Supervisor Feiner

grand opening captain lawrence brewery this saturday--you're invited

2012-02-02T22:03:00.000-05:00

Captain Lawrence Brewery Company is holding their grand opening celebration this Saturday, February 4, 2012 beginning at 11:15 AM at their new Greenburgh headquarters:—444 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford. You are invited to celebrate the opening of one of Greenburgh's most exciting new businesses! The brewery company moved from Pleasantville where they developed a tremendous following of loyal customers. The new site occupies 18,250 sf with an additional 5000 sf available for expansion and has been designed to accommodate the companies growing needs as a brewery and as a destination for people wanting to taste fresh beer at its source. The new facility houses a 5 vessel, 40 bbl automated brew house which has 5 times the capacity of the previous location and will allow the company to begin packaging beers in 12 ounce bottles.

We're very pleased to have Captain Lawrence Brewery in our town and wish them many successes. In these difficult economic times please give our small and large local businesses your business! And--tell them how thrilled you are that they chose Greenburgh as their new home.
PAUL FEINER

ECC MISREPRESENTS MY VIEWS ON DROMORE ROAD-

2012-01-29T21:27:00.001-05:00

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

mini vacation camps in february for kids

2012-01-29T21:08:00.000-05:00

Winter Mini Vacation Camps from westchesterfamily magazine
Published: 01/23/2012

If you are stressed because your child is home during the February rececess and you're working - the following info might be useful to you. Read the article in Westchester Family Magazine (Feb issue) Kudo's to the Greenburgh Nature Center. They always are thinking of ways to be responsive to Greenburgh families.

PAUL FEINER

The following programs are offered for children during school winter break this February.

Vacation Camp. Make the school break exciting with a four-day camp program supervised by naturalists. Nature games, exploration, crafts, and animal study make each day fun. Morning snack included but lunch should be sent each day. 9:30am-1pm Feb. 20-23. For children in grades K-3. Non-members $210, Members $160. Enrollment limited, pre-registration required. Greenburgh Nature Center. 99 Dromore Road, Scarsdale. 723-3470. www.greenburghnaturecenter.org.

Winter Mini-Camp. Games, crafts and outdoor activities are all part of the fun at Teatown’s mini-camp. Children can attend for the entire week or on individual days (fee prorated). Snacks are provided, but full-day campers should pack a lunch. 9am-noon for 4 and 5 year olds; 9am-3pm for children ages 6-12.Feb. 20-24. $185 for 4 and 5 year olds; $335 for children ages 6-12. Reservations required. Teatown Lake Reservation, 1600 Spring Valley Rd., Ossining. 762-2912. www.teatown.org.

Sports Camp. An athletic way to spend the school break, children enjoy fun-filled days participating in a variety of team sports. Wednesday is set aside for aquatic activities. A movie provides a relaxing end to each day of camp. 9am-3pm (early drop-off and late pick-up available for additional $10 per day). Feb. 21 22, 23, and 24. For children ages 6-10. $70 per day, $220 for four days. JCC of mid-Westchester, 999 Wilmot Rd., Scarsdale. 472-3300. www.jccmw.org.

Winter Farm Camp. A four-day farm experience that includes garden work, animal chores, nature hikes, farm crafts and games. Campers develop a love for the natural world during exciting days spent mostly outdoors. 9am-3pm Feb. 21-24. For children in grades 1-5. $288 members, $320 non-members. Reservations required. Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. 630 Bedford Rd., Pocantico Hills. 366-6200.www.stonebarnscenter.org.

Earlier today I sent out a memo about our fundraising meeting for the Greenburgh library tomorrow night at 8 PM at Town Hall. Please read the following article about a successful initiative in Hastings. Yankees manager Girardi participated in a fundraiser for the Harrison library. An article in www.thedailytarrytown.com today highlighted Irvington's successful spelling bee fundraiser for the Irvington library. Greenburgh-- we can do even better! Hope to see you tomorrow night.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20120129/NEWS/301290076/Yankees-manager-Girardi-draws-fans-Harrison-library-fundraiser?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

help the library tomorrow

2012-01-29T08:46:00.001-05:00

You are invited to attend an important community meeting tomorrow, Monday, January 30th at Greenburgh Town Hall at 8 PM. The purpose of the meeting: to strategize how we can raise some private dollars to help our Greenburgh library.

Other libraries around the nation have has significant successes with fundraising. Last week I met with the Irvington Library Board. The Irvington Library received over one million dollars from residents to help them build their building. Every year they hold a very successful spelling bee contest. Funds go the library. In neighboring Dobbs Ferry - a woman donated 2 million dollars to the Dobbs Ferry library a number of years ago. The Greenburgh Library, in my opinion, is very special because it serves a regional population (almost half of the patrons who use the Greenburgh library live out of Greenburgh). I'm sure that if we wage an aggressive campaign - we'll be able to attract private donors from around the county.

The Greenburgh library, like other libraries around the region, state and nation, has seen their budgets cut. The Library Board has the legal power to spend funds allocated to them anyway they like. They decided to keep the library open six days a week. However - they cut the materials budget. No new books, new new DVDs, no materials. Library patrons can have access to new books via the Westchester Library system (which the Greenburgh library is a member of). However-- there will be a waiting period.

I am writing to area book stores asking if they would be willing to donate surplus new books and materials to the Greenburgh library. Town Councilman Kevin Morgan came up with this excellent idea. Suggestions have been made to encourage residents to purchase books, donate them to the library. Donors would have their names acknowledged in the books they purchase for the library. We should name rooms at the library for donors. Put up plaques on the wall acknowledging our contributors. We have an existing Friends of the Library and Greenburgh Library Foundation --also trying to help the library with their needs. The Friends organize an annual book fair. And, the Foundation has an annual fundraiser at the library featuring foods from great area restaurants. The initiative being organized will be in addition to their efforts.

The goal of the meeting Monday---to come up with fundraising ideas. To assign responsibilities to volunteers. To think out of the box. Google succcessful library fundraising ideas. Come to the meeting with the best suggestions.

If you want to help out - please attend the meeting. If you can't attend but want to volunteer please advise. If you want to make a donation to the library please make a check payable to Friends of the Greenburgh Library and send to Genie Contrata at the library.
PAUL FEINER

STUDY NEEDED RE: DEMOLITION OF TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE

2012-01-27T00:07:00.000-05:00

Tappan Bridge Park Alliance

Creating open space across the Hudson

Alliance calls for study of TZ demolition

Jan. 26, 2012

TARRYTOWN - The Tappan Bridge Park Alliance today criticized the draft environmental study for the new Tappan Zee Bridge, noting that it failed to consider an alternative that would include preserving the old bridge as a three-mile-long linear park. That alternative was requested by several public officials and members of the Tappan Bridge Park Alliance, including advocates for cyclists and pedestrians, during the hearings and public advocacy meetings for the scoping process last fall.

The Draft Environmental Impact Study calls for the old bridge’s demolition. Part of the old bridge would be demolished as the new bridge was built, and the remaining structure would be taken down by crane after the new span was erected. The demolition will follow the investment of an estimated $1.8 billion in public funds to repair the bridge over about 15 years. In addition, the DEIS doesn’t addressed the negative environmental impact that the demolition of the bridge will cause.

The Tappan Bridge Park Alliance envisions a three-mile long park for pedestrians and cyclists that would connect Westchester and Rockland counties and would generate economic and community development to the region by providing a world-class destination and a much needed open space in the congested lower Hudson Valley.

The Tappan Bridge Park Alliance this week launched a petition drive on the Care 2 petition site, at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/tappanbridgepark-vision-not-demolition/ . Please visit the Alliance website at www.tappanbridgepark.com and support the petition to Governor Cuomo to include in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) a feasibility study of transforming the bridge into a linear park.

Paul Feiner & Milagros Lecuona

Co-Chairs Tappan Bridge Park Alliance

David McKay Wilson

Executive Director, Bike Walk Alliance of Westchester & Putnam

Advocacy Director, Westchester Cycle Club

antenna NEXTg update

2012-01-26T20:15:00.000-05:00

I want to keep you informed of all NextG related matters. Have received the following from the commissioner. Our hearing is on Feb 7 at 7:30 PM at Town Hall. Your comments at the hearing are appreciated and welcome. PAUL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Thomas Madden
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 4:21 PM
To: Town Board; Timothy Lewis; Judith A. Beville
Cc: John Lucido; Victor Carosi
Subject: Next G affidavit

Supervisor Feiner and Members of the Town Board

The Town has just received the Next G affidavit. I have posted the document on the Town website and can be found at this link:

Next G Abtahi Greenburgh Affirmation 01262012 WITH EXHIBITSr

If you have any questions, please give me a call.

Thomas Madden, AICP

Commissioner

Department of Community Development

and Conservation

Town of Greenburgh

177 Hillside Ave.
Greenburgh, NY 10607

Phone (914) 993-1505

Fax (914) 993-1518

Email: tmadden@greenburghny.com

Homepage: http://www.greenburghny.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Look for the latest information on the Town of Greenburgh's Comprehensive Plan update at www.greenburghcomprehensiveplan.com

P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

flood mitigation initiatives

2012-01-26T19:57:00.001-05:00

Jonathan Raser (Jonathan.Raser@tetratech.com]) has been retained by the town to help the town come up with flood mitigation initiatives for both private property owners (businesses and homeowners) and for town projects (gym at the Theodore Young Community Center was flooded).
At last nights Town Board meeting Mr. Raser identified grant opportunities in the wake of recent storms (Irene and Lee). The focus: acquiring and demolishing substantially damaged properties in the special flood hazard area (100 year floodplain). There are also grant opportunities available for those who want to elevate their homes (similar to what we did with some homes on Babbitt Court a number of years ago). There may be future grant opportunities available for additional flood relief initiatives.

If you are interested in being considered for this grant and if you have experienced flooding please complete the following form and return. If you send me a copy, it would be appreciated. The form should be completed promptly since the federal government has a late February deadline.

Our Town Board meeting is archived on the town website: www.greenburghny.com. Look up Town Board archives (on left side of the page-Jan 25 meeting). This was the first topic of the meeting.
PAUL FEINER

Town of Greenburgh
Department of Public Works
177 Hillside Avenue Phone: (914) 993-1644
Greenburgh, NY 10607 Fax: (914) 993-1544
Town of Greenburgh
Floodprone Property Acquisition and Elevation Projects
Homeowner Interest Sign-up Sheet and Voluntary Notice
Please complete this form if you are interested in exploring further your options for reducing
your flood losses. Signing this does not commit you to any action.
Property Address: _______________________________________________________
Owner(s) Mailing Address: ________________________________________________
Owner(s) Name(s): ______________________________________________________
Contact Phone Number: __________________________________________________
Email Address: __________________________________________________________
I am interested in the following (check one): ________ Acquisition
________ Structural Elevation
The local government is required by FEMA to inform you that your participation in this project for open-space acquisition is voluntary. Neither the State nor the Local Government will use its eminent domain authority to acquire the property for open-space purposes if you choose not to participate, or if negotiations fail.
______________________ ______________
Owners Signature Date
______________________ ______________
Owners Signature Date
______________________ ______________
Owners Signature Date

NY SHOULD FOLLOW NJ AND REFORM ARBITRATION PROCESS WHICH SETS SALARIES FOR EMPLOYEES

2012-01-26T00:12:00.001-05:00

NEW YORK SHOULD FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF NEW JERSEY AND APPROVE A BIPARTISAN REFORM PACKAGE THAT WOULD CAP ARBITRATION AWARDS

I would like to urge Governor Cuomo and members of the New York State Legislature to do what New Jersey did just over a year ago and approve arbitration reform legislation. This reform would help local governments halt property taxes.

The bipartisan legislation that was approved by Democratic lawmakers and the Republican Governor of New Jersey recognizes the fact that local officials need to have some control of setting salaries of all their employees - especially if the state has a property tax cap law on the books. Currently, in New York State, if local elected officials and the unions representing police/firefighters can't agree on a contract, an arbitration panel is granted the power to impose a salary hike that local officials have to live with. These arbitration awards (large salary increases) are much higher than increases other employees (who are not subject to arbitration) receive. The bipartisan arbitration agreement signed into law by the NJ Governor matches the 2 percent annual cap on property tax hikes in that state. Among the highlights of the New Jersey law:

· Provides a cap of 2 percent on arbitration awards that will be applied to all salary items, such as the cost of across the board and cost of living increases, step increment payments and longevity pay.

· Mandates no exceptions for additional non-salary economic terms moving forward. The agreement creates a prohibition on allowing non-salary economic issues to be arbitrated above the cap, unless already included in an existing contract. All salary items are subject to a maximum 2 percent cap.

· Eliminates accruing labor costs by creating a fast track arbitration process. The agreement transforms the system by putting in place concrete deadlines to help eliminate delays in the arbitration process, from contract negotiation to the receipt of the actual award. Traditionally, once a contract expires, labor costs continue to mount until a new contract is reached. Enforcing deadlines and speeding up the process will ensure timely implementation of new contracts and the cap on interest arbitration awards. There will be a concrete deadline of 45 days from the filing of a request for interest arbitration to the date of award, without any extensions. All appeals must be decided within 30 days, if arbitrators do not comply with the 45 day deadline, they will be penalized financially.

· Caps arbitrator pay. The agreement will cap arbitrator compensation at $1,000 per day and $7,500 per case. Capping arbitrator pay will further incentivize speedy resolution of arbitration cases.

· Randomizes the selection of arbitrators.

I urge New York State to follow the example of New Jersey and to adopt arbitration reforms. It will make it easier for local governments to keep taxes down and to comply with the new tax cap legislation.

Sincerely,

Paul J. Feiner

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

NEXTg hearing postponed-to Feb 7 (no hearing this wed on application)

2012-01-23T19:33:00.001-05:00

The public hearing re: NextG Network's applicatin to place antenna's around town will not be held this Wednesday evening. The hearing will be rescheduled for Tuesday, February 7th at 7:30 PM at Greenburgh Town Hall. The February meeting will be held on Tuesday evening, not Wednesday evening.
The following memo was sent to me by Town Attorney Tim Lewis and concerns the application.
PAUL FEINER

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Timothy Lewis
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2012 6:48 PM
To: Paul Feiner
Subject: NxtG

The public hearing related to NextG Network’s application for Special Permits from the Town Board to provide cell phone, WiFi and other services to areas where gaps in service currently exist is being adjourned from Wednesday, January 25th to February 7th, 2012 to provide additional time for the Town’s consultants, HDR Engineering, to examine the technical feasibility of NextG relocating its DAS Antenna Systems, using Radio Frequency (RF) technology, to nonresidential areas. NextG has previously appeared at numerous Antenna Review Board (“ARB”) meetings and participated in several site visits, during a review process that commenced in 2009, and believes that the issue of whether coverage could be provided to customers by locating facilities outside of residential districts has been definitively demonstrated to the ARB in compliance with Section 285-37 of the Town Code. Nevertheless, NextG has agreed to provide additional documentation to the Town Board and its consultants to continue its review of the application and to investigate the possibility of relocating three (3) of the proposed systems to alternative locations along the Central Avenue Mixed-Use District.

Significantly, the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits state and local governments from regulating the placement of wireless service equipment based on concerns about the environmental effects of RF emissions and there are several federal cases that substantiate this. Any attempts to deny Special Permits to NextG using health concerns or Radio frequency emissions as a basis could be the source of costly and indefensible litigation.

snow update...snow angels...cost of books explanation

2012-01-21T10:20:00.001-05:00

Please note DPW crews have been out working to salt and now plow roads since about 4:30 this morning. All is proceeding smoothly at this time with no reported incidents or problems. We expect plowing to continue until the storm ends probably early this afternoon.
Residents should be reminded that we do push snow to the curb as our priority is to clear the roadway of snow. And that they should be mindful of our operations as it may result in snow being redeposited into a driveway.
As always we ask residents to stay off roads and not to block or park on the roads during the storm.
Victor Carosi, Commissioner of Public Works

Sometimes....senior citizens/disabled residents contact me asking for help with snow removal. If you are willing to volunteer your time helping a family in need please e mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com. Please advise what neighborhoods you could help out in. If you don't want to volunteer but will assist only if you get paid, that info is also useful since some residents are willing to pay for the service. Our snow angel program is over 20 years old!

A few weeks ago I posted a suggestion that people purchase books for the library--helping the library with its budget problems. The Library Director had pointed out that it costs about $25 for a book. Some people wondered why books are so expensive. This is Genie Contrata's explanation.
I hope to see you at our meeting a week from Monday night at 8 PM. We are going to plan an aggressive effort to help the library with its fundraising initiatives.

Paul Feiner
As you state many books on Amazon.com are under $25. The Library buys from vendors approved by NYS and receives on average a 40% discount, however the Library buys books designed for libraries with library binding to withstand heavy use. These book are more expensive then what a consumer would buy from Amazon, but they also withstand use by dozens of individuals. In addition the Library buys books that are shelf ready for the Library, meaning they have a plastic book cover, property stamps, security strips, call number labels, location labels, etc. We call this processing and it adds to the cost of each title, about $1 per book. For the staff here to perform the same work would cost $6 to $7 per item for the salaries alone, not including the cost of supplies.

My statement of a book costing an average of $25 was not specific enough. I apologize for not explaining things in detail. Besides books the Library purchases CD Audio books, which can cost over $100 for unabridged versions, and the full-season of a TV series on DVD also can cost us over $50. And each of these items comes with processing which adds to the cost.

Sometimes items cost less than $25 sometimes they cost, the $25 was used as an average.

Sincerely,

Eugenie Contrata
Library Director

LIBRARY NEEDS YOUR DONATION TO PURCHASE NEW BOOKS

2012-01-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

Dear Greenburgh Citizen,
Will you help the Library? Among the casualties of the bad economy and tax cap was the library budget. The Town Board made significant cuts to the Library’s budget. The Library’s budget was cut by $570,000. In order to keep the Library open six days per week the Library Trustees decided to ELIMINATE the materials budget. That means there are no new books, DVDs, audio books, or music CDs, being purchased for the Greenburgh Public Library.
Please help the Library purchase the in demand books. If you make out a check for $25 to the Friends of the Greenburgh Library they can purchase a new popular book. If you advise the library of the book you would like them to purchase with your $25 donation – they will try to accommodate your request.
If you have the time to volunteer to help the library with their fundraising campaign please advise. We can use your help! We can turn the budget crisis into a positive by organizing an aggressive fundraising campaign to raise private dollars for the library. I plan to devote substantial time during the coming year to help the library organize a major fundraising initiative. We have a beautiful library and want it to be the best!
PAUL FEINER
Books for Children’s
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle – 2 copies
• Growing Vegetable Soup – Lois Ehlert – 2 copies
• If I Ran the Circus – Dr. Seuss
• I’m Fast – Kate McMillan
• Fancy Nancy and the Loose Tooth – Jane O’Connor
• Jefferson’s Sons – Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• Bad Kitty For President – Nick Bruel
• Showoff – Gordon Korman
• The Mighty Miss Malone – Christopher Paul Curtis
• A Boy Called Dickens – Deborah Hopkinson
• Titanic Sinks! Experience the Titanic’s Doomed Voyage In This Unique Presentation Of
• Fact And Fiction – Barry Denenberg

Books for Adults
• Locked On Tom Clancy
• Death comes to Pemberley PD James
• Explosive Eighteen Janet Evanovich
• The Drop Michael Connelly
• End of Wasp Season Denise Mina
• Mr. Fox Helen Oyeyemi
• On Canaan’s Side Barry Sebastiean
• Raylan Elmore Leonard
• Vulture Peak John Burdett
• Believing the Lie Elizabeth George
• The Rope Navada Barr
• Breakdown Sara Paretsky
• Victims Johnathan Kellerman
• All I did was Shoot My Man Walter Mosley
• New New Rules Bill Maher
• Pauline Kael: a life in the dark Brian Kellow
• A Thousand Lives Julia Scheeres
• Man within my head Pico Iyar
• All In:: the education of General David Petraeus Paula Broadwell
Check can be made out to the Friends of the Greenburgh Library and mailed to the Friends at 300 Tarrytown Road, Elmsford, NY 10523.
Please help!
PAUL FEINER

From: eugenie12@gmail.com [mailto:eugenie12@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Eugenie Contrata
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2012 4:23 PM
To: Paul Feiner
Subject: List of Books

Paul,

Attached is a short list of the popular books the Library needs right now. Any donation would be appreciated, but it costs on average $25 to purchase a new book.

Genie

Have you read today!
www.greenburghlibrary.org

Eugenie Contrata
Library Director
Greenburgh Public Library
300 Tarrytown Road
Elmsford NY 10523
914.721.8219

Edgemont Community Council comes up with constructive suggestions dealing with NextG application

2012-01-06T21:35:00.001-05:00

The Edgemont
Community Council, Inc.
Founded in 1947 to determine community opinion on civic matters and coordinate community action thereon and to
plan and promote the general welfare of the community embraced within Union Free School District #6.
Post Office Box 1161 Scarsdale, New York 10583
Website:
www.edgemontcommunitycouncil.org
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/EdgemontCommunityCouncil
* * *
January 5, 2012 – Public Forum on Cell-Phone Antennas in Residential Neighborhoods
Welcome. I'm Geoff Loftus, and I'm the president of the Edgemont Community Council. Before
we get started, I'd like to thank David and Holly Younger who were so instrumental in making
this meeting happen, and all the people in Edgemont who helped make tonight's meeting happen
by reaching out to me, to other ECC directors, and to Supervisor Paul Feiner. You made it clear
you felt strongly about this, and I thank you for all your help.
The main portion of this meeting will be a presentation on the legal issues surrounding NextG's
application to install antennas in residential areas, followed by a Question & Answer period.
However, we have some news that developed late this afternoon that may be very good news:
As of Dec. 16, 2011, Crown Castle announced that it had reached agreement to acquire NextG.
Crown Castle holds an exclusive license to operate wireless facilities on State property including
right-of-way on roads such as Central Avenue, Dobbs Ferry Road and Saw Mill River Road.
Crown Castle's purchase of NextG would remove any impediment to NextG's use of the right-ofway,
and that was the primary reason for NextG's request for a special permit.
Michelle McNally, a former ECC president and member of the Antenna Board of Review, has
written to Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner as an individual, urging him to refer NextG's
application back to the Review Board, and late this afternoon, Mr. Feiner said he intends to do so.
The long and the short of this is: Since NextG, as a part of Crown Castle, should now be able to
provide service without installing residential-area antennas, it is highly unlikely it will granted a
special permit to do so. At least, that’s what we think will be the case, but we haven’t heard from
NextG yet on this new development, so we can’t say for sure that will be the case. But we think it
will.

ANNU JACOB NAMED GREENBURGH COURT ADMINISTRATOR

2012-01-05T20:14:00.001-05:00

Annu Jacob, Chief Court Clerk for the Village Court in Spring Valley, will be appointed Greenburgh Court Administrator at the Greenburgh Town Board meeting next Wednesday evening. The Greenburgh police department completed its background check of Ms. Jacob today. Ms. Jacob has been responsible for the management and administration of the village court. As Chief Court Clerk she implemented procedures that improved department efficiencies. She supervised and lead the department personnel including clerks and court officers. She maintained and published monthly court schedules, assisted Judges in monitoring defendants, prepared the budget for the busy Justice Court, created JCAP Grant applications and worked with the local police department.

Ms. Hill was strongly recommended for the position by the three new town Judges – Delores Brathwaite, Arlene Gordon-Oliver and Walter Rivera. The Supervising Judge of Local Courts for the 9th Judicial District, Charles Apotheker, also recommended her for this position.

Her salary will be $90,000 a year until December 1st when it will increase to $95,000. She replaces Regina Hill.

I am looking forward to having the opportunity to work with Annu Jacob and our new Judges. The Judges, in office for less than one week, have already agreed to add an additional night court sessions to tackle the backlog of vehicle & traffic law cases. Our team will work hard to make the Greenburgh Court the best local court in the 9th Judicial district.

Paul Feiner

do you want to serve on a board/commission?

2012-01-04T23:32:00.001-05:00

Would you like to serve on a policy making or advisory board/commission? If the answer is yes- please send the Town Board a note advising of your interests. There currently is a vacancy on the Board of Ethics. The Town Board must appoint a resident who is NOT a registered Democrat or Republican. We have registered Dem's and Republicans on the Ethics Board and need an independent (you could be a member of a 3rd party--conservative, working families, Independence,etc..).

We are also hoping to appoint someone to the Antenna Review Board--the Board that reviews applications for cell towers or antenna systems. This issue is in the news now because of the application of NextG to place antenna systems in residential neighborhoods.

We have Boards/commissions that make policy for the library and review programs at our parks. We have vacancies on a board that deals with environmental matters (conservation advisory).

