Monday, July 14, 2008

MONEY MAGAZINE NAMES GREENBURGH 80TH BEST PLACE TO LIVE--BIG HONOR FOR OUR TOWN! GREAT FOR PROPERTY VALUES TOO!

The Town of Greenburgh just received some great news. MONEY MAGAZINE has named our town number 80 in their list of top 100 best places to live in the United States. This is a great honor for the town. This success follows the recent Standard & Poors bond rating upgrade to AAA, a distinction shared by about 3% of the municipalities in the nation.

We’re very excited to have received this honor. But, won’t be satisfied until we make number 1. We want to be the best, not among the best.

PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

THIS IS WHAT MONEY MAGAZINE POSTED ON THEIR WEB SITE ABOUT GREENBURGH:

Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small cities

2008200720062005

80 of 100

80. Greenburgh, NY

Spooktoberfest in Greenburgh

WINNERTop 100 rank: 80
Population: 89,000
Compare Greenburgh to Top 10 Best Places

If you want to know what makes Greenburgh special, look no further than town hall. The city's remarkably open government (the town supervisor makes house calls to settle grievances) mirrors a community light-years away from the parts of New York state that appear on primetime crime dramas.

Winters are tough, but when the snow melts, 600 acres of parkland and the popular Veteran Town water park are a big draw.

Greenburgh's diverse population, once including jazz legend Cab Calloway and photography icon Gordon Parks, enjoys a compelling arts community with galleries housed at, where else, town hall.

103 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a crock. One thing the magazine specifically mentions is Veterans park. Not acquired by Paul. Paul insists on letting Villages use.

Anonymous said...

So are we to believe what the article says.
The author should take a survey of some of the residents to see how great this place is.
Did the author go to the Farview community to ask their opinion because they would be the only ones pleased with this town government .

Anonymous said...

Hopefully they don't actually come here and see the town's neglect of roadway maintenance. Maybe we could contract out the maintenance of the unincorporated roads to municipalities that demonstrate an understanding of the psychology of how economic development and roadway maintenance are linked. (Yonkers, Scarsdale, Mount Pleasant, and most of the villages, for example.)

Anonymous said...

Possibly the writer didnt understand that most of our 600 acres of Park land is USELESS (unless your name is Gold). Any other community our size with this much parland would have a golf course, etc. NOT US.

Anonymous said...

Too bad the "Best Places to Live" doesn't include an adjustment for the relative costs.
Greenburgh remains among the costliest places to own one's won home. Owning your home was once an important part of the American dream - now freeloading has replaced it.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, naysayers.

Anonymous said...

Just shows that Money Magazine doesnt understand local facts. And Paul, this wont help property values.

Anonymous said...

"Not The Journal Inquirer" rates Mike Kolesar of Greenburgh as #1 Town Comptroller in the tri-state
area. A big honor for our Town!

Good job, Mike.

Anonymous said...

What would the town critics say if Greenburgh was named one of the worst communities to live by a national magazine? You would celebrate!
Sorry guys--the town is impressing some key observers.

Anonymous said...

imagine if she got rid of sheehan and juettner - we might just be in the top ten!

juettner and sheehan - wrong for greenburgh.

Anonymous said...

There must be tens of thousands of communities across the country. Number 80. An accomplishment to be proud of.

Anonymous said...

Why not have the first windmill farm here in Greenburgh to make the headlines as a great place to live.
Your parkland are deplorable I wouldn't even go there .
Your roadways are for the birds.
Your taxes are high so what would entice others to move here------
Lower electrical bills.
Try it you may be numero uno on the residents list.
At the moment being on Money Magazines' list for best places to live doesn't concern us when we have such high taxes.
When we cannot sell our homes.
When we cannot leave our homes for fear of a burglary.
When garbage pickups will be altered.
When our roadways look like crap.
I would like to know where the magazine went to come to their conclusion.
At the rate that this town is going we will be lucky if we are still on any map.

Anonymous said...

NY/Westchester taxes #1 in the country. Greenburgh Central school taxes #1 in the country.

80? Let's pop the champagne corks? Hell. Greenburgh Central didn't even make Newsweeks top 1300list.

I'll bet Greenburgh takes 1st place in the least bang for the buck place to live on the entire planet.

You would think it could land in a top 10? 20? 30? 40?.......what a waste of money.

Anonymous said...

Franklin Township in NJ rated 5th.
Tell you anything?

Anonymous said...

Lower than #22 is just number-crunching - some objective and some subjective. Unfortunately we wouldn't qualify for #1-22.

HOW WE PICKED THE BEST PLACES TO LOVE

Using statistics from data provider OnBoard and consultant Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small cities for families. (Last year, we looked at small towns, with populations between 7,500 and 50,000.) Here's how:

716
Start with all U.S. cities that have populations of 50,000 to 300,000.

544
Exclude retirement communities, places where income is less than 85% or more than 201% of the state median, and those that are more than 95% white.

332
Screen out cities with high crime, big population declines, significant unemployment or job shrinkage, and long commutes.

