing. ABG will give them the benefit of the doubt that they did not know of this. And, although each Board member professed no knowledge of the deletion (censoring), its also a “stretch” for us, given the shenanigans we’ve witnessed from this administration. This was a sloppily edited deletion that was obvious to all who watched the beginning of the Part 3 session with Mr Carter.

It is unknown who may have made the deletion, how or when it happened. However, the members on the dais said they would investigate and will report what they find. ABG reached out to the Video Department manager, who stated he had watched the piece five or six times, sees the section in question but cannot explain what might have happened. To see the section in question, go to http://greenburghny.swagit.com/play/11262013-524 at about the three minute portion of the Part 3 transmission.

ABG was successful in getting a “clean” video copy of the original meeting. After reviewing the video, we understand why the deletion might have been made, but disagree with it being done. After all, when Councilman Ken Jones yelled during a meeting at resident Hal Samis to “Sit down! Sit the F*** down!” it remained on the website. Why start to covertly remove information from the public unless you have done something wrong or have something to hide?

The work session of November 26th found Theodore Young Commissioner William Carter joining the Board to discuss his portion of the Town budget and his department’s audit. This was explained to him as a routine audit and it was simply his department’s turn. He said he had a few questions for them as well, joking back and forth with members in attendance. Then it jumps to him examining the budget. Where’d the footage go?

The missing discussion ensued with a question Mr Carter had regarding the Xposure program line item in his budget for $115,000 (net), when and why it was put there? His questioning of Xposure being in his budget instead of the Towns is because he has no control over the program, its funding or running of it.

Councilman Sheehan, who used to routinely throw himself onto the sword for Mr Feiner, was not around. In his stead, Town Clerk Judith Beville stated that the Video Department is made up of highly skilled people using complicated equipment. She would know as that group falls under her authority. But she didn’t know what might have happened to cause the missing 30-minute segment from the work session video. Morgan, Jones and Juettner all continued to claim ignorance with the deleted video.

The question of the night and subsequent day, is who deleted the 30-minute portion of the video and why? Was whoever did this acting upon orders from someone else, i.e., a superior or an administrative member? Was it someone in the administration who gleaned this editing information from YouTube? And what would be the motivation for doing this? Could it be to not have one of Mr Feiner’s programs assaulted? Could it just be another chink in Mr Feiner’s slowly failing political armor? If this was anything but a mechanical glitch, and one that is verifiable and not just someone’s word, the parties involved should be terminated. After all, this is Bizarro Greenburgh and Mr Feiner will just give them another position. It has to change in order for us to truly have A Better Greenburgh.

Town Board Forces Unincorporated Residents to Pay Discrimination Settlement

The Greenburgh Town Board voted 3-1 (Feiner/ Morgan/Jones vs Juettner) to approve a $6.5 million payment over five years, not ten, to settle the Fortress Bible Church discrimination and constitutional rights violation case by Mr Feiner, Ms Juettner, and others. Mr Sheehan was not in attendance as we learned he was in holiday/GWB “traffic hell”. He arrived after the meeting and said had he been in attendance, he too, would have voted against the resolution. He told us that he believed the Town could have negotiated better and gotten a better “deal” had they not rushed to do this.

You may recall that Mr Feiner often says we must act swiftly on various problems. ABG believes that he does this so as to try to get what he wants done with little scrutiny before the G10 and others uncover the real information and reasons for his actions. You’ll also recall that a prior Feiner Town Board voted unanimously to prevent the Mount Vernon church from building on the property they purchased near the Sprain Brook Parkway and Dobbs Ferry Road. Each time this point is discussed, Mr Feiner insists on reiterating that it was a unanimous decision almost trying to make it sound like what he did was the correct thing to do. It doesn’t. It reminds us of the age-old saying, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

