Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Week of November 2nd: Miscellaneous

The purpose of this Miscellaneous topic is to discuss any town related issues you feel are important that are not addressed in other topics. Please post any issues you wish to discuss in the comments section of this post. Thanks!

(I hope everyone voted and had a great Election Day!)

-Marc Herman

75 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes OBAMA

Anonymous said...

Yes, go OBAMA,

And pls Obama, give Robert Kennedy a nice position. And, please Kennedy TAKE FEINER WITH YOU TO WASHINGTON.

Anonymous said...

Has Feiner publicly come out for Obama?

Anonymous said...

when is change coming to greenburgh?

Anonymous said...

WHAT IF FEINER HAD GIVEN TAXPAYERS A 7.7% HIGHER BUDGET?

That was a theory derived from the Monday meeting of the Edgemont Community Council.

These are admittedly hard times and the Town Supervisor would be hard pressed to avoid ending up with a still high albeit 7.7% increase. Fortunately with a contested September Primary beckoning in 2009, Feiner again threw caution to the winds and veered away from committing to an all but ordained substantial double digit increase. Much as he has done in the past, the Supervisor’s budget tolerated allowing nary a trace of a hidden slush fund solely to fund his disposable whims and fancies.

But common sense tells us that even the Supervisor would not want to risk the vengeful wrath of his Town Board (sometimes call team) by falling prey to taking the easy way out or yield instead to the temptation to placate burdened taxpayers by lowering not taxes, but the rate of tax increase. Residents, fearing a replay of the 2008 budget, will forever be paying last year’s 22% increase before confronting as well as this year’s unfrocked 21% increase.

But the Supervisor had the opportunity Monday to reveal the shocking story behind-the-story that the budget discussed that evening was a forgery and not his own. Perhaps he will choose to explain soon why didn’t avail himself of the opportunity to set the record straight.

It is amazing that some Feiner supporters did not protest the release of an “unauthorized” version attributed to the Supervisor; a version which commits him to a 7.7% increase. Feiner should have, at the onset of the meeting, have avoided the ensuing challenges which arose from the implications of presenting a by-default attractive “low” increase. What insiders presume is that somehow someone must have substituted an undetected but bogus document into the print run.

As a result of this misfortune, for sure the work of devious political opponents, the Supervisor will have to spend a great deal of his time to correct the misinformation tying him to a conspiracy to defraud taxpayers and subvert the Town’s own policies regarding allocating and utilizing fund balances. While it would have been a welcome respite in the steep rise of local taxes, the notion that the Supervisor would willingly deviate from responsible financial management, just to curry favor with next year’s voters, is of course laughable.
Mr. Feiner, as the Town’s Chief Financial Officer, remains, as always, committed to protecting the town’s taxpayers against willful improprieties and would never manage the Town budget just for personal political gain.

Nevertheless, Feiner should hurry to issue a disclaimer before the rumors of a 7.7% increase circulate more widely to the bulk of residents who would be angered to hear about this increase and then to learn thereafter that it was just a hoax perpetrated by anonymous residents.

What the devlish tricksters did to arrive at this 7.7% increase is so far from how Feiner would have put together a budget is to test the limits of taxpayer credulity.
Even understanding Joe the plumber’s eagerness to escape the ravages of last year’s 22% increase, it is still difficult to accept the premise that Feiner would not treat the Town, the budget and the taxpayers with less than his customary forthrightness and respect and depart from that standard just to get out a lowball increase. Furthermore, residents have recognized that the Town has a built-in fail safe mechanism to prevent the Supervisor from hitting the missile launch button – that being the four member Town Council. So, to assist in the containment of this bogus budget before it spreads further, let me get down to brass tacks and briefly discuss the items that prove that this is not really the Feiner budget and is really just of the product of someone(s) deliberate campaign of disinformation.