Democracy depends on an active community. Please get involved. E mail townboard@greenburghny.com if you're interested in serving. Tell us what you're interested in working on. Send us your bio. Thank you for being a partner in our government.
PAUL FEINER

Westchester county portion of total tax bill going up in Greenburgh...down elsewhere

2012-01-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

Last month the Westchester County Executive and Board of Legislators approved a county budget that was supposed to FREEZE the county portion of the tax bill. Because there has not been a county-wide reassessment in over a half a century, some communities will see the county portion of their taxes go up. Others will see their taxes go down. According to Edye McCarthy, assessor for the town, the county portion of the property taxes will go up 3.12%. Eastchester taxes are going up 9.44%. Bedford residents taxes are going up 9.30%. Mt Pleasant taxes will go up 4.61%. Pelham taxes (I believe they did a reassessment) are going up 5.55%. Rye taxes going up 5.42% And--Yorktown tax hike will be 1.34%. The above figures are the county taxes---taxes local municipalities have no control over.
The cities are doing better. Mt Vernon residents will see their county tax bills go down by 4.81%. White Plains residents will get a 7.83% tax reduction off of their county tax bills. And--Yonkers residents will see the county portion of their tax bill go down by 3.64%.
Every year the rates change. Some localities get luckier than others. A few years ago the county portion of the tax bill in Yonkers went up by close to 20%. Other towns/villages experienced a very small tax hike. I remember the outcry.
This highlights why many prefer county-wide reassessment. if every community reassessed at the same time there would be no inequity between communities. This year some of the communities that have reassessed are experiencing larger county tax hikes than those that have not. Question: If Greenburgh conducts a reassessment and other communities do not--will that have any impact on the county tax bills we all pay? Could it help or hurt? I have asked the Assessor for an opinion.
PAUL FEINER

FROM EDYE MCCARTHY

Just to keep you abreast of the county tax rate changes.

According to the county tax commission as you can see, the County general fund tax rate will be increasing by 3.12% from last year. The municipalities changes in tax rates range from a decrease of 7.83% White Plains to an increase of 9.44% in Eastchester. These variations in the rates occur due to the changes in municipalities assessment rolls (primarily due to the lack of revaluations) even given the fact that the County Levy had a 0% change between 2011 and 2012.

2011 $101.06

2012 $104.21 3.12%

swearing in ceremony at ny school for the deaf

2012-01-01T08:23:00.000-05:00

GREENBURGH ELECTED OFFICIALS TO BE SWORN INTO OFFICE AT NY SCHOOL FOR DEAF ON TUESDAY...WEDNESDAY CONCORD ROAD SCHOOL...THURSDAY GREENVILLE SCHOOL..

28 years ago (when I was first elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators) I started a tradition. Every time I was elected/re-elected I held my swearing in ceremony at the NY School for the Deaf. It's inspiring to interact with the students at the NY School for the Deaf and to discuss local government with children who are overcoming physical challenges. I begin a new term of office as Town Supervisor in 2012 and the tradition continues!

Greenburgh has a new Councilman (Ken Jones), two new Judges (Delores Brathwaite and Walter Rivera) and a new Receiver of Taxes (Anne Povella). Town Clerk Judith Beville was re-elected to her job. Kevin Morgan was re-elected to the Town Council. Arlene Gordon-Oliver was re-elected as Town Judge.

We're holding a few swearing in ceremonies at area schools --beginning with the NY School for the Deaf on Tuesday. On Wednesday there will be a swearing in ceremony at the Concord Road School in Ardsley and on Thursday we will hold our ceremony at the Greenville School in Edgemont. Our elected officials have been invited to participate in these ceremonies.

Among the goals: to provide students with an opportunity to observe government in action and to learn about their town government. This years ceremony at the NY School for the Deaf is even more special --last year the school (which does so much for the deaf population) was in danger of closing -- due to NYS budget problems. An effective lobbying effort persuaded the state to save the school.

TUESDAY,JANUARY 3rd

12:30 PM NEW YORK SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF (auditorium)-----this is a very moving ceremony before deaf students. I have been holding the ceremony here for over 24 years!

Wednesday, January 4th

Concord Road School, Ardsley 9 AM

Thursday January 5th

10 AM Greenville School

Paul Feiner

2011 year in review

2011-12-22T23:40:00.001-05:00

2011 YEAR IN REVIEW Paul Feiner

. I looked at the archives of my reports and my files and was pleasantly surprised at the many happenings that occurred during the year.

Since last December I have personally read or written 41,194 e mails (sent to or from my town e mail account according to my computer). Many of the e mail correspondence pertained to the hurricane and storms we had earlier this year --and the power outages. Received alot of e mails from residents about leaf collection and flooding. Send out frequent updates about job opportunities to the unemployed. I personally read every e mail sent to me and try to respond quickly to every question, complaint, suggestion. Here are some of the highlights of 2011.

· TOWN COMPLIES WITH TAX CAP The town approved a budget that complies with the new tax cap approved by the NYS Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. A Citizens Budget Oversight Commission, consisting of about 25 dedicated volunteers, worked day, night, and weekends all year long helping the town identify ways to save money.

· FLOODING-REMOVING DEBRIS FROM RIVER. Greenburgh and the Village of Elmsford public works departments cleared debris from the Saw Mill River to reduce flooding problems in the future. United States Senator Chuck Schumer came to Greenburgh and endorsed our initiative to clear debris from the river. Our hazardous mitigation plan was approved by FEMA and the state - enabling the town to become eligible for flood mitigation efforts (elevating homes, buyouts, drainage enhancements). We hired a consultant to help us apply for grants. Other communities are following our lead and are also clearing debris from both the Saw Mill River & Bronx River

· CREWS CLEARING UP DEBRIS AFTER HURRICANE, STORM. After Hurricane Irene our town cleared significant debris from our roads. 6000 people were out of power. The Theodore Young Community Center’s first floor and gym flooded. In 2011 Senator Gillibrand helped the town secure over a million dollars in FEMA reimbursement for the 2010 storm - money we had hoped to receive but hadn't. We hope to get reimbursed for the 2011 storms. Our CERT volunteers volunteered their time during the storm and opened up emergency shelters for neighbors who needed a warm place to stay overnight.

· ARTS BEING FUNDED PRIVATELY. The Lanza Foundation will be donating private dollars to pay for many town programs. The entire arts and culture budget in 2012 will be paid for by the Lanza Foundation. In the past the arts program was paid for by taxpayer dollars.

· EQUAL RIGHTS. Greenburgh was one of the first localities in NYS to comply with the new state law providing same sex couples with the right to marry. Marriage ceremonies were held at Town Hall on the first day (a Sunday).

· 911 WALL RESTORED. We restored the 911 Memorial Wall on Central Ave. 1,711 tiles painted by individual artists from around the county are located on the wall. An artifact from the World Trade Center will soon be placed on the wall. The tiles that had been placed at the wall after 9/11 had fallen. The wall restoration was paid for by private donations.

· WESTHELP. Westchester ended the contract with WESTHELP, the homeless shelter that provided transitional services to 108 families, in September. WESTHELP was built by Andrew Cuomo in the 1980s. The town had received $1.2 million a year from the contract (we're the landlord). We are currently negotiating a lease with Ferncliff (an organization that provides housing and educational services to the developmentally disabled). It is anticipated that the town could receive close to a million dollars a year in revenue if the lease with Ferncliff falls into place. However- we probably won't receive the rent dollars until 2013.

· NEW BUSINESSES. During the past year we've attracted some new businesses to town. Among them: Blinds to Go, Bio Med, Acorda Therapeutics and new bio tech companies, Shoprite (Stop & Shop is under construction), Captain Lawrence, 5th Ave. Chocolatiere, a new green energy store on Central Ave. near the A & P, the Yoga Station, Cari Blue Cafe, Bosphorus Restaurant on E. Hartsdale Ave., Weight Watchers at Crossroads Shopping Center and much more! H Mart will be replacing Pathmark on Central Ave. and is expected to open in February.

· NEW RENTALS. Avalon II on Taxter Road is building over 400 new apartments. They have already started renting their apartments.

· ENERGY CONSERVATION. We have a new website: www.renewgreenburgh.org, a one-stop resource for energy conservation tips and incentives to reduce home and business energy expenses. Country Club Ridge in Hartsdale is saving $200,000 a year in energy consumption.

· VETERANS. Over 60 veterans of World War II have been interviewed for our living history project by Alan Hochberg (Steve Wittenberg has helped produce the shows).. Their stories will be remembered for generations to come. The Greenburgh library is archiving the living history videos. We sponsored our 2nd annual veterans appreciation barbeque this summer.

· FISHER LANE BRIDGE. We re-opened the Fisher Lane Bridge which connects commuters to the North White Plains train station. Bridge was closed for many months and had to be replaced.

· NEW FARMER'S MARKET. After the A & P closed on Tarrytown Road we set up a new farmer's market at the location. The A & P building remains vacant.

· PROPOSED NEW REZONE COULD CREATE 1,000 TEMPORARY JOBS. The owners of the Landmark at Eastview want to rezone their property for a hotel, stores, retail. 100 acres of vacant land. The proposed development, if approved, would create $2 million in taxes, 1000 new construction jobs and 250 permanent jobs. We are reviewing the application.

· SHARING SERVICES. The Town Assessor assesses properties in the six villages. The villages also have their own assessment unit. A number of the villages in Greenburgh decided to eliminate the duplication and to have the town assume the responsibility for this service.

· LICENSE PLATE READERS. We secured from the District Attorney's office a license plate reader to help us reduce the possibility of burglaries from taking place. the readers are placed on major roads and provides the police with license plate numbers of cars driving on the road. The Town Board is supportive of a funding request for additional license plate readers that can be placed around town.

· NEW ELECTED OFFICIALS. In 2011 Greenburgh voters elected two new Judges (Delores Brathwaite, Walter Rivera), a new Town Councilman (S. Ken Jones), and a new Receiver of Taxes (Anne Povella). Michael Smith will represent part of Greenburgh as a County Legislator. Kevin Morgan was re-elected to the Town Board. Judith Beville as Town Clerk. Arlene Gordon-Oliver as Town Judge. Thank you for re-electing me as your Supervisor.

· FEDERAL LAWSUIT DISMISSED. A federal lawsuit by a former department head who lost his job was dismissed, shortly after a series of depositions.

· LOIS BRONZ CHILDREN’S CENTER WON’T CLOSE. The Lois Bronz Children's Center won't close. Early in the year there was a good possibility that the center would be forced to close. I participated in a campaign to keep this center open - one of the first child care centers in the county geared to low income families.

· STUDENT INTERNS-BERKELEY COLLEGE. Student interns from Berkeley College have helped the town collect back tickets and have helped the court increase revenue. Other student interns work in other departments. This initiative is being run out of the Citizens Budget Oversight Commission. The students are paid for by a federal grant and provide the town with 20 hours of free service a week.

· FRANK'S NURSERY. The town acquired Frank's Nursery and we plan to generate revenue from the property. After we issued a request for proposals for plans for the property from the business community - we expressed interest in leasing the property to a sports facility (indoor sports/dome).

· SNN. During the first six months of the year a new initiative was started: SNN-Student News Network. Students learned about journalism and produced their own show. Alan Brody, a resident of Edgemont, organized the initiative.

· TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE. President Obama and state officials announced that they will be expediting the construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge. I have proposed that the old bridge be saved and used as a suburban version of the NYC high line or walkway across the Hudson (Poughkeepsie). I also suggested that wind turbines and solar panels be placed on the bridge, an initiative previously proposed for bridges by NYC Mayor Bloomberg.

· VALHALLA LOSES LAWSUIT AGAINST TOWN. A Supreme Court decision denied the Valhalla School District’s request for funding from WESTHELP. The Judge ruled that the school district owes the town $1.8 million. This decision is being appealed by the school district.

· POPHAM ROAD BRIDGE PROGRESS REPORT. The Popham Road Bridge, which links Edgemont to Scarsdale, has been under construction for the year. Have been working with Scarsdale officials trying to minimize overnight noise and construction related problems.

· DOBBS FERRY ROAD/WEST HARTSDALE AVE. TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS AND SIDEWALK COMPLETED. The sidewalk, drainage and road improvements finally were completed this year.

· GELSPRAIN. Construction started on a new housing development off of Ardsley Road. 24 new homes to be built.

· MULCHING-LOVE ‘EM AND LEAVE ‘EM. The town is working with the Nature Center and Irvington environmentalists trying to encourage people to mulch their leaves. This would save the town significant dollars. It is anticipated that In 2012 the town will change our leaf collection policy and require bagging of leaves.

· NATURE CENTER. We approved the construction of a pre-k playground at the Nature Center (using developer escrow funds, not taxpayer dollars). We're supportive of an initiative of the nature center--to build a high tech trail for disabled adults.

· PLASTIC CAPS ON JARS/BOTTLES NOW ACCEPTED FOR RECYCLING.

· NEW YORK SCHOOL FOR DEAF WON'T CLOSE. At the beginning of the year there were reports that the state would not fund the New York School for the Deaf and the school, located in Greenburgh, would close. I helped the school with their lobbying efforts and the school has been saved.

· JOB CLUB. Over 3 years ago I started a job club. Almost every day I send residents who are out of work job leads. I estimate that I have helped over 80 people find employment during the past few years. I have also set up a site: www.linkedin.com (greenburgh jobs group) with job postings.

· HELPING VICTIMS OF JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE. After the Japanese earthquake the Town Clerk, Judith Beville, organized a fundraiser to help the victims of the earthquake.

A special thank you to the members of the Town Board for their help during the year: Diana Juettner, Kevin Morgan, Francis Sheehan and Sonja Brown. Councilwoman Brown will be ending her tenure as Councilwoman on December 31st. Good luck and good health to you! Thanks to the department heads, our employees, our volunteers, members of the Boards and Commissions that help make Greenburgh a great place to live in and work at.

PAUL FEINER

town board to appoint court administrator...swearing in tomorrow..statement by judges

2011-12-21T22:36:00.000-05:00

The Greenburgh Town Board will meet tomorrow morning in executive session to interview three finalists for Court Administrator. We anticipate making a decision on before the swearing in ceremony.

Theodore Jones, an Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court—the equivalent of the US Supreme Court for New York State) will officiate at the swearing in ceremonies of the three new Town Judges—Arlene Gordon-Oliver, Walter Rivera and Delores Scott Brathwaite this Thursday at 5 PM at Greenburgh Town Hall.

Our goal: to make Greenburgh the best local court in New York State. Hope to see you at the ceremony.

STATEMENT FROM OUR THREE NEW JUDGES:

Judge Arlene Gordon-Oliver, newly elected Judge Delores Brathwaite and newly elected Judge Walter Rivera have already begun working in a collaborative manner to address the issues facing the Greenburgh Town Court. They have issued this joint statement:

“We have met with the Hon. Charles Apotheker, Supervising Judge of the 9th Judicial District, to discuss the current state of affairs of the Greenburgh Town Court, court personnel and protocols going forward.

We have also met with Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, Town Council Members and Court Administrator Regina Hill to review and discuss the budget for 2012 insofar as it applies to the Greenburgh Town Court.

We agree that with the departure of Regina Hill our first joint task is to select a new Court Administrator and to that end we have already begun the interview process.

We have agreed to add additional night court sessions to tackle the backlog of Vehicle & Traffic Law cases.

The three Town Justices are looking forward to the new term of office commencing on January 1, 2012 and are honored to serve the Town of Greenburgh in this capacity.

We renew our pledge and commitment to work diligently and as a team to address the legal and administrative issues that are before us. ”

2012 budget approved

2011-12-20T21:39:00.001-05:00

The Greenburgh Town Board approved the 2012 budget today and also approved the capital budget for 2012. The budget complies with the tax cap which was approved by the New York State Legislature earlier this year. The tax hike that was approved will be 3.3% for residents of unincorporated Greenburgh and 3.5% for residents of the villages. New York State law allows localities to factor in pension contributions to the tax cap calculation. A number of government entities around the state have voted to overturn the tax cap. The Town Board decided to comply.

When the budget was initially proposed in October we anticipated 6 layoffs. The Board reduced the layoffs to two positions. Four employees in the parks department who were slated to lose their jobs will be transferred to vacant positions that we were planning to fill in 2012. We are eliminating other positions by attrition. There will be a night court on Wednesday evenings. The additional night court should result in the collection of significant additional revenue in 2012 --reducing the backlog of uncollected tickets. We decided to ask the part time prosecutor to work full time for the town --so we can aggressively pursue collections of back tickets and dispose of court cases in a timely manner.

Most of the departments within the town made cuts to their budget. Some recreation/community center programs are being eliminated. Cuts have also been made in the library budget. Fees are increasing for town programs. And, we're going to require bagging of leaves in 2012. The town had been receiving $1.2 million a year from the county/WESTHELP in revenue. Westchester County terminated the contract with WESTHELP at the end of September --causing the town to lose the revenue. We are negotiating (but have not yet finalized) a contract with Ferncliff (an organization that provides services to the developmentally disabled). We won't be able to count on the significant revenue until approvals are granted--which could take us into 2013.

We also approved a capital budget. $1.5 million dollars will be spent on road resurfacing in 2012. $69,000 will be spent for license plate readers which will help the police catch people who commit crimes. Our phone system is being replaced --at a cost of $200,000. We're spending $500,000 for a new software system. We have obtained a $169,000 grant for LED lighting installations (energy efficient lighting).

The budget, in its entirety, should be posted on the town website: www.greenburghny.com tomorrow.

Although the budge has been approved all the Board members recognize the fact that we have to work very hard to tighten up --to make government more efficient and leaner. The economy is still bad. If further cuts are not made additional layoffs may have to be made a year from now.

To help keep the pressure on to find additional cost savings measures---I will be meeting with the CSEA leadership twice a month to provide them with updates on financial matters and to hear their suggestions--starting in January. I hope to meet regularly with the Teamsters and PBA. Our employees need to be included in the budget process. We can learn from their suggestions. Members of the Town Board have requested to be part of the budget process year round. A new citizens budget oversight commission will be formed to follow up on the recommendations made earlier this year. The commission will also study options (consolidations, restructuring, privatization,increasing health care contributions of employees)--that could lead to additional savings.

Special thanks to the Town Board, Comptroller, department heads members of the Citizens Budget Oversight Commission, employees and citizens who testified at the budget hearings for your feedback and participation. We need to have a strong partnership in the coming year. The challenge: to turn budget difficulties into an opportunity---reinventing government.

PAUL FEINER

should tax exempt properties pay for sanitation services?

2011-12-19T21:48:00.001-05:00

Not for profit properties are exempt from property taxes. Some communities in the region have created a separate enterprise fund and charge everyone a fee for sanitation services. The comptroller, Bart Talamani, has been looking into this concept for some time. If we collect a fee for sanitation services (instead of a tax), tax exempt properties would be charged for sanitation services--revenue that would keep taxes down. the town of Greenburgh is currently researching the number of tax exempts in town and are trying to determine the additional revenue that we would receive if this initiative is approved. An enterprise fund would also provide residents and businesses with choices: possible competition down the road. Residents and businesses would be able to easily compare the cost of our sanitation services to the private sector. What do you think? The property tax cap, which the NYS Legislature and Governor approved earlier this year, should motivate all officials to think out of the box --to look for new ways to manage government. The six villages in the town have their own sanitation services and would not be impacted by the decision of the town. However- they may be interested in this concept as well.

eat, party, go to Greenburgh's holiday party Wed and on Friday join Weight Watcher's in Greenburgh

2011-12-08T23:55:00.001-05:00

You are invited to join us at our annual Holiday party on Wednesday, December 14th. If you're going to lots of holiday parties and adding some extra pounds that you want to lose you'll be happy to note that Weight Watchers is opening a new store at 433 Tarrytown Road (Crossroads Shopping Center). Eat this week, go to your parties, don't feel guilty about attending and eating at the Greenburgh Holiday celebration on 12/14, and next Friday stop by at the grand open celebration of one of our town's newest additions--WEIGHT WATCHERS. I am pleased that in these difficult economic times our town is attracting some interesting new stores --replacing vacant buildings. Have a great, healthy and happy holiday season!
PAUL FEINER
A Multi-Cultural Holiday Celebration at

Greenburgh Town Hall

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

6:00pm

Come to Town Hall and celebrate the Holiday Season with Merriment and Mirth!

Enjoy hearing about how the holidays are celebrated from speakers and guest artists representing the many cultures that comprise the cultural tapestry of our town!

Information

Please contact Judith Beville,

Town Clerk at 993-1504

Greenburgh Residents Have A Brand New Resource To Develop A Healthier Lifestyle!

Weight Watchers Unveils Its Contemporary New Store Design to Greenburgh.

Weight Watchers is unveiling a newly designed store in Greenburgh with a contemporary, yet welcoming and comfortable environment. The store, located at 433 Tarrytown Road, will be open during regular retail hours, so people can stop in anytime to learn more about Weight Watchers, ask questions, purchase memberships, or simply shop for Weight Watchers products designed to support a healthier lifestyle. Members can also weigh in at their convenience in a way that is more discrete than ever before. This new store is one of 400 being opened across the country this year.

Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Friday, December 16th at 9 AM

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 914-649-0517 or email psd4ww@verizon.net.

Ardsley Village Board approves waterwheel housing

2011-12-05T22:44:00.001-05:00

Over a year ago the Greenburgh Town Board approved an initiative to create a workforce -affordable housing opportunity in the village of Ardsley. The town owns the foreclosed Waterwheel property on Saw Mill River Road and agreed with Ardsley officials that the property should be converted into affordable workforce homes. We decided to partner with the village and to turn foreclosed land into an opportunity for a better life for others.

I attended the Ardsley Village Board of Trustees meeting tonight. I was very pleased to watch the Village Board vote --the final approvals for the 22 unit condo development. The village of Ardsley is part of the federal housing lawsuit. These affordable homes will help the village comply with the federal stipulation. Some of the units will be the new home for volunteer firefighters, ambulance corp members or police!

I would also like to congratulate Ardsley's new Mayor, Peter Porcino, on his first meeting. And would like to congratulate Larry Nardecchia Jr on his new term and welcome Ardsley Trustee Nicole Minore to village government.

A special tribute to former Ardsley Mayor Jay Leon who worked very hard on the waterwheel affordable housing meeting. He lobbied members of the Greenburgh Town Board to use the property for affordable housing. He worked with Volunteer Firefighters, ambulance corp members and with residents of Ardsley -- encouraging them to support the project. Without the enthusiastic support of the Mayor it would have been difficult for the project to have obtained all the approvals and for this affordable housing condo to be built.

It is anticipated that construction will start in 2012.

PAUL FEINER

work session agenda holiday party

2011-12-02T23:30:00.001-05:00

The Town Board has until December 20 to approve the 2012 budget. We will hold our 2nd public hearing on the budget Tuesday evening at 8:30 PM (or after the library budget presentation). We will hold a 3rd public hearing on the proposed budget on Wednesday evening, December 14th at our regular Town Board meeting. Town Clerk Judith Beville is organizing her annual holiday party on December 14th--right before the Town Board meeting. You are invited to join us for entertainment, music and good food (ALL DONATED).

PAUL FEINER

Town of Greenburgh

Work Session of the Greenburgh Town Board

Agenda: Tuesday – December 6, 2011 – 9:30 AM

(Work Sessions begin at 9:30AM except where schedule changes are made by the Board.)

(Please note that, although the Work Session Agenda is shared with the public prior to each Work Session, the Agenda may be revised at any point up to the start of the meeting as well as during the meeting, if necessary.)

(All Work Sessions are Televised Live on Cablevision Channel 76, Verizon 35 and are streamed live. Work Sessions and Town Board Meetings will be aired each Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting at 7:02am and 4:45pm. Each segment will run for approximately 6 to 7 hours

depending upon the length of the two meetings.)

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT PERSONNEL ISSUES PERTAINING TO ANY DEPARTMENT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION

· 09:30 AM: Budget Meeting: Building Inspector

· 10:00 AM: Budget Meeting: Town Assessor

· 10:30 AM: Budget Meeting: Courts

· 10:45 AM: Motion for Executive Session by____2nd by____Aye____

· (Personnel/ Legal-Contractual)

· 01:00 PM: Adjourn

· 07:00 PM: Budget Meeting: Library

valhalla loses WESTHELP lawsuit

2011-11-19T20:51:00.001-05:00

On April 26, 1990, Westchester County (County) entered into a 30-Year “Ground and Facilities Lease Agreement” (Master Lease) with the Town of Greenburgh (Town) that would commence upon the expiration of a 10-year lease agreement between the County and the Westchester Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (WestHELP) for a homeless housing facility. At the end of the 10-year lease term the homeless housing program would end and the County would lease the facility to the Town for a period of 30 years. The facility was to be used for low-to-moderate income family/senior citizen housing.

Near the impending expiration of the original lease agreement, the County continued to have a need for the homeless housing facility. The County requested a modification of the “Ground and Facilities Lease Agreement” with the Town, and asked the Town to sublease the facilities to WestHELP for another 10 years. Under the terms of the contract WestHELP would pay rent to the Town. On September 18, 2001, the County, Town and WestHELP entered into a “Sublease and Homeless Housing Facilities Agreement” (Sublease). The Town subleased the facilities to WestHELP for another 10 years. In consideration, the Town would receive rental payments of $1,200,000 for the initial period from September 18, 2001 to September 30, 2002, and $1,222,844 each year for the remaining term of the agreement.

In order to alleviate some of the perceived financial burden supposedly placed on the community in which the homeless housing facility was located, the Town entered into an “Educational Grant Agreement” with the Valhalla Union Free School District (District) to provide up to $650,000 annually for the development and implementation of enhanced educational programs. The “Educational Grant Agreement” stipulates that grant monies may not be used to supplement or pay for the standard educational activities engaged in by the District, but rather must be used to fund academic programs, the purpose of which is to provide educational benefits not otherwise available in the District.