261
Rank remaining places based on job growth, income increases, cost of living, housing affordability, school quality, arts and leisure options, safety, medical care, diversity and several ease-of-living criteria.

100
Factor in more data on the economy, jobs, housing prices, schools and taxes.

22
Visit and interview residents, assessing intangibles like sense of community.

1
Select Plymouth, Minn. based on the data and our findings.

Anonymous said...

oops, typo, Best Places to LIVE ... haha

Anonymous said...

School quality???????

Anonymous said...

school quality ... they probably included all the schools - edgemont, valhalla, pocantico, and maybe even the village schools ... strange as it may seem in comparison to the neighboring the districts, greenburgh central is ranked in good standing w the state

Anonymous said...

I guess if you factor in the housing prices in Greenburgh Central with the school quality elsewhere. The Paul Feiner approach.

Anonymous said...

More from columnist Phil ReismanMoney Mag Rates Greenburgh: 80th Best City
July
14 I can hear Paul Feiner leading the cheer now: “Hey, Greenbugh—We’re Number 80! We’re Number 80!”

That’s the ranking Money magazine just gave Greenburgh, 80th on a list of 100 American cities. Coming in first was Plymouth, Minn. (Say what?)

Greenburgh was praised for its parks and “remarkably open government.” But this will make Feiner’s political enemies sick to their stomachs. The town supervisor is cited for making “house calls” to settle grievances.

Here’s the top 10
Posted by Phil Reisman on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 1:12 pm |
| | 1 Comment »

Anonymous said...

Does Phil live in Greenburgh? Its real easy to like Paul if you dont live here.

Anonymous said...

Proud that Greenburgh is the only local government in Westchester to receive this honor. Proud that Greenburgh is only one of four communities in NYS to receive this honor.

Anonymous said...

Methodology?

You gotta love a "study" that calls Greenburgh a city.

Ok, all they're looking at is places (cities, towns) with populations greater than 50,000 and less than 300,000.

Anyone have any idea how many there are of these?

I don't but I suspect that the number is not so large as bloggers would assume. And as you approach the higher population markets, I suspect you'll find that the competition is industrial communities.

Then, how did they gather their data?

"If you want to know what makes Greenburgh special, look no further than Town Hall".

And there it is! Clearly they didn't send staffers to each city in the United States. Paul, god bless him, is not shy about accentuating the positive over the phone or internet.

All that Money Magazine did was follow the Journal News example: write about without visiting.

Maybe all this really says is that it is time to cancel your magazine subscription.

Anonymous said...

Hal, for once I agree with you. I had looked at the survey looking for places to retire to -- Lord knows I cant afford teh Greenburgh taxes much more. But then I just got a good laugh.

Anonymous said...

Note two important criteria - and then think about the implications.
First, a minimum population of 50,000. For Greenburgh to be included, the village populations must have been included. The 50,000population would exclude any one of our constituient communities taken by itself. (It would also exclude places like Scarsdale, Larchmont, Bedford, Chappaqua and the like because none of them are larger than 50,000 - no matter how you count. And some of them are at least as desirable as Greenburgh.)
Next, by eliminating anyplace whose median income is more than 201% of the state median, many of the communities cited above would again be excluded.
So, what the article really says is that for a relatively small city, Greenburgh is more desirable than says, Newark, Camden, Hoboken or Jersey City - or Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains and Yonkers.
Tell us something we didn't already know.

Anonymous said...

Ah Greenburgh - not the best place to live, merely a Feiner one.

Anonymous said...

To all the old closed mind flat earthers:

If you don't think the town is a great place to live as Money Magazine says then move! You can't be serious! A magazine that has a serious and intelligent constituency has given Greenburgh a great honor. Hint: Money magazine isn't the Scarsdale Inquirer.

Be proud of it. Or does your hate for the supervisor for all these years taint your thinking so much?

Anonymous said...

juettner will be leaving us!

klondike bar is ready to serve.

join klondike for a celebration in the freezer aisle at any local supermarket.

mention this blog for a free bar!!

Anonymous said...

Dear 7:54 -
The real question is not whether those who ask the hard questions about Greenburgh's long-term survivablilty should leave, but rather whether any of you gungho Paulists can think your way out of a paper bag - or understand enough about economics to keep Greenburgh from becoming this generation's Yonkers.

Anonymous said...

10:54 - I assume you're referring to Greenburgh becoming the Yonkers of the 1970s? Current-day Yonkers definitely has its act together - professional management, economic development, highway department operations, sensible taxes, etc. After my kids graduate, we're moving to Yonkers for sure. The only reason for a family to live in Greenburgh is if you live within the boundaries of Edgemont, Ardsley or Pocantico school districts.

Anonymous said...

Thousands and thousands of local governments. Greenburgh is the best and being recognized nationally for being the best.
Sorry, Bob!

Anonymous said...

I'll bet school quality included Edgemont and GC in the evaluation thus improving ranking. Someone should have clued Money in to the invisible wall between the 2 parts of town.

Anonymous said...