It’s extremely disturbing that town officials anywhere, especially in Greenburgh, would be found guilty of violating the constitutional rights of any church, destroying evidence and knowingly lie while testifying under oath. This is exactly what Mr Feiner did! What’s also disturbing is that Mr Feiner has had twenty two years to payoff residents in exchange for votes and turning a blind eye to his illegal behavior. He accomplishes this handily by seeming to perform special efforts for them. If a resident calls to say there is a pothole in front of the home, he sends a crew to fix it and makes a big deal of it. If that resident called the highway department or one of it’s assistants, they would do the same thing – unceremoniously of course – because that’s what they do. But campaigning is Mr Feiner’s gig and he’s had a long, long time to perfect it. It obviously works.

Town Comptroller Bart Talamini reported that of the $6.5 million settlement, $5.5 million won't be covered by insurance. It is believed there are three insurance companies involved in the guilty verdict settlement payoff and the Town is seeking outside counsel to try to get more money for the settlement payoff. Regardless of how many insurance companies or how much money the Town receives from them for the guilty verdict payoff, the balance must be raised and paid for by the Unincorporated Town taxpayers and doesn’t include any monies from the Villages.

The discrimination and constitutional rights violation payments will be made over five years and not the ten years originally “sold” to the public by Mr Feiner. Mr Talamini said the Town will borrow the money and taxpayers will repay $1.1 million in principal plus interest per year over the five-year period. The reality for the Unincorporated taxpayers is like having to pay the entire guilty verdict fine without any insurance money.

While Mr Feiner admitted during the trial and his equally ill-fated appeal that he had discriminated against and violated the constitutional rights of the Fortress Bible Church, he played a bit of “Fast and Furious” by exchanging a poorly worded, altered resolution (AT1) that was passed by he and his Board last night. His sanitized version of the resolution was designed to remove any admission of guilt by Mr Feiner, Ms Juettner and his prior Town Board’s illegal actions. His end-game was to make this seem like just another case of a judgement against the Town by yet another judge that didn’t like him. He publicly bemoans that he disagrees with the verdict and the settlement, but simply wants us to move on. With this vote last night, he’s able to sweep more illegal activities under the proverbial rug and away from public scrutiny. Shame on him and shame on them for going along with yet more of the same for their own political expediency.

If we are ever to have a Town that favors true open government, honesty and integrity as well as just being a nice place to live and raise a family, many things must change. Then we may finally have A Better Greenburgh.

Trend Continues By Town of Changing Documents To Hide Lies

The Town Board is holding a meeting tonight at 8PM at Town Hall to vote on a resolution to pay the fine levied against the Town for the guilty verdict with the Fortress Bible Church case. That case, which stretched on for years, was a constant point of contention during this last Democratic Primary race between Mr Feiner and his challenger, Robert Bernstein. During the campaign between these two Supervisor candidates, Mr Bernstein correctly pointed out that the Town should seek to settle the case to avoid a heftier outlay of money. He also pointed out that by delaying, the courts would not look favorably on the Town and it could cost us more. Finally, he also said our insurance policy would not provide enough coverage to pay the entire judgement. Mr Feiner typically responded the insurance policy would cover the entire amount of the fine.

In a just-switched document online, the Town is going to enter a resolution (AT1) authorizing payment of the fine for Mr Feiner, Ms Juettner and an earlier Town Board’s guilty verdict. The insurance company will pay $1,000,000; the Town will pay $2,250,000 on or before January 10, 2014; and $3,250,000 on or before August 31, 2014. We should note that while the insurance company is scheduled to pay one-sixth of the judgement, Mr Feiner continues to say otherwise. More importantly and beyond Mr Feiner’s lies about who will pay what, is that the Unincorporated Town residents, without assistances from the Villages, will be forced to pay for five-sixths of Mr Feiner’s discrimination  judgement.

