Wednesday, April 25, 2007

FEMA AWARD DOES NOT GO FAR ENOUGH -BUSINESSES SHOULD GET GRANTS, NOT LOANS

President Bush has signed a declaration awarding Westchester FEMA assistance. Flood victims are eligible for up to $28,000 to address flood damage. However, businesses are only eligible for low interest loans.
Many businesses (including those on E Hartsdale Ave) lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They have been out of business for over a week-- some will be out for months. Grants may help them stay in business. If they only receive loans they may be forced to close shop.
I hope FEMA offers businesses the same assistance as residents.
For info about FEMA call 1800-621-3362 or register on line at www.fema.gov

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Nice to see the supervisor is finally acknowledging what the rest of us already knew -- that the losses on East Hartsdale Avenue are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, that some of the businesses may be closed for months, and some may never reopen.

So, in response to that, the supervisor says FEMA's rules should be changed.

But why should the rules for Greenburgh be any different than they are for any other federally declared disaster area in America?

Indeed, what work has the supervisor done even to make the case that the rules here should be different?

In fact, Feiner has done no work in this regard. To the contrary, he is waging a campaign to blame others and thereby try to shift public attention away from his own failings.

However, it probably won't work.

It's becoming more and more clear that those destroyed businesses on East Hartsdale Avenue will have no recourse other than to hold the town liable for (1) not having a plan in place pre-storm to clean out the storm drains, and (2) having the town supervisor issue a pre-storm press release falsely assuring them and the public that the drains were being cleaned when that was not in fact true.

Anonymous said...

Paul and the Town Board . why don't we just pay them ? They already have a retirement plan that doesn't work. The village firefighters get access to the pools which they do not pay taxes
for. We are not getting a good return for our money. Every volunteer FD has to call mutual aid for even little fires beacause they don't have manpower especially during the Day. Also while we're at it it's a waste of money to have a Greenburgh Tech Rescue team with police officers. Talk about duplication. They should fight crime not play firefighter.

Anonymous said...

Whoops! above was placed in wrong blog

Hartsdale Wine & Liquor Store said...

Hartsdale Wines and Liquor will reopen.
Our hours are and always have been 10am to 8pm Mon.-Sat.
Our store relys on the foot traffic and train crowds.
We were busy enough to survive the garage project so we will live through this.
As far a people who live in the town. I am one of those double wammies. I live on the ave and own a store in the village. My wife and I are in our 30's and most of our nieghbors are.
We are very busy on saturday's. Mostly all people from the avenue.
We have been here 75 years and will remain here for as long as our building stands!
914-723-3535 Robert Troy

4/25/2007 3:27 PM

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Troy,

Just want to understand better the situation from a Hartsdale merchant.

I am confused. Are you 75 years old and have been "here" for 30 years or are 30ish years old and have been here for 75 years?
But if being in your 30's and being in your store all the time, where do you shop? If you get in the car, say for food on Sunday, don't you ever get the urge to go beyond and buy things at stores with a bigger selection and lower prices? Or do you buy things online? And as busy as you are on Saturdays, would it not help if there were more parking and people might come from the real Scarsdale or are they all captive to Zachy's?

But I was curious when I first read it...and perhaps you could answer on your next trip to the blog.
How does your boxed and bottled inventory become worthless due to flooding? If it has no value, I know some people who will offer you $1 or more a bottle.

Would it be a surprise to know that liquor stores (and wine) often are open later than 8:00, especially on Saturday nights. And it is now legal to be open on Sunday.

Hartsdale Wine & Liquor Store said...