1) The 7.7% budget draws heavily upon existing Town fund balances to reduce 2009 operating expenses. Last December, the Town Board approved a Town Fund Balance Policy which clearly states that fund balances cannot be used to reduce operating expenses. Furthermore, the Fund Balance Policy was created at the urging of the bond rating agencies as a pre-condition to awarding the Town its coveted triple A rating. Facing the writing on the wall in 60 point type, such a clear message as this, obviously the Town Supervisor would not use the fund balances in contravention of these rules or to endanger the Town’s bond rating. This alone should convince residents that any 7.7% budget currently circulating is obviously a counterfeit and not the Supervisor’s.
2) The 7.7% budget uses $750,000 of un-received proceeds of land sales which have not occurred yet to add to the revenue lines. Again, the Town Fund Balance Policy prohibits this saying that proceeds of land sales should go into a fund designated for the future purchase of open space. As the Supervisor always abides by the rules, he would not present a budget allowing this.
3) The 7.7% budget is presented without many of the line items present in the 2008 and 2007 budgets which were indicated as dubious destinations for taxpayer funded appropriations but were in reality dead ends with neither employees working in cited positions or items and services never intended for purchase. These millions of dollars were used as slush funds so that their unspent cumulative balances could be “budget transferred” to new destinations as the Supervisor and the Town Board saw fit to assign them, such as paying for new dog parks or a study on dimming street lights if ordered. The mechanics of the parallel system allowed the Town Board to spend money thought collected for one purpose to be instead moved elsewhere to fund various pet projects of the Town Board. Obviously by eliminating this secret “checkbook”, the Supervisor and the Town Board are effectively prevented from commandeering a large, liquid source of on-tap funds and this modus operendi which has been used so successfully in satisfying select groups of voters would cease to exist; the Supervisor and the Town Council would never shut off their access to these funds, cutting of their noses to spite their face. However, the 7.7% budget eliminates many of these phony items which act as decisive proof for the accusation that this budget is bogus. Furthermore, like frosting on the cake, had the Supervisor and the Town Council wanted to reduce last year’s high tax increase; they would have done this in 2008 rather than causing taxpayers to suffer the effects this year of the 22% increase result.
4) The 7.7% budget is achieved, not by lay-offs or firing of personnel. It was arrived at without firing a single un-replaced employee, save one tattle-tale person at the Community Center. Given that the Town’s payroll and benefits are the largest expenditure for the Town, presenting a 7.7% without layoffs is by itself additional proof that this budget is false.
5) The 7.7% budget is achieved by reducing expenses in critical, if not essential, services provided by the Town. Mindful residents are aware that those departments providing these services were targeted because it was hoped that public outrage would result in the restoration of the “cuts” and the Supervisor would be forced to yield to the public weal and increase the tax increase to taxpayers because it is “what the public wants”. Again, this is further proof that this budget is bogus because residents remember that the Supervisor was deeply offended when the Library tried this stunt last year. For readers who don’t remember, the Library claimed that a loss of $200,000 from their budget would result in Sunday closing and no cybermobile service. The Supervisor was visibly shaken but unyielding and did not increase their budget; the result was that the promised and popular cybermobile service operated for only three months with funds provided by an outside grant. Incidentally, the Library would have ended 2008 with a $200,000 surplus but for their decision to create a capital account for the purchase of capital items for their expansion. Thus $200,000 agreed to by taxpayers to operate the Library was switched to a new capital expenditures account. The point, as it applies here, is that the Supervisor protesting this kind of misapplication of funding would never do so himself after criticizing others. And clearly the 7.7% budget shows hundreds of still surviving frills and frou frou line items; all of which are still being paid for by unsuspecting taxpayers while essential items like police staffing and garbage collection fall victim to reducing overhead. Since the Supervisor is such a public figure, he puts himself on the front line on a 24/7/365 basis, it is therefore reasonable to allow that we know him well. Therefore any budget which arrives at a lower than expected increase, or a budget suggestive of heeding overall income/expense relationships which achieves such a lowered level of increase through cutting essentials rather than limited use pandering programs cannot be the budget of the Town Supervisor but rather the work product of person(s) unknown. Our Town Supervisor would never countenance allowing, for example, the Arts Council remain funded ($65,000) in lieu of hiring a policeman. It is the presence of such scattered about slip-ups that clearly show the provenance of the 7.7% budget is not that of the Town Supervisor’s creation. He is a man dedicated only to doing the right thing and that which is best for the community.

There are many other examples which either, alone or cumulatively, conclusively prove that this 7.7% budget is not the work of the Town Supervisor. Assuming that the Chief of Police can find sufficient manpower after concluding his month old investigation into misspending at the Community Center, I call upon him to commence an investigation to determine the source of this counterfeit budget. Having already been drilled in an earlier forensic search of the Town’s email system, I would recommend that a similar examination be the first step as I suspect that this forgery is the work of a duplicitous and ambitious member of the Town Council.

Unfortunately, allowing the truth to out may result in a much higher tax increase. However, this is the consequence of obeying the rules and working from a level playing field. I suggest that the Supervisor not wait for the Town Council to iron out the flaws in the bogus budget and instead act speedily and decisively to repudiate the bogus budget now circulating and deal with the yet unreleased true copy.