The State Comptroller's office determined that the town agreement with the school district was invalid. The town immediately stopped paying the school district the dollars that had been agreed to--after we were advised that the agreement was not authorized by state law. The Comptroller stated that

The Town can only fund programs that are for Town purposes. The general function of providing education to children is a school district, not a town, purpose.1 Since the 2003-04 school year, the Town has provided more than $1.8 million of funding to the District. The programs funded by the educational grant that the Town makes to the District do not further Town purposes, but rather further the purposes only of the District. Therefore, the grant cannot be made in the manner that the Town currently follows. Moreover, even if the funding had furthered proper Town purposes, none of the funded programs are made available to the surrounding communities within the Town and, consequently, benefit only those Town residents who coincidentally reside within the District.

The Valhalla School district filed a lawsuit in NY State Supreme Court--objecting to the fact that the town was complying with the state comptroller's decision. In a decision just released, a NYS Supreme Court Judge denied Valhalla's claim in the decision--(link to decision is below). The court indicated that the town is entitled to recover monies previously paid to the Valhalla School district. Over $1.8 million had been paid out to the Valhalla schools previously.

link to decision below:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16989909/Decision%20on%20Summ.%20Judgment.pdf

PAUL FEINER

new bagel store...popham road closure...budget meetings schedule

2011-11-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

Eileen Rivilis of Seville Realty gave me some good news. SUNSHINE BAGEL (they own a great bagel store in Ardsley) has signed a lease and will be taking over the abandoned Dunkin Donuts store at 47 North Central Ave. They are trying to get Con Ed to provide them with gas service. Khangri, a Japanese food store, is going to open at the end of the month on Central Ave. And Chef Depot, a restaurant supply store open to the public will open in early December (perhaps a bit earlier) at 65 Tarrytown Road by the Loehman’s shopping plaza.

Popham Road Bridge Closure Notice FRIDAY

The Village of Scarsdale’s Popham Road Bridge Contractor is scheduled for a complete closure of the Popham Road Bridge and a portion of Scarsdale Avenue to vehicular and pedestrian traffic from 9:00pm on Friday, November 18th to 6:00am on Saturday, November 19th. A traffic detour will be implemented to accommodate those who are unable to avoid this area during these times. Drivers are highly encouraged to use alternate routes and avoid Popham Road, Garth Road, and Scarsdale Avenue areas during the bridge closure period. Efforts to minimize the inconvenience and delays to adjacent home owners and motorists have been coordinated by the Village and other project stakeholders. Additional advisories will be issued in the event of a change in the bridge closure schedule. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and we appreciate your patience during this temporary inconvenience.

BUDGET 2012 SCHEDULE

Revised Schedule The Town Board met with the Commissioner of Planning and Town Attorney today during our work session to discuss the proposed budget. The following is the meeting schedules with other department heads. A public hearing on the budget will be held on November 30th at 7:30 PM. Meetings are televised live and streamed live on the town website: www.greenburghny.com. Work sessions are also archived. Since layoffs are being considered – all personnel discussions will be in executive session.
This is a difficult budget. The proposed budget complies with the new property tax cap (which limits tax hikes). However—cuts have to be made. Your feedback is appreciated.

November 22nd
9:30am – Police Department
11:00am – Tax Receiver
11:30am – Comptroller

November 29th
9:30am – DPW
10:30am – Town Clerk
11:00am – Purchasing
7:00pm – TDYCC
8:00pm – Parks & Recreation

December 6th
9:30am – Courts
11:00am – Building Inspector
7:30pm – Library
Paul Feiner

NY TIMES GREEN BLOG (NOV 8)...WIND POWER ON TZ BRIDGE

2011-11-08T18:20:00.001-05:00

November 8, 2011, 8:13 am
Tapping the Tappan Zee for Wind
By MATTHEW L. WALD

Cassi Alexander for The New York Times
The Tappan Zee Bridge, which bears far more traffic than it was designed for and is due to be replaced.Replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge, which carries the New York State Thruway across the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland Counties, is expected to be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the New York region in coming years. Some experts have suggested including some green features, like tracks for commuter trains or a bus rapid transit lane.

Paul Feiner, the town supervisor in Greenburgh in Westchester County, also has a green idea: wind turbines.

Mr. Feiner says he wants a bridge that would “generate excitement.” Wind turbines would inspire the thousands of people who use it daily to conserve energy or embrace renewable energy, he suggests. It could even be a tourist destination.

The idea of replacing the bridge has been around for years, but the prospects for getting it done improved significantly last month when President Obama designated it, along with a handful of other projects nationwide, for “fast track” environmental approval.

In theory, that could allow work to start in about a year. Mr. Obama was less concerned with the bridge’s perennial traffic jams, with about 45 million vehicles using it last year, than with the thousands of jobs that the construction project would create.

Adding wind turbines would run counter to the approach supported by some New York State officials, who want to strip the proposal down to the bare bones to minimize costs in this fiscally dicey period, forgoing the addition of train tracks, for example, but leaving open the possibility of adding them later.

Asked about the wind turbine idea, a spokesman for Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Matt Wing, simply replied, “We are in the process of taking comments and feedback from the public on the Tappan Zee Bridge project and we will be considering them as they are submitted.”

They might get a large number of comments from an unexpected quarter: Mr. Feiner recently sent a letter to the heads of science departments at high schools and middle schools around the county and to some colleges as well, asking them to have their students evaluate the idea.

He included a photo of a somewhat fanciful design for a viaduct in Italy that incorporates wind machines.

Is it practical?

Probably not, given that big wind machines are generally planted on ridge lines around the United States, not bridges. Their blades accumulate ice in cold weather and tend to shed the ice in great showers, making them unsafe to approach (or drive under) during many hours of the year.

Still, there is a booming business in small wind, meaning machines that generate a few kilowatts – enough, say, to run a house or several houses. The American Wind Energy Association said that sales of such small machines jumped 53 percent in 2010, with about 800 units sold.

Asked about such a project’s practicality, 3TIER, a company that evaluates potential wind sites around the country for their suitability, suggested that the wind might be adequate, although it has no detailed information on the Tappan Zee.

A key factor is how high the wind machine is placed, given that winds 100 or 200 feet above the surface are usually far stronger than those on the ground.

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sports dome at frank's nursery--town to generate revenue

2011-11-07T23:44:00.000-05:00

TOWN BOARD MOST INTERESTED IN PROPOSAL TO RENT OUT OLD FRANKS NURSERY PROPERTY FOR PREMIER INDOOR SPORTS DOME

Earlier this summer the Town Board invited developers to submit proposals for the redevelopment of Frank’s nursery (a property we acquired due to foreclosure). We publicized the RFPs in newspapers, on the town website and even placed a sign at the property. Six potential applicants visited the property. Three submitted bids. All the bids will be posted on the town website.

There were two proposals from developers who wanted to purchase the property. The Board is most interested in a third proposal: to rent out the property for the first premier indoor sports dome in Westchester. The proposals are posted on the town website: www.greenburghny.com.

The town will receive monthly rent based on an annual amount of $260,000 a year. There will be regular annual increases each year.

The goal of Game On’s plan is to bring world class sports instruction and year round field space to residents. There will be health, wellness and physical activities for residents of all ages (including pilates, yoga, dance, cross fit and cardio). Adult sport leagues, coaching clinics for Greenburgh Recreation, AYSO and WYSL, senior programs, youth rec nights for 5 - 12 year olds and tutoring classes will also be offered.

I think this concept could be exciting—we’re adding recreation to the town at no cost to the taxpayers. Good for quality of life—good for property values, in my opinion.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions. The Town Board hopes to make a final decision before the end of the year. Your feedback is always welcome.

Paul Feiner

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

PS: We will discuss this at our Town Board meeting on Wednesday evening beginning at 7:30 PM.

please be patient..

2011-11-04T10:14:00.000-04:00

Please be patient. There are many tree branches and debris all over town. We have crews out every day. I have authorized overtime for tomorrow (Saturday) so we can address storm damage. Bring branches/debris to curb. If you bag the leaves they will be picked up quicker. The entire sanitation and highway departments are working on addressing this problem.
However…it is important to recognize the fact that there is so much out there that it is impossible to clear up everything immediately. We hope that you’ll notice a significant difference next week at this time but it probably will take a few weeks to get all the debris.
Because the phones are ringing off the hook it is better to e mail me or the department of public works (dpw@greenburghny.com) your concerns. In the event of emergencies call the police.
Again—please be patient. We will do the best we can. I PROMISE YOU THAT WE WILL WORK VERY HARD TRYING TO CLEAN UP THE STORM DAMAGE

DURING MS BIKE RIDE-CYCLISTS BIKE OVER TZ BRIDGE

2011-11-04T00:06:00.001-04:00

The Tappan Zee bridge could be converted into a suburban version of the NYC high line. Cyclists enjoy the bike ride across the TZ bridge annually--the MS bike ride. Let's save the old bridge when the new bridge is built.

put power lines underground when major road work is being done

2011-11-01T16:29:00.001-04:00

GREENBURGH TOWN BD DISCUSSES BURYING POWER LINES UNDERGROUND AT BOARD MEETING--SUGGESTS THAT THIS BE DONE WHENEVER MAJOR STATE/COUNTY ROAD WORK IS BEING DONE

Five years ago I recommended that Con Ed put their wires underground (see NY Times article below). Con Ed rejected the recommendation-stating that the costs were prohibitive. Since 2006 there have been numerous power outages in Greenburgh. Many residents have experienced power outages three times a year. Is this a 3rd world country?

The frequent power outages have caused a loss of productivity, financial problems for businesses that have experienced power outages and significant expenses for Con Ed (hiring out of state crews to restore power and paying their own employees overtime during storms. Local governments like Greenburgh have had to assume the cost of cleanup.

IS IT MORE EXPENSIVE NOT TO PUT THE POWER LINES UNDERGROUND?
At the Greenburgh Town Board work session members of the Town Board discussed whether power lines should be placed underground. A suggestion was made that makes good sense. Whenever the state/county/town is involved in a major road project the government entity that is doing the road project should work with Con Ed to bury the lines on that street. In addition...fiber optics could be placed underground --helping the locality keep up with the latest technology.

An example: NYS just completed a major road/drainage/sidewalk project off of Dobbs Ferry Road and W Hartsdale Ave. There are currently outages in this section of town. If wires had been placed underground during the construction we might have avoided significant outages.

The federal and state governments, as part of a stimulus job creation initiative, could provide local governments and Con Ed with financial help when roads are repaved and milled.

If the above suggestion is implemented we will be moving in the right direction...there will be fewer outages and the cost of placing wires underground will not be prohibitive since the work will be done gradually. Fewer outages will mean that when there are storms- those who experience outages will get their power restored quicker.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

For Con Ed, It May Be Time to Go Underground
By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: September 24, 2006
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AT first there was something charmingly old-fashioned about it: Dad, Mom and the children gathered around, reading by candlelight and flashlight; people idling with neighbors they scarcely knew before; lunches and dinners cooked on outdoor grills.

But the charm of a plague of darkness like the kind that struck Westchester three times this summer wears thin in today's ultra-wired universe. The children want to watch a DVD rather than turn the pages of a book or play gin rummy. They don't even know what gin rummy is. Husbands and wives need to check their e-mail 24/7, even on lazy holiday weekends. Cellphones and iPods need to be recharged. Trader Joe's frozen jasmine rice goes bad when the refrigerator dies.

The power failures that Westchester had -- from Ernesto on Labor Day weekend, a tornado and lesser windstorm in July and powerful storms earlier in the year -- were not the kind of encompassing grid failures that blacked out New York City in 1965, 1977 and 2003. Lights then were restored in a day or two.

But with Ernesto blowing down 1,300 trees and weekend utility crews spread exceedingly thin, whole neighborhoods had to cope without electricity for five or six days. The romance faded very quickly.

The supervisor of Greenburgh, Paul J. Feiner, who compared the ineffective response with that of a Third World country, has asked the utility to explore the merits of gradually burying power lines underground, where they won't be a subject to the whims of weather. He suggested that overhead lines might be as outdated as rotary-dial phones.

''People have no confidence the power is going to stay on,'' he said. ''I've had constituents who had five, six and seven outages this year alone.''

Mr. Feiner comes up with proposals as often as Mickey Rooney once did, though his are not aimed at prospective brides. But this time he may be right: burying cables may be an idea whose time has come. The suburbs have matured from quaint bedroom communities to places where one-third of Americans live. In 1950, just before Con Edison took over county power, Westchester had 625,000 people, or 1,445 per square mile. It now has 923,459, or 2,134 per square mile. While it once had 25,000 acres of farmland, it is down to 9,900, mostly plant nurseries enabling suburbanites to adorn backyards.

Americans live far differently than they did in the 1950's or even the 90's. More work out of their homes because they can, as long as computers and fax machines keep working. Children raised on Super Mario Brothers cannot spend four days by flashlight.

William J. McGrath, Con Edison's vice president for the Bronx and Westchester electric operations, marshals some compelling arguments for keeping the present system. It costs $100,000 a mile to string a line overhead, but $1 million to bury it, which would mean $5 billion for the entire county. Those figures don't include the costs of repeatedly restringing lines after storms, but Mr. McGrath said repairs on underground cables, though less frequent, are much more expensive and take much longer than lifting workers to the top of a pole in a bucket truck.

Con Edison, he said, runs underground cable in downtowns like White Plains and Yonkers where the density of population and the density of cables required justify the costs. But homeowners in more spread-out villages, he argued, would not want to see their bills raised to pay for burying cables, including the $2,000 to $10,000 per home for new metering equipment.

But what Con Edison doesn't seem to factor in is the cost of lost days of work, spoiled food, hotels for orphans of the storm -- and shattered equanimity. If predictions of global warming and its consequences are to be trusted, Westchester residents can expect more seasons of fierce storms and hair-pulling disruptions -- true inconveniences, not just inconvenient truths.

Yes, less well-to-do homeowners will recoil at the cost of submerging power lines, but discussion can begin with state and local governments about ways to have wealthier homeowners pick up more of the tab, perhaps by tying the bill for construction to the assessed value of houses. The state can also provide subsidies.

Chris Olert, a Con Ed spokesman, said the company would soon evaluate its performance, as it does after every big storm. One question that should be studied is why there were not more crews on call for the Labor Day weekend. But readiness is a management problem; the bigger issue is where power lines should be. Many frustrated county residents are saying that gradually burying them in more teeming suburban areas -- over dozens of years so the bills don't pinch -- should be at the top of the agenda.

Photo (Photo by Alan Zale for The New York Times)

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budget message 2012

2011-11-01T00:12:00.000-04:00

This is my budget message for the 2012 budget. The entire budget has been filed with the Town Clerk's office and will be posted on the town website: www.greenburghny.com on Tuesday.
PAUL FEINER

GREENBURGH COMPLIES WITH STATE TAX CAP/PREPARES FOR FUTURE

A BUDGET: $15.6 million in 2012 (a $0.1 million increase)

- Tax cap limit met

- Tax levy up 2.0%

- Tax rate up 3.6%*

B BUDGET: $66.6 million in 2012 (a $1.4 million decrease in appropriations)

- Tax cap limit met

- Tax levy up 2.0%

- Tax rate up 3.3%*

Note: Inflation rate in the past 12 months: 3.9%

*The tax rate differs from the tax levy due to changes in assessed property values and the exclusion from the calculation of pension increases over 2%. See the attachments for a full explanation of the tax cap.

Greenburgh complies with NYS Tax Cap Law

The 2012 proposed budget complies with the State tax levy cap approved by the Governor and members of the New York State Legislature earlier this year. Unlike many communities around the State that have or are expected to overturn the cap, I want Greenburgh to operate within the State’s guidelines. The proposed tax hikes are also below the inflation rate.

Fewer Employees if no Union Concessions

One reason there will be fewer employees working for the Town in 2012 is our continuing policy of not filling most vacated positions. In addition, skyrocketing benefit costs are forcing the Town to lay off approximately a half dozen current employees. Benefits add approximately 40% in costs beyond employee salaries. The figure is approximately 50% for each police officer. Further, we project benefit costs will double within the next five years.

I have and will continue to meet with the unions representing the employees in positions identified for layoff. I indicated that I would be able to recommend no 2012 layoffs if the unions will offset the costs by agreeing to concessions similar to that recently approved by New York State union employees.

Painful Cuts

The 2012 budget is personally my most painful. There are Town employees who will have to leave their jobs because of the difficult choices the Town is facing. This is the first time I have proposed parting with valued Town employees in my 20 years as Supervisor. It is heartbreaking to lay off employees.

Our employees are known for their responsiveness and dedication to the Town. I appreciate their service. The positions eliminated are those I determined would have the least impact on essential services.

The layoffs in this budget are additionally painful to me because I have been devoting many hours over the past few years helping to reduce unemployment—not add to it. I pledge to work hard to help the town employees who lose their jobs find other employment.

No Salary Increases Budgeted in 2012 for CSEA, Teamsters, Management and Elected Officials

CSEA Members, Teamster Members, Management and your Elected Officials work hard for the Town, but have not received salary increases for several years. I am recommending that the employee unions agree to contracts that are similar to the contracts recently accepted by state employees.

No Fund Balance Used in A Budget... $1.8 million Used in B Budget

The A Budget, which serves the entire Town (unincorporated Greenburgh and Villages), will spend no more than we take in. No fund balance is being used to balance the A Budget. The B Budget (which serves unincorporated Greenburgh), relies on the use of $1.8 million in fund balance. We are working toward a future point when no fund balance will be used to subsidize programs in the B Budget.

Sacrifices/Preparing for More Difficult Times Ahead

This budget further reinforces the need for government to do more with less. We will continue to rethink government. This effort supports our goal of maintaining the most important quality of life services that residents enjoy, even in the face of cutbacks. So far, Town budget cuts have not reached the more severe levels we see at the National, State or County levels. However, we can virtually guarantee dramatic cuts in future budgets unless we can turn around out-of-control benefit costs.

Budget Cuts/Library Surpluses

Some budget cutting examples include reducing the use of Outside Legal Consultants ($175,000) and funding the Arts Council with private donations ($52,000). Elsewhere, we cut over a dozen positions, both occupied and vacated, reducing total Personnel costs by $1.1 million.

We expect no Library services decrease even though the Town is reducing its annual payment by $320,000. This is because the Library has an excessively large reserve fund (over $500,000) due to significant budget surpluses in recent years. The Library can further reduce costs by bringing its expenditures in line with the other 38 libraries in Westchester.

Revenue Enhancements

I am recommending changes in the way we bill for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). We have improved the way we collect information and pursue health insurers for reimbursement. We have started billing for calls when an ambulance arrives but is not used for hospital transport, which is also reimbursable by health insurers. In addition, I recommend we update billing letters to better prompt payments from individuals. However, the Town will prohibit our billing contractor from communicating with credit agencies about non-payers. The Citizens Budget Commission estimates that these changes could generate about $240,000 or more annually in extra revenue.

Additionally, cost-saving and revenue generation efforts have grown out of a collaboration established earlier this year with Berkeley College. Berkeley has provided seven interns who are paid from a Federal Work-Study Grant, not by Greenburgh Taxpayers. These interns will raise an additional $100,000 in revenue for the Town in 2011 and an estimated $400,000 in 2012 by processing the traffic ticket backlog uncovered in 2010. Additionally, the Court Administrator has spoken so highly of her interns that several other Town agencies have requested them.

Other Ways We May Cut Expenses and Increase Revenue

I am always searching for cost reduction opportunities. For example, we have found significant cost differences between our own EMS and that of outside providers. We are reviewing the suitability of substituting highly trained Emergency Medical Technicians for the much more highly paid police officers. These officers would then be able to increase their direct duties within the Police Department.

We are currently negotiating new revenue possibilities for the WESTHELP property and the old Frank’s Nursery. The Town lost $1.2 million per year after the County recently discontinued their relationship with WESTHELP.

We are also working to streamline the business applications process and spread the word that Greenburgh is business-friendly. New businesses will bring much needed new revenue to the Town.

In addition, we expect significant savings in 2012 as we complete a detailed review of Town insurance costs.

Stronger Fiscal Oversight, Better Cost Controls
The 2012 budget cuts are only the beginning of an aggressive initiative to improve the way we run government. I am proposing to add a part-time budget officer and part-time internal auditor to enhance the monitoring and control of expenses across all departments. I expect this to generate savings far greater than the cost of these positions. We will also create and partner with a new citizens commission that will work with these professionals to maximize the benefits of comprehensive operational reviews.

Greenburgh Needs Greater Flexibility in Managing Its Workforce

Our Town needs relief from stifling State controls over the Town’s business. For example, the State mandates arbitration to resolve impasses between the Town and police unions, forcing the Town to give hefty pay increases while the rest of the Town’s workforce receives nothing. The State also dictates pension costs, which will go up by 25% in 2012.

A New Kind of Relationship with Unions

Employee benefits are the Town’s only significant expense that is virtually certain to continue increasing by double digits every year. This problem is literally compounding our fiscal struggles as surely as high credit card rates drive some individuals into bankruptcy. These costs are accelerating, pushing the cost of municipal employees beyond what Taxpayers can afford.

Until the larger State issues mentioned above are resolved, the Town will face deteriorating choices--unsustainably large layoffs and/or double-digit tax hikes. In the interim, we need solutions to extend the period during which the Town can sustain a workforce sufficient to serve our residents. This challenge cannot be resolved unilaterally. It may be addressable in part through a realistic and serious good faith partnership between the Town and the employee unions. The Town needs to better control costs by increasing flexibility in deploying its workforce and redefining work standards. Our workers want a financially stable and reliable employer. A partnership with the unions is in our mutual interests.

We must act now before unmanageably large budget gaps force the Town to drastically terminate employees and overwhelm Taxpayers. Greenburgh’s challenges are national in scope. We will prepare for the future by addressing them now.

Team Effort/GBOC

I want residents to know that fiscal strength is only possible with the combined efforts of everyone working for the Town. It starts with those on the front lines who provide services essential to our well-being and quality of life. It continues with the agency heads that find and implement innovations and manage their complex organizations. Of course, none of this would be possible without leadership from the Town Council.

In addition, I want to tell you about an innovative and powerful new tool we have added. Early in 2011, I created a commission to do what has never been done before in Greenburgh and was virtually unheard of in government. The Greenburgh Budget Oversight Commission (GBOC) is a group of twenty-five (25) Town citizens formed to analyze the Town’s fiscal matters, evaluate the operations of Town agencies and provide an additional perspective on how to strengthen Greenburgh.

With my backing, support from the Comptroller and exceptional cooperation from each department, the GBOC met with agency heads, analyzed their operations and developed recommendations for improving efficiency and reducing expenses. Their energy helped motivate us to dig even deeper for solutions. The GBOC developed a solid starting point for the development of my 2012 budget. Their longer-term recommendations will serve the Town well for many years to come. I have identified these members on the page that immediately follows this message.

Conclusion

Financial challenges for government are growing at an accelerated pace. Greenburgh will meet and overcome these challenges with one goal in mind – maintaining a strong quality of life for all the residents of our community.

PAUL FEINER

MEMBERS OF THE GREENBURGH

BUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION

ALAN HOCHBERG

BILL LOSAPIO

DANIEL R. MARTIN

DAVID SEAL

DON BLUM

DON CANNON

FELICE HARRIS

HOWARD HIRSCH

JOHN MALONE

KEN PATEL

LECH PORADOWSKI

LLOYD CORT

LUIS POLIT

MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN

MILT HOFFMAN

MONA FRATAG

NAT FEDERICI

NEAL CROMWELL

RICH BOBBE

VICTOR WEINSTEIN

VICTOR ALLEYNE

VIOLA TALIAFERROW

GLEN GORDON

halloween report..update con ed restoration

2011-10-31T23:05:00.001-04:00

Every Halloween night, for 20 years, I have spent time with the Police Chief patrolling the neighborhoods of Greenburgh. Early in my tenure as an elected official Halloween evening was difficult. Lots of vandalism. Property damage. Pranks. Families were scared. We tried to address this problem by assigning lots of police to different neighborhoods around the town. In recent years Halloween has been relatively quiet.
Tonight, when I went on my patrol with Chief of Police Joseph DeCarlo, it was very quiet. The police radio was silent while I was driving around town, very few complaints. There were some kids walking around their neighborhoods---but no major problems. A few reasons: 1) the police did a great job; 2)the October storm --families understood the dangerous post storm conditions of our streets. Wires are still down. So are some trees. And large tree branches continue to fall. The police chief showed me a very scary photo of a large pole that went right into a car. The car owner is probably one of the luckiest individuals around. Had he been in the car--he would not be alive.

MORE HOMES ARE GETTING POWER RESTORED--OLD FRANK'S NURSERY OFF OF DOBBS FERRY ROAD LOOKS LIKE A MILITARY BASE---WITH MANY CON ED REPAIR TRUCKS GETTING READY TO GET THE POWER BACK FOR THE POWERLESS
The Police Chief took me to the command center at police headquarters. Con Ed liaisons are working with the police and public works department trying to restore power. Con Ed is trying to restore power to large clusters of powerless homes first, If they can repair a transformer and restore power to a few hundred people --that takes priority over a neighborhood with one or two outages.
We then drove past Frank's nursery off of Dobbs Ferry Road. The nursery looked like a military camp---I estimate that sixty or more repair trucks were parked at the old nursery, ready to get to work restoring power. My guess is that many people without power will see their power restored sometime tomorrow. The trucks include repair teams from out of state.