Next on the docket is AT2. This resolution is to retain counsel to go after more money than the $1,000,000 the insurance company has offered to pay. The price tag for this little venture is “only” $15,000. The issue with this resolution is that there were three other resolutions previous to it stating fees be paid to this law firm with the stipulation it not exceed the stated amount. On AT-7 from 10/27/2010, the amount for this retention was not to exceed $25,000 or further authorization. On AT-1 from 06/22/2011, the amount for this retention was not to exceed $25,000 or further authorization. On AT-2 from 09/12/2012, the amount for this retention was not to exceed an additional $25,000 or further authorization and $75,000 in total (or further authorization).

Obviously, the counsel retained by the Town has not faired well for Greenburgh. And, after $75,000 and a guilty verdict, do we really want to continue to retain this law firm? And, whether we do or not retain them, is another “not to exceed $15,000” worth it? We think not. All of this is not boding well for the Town. The document swap on the Town’s website two hours before the meeting just bares out the constant trickery the Feiner administration utilizes to hide their illegal behavior, racism and discrimination they are so fond of practicing. It’s time for a change. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Feiner To Use AAA Bond Rating - Mum As Costly Decision For Taxpayers Is Levied!

Many residents had repeatedly questioned Mr Feiner and his Town Board at their public meetings as to when they would inform taxpayers how much the fines for Mr Feiner’s Civil Rights violations of the Fortress Bible Church would be and would be made public? As usual, Mr Feiner issued the order of the day for his Board: remain silent. It’s this contempt that has caused many residents to throw up their hands in disgust and utter, “Why bother?” Why bother indeed. As you can see by reading the documents below, lying and dishonesty was in abundance as evident in their omission by silence. The taxpayers have a right to know what their elected officials are doing. These Greenburgh representatives seemed to have forgotten this fundamental point. That’s transparency.

Each time the public asked what was being done about the settlement and how much the Town would be forced to pay, Mr Feiner would matter-of-factly dismiss the questioning taxpayer by saying, “I’m not worried, the Town insurance will cover it.” When that statement was challenged, he would start espousing the Town’s AAA Bond Rating or ramble on about the benefits of mulching leaves, until Councilman Sheehan would interrupt and try to get their meeting back on their track. Mr Sheehan is less actively helping Mr Feiner keep his feet out of his mouth since being attacked by Mr Feiner during this past Democratic Primary.

On this Monday’s agenda will be the resolution to address the guilty verdicts by Mr Feiner and another of his previous Town Boards and paying the fines for them. The total is $6,500,000! Yes, $6.5 million. Taking a look online, you’ll find these two agenda items. If you click on the links we’ve provided, they should take you to the two documents listed under each agenda item. Or you can simply read them here.

A few key highlights in italics from the first document are:

“the Defendants had violated Section 2(a)(2) of RLUIPA, the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, the Free Exercise Clause of the New York Constitution, the Equal Protection Clause of the New York Constitution, and New York CPLR Article 78...” 

This is primarily the gist of the lawsuit that found Mr Feiner and a different one of his Town Boards guilty of violating the Constitutional rights of the Church and its members. The Fortress Bible Church is a church based in Mt Vernon, NY. Given this verdict, we can’t help but also think of the statement made by former Town Councilwoman Sonya Brown during her last March Town Board meeting. You may recall she said to Mr Feiner, on the record, that he instructed her and the other candidates running on his ticket not to campaign in the Fairview section of the Town because those voters were unintelligent and they’d be wasting their time campaigning there. It’s also when Mr Feiner decided she would be jettisoned from the Board, hence the term, “Sonya’d”. Then there’s the WestHelp debacle caused by Mr Feiner to remove the affordable housing from the Westchester Community College campus for Valhalla votes. Apparently, Mr Feiner is all for affordable housing as long as he can cluster it in Fairview and not Boulder Ridge, the gated community he lives in. These are compelling reasons to see Mr Feiner as he truly is, a racist!

“WHEREAS, the issues of damages and costs having not yet been determined, the parties to the lawsuit have been litigating the issues of damages and costs; and...”