Taxpayers will somehow have to survive for another year but they can take solace from the understanding that Supervisor Feiner has promised an under 10% tax increase in coming years.

However, this does not quell the growing alternative speculation that the Supervisor’s body has been occupied by aliens for the past 15 years.

Anonymous said...

hal - why so surprised?

feiner is the king of gimmicks so what is new here?

in the meantime, where is the candidate to run on a platform of real budget cuts ?

Anonymous said...

Lets all celebrate the Obama win, and demand integrated schools.

Anonymous said...

Feiner's cutbacks of sanitation service could prove very costly to the Town. I see a strong possibility of disabled people being able to sue the Town for discrimination. They physically can't bring their garbage curbside so they are forced to pay Regula's surcharge. There are many groups committed to protecting the rights of the disabled who will sue the Town in a heart beat to stop this discriminating tax. Instead of saving money, Feiner will cost the Town thousands.

Anonymous said...

how do disabled people get there recyclables out to the curbside ??

Anonymous said...

At the present time we anticipate the need to provide an elvated level of sanitation servcies to residents who are unable to bring their garbage to the curb for collection

how can this work if the town eliminate 5 sanitation employees
ALL GARBAGE WILL HAVE TO BE PUT ON THE CURB

Paul Feiner said...

the town will offer non curbside garbage collection for a fee. If we eliminate the cuts there will be a bigger tax hike. Can't have it both ways. Attended Governor Paterson's town hall meeting today. He is also cutting.
There is no choice.

Anonymous said...

Paul,

There are lots of other things to cut. LIKE TDYCC.

Anonymous said...

Paul,

You are playing with fire by cutting off garbage pick up to the disabled. You will lose in Court and your detractors will accurately portray you as being completely insensitive to the needs of the people who need the most protection, namely disabled people who don't have the physical ability to haul garbage curbside.

Anonymous said...

Since I am disabled I would like for the town to put up a hand rail so I and my disabled husband can bring the pails curbside.

I will contact the office for the Disabled to see if this is permissable since we pay taxes for sanitation.

You and your jughead DPW commissioner have got to be brain dead.

Anonymous said...

I attended a meeting last night that Valerie Whitehead held for the parents of the FAST swim team last night. She informed the parents that Patricia Roper, the Aquatics Director, was let go last week due to budget constraints and that her position is not in the 2009 budget. If that is for the 2009 budget, when does that take effect? Why wasn't Ms. Roper able to continue her position till the end of the year? We were also informed that there will be three supervisors that will now be 'in charge' of the natatorium. Will the salaries you are paying them really save the town that much money?

And we STILL DO NOT KNOW if Silverstreaks has paid the fees associated with them swimming at the center. Mr. Feiner, can you tell us if they have paid yet? And if not, who will be responsible for ensuring the center receives the money?

Anonymous said...

How are the disabled taking their papers and bottles and cans out to the curb? They should be investigated because they are probably not and putting everything in their garbage. If they are putting them to the curb, then what is the problem with also putting their garbage to the curb.

Anonymous said...

Dear disabled 8:50
Please contact me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com or call my office at 993 1545. I would be willing to discuss the new sanitation curbside pickup policy with you in greater detail and would also be happy to reach out to your neighbors to see if I can find someone to help you get the garbage to the curb.
PAUL FEINER

Anonymous said...

Paul your plan is crazy.

I will fight you in the courts.

Anonymous said...

8:59 do you think all households have stuff to recycle.

Not everyone gets papers ,buy can food or bottled drinks.

they may not have anything to recycle.
I for one never have recycling.
I have a fire place and that's where my papers get disposed of.

So now penialize me for poluting the air.

Anonymous said...

I agree, I do all my reading on the interntet -- no papers. Only recycle once everyother month, and ask my kid to take out.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Hal Samis. I look forward to your every posting.

Anonymous said...

In reading the Journal News on Tuesday I saw something that surprised me and the question I have is: How arm's length is this Citizens Management and Budget Review committee?

Why do I ask this, because the chairman of the committee is employed by Xposure as a finance instructor.

This is not a personal attack on the chairman as he is volunteering his time, but is this good practice to ensure there are no biases in their recommendations?

Anonymous said...

Gee, and you can imagine how Edgemont residents felt Monday night when they learned that essential police and sanitation services were being cut, but the town's after school program, Xposure, which as a practical matter serves kids only in one school district, was being fully funded by our tax dollars.

This was an especially bitter pill to swallow in Edgemont, which for years has contracted with the YMCA to run an after school program at no cost to taxpayers. Even more shocking was the fact that the town doesn't even list the after school program as a line item in its budget -- so no wonder residents never knew.