PAUL FEINER

snow updates--central 7 closed..sanitation pickup tomorrow..tdycc warming center

2011-10-30T22:55:00.001-04:00

The Theodore Young Community Center will be open tonight as a warming center--if you're cold and want to sleep in a warm facility. The center is located on Manhattan Ave (off of Route 119--near Crossroads shopping Center).

Central 7 school district has posted on their website that the schools are closed. Check your school district's website tomorrow morning if you are in another school district and if you want to know if the schools are open.

Sanitation pick up --normal schedule tomorrow.

QUESTION-- WHICH HOTELS ARE GIVING POWERLESS FAMILIES THE BEST RATES?
Some residents have advised me that they are staying in hotels tonight since their power has not been restored. In the event that power is not restored to everyone tomorrow, I'd like to advise people who ask me--what hotels in the area are offering guests the best deals and not taking advantage of the outages. Please advise me of your experiences. I'll keep the info in my files and will share with others the next time there is a storm... Or, if people call me tomorrow and want some advice.

five years ago I suggested that con ed wires go underground

2011-10-30T19:05:00.001-04:00

For Con Ed, It May Be Time to Go Underground
By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: September 24, 2006
Sign In to E-Mail

Print

AT first there was something charmingly old-fashioned about it: Dad, Mom and the children gathered around, reading by candlelight and flashlight; people idling with neighbors they scarcely knew before; lunches and dinners cooked on outdoor grills.

But the charm of a plague of darkness like the kind that struck Westchester three times this summer wears thin in today's ultra-wired universe. The children want to watch a DVD rather than turn the pages of a book or play gin rummy. They don't even know what gin rummy is. Husbands and wives need to check their e-mail 24/7, even on lazy holiday weekends. Cellphones and iPods need to be recharged. Trader Joe's frozen jasmine rice goes bad when the refrigerator dies.

The power failures that Westchester had -- from Ernesto on Labor Day weekend, a tornado and lesser windstorm in July and powerful storms earlier in the year -- were not the kind of encompassing grid failures that blacked out New York City in 1965, 1977 and 2003. Lights then were restored in a day or two.

But with Ernesto blowing down 1,300 trees and weekend utility crews spread exceedingly thin, whole neighborhoods had to cope without electricity for five or six days. The romance faded very quickly.

The supervisor of Greenburgh, Paul J. Feiner, who compared the ineffective response with that of a Third World country, has asked the utility to explore the merits of gradually burying power lines underground, where they won't be a subject to the whims of weather. He suggested that overhead lines might be as outdated as rotary-dial phones.

''People have no confidence the power is going to stay on,'' he said. ''I've had constituents who had five, six and seven outages this year alone.''

Mr. Feiner comes up with proposals as often as Mickey Rooney once did, though his are not aimed at prospective brides. But this time he may be right: burying cables may be an idea whose time has come. The suburbs have matured from quaint bedroom communities to places where one-third of Americans live. In 1950, just before Con Edison took over county power, Westchester had 625,000 people, or 1,445 per square mile. It now has 923,459, or 2,134 per square mile. While it once had 25,000 acres of farmland, it is down to 9,900, mostly plant nurseries enabling suburbanites to adorn backyards.

Americans live far differently than they did in the 1950's or even the 90's. More work out of their homes because they can, as long as computers and fax machines keep working. Children raised on Super Mario Brothers cannot spend four days by flashlight.

William J. McGrath, Con Edison's vice president for the Bronx and Westchester electric operations, marshals some compelling arguments for keeping the present system. It costs $100,000 a mile to string a line overhead, but $1 million to bury it, which would mean $5 billion for the entire county. Those figures don't include the costs of repeatedly restringing lines after storms, but Mr. McGrath said repairs on underground cables, though less frequent, are much more expensive and take much longer than lifting workers to the top of a pole in a bucket truck.

Con Edison, he said, runs underground cable in downtowns like White Plains and Yonkers where the density of population and the density of cables required justify the costs. But homeowners in more spread-out villages, he argued, would not want to see their bills raised to pay for burying cables, including the $2,000 to $10,000 per home for new metering equipment.

But what Con Edison doesn't seem to factor in is the cost of lost days of work, spoiled food, hotels for orphans of the storm -- and shattered equanimity. If predictions of global warming and its consequences are to be trusted, Westchester residents can expect more seasons of fierce storms and hair-pulling disruptions -- true inconveniences, not just inconvenient truths.

Yes, less well-to-do homeowners will recoil at the cost of submerging power lines, but discussion can begin with state and local governments about ways to have wealthier homeowners pick up more of the tab, perhaps by tying the bill for construction to the assessed value of houses. The state can also provide subsidies.

Chris Olert, a Con Ed spokesman, said the company would soon evaluate its performance, as it does after every big storm. One question that should be studied is why there were not more crews on call for the Labor Day weekend. But readiness is a management problem; the bigger issue is where power lines should be. Many frustrated county residents are saying that gradually burying them in more teeming suburban areas -- over dozens of years so the bills don't pinch -- should be at the top of the agenda.

con ed updates...

2011-10-30T12:34:00.001-04:00

Finally...answered all the emails I received from last night to now. My power at home is out (just like many others). And, my blackberry lost it's connection too (around midnight last night). There are many outages around Greenburgh. Downed trees, downed wires. Burning wires. But---received some good news from two residents of Edgemont: their power was recently restored. Hopefully will continue to receive good news reports from others soon.
There are many thousands of people without power. I anticipate (based on previous outages) that it will take a few days before power is restored to all. Will keep you updated.

Hi Paul...I hope you are advising your constituents to call
1800.752.6633. Email is not the way to get their outages on record.

If wind turbines were placed on the new Tappan Zee bridge this is how it could look...

2011-10-28T22:25:00.002-04:00

A few years ago I proposed that wind turbines be placed on the new Tappan Zee bridge. This is how it could look.

Digg..Attractive Italian Viaduct Has Wind Turbines Built In By Rebecca Boyle
Posted 02.02.2011 at 2:02 pm 19 Comments

Wind Turbine Viaduct via New Italian Blood
A new bridge concept incorporates wind and solar energy into its design, generating 40 million kilowatt-hours per year — and looking pretty slick to boot.

The Solar Wind concept would use the space between an existing viaduct in southern Italy to install 26 wind turbines, which designers Francesco Colarossi, Giovanna Saracino and Luisa Saracino say could provide 36 million kilowatt hours of electricity every year.

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Tags
Technology, Rebecca Boyle, architecture, bridges, italy, roads, solar panels, solar roads, wind power, wind turbinesThe design team conceived the Solar Wind project for a contest that aims to repurpose some old, unused viaducts near Calabria, a region in the toe of Italy. It would cost about $55 million to demolish the viaducts, so town officials held a contest for proposals that would re-use them in an environmentally friendly way. The wind turbine bridge took second place.

The proposal also includes a solar-paneled roadway to provide another 11.2 million kilowatt hours, Colarossi and colleagues say. It turns the entire viaduct into a park, with spaces to pull over and take in the view off the Italian coast. Travelers could stop and buy fresh produce grown in solar-powered greenhouses located along the bridge. The whole roadway would be covered in a dense grid of solar cells coated in a thin, transparent plastic, the designers say.

All in all, the system would be capable of generating 40 million kWh each year, enough to power 15,000 homes.

Viaduct Top View: via New Italian Blood

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LETTER TO COUNTY EXEC--SPEED HUMP OR ELEVATED CROSSWALK NEEDED AT COUNTY CENTER/BRONX PARKWAY

2011-10-28T00:23:00.002-04:00

The following letter was sent to County Executive Rob Astorino last night. I will also be reaching out to other county officials.

On another matter--- the 2012 budget will be filed with the Town Clerk on Monday by 5 PM. I am making some last minute changes to the budget and will be spending some additional time this weekend finalizing my budget message.

Frank's nursery--bids due Friday (Oct 28) by 5 PM. We will discuss the proposals received (to rent or purchase property) at Tuesday's work session. I will also ask the Commissioner of Public Works to provide the Town Board with an update on the study re: Crane's Pond crosswalk at the work session.
PAUL FEINER

SPEED HUMP OR ELEVATED CROSS WALK SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AT BRONX RIVER PARKWAY AT THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY CENTER
COULD POSSIBLY REDUCE FUTURE ACCIDENTS OR FATALITIES
YESTERDAYS FATAL ACCIDENT HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR REVIEW

Dear County Executive Astorino:
Yesterdays horrific accident at the Bronx River Parkway/Westchester County Center that killed Korean War veteran Stanley Brenner as he was crossing the Bronx River Parkway highlights the need to consider placing either an elevated crosswalk or speed hump at the Bronx River Parkway at the Westchester County Center. This suggestion could reduce speeding --encourage drivers to be more aware of pedestrians crossing and increase safety.
Thousands of Westchester residents cross the parkway to attend shows at the County Center every week. Children, adults, seniors, the disabled are frequently in a rush to attend shows. Some are careful. Others are not. It's important to encourage motorists to slow down.
I hope that your office will consider this suggestion and have the appropriate public safety experts investigate the recommendation. The town of Greenburgh currently has an elevated crosswalk on E Hartsdale Ave--near the Hartsdale train station.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

photo of me on the walkway over the hudson. wouldn't it be great if the TZ bridge was converted into a park?

2011-10-24T19:58:00.002-04:00

This photo is of me at the walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. WOuldn't it be great if the old TZ bridge is converted into a park when the new bridge is built?

progress report saw mill river cleanup...walk over hudson is amazing

2011-10-23T20:28:00.000-04:00

PROGRESS REPORT--SAW MILL RIVER CLEAN UP
During the past few weeks the Greenburgh Public Works Department, working with the village of Elmsford, have spent about 640 man hours removing debris on the Saw Mill River. We estimate that we will be spending about 360 more hours. We have removed about 10 trucks of debris on the river--expect to pick up 3 or 4 more truck loads. We found lots of plastics, bottles, styrofoam, two oil tanks, some tires in the river--all have been picked up.
It's a slow process. We have cleared debris from only about 1/2 a mile so far. Have another 1/2 mile to go. We started near the Elmsford Little League ballfield, just south of Babbitt Court and have tracked south down the river. We are now working near the I-87/Saw Mill River Parkway interchange.
Our costs? About $18,500 in labor costs. Probably another $10,000 to complete. And, about $5,000 in disposal costs. We are seeking reimbursement from FEMA.
We need to be more proactive --and hope other communities along the river will also take similar proactive measures. THe village of Hastings has already contacted me--expressing interest in clearing debris in Hastings.
The clean up that we have initiated won't solve the flooding problem. Hopefully, it will help. After the next storm we will be able to assess how helpful our work has been.

WALKWAY OVER THE HUDSON WALK TODAY WAS AMAZING!
Spent two hours with Fred Schaeffer, founder of Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie--walking across the bridge over the Hudson. About 8,000 other people walked over the bridge today. 600,000 people enjoy the bridge every year! An amazing walk with incredible views of the Hudson and the fall foliage. I strongly encourage those who are interested in the new proposal to turn the old TZ bridge into a tappan park bridge (suburban version of the high line) to take a walk over the bridge.
It's amazing. Next steps to turn old TZ bridge into a TZ bridge park or high line:
1) Scoping session--Doubletree Hotel, Tarrytown Tuesday from 4- 9 PM. Officials will provide more details on new bridge. Please attend.
2) November 16th--meeting Greenburgh Town Hall cafeteria. Forming new committee to persuade state officials to save the old TZ bridge and create a bridge park.
3) Need to encourage state officials to conduct an engineering study to determine costs/feasibility of saving bridge.
FROM THE NYS PARKS WEBSITE--take a virtual tour of the bridge
Home : State Parks : Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park
Print Email Share Did You Know?
In 1888, the 6767-foot long bridge was the longest in the world. On October 3, 2009 Governor David A. Paterson opened the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park as a legacy project of the Hudson Fulton Champlain Quadricentennial. The park provides access to the Hudson River's breathtaking landscape for pedestrians, hikers, joggers, bicyclists, and people with disabilities. The bridge deck stands 212 feet above the river's surface and is 6,678 feet (1.28 miles) long, making it the longest, elevated pedestrian bridge in the world.

The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge was built in the late 19th century to link New York and New England to an extensive, nationwide railway network. For decades, it was a major rail corridor for both freight and passengers.

After a fire in 1974, the bridge was abandoned and sat for decades as an oprhaned relic. This brand new park was made possible due to the unwavering commitment of the community, who, through a non-profit organization called Walkway Over the Hudson, forged a public private partnership involving the State of New York, the federal government, neighboring municipalities, private corporations and other not for profit groups. The amazing result of this wonderful partnership is a brand new state park, now open for all to enjoy. Take the Virtual Tour!

The park offers interpretive signs and a Talkway Over the Walkway cell phone tour.

Reminders:

The park closes at sunset, visit sunrisesunset.com to plan your trip.

The Golden Park Pass does not apply at this park. PAUL FEINER

DIRECTIONS
Take Taconic Pkwy to Rt. 55W - go west on Rt. 55 about 8.2 miles, staying in right lane as you get close and watch for tourist sign for the Walkway - signs will direct you straight when Rt. 55 (which is now also Rt. 44) curves to the left. Follow signs which will have you turning right onto Columbia Street - going through two traffic lights and then right turn onto Parker Ave. There are two parking lots on the left (one private and one Walkway lot) - both are $5 or just beyond lots turn right on Garden St., right on Brookside Ave. Brookside has a 1/2 mile of free on street parking

new yoga station on east hartsdale ave...

2011-10-21T23:13:00.000-04:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Paul Feiner
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 11:05 PM
To: gblist@cit-e.net
Subject: RELAX...A GREAT NEW YOGA STATION IN HARTSDALE---FUN EVENTS THIS WEEKEND

WELCOME THE NEWEST BUSINESS IN TOWN--THE YOGA STATION AT 221 E HARTSDALE AVE--
THEY WILL HAVE A SANDWICH BOARD AT THE FARMER'S MARKET ON SATURDAY!

On Saturday morning East Hartsdale's newest business --THE YOGA STATION--will have a sandwich board out at the farmer's market on E Hartsdale Ave. Welcome Char Daigle, who manages this great new addition to the avenue. Yoga could be great for you and your entire family.

Suddenly, the Metro-North isn't the only Station in town ...
Welcome to Yoga Station located just to the left of the Hartsdale Train Station at 221 East Hartsdale Avenue, 2nd Floor.
Yoga Station offers drop-in classes for adults and series of classes for children in an open, non-competitive environment. It's important for residents of the town to support our local businesses. If businesss owners feel welcome and if the community is supportive, they will encourage others to choose our town. And--vacant stores could be replaced with exciting new businesses.

Children's classes begin first week of November.

Sign up for the six week series by contacting us for a registration form.

10% off for siblings!

Free yoga mat included!

October Schedule has some changes!

Sundays 8:00am-9:30am: Vinyasa Yoga *new class*
Sundays 5:00pm-6:30pm: Vinyasa Yoga *new time*
Sundays 6:30pm-7:00pm: Free Meditation *new time*
Tuesdays, Thursdays 8:00pm-9:00pm: Yoga Classes *new time*

There are lots of fun things to do this weekend-and every weekend. Check out the following websites: and--remember, spooktoberfest at Hartsbrook, the Hartsdale window painting contest, another great weekend at the Greenburgh Nature Center.

PAUL FEINER

SOME FREE AND INTERESTING WEBSITES HIGHLIGHTING OUR COMMUNITIES

www.rivertownsguide.com ( frequently updated calendar of fun events happening in our area)

www.thehudsonindependent.com for news and activities-Irvington, Tarrytown.
www.tarrytownpatch ; www.rivertownspatch.com; www.scarsdalepatch.com.
www.scarsdale10583.com news about Edgemont and Hartsdale

www.thedailygreenburgh.com www.thedailydobbsferry.com www.thedailyhastings.com (news about our town)

Print newspapers: www.lohud.com (Journal News); the Scarsdale Inquirer; the Enterprise. Westchester Guardian. County PressWhat's on your mind?

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WELCOME THE NEWEST BUSINESS IN TOWN--THE YOGA STATION AT 221 E HARTSDALE AVE--
THEY WILL HAVE A SANDWICH BOARD AT THE FARMER'S MARKET ON SATURDAY!

On Saturday morning East Hartsdale's newest business --THE YOGA STATION--will have a sandwich board out at the farmer's market on E Hartsdale Ave. Welcome Char Daigle, who manages this great new addition to the avenue. Yoga could be great for you and y...our entire family.

Suddenly, the Metro-North isn't the only Station in town ...
Welcome to Yoga Station located just to the left of the Hartsdale Train Station at 221 East Hartsdale Avenue, 2nd Floor.
Yoga Station offers drop-in classes for adults and series of classes for children in an open, non-competitive environment. It's important for residents of the town to support our local businesses. If businesss owners feel welcome and if the community is supportive, they will encourage others to choose our town. And--vacant stores could be replaced with exciting new businesses.

Children's classes begin first week of November.

Sign up for the six week series by contacting us for a registration form.

10% off for siblings!

Free yoga mat included!

October Schedule has some changes!

Sundays 8:00am-9:30am: Vinyasa Yoga *new class*
Sundays 5:00pm-6:30pm: Vinyasa Yoga *new time*
Sundays 6:30pm-7:00pm: Free Meditation *new time*
Tuesdays, Thursdays 8:00pm-9:00pm: Yoga Classes *new time*

There are lots of fun things to do this weekend-and every weekend. Check out the following websites: and--remember, spooktoberfest at Hartsbrook, the Hartsdale window painting contest, another great weekend at the Greenburgh Nature Center.

PAUL FEINER

NYC HIGH LINE FOUNDERS ENDORSE TZ BRIDGE HIGH LINE...CARI BLUE CAFE HAS MUSIC...UN DAY SUNDAY

2011-10-18T17:23:00.002-04:00

Momentum is building. The following article appeared in The Lodown. The founders of the NYC high line expressed support for the concept of saving the bridge and turning it into a suburban version of the NYC high line.
Creators Excited by Tappan Zee Idea Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - 01:49 PM
By Steven Valentino : Associate Producer, The Leonard Lopate Show

The Tappan Zee Bridge (Steve and Sara Emry/flickr)

High Line creators Joshua David and Robert Hammond said they were enthusiastic about a long-shot proposal to turn the Tappan Zee Bridge into an over-water park on today's Leonard Lopate Show. Asked about Greenburgh town supervisor Paul Feiner's suggestion to convert the cantilevered bridge into a pedestrian walkway, both David and Hammond said they found the idea "exciting" and that they'd "love to take a walk on it." The bridge is currently slated for demolition and details about Feiner's idea to re-purpose the link between Rockland and Westchester counties are few, but according to yesterday's New York Times it draws a fair amount of inspiration from the equally popular High Line park in Manhattan and the Walkway Over the Hudson, further upstream. Construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge has been fast tracked by the Obama Administration.

Listen to the full interview here
Cari-Blue Cafe, 28 North Central Ave, Hartsdale recently had a great grand opening. Starting this Friday night between 7-9 PM they will have a saxaphonist playing some jazz and a wide variety of music. They plan to have some great music every Friday evening during the month of October and will continue if their customers enjoy the music.

UNA-USA Westchester to Celebrate UN Day 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please mark your calendar for our celebration of the 66th anniversary of UN Day:

“Westchester Helps Bridge the Development Gap:

Committed Leaders Improve Water, Education, and Health”

We will recognize the wonderful work some of our Westchester residents are doing to improve human development in developing countries. Our UN Day event will be held:

Sunday, October 23, 4:00 to 6:00 pm

Community Unitarian Church, 468 Rosedale Ave., White Plains, NY 10605*

We are very excited to have the following Westchester residents as our speakers and panelists:

Dr. David Winder, CEO, WaterAid America, to speak on Water and Sanitation

Dr. Cream Wright, Former Global Chief, UNICEF Education Program, to speak on Girls’ and Boys’ Education

Ms. Clare M. Effiong, Founder and Director of Esther’s Aid, to speak on Poverty and Children’s Health

The discussion will be moderated by Mr. Geoge C. McKinnis, World Community Service Chair for District 7230 of Rotary International.

The program is free and a reception will follow. Entertainment will be provided by Solar Punch, an eco-rock band that uses music to educate people about the environment. Refreshments will be served.

*Directions: The church is located near Exit 25 of the Hutchinson River Parkway: Take the Hutchinson River Parkway to Exit 25 for North St. Follow the sign to White Plains (LEFT if you are traveling NORTH; RIGHT if you are traveling SOUTH) onto North St. At first light, turn LEFT onto Rosedale Ave. Go one block and look for sign. Turn RIGHT onto Sycamore Lane.

popham road bridge closed wed...presentation on mulching/composting of leaves

2011-10-10T19:01:00.001-04:00

THE POPHAM ROAD BRIDGE WHICH LINKS EDGEMONT TO THE VILLAGE OF SCARSDALE AND THE TRAIN STATION WILL BE CLOSED TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 FROM 9:30 AM TO 6 AM ON THURSDAY MORNING. complete closure of the Popham Road Bridge. A detour route will be implemented to accommodate those who are unable to avoid this area during these times. High volumes of traffic and delays are expected. Drivers are highly encouraged to use alternate routes and avoid the Popham Road, Garth Road, Harney Road, and Scarsdale Avenue areas during these times. Efforts to minimize the delays to residents and travelers in and around this area are being taken by all municipalities and agencies affected. In the event of a change in closure scheduling, additional advisories will be issued. Thank you in advance and we appreciate your cooperation and patience during this temporary inconvenience.

PRESENTATION ON BENEFITS OF MULCHING IN PLACE/COMPOSTING OF LEAVES AT BEGINNING OF WEDNESDAY EVENINGS TOWN BOARD MEETING--OCTOBER 12 @ 7:30 pm...Greenburgh Town Hall. Meeting is televised live on public access TV. Mark Gilliland will lead the discussion. Allegra Dengler, energy conservation coordinator, is also involved in this initiative. Hauling all your leaves and yard debris away from your property is insane!
What we refer to yard debris is really nutrition for your yard!

Mulching in place and composting has numerous benefits:
financial
saves you money on fertilizers and mulch

saves your village money on carting and handling fees

environmental
reduces carbon emissions from trucking your stuff away plus trucking bags of fertilizer & mulch to you, not to mention the emissions produced in producing & packaging mulch & fertilizer!

These are just a sampling of the benefits.

To learn more, check out Irvington's Love 'em & Leave 'em campaign online:
http://www.irvingtonny.gov/index.aspx?NID=228

There are how to's & a toolkit in the left column. Lots of info and instructions!

You can view videos of the recent forum Shredding Old Ideas About Leaf Removal online at:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL61ED5881E50CC8D0&feature=viewall

Whether you care for your property yourself or have a service, mulching in place and composting can be a part of your life. If you live in an apartment/condo/co-op, please point your buiding manager to this information.

Paul Feiner
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

TOWN TO CLEAR DEBRIS FROM SAW MILL RIVER TOMORROW TO REDUCE FLOODING

2011-10-05T17:39:00.001-04:00

GREENBURGH AND ELMSFORD TO START CLEARING DEBRIS FROM SAW MILL RIVER TOMORROW –TO HELP REDUCE FUTURE FLOODING (Thursday, October 6)
The town of Greenburgh, working with the village of Elmsford, Mayor Williams & Brookfield, will be clearing debris from the Saw Mill River tomorrow. Brookfield is donating heavy equipment to help out. We expect to use a combination of workers in a small row boat with saws to cut away fallen trees and then use heavy equipment to drag the trees out of the channel. We hope to get debris within the river down past Babbitt Court and as close to Woodland Lake as we can safely go. Crews will work for several days to get as much debris as we can.
This action step is being taken in response to feedback we have received from businesses and residents who have been impacted by flooding. We believe that these initial action steps are a start to mitigate flooding. Removal will help mitigate some of the flooding but will not cure the problem.
We will be seeking reimbursement for our efforts. Work will start near Mortelleti’s/Rini’s--. If people are interested in observing the removal of the debris, please follow the bike path from Rini’s and head south.
Action is what residents want –not words of support!
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

WE EXPECT THE WORK TO START EARLY IN THE MORNING ON THURSDAY—BY 8:30 am

WESTHELP CLOSES AFTER 20 YEARS....TOWN WANTS TO RENT TO DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

2011-10-02T19:53:00.001-04:00

WESTHELP HOMELESS SHELTER CLOSES AFTER 20 YEARS....
TOWN TO LOSE $1.2 MILLION A YEAR IN RENT AFTER WESTCHESTER CANCELS CONTRACT WITH WESTHELP...
WE ARE NEGOTIATING A LONG TERM LEASE WITH FERNCLIFF MANOR. ANTICIPATE ABOUT ONE MILLION A YEAR IN RENT IF AGREEMENT IS FINALIZED...