Money Magazine said today that it had been misled by Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner and was withdrawing its designation of Greenburgh as 80th best place to live.
"We were unaware that more than half of Greenburgh's population lives in villages, each with its own local government. We thought Greenburgh was city. We were never told that the unincorporated part of Greenburgh - the part not within a village - had a 21% tax hike this year and has been told to expect another whopping double digit increase next year. That's not indicative of a good and stable place to live. We were never told that the unincorporated part of the town has no elected officials of its own and yet pays more than 95% of the town's rapidly rising property tax bill. We've never heard of any municipality with a setup as unfair as that. We were never told that the town's tax base has been declining over the past twenty years. We were never told that the town is mired in litigation, including a claim by Fortress Bible, a church, that says it was discriminated against by the town when it tried to build. And as for Greenburgh's open government, we were misled about that too. We didn't realize that the supervisor's "house calls" were just a gimmick, that to avoid criticism, the supervisor has this year severely restricted the ability of town residents to speak at town board meetings, and that if residents want to know where things stand about the town budget these days, they must file formal freedom of information requests because the supervisor won't tell them. We were also very disappointed to learn that the town supervisor had taken tens of thousands of campaign contributions from developers with applications pending before the town."

"We're very disappointed that a town supervisor would work so hard to put his own personal political interests ahead of the people he's been elected to serve."

Anonymous said...

10:28 I guess you hate Paul Feiner so much that you had to make the comments that stated in no other words that he lied to the writer of the article.
Well I'm sure that the writer did his or her own research to make sure that it would not be taken apart word by word by idiots like you.
Had Paul lied to the writer we would have been number one.
How do you know that Paul was interviewed.
In todays world no matter who researches Greenburghs'history knows how the town is divided.
Before you go any further with your hateful writings check with the magazine to see what research was done.
What you did was to give an overall view of things that happened in the past .Yes mistakes were made but you cannot put all the blame on Feiner.
Check the town meetings and see whom we should blame.
Grow up kid anyone can see thru your comments how much you hate the supervisor.

Anonymous said...

from "Not The Journal Inquirer"

The site selection committee of this year's Special Olympics, Winter Edition, has selected Greenburgh to be host of this national competition.

What nudged the ball in Greenburgh's favor was the news that the new Greenburgh Library had both a ski jump and Sheehan's Folly, a world class wheelchair grand slalom course as well as onsite metered public parking. Taken together with the Town's new tennis bubble and refurbished indoor swimming pool at the nearby Community Center -- the total package caused a just 5 person unanimous vote.

That the location is served by public bus transportation as well as an intermodal pedestrian facility also helped in making the selection.

The Special Olympics are scheduled to be broadcast live by the Town's webcast department and can also be viewed on the Town government cable channel sandwiched between the religious programming.

Al Regula, the Town's head of Public Works, offered to arrange the use of the site's geothermal well system for broadcast purposes. "We can open up the paved areas, expose the wells and after uncapping them, we can create 40 onsite geysers providing a scenic backdrop to the competitive events. After the events and taping are over, we can always throw down a few thousand yards of blacktop and be back to normal.

The Library has agreed to loan its mothballed cybermobile for office use for the Special Olympics Committee.

"We'd love to have you set-up inside the main building where we've got lots of extra room however we're a little short on furniture right now" said Howard Jacobs, outgoing chair of the Library's Board of Trustees.

Town Supervisor Paul Feiner told reporters upon hearing that Greenburgh was the Committee's first choice, "This is a big honor for our Town! Great for property values too! And I want everyone to know that we also have a triple A bond rating, a dog park and over 600 acres of dedicated parkland. On behalf of myself and the rest of the Town Board, I just want to say that I welcome everyone visiting the Town and if we had only heard a little sooner, we could have built a dormitory for the 200 entrants to stay in. There is a piece of land across from the County Center that we could have used...just kidding"

Francis Sheehan, junior year member of the Town Board added: "I only want to say that it was me alone that had this ramp built. Other's scoffed, even calling it Sheehan's Folly but I never, ever despaired knowing in my heart that some day there would someone who would use it. And, with all the publicity that the Special Olympics will bring, I can tell taxpayers at last that the $175,000cost was worth it.

So it looks like a done deal and come winter 2009 the Winter Special Olympics will be unfolding.
Residents of unincorporated are invited to attend; however, villagers may only view events from that portion of the site that used to be home to the former Town Hall. Villagers are requested to wear the special yellow stars that were delivered to their residences so that they can be better directed to the best seating areas in their special reserved section.

Anonymous said...

Dear 10;28 now you are hitting something that is done and will be done by anyone running for political office.
Feiner was called upon for taking some contributions toward his campaign right,well have you checked what Spano did after all the money that he received from a good friend of his.
Well he bailed him out by purchasing a white elephant on Saw mill river Rd.for the county.
Not only did he accept the contributions but now he gave him a kick back of many millions of dollars and you have the nerve to talk about Feiner.
I'm sure that you attended many town board meetings and have express your feelings on this subject.
Did you receive any answers?
Next time you had better do some research on written articles before you condemn the writer.
It was not a smart move on your part.
Did you ever stop to think that maybe the writer is a resident of Greenburgh or a neighboring town
and he or she is well versed on our town government and did not need anyones input..