Anonymous said...

The subject seems to be taboo - but let's see what happens.
Mr Feiner proposes to raise some revenue this cycle by selling real estate owned by the Town. Now, we're not talking about Taxter Ridge or Harts Brooke each with about a zillion acres of residentially desirable land, but the basic premise is the same.
When a government sells land the right way to do it is by sealed bid auction. That insures the seller will receive the highest possible price - and that the transaction is untainted.
Mr. Feiner - where is the plan to sell the land? Will you do the right thing and sell it by sealed bid auction? Or will the proposed sale become the source of controversy and charges of improper action by the Town?
Promise us, the citizens and taxpayers of ALL of Greenburgh, that you will abide by the law and dispose of the property in accordance with both the letter and spirit of the law.
I believe that it is a bad idea to sell a permanent asset (like land) to cover operating expenses, but if you feel you must sell the land, at least do it the right way.

Anonymous said...

Know that the "Town" as represented by last year's Fund Balance Policy doesn't think that it's a good idea to sell assets to covering operating expenses either.

However, you do what you gotta do to get re-elected.

Meanwhile, the "Town" cuts essential services in lieu of eliminating limited purpose, limited payback, limited availability and limited enrollment programs that serve only to please the favored few.

And, look beyond the Community Center if you think that I am lingering there. Take a look at Veteran Park and explain why the Town pays for tennis instructors?
I have no problem with the Town turning a tennis court over to an instructor in return for performing some administrative duties. However, if tennis instruction is necessary, then let it be paid by fees paid directly to a tennis "pro" and not by a guarantee from the Town. Look carefully at the other line items at the Park and then consider if they should be wholly self-supporting or items funded by the Town (unincorporated).

Then ask your Town Board if any of the persons on the payroll are "known" to the Town Board?

Anonymous said...

The biggest joke at Veteran Park is that these tennis instructors, paid for exclusively by unincorporated Greenburgh, spend most of their time teaching tennis to residents of the Village of Ardsley. In fact, if Ardsley residents didn't take these lessons, these instructors would have nothing to do.

Anonymous said...

GARBAGE ANGELS WANTED

you know who to call!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Paul
if the town goes to curbside pickup,will you please tell the home owners that live in BOULDER RIDGE small cul-de-sac to place garbage at the curb please no special treatment

Anonymous said...

Here we go again the loose screws woke up and realized the town was putting a good foot forward making hard cuts and lowering the budget. BUT !! what do we have here the same low life posters who prayed for a 20% increase to hammer the board. Well, well, well shame on you. How it suck to be wrong. You obviously do not have a mirror in your house because the sight would even disgust you. I was upset at my fellow Edgemont residents who showed their true racists face. And I quote by a resident , I only care about my garbage, snow removal, leaf removal and police screw the TDYCC and rest of the town. How pathetic. I give credit to Kolesar for his professional responses and was suprised due to how I have see him on TV and his abrasive ways I was led to believe he was not the right choice. Who cares about his interpersonal skills just do a good job.. If he can put political issues aside then the town and board has a chance. PLEASE continue to work hard for us and make the hard choices. Finally don't let the ramblings of a mentally deranged RENTER fool you. Leave HAL

Anonymous said...

If you can bring your recyclables out you can roll your cans out. Wake up read the papers we are in a recession and maybe worse.

Anonymous said...

11:51 Hal has been a blessing to many communities.
Not like you who caves into what the supervisor and the board want to provide for us .

We pay enough taxes to have the best of services BUT this entire board and the previous ones decided that our tax money should go to support two centers that we do not use.

Nuff said beebrain if you had brains you would see that we are being taken for a ride.

Hal has put the cards on the table concerning all the wrong doings in this town.

What have you done lately for your neighbors?????Nothing but write your stupid comment on this blog.

Anonymous said...

Yes I as a person living in Edgemont look only at the services that I have been receiving and will keep receiving.
I don't give a dam for both centers not because I don't use them but because they have stolen my tax dollars through all of Feiners administration.