Each time Mr Feiner and his Board were asked about any discussions regarding the guilty verdict fines, he shrugged them off. He even went so far as to say they haven’t had any discussions. ABG finds it difficult to accept since we have caught Mr Feiner in numerous lies  before. When Mr Lewis was asked the same question, his “attorney statement” was usually the same, “I can’t discuss an ongoing case.” While that would sort of make sense, each time it was brought up during a public meeting, the conditioned response from one of the Board members was to make a motion to adjourn to Executive Session to discuss personnel issues. Its amazing how open government works in Greenburgh.

“WHEREAS, after extensive settlement discussions,...”

So, each time the public queried Mr Feiner and his Town Board, and the public was given the “no answer answer”, Mr Feiner and his Board could have simply said we are meeting with the Church, courts, and our attorneys to work out an arrangement. Unfortunately, Mr Feiner was also found to not be a credible witness who could not be believed by the courts. Really? We’ve known this for years and it explains why we study everything he says and continue to endorse the G10.

“...all outstanding issues (damages, costs, and attorney fees) in the case for the payment of $6,500,000 (Six million, five hundred thousand dollars), with payment to be made in the following manner: (1) $1,000,000 to be paid by the Town’s principal insurance company before the end of December, 2013; (2) a payment by the Town of $2,250,000 on or before January 10, 2014; and (3) a payment by the Town of $3,250,000 by August 31, 2014, which will be made upon the receipt of the proceeds from the sale of bonds that the Town will be selling, in calendar year 2014, as part of its regular projected borrowing; and...”

Note that the insurance portion of the coverage Mr Feiner typically said would cover the fines actually will not. Ironically, then Supervisor challenger and Primary Candidate Robert Bernstein said while campaigning that the Town’s insurance would not cover the verdict’s fines. Mr Feiner claimed Mr Bernstein was lying. While Mr Bernstein lost the primary and subsequently could not run against Mr Feiner, it was he who was the candidate telling the truth, not Mr Feiner! So the Town insurance will pay roughly one sixth of the fines against the Town. Taxpayers will be forced to pay the rest for Mr Feiner’s racism. The good news is that the bonds the Town must now issue to cover the payments will be using the lowest interest rates possible because of the Towns AAA Bond Rating. Does everyone else feel that special tingle too?

AT 1 - 12/16/13
Resolution authorizing the Town Supervisor to enter into a settlement agreement with Fortress Bible Church, at a cost not to exceed $6,500,000

AT 2 - 12/16/13
Resolution authorizing the continued retention of Landman Corsi Ballaine & Ford, as counsel for insurance coverage issues related to the Fortress Bible Church matter, at a cost not to exceed an additional $15,000 without further authorization from the Town Board

ABG is sure Mr Feiner’s next Deflection Mode spin will be something akin to, “I’m proud of the Town’s great, triple-A bond rating. Because of it we’re able to issues bonds for these fines. I still believe the judge disliked me, which is why the Town is being forced into this judgement. Again, I’m just glad I didn’t get cau... Wait a minute, I did get caught. Umm, you know, the Town has maintained a triple-A bond rating for many years and was voted the 80th best place to live. Isn’t it great that so many people are mulching their leaves?”

It’s time for the Feiner devotees to seek a new leader, one with integrity, honesty and that believes in term limits and stop their blind endorsement of him and his illegal shenanigans. Then we will start to see A Better Greenburgh.

Fortress Bible Delay Helps Racists

A delay in the financial restitution for the Fortress Bible Church decision as it relates to the Town and its residents will only help The Paul and his co-racist conspirators breeze through their unchallenged election in November. For those unfamiliar (how can that be?) with the Fortress Bible case, we’ll recap.