Unknown said...

This is a GREAT thing for Greenburgh! Any free advertisement that we get to boost our town is fabulous, regardless what those nay-sayers think.

Our town is a good place to live and raise a family. Paul is dedicated and unrelentless in keeping our town a good place for all.

Paul, I support and commend the efforts of our Town Council.

Anonymous said...

Oh please, it was a national article, apparently based on statistical analysis, which in the case of Greenburgh, was totally irrelevant because of our bizarre system of government and Pauls unfair way of utilizing it.

ed krauss said...

To 3:53 PM:
Why is it when anyone criticizes Greenburgh, and especially when they're right on the money, they're accused of "hating" Paul Feiner? You may or may not realize the flack is the roughest when you're over the target.

If you could only be civil in labelling, you'd be more believable. After all Paul needs some apologists too. And if he has more to apologize for, he would need an army of apologists.

4:05 PM, the New York Times, one of the former great newspapers in America, not too long ago had a writer who wove fiction into reality. I'm not saying the young woman who wrote the Money Magazine article was making up things, but I'm fairly certain she used press releases instead of shoe leather. More if not most "Top (fill in the blank)Lists" are done absent any first class acceptable research.

The critera given strip naked the lack of research.

*Affordable Housing, show me where and how many as % of Greenburgh houses.

*600 acres of town parks,1/3 are inaccessible, another is open to only half of the town;and the balance relativly unused,
*Open government, Pah-lease!!! I'm living through that over used cliche and under implemented concept.At best we have a 1/2 open goverment. We are permitted to ask questions, government is "permitted" to sit like bumps on a log. The only "remarkable" thing about open government in Greenburgh is the "remarkable naivete" of the Money magazine writer.
*Veteran Town "water" park. It sounds like Six Flags, without the Six and the Flags.
* I won't touch the "low crime rate," I don't know what our rate is compared to other communities.
*The creme-de-la-creme, the Grande Finale,the topper of all toppers: COMPELLING ARTS COMMUNITY WITH "GALLERIES" IN TOWN HALL. Every single word, save Town Hall proves beyond a reasonable doubt and to a degree of absolute certainty, the writer is either blind, doesn't have a clue what a gallery is, or what exactly "a compelling art community" consists of.
Amateur art, hung by a paid "art officianardo"-in-her- own mind. At best,the hung "works of art" hide the need for a paint job in town hall.

Finally, 4:05PM who was #1 or for that matter # 80 on the Money Mag. list last year, the year before etc. And how much benefit was derived by the "winning" community?"

As to you 3:53, I'm waiting for your calling me a Feiner hater and the reasons for my hate.

But foreworned is forearmed, I will spare no words rebutting your cowardly attack.

Anonymous said...

"Amateur art, hung by a paid "art officianardo"-in-her-own mind."

There isn't really a paid town position for hanging up pictures, is there?!

Anonymous said...

Paul's detractors are sick to their stomachs...
S&P gave Greenburgh a triple A bond rating.
MONEY said Greenburgh is one of the best places to live.
People in Greenburgh seem to like living here.
Sorry, detractors. There's more to life than Paul Feiner.

Anonymous said...

Services in this town are great.

Anonymous said...

That 21% tax hike this year in unincorporated Greenburgh and the double digit tax hike predicted for next year means that services, which have already deteriorated, will deteriorate even further. Paul, you've had your chance and made quite a mess of things. Please step aside and let others take the helm. No other municipality in all of Westchester County had anything approaching a 21% tax hike this year!

Anonymous said...

I agree this is a great town to live in, however paul you need to address Central 7 and stop sweeping the problem under the rug. If you do not admit and try and solve the problems with C7 you will lose my vote next election.

Anonymous said...

Paul can't do anything about GC. Only the community can and I mean the community other than Fairview.

The majority of the district has abandoned GC and have left it into the hands of a very demanding, self center, racist bunch of people to destroy while they steal and squander enormous amounts of tax dollars.

Surprisingly, Paul stays away as it is not his nature to do as he will stick his nose into anything that's not part of his job description. Even he knows C& is hopeless. What he does do is keep the TDYCC run at full steam and this is just an extension of the C7 philosophy. "not everyone is welcome & give me all of your money"

So, if the whole town supports this attitude why would anyone think GC would ever change?

Go take a walk into Woodlands on any given day and you'll be shocked. They don't celebrate Black history month, the celebrate it year round. Any displays entitled "Leaders of our Country" and such, only contain pictures & histories of Black leaders. I'll pay you a dollar if you can find a picture of Abraham Lincoln or George Washington anywhere at Woodlands or other GC schools.

It's so bad that a former principal of Lee F. Jackson would outright tell white families not to enroll their children there. She's gone now but this is a fact!She did not want to deal with white families. This was not her "mission" Now we have her sister on the school board! She drives around town in a car with a license plate that reads "blkangl"

WTH?

Anonymous said...