I and the rest of us have paid good money for the services that this supervisor and his DPW commish want to take away.
Let the commish pay back all the freebees he has received throughout the years.
Oh well Feiner turns away from the truth all the time.
He wants to take away what we have had, well he will have a good legal fight on his hands.
This time we will not take things sitting down.
My home is set way down from the roadway, will you purchase a motorized wagon for me to bring the garbage curbside.
Will the men picking up the garbage handle my pails properly so as not to break them .
Will they toss them down a hill or let them stay on the roadside so they can blow away and cause accidents when someone tries to swerve away from an empty pail.
Will they cover the pails carefully.
Will they ticket those that do not cover their garbage pails .
How much time will this all take .
Have you checked this out before the genius whom you have in charge made the final decision.
Paul you have a habit of leaping without thinking the problems out.
This is the reason that you have to go comes next election.
Yes we in Edgemont have very smart men that can handle your job without causing any problems.
The only problem is that you have sunken the ship so deep that it will be hard to bring it back up.
Why is it that you don't charge contractors money who use the sanitation dept to remove all the debris from the home being renovated and those that bring their garbage here to be picked up.
You have supervisors driving arround are they blind not to see construction materials being put curbside for pickup.
The building department is also at fault because they should demand that dumpster be placed at all construction jobs.
I did renovations on my home but I hired a dumpster throughout the job.
I could have saved money if I made the town pick up all the debris.
There are places where money could be made but you don't want to take the first step.
Start following all the laws that are on the books and watch revenues flow.
You have the manpower so uswe it.

Anonymous said...

Lets get private sanitation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


At least look into it!

Anonymous said...

when private sanitation workers go on strike who will pick up the garbage

ed krauss said...

Not only are you a mean-spirited, captious person, 11:51 AM, you are also an illogical one.

Don't throw around "racist" as cavalierly as you did. Not agreeing to have the TDYCC, and caring only for your section of town, doesn't make one even remotely a racist. A chauvanist, maybe. BUT NOT A RACIST!

I can't believe you come from Edgemont. You're to dumb. Edgemont people are educated, whether academically, or self-taught.

You are also a SNOB. What is wrong or demeaning being a renter? That makes you an ELITIST, also.

By the way, Fairview has a good many RENTERS. If your "logic" carries over, and they are "not as good as OWNERS," you are the RACIST, CLASSIST and all other negative "ISTS."

It's people like you who pretend or actually live in Edgemont, that gives Edgemont a bad name.

The Paleolithic Age has passed you by, Go find a cave in anther zip code.

You fit the category perfectly. You are MISCELLANY at its worst. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, somewhat like a frankfuter...instead of throwing out the useless parts of the animal, squeeze then into a tube.

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

ed
if edgemont was so smart they would have become villagers long ago.

and they wouldnt have repeatedly voted for juettner either.

plus they would have seen what a fraud francis sheehanigans is - he really is no different from feiner.

further, if they were so smart they never would have entered into the dirty compromise with fairview that allows fairview its share of much of the town's loot in exchange for staying out of the edgemont school district.

with rising house prices and general good times, edgemonters lulled themselves to sleep and were probably amused in part by feiner's antics and environmental do goodism. in the aftermath of the meltdown, edgemont has awoken to a fiscal nightmare that imperils its schools, its real estate and its retirement portfolios.

seems edgemont is in danger of becoming the new hartsdale.

again - if they were so smart they would have left greenburgh years ago.

Anonymous said...

Dear 3:41PM -
Don't you just love revisionist history? You must, because either you just recited the world according to Feiner, or you're dumber than your efforts at reviling Edgemont make you seem.
Edgemont did try, on several occasions, to discuss becoming a village. A 1968 vote went against it - and a thorough study a couple of years ago presented the pros and cons. Feiner sent non-Edgemonters to all the meetings, and his Edgemont supporters were vocal in the defense of remaining unincorporated. In the end, the status quo prevailed - not so much on merit as lack of compelling motivation to make the change.
Meanwhile, Feiner and friends blame Edgemont for having disturbed the status quo - for it is Edgemonter Bob Bernstein and his friends who have agitated AGAINST the continuing picking of their pockets by Town programs from which Edgemont has be excluded. It is also those Edgemont activists who have demanded that Town-wide facilities and Town-wide programs be paid for out of the Townwide budget.
The Hartsdale/Fairview school district merger which resulted in Greenburgh Consolidated District 7, was rejected by Hartsdale because the taxpayers in Greenburgh 8 didn't see the need for a high school. Edgemont built one and paid for it all by its lonesome self. Now the rest of unincorporated Greenburgh feels left out? Too bad - some decisions are forever.
Very few Edgemonters were/are amused by Feiner - he is generally regarded as amusing only by those with Scarsdale addresses on the other side of the tracks - who provide the overwhelming financial support necessary to keep him from returning to their side as the thorn he was. (Lanza isn't a Greenburgh family - they are solidly entrenched on the "Scarsdale proper" side of the railroad.
Crawl back into your little dark place and contemplate your sins.

Anonymous said...