Fortress Bible Church, a growing evangelical Christian church in Mt. Vernon purchased property in Greenburgh to build and move to a 500-seat chapel and a school for kindergarten through 12th grade in Greenburgh. The location can be identified by two concrete posts set against the trees at the north side of Dobbs Ferry Road by the entrance to the Sprain Brook Parkway north. You know the spot, it’s where former County Legislator and now State Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti, used to live. You may also recall he is a good friend of The Paul, but has since moved to Tarrytown with everything that’s been going on. Could it be The Paul tried to stop the church’s growth plans from the inside to help preserve his good friend’s neighborhood?

The Fortress Bible case, specifically the lawsuit where a federal judge determined the Town of Greenburgh (Feiner & Town Board) violated the Fortress Bible church’s constitutional religious rights by rejecting its building plans, was confirmed after an appeal and subsequent loss by The Paul and current Town Councilwoman Diana “Sleepy” Juettner. The decision and subsequent appeal decision was upheld in a federal court of appeals! Clearly there is no doubt here. This interprets into a financial, as well as moral victory, for the Church while bringing shame to our Town leaders. It also means they will be able to proceed and use money won from the Town to fund their expansion! The estimates as to an amount of the decision range from $4 million to $8 million dollars. Thankfully for The Paul and Diana “Sleepy” Juettner, they will be running unopposed and easily get re-elected – even though they should immediately resign! Naturally, the Town will be footing the bill for their racist actions and they will not be forced to pay one cent. Sadly, the residents of the Unincorporated Town will be “on the hook” for the money required to pay this off – again.

The Paul has arrogantly been quoted as saying, “This is not going to be doom and gloom for the town. I don’t think the number will be nearly as high as (church attorneys) are estimating. No matter what the damages are, I don’t anticipate Greenburgh going over the tax cap. The town will still be very financially healthy after all this is resolved.” Of course it won’t be doom and gloom for him, he has a handsome salary as supervisor and has long stopped giving back portions of his salary for non-delivery of services. You’ll recall that old publicity stunt where he would give back what amounted to pocket change if he didn’t deliver on projects during the course of the year? It was an effective media tool but delivered little else. Worthy media coverage would be if he gave a portion of his salary back for every guilty court verdict and/or certiorari adjustments the Town has had to pay out!

The Town residents continue to scrape by with a failing infrastructure, guilty verdicts, storms, floods, 4-year contract negotiatons, increased taxes from every side and all The Paul can do is try to do is deflect by saying it’s not going to be “doom and gloom” and he “doesn’t anticipate going over the tax cap”. Adherence to the NYS tax cap is a joke just as not going over it means nothing with all the exemptions included in it. The Paul is not worried because he is running for re-election unopposed and his track record of calling the “right shots” is so stellar.

He called it when he said “No!” to the Fortress Bible Church moving to Greenburgh ($8M). He called it when he said ignore doing town-wide revaluations ($1M /yr & approx.$4M to date). He called it when he decided to not renew the WestHelp contract with the County ($1.2M/yr). He called it when he and Town Attorney Tim “Remediation” Lewis guaranteed that remediation costs will go no higher than $100K for 715 Dobbs Ferry Road at the former Frank’s Nursery. He called it with Dromore Road. He called it with the water filtration “cap” on Ardsley Road. He called it when he tried to enter into an illegal lease with GameOn 365 instead of selling the property as required by both County and State law after foreclosure acquisition. He called it when he told The Fercliff School of Yonkers to cease their search for a new location and move into the WestHelp facility. The list goes on...

ABG has predicted The Paul and his Stepfords will ultimately sell the property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road to GameOn 365. Nearby House of Sports’ owners have offered $3.5M – twice what GameOn 365 insists they can scrape together given more time. The Paul and his Stepfords new mantra is they must do their due diligence before making a decision on the property. This is “code” to delay, giving GameOn 365 time to try to raise enough money for at least a deposit for the purchase. For any private sector businessman, this transaction would be a no-brainer and would be an easy decision. But The Paul promised GameOn 365 the property in closed door dealings with the owners before acquiring the property through foreclosure. We’re also sure if GameOn 365 can scrape together the deposit, The Paul will offer to “carry” the mortgage. Can anyone say Barney Frank?