On Friday, September 30th a 20 year partnership between Westchester County, WESTHELP and Greenburgh came to an end. Last year the Westchester County Executive announced plans to close down WESTHELP--the transitional facility that served the homeless population. WESTHELP was located on a six acre county property adjacent to Westchester Community College. The organization, which provides transitional services to the homeless, was started by Andrew Cuomo--when his father was Governor.
During the past twenty years WESTHELP has helped hundreds of families transition from homeless to productive members of the community. Over the years I have received very few complaints from residents who lived near the homeless facility.
At the time WESTHELP was built the county agreed to turn over the property to the town after the original lease expired. The town can collect rent for 30 years and acts as a landlord for the property. After the first 10 lease expired WESTHELP paid the town $1.2 million a year in rent. It was a win-win situtation. WESTHELP continued to serve the homeless population in Greenburgh and our taxpayers benefitted from the rental income. We had worked out an agreement with the civic association and Valhalla school district to give some of the income to the school district. That was found improper by the State Comptroller. Now that WESTHELP is not serving the homeless population the town stands to lose $1.2 million a year--money that was used to keep taxes lower in both the unincoporated section of the town and the villages.

The town needs the revenue from Westhelp. We are currently negotiating a new sublease agreement for the remaining lease term with a not for profit organization that is Westchester based that would provide housing and educational services for approximately 35 develomentally disabled children and adults. We had issued a request for proposals for the use of the property earlier this year. There was some interest in the property from colleges (for college dorms), veterans (to house veterans on the property) and affordable housing organizations (low income/affordable housing). Ferncliff indicated to the town if we leased the property to them that they would be able to pay the town close to one million a year. They would provide housing and educational services for 35 developmentally disabled children and adults.
We have been negotiating with Ferncliff Manor for a number of months. They need state approvals and also need county approval to extend the terms of the master lease and modification of lease provisions limiting the property's use to low income housing. We have been discussing Ferncliff's needs with the county regarding modifications to the master lease and expect to receive a decision soon. We believe there is a good chance that an agreement will be reached.
As of September 30th we are no longer receiving any rental income from Westhelp or from the county. We hope to finalize a rental agreement with Ferncliff soon so we can start receiving the rent that is needed by the town. The following is a summary of the mission statement, philosophy and history of Ferncliff Manor, an organization that has a very good reputation in the county.
I hope to welcome Ferncliff to our town soon. The campus setting will provide the developmentally disabled with a great quality of life.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

MISSION STATEMENT OF FERNCLIFF MANOR (from their website)

Sail (The School for Adaptive & Integrative Learning) at Ferncliff Manor is an organization dedicated to meeting the needs of people with developmental disabilities, their families and the community utilizing research-based, adaptive and integrative strategies. Services provided include educational, rehabilitative, specialized residential, health care, creative arts therapies and recreation programs. The mission of our organization is to enable each individual to learn, develop and enjoy a meaningful and personally rewarding life.

Our Students Receive Close Personal Attention, Structure and Stimulation in a Safe Environment That Fosters Growth and Development!

PHILOSOPHY

Sail (The School for Adaptive & Integrative Learning) at Ferncliff Manor provides a full range of high quality educational, therapeutic and health care services to children with developmental disabilities offering close personal attention, structure and stimulation in a safe, secure environment that fosters growth and development. We believe that the combination of professional expertise, teamwork, concentrated effort, and nurturing care is the key to success with each child.

Utilizing a family-centered approach to designing and implementing the child’s program, we recognize the primacy of the family-child unit and regard our role as supportive in nature. Parents and family members play a central role in the educational and therapeutic effort and are assisted in the process of exercising their right of self-determination. An ongoing exchange of ideas and information between staff and family serves to preserve and enrich the family unit.

HISTORY

A Valentine Love Story with a Tradition of Excellence into the 21st Century

Founded in New Rochelle, NY in 1935 by Margaret Brady, RN. Ferncliff Manor was one of the first private schools to specialize in the care and treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities. Upon its opening Margaret Brady had no way of knowing that through Ferncliff Manor she would meet her future husband and start a tradition of excellence that has continued for more than 70 years. It all began with a chance meeting. Bill Saich was sent to inspect her residence and school on Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t long after that first meeting that he returned, not to inspect the school, but to take Miss Brady out on a date. The rest, as they say, is history. Each Valentine’s Day, Bill Saich sent his wife a dozen long-stemmed red roses to commemorate their anniversary.

Margaret Brady Saich’s legacy continues through her son William Saich, Jr. and his wife Patricia who have operated the school since the summer of 1972.

Over the years, Ferncliff Manor’s mission has remained constant in providing an individualized program of superior services and nurturing care that will enable each of our students to achieve an optimum level of independence and self-esteem. This commitment to our students has kept us at the forefront of innovation, assuring them of the most current technological advances and in seeking the most appropriate strategies to meet their needs. With over 70 years of solid experience, Ferncliff Manor offers a truly unique environment and a dynamic rehabilitative effort.

.

hazard mitigation plan accepted...town to be eligible for federal grants...schumer pushes for debris removal on saw mill river

2011-09-26T18:44:00.001-04:00

Spoke at a press conference held by US Senator Charles Schumer. The Senator is calling on FEMA to remove debris and fund work through federal public assistance programs. He is seeking quick action and necessary permits from state and local officials before winter. Over a week ago I sent letters to all state and federal officials representing Greenburgh--requesting that they remove debris on the Saw Mill RIver. We have seen oil tanks, trees, and other debris in the river. This changes the flow patterns and raises water levels, making chronic parking flooding more likely. Businesses and homes along the Saw Mill River have experienced significant flood damage in recent months.
A real partnership and coalition to address flooding on the Saw Mill RIver is emerging. Among those attending the press conference with Senator Schumer were Congresswoman Nita Lowey, State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, County Legislator Mary Jane Shimsky, Councilman Kevin Morgan and Town Clerk Judith Beville. Representatives of the business community also attended.

GREENBURGH'S HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY NYS OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND FEMA. This will enable the town to obtain funds from other levels of government to address flooding. Buyouts, home elevation grants are among options. On Tuesday the Greenburgh Town Board will meet at 9:30 AM at Greenburgh Town Hall with our hazardous mitigation consultant to discuss the significance of the hazard mitigation plan. Our meeting will be televised on public access TV and will be streamed live on the town website: www.greenburghny.com.

Paul Feiner

This is from the police chief:

It is with great satisfaction that I can announce that The Final Greenburgh Hazard Mitigation Plan submitted to the New York State Office of Emergency Management NYSOEM and FEMA, on June 10, 2011, has been accepted by both agencies pending its adoption by each jurisdiction as explained below. With the current weather related storms and damages that followed this could not have come at a more opportune time.

The Town and each village must formally adopt the plan which is typically done through board resolution. This adoption is necessary in order for FEMA to officially approve the Plan and for the communities that participated to be eligible to apply for mitigation project grants. It is important to note, if at least one adoption is not performed and documentation of this adoption not provided to FEMA within one year (September 23, 2012) the plan will no longer be approvable by FEMA.

I have attached a sample adoption resolution which FEMA strongly recommends using to include its particulars, as it reflects FEMA’s adoption document requirements. Key items FEMA looks for on the adoption document includes signature (certification), date, and the language (as excerpted from attached) “Town A adopts the ABC Plan”.

As adoption resolutions are completed, please forward the adoption documentation to me (email or fax is acceptable). I will then transmit all documentation to NYSOEM who will then forward it to FEMA for official plan approval.

Final note: The date FEMA receives the resolution will start the 5 year update clock.

When the plan is adopted I believe it would be beneficial to have a brief meeting of the planning committee to have Tetra Tech explain the adoption process, plan implementation, the plan maintenance, review and update process, and mitigation grant opportunities available for our current projects. I will advise you of a date.

I would like take this opportunity to thank all the participants who worked so diligently on this massive plan and to acknowledge the commitment, hard work and professional attitude of our consultant Jonathan Raser and his staff. It is apropos that he will be addressing the concerns of residents and businesses affected by the most recent flooding at a Town Board work session tomorrow, September 27, 2011

If you have questions please call or email.

Joseph J. DeCarlo

Chief of Police

RIBBON CUTTING ON AQUEDUCT OCTOBER 1ST

Subject: ribbon cutting on the Aqueduct
Ribbon Cutting on the Aqueduct on October 1stl

The ribbon cutting ceremony will celebrate the opening of the section of the Aqueduct trail in Dobbs Ferry that once was hazardous and now is accessible to all. It is scheduled for October lst, at 10 a.m. Dobbs Ferry Mayor, Hartley Connett ,and NY State Parks Commissioner, Rose Harvey. will officiate.. Representatives of the the NY state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as well as the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct and major donors will participate. This event is open to all.

The Project began in 2009, when the Friends won a federal Recreational Trails Grant. The Friends campaigned for help from residents and the board of Trustees of the Village of Dobbs Ferry for help in meeting the mandatory match of over $35,000., which thankfully was successfully raised. The project was signed over to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic preservation for administering. The Village of Dobbs Ferry made a major contribution since a small section of the trail work is actually village property., Residents of Dobbs Ferry showed their love of the trail with generous support. The event is open to the public.

Mavis Cain President Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct.

need for county to address deteriorating conditions of ashford ave bridge

2011-09-25T22:37:00.000-04:00

Spent some time chatting with residents and community leaders at Ardsley Day today. Some volunteer firefighters and ambulance corp members expressed concern that reconstruction of the Ashford Ave bridge keeps getting delayed. I took a walk over the bridge after my conversations and saw some crumbling concrete. The firefighters/ambulance corp members pointed out that on the north side of the bridge (near the sidewalk) a section of the conrete either fell or was removed. I sent photo's to the County Executive. Ardsley Mayor Jay Leon also spoke with the County Executive about the need to expedite the replacement of the bridge. I received the following e mail from County Legislator Mary Jane Shimsky who immediately responded to a copy of the e mail I sent to the County Executive (with photo's of the bridge).
There is no acceptable reason to delay the reconstruction of this important bridge.
PAUL FEINER

BELOW- LETTER FROM COUNTY LEGISLATOR MARY JANE SHIMSKY

E MAIL I SENT TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE TODAY

REPORT FROM WESTCHESTER COUNTY CONSULTANT AUG 2010 CONCERNING CONDITIONS OF BRIDGE

-----Original Message-----
From: MaryJane Shimsky
To: feiner98
Sent: Sun, Sep 25, 2011 8:48 pm
Subject: RE: ashford ave bridge is falling apart putting county on notice

The Ashford Avenue Bridge connects the Villages of Ardsley and Dobbs Ferry. Its span runs over two highly traveled highways, the Saw Mill River Parkway and the New York State Thruway. It is owned by Westchester County.

According to ratings based on inspections by the State Department of Transportation, the Ashford Avenue Bridge is the worst County-owned bridge in Westchester. Anyone who drives over or under the bridge, or walks over it, can see its deteriorating condition – the crumbled concrete, the metal supports exposed to the elements. Recently, a chunk of the bridge either fell off or was removed – the location was approximately 35 feet from the New York State Thruway.

I have been working with my colleagues on the Board of Legislators – notably the Chair of the Public Works Committee, Bill Ryan, and the Chair of the Capital Projects Subcommittee, Lyndon Williams -- to get some answers on the record about the time frame for repairing this vital connector. Public Works and Transportation Commissioner John Hsu is scheduling a briefing for me. I hope that some good will come out of this meeting. However, I am very concerned that, in today’s Journal News article on the deteriorating condition of many of Westchester’s bridges, the Ashford Avenue Bridge was not even mentioned by the County officials interviewed. We may have a lot of work ahead, to force this needed project to the top of the agenda.

We can neither afford an emergency closure of the bridge, as happened with the Champlain Bridge upstate in 2009; nor can we afford the consequences of debris from the bridge falling onto cars travelling on the Saw Mill River Parkway or the New York State Thruway. For too many years, the timeline for repairing the bridge has been pushed back. I am hoping that we will move forward with this project soon; and I will keep the residents of Greenburgh informed about the County’s progress, or lack thereof.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: feiner98@aol.com [mailto:feiner98@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 7:26 PM
To: ceo@westchestergov.com;
Subject: ashford ave bridge is falling apart putting county on notice

Earlier today I had the opportunity to speak to some Ardsley Volunteer firefighters and ambulance corp members. They advised that the Ashford Ave bridge connecting Ardsley to Dobbs Ferry is structurally deficient. Some serious and visible signs of decay. Parts of the road seem to be falling apart. Legislator Mary Jane Shimsky shared her concerns with me as well.
I went on a walk on the bridge and saw some signs of deficiencies. I believe that the county should expedite the repairs. I request that the county immediately send inspectors to check on the safety of the bridge. Will send some more photos....
Paul Feiner
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
THIS IS FROM THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY WEBSITE (AUGUST 16,2010)
Condition Summary

Both bridges are in a state of moderate overall deterioration, with some localized areas of serious

deterioration. The deterioration has been gradual and progressive in nature, and reflects the long-term

effects of weather and road salt on concrete and steel elements. The bridge currently provides for the

safe support of vehicle loads, but, in the absence of rehabilitative re-construction, this is threatened in

the long term by the gradually worsening deterioration.

The concrete decks exhibit extensive seepage, surface cracking, and delamination of the outer layer of

concrete over the embedded reinforcing ("cover concrete"). Some of this delamination has progressed

to complete detachment of the cover concrete ("spalling"), with exposed steel reinforcing bars (rebars).

The progression of deck spalling in hard-to-reach areas over heavily-used travel lanes has led to the

need for protective wood planking in some locations to prevent loose concrete from striking moving

vehicles below.

Deck joints typically leak, and several are missing their rubber seals entirely. This contributes to

deterioration of the steel girders and the concrete substructures.

Ashford Avenue Bridge – In-Depth Inspection

March 2010

Page iv

The steel beams have localized corrosion losses in webs and bearing stiffeners at each substructure.

There are no signs of structural distress, but the collective effect is gradually reducing the overall

margin of safety for load-carrying capacity. The majority of the steel between substructures is in

generally good condition, although it exhibits widespread deterioration of the paint system.

Piers and abutments have extensive moderate deterioration, with localized areas of serious

deterioration. The majority of abutment and pier surfaces exhibit surface cracking, dampness, rust

stains, and efflorescence. Large areas sound hollow, indicating delamination of cover concrete. Some

areas are spalled and/or crumbled on the surface, resulting in the exposure of the rebars.

The latest available NYSDOT biennial bridge inspections indicate assigned General Recommendation

ratings of "4" for each bridge (on a scale of 1 to 7, 7 being new condition). From the NYSDOT Bridge

Inspection Manual, a General Recommendation of "4" is captioned with the following generic

summary text:

"Moderate deterioration of primaries, secondaries, and substructures has occurred, but bridge load

capacity is not substantially reduced. Considerable reconditioning of secondary members,

substructures, and other components maybe needed. Primary members do not yet need extensive

reconditioning. There may be some minor substructure undermining."

With the exception of "substructure undermining" (of which there is no evidence), this generic

description applies well to both bridges.

Potential Safety Hazards

Several conditions at the bridge pose hazards to the travelling public. These are summarized here, and

described in greater detail in the Appendix.

1. The Begin Right Approach Sidewalk has a 2" deep spall, creating a potential tripping hazard.

2. The Begin Right Approach Drainage drop inlet has grating bars with serious corrosion around

the perimeter, creating a potential wheel and tire hazard.

3. The Span 4 Right Sidewalk has exposed electrical wires due to a missing junction box cover,

creating a potential electrical shock hazard.

4. The Span 3 Right Sidewalk has a missing cover plate at the bridge joint, creating a potential

tripping hazard.

5. The Span 5 Wearing Surface has damaged steel joint hardware at the End Left corner of the

span, creating a potential tripping and tire hazard.

6. The Bridge Railings carried onto the wingwalls are separated due to wingwall settlement in two

locations: the End Right Wingwall of the Main bridge, and the End Right wingwall of the

Ramp bridge.

Ashford

library book sale today...pay your school taxes by friday

2011-09-24T08:25:00.000-04:00

Two reminders:
The Greenburgh library annual book sale will take place today and tomorrow. Today (Saturday) from 10 AM to 8 PM. Tomorrow: Sunday from 12 noon to 4:30 PM and on Monday, September 26th from 10-5. Support the library. Great deals. Save $$$.

The 1st half of the school property taxes is due on Friday, September 30th. The office will be open on Friday till 7 PM. The town is prohibited from collecting partial payments. However, we accept credit card payments. We also accept payments on line (www.greenburghny.com). You have till midnight on the 30th to pay the school taxes on line. The town acts as a collector of taxes for the school districts. We are required by law to pay the schools the taxes owed to them whether we (the town) collects the taxes from you or not. There are significant penalties for late payments --and the penalties cannot be waived. The school districts are independent of town government. Voters approve the school taxes every year.

NYS has been cutting back on the STAR program which helped property owners with their school tax bills.

Westcheter Greenhouse to open up new farmer's market Tuesday

2011-09-23T14:31:00.000-04:00

Westchester Greenhouse will open up a new farmer’s market at the vacant A & P supermarket on Route 119. The farmer’s market will be open every Tuesday until November 22nd from 9 am to 4 pm. A special thank you to Commissioner of Planning Thomas Madden for his assistance. It’s my hope that the farmer’s market will be helpful to residents of Manhattan Ave who do not have cars and who depended on the supermarket for many years. The market will start small since it’s late in the season. WIC checks, FMNP and senior coupons are accepted. This market is the 2nd farmer’s market to open in Greenburgh---we have another farmer’s market on E Hartsdale Ave.

The Greenburgh Town Board will devote most of Tuesday’s work session (September 27th) to flood control. We will hear from our hazardous mitigation consultant, Jonathan Raser who will tell the Town Board what grant funds could be available to the town once FEMA approves our hazardous mitigation plan. Some residents have asked to be bought out. Others have asked that their homes be elevated.
The Town Board will also set a date in the near future to clean the Saw Mill River of debris—obstructions that may be contributing to the flooding. We anticipate that a clean up of the river will take place in October.
We will also discuss action steps that could help families who reside at 100 E Hartsdale Ave, Hartsdale. Their parking garage gets flooded frequently. They are asking that the town allow cars to park overnight at the parking garage and on streets that are elevated.
Since the last flood we have provided some help to residents of Old Kensico Road who have been flooded –some curb enhancements that could reduce (but not eliminate)flooding.
The Town Board meeting begins at 9:30 AM and will be streamed live on the town website: www.greenburghny.com
PAUL FEINER

http://www.rivertownsguide.com –list of fun events
FRIENDS OF LIBRARY BOOK SALE THIS WEEKEND AT THE GREENBURGH LIBRARY------FANTASTIC BUYS!

NYC based BREAD FACTORY CAFE is Coming to Hartsdale!
265 Central Avenue in Hartsdale is having its Grand Opening Celebration on Friday, September 23 at 6:00pm. Come and join them and taste some of the delicious items on their extensive menu, including pastries, dinner and delicious desserts! In addition, a 10 percent discount will be offered all evening.

Governor Announces $8 Million Household Appliance Program
NYSERDA is offering grants to victims of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee through the New York Storm Relief Rebate Program. With funding from the American Recovery and Investment Act, the $8 million program will assist New Yorkers in the replacement of household appliances that were lost or damaged in the recent flooding. Homeowners can receive a rebate for the purchase of energy efficient equipment such as refrigerators, boilers, hot water heaters, furnaces, and washing machines and dryers. Where applicable, rebates will be offered for ENERGY STAR appliances or other high efficiency options. Each appliance has a fixed maximum grant, which could cover up to 100 percent of the total purchase. Completed applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Monday, September 19, 2011. The program will continue until all available funding has been granted. With the exception of dehumidifiers, the purchase of appliances and equipment is for replacement purposes only. Purchases that are covered by insurance or FEMA are not eligible for rebate. For details, visit NYSApplianceRebates.com or call 1-877-NY-SMART (877-697-6278).

Weekend Highlights
"Mysterious Delights" Vinny DePonto's Brand New Show!
Thursday, September 22, Friday, September 23, and Saturday, September 24 @ 8pm (please arrive by 7:30) |
Historical Mead House, Dobbs Ferry | From the mind of New York magician Vinny DePonto comes a baffling, shocking and hilarious show about the little mysteries in life that bring us delight. This is Vinny's first big show in his hometown in 6 years. 18 years and older only.
Classic movie night at Tarrytown Music Hall. “House of Dark Shadows”
Friday, September 23 @ 7pm
Fangs flash as the Collins family’s darkest secret are exposed in this 1970s cult classic based on the popular gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. The movie was filmed on location in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. The Lyndhurst estate served as the fictional Collinwood mansion, ancestral home of the Collins family and its super- natural intruders. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery’s receiving vault appeared as the crypt of Barnabas Collins.

WJO with Special Guest Joe Lovano
Saturday, September 24 @ 8pm
7:15 - Open Mike: Interactive chat with Joe Lovano, hosted by Artistic Director Mike Holober [link]
Irvington Town Hall Theater | The New York Times says that WJO “has earned a reputation for … strikingly executed performances.” To kick off their 9th season at the ITHT, WJO welcomes Grammy-winning saxophonist and composer Joe Lovano. A jazz superstar, Lovano expresses his profound musical voice as a leader and via elite guest appearances and wide-ranging collaborations. Featuring Joe, WJO premieres new works commissioned for this concert.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Evening Tours
Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25
Discover the stories behind Tarrytown's and Sleepy Hollow's most colorful locals and some of our world famous inhabitants. Check their website for details.

Ardsley Day!
Sunday, September 25 from 12noon – 5pm
Ashford Park to the Village Green
Something for everyone in "downtown" Ardsley ¬ live music all day throughout the village center, great food, activities, crafts and rides for kids (bumper cars!), tastings from Ardsley's new restaurants, hangout in Addyman Square with a rock wall and bungee for teens, a street full of vendors and all that our community has to offer! Swing by to see the judging for Ardsley's First Apple Pie Baking Contest ¬ rules can be downloaded on our Local Events page.

Children's Book Day
Sunday, September 25 from 12noon – 6pm
Washington Irving's Sunnyside, Tarrytown
Washington Irving's Sunnyside is the storybook setting for one of HHV's most popular events, a day-long festival for young readers, families, and friends, who can meet more than sixty of their favorite authors and illustrators.

WEEKEND QUICK TAKES
Links & info here http://www.rivertownsguide.com
- Dobbs Ferry Farmers Market
- Wave Hill's Annual Plant Sale
- Artist Reception: "Our Town" Portraits by Bob Zahn
- Special Viewing: "House of Dark Shadows"
- "Mysterious Delights" Vinny DePonto's Brand New Show!
- Hastings Outdoor Farmers Market
- Antique Car Show
- The Greenburgh Library Annual BOOK SALE
- The New York Renaissance Faire
- 1st Annual Charity Poker Run to Benefit Pets Alive
- Celebration! The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery's listing on the New York State and the National Registers of Historic Places
- Openings -- Elihu Vedder: Voyage on the Nile AND Get Your Gears Turning….
- "Fall Flowers of Japan"
- Skate Jam
- Two One Act Plays," Mysterious Women"
- 2011 "Take Me Away This Summer" Photo Contest Reception
- Tovah Feldshuh in "Aging is Optional"
- Marc Black with special guests The Raging Grannies and Their Daughter
- RiverArts Dance Conversation and Screening: Martha Graham
- WJO with Special Guest Joe Lovano, Open Mike: Interactive chat with Joe Lovano,
- Basement Bhangra Dance Party
- Beacon Flea Market
- Family Birding Along the Hudson
- FINAL: Bicycle Sunday
- Ardsley Day!
- Family Day: It's Fall! Puppets, Activities and Tours
- Children's Book Day
- Harvest Party at GNC
- Cake Boss
- Screening: “The Age of Innocence”
- "An Autumn Afternoon of Music Among Friends"
- Dine Out Irene
SOME FREE AND INTERESTING WEBSITES HIGHLIGHTING OUR COMMUNITIES
www.rivertownsguide.com ( frequently updated calendar of fun events happening in our area)
www.thehudsonindependent.com for news and activities-Irvington, Tarrytown.
www.tarrytownpatch ; www.rivertownspatch.com; www.scarsdalepatch.com.
www.scarsdale10583.com news about Edgemont and Hartsdale
www.thedailygreenburgh.com www.thedailydobbsferry.com www.thedailyhastings.com (news about our town)
Print newspapers: www.lohud.com (Journal News); the Scarsdale Inquirer; the Enterprise. Westchester Guardian. County Press

another success story...and a job

2011-09-22T20:27:00.000-04:00

From: Pam
Thursday, September 22, 2011 12:09 AM
To: Paul Feiner
Subject: Re: FW: I got a job!.........and another job opening!

Hi Paul. I also just found a full time job. It has beem almost three years to the day since i got laid off. I was hired after working part time for seven months to a position that I am qualified for but would have never gotten had I applied for it elsewhere.

My advice to job seekers is to get out and volunteer and while you're asking about volunteer work. Mentiion that you're also liiking for a job. That's how i got the part time job which turned into a full time gig. After three years of a lonely, hard road, i finally have a life again and not merely existing.

Please keep me on the list so i can help others. Thanks Paul.

Pam

From: Pasquale Strocchia
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:01:43 -0400
Subject: Job Notice: Residential Energy Professional

We have a position becoming available next month and would appreciate your help in getting the word out to folks you think may be interested. This could be an exciting opportunity for either an experienced professional or someone relatively new to world of building performance. We are a small, locally-based company in New Paltz, NY, located in the Hudson Valley, dedicated to improving communities by improving how buildings perform. We’re looking for someone to join our team who has high professional standards, is energetic and enjoys working with a mission-driven organization. We have some new projects about to begin including the gut-rehabilitation of a derelict structure at a local community college into a regional building science lab.

Feel free to distribute this announcement to those you think may be interested.