Dear 4:43,
Some of what you say is true however, it is not Edgemont alone that has been excluded. Hartsdale has been on the shorter end of the stick as they have no decent public schools, it's been made abundantly clear to Hartsdale to stay out of school business and is not invited into the programs that Paul loves to spend everyone's money on either. Edgemont, on the other hand, has terrific schools AND has its own recreation. They also partner up with those on the other side of the tracks for recreation as well. Some of the money that goes to Edgemont Rec & Scarsdale Teen Center comes from the tax payers of unincorporated! Hartsdale has zilch.

So, stop your bellyaching!
What's funny about the whole thing is that if Edgemont and Hartsdale created a partnership, they could easily solve problems that both areas have. The mere thought of this sends Edgemonters into a frenzy! The price Edgemont is willing pay to keep up with its high brow appearances is very costly indeed.
I sometime wonder if religion has something to do with this shunning of Hartsdale as it is well know that one area is predominantly Jewish and the other Christian.
Hmmmmm...........

Anonymous said...

hmmmm?

i heard no rebuttal of the view that edgemont has made a look the other way compromise with fairview regarding the allocation of town resources so it may maintain the hands off policy regarding its school district.

knowing my history the election to incorporate was i believe in 1967 - it was decried by naacp types as an attempt to create a white enclave. it was defeated by edgemont.

this failure is what was referred to.

going back further, there was an attempt by edgemont to become part of scarsdale in the 1930s. this was rejected by the scarsdale government.

its a fact that over the years edgemont has voted for feiner, juettner and most recently francis sheehanigans. support in edgemont for feiner has waned but edgemont leaders have been unwilling to create alliances with anyone in the town to get rid of feiner and his team.

this is true of both hartsdale or the villages - as for the reasons - ask the ecc.

as for religion playing a part - its possible but the villages have a large jewish population and many edgemont folks worship in the same temples located in the villages or just outside them.

maybe edgemont just doesnt get it.

Anonymous said...

7:25 - what are you insinuating about religion and edgemont/hartsdale? I'm jewish and live quite happily in Hartsdale (school district and taxes aside) Please be more specific about what you mean. Considering there isn't a single synagogue in either Edgemont or Hartsdale that I know of, you have me very confused.

Anonymous said...

Ut oh! I looks like a post I made last night was removed!

ed krauss said...

3:41, much of what you say is accurate. But, nevertheless, does not prove that Edgemont residents are not smart. I am and have vocally been in favor of being a village, yet others have not This doesn't make them stupid. They must have their reasons, one of which may be the cost of starting up a new village.

Regarding your outrageous comment about keeping Fairview children out of Edgemont schools,YOU ARE 100% WRONG. If you want to be self-sufficient as Edgemont optd to be, it doesn't make you a racist.

Your conspiracy theory should be kept in your mind because it is offensive.

As to 7:25, you've started another false rumor. I would venture a guess their may very well be more Jewih people in Hartsdale, than in the Edgemont section of town.And even if there aren't, I seriously doubt that religion has any place in this dialogue.

I guess the next criticism of Edgemont will be labeling us as an "APARTHIED NATION,"somewhat like the accusations against "JEWISH ISRAEL," (despite the fact that well over one million Arab-Israelis are full rights citizens of the country, and even hold seats in the Knesseth.)

Isn't it great, by virtue of the "anonymous" click on the computer keyboard, anyone has license to say anything no matter how inappropriate or, more importantly, inaccurate it is.

Democracy! isn't it great?

Anonymous said...

For the upteen time Paul what is wrong with Verizon cable which should dispay the access government channel for Greenburgh.

This is going on for three weeks.
Does this have to do with the town not renewing their contract?????
The users of Verizon need answers from you.
The company says everything is working fine but no picture just horizontal color lines.
If the problem is at the towns end it is a very convient time since the work sessions and all the meetings cannot be see by the residents who rely on what takes place and what is said either for our benefit or the towns..
.
Mr. Sheehan will you give these people a call maybe they will listen to you so we could get the Greenburgh Channel back.

Anonymous said...

Posts are now being censored?

Anonymous said...

Why does the truth hurt!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

RYE TOWN - The town supervisor is proposing a 14.2 percent tax reduction for next year's budget.

Anonymous said...

Harrison taxes will also increase by over 13%. We did good.

Anonymous said...

The problem with curbside garbage pickup is that our sanitation men wont put the lids back on, they will blow away. Why is it in Scarsdale, they just tell homeowners to move leaves off sidewalks, in Greenburgh, it is a $$$ raiser, tickets are the answer. Are tickets issued in Fairview or only Edgemont???