Read more: Media Complicity or Just a Lie? at :

http://abettergreenburgh.blogspot.com/2013/04/media-complicity-or-just-lie.html

Then there’s the issue of illegal spot-zoning throughout the Town, enhancing The Paul’s ability to serve up a builder’s “delight” for his developer friends while residents must struggle with bureaucratic red tape, confusing forms and attitudes from departmental employees. Residential applicants are routinely submerged into numerous mazes of building requirements just to make changes to their property. This highlights a portion of what is wrong with this administration. The average permit process in the Town for a resident can take a minimum of one year and that doesn’t mean your project will even begin as the inspections, changes and costs might drag the process out even longer. Note: we invite ABG readers to share their experiences with us.

Contributing to The Paul’s ability to spot-zone are faulty zoning maps that developers often use to make their case in front of the complicit Town Board. These outdated and incorrect maps are what is allowing The Paul the ability to change zoning ad hoc. His Stepford Board votes “Yes” to whatever is placed before them. Although, a great risk to her political future, co-racist Councilwoman Diana “Sleepy” Juettner voted nay to a recent motion for a change. It must have been her turn to publicly go against The Paul – with his blessing of course. Thankfully, the Comprehensive Planning Committee has submitted new and improved zoning maps that may slow some of these occurances.

We have numerous properties throughout the Town that have seen spot-zoning changes. More importantly, ABG knows that developers, contractors and builders continually float in and out of Town Hall and will stop to discuss their Town business with The Paul. The proverbial kiss of his ring aside, we’re sure they’re there to test the waters and once they get the official nod, they know its okay to proceed. Obviously, we cannot prove what goes on behind closed doors. But ABG can review the decisions and projects the Town moves through at abnormally record pace and can tell something is very wrong in Gotham. Too bad we don’t have a Batman to rescue us. We can only hope.

The 3R’s: Racism, Republicans, Reisman

There has been a synchronal campaign created and executed by The Paul before this upcoming election season. It focuses on vote-getting and re-electing several incumbents, namely The Paul (D), County Executive Rob Astorino (R), his Director of Communications political payback appointee Ned McCormack (R), County Legislator Michael Smith (R). In a minor power struggle are this year’s Greenburgh Town Board candidates, Diana “Sleepy” Juettner (D) and Francis “Back Pocket” Sheehan (R then D). And, in for a penny, in for an untold amount, is the Journal News as well as their featured columnist/employee/front man, Phil “Angry Man” Reisman. Another Astorino appointee to a “do nothing” position serving the FAS* Koolaid is Matt Richter (R), who will post the Ferncliff cause on Facebook and elsewhere. At least this is a non-partisan racist attack.

Once a week the listening public gets to hear the “Angry Man” from the Journal News, columnist Phil Reisman, on his WVOX low-intensity talk show. He received the “Angry Man” moniker from the Journal News years ago when the paper was trying to create some buzz about his column. His written words are usually more entertaining than his vocal ones, with monotone droning-on with topics of minor interest, proving why he is a better columnist than talk show host. This show was a discussion with two Ferncliff School representatives, a mother and daughter combination who apparently run, or are involved in teaching at the Ferncliff School.

Reisman has written several “columns” supporting The Paul’s racist and this long range, Valhalla vote-getting scheme. ABG believes The Paul purposely did not renew the WestHelp lease and intentionally let the 108 affordable housing units degrade. His plan is to destroy them by leaving windows and doors open in hopes of developing mold and mildew, animal damage and theft. So far, his strategy is working. The Paul is hoping to hand the County owned property over to Ferncliff in a coup for Valhalla votes. It’s a skewed plan as he thinks as the lessee he can turn the WestHelp property over to Ferncliff for use as they wish. While this plan may seem flawless in The Paul’s own warped mind, more rational Greenburgh residents know otherwise. Fortunately, they have fought this illegal and immoral attempt by The Paul. But the conspirator and his cohorts plot on.