Many thanks,

Pasquale

Pasquale Strocchia
Integral Building & Design, Inc.
171 Main Street, PO Box 96, New Paltz, NY 12561
pasquale@integralbuilding.com

GREAT IDEAS TO SOLVE FLOODING

2011-09-22T19:59:00.000-04:00

Elmsford Village Trustee Bill Zimkin shared a great idea with me that I think could help address flooding problems on both the Saw Mill River and Bronx River. I will be reaching out to state and county officials and will ask that this suggestion be seriously considered. We need to clean the debris from the river. This won't stop flooding but could cut down on the frequency of flooding and help prevent floods during minor storms.

PAUL FEINER

Here are my suggestions of actions that I believe will make a positive difference and they don’t require any engineering.

No matter what all of the studies come up with, the basic fact is that the river and river beds need to be cleaned up. There is so much debris - trees, tires, shopping carts, etc. - that the water flow is impeded and in some cases diverted to a path of flooding areas that don't usually flood. No matter what the engineers come up with, I believe they will start with cleaning up the river and river beds.

If the State partners with all of the affected municipalities, I believe that will be much cheaper and faster than having an independent company do the project. I can't speak on behalf of the Cities, Towns or Villages but I believe they will all be willing to participate.

Example: The Town of Greenburgh uses its DPW personnel to clean up the river and river beds that go thru the Town , Mt. Pleasant does the same etc. The Villages and Cities can also get involved in the process. The State can get involved by helping with the cost of the project by helping with granting all or partial financing for the workers and equipment. If special equipment is needed for some problem areas, it can be purchased and shared by all municipalities. The County and Feds with FEMA can also partner with the project.

Hear is an oversimplified analogy:

When your house gutters are clogged or getting to that point you clean them to avoid flooding in your home. The Saw Mill River is the gutter for our area. (The Bronx River has the same problems)

This will not solve our flooding problems but it will help. When you build in or near a flood plain and do little to no maintenance, ( no intent meant to diminish the work and efforts that has been in the Yonkers and other areas) the result is our present problem. The businesses, the home owners and the local residents will actually see some action as the cleanup project is moving foreword and not hear about studies of unaffordable projects.

This will be faster and cheaper than the bidding process. The documents, permits, bonding and oversights for a project like this would be massive and very costly.

The State, the DEC, the Corps of Engineers and whoever else is involved with confusing something as simple as maintenance, should allow this project to proceed and help financially. I'll bet the municipalities will all be happy to participate.

A coordinated and well timed effort is needed. My suggestion would be to do the project in the spring, after the winter thaw and before August when hurricane season starts. After the initial project is done, this should become a annual maintenance program of each community. Financial aid should also become annual unless the State wants to take on the total responsibility.

With that said, the second project that needs to be done is a little more involved but manageable, but now that we spent the first year on phase one we have had a year to think about phase two.

Some fifty years ago when I was a very young teenager you could actually go swimming in some areas of the Saw Mill River and run around splash water in other areas. Many fished some of the deep areas also.

The River has filled in with silt, run off etc. It is actually shallower than it once was in many areas. The river bed needs to be dredged of all the buildup. I know that is not a new idea but as the river gets shallower the flood level and flood plain keeps getting expanded.

I believe we can come up with a plan that involves the Municipalities again to achieve this goal. They might have to temporarily employ more people to help with the project but that is a good thing, cheaper than the cost of the massive contract document for a project of this size and nature.

Town by Town and Village by Village and City by City, individually doing the same work it is like a lot of small coordinated projects. These small projects will need a coordinated effort with disposal of the silt but with a little coordination and assistance from the State, County and Feds, I think we can manage this project well.

With both of those projects complete, the flooding will be better but it will still happen. None of us have the money or real-estate to make it go away. With a river flowing unimpeded we will have an environmentally friendly and cleaner river with less flooding. The coordinated storm water run off project is also helping with the river being cleaner.

Thank you for your time and listening to my recommendations. The residents need to see action. I think my ideas will help.

Bill Zimkin

Trustee, Village of Elmsford

TASTE SAMPLES AT THE BREAD FACTORY THIS FRIDAY...FREE SPORTS COMPETITION FOR KIDS SATURDAY

2011-09-21T21:16:00.000-04:00

The New York City based Bread Factory Cafe at 265 Central Avenue in Hartsdale is having its Grand Opening Celebration on Friday, September 23 at 6:00pm. Come and join them and taste some of the delicious items on their extensive menu, including pastries, dinner and delicious desserts! In addition, a 10 percent discount will be offered all evening.
It's important for the community to support the new businesses that have recently opened up in our town. A healthy and vibrant business community is very good for our town. If word gets out that we are helping our local businesses succeed by supporting them and spreading the word about them, it will make it much easier to attract more new businesses to our town. Let's say no to vacant storefronts!
Paul Feiner

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COST: Free!!!
AGES: Boys & Girls 6 - 15 Years

LOCATION: Webb Field (Richard Presser Park),

Central Avenue, HARTSDALE, N.Y.

COMPETITION DATE: September 24, 2011

Register on site on arrival, competition starts at 9:00 am.

COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION FORM ON THE BACK OF THIS FLYER AND BRING TO EVENT - PARENT/GUARDIAN SIGNATURE REQUIRED.

Proof of the participant's age as of December 31, 2011 is MANDATORY. Bring a photo copy of their birth certificate. Winners must have document on site along with the release form signed by the parent/guardian.

REGULATIONS: No football shoes / cleats / turf shoes are allowed. ONLY GYM SHOES (SOFT SOLE) WILL BE PERMITTED. No bare feet allowed. Failure to wear gym shoes will result in disqualification of the participant.

Hosted locally by the Town of

Greenburgh Police Department

& Greenburgh Parks and Recreation.

Contact (914) 682-5391 for more information or check our website at www.Greenburghny.com or www.nflppk.com

Sponsored

Nationally by:

PPK Entry Form and Release of Liability

In return for being allowed to participate in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition (the “event”), I release and agree not to sue the National Football League, its member professional football teams, NFL Properties LLC, NFL Ventures L.P., and their respective subsidiaries employees, subcontractors, sponsors, agents, and affiliates (collectively the “Releasees”), from all present and future claims that may be made by me, my family, estate, heirs, or assigns for property damage, personal injury, or wrongful death arising as a result of my participation in the Event, wherever, whenever, or however the same may occur even if caused by a release’s ordinary negligence. I understand and agree that those listed above are not responsible for any injury or property damage arising out of the Event. I understand that participation in the Event involves certain risks, including, but not limited to, serious injury. I am voluntarily participating in the Event with knowledge of the danger involved and agree to accept all risks of participation. I also agree to indemnify and hold harmless those listed above for all claims arising out my participation in the Event and all related activities including, but not limited to, first aid and/or other medical treatment. I agree to participate in only ONE Local Competition this year. I understand the Event may be photographed, videotaped or otherwise recorded, I agree to let the above parties use my name, photo likeness, and demographic information free of charge in any manner and for any purpose in any media now known or hereafter created. I consent to the administration of first aid and other medical treatment in the event of injury or illness. I understand that this document is intended to be as broad and inclusive as permitted by the laws of the state in which the Event is taking place and agree that if any portion of this Agreement is invalid, the remainder will continue in full legal force and effect. I further agree that any legal proceedings related to this waiver will take place in New York, New York.

Name of Participant ___________________________________________

Email Address of Participant_____________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________

City State Zip _______________________________________________

Phone Number_______________ Birth date ____________________

Age as of December 31 of current year_________ Male/Female _________

(If Participant is under 18 years of age, the parent(s) or guardian(s) must execute in addition to the above, the following waiver :)

The undersigned___________________________ , referred to as the parent(s) and natural guardian(s) or legal guardian(s) of ______________________________, does hereby represent that he/she (they) is (are), in fact, acting in such capacity and agrees to indemnify, save and hold harmless each and all of the parties herein referred to above as Releasees from all loss, liability, damage, cost or claim whatsoever that may be imposed upon said Releasees because of any defect in or lack of such capacity to so act and release said Releasees on behalf of the undersigned.

As a participant in the above program, I recognize and acknowledge there are certain risks of physical injury and I agree to assume the full risk of any injuries, damages or loss, which my child or I may sustain as a result of such participation. I further state that I have explained the risk of participating in this sport to my child and he/she is still willing to participate. I further understand the Town of Greenburgh does not provide accidental medical coverage and it id my responsibility to provide appropriate coverage.

I agree to waive and relinquish all claims and hold harmless the Town of Greenburgh, and the Town of Greenburgh Police Department and the Greenburgh Parks and Recreation Department, its officers, agents, employees, volunteers from any and all claims that arise due to negligence of the Town of Greenburgh, Town of Greenburgh Police Department, its officers, agents, employees, and volunteers.

Signed _______________________________

Printed _______________________________

Email Address of Parent/Guardian _________________________________

Relationship to Minor __________________________________________

____Check here if you would like receive information and offers from the NFL

____Check here if you would like your child to receive youth-related information and offers from the NFL

we get reimbursed for police presence..friends of library book sale

2011-09-21T00:12:00.000-04:00

Some residents who live near Gelsprain (the Toll brothers construction project) contacted me after seeing police cars directing traffic on Ardsley Road. They wondered why town police were assisting a developer. We get
reimbursed for this service. We also get reimbursed for the police presence in front of Solomon Schecter during school days and at the multiplex theater in Elmsford. This is the rate we charge..

Yes, we are being reimbursed for the officers at a rate of 89.62 per hour/ per officer (to include social security, worker’s comp and NYS retirement) the police car is also reimbursed at a rate of $100.00 per eight hour day.

PAUL FEINER

The Greenburgh Library Annual

BOOK SALE

September 24 -26*

SATURDAY, September 24 10 am – 8 pm

SUNDAY, September 25 12 noon - 4:30 pm

MONDAY, September 26 10 am – 5 pm

AT: The Greenburgh Public Library

300 Tarrytown Road, Elmsford, NY, 10523

*PREVIEW NIGHT: September 23, 6-8 pm, Friday

For members – memberships at the door for $10

Presented by the Friends of the Greenburgh Library

Friends members-only preview is this Friday, Sept. 23 6-8 pm -- and $10 at the door makes you a member.

You will not believe the quality of the new and almost-new books in art, history, design, personal finance, fiction, mysteries, children's books. It's a book lovers paradise - and most books are $2 and under.

FISHER LANE BRIDGE IS OPEN...REALTORS RECEPTION MONDAY EVENING

2011-09-18T19:23:00.001-04:00

I am thrilled to report that the Fisher Lane bridge has been replaced. The old bridge was structurally deficient. Our engineers determined that it had to be replaced, not repaired. The bridge was replaced over the weekend and is now open to two way traffic. Both the North White PLains and North Castle commuter lots are open. We apologize to commuters for inconveniences they experienced once it was determined that the bridge was unsafe and in need for replacement. We hope your commuter experiences will be greatly improved.

Realtors Reception tomorrow--Monday, September 19th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Multipurpose Center, AF Veteran Town Park. If you are a commercial or residential realtor we invite you to our first annual realtors reception at AF Veteran park, off of Heatherdell Road tomorrow, September 19th. The goal of the meeting: to find out what action steps the town could take to make Greenburgh a more desirable place to move to and open a business at. Why are some people choosing Greenburgh over other communities? And --what are some of the reasons why people who want to sell their homes or lease their commercial properties are having a difficult time doing so? What can the town do to enhance property values?
What advice will the realtors give us---re: taxes vs. services? I think the reception will be interesting and worthwhile.
PAUL FEINER

fisher lane bridge replacement tomorrow...flood meeting sept 27

2011-09-15T10:01:00.000-04:00

FISHER LANE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

Starting Friday, September 16 at 10:00 AM, the Fisher Lane bridge leading to the N White Plains train station will be closed to all traffic, including pedestrians and bicycles. Closure is necessary to replace the bridge. Over this weekend, crews will demolish the existing bridge and construct the new two-lane bridge. It is expected all construction work necessary to erect the new bridge and allow traffic to enter and exit the Metro North station will be completed by 4:30 AM Monday September 19.

Please note due to the construction activity, the Mount Pleasant commuter lot from Fisher lane will also be closed from Friday September 16 at 10:00 AM until Monday September 19 at 4:30 AM.

The bridge will be closed from Friday at 10 am until Monday at 4:30 AM. No cars, pedestrians or bicycles. PAUL FEINER

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND OR WATCH OUR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH WORK SESSION WHICH BEGINS AT 9:30 AM--TO DISCUSS FLOODING AND 100 EAST HARTSDALE AVE

On Tuesday, September 27th at 9:30 AM the Greenburgh Town Board will hold a work session to discuss flooding. We will hear from Jnathan Raser, our hazardous mitigation plan consultant. He will discuss grants that we could be eligible for to address flooding in our town.

Following that portion of the meeting we will discuss the specific problems at 100 E Hartsdale Ave. Some residents have complained about being ticketed during the recent flooding. And--have asked that temporary parking be provided during floods for residents. We will discuss options at the meeting.

If you cannot attend the meeting please be advised that our work session is streamed live on the town website: www.greenburghny.com. And--our meeting is also archived on the website (under archives of town board meetings).

Paul Feiner

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Raser, Jonathan [Jonathan.Raser@tetratech.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 2:46 PM
To: gblist@cit-e.net
Cc: Paul Feiner; Joseph DeCarlo
Subject: RE: ANOTHER OPTION FOR FLOODED PROPERTIES--FEDERAL GOV SHOULD CONSIDER BUYING PEOPLE OUT

Paul –

As you are aware, the Greenburgh All-Hazards Mitigation Plan (AHMP) is currently in FEMA’s hands awaiting approval. Once this plan is approved and adopted by the town, federal mitigation grants are available for eligible mitigation projects in the community, including property elevations and buyouts. Significant mitigation grant funding is currently available, and more will become available in the wake of Irene and continued flooding.

The time to work with interested property owners is now. I would be glad to discuss this with you and the Town further.

Please note that Chief DeCarlo and I had discussed potential mitigation grant projects in the Town with Engineering during preparation of the AHMP. I just became aware of the mitigation RFP referenced below, however after the proposal submission date. If there is any information or other support we can provide towards this effort, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you.

Jonathan Raser, CFM | Hazard Mitigation Program Manager

1000 The American Road | Morris Plains, NJ 07950 | *Please note new address and phone number*

www.tetratech.com

a success story--from someone who was out of work

2011-09-11T23:59:00.000-04:00

From: Amy ]
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2011 2:32 PM
Subject: Thanks for your help

Hi Paul,

I wanted to thank you for helping me secure a position as an adjunct
instructor at ___(DELETED). In December, 2009, you
were kind enough to forward my resume to Dr. .

I did interview in 2010 with the Chair of their Business Department,
, and was finally hired this summer to teach
Introduction to Business. I
just started this past week and love it - everyone has been kind and
helpful. It is a good first step to hopefully full time employment
.

dog swim tomorrow..woodstock on hudson tomorrow..5 k race tomorrow

2011-09-09T11:48:00.000-04:00

Please join the Recreation Department and The “Friends of the East Rumbrook Dog Park Association” at their Annual Dog Swim on Saturday,
September 10th from 10am – 2pm at the smaller pools located near the entrance to Anthony F. Veteran Park. Hundreds of dogs will swim at one of our most popular events of the year.

WOODSTOCK ON HUDSON- TAKE ME TO THE RIVER FESTIVAL SATURDAY, DRAPER PARK, HASTINGS from 12 to 9:30 PM. 24 musicians. Two stages…activities for kids, art installations and a song circle. An amazing annual event.

Reminder: Commemorate the 10 year anniversary of 9-11 with a 5k walk/run to save lives. Event: Saturday at Macy Park, Irvington off the Saw MIll River Parkway (old Cantina Restaurant). $20 donation to Gift of Life program—providing life saving open heart surgery for children around the world. Registration opens from 8-8:45 AM. Race: 9 AM. Walk 10 AM

4 PM Saturday Hastings Benefits the Hungry jazz concert: Saturday. First Reformed Church in Hastings. 18 Farragut Ave. Featuring Grammy award winners John Patitucci on bass and Gerald Clayton on piano plus gospel Spinger Ruth Naomi Floyd, guitarist Dan Carillo, drummer Nate Smith and percussionist Rogerio Boccato. Funds will go to HASTINGS HELPS THE HUNGRY

Iantheia Calhoun of Jazz Elite asked me to advise musicians that she is seeking serious musicians from 6-12 grade for her Jazz Elite program. AUDITIONS: Sunday, September, 18th 12 to 4 PM at the Theodore Young Community Center, 32 Manhattan Ave, White Plains. www.jazzelite.org This is one of the best student jazz programs around. Attended their concerts this past year and was highly impressed.

REX RIDGE 1st Annual Multi-Family Tag Sale

Rex Ridge Co-ops on Fieldstone Drive in Hartsdale hosts the largest multi-family tag sale of 2011!

ENORMOUS GIGANTIC MAMMOTH WONDERFUL TAG SALE

More than 40 families will sell their treasures for one day only: September 10th, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
The flag pole located near 10 Fieldstone Drive, Hartsdale, NY

Jewelry, clothing, accessories, furniture, computer games, books, comic books, records, housewares and much more!

Take Dalewood or Cross Street off Central Avenue and climb the hill to 10 Fieldstone Drive at the flagpole. Free parking!

No commercial sellers – so you get genuine bargains!

Saturday, September 10
Rex Ridge Co-ops
10 Fieldstone Drive
Hartsdale
www.rivertownsguide.com ( frequently updated calendar of fun events happening in our area)
www.thehudsonindependent.com for news and activities.
www.tarrytownpatch . com for more news and activities.
www.scarsdale10583.com news about Edgemont and Hartsdale
www.thedailygreenburgh.com www.thedailydobbsferry.com www.thedailyhastings.com (news about our town)

Have a great weekend!
PAUL FEINER
Remember—our 9-11 memorial is Sunday at 10 AM at Richard Presser Park, Central Ave.

world trade center artifact donated to 911 memorial wall--ceremony sunday

2011-09-07T21:04:00.001-04:00

ARTIFACT FROM WORLD TRADE CENTER HAS ARRIVED AT TOWN HALL
911 CEREMONY THIS SUNDAY AT 10 AM AT RICHARD PRESSER PARK---STEEL FROM WORLD TRADE CENTER TO BE DISPLAYED AT WALL

Please join The Town of Greenburgh, Rotary Clubs International, ArtsWestchester and Sam’s Clubs along with local officials, town department heads, community leaders and residents on Sunday, September 11, 20011 at 10:00am at “The People’s 9/11 Memorial Wall” on the lawn of Presser Park (former Webb Field), Central Avenue, (Hartsdale) in honor of Greenburgh residents whose lives were lost at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001. The event will include a re-dedication of The People’s 9/11 Memorial Wall. Composed of 1,800 mosaic tiles designed by local school children and residents from throughout the county, the monument began to lose tiles, two years ago, resulting in the need for major repair. A total of 1,711 tiles were salvaged by the Town of Greenburgh, Department of Parks and Recreation. This summer, they were repaired, cleaned and reassembled by a team of 41 volunteers led by Sarah Bracey White, Arts and Culture Director for the Town. The restoration was recently completed by Frank Pescetti, mason and longtime resident of East Irvington who has been in the business of installing tiles, stone and marble for over 25 years. The 9/11 Memorial Ceremony will also include choral selections by fifth grade students from Richard J. Bailey Elementary School, Greenburgh Central 7 School District. For more information contact the Town Clerks office at 993-1501. A steel remnant from the World Trade Center arrived at Greenburgh Town Hall today and will be permanently displayed at the 911 memorial wall. This will make our wall much more meaningful for those who want to reflect on the meaning of 911 in the future.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

sidewalk sale e hartsdale ave..hear the candidates debate non stop

2011-09-06T19:26:00.001-04:00

East Hartsdale Avenue on Saturday, September 10th, 2011 from 10:00AM to 3:00PM, rain or shine.
The stores along East Hartsdale Avenue will be offering special sales, and the eateries will be offering free samples of their cuisine. There will be plenty of fun for all ages including a clown, a magician, free popcorn and bubbles, and a psychic. As well as shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmer’s market.

For further information about this event, please email Adriana @ aadee80@gmail.com or the Town Clerks office at 993-1501.

The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations (CGCA) and the League of Women Voters (LWV) sponsored a candidates' forum for Town-related primaries being held on September 13. The debate covered the Democratic Party Town Clerk (1 seat) and the Democratic Party Town Justice (3 seats). Two candidates are running for Town Clerk. Six candidates are running for Judge.

The replay of this interesting and informative debate can be seen on Greenburgh television at the following times non stop on cablevision 76 and Verizon channel 35 from Friday morning to Tuesday evening. The primary election will be held on Tuesday between 6 AM and 9 PM at your regular polling locations.

We have also provided every candidate with the opportunity to produce a five minute info mercial about themselves. The five minute info-mercial will be aired after the debates non stop from Friday morning to Tuesday evening. Hopefully, this will enable you to cast an informed vote. The info=mericals are unedited-and uncensored.
PAUL FEINER

Start new year right...with chocolates..why pool can't be open

2011-09-05T20:48:00.000-04:00

Start the new school year in a sweet way. 5th Avenue Chocolatiere just opened their new store (www.scarsdalechocolate.com) @ 450 Central Park Ave (713-8879). They will have a delicious grand opening party on Wednesday September 7th from 4:30 to 6 PM. You are invited to taste their samples. Their truffles are out of this world. Have you ever tried chocolate cheeseburgers? This store also sells very interesting chocolate molds--ballet slippers, telephones and is a great place for children's parties. Hope to see you at the party. If you arrive at the end of the party you might not recognize me since I will have gained some weight.

WHY POOL CAN'T BE OPEN NEXT WEEKEND
I received this e mail from Joe Lucasey, deputy commissioner of parks. I had asked if it is possible to open up the pool for a part of next weekend since the pool was closed due to power outages Monday-Thursday last week.

We have no lifeguards and the rest of our staff will be spread out with other programs (5k Run, Dog Swim, 9/11 wall ceremony).

If someone wishes to empty their cabana we will be available to walk them up to the pool Tuesday -Friday (9am to 4pm) this week. If they could call ahead to schedule someone that would be helpful (693-8985).

Of course we will and have honored requests for emptying out cabanas that extend even beyond next week.

Joe Lucasey

PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR--
NEXT SATURDAY MORNING-- DOG SWIM, AF VETERAN TOWN POOL --LOWER POOL 10-2
GIFT OF LIFE 5K RUN SEPTEMBER 10 (ALSO SATURDAY) 9 am RUN, 10 AM WALK...MEET AT MACY PARK, GREAT HUNGER MEMORIAL, FORMERLY CANTINA RESTAURANT
Saturday, September 10th---starting at 10 AM---E Hartsdale Ave, sidewalk sale
911 MEMORIAL--9/11 (Sunday 10 AM, Richard Presser Park
PAUL FEINER

power struggles in westchester -editorial westchester business journal

2011-09-02T12:30:00.001-04:00

Power struggles in Westchester
Editorial Staff | Sep 02, 2011 | Comments 0

A number of county business people and politicians are feeling powerless in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. And many are angry about being left in the dark.

“Westchester ratepayers are treated like second-class citizens,” wrote Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner in an email.

He was referring to Con Edison customers who lost electricity following the storm that soaked the county.

“After every storm, Westchester customers wait much longer to have power restored than our New York City neighbors. Every ratepayer should be treated the same.”

Feiner, who’s not prone to hold his tongue in matters concerning his town, said he understands Con Ed cannot restore all the outages immediately, but suggests the utility “rotate” its service to “sometimes do Westchester first and parts of New York City second, or just spread it around.”

Following his email missives – cc’d to the Public Service Commission – and a Sunday appearance on News 12, Feiner said he noted some improvements.

“They (Con Ed) made a lot of progress. We had 6,000 people out Sunday and this morning (Aug. 30) it was down to 630. Obviously, now, I think Con Ed is trying hard. We still have major outages but they’re definitely making an effort in giving Greenburgh much more priority than it seemed like they were a couple days ago. I don’t want to say my yelling and screaming helped.

“It might have.”

Still, he cites a continuous power struggle.

“I’ve been through a lot of different storms and it’s taken four or five days to get service. …I don’t think it’s fair. New York City was always treated better than Westchester.”

For its part, Con Ed says it follows a priority system and services the most populated areas first.

“We want to focus on the repairs that will restore the most people the quickest,” Con Ed spokesman Michael S. Clendenin explained to us. “In other words, you could have a power line down that affects two houses or you might have one down that affects 500. You want to restore the 500 first.”

That’s logical, but the Feiners of our county are charged with minding our business.

“I totally understand the New York City versus Westchester thing,” Clendenin said. “Remember, we had about 180,000 (outages) in New York City and Westchester. Westchester had half of the total outages. So the storm, by and large, hit Westchester harder or as hard as the entire city, all five boroughs of New York City.”

That’s little comfort to a soggy county where some businesses and homeowners are still recovering from that last nasty storm back in March. And the lack of power this time around quickly dampened hopes for a speedy cleanup and recovery. But while Con Ed may be a major player in the energy industry, it has no power over Mother Nature. And August was a soggy month, drenching the soil and thus clearing the way for high winds to easily uproot large trees that in turn brought down wires.

Taking all of this into account, Clendenin said Con Ed was ready.