Anonymous said...

Scarsdale leaves are all over the street too.

Anonymous said...

everyone knew the town library was unnecessary - but edgemont, in continuation of its dirty alliance with fairview (where the library is located) looked the other way even after millions of dollars of cost overruns and mistakes were uncovered.

edgemont continued to elect the sphinx like juettner and francis the spender sheehanigans - too major boosters of the library boondoggle. feiner's calls for oversight were rejected by these two fools.

edgemont has paid a high price for its shadowly dalliance with fairview.

Anonymous said...

I beleive Edgmont voted against the library - why do you say otherwise.

The people so anxious to get rid of Juettner and Sheehan are so transparent in their goal to have Feiner's power unlimited. He would have no one to try to limit the Westhab develpments etc. Be honest, you want Fiener to have more power.

Anonymous said...

edgemont leaders supported the library expansion and kept their tongues tied while krauss and samis exposed problem after problem

why - because they wanted to appease fairview

Anonymous said...

Paul it is time to get the Election Posters removed at the cost of the canidate who's name appears on the poster. Or you can fine them for littering just like the do in the city.What do you think? eh ??

Anonymous said...

DPW will pick them up,and be paid OT for it

Anonymous said...

Krauss was FOR the expensive library expansion. Samis was not.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Feiner, could you please take a drive on Birchwood Road and let me know if and when these people are going to be fined for having their leaves on the street.

What is the purpose of having rules when you do not enforce them?

Anonymous said...

Sorry -- meant to say Birchwood Lane.

Anonymous said...

Paul can you tell me how many fines have been issued for putting leaves in the roadways?? Paul are you listening ?

Anonymous said...

krauss apparently now sees the light on the library
he now knows that samis was right

Anonymous said...

Samis is very seldom wrong and if he is he admits it.......

By the way Paul we are going into the fourth week without the Greenburgh channel.

Has anyone complained to you.
Verizon says it's ok.then it must be at your end.

By the way is this being done by you so we are not able to see what you all are voting into law at work sessions.

Will we get it back after the budget is set in place.

Anonymous said...

Work sessions can be watched live on the town web site. You don't need Verizon to stay informed, just a computer with internet access.

ed krauss said...

Mea culpa.
my mistake was not in supporting the library, it was in believinga project this large would be overseen by competent professionals conversant with the construction industry; qualified to take charge of aself-serving architect only interested in enhancing his portolio at the expense of the town; capable f riding herd over a construction manager who was lax regarding the quality, cost an timing of this project.

As soon as I saw whatwas happening, I wrote a letter to the Scarsdale Inquirer advocating a position of "Owner's Rep," to act as the eyes and ears of the town, on the job.

When this wasn't acted on, I continuously spoke out against what was happening.

We were jobbed! The architect showedrendering of he project which have zero resemblence to the finished structure. The construction manager jobbed us by bidding low to get the job, and then submitted his bill when he went to contract over $60,000 higher, was responsible for delays which cost us money and expanded his contracted dollars by tacking on additional months. It was like the more inefficient he was, the more money he was paid. The town is as guilty as sin for allowing the charade to happen...and still happening.

Yes I was for he concept of a new library, bu not the implementation.

I am also against the cavalier way the library makes demands on the town; always seems to find money after crying poor; has no concept of fiscal responsibility; and should be held to a strict line item review or else.

I would also like to say Iwas duped into believing a 46,000 sq/ft structure was needed.

However, I am trying my darndest to remedy my pre=referendum error.

I would also like to say, as a Monday mornig quarterback, I think with all the facts in eidence, I would NEVER have supported this monstrosity.

Anonymous said...

Ed: The referendum was approved by fewer than 70 votes. Had you done your homework before the referendum you could have saved the town millions of dollars.
You even supported a special referendum date ---which reduced the voter turnout.

Anonymous said...

I read that the just completed synagogue on Fox Meadow was built on-time, on-budget, for about $4 mill. This is not a huge, but still sizeable building and I'm sure construction costs in Scarsdale must be quite high. Certainly a small-town library wouldn't need to be twice this structure's size. So, how come middle-class Greenburgh's building costs 5X this other public structure?

Anonymous said...

why?
because juettner and sheehan were running the show and blocked all attempts to hire a project manager as proposed by feiner.

they are both a disaster and the library fiasco is exhibit A.

they need to be sent packing and their library cards revoked.

Anonymous said...

BECAUSE WE WAS ROBBED IN PLAIN ENGLISH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

10:42,

While not defending the Library debacle, your statements are goofy.

