Sunday, January 29, 2012

ECC MISREPRESENTS MY VIEWS ON DROMORE ROAD-

The ECC has been publishing unfair accusations about my role re: DROMORE Road lawsuit. They have made representations that are not true --on their website, in newspaper articles, in scarsdale10583.com. I was planning to say nothing. But- I think it is unfair for residents to be given inaccurate information. And--for Bob to conveniently forget to mention his role in the negotiations with the Troys. it was Bob Bernstein, not me, that had repeated secret meetings with Troy. And, it was Bob Bernstein who pushed for the development of the Dromore Road property--either as a village hall or 10 homes).
I find it upsetting that my views keep getting misrepresented on the Edgemont Community Council page.
On July 9, 2007 Richard Troy, a principal of S&R Development Estates, filed an affidavit with the Greenburgh Zoning Board of Appeals contesting a determination made by the Town’s Commissioner of Community Development that the 1 Dromore Road property is in a particular zone.
The affidavit deals with the demands made by Bob Bernstein and Michelle McNally earlier this year for a moratorium. The ostensible reason for the requested moratorium was to prevent an increase in the Edgemont school population. Another possibility:-to acquire property for a town hall for Bernstein’s plan for Edgemont’s secession from Greenburgh. Some paragraphs from the affidavit:


Paragraph 44

“Soon thereafter, S&R received a letter dated February 2, 2007from Robert Bernstein of the EEC contemplating S&R’s gifting of the Property directly to him. He sent us his draft of a Gift Agreement (Exhibit 19).”

Paragraph 46

At this meeting, the parties again agreed: (a) S&R would grant a conservation easement on a portion of the Property; (b) S&R would grant an option to the EEC to purchase the Property for a price equal to S&R’s investment in the Property inconsideration of: (i) the Town’s agreement to modify the language of the proposed moratorium so that the Property would be excepted from its application, and (ii) the agreement by the Town and EEC to support our development application of a ten-unit town home development instead of the contemplated 37-unit development if the EEC did not exercise its purchase option.”

Paragraph 47

“At the February 3rd meeting, Robert Bernstein said that he would have Edgemont purchase the property through a bond offering by an Edgemont Park District he would create....Bernstein indicated that initially he would want to lease the land to the GNC [Greenburgh Nature Center]; thereafter he would want to use the land as the possible site for an Edgemont Town Hall if and when Edgemont seceded from the Town of Greenburgh. He stated that Edgemont did not own any other land as the possible site for an EdgemontTown Hallin the future. Regarding the park district, Robert Bernstein explained that S&R would grant the conservation easement to the park district and after Edgemont raised the funds to purchase the balance of the land Edgemont would own the entire property and be able to create a new town hall for itself upon secession...”

I hope this clarifies the matter.
PAUL FEINER

2 comments:

Geoff Loftus said...

You should be ashamed of yourself for posting this nonsense. The Zoning Board and the NY State Court in the Dromore case didn't bother to use these claims in deciding the Dromore issue, and a state committee on open governance found no evidence whatsoever that these charges are true. And you are aware of that.

The ECC has reported that you said you were not in favor of multi-family development on Dromore -- something you said to me personally in conversation. We also reported that the Town's behavior doesn't indicate a real willingness to fight the developer. The Town has had 6 years and counting to amend the zoning map, but still has not done so. The Town could commit to following State law and promise not to issue a building permit while the appeal is pending but again, still has not done so.

Instead, you have launched a personal attack on someone.

My suggestion to you: apologize for this slimy behavior, and protect the people of Greenburgh by confirming that the zoning map will be corrected and that the Town will follow State law and not issue any permits while the appeal is pending.

Geoff Loftus
ECC President

Paul Feiner said...

I sent the secretary of the Edgemont Community Council a sworn affidavit that had been submitted to the court detailing each of these allegations. My posting is not nonsence --it's summarizing word for word a sworn affidavit.
By the way--
did Bob Bernstein disclose to the public that he had agreed to 10 housing units if he was unsuccessful in getting Edgemont residents to buy into his concept of using the property as a village hall?
Did Bob Bernstein hold a public meeting prior to his discussions to discuss the construction of a village hall on this property?
Why the deed going to be gifted to Mr. Bernstein (see affidavit) instead of to the town, Edgemont community council, Edgemont school district, ECC?
Was the compromise he advocated endorsed by the ECC or did he act in his individual capacity? Just some questions that deserve to be answered.