“We were prepared with crews to respond to what we thought was coming. And what we thought was coming, did come pretty much. We had already arranged for crews from as far away as Colorado and Michigan to be ready and they were on their way before the hurricane even got here. So we’ve got hundreds and hundreds of outside utilities here in addition to our own.”

By Aug. 30, he said, slightly more than two-thirds of the outages in the county had been restored and the utility was targeting Sept. 1 “around midnight” to restore power to most, if not all, customers.

“We’re still on target. … but this storm really did a lot of damage. It’s difficult. A part of the problem for us is getting access to people with their outages, making sure trees are cleared away. Patience is paramount here. We want to do it safely and get everybody back as quickly as we can.

“You can’t recover from a storm like this overnight. This was the most outages from a storm ever in our service area.”

As of this writing, some 800,000 homes and businesses in the tristate area were still without power – as were some New York State Electric & Gas customers in northern Westchester. And reports were labeling Irene one of the worst storms, cost-wise, in history.

Sadly, many businesses do not have flood insurance, as reporter Patrick Gallagher notes in a page one story this week. Even some of those who do have policies say insurers take a long time to reimburse or are denying claims altogether.

How can a small business survive?

Not too reassuring in these times when we need to retain every single business as we toil toward economic recovery.

A power struggle to be sure.

Irene, your timing was poor indeed.

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why it takes longer than we hope to get some power restored

2011-08-29T15:34:00.000-04:00

There are still power outages in Greenburgh. But---I have to admit, I am pleasantly surprised. Many people who complained to me yesterday and this morning –telling me that they were out of power—have now called or e mailed me advising me that their power was recently restored! Con Ed is working closely with town staff. Hopefully, before we know it all power will be restored. The following information may be of interest –explaining the processes that could delay power restoration.
PAUL FEINER
Many people and businesses in the Town are without electric power. In some cases, it’s just a downed wire from trees or wind, in which case Con Ed is dispatching crews to replace the downed wires to restore power. In other cases where power lines have been submerged from water rising in flooded basements, Con Ed cuts the power until such time that certification is verified by an electrical inspection agency working under the imprimatur of the Town Government. If one’s power has been terminated by Con Ed, the following must be implemented:

A licensed electrician must be commissioned by the party without power to perform a mega test to ensure integrity of the power cables.

Such mega test must be witnessed by one of the electrical inspection agencies authorized to perform inspections within the Town who will then certify to the Town and Con Ed that the power lines are capable of carrying electric current safely.

Con Ed will then restore power

summary of flood related problems in greenburgh

2011-08-28T16:26:00.001-04:00

I spent a few hours with Captain Glenn Bryan of the Greenburgh Police Department inspecting storm related problems around town. The hurricane caused the temporary road closings of 31 streets around the town. Fortunately, there were fewer downed trees than we had during previous storms. Fewer power outages than we had in previous years: About 1,500 power outages. Flooding in Elmsford was much worst than it has been in decades.

Flooding on Babbitt Court was worst than it has ever been--water level very high. The police and fire departments were using their rescue boats to evacuate homeowners who reside on Babbitt Court. The street looks like a lake. Some of the residents took advantage of a federal grant and put their homes on stilts. Others are hoping that the federal government will offer residents of Babbitt Court the opportunity to apply for the grant again if their home is currently not on stilts. I hope the federal government will give these families the opportunity to do so. Some residents complained about the difficulty getting reimbursed promptly from insurance companies for their damages. I offered to help. Councilmembers Kevin Morgan and Francis Sheehan were also at the Babbitt Court flood site.

Next stop--9A in Elmsford, another lake. The road leading up to Sam's Club was closed (as usual after a storm). Saw an abandoned Con Ed truck in the middle of "lake 9A". Met with Brian Fee, the owner of Velocity Sports Performance and his neighbor--the manager of the Ice Skating Academy in Elmsford. Their parking lot was also a lake. I had my boots on and went into the water --but the currents were strong so I didn't go very deep! Brian, a new business owner is also experiencing difficulty with insurance reimbursement after floods.

The US Army Corp of Engineers has been studying, studying, studying, and studying the problems on Babbitt Court/Elmsford for fifty, sixty or seventy years. A few weeks ago the town issued a request for proposals for a consultant to help us come up with smaller flood relief initiatives that the town can take on its own---without depending on the fed's for assistance. Clearing up the debris from the river, removing obstructions, dredging could possibly help.

I stopped by at the Multipurpose Center, AF Veteran town park. The center was being used as a temporary shelter for families. About 14 families took advantage of the services we offered. A special thank you to CERT volunteers who donate their time and energy helping families in need.

Made a house call to a resident who experienced flooding on Calvin Court and visited with some residents on Old Kensico Road who suffered significant property damage. They reside off of the Bronx River. One very nice couple suffered two big losses today--his restaurant in Mamaroneck was flooded and his house also experienced major flooding. He and his wife were cleaning the mud from the driveway. Their back yard was flooded --and the inside of their house also was flooded. Visited with other neighbors. Some families lost valuable personal belongings - family photo's, furniture, etc.. Some of the residents complained that the town did not clear the drains of debris. When I got home Councilman Kevin Morgan told me that he was advised that over a week ago town public works crews cleared over 150 yards of silt, dirt and debri from drains in that area.

Stopped by at the Theodore Young Community Center --the ground floor had flooded. And the gym floor probably will need replacing because it is not even. This could be a big expense for the town. Crews were cleaning the floors. E Hartsdale Ave experienced some flooding --but the flooding will not result in closings of businesses --a number of years ago half the businesses on E Hartsdale Ave had to close for many months after a major storm/flooding problem.

When I got home I looked at my e mails and started answering complaints from residents about power outages. There are about 1500 people out of power. It's my hope that their power could be restored quickly. Con Ed is providing local governments with liaisons. We will all work together to get the power restored asap.
PAUL FEINER

new road closure list..i'm inspecting town roads...congress may cut local gov reimbursements

2011-08-28T11:42:00.001-04:00

I will be inspecting flood related problem areas with the police within the hour. The following list contains the most recent road closures as of 10:30 AM.

Please be advised that it IS STILL UNSAFE TO DRIVE AROUND THE TOWN. The ground is soggy and the trees could be unstable. If you hit a downed wire you could be electrocuted. You are safer in your home.

I am in constant communication with Con Ed. I know that they are trying hard to restore power as soon as possible to the families who have experienced outages. I will be pleased to work with every household that has experienced power outages --trying to help you get your service restored quickly.

I have also been on the phone with United States Congresswoman Nita Lowey and County Executive Rob Astorino. They offered to be of help. The Congresswoman indicated that a number of the members of the House of Representatives want to cut reimbursements to local governments for emergency relief efforts. She believes that the funding is important and will lobby the Congress to continue the funding. A storm like this results in significant overtime expenses to all local governments.
PAUL FEINER
Current Road Closures

ROAD CLOSURES 8/28/11 AS OF 10:33 HOURS:

#
Road
Cross Street
Closure Cause
Status
Time Call In

1
Nepperhan Avenue Area

Flood

0715

2
Tarrytown Road
Knollwood Road
Flood

0715

3
Rt. 9A
Worthington to Whitehouse
Trees and wires

0715

4
Knollwood Road
Hevelyn Road
Tree on wires

0715

5
Dobbs Ferry Road
Park Avenue
Tree and wires

0715

6
South Central Park Avenue
Sentry Place
Tree across roadway

0715

7
Hillside Avenue
Lawrence Drive
Flood

0715

8
Virginia Road
Lawrence Drive
Flood

0715

9
Hillside Avenue
Lawrence Drive
Mudslide

0715

10
Stadium Road
Dobbs Ferry Road
Flood
Open
0905

11
West Hartsdale Avenue
North Washington
Flood

0715

12
Old Tarrytown
Warren
Flood

0715

13
Old Kensico
In area of Randolph Road
Flood

0715

14
Manhattan Avenue
I-287 Bridge
Flood

0715

15
South Central Avenue
West Hartsdale (4crnrs)
Flood

0845

16
Rt. 9A –
Worthington to Whitehouse
Trees and wires

0845

17
Knollwood Road
Hevelyn Road
Tree on wires

0845

19
580 West Hartsdale Avenue

Tree and wires

0845

20
410 Chelsea Road

Tree and wires

0845

21
21 Sprain Valley Road

Tree and wires

0845

22
Heatherdell Road (Ardsley)

Tree and wires

0845

23
Jackson Ave
Old Jackson
Flood

10:30

24
Forthill Road
Ardsley Road
Tree

10:30

25
420 Tarrytown Road
Flood
Flood

10:30

26
326 Fort hill Road

Tree on wires

10:30

27
Polk Place
North and South Road
Flood

10:30

28
Route 9A
Park Ave

10:30

29
166 E Hartsdale Ave

Oil Tank Float

10:30

30
10 Topland Road
Ridge Road
Tree

10:30

31
166 E Hartsdale Ave

Oil Tank

10:30

HURRICANE ALERTS

2011-08-27T09:27:00.001-04:00

Last night the town's server was down so I was unable to respond to e mails. Fortunately, the server is now working. During the storm I will be providing residents with updates: road closures, downed trees, power outages, anticipated timetables for restoration of power etc... In the event that the town computer system is not working, I will post advisories on my facebook page (PAUL FEINER), on my linked in page and on my twitter account. You can also call me on my cell: 914-438-1343 or at home: 478-1219. I will personally return every phone call I receive.

TRY NOT TO GET STRESSED OUT OVER THIS STORM. i believe that the town is well prepared. We have many dedicated employees in our public works department and police department (and in other departments) who always go the extra mile --trying to help out when there are emergencies. During the past few days we have tried to take action steps --anticipating possible problems, hoping to prevent them from taking place.

If there are heavy winds stay home. One of the big dangers in a hurricane is falling trees.

If we need to open up shelters we will. If seniors need transportation to emergency shelters around the town I will reach out to the police department to help provide transportation.

Before you know it - the hurricane will be a memory and you and your family will have survived it.

PAUL FEINER

PREPARATIONS FOR HURRICANE

2011-08-24T23:02:00.001-04:00

Yesterday our town experienced the tremors of an earthquake. On Sunday we may experience a hurricane. I received this e mail from the Police Chief. In the event of a major storm - I will continue to send out e mail alerts about street closings, power outages, emergency shelters, Con Ed action plans. If your neighbor does not subscribe to the e list please advise them of this service. Updates are also posted on the town website: www.greenburghny.com

I am more than happy to accept phone calls. My home: 478-1219. My office: 993-1545. My cell: 438-1343.

Paul Feiner

The number people should call for non-emergencies is 682-5300. 911 should only be used for emergencies. We are making plans to adequately staff and equip both police and DPW personnel. Anyone requesting information on hurricane preparedness should be directed to the bottom of the Town of Greenburgh’s web site greenburghny.com and click on ready Greenburgh listed at the bottom of the page.

Joseph J. DeCarlo

Chief of Police

Town of Greenburgh

White Plains, N.Y. 10607

how to create one million jobs--

2011-08-23T23:12:00.000-04:00

How to Create One Million Jobs Per Year and Fix the Housing Crisis
By Liz Ryan Murray

Look at the polls. Better yet, talk to a friend, neighbor, or family member and it’s crystal clear that Americans are worried about jobs, foreclosures and the ever-widening wealth and income gap. Instead of solutions, what we’re getting from D.C. are cuts to the earned benefits of seniors, firing our kids’ teachers and taking food off the tables of the hungry. That’s not a solution; it’s a recipe for disaster.

There are real solutions and one of them creates over 1 million new jobs, keeps families in their homes and begins to stabilize the housing market and economy as a whole. Best of all, this solution doesn’t ask those struggling the most to pay again. This solution tells those who caused the mess in the first place to begin to pay for the cleanup.

This solution is outlined in the report released last week by the New Bottom Line entitled, "The Win-Win Solution: How Fixing The Housing Crisis Will Create 1 Million Jobs."

The report shows how we can fix the housing crisis and revitalize our communities and economy by making banks lower the principal balance on all underwater mortgages to current market value and refinancing these loans to current market interest rates.

Right now, one in five Americans owe more on their mortgage than their home is actually worth. Collectively, underwater homeowners will have to pay down $709 billion in principal before they can start building equity in their homes. Every effort to reboot the housing market to date has failed because it has not done the most essential thing: reduce the massive debt load carried by underwater homeowners.

The report reveals that if the banks stepped up and provided principal reduction on all underwater mortgages to current market value, we could:

* Create 1 million jobs every year -- This includes over 300,000 jobs in California, the state hit hardest by the financial crisis.

* Pump over $70 billion per year back into communities -- This includes $12 billion dollars per year in Florida, the second of the two states hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis.

* Save the average family over $500 per month on mortgage payment.

* Solve the foreclosure crisis once and for all.

As the report states, homeowners across the nation are struggling to pay their boom-era mortgages with their recession-era salaries and the economy is suffering for it. Writing down principals and interest rates will effectively function as the second stimulus our nation has been desperate for and this stimulus will be paid for by those that caused the crisis. The $500 + per month injected into households will go for school supplies and groceries and other expenditures. This influx of spending will revitalize local business, spur hiring and begin to reverse our economy’s downward spiral.

"The Win/Win Solution" demonstrates banks can afford to execute this plan. Last year, the nation’s top six banks paid out more than twice the cost of the plan ($71 billion per year) in bonuses and compensation alone ($146 billion in 2010). "The Win/Win Solution" demonstrates banks can afford to execute this plan. Last year, the nation’s top six banks paid out more than twice the cost of the plan ($71 billion per year) in bonuses and compensation alone ($146 billion in 2010).

And this week Bloomberg is reporting that the banks received $1.2 trillion in taxpayer-funded loans from the Federal Reserve during the crisis. The Win/Win plan, which will benefit millions of Americans, would cost only a fraction of what we have already given them.

How Do We Get It Done?

Right now, Attorneys General from around the country are negotiating with the banks on a settlement to address the rampant fraudulent and abusive practices around robo-signing and servicing. The Attorneys General have the authority and the opportunity to require real and widespread principal reduction from the banks through this settlement.

Congress can and should modify the bankruptcy laws to allow primary residence mortgages to be eligible for restructuring including principal reduction – just like vacation homes and other debt are currently eligible.
Finally, many outstanding underwater mortgages are owned or guaranteed by us through the government run entities of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration. The Obama Administration should immediately direct them to start slashing principal balances and re-writing the mortgages we control. As the report states, it’s The Win/Win Solution.

Who We Are and What’s Our Plan

The New Bottom Line (NBL) is an alliance of some of the nations largest faith-based and community organizing networks and leading statewide organizing groups led by the Alliance for a Just Society, the PICO National Network and National People's Action. NBL came together as we watched our neighborhoods inundated with predatory lending, decimated by foreclosures and razed by unemployment. As we fought independently to bring justice home to our communities we realized that the game had changed; Wall Street and the big banks had a stranglehold on our economy and our government. Overcoming these forces was going to take a whole new calculus of grassroots power. Working apart we could not credibly win, but together we can. NBL represents over 1,000 community and faith based groups, all committed to fighting for a just economy that puts the needs and health of people over the convenience and profits of corporations.

To advance our goals of restructuring and re-regulating Wall Street, reclaiming our political institutions and advancing a vision of a just economy, NBL groups around the country have been moving to action. Forcing Mitt Romney to admit he thinks corporations are people, keeping pressure on state Attorneys General to come to a strong settlement with banks for their illegal activities in the foreclosure crisis, and the release of the “Win/Win Solution” are just the beginning of NBL’s strategic and offensive push coming this Fall and into next year.

We’ll soon be announcing a series of actions and events around the country that will allow everyday people to publicly express their anger about the economy and the immoral values that guide big corporations and gridlock our government. We’ll use this Fall to advance positive ideas and real solutions that to rebuild strong and vibrant communities and set the stage for the debate WE WANT in 2012.

Please join with us and hear more about what we’re doing by signing up at http://www.newbottomline.com/join.

Liz Ryan Murray is the Policy Director for National People’s Action.

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HOPE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED!

2011-08-22T21:43:00.001-04:00

THERE IS HOPE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED!
From: Sandra Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 6:27 PM
Hello Mr. Feiner,
I have found a job. Please remove my name from your list. Thank you for all your help

WORLD TRADE CENTER ARTIFACT TO BE DONATED TO 911 WALL

2011-08-11T09:49:00.001-04:00

The Port Authority advised me that they will donate an artifact from the World Trade Center to the 9-11 memorial wall on Central Ave. The 1711 tiles from artists around the county are in the process of being placed on the wall--and the work should be finished next week by E Irvington resident Frank Pescetti, the mason who has been working very hard on the restoration project. The World Trade Center artifact will make the wall much more meaningful .

JOIN US AT OUR SEPTEMBER 11TH CEREMONY…
The Town of Greenburgh, Rotary Clubs International, ArtsWestchester and Sam’s Clubs request the honor of your presence and participation in a special event, Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 10:00am at Presser Park, Hartsdale honoring the memory of Westchester / Town of Greenburgh residents whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001. The event will also celebrate a national as well as international initiative to save lives of children through Rotary International’s Gift of Life project.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 will mark the tenth year since the attack on the World Trade Towers causing the loss of 3,000 lives, many of whom resided in Westchester County and the Town of Greenburgh. The Town of Greenburgh, in partnership with Rotary International and ArtsWestchester, Inc. generated resources to erect the 9/11 Memorial Wall located on the grounds of Presser Park on Central Avenue, Hartsdale. Two years ago, the Memorial Wall, composed of tiles designed by local school children and residents from throughout the county, began to lose tiles resulting in the need for major repair. Due to a generous donation from Sam’s Club, and the committed, dedicated and tireless efforts of Sarah Bracey White, Arts & Culture Director, Town of Greenburgh, along with a team of volunteers that she coordinated to prepare the tiles for restoration, the 9/11 Memorial Wall is now undergoing reconstruction.

We invite your participation on Sunday, September 11, 2011 and hope that you will be able to join us. If you have questions about the program or thoughts how we can make the 10th anniversary a more meaningful experience, please advise town Clerk Judith Beville by calling her at 993 – 1504 or jbeville@greenburghny.com
PAUL FEINER

FISHER LANE BRIDGE TO BE REPLACED IN MID SEPTEMBER..DOG SWIM September 10

2011-08-10T08:57:00.001-04:00

Last year we learned that the Fisher Lane bridge (which connects to the N White Plains train station) was structurally deficient. We had to order a new bridge. Here is the latest schedule for the bridge completion:

The steel for the bridge should be completed by the manufacturer by the first week in September, after which time it will be painted. Delivery of the bridge should be mid-September and installation will take one weekend. Sorry for the inconveniences commuters have had to experience.

Just a short note inviting you to our annual dog swim n Saturday, September 10th from 10 AM to 2 PM. We are requesting $5 per dog – funds that will be used to help us maintain our beautiful and well used dog park. The lower pool at AF Veteran park is open to dogs on this day only –after the pool is closed for the season to humans. AF Veteran park is located off of Heatherdell Road, Ardsley.
Without question – this is one of our most popular recreation events each year. Hundreds of dogs and their human family members have a great time. It’s a great opportunity for you to marvel at the athletic abilities of your dog and for you and your dog to meet new friends!

DO YOU USE OUR DOG PARK? What do you think?
A few years ago we opened up our dog park at Rumbrook Park off the Sprain and Dobbs Ferry Road. Do you use the park? What do you like about our dog park? What can we do to make it better? Please let me know. E mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RE: frank's nursery

2011-08-09T16:50:00.001-04:00

The Town of Greenburgh plans to make a final decision what to do with Frank's nursery on Dobbs Ferry Road by the end of the year. Today, the Town Board voted to authorize an RFP to be distributed--seeking proposals from developers, realtors. The following RFP will be posted on the town website: www.greenburghny.com. Feel free to share with those who are interested in the property--businesses, developers, realtors.

The town, like every municipality in the nation, is experiencing budget problems and will be forced to make significant budget cuts in 2012. Additional revenue from Frank's nursery will help the town offer our residents important services.

PAUL FEINER.

(1) Issue/advertise Request for Proposal on……….…………………………..………August 9

(2) Last day for questions………………………….……………………………...September 27

(3) Proposals due by 5:00 P.M………………………………………………………October 28

(4) Selection of Developer…………………………………….…………………...December 6

(5) Finalized development agreement ...............................................not later than December 31

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS For Town of Greenburgh

Westchester County, New York

FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A 6.89 ACRE PARCEL

OF LAND LOCATED AT 715 Dobbs Ferry Road

1) BACKGROUND

The Town of Greenburgh is located in the south central portion of Westchester County in New York State and includes 31 square miles of land between the Hudson River on the west and the Bronx River on the east. It contains five (5) major highways and parkways (I-87, I-287, the Bronx River, Sprain Brook and Saw Mill Parkways), and three major commercial corridors (Central Park Avenue, Route 119 and Route 9A).

The Town of Greenburgh is bounded on the north by the Town of Mount Pleasant and on the south by the City of Yonkers. East of the Bronx River are the Town of North Castle, the City of White Plains and the Village/Town of Scarsdale. There are six incorporated villages within the Town: Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and Tarrytown.

The unincorporated area of the Town of Greenburgh, hereinafter referred to as “Unincorporated Greenburgh,” is the subject of this Request for Proposal (RFP). Unincorporated Greenburgh is approximately 18 square miles and includes numerous neighborhoods. It is serviced by three fire districts, seven fire protection districts and nine separate school districts. Unincorporated Greenburgh’s population can be characterized as ethnically, racially and economically diverse. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2010, the Unincorporated Greenburgh has a total population of 42,863. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007, the median income in the Town of Greenburgh is $97,147 per household versus the Westchester County average of $77,856 per household.

The Town of Greenburgh Town Board will be considering applications for the development of a 6.89 acre parcel of land within the Town, including the construction and/or operation of facilities thereon, located on the south side of Dobbs Ferry Road (Route 100B).

2) INTENT

The Town of Greenburgh Town Board is seeking qualified developer proposals for a vacant town-owned property located at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road. The approximately 6.89 acres site, the former Frank’s Nursery, consists of one building containing a total of 50,000 square feet of floor area and is located on Dobbs Ferry Road approximately 1/3 of a mile west of the entrance to the Sprain Brook Parkway.

The Town of Greenburgh is seeking a developer to redevelop the site through either:

(1) the substantial rehabilitation of the existing buildings,

(2) total demolition and construction, or

(3) partial demolition of the structures and redeveloping the site, or

(4) construction of a new police station and courthouse with a lease to the town for the structure and a swapping of 188 Tarrytown Road property that has the existing police station and courthouse for new development.

The Town will entertain uses that are different from the permitted uses under current zoning and any viable development options, includingpublic-private partnership, phased and/or shared use development for the entire 715 Dobbs Ferry Road parcel through a 15 year ground lease and the possible transfer of 188 Tarrytown Road property.

3) PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

This vacant, pentagon shaped parcel is approximately 6.89 acres in size, located at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road (commonly referred to as the Frank’s Nursery Property), in the central portion of the Unincorporated Greenburgh (see attached location map).

The site is located within an established recreation corridor in the Unincorporated Greenburgh. Directly north of the property is the Elmwood Country Club, a private golf course. Also to the north is the Town’s RumbrookPark. On the east side of the property is the Con Edison Right of Way. To the westof the property is a golf drive range and to the south of the property is a commercial greenhouses and nursery.

The property has substantial frontage along Dobbs Ferry Road (NYS Route 100B), which is suitable for access, is extremely convenient from the Sprain Brook Parkway, Route 9A, and New York State Thruway. Part of the land is paved along Dobbs Ferry Road, which are the remains of the prior use’s parking area.

The property is level and close to the grade of Dobbs Ferry Road. The property is currently zoned R-30 Single-Family Residential District.

Site plan and environmental protection permit approvals from the Town of Greenburgh and the town’s applicable land use boards are required prior to any use or development of land.

All bidding developers should familiarize themselves with the physical attributes of the property and Town of Greenburgh Zoning Code.

The property has access to all typical utilities including but not limited to water, electric,telephone, sewer, and natural gas.

4) RFP SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Each proposal in response to this RFP must be formatted as a single bound volume and must be submitted at or before the time and date set forth in this RFP. The Town of Greenburgh Town Board (the “Town”), in its sole discretion, may extend the submission date and time.

a) Responses shall remain valid, active and firm for a period of 180 days from the due date.

b) Each Respondent must submit the information requested in standard letter size format for their proposal to be complete (fold out documents will be accepted).

c) The outside of the package containing a proposal should be clearly marked with “715 Dobbs Ferry Road RFP.”

d) All submittals must include a minimum of the elements as described below in i through vii below. Although the Town is not obligated to evaluate incomplete submittals or to accept additional and supplemental materials, it may choose to do so.

e) All submittals should be concise and address the Town’s goals and objectives as listed in this RFP and relevant support documents

i) Cover Letter and Executive Summary

The submittal must include a cover letter with a statement that the individual signing the letter is authorized to obligate the entity to proceed with negotiation of a “Development Agreement” should the entity be tentatively designated as the developer for the property.

The proposal must also include an executive summary of the principal elements of the submittal, including a project description and schedule, as well as the development team’s approach to the development, mix of uses, open space, financing, environmental processing, and terms.