Reisman spoke with the two women representing Ferncliff, Pat and her daughter Kristen, and collectively tried to paint their current circumstances as bleak, bordering on desperate with no hope in site. No hope except for the only one plot in Westchester County - WestHelp’s! They came upon the WestHelp site from a recommendation of an acquaintance. They again explained their facility is too small, too old and needs to be vacated post haste! Reisman at one point had the audacity to say that he was asking questions and trying to remain impartial. Could it be he’s taking lessons in lying from The Paul? He is anything but impartial or objective about this issue. He, under the wink and nod of his masters at the Journal News, supports and has written multiple “advertorials” on behalf of the Ferncliff School.

Two or three callers dialed into the one hour long show after the half hour break. Naturally, they were all unfamiliar with the property, The Paul, but knew that Ferncliff needs the WestHelp property. One even referred to the property as in Elmsford and another said he didn’t know where it was situated as he was from New Rochelle. Whether regular callers, “plants”, or concerned citizens, these calls seemed too contrived and sounded like a setup! Regardless, the smokescreen that The Paul and his commiserating crew have concocted is being believed by many.

Finally, the money-maker phone call got through: County Legislator Michael Smith (R), whose connection with the Mayfair-Knollwood School Board and their illegal use of illegal payments from The Paul have become somewhat of a bit of political lore in Greenburgh and now Westchester County.
As if nothing has transpired, Smith began his onslaught as to why Ferncliff should get this property. ABG won’t list the entirety of his call, but he did state that the existing housing was full of mold and mildew and uninhabitable. As such, the apartments need to be torn down. Simply, this is a lie. What he did not state was that The Paul’s recent RFP request for the property garnered six proposals. One was from Ferncliff. The other five were plausible senior and/or assisted living proposals that would combine some smaller apartments into larger units. Smith stated these units were all very small and couldn’t understand using them as apartments as they were the size of a dorm room. Obviously, Smith has never been homeless or even worked with homeless people. If he had, he would recognize that living and sleeping in a small single room apartment (even dorm) with a bathroom is much more preferable to a cot in a shelter or even a cardboard box outdoors. Although it is possible Smith has hurried by a box on a sidewalk no realizing there might have been a homeless person inside. Add in the responsibility of a child or two and his position becomes even more incomprehensible!

While speaking on behalf of Ferncliff, Smith, stated that “we can no longer bury these children away.” Nobody is saying we should bury anybody anywhere. However, it’s exactly what he and his cohorts are trying to do to the seniors and veterans in need of this existing housing. Smith, Astorino, McCormack, Reisman, Richter et al, are trying to disguise their racism while pretending to be helping another “less fortunate” group. Both groups are worthy of support and help. But pitting one against the other is morally reprehensible! The issue is that The Paul violated and broke the contract the Town had with the County. For that reason and that reason alone, the County must terminate the contract with the Town of Greenburgh and utilize the facility as intended - for low income housing!

It would be nice to pick and choose who moves next door to you, but you can’t. It would be nice if we had representatives who represented the neighborhoods and their interests. We don’t. Yet, Valhalla has a small group of NIMBY, racist politicians looking to do just that. They were unsuccessful in their attempts to block WestHelp when the HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo had them built – over a mile away from any other Valhalla homes or neighborhoods. They were able to ostracize these single mothers with children on an island-like campus with no ability to “escape”. Then The Paul had the Town pay to install a metal fence with a barbed wire topping, to “keep them in”. Unbelievable!

If The Paul, Astorino, Smith, The Journal News, Reisman and Richter wish to continue their illegal and immoral behavior, so be it. There are many others who are also interested in the outcome of this facility and helping the Ferncliff School find a location while maintaining the apartments for low income housing. In fact, County Executive candidate Ken Jones said that the County Board of Legislators is trying to help Ferncliff find another location even though they are a for-profit business.