Money Magazine failed to note the TWO armed home invasions this week in Greenburgh - You can hear all about them on WCBS Radio's website. Listen to John Kapica gamely defending his overworked, underfunded and undermanned police department. Too bad Money Magazine's monthly - they could do a followup on Greenburgh and correct the errors.

Anonymous said...

you want to end crime as we know it? legalize drugs. today.

the answer to 95% of the crime problem.

Anonymous said...

That license plate belongs to Cora.
She has been given too much power here in Greenburgh,
Yes she has divided this town since her fight seems to be one sided for her people.She seems to forget that white peoples money goes into many of her programs.
If you take notice where ever she is in power has been a complete failure.
The school system,the center and especially the housing authority are three of the main things that are stealing all the taxpayers money.
I don't know what makes her think that she is an angel.
We all know that she is black.

Anonymous said...

How do know "blkangl" means "black angel"? Perhaps it really means "black angle" - which is Cora's perspective on everything.

Anonymous said...

If Bob Bernstein would stop litigating, our legal bills would go down. This would be good for Edgemont residents.
I like the town. I like our services. I like the Supervisor (Mr. Feiner) and the members of the Town Board. I believe that we are getting excellent value for our dollars and appreciate getting my phone calls returned the same day.

Anonymous said...

LOL! 5:34. It could very well mean "angle"

Anonymous said...

If Paul really wanted to protect recreation and housing benefits for the truly deserving, he would get rid of fraud, waste and abuse. Instead, he puts his hand in the sand. At the end of the day he is risking all of these programs.

Anonymous said...

"I believe that we are getting excellent value for our dollars ..."

But factually, we are not.

Anonymous said...

Anon at 6:36 could only be paranoid Paul Feiner himself.

If Bob Bernstein succeeds in his legal proceedings against Feiner and the town, town taxes for unincorporated Greenburgh residents will be substantially reduced, which will be great news not only for Edgemont residents, who pay more in town taxes than any other area of unincorporated Greenburgh, but for all residents of unincorporated Greenburgh. It's too bad we have a town supervisor who ran in the last election on a "villages first" platform. It's no surprise that with a supervisor like that, that we get hit with a 21% tax increase, with either another double digit increase on the way, or a substantial reduction in town services, take your pick. Unincorporated Greenburgh desperately needs someone else at the helm other than Feiner. He's costing us way too much.

Anonymous said...

Didn't you already watch "Desperately Seeking Suzanne"?

Anonymous said...

Can you imagine how much money the town would have saved in legal fees over the years if Paul Feiner hadn't told Fortress Bible Church they'd get their permits if they'd only donate a firetruck to the Fairview Fire District? And we haven't even gotten the court's judgment yet. This could end up costing the town millions and some of it may not be covered by insurance.

Anonymous said...

I overheard numerous hartsdale residents talking about possible court proceedings into busing issues regarding their children going to schools located in the Town other than GC7. I wonder what the percentages are of children that live in Hartsdale that do not use the schools.

Edgemont school district be aware, you may have to open those doors to others in the Town. Take a close look at what happened to Yonkers.

Money magazine should have walked through woodlands.....they probably walked through Edgemont instead. Did Paul lead them to Edgemont or Valhalla....We all know that Paul is to afraid to step foot in any of the GC& schools. What he should do is send his kids through the district.

Desegregate the schools in the Town, all would benefit. Hopefully it can be done without a costly law suit. Imagine what the district would look like then.

Hartsdale residents are tired of paying for a school district we cannot use. Enough already.

Soon the Town will have to pay for private schooling for our children

Hartsdale is angry !!!

Anonymous said...

You make some good points. I live in Hartsdale as well. We have three children in private school, so thats 3 X tuition + GC7 taxes. Taxes that could be used for something other than something we refuse to send our chilldren to.

I think the Hartsdale Civic Association should get these ideas you spoke on out to others tha live in the Town.

Anonymous said...

Dear fellow Hartsdale residents,

How long have you lived here?
Are you not yet familiar with the concept of a SCHOOL DISTRICT and the concept of TOWN GOVERNMENT? And that the two are independent of each other?

Even I who never had a child in local schools know that a School District is separate of the Town.
Do you not vote for the School Board?

If you have a problem with the schools, and well you may, don't bring it to Hillside Avenue. Your problem is with your elected School Board.

And to earlier (July 16, 11:23PM) the "yes Virginia, we really have a Council on the Arts" which is a fancy way to say one person. Her "department" is on page 33 of the adopted Town Budget, department 7010. In 2008, the Town Board, despite my objections, renewed her contract for $52,402 (salary) and expenses which brought the "department" cost up to $64,972.

What does she do? She selects and hangs pictures in Town Hall and the multipurpose center. Being a Greenburgh resident is not a requisite for having your work on display and the artists are allowed to post for sale notice with the asking price.

She also runs a poet laureate contest so that Greenburgh can have a poet laureate, read their work and get recognition, and do their bit to preclude public comment at the end of the Town Board meeting.

Could this "Council on the Arts" be handled by the Library? For sure.
Could this department be handled by the local schools instead? For sure. Would it be better to display the artwork of local students? For sure.