PLEASE NOTE, the Town is will enter into a ground lease for property with the selected developer.

ii) Development Team, Relationships and References

The Town is seeking sufficient information on the development team to make a judgment as to how well the team could perform in the role of developer of the proposed plan and to compare the qualifications of the redevelopment teams associated with the proposals submitted. Respondents are free to present this information in a format and a degree of detail that in their judgment is adequate for these purposes.

The following is a suggested format for consideration:

• The redevelopment team description shall include the corporation, joint venture or other entity that would serve as the Designated Redeveloper of the proposed development and would be party to the Redevelopment Agreement with the Town. If the entity is a subsidiary of, or otherwise affiliated with another organization, the Respondent shall indicate such a relationship.

• Identify all participants in the Respondent’s development team including those members responsible for the building design, landscape and site design, land use planning, engineering, permitting, legal and financial analysis, and community relations, as well as investors and proposed lending institutions. This information should include, but not be limited to, company profiles of firms on the proposed team and individual resumes of key personnel who would be assigned to the project. Brochures detailing the individual team members’ qualifications may be included as an appendix.

• Submit an organization chart showing all team members, the responsibility of each team member, and the proposed interrelationships of the team with the Town during the design, development and operation of the project.

• For each company/individual involved in the development, construction or operation of the redevelopment, identify the company or individual involved, including the name, address, telephones and fax numbers and primary contact person for each listing. The list of companies and individuals shall include at least the following:

· Developer

· Architect(s) (site, buildings, landscape)

· Land Use/Environmental Planner (if known)

· Engineer(s) (geo-technical, traffic, structural, etc., if known)

· Attorney(s) (if known)

· Lender(s) (if known)

· General Contractor (if known)

· Other

• For each member of the Respondent’s team noted above, identify the names of all principals who will be responsible for the redevelopment, construction and operation of the proposed redevelopment and provide professional resumes for each such principal.

• The proposal shall identify the persons responsible for each activity related to the permitting, design, financing and construction of the project. The proposal shall identify one or more individuals who have full power and authority on behalf of the Respondent’s team to negotiate and execute the Agreement, if the Respondent is chosen for negotiation of the Agreement.

• Three (3) references are required that can specifically address the capability of the Respondent to undertake similar development projects. References should include name, title, addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses and a brief description of the relationship to the development entity in regard to previous experience.

In addition, the proposal should identify any potential conflicts that the individual team members or firms may have because of current or prior relations with the Town of Greenburgh, Townof Greenburgh related boards and individuals, or its consultants. The Town reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to request additional information on potential conflicts of interest and to limit or prohibit the part the participation of any team member or firm due to any such conflict of interest. To the extent that public disclosure laws may be applicable, participants in the development team shall be responsible for complying with all applicable requirements.

iii) Project Experience

The Town is seeking sufficient information on the Respondent’s project experience to make a judgment as to how well the team could perform in the role of redeveloper of the project site, and to compare with the experience of other redevelopment teams. The following information is suggested to meet this requirement. Respondents are free to present this information in a degree of detail that in their judgment is adequate for these purposes:

All individuals listed as contacts on existing projects may be contacted and should be available to assess the Respondent’s record relating to the project(s). In addition, the Town may consult references familiar with the Respondent or members of the Respondent’s team regarding past experience, qualifications, performance, or other matters, regardless of whether the specific individuals are identified in the proposal. The proposal should demonstrate that all of the team members have experience in the redevelopment of similar size and scope projects in a comparable urban setting.

To the extent that a developer cannot demonstrate the proper strength in a particular area, the developer will be required to hire or joint venture with an entity that has strength in that particular area. The developer must provide the names of the persons on the development team and the corporate structure to be responsible for the planning and implementation of the project.

iv) Understanding of the Redevelopment Process

The proposal should clearly demonstrate an understanding of the scope and tasks required for the design, financing, construction and leasing/sale of the proposed redevelopment and the challenges to successful completion of such a project in accordance with the project schedule. The Respondent should demonstrate an understanding of the challenges of undertaking and completing the project in the Unincorporated Greenburgh by including in its proposal, among other things, a detailed plan schedule for meetings and dealing with all relevant constituencies.

With respect to project financing, each Respondent should demonstrate its approach to the financing, the risks and issues involved and how the Respondent will mitigate these financial risks and address the issues.

v) Project Schedule

The respondent shall describe the proposed project schedule including key steps in, permitting, financing, design, construction (including start and completion), and leasing/sale and occupancy.

vi) Proposed Redevelopment Program

Each proposal should include a program description reflecting the contemplated building design. Submissions of conceptual site plans with representative building elevations are encouraged. The program description should include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) The proposed development shall include a preliminary concept plan indicating the proposed use, parking, grading, drainage, circulation, parking, views, street tree planting along street frontages, fences and walls, if any, landscaping, screening, the exterior design of the building, structures and any signs.

(2) A rendering of the site and building (s).

(3) Identify views to and from the area of the proposed development from surrounding roads and properties, utilizing photographs, cross sections, sketches and photo simulations of the proposed development, and the visual impact it will create from all surrounding vantage points, as appropriate.

(4) A detailed account of proposed terms

(5) A statement that the Respondent’s will hold the Town harmless for any material or condition found on the property.

(6) An affirmative statement that the Respondent will not require any financial assistance from the Town.

(7) Time periods for commencing and completing construction, and opening for business.

(8) Estimated development cost, and verifiable evidence of financial capability.

(9) A primary contact name and numbers including phone, fax, and email.

(10) An affirmative statement that the Town will not be required to pay any closing costs,inspection fees or professional fees.

(11) An expeditious planning and construction schedule that would meet or beat the following time periods for each phase of development:

A. Submit application for site plan approval not later than 45 days after Town approval of development agreement.

B. Commence construction not later than 180 days after site plan approval.

C. Complete construction not later than 365 days after commencing construction.

D. Open for business and have a certificate of occupancy not later than 30 days after completing construction.

Each proposal should also provide information on employment generation (construction and permanent jobs), secondary spending on and off-site, as well as property taxes to be generated.

vii) Proposed Project Cost and Capital Structure; Financial Capacity

The proposal shall contain, with sufficient detail, the key financial components of the respondent’s proposal, including rental terms, price point projections, revenue projections, and the Respondent’s financing strategy. At a minimum, the Statement of Proposed Financial Terms and Assumptions should include the following (draft development pro fomas are encouraged):

(1) Respondents should describe their plans for funding all required improvements, including identifying sources of funds. Such description should include the proportion of equity to debt financing, and identify any special restrictions or conditions associated with the financing plan.

Respondents should also include evidence of financing resources and their concurrence with the proposed development program. A financial statement, at delivery of Proposal, or prior to short‐listing, supporting the Respondent’s capability of undertaking this project including company operating revenues and expenses, history of debt repayments, and letters of credit.

(2) Identify any local, state or federal financial assistance that will be required to implement the project. Although it is recognized that public monies may be needed to bring this project to completion, the greater the reliance on subsidies the less favorably the proposal will be evaluated. To the extent the Respondent intends to utilize grant or other public funds, describe the source of such funds and the status of any commitments from the granting agency, and the Respondent’s experience in obtaining such funds;

(3) Respondents are expected to conduct their own market research/study to identify potential demand, along with any other research necessary to justify any assumptions and projections that they may make.

viii) Other Factors

Although there is no obligation to do so, each Respondent should feel free to provide a description of other factors not accounted for in the RFP that the Respondent believes underscore the Respondent’s qualifications to undertake the project and what is “unique” about their development concept.

5) SELECTION PROCESS OVERVIEW AND SELECTION CRITERIA

a) Process Overview

On or before the time specified in this RFP, the Respondents will submit a proposal in response to this RFP. The Town will evaluate the proposals based upon responsiveness to items listed in Part D of this RFP. The Town may develop a short list from the RFP’s reviewed. If so, the Town will conduct interviews. Project teams selected to appear for an interview will be notified in writing, by mail, facsimile transmission, or otherwise, of the time and place of the interview.

Respondents may be asked to answer written questions based on their first and best and final proposals until the Town has made a final selection. In addition, further information and detail about proposals may be requested. Such information may include pre-schematic architectural drawings, a more comprehensive project financing package, a final list of team members and further explanation of the development program.

The Town may, in order to facilitate the selection or ranking of the Respondents, visit the offices of each Respondent, upon reasonable prior notice, to observe the office facilities and conduct further interviews, or conduct site visits to observe one or more of the developments identified by a Respondent.

Once a team is selected, the Town will begin negotiations with the selected team that will ultimately result in a developer’s designation by the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh and the execution of a redeveloper’s agreement. If the Town believes that an agreement cannot be reached with the selected team, the Town at its sole option may terminate negotiations. The Town may, at this time, choose to entertain proposals from other team that may be on a short list.

The Town will evaluate all proposals in accordance with the criteria and procedures identified in this RFP. The Town reserves the right in its discretion to make a selection based directly on the proposals submitted or to negotiate further with one or more of the respondents. The respondent selected under this RFP will be chosen on the basis of ability to best meet the overall objectives of the Town, as determined by the Town in its sole and absolute discretion.

The criteria described belowwill be employed in assessing the merits of each qualified proposal received by the Town:

i. Experience and Qualifications of Respondent

• Whether the Respondent has sufficient and proven experience and capabilities to perform all aspects of the project as outlined in this RFP, the developers demonstrated capabilities in executing projects of this type and magnitude;

• Experience and qualifications of Respondent and Key Personnel related to consistent quality management, maintenance, and operation of the type of project and uses proposed. Relevant factors will include experience and qualifications specifically related to (i) ability to implement complex development projects effectively, (ii) demonstrated success working cooperatively with public agencies, (iii) developer’s team operational approach, including the proposed timeline fordevelopment; (iv) other special qualifications that may be relevant to the successful implementation of the project;

• Financial capacity of the Respondent to cover initial capital expenditures andoperating cost: § (i) ability to raise capital for the project, either through equity capital and unsubordinated debt financing, and/ or private charitable funds and governmental grant funds; (ii) strength of current relationships with funding sources, including financialinstitutions; (iii) overall financial track record.

ii. Experience and Qualifications of Respondent Quality of Proposal

• Quality of Developers' approach to the project, the extent to which the project meets the Town’s objectives to create a high quality development;

• Potential social and economic contributions to the Town; and

• The extent to which the Plan demonstrates Respondent’s commitment to create or retain jobs for Greenburgh residents, especially economically disadvantaged persons, and to provide minority and women-owned business enterprises with an equal opportunity to compete for and participate in project development and operations.

iii. Cost and Time Effectiveness

• Feasibility of Respondent’s proposal, Proposals with definite funding sources will be rated more favorably than those with indefinite funding sources;

• Proposals that have no or minimal reliance on direct Town funding will be more favorably rated;

• Reasonableness of Respondent’s underlying assumptions, including proposed terms of rent;

• A project schedule that effectively and efficiently achieves a successful development in a relatively short timeframe; and

• Other factors as appropriate.

iv. Project Innovation – Sustainable Design

• The developer must provide a narrative, along with samples or a model outlining the use of innovative techniques that are significantly superior to what is typical in such development. Demonstrated capability in project design and sensitivity to environmental issues and adjacent land uses, including architectural design, landscape design, building massing, sustainable development strategies, creative design and construction.

• To the extent by which the proposal contains environmental performance, energy efficiency, and quality living spaces as well as innovative green design and building technologies.

6) PROPOSAL PACKAGE

Please submit ten (10) copies of the Proposal and one (1) electronic copy on CD in PDF format.

7) DELIVERY

Proposals should be marked ʺPROPOSAL FOR 715 DOBBS FERRY ROAD SITEʺ and delivered:

(1) By hand, courier, USPS, FEDEX, UPS or recognized overnight courier to the Town of Greenburgh, Department of Community Development and Conservation, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY, 10607.

8) DEADLINE 5:00 P.M. LOCAL TIME October 28, 2011

Proposals received after the specified time and date will not be considered. The Town will not beresponsible for failure of the United States Postal Service, private courier, or any other deliverymeans to deliver a proposal to the appointed place at the specified time in order to beconsidered.

9) SCHEDULE

(1) Issue/advertise Request for Proposal on……….…………………………..………August 9

(2) Last day for questions………………………….……………………………...September 27

(3) Proposals due by 5:00 P.M………………………………………………………October 28

(4) Selection of Developer…………………………………….…………………...December 6

(5) Finalized development agreement ...............................................not later than December 31

10) SELECTION

The Town shall review all qualified proposals and the proposalselected, if any, that is determined to be in the public interest for uses, will be presented at a Town Board work session for consideration.

11) DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT

Subsequent to the award, a finalized development agreement between the Town and theRespondent must be approved by the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh.

12) INQUIRIES AND QUESTIONS.

All inquiries, questions, requests for interpretation, or clarification must besubmitted in writing, either by e‐mail or by facsimile and shall arrive not later than 5:00 PM, September 27, 2011.

13) TOWN CONTACT

Thomas Madden, AICP, Commissioner, Department of Community DevelopmentandConservation, Town of Greenburgh at (914) 993-1505 or by FAX (914) 993-1518, 1505 or by email to tmadden@greenburghny.com.

Additionalinformation and copies of this RFP may be downloaded at www.greenburghny.com

14) TOWN RESERVATIONS

The Town reserves the right to:

(1) Modify, waive, or otherwise vary the terms and conditions of this RFP at any time, includingbut not limited to, deadlines for submission and proposal requirements.

(2) Select one or more proposals to develop the entire site or a portion thereof; or award thedevelopments rights for the site to more than one developer.

(3) Waive irregularities in the proposals.

(4) Reject or refuse any or all proposals.

(5) Cancel and withdraw this RFP at any time.

(6) Negotiate with any or all Respondents in order to obtain terms most beneficial to the Town.

(7) Accept the proposal which, in its sole and absolute discretion, best serves the interest of theTown.

15) DISCLOSURE

(1) Information contained in this RFP regarding the site is believed to be reliable; however,interested parties should rely on their own experts for counsel.

(1) All proposals submitted to the Town are subject to public disclosure pursuant to Public Officers Law, Article 6 Freedom of Information Law. An exception may be made for submitted information by the Respondent, pursuant to FOIL.

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CANCER DRUGS BEING RATIONED..ANTUNS HOSTING BLOOD DRIVE

2011-08-08T10:55:00.000-04:00

An article in yesterday’s NY TIMES highlighted the horrible fact that effective cancer drugs are being rationed. If you know anyone in Greenburgh who is experiencing this problem – please advise. Please provide me with their names, addresses, phone number and e mail address. I would like to try to help and will also forward their stories to our congressional representatives. When I read the following article I was disgusted. My e mail address is pfeiner@greenburghny.com.
Paul Feiner
A patient receiving cancer treatment in Boston in 2008. Care is being rationed because of a dearth of the most effective drugs. Of the 34 generic cancer drugs on the market, as of this month, 14 were in short supply.
RIGHT now cancer care is being rationed in the United States.
Probably to their great disappointment, President Obama’s critics cannot blame this rationing on death panels or health care reform. Rather, it is caused by a severe shortage of important cancer drugs.
Of the 34 generic cancer drugs on the market, as of this month, 14 were in short supply. They include drugs that are the mainstay of treatment regimens used to cure leukemia, lymphoma and testicular cancer. As Dr. Michael Link, the president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, recently told me, “If you are a pediatric oncologist, you know how to cure 70 to 80 percent of patients. But without these drugs you are out of business.”
This shortage is even inhibiting research studies that can lead to higher cure rates: enrollment of patients in many clinical trials has been delayed or stopped because the drugs that are in short supply make up the standard regimens to which new treatments are added or compared.
The sad fact is, there are plenty of newer brand-name cancer drugs that do not cure anyone, but just extend life for a few months, at costs of up to $90,000 per patient. Only the older but curative cancer drugs — drugs that can cost as little as $3 per dose — have become unavailable. Most of these drugs have no substitutes, but, crazy as it seems, in some cases these shortages are forcing doctors to use brand-name drugs at more than 100 times the cost.
Only about 10 percent of the shortages can be attributed to a lack of raw materials and essential ingredients to manufacture the drugs. Most shortages appear instead to be the consequence of corporate decisions to cease production, or interruptions in production caused by money or quality problems, which manufacturers do not appear to be in a rush to fix.
If the laws of supply and demand were working properly, a drug shortage would cause a price rise that would induce other manufacturers to fill the gap. But such laws do not really apply to cancer drugs.
The underlying reason for this is that cancer patients do not buy chemotherapy drugs from their local pharmacies the way they buy asthma inhalers or insulin. Instead, it is their oncologists who buy the drugs, administer them and then bill Medicare and insurance companies for the costs.
Historically, this “buy and bill” system was quite lucrative; drug companies charged Medicare and insurance companies inflated, essentially made-up “average wholesale prices.” The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, signed by President George W. Bush, put an end to this arrangement. It required Medicare to pay the physicians who prescribed the drugs based on a drug’s actual average selling price, plus 6 percent for handling. And indirectly — because of the time it takes drug companies to compile actual sales data and the government to revise the average selling price — it restricted the price from increasing by more than 6 percent every six months.
The act had an unintended consequence. In the first two or three years after a cancer drug goes generic, its price can drop by as much as 90 percent as manufacturers compete for market share. But if a shortage develops, the drug’s price should be able to increase again to attract more manufacturers. Because the 2003 act effectively limits drug price increases, it prevents this from happening. The low profit margins mean that manufacturers face a hard choice: lose money producing a lifesaving drug or switch limited production capacity to a more lucrative drug.
The result is clear: in 2004 there were 58 new drug shortages, but by 2010 the number had steadily increased to 211. (These numbers include noncancer drugs as well. )
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, because all solutions require legislation. A bill introduced in February by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, and Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, would require generic manufacturers to notify the Food and Drug Administration if they expected a supply problem or planned to stop manufacturing a drug. But the F.D.A. isn’t able to force manufacturers to produce a drug, and learning about impending shortages with little authority to alleviate them is of limited benefit. Indeed, early warning could exacerbate the problem: the moment oncologists or cancer centers hear there is going to be a shortage of a critical drug, their response could well be to start hoarding.
You don’t have to be a cynical capitalist to see that the long-term solution is to make the production of generic cancer drugs more profitable. Most of Europe, where brand-name drugs are cheaper than in the United States, while generics are slightly more expensive, has no shortage of these cancer drugs.
One solution would be to amend the 2003 act to increase the amount Medicare pays for generic cancer drugs to the average selling price plus, say, 30 percent, after the drugs have been generic for three years. This would encourage the initial rapid price drop that makes generics affordable, but would allow for an increase in price and profits to attract more generic producers and the fixing of any manufacturing problems that subsequently arose.
Increasing the price for generic oncology drugs would have a negligible impact on overall health care costs. Total spending on generic injectable cancer drugs was $400 million last year — just 2 percent of cancer drug costs, and less than 0.5 percent of the total cost of cancer care. If we are worried about costs, we could follow Europe and pay for the higher prices by lowering what Medicare pays for the brand-name drugs that extend life by only a few months.
A more radical approach would be to take Medicare out of the generic cancer drug business entirely. Once a drug becomes generic, Medicare should stop paying, and it should be covered by a private pharmacy plan. That way prices can better reflect the market, and market incentives can work to prevent shortages.
Scare-mongering about death panels and health care reform has diverted attention from real issues in our health care system. Shortages in curative cancer treatments are completely unacceptable. We need to stop the political demagoguery and fix the real rationing problem.
A version of this op-ed appeared in print on August 7, 2011, on page SR1 of the New York edition with the headline: Cancer Drugs, Effective but Scarce.

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MY THOUGHTS-HOW TO END THE GREAT RECESSION

2011-08-06T21:28:00.001-04:00

In recent months the federal, state, county and local governments have been laying off employees, cutting back services. The NYS Legislature has approved a property tax cap which will result in even more layoffs in the coming years.

Every layoff has a ripple effect, creating more unemployment. One approach the federal government should take to address our unemployment problem is to provide assistance to local governments to fix our infrastructure. Century-old water mains at the local level are breaking, underground drainage pipes are collapsing all overthe nation and many of our bridges are structurally unsafe. Local, county and state governments are not allocating adequate resources to correct this national problem. In addition, state, county and local governments are not appropriating the necessary funds needed to repave our pothole and decaying roads, or to maintain older government buildings. When elected officials are given a choice: cutting a popular recreation program or delaying a repair job, what do you think will be cut from the budget? We can get by and delay infrastructure needs temporarily but sooner or later -- our crumbling infrastructure will become a major crisis. Structurally unsafe bridges that collapse and cause injuries or fatalities also result in expensive litigation and damages to governments responsible for the outcome.

I got my start in politics in the 1980s. The commuter trains from Westchester to NYC kept breaking down at the tunnel near Grand Central Station. Commuters were packed like sardines in trains (windows did not even open). Westchester residents could not rely on public transportation. I started a commuter bus system that provided commuters with a choice: bus or rail service. And, also filed numerous small claims actions against the railroad --which helped push our officials to provide funding for new equipment, new commuter trains and better infrastructure. Service dramatically improved and we have a dependable train system. I'm afraid that the budget problems everyone is now experiencing will result in our rail service going backwards-to the days when service was not reliable.

Our Congressional representatives could help create jobs, reduce the unemployment problem and address important infrastructure needs by setting aside significant dollars to local, county and state governments, school districts for our infrastructure. The ripple impact of a national infrastructure-maintenance program would be enormous on job creation. Architects, engineers, secretaries, lawyers, contractors would be hired. This is what is needed during this great recession.

PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor

914 438 1343 or 914 993 1545

town pool to be repaired at cost of $140,000 (approximate)

2011-08-03T23:18:00.000-04:00

During the past few years we have received some warning from Commissioner of Parks Gerry Byrne about the future of the town pool. The pool is aging. And, will need to be replaced sometime in the future. The county Board of Health has strict guidelines for pools. The problem for the town: a new pool will cost millions --could be six or seven million dollars. This is not what taxpayers want to read about during the great recession.
This year we noticed that the fiberglass liner in the main pool has started to crack. I will be proposing to the Town Board, at the recommendation of the Commissioner of Parks, Gerry Byrne, that we remove the existing pool liner and replacing it with a pvc liner. This will be done after the pool closes down in the fall. The estimated cost: about $140,000. We hope that we will get a number of extra years of life out of the pool.
PAUL FEINER

meet frank pescetti, mason who is restoring 911 wall

2011-08-01T10:15:00.001-04:00

Frank Pescetti, a longtime resident of E Irvington, has been in the business of installing tiles, stone and marble for over 25 years. He is working very hard restoring the 9-11 wall – located at the Richard Presser park (Webb Field) on Central Ave. 1711 tiles have been salvaged, repaired, cleaned and reassembled tile by tile by Sarah Bracey White and 41 volunteers who spent hundreds of hours at the task so that the mural can be reinstalled and rededicated on the 10th anniversary of the 911 tragedy. The original curator of the project is artist Ron Mineo. The original tiles were removed –many fell down.

The restoration is very slow due to the heat. If the tiles are adhered to the wall in too high a temperature, they will not stay. Therefore, the slow and steady process will insure a beautiful and permanent job. Frank has been in the business of installing tile, stone and marble for over 25 years as well as kitchen and bath renovations. He is pleased to bring his expertise to the project.

If you are on Central Ave between 8AM and noon stop by and say thank you to Frank for his hard work. You can see the progress close. He’s at the wall almost every day, weather permitting.

JOIN US AT OUR SEPTEMBER 11TH CEREMONY…
The Town of Greenburgh, Rotary Clubs International, ArtsWestchester and Sam’s Clubs request the honor of your presence and participation in a special event, Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 10:00am at Presser Park, Hartsdale honoring the memory of Westchester / Town of Greenburgh residents whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001. The event will also celebrate a national as well as international initiative to save lives of children through Rotary International’s Gift of Life project.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 will mark the tenth year since the attack on the World Trade Towers causing the loss of 3,000 lives, many of whom resided in Westchester County and the Town of Greenburgh. The Town of Greenburgh, in partnership with Rotary International and ArtsWestchester, Inc. generated resources to erect the 9/11 Memorial Wall located on the grounds of Presser Park on Central Avenue, Hartsdale. Two years ago, the Memorial Wall, composed of tiles designed by local school children and residents from throughout the county, began to lose tiles resulting in the need for major repair. Due to a generous donation from Sam’s Club, and the committed, dedicated and tireless efforts of Sarah Bracey White, Arts & Culture Director, Town of Greenburgh, along with a team of volunteers that she coordinated to prepare the tiles for restoration, the 9/11 Memorial Wall is now undergoing reconstruction.

We invite your participation on Sunday, September 11, 2011 and hope that you will be able to join us. If you have questions about the program or thoughts how we can make the 10th anniversary a more meaningful experience, please advise town Clerk Judith Beville by calling her at 993 – 1504 or jbeville@greenburghny.com
PAUL FEINER

updates: popham rd..fisher ave bRIDGE...jACKSON AVE

2011-07-28T23:51:00.001-04:00

jPOPHAM ROAD WILL BE CLOSED FROM FRIDAY NIGHT TO SATURDAY...

Popham Road will be closed to all Traffic from 6pm Friday July 29th until 6am Saturday the 30th. All work is anticipated to be completed on Friday, but additional closures may be required on Saturday night. Please see the attached notification for additional information. Please contact me if you require additional information about these lane closures.

Matthew Lynch
Structural Engineer

THE FISHER AVE BRIDGE (N WHITE PLAINS TRAIN STATION) WILL BE REPLACED. We originally thought that the replacement bridge would be ready