The County has offered numerous sites to Ferncliff at numerous locations, which Ferncliff refused. There is also additional property on the Westchester Community College Campus that ABG is told can accommodate Ferncliff. Let’s see what Ferncliff’s answer will be. It seems like this is another Greenburgh fiasco induced by The Paul that will unfortunately end up in court. ABG would rather see it get worked out without going to court. Maybe we can offer sensitivity instruction to The Paul, Astorino, Smith, Richter and Reisman and hope it sinks in. We can only hope.

* Feiner-Astorino-Smith

WestHelp Fiasco Has Gone On Far Too Long

ABG has previously posted the arguments as well as the illegal actions of The Paul toward the WestHelp facility as he tries to buy votes from the Mt. Pleasant/Valhalla N.I.M.B.Y. crowd. The Paul and his Board has purposefully allowed viable, structurally sound apartments that he in part, authorized, endorsed and even helped build while a County Legislator, fall into disrepair. Now, as Town Supervisor, he has changed his tune with affordable housing, claiming we have a glut of affordable housing in Greenburgh, and is doing a 180° reversal, insisting we tear down this affordable housing!

At a forum meeting sponsored by the N.A.A.C.P. last week, he showed his true colors by making racist remarks and insulting the members in attendance and the work they did years ago to get these apartments built! Visibly stunned after being held to task for making his comments, he stammered to come up with a tolerable answer. The audience wasn’t buying. You can read more on previous ABG posts, “Feiner Insults N.A.A.C.P.” in two parts.

There was a “Contacts” sheet provided at the meeting and we’ve had requests from our loyal readers for that information so they could reach out to our elected officials regarding this travesty that has gone on for far too long. ABG is happy to oblige.

Here is the contact information:

Town of Greenburgh:
Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Ave., White Plains, NY 10603

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner: pfeiner@greenburghny.com; 914-993-1540

Town Council members (914-993-1544 + Ext.):
Kevin Morgan: kmorgan@greenburghny.com; 914-993-1544 x 3
Diana Juettner: djuettner@greenburghny.com; 914-993-1544 x 2
Francis Sheehan: fsheehan@greenburghny.com; 914-993-1544 x 4
(Note: Sheehan repeatedly & openly states at meetings he does not read emails)
Kenneth Jones: kjones@greenburghny.com 914-993-1544 x1

Westchester County

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, 148 Martine A ve. White Plains, NY10601
914-995-2900

Westchester County Board of Legislators
800 Michaelian Office Building 148 Martine Avenue, 8th Floor White Plains, New York 10601
Main Tel: (914)995-2800;

Chairman Ken Jenkins
995-2829

John Testa, Peekskill
995-2828

Peter Harckham, Bedford, Majority Leader
995-2810

Michael Smith, Greenburgh
995-2847

Michael Kaplowitz, Somers
995-2848

David Gelfarb, Rye
995-2834

Bill Ryan, White Plains
995-2827

Judith Myers, Mamaroneck
995-2802

Alfreda Williams, Greenburgh
995-2833

Catherine Borgia, Ossining
995-2812

Sheila Marcotte, Eastchester
995-2817

Jim Maisano, Minority Leader, New Rochelle
995-2826

Mary Jane Shimsky, Greenburgh
995-2821


Lyndon Williams, Mount Vernon
995-2837

Bernice Spreckman, Yonkers
995-2815

Gordon Burrows, Yonkers
995-2830

Ken Jenkins, Yonkers, Chariman
995-2829

Virginia Perez, Yonkers
995-2846

New York State
NY State Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
(518) 474-8390

Representing Greenburgh in Albany:
State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins,
28 Wells Avenue Building 3

Yonkers, NY 10701
914-423-4031

Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti
303 South Broadway Suite 229 

Tarrytown, NY 10591
914-631-1605