Well since I've been at the store since 1996 I think I have an idea on what time to open and what time to close. I have been open later and it has been a waste of my time and electricity. The town also has a time limit just for the village area. I belive it is 10pm. Central ave can be open until 12am. Belive me I do enough business in the 10 hours I work 6 days a week. And as far as sunday if you've ever been in the village on a sunday you'd know it is very busy during the breakfast time 9am-12pm. By law I cannot open until 12pm just when the town slows down, once again being open doesnt work for me. Besides by sunday I've already worked 70 hours because I deliver after the store closes. 85% of my deliveries are to scarsdale. Zachy isn't as big as you think. Especially with the label scandal. But it probably seems that way when your shopping there.
Our store itself has been in exsistance for 75 years. The oldest establishment on the street, or so I was told by the previous owner Dick O'leary.
I don't buy a thing online besides airline tickets and booking hotels.
I stress to my wife, who has plenty of time to take care of my personal business on my busy saturday, To use our nieghbor merchants first and central ave last and most of my nieghbors in our building do the same.
65% percent of my customers come from scarsdale. I can prove this by coupons I regulary issue that have zone stamps. I advertise strictly in scarsdale and hartsdale. Belive it or not alot of people from the other side of the highway love our store and are very loyal to us.
Dick O'leary built a great business that he passed on to me.
I don't think you understand that boxed wine in cardboard soaked in oil,gas,diesil,waste and rain water for 27 hours is deemed unsalvagable by my insurance company. Cork is not a 100% sealant. You are sugesting I sell posibly poison wine. Not to mention it is unlawful. Maybe you should school yourself on State Liquor Authority Rules and Regulations.
I'm sorrry I don't recollect ever meeting you, but, feel free to contact me. 914-723-3535
I'm not really here to blog much, isn't my thing. I prefer face to face conversation. I find people arent as rude or snide when they're not cowardly hiding behind keyboards. not to say thats you.

Anonymous said...

"Grants may help them stay in business."

True, but that's not the law, and to change the law takes time. Plus, others may not agree that the law should be changed.

So, while it might be a nice idea, even if you were able to get the law changed some day, it would be of no assistance to the current situation.

Anonymous said...

Dear Hartsdale Residents (and others all over Town),

"FEMA award does not go far enough" is an understatement.

FEMA awards, try and qualify for one.

Contrary to what you think, the FEMA checkbook is not dispensing its money just because your address is:

Hartsdale Merchant
c/o Neptune
Atlantis, Greenburgh

If you have a dollar in your pocket or an IRA, you are refused.
Merchants and others need to understand that unless FEMA makes a mistake (often they co) they just don't send money without a completed questionnaire.
And on this questionnaire they ask.......

It is my understanding that if you have assets even those such as an IRA, they make you go use your own assets first.

Thus don't be so naive as to think that help is riding your way.

Before you despair, you might want to get a copy of Al Regula's of the Town DPW and show it to your lawyer. Their may very well be a pot of gold awaiting at the Court House door.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that the supervisor is fighting for all of us.

Anonymous said...

"I'm glad that the supervisor is fighting for all of us."

Huh? This comment makes no sense for the topic.

Anonymous said...

Paul,
I have to concur. This is unfair to businesses. I have an office building in Mamaroneck that had 6 feet of water in the lobby level. We had no power for a week. Fema should be offering grants to businesses as well, not only loans.

Anonymous said...

I wish the supervisor would admit his use of FEMA money for the hideous wall in front of what was previously known as Webb Field was a mistake. Then he should admit the wall was also put up in haste.

Anonymous said...

To Al Regula and DPW:

"Those April showers may come your way,
they bring the law suits that bloom in May..."

Anonymous said...

didn't eddie mae barnes and steve bass also vote for the 9/11 wall?

Anonymous said...

I know that Eddie Mae Barnes, Diana Juettner voted for the 9/11 wall. Believe that Steve Bass also voted for the wall at webb,

Anonymous said...

The prior two comments were writen by Paul Feiner himself. He has no defense for his hasty and ill-considered action in having the 9-11 wall built so as to destroy the beautiful open space on Webb Field, so he falls back on what he does best: in the politics of personal attack, he blames at least two or three other town board members for not stopping him.

Well, the other town board members have wised up. Never again will they take Feiner at his word when it comes to making any executive decision in this town.

Let's hope the town rids itself of Feiner this year once and for all.

Anonymous said...

Only a few weeks ago, people were concerned about a sitemeter on this blog.

Now I see an anonymous poster with the ability to announce that "the previous two postings were written by Feiner himself".

If only this poster would run for office. I'm sure there is a slot for someone who can "read" the web.

Anonymous said...

to the blogger who said never again will the board listen to Feiner...there's an election this fall. The current Board may not be around.