Is this an essential program in a time of rising taxes? For sure, no.

Why does it exist? Ask your Town Board. Suffice it to say that the Director Sarah Bracey White is not. And the Town Board is afraid to just say no.

But it gets better, just not as costly. The Town also pays another $4,000 a year to employ a woman to select on a quarterly basis the sculpture which is displayed at the Hartsdale train station. Again, not the place to see the work of home grown sculptors.
So it must be a very taxing job selecting the sculpture four times a year. Maybe not so difficult if you also run an art gallery which is the case. Recently the Town Board at a work session met, at contract renewal time, with the "curator" and didn't question the expense, just the Town's liability regarding insurance of the exhibited work. I don't believe they voted yet to renew the contract but you never know.
Perhaps they might see their way clear to forgoing this expense.

After all this woman is no Sarah Bracey White.

Anonymous said...

Hal, I would like to know what Denglar is getting paid. And I know you understand that it is nonsence to say she is getting paid from increased building permit fees. And what about the new staff assistant at TDYCC?

Anonymous said...

hal - when that hideous wall went up on central avenue, who was consulted? or did parks and rec liaison diana juettner do her usual - nothing?

lets get rid of the art curators and slient diane.

Anonymous said...

"Soon the Town will have to pay for private schooling for our children."

Greenburgh Central is nowhere near the level of having to offer School Choice. Its academic performance continues to be rated by the State as "In Good Standing." True that it's much lower than the neighboring school districts and that much work is needed at GC. The performance in the neighboring school districts makes GC look like crap. But in the big picture, it's a normal, good school system.

Anonymous said...

The problem with the school board is that people like Cora run uncontested. So unless others step up to the plate, things will never change at GC.

Anonymous said...

P.S. "Edgemont school district be aware, you may have to open those doors to others in the Town."

It would take years of lower performance at GC, and then years of federal and state litigation before bussing of black and hispanic students from GC to Edgemont and other neighboring districts would occur.

Anonymous said...

6:49 $25K per student per year is not normal for the level of performance AND enrollment in the district needs to be widened. If Hartsdale wound collectivelly enroll their kids, I'm certain that this SD would be competitive with the surrounding SD's.

This, of course, is not going to happen but hypothetically, if it did, the GC SD would have a financial collapse as it would now have 1000 more students to educate with the same budget. It would make a very interesting scenario.

Anonymous said...

Edgemont has a looming problem as it is at max capacity with its own student population. They are out of space. So, instead of focusing on a plan to grow, they spend time trying to keep future building from taking place that may house families with children.

Anonymous said...

What looming problem? The fact is population is no longer increasing in Westchester. I suspect there will be very little housing built in Edgemont or the rest of Westchester. There are no open tracts of land.

Anonymous said...

Dromore Road fiasco. 'nuf said.

Anonymous said...

I apologize for misposting this item in the wrong section of the blog - it really belongs here:

The Edgemont School District (UFSD #6 at Greenburgh) predates 1850, though I no longer remember by how many years...For the first hundred years of so, Edgemont High School students went to Greenburgh (Central #7), Yonkers, Bronxville, Scarsdale or White Plains - depending on which district charged the lowest tuition and had enough room. Around the time of its centennial a group of local residents decided to extend the Edgemont system to 12th grade. They invited the Hartsdale School District (District #8) to join them in building a high school - but Hartsdale declined, fearing school taxes would rise far beyond the then current rate if a high school was built. Instead, they voted to merge their district with Greenburgh 7. Hence the current district which combines Hartsdale and Fairview.
There have always been, and probably always will be, legitimate differences of opinion on how much education is enough, how much it should cost, and who should foot the bill. Edgemont chose one course of action, Hartsdale another.
There has been much discussion about allowing basement/attic apartments, legalizing existing squats, changing the zoning to accomodate the immediate economic needs of a segment of our community. As we get to the decision point, it might be well to remember the story of the failure of Hartsdale and Edgemont to merge. Once you make a choice, you must be willing to live with the consequences. More importantly, you must be willing to impose those choices on your children and grandchildren forever.
Be careful what you wish for - politicians will grant any wish that secures them another term of office.

Anonymous said...

Notice how ratty and unkempt this blog is beginning to look? Perhaps the responsibility for maintenance (or lack thereof) has been reassigned to DPW or Parks and Rec.

Anonymous said...

How can you say that there is no construction going on in Edgemont.
Take a ride through the streets and see what is going on.
Old homes made into mcmansions and new constrction .
I bet many of these renovations are being done illegal since there are too many for the town to cover.
Many are gearing themselves for multiple dwellings.
Does the building department follow with all the complaints that they receive I don't think so.
Many that have and are doing work on their homes have had many complaints against them but the same situations are still there.
I'm following one complaint that has been going on for years let's see if this comment on this blog will get some action.

Anonymous said...

9:11,

Once you make a choice, you must be willing to live with the consequences. More importantly, you must be willing to impose those choices on your children and grandchildren forever.