I don't think anyone considers Greenburgh "small town"

The library will serve more than 5x the Fox Meadow Synagogue will serve and its interior construction is more complicated than a Synagogue. It doesn't require the kind of equipment that a library does either. Also, a Synagogue is not a public building.

I don't think Joe the Plumber charges more for his services when he crosses over the Metro North tracks on Fennimore Road. I could be wrong about that one though.

ed krauss said...

10:24, if as you say, had I done my homework I could have saved the town $millions. That's a great deal of power you have anointed me with. Was it my job or the job of the elected officials to DO THEIR HOMEWORK. I run a business, FULL TIME.

While I'm at it, WHAT DID YOU DO OTHER THAN CRITICIZE ME THREE YEARS AFTER THE FACT? I heard of Monday morning quarterbacks, but you, my man, belong in the Guiness Book Of Records.

Addtionally, I have been critical of the administration, and Feiner in particular on this blog and at town board meetings and in the press. What has it got me? Criticism from Feiner sycophants, and no change to speak of.

If I were as all powerful as you anointed me to be, Feiner, Juettner, Sheehan, Tim and Judith plus others would be working. if they could find work, in a different zip code.

Why didn't Krytonite-proof Paul save this town money? Isn't that his primary job? I guess not based on the lack of production eminating from the "top.'

Anonymous said...

We do have churches covering every religious group except one that is the jewish faith.
How about trying to sell the library to some jewish group to have a synagogue.

The property is off the tax role so what will the difference be if we have a religious group take over.

If not a synagague the bible church is suing us why not offer it to them for a good amount of money . It has plenty of parking so there will be no impact on the neighbors.

JUST A THOUGHT.

Here's another what about the court taking this building over.

Anonymous said...

TOWN OF GREENBURGH

Employment Opportunities

Paul what are you waiting for let the news out dont wait for mid December

Anonymous said...

Krauss-McNalley-Samis.

Sounds like a plan. A rose between two thorns. Brains and beauty. Knowlegde and integrity. Objective, open minded. Covering all the bases.

Ability to listen and act.

How easy it is to better the town in one election. If only the truth can be told.

Support these 3 with dollars, because Feiner has over a hundred thousand dollars to spend, and he will. Because if he looses this gig he'll never find another one again.

That's not a dig. It's the truth and he knows it.

Go H-M-S for Town Board.

Anonymous said...

no beauty there

Anonymous said...

MR SAMIS,

wait there are two better jobs comming just ask paul for one of them (YOU ARE THE MAN)

Anonymous said...

WHITEHEAD CONSIDERED FOR TDY C/C DEPUTY?!?!?!?

Say it isn't so! Somebody pinch me!! The same Whitehead who is under police investigation, for hiring 5 people including her felon nephew to work no show jobs? These five people claimed to work 50 hours a week as part timers when the building was closed for evening programs. Huh? The same Whitehead who cried like a baby to the TDY Advisory Board? The same Whitehead who fired the Pool Director? The same Whitehead who never finished college? The same Whitehead who never supervised ANY f/t staff before being given a DOUBLE SALARY raise when appointed Interim Commissioner? The same Whitehead who gave away a $10,000 free day to Playland for the TDY Summer Camp, yep you read it right, that one day trip cost taxpayers $10,000. The same Whitehead who failed to inform the public about the Exposure Program? The same Whitehead whom staff protested her appointment in the Journal News? The same Whitehead who didn't start ONE new program since her appointment? The same Whitehead who has bought staff morale to its lowest levels? The same Whitehead who hasn't brought in one extra dime in grants? The same Whitehead who got the job without anyone else being considered? The same Whitehead who needs Councilwoman Brown to hold her hand to do her job? The same Whitehead who disappeared for 5 days when the Greenburgh Police entered the building?

Nooooo it can't be! I want to wake up from this bad dream!
Now before any of the folks she has taken care of respond, tell me one item here that isn't true. JUST ONE! This will be a long wait.

Greenburgh ranked number one for the poorest promotion standards in the USA!!!

Anonymous said...

just want to let all you town tax payers now how you have a fire dept. in your town that (1) has a fire chief that is (4) years over the state required retirement age and the board of fire commisioners and the state keep approving him for a (2) year extension he now 74 or 75 his wife is his secretary and sit's in on the commisioners board meetings which is her job and you don't think she goes home and tells him what goes on which is a major confict of intrest..
(2)fire fighters get unlimted sick time which means if i go out after work crash my car & can't work for 6 months i get full pay i do not go on disabilty and another fire fighter works for me at time and a half is that a great job or what...