This is a completely irrational thought.
Your information is correct regarding the history of the formation of the current school districts but what's your point?

Is it possible that you believe that nothing can ever be changed or that if you change something once, it can never be changed again? Zoning laws can't be changed because at one time, your grandfathers voted for the current laws? They "wished" for something and now that they are long gone, you have to live with the consequences? Forever? Did your Grandfathers once support slavery? Did they change their minds and then vote to change the slavery laws?

Edgemont is always looking to change something. (form its own village?) They want all kinds of changes to occur (not taxed for this or that, change zoning laws…..) yet your theory of “be careful what you wish for, you, you children & your children’s children are doomed till eternity to live with your decisions” is the most idiotic statement posted here and there is fierce competition vying for that distinction.

*makes mental note to spot reading this silly blog*

Anonymous said...

I think the point of the history of the Edgemont School District is to tell the Hartsdale people to stop blaming Edgemont for their problems -- if such problems do exist. We didnt cause them. do what Edgemont people do -- run for School Board, volunteer.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Edgemont should stop blaming all of Greenburgh for it's problems as well.

Anonymous said...

Our problem with Greenburgh relates to taxes and services. Greenburgh is responsible for both. Edgemont has no responsiblity for GC.

Anonymous said...

Edgemonts problem with Greenburgh is the same as everyone else's problem with Greenburgh. If, as you say, it's not school related, then why does the Edgemont part of Unincorporated Greenburgh think it has bigger, better, more important problems with taxes & such? I hate to break it to you but Edgemont is no different then the rest of the folks living here. Everyone has the same issues.

Greenburgh has no special responsibility to those living in the Edgemont part of town.

Anonymous said...

No one in Edgemont I know is asking for special treatment. Bob B's lawsuits want fair treatment for all of unincorporated Greenburgh.

Anonymous said...

Dear 10:27 -
Our grandchildren will live with the consequences of our mistakes. For example, once granted, a zoning variance cannot be withdrawn. The variance "travels with the deed." Grant a variance and you have indeed bound your children and grandchildren.
Foul the water with pollution, your progeny will pay. Buy unsupportable amounts of parkland and your grandchildren will live with the results.

Anonymous said...

Never say never. Hell The Germans just bought Budweiser!

Anonymous said...

Does anyone here know what the outcome was is the money the GHA owes? Did they agree to pay the whole amount?

Anonymous said...

Bud was bought not by the Germans, but by the Belgians, the makers of Stella Artois. They make good beer.

Anonymous said...

Forget the Germans and the Belgiums, but dont wait for GHA to pay anything. They wont and Paul wont make them.

Anonymous said...

but klondike bar will!

look forward to a coming headlines:

juettner frozen off town board by klondike bar.
feiner hails greenburgh breakthrough - first ice cream bar to serve on town board!!

Anonymous said...

Feiner has appointed/supported Klondike bar. If Feiner wont do anyting re GHA, dont expect Klondike bar to. In short, if you want to continue Fiener policies (including not going after GHA), you can vote for Feiner or any of his puppets, including Klondike or Samis.

Anonymous said...

Look for Greenburgh next year to break into the top 50 places to live.

Why?

According to The Scarsdale Inquirer, the new Town Board meeting rules will end all the problems of the Town.

Rising taxes, visits by the State Comptroller, ratables, library budget problems, WESTHELP, WESTHAB,
congestion at traffic lights, a do-nothing Ethics Board, police overtime, properties taken off the tax rolls...etc.

None of these problems are as important as curbing additional public comment at Town Board meetings because everyone knows that all of the above problems are the fault of the public because they want to waste the Town Board's time by speaking in detail on issues at Public Hearings.

None of these problems are as important as curbing public comment at Town Board meetings because everyone knows that all of these problems are really being handled during the time when the Town Board is supposed to start and when it actually does.

None of these problems are as important as curbing public comment at Town Board meetings because everyone knows that all of these problems are really being handled at the beginning of the meeting when it just looks like the Town Board is pre-occupied by Police Department promotion photo-ops or; certificates for the citizen of the day, the month, the year or a moment of silence for the mother of the wife of or; the Town Clerk's report on what a wonderful job she is doing or; something akin to the entire fifth grade class sending a blanket to Louisiana flood victims, etc.

Yes, the public has to learn its place and let the Town Board create even more problems on its own. Because without public comment, they would have even more time to put their foot in their mouth and Sheehan would be able to continue his campaign for sainthood.

Here's a way to save even more time, create new problems and get home sooner. How about this as a new first for Greenburgh: the first town to conduct a Public Hearing without hearing from the public.

Who knows what Money Magazine will make of this. Maybe down the line they'll be so overcome by praise for our little corner of heaven that they'll miss noticing that Greenburgh's rank and tax increase have become the same number.

Anonymous said...

Feiner should not be involved with school district matters, yet it's odd that he isn't since he gets in everyone else's business. I wish we had a supervisor who would actually supervise town operations (highway department, parks and rec, etc.).

Anonymous said...

greenburgh central school district parents should ask edgemont what can it do to become more like edgemont.

in fact, why not just change the name of the district to edgemont central?

Anonymous said...

Awesome town is recognized by awesome magazine as one of america's top 100. GOOD WORK

Anonymous said...

3:54 is a funny person.

Anonymous said...

If the Housing Authority is given a repeieve from the money owed to the Taxpayers we in turn should hold back some of the money the police dept. asks for.
They received private police officers without paying and the residents of a certain road have to pay a retired Greenburgh police person to patrol their area.
Paul do you think this is the right thing to do?
You talk about crime being at its' lowest point well the fact that this service was received knowing that they had no funds to pay for it was and is the biggest crime that has taken place here in Greenburgh and by letting them get away with not paying you and the board are just a guilty.

Anonymous said...

Are they still getting the private protection for free or was it discontinued.

Anonymous said...

dear 6:08
thx
3:48

Anonymous said...

Read Money mag. Pleasantly suprised. Greenburgh is only Westchester local gov on list. Clarkstown in Rockland also on list. No other communities in Hudson Valley made MONEY's BEST PLACE list.
Realtor friends of mine are so, so excited.

Anonymous said...

My realtor friends thought the Money Mag mention of Greenburgh was a cruel joke. After this year's 21% tax hike, and the promise of another whopping tax hike next year, homes in unincorporated Greenburgh this spring have become a much harder sell, even in pricey Edgemont. This is partly due to the lousy economy, of course, but buyers from other parts of Westchester County in particular (as opposed to NYC) seem to know all about Greenburgh's problems, including its flaky town supervisor.

Anonymous said...

having watchdog hal samis in the town is worth an extra 10% premium on a house sale - imagine if the town board had listened to samis on the library and taxter ridge

samis told bass and barnes they would be out of office because they didnt listen to him

guess what - he was right.

juettner and sheehan - ignore samis at your peril.

but its probably too late for the both of you.

the countdown to you being off the town board has commenced.

Anonymous said...

Sure hope the tax cert lawyers representing the owner of 450 Saw Mill River Road don't see what Feiner said on News12's Newsmakers this weekend.

Feiner insisted the county was overpaying for the property, which he said was only worth $1 million. The town, however, has the property assessed as if it were worth $12 million. Guess what Ardsley school district taxpayers?

If Feiner is right, and the property is only worth $1 million, can you imagine how much you'll have to pay to settle the tax cert case?

Another case of Greenburgh's town supervisor putting his foot in his mouth -- on TV no less -- and costing the taxpayers bigtime.

Get out your checkbooks Ardsley residents, and remember who to thank come election time next year.

Anonymous said...

My best friend just bought a house in Greenburgh after reading the MONEY MAGAZINE article. She and her husband loved the house but had some jitters because of the current state of the economy. The MONEY Magazine article caused the deal to be signed. My friend and her husband are active in community activities in the upper west side of the city and want to get involved in our civic associations.

Anonymous said...

Did she buy in the Villages or in Unincorporated? Did she understand that unless she or a member of her household is diaabled or first responder she cant join Veterans.

Anonymous said...

To 7/20 9:20 PM

The more significant question isn't whether these people bought in a Village or Unincorporated, but which school district.

Anonymous said...

Make sure your friend keeps the article from the magazine.
Let's see after living here just a few years she will be thinking in the same vein.
We all thought that we found our Shangrala here in Greenburgh boy what happened to cause us to think differently.
Did we ever take into consideration the coming high taxes,filthy streets and above all looking at the crime factor.
Now with electric bills,gasoline and home fuel oil, hitting the ceiling things have made a big difference in owning a home here or anywhere else.
Wish her luck and tell her to start saving for a rainey day.

ed krauss said...

I can just see it now. A drum and bugle corp. marching down Central Avenue. Volunteers manning fire engines blaring their horns. Crowds lining the Avenue on both sides.

Greenburgh's finest, all decked out in their dress uniforms.

The town board riding in newly waxed convertibles, detailed to the hilt.

The Supervisor riding in an environmentally correct "green"hybrid car, stretching his neck out of the ill fitting window, waving feverously.

And hundreds of male and female cheerleaders, representing all of the schools in Greenburgh, in sync, shouting:

"WE'RE # 80! WE'RE # 80..." Eighy times,while elementry school JV wannebe cheerleaders-in-waiting, hold up cue cards...1.2.3.4....76,77,78, 79, 80, DO IT AGAIN.

TV cameras taping. Radio mics ever present.

We're famous. We're on the "map."

We're HERE!

Not to FEAR.

Just CHEER.

Next year we'll be near.

Let's hear it!

WE'LL BE # 79.

And it's another first for Greenburgh.

And, we did it all without "grant money."

Anonymous said...

If the Olympics award gold medals for first place, silver medals for second and bronze for third, what kind of medals are awarded for 80th?
In the real world even second best is rarely recognized - 80th is absurd.

Anonymous said...

Well -- headlines from today's Scarsdale Inquriror

1. Serious crimes in Greenburgh rise 6%.

2. 18 year old busted for buying beer.

So is this what we are paying police OT for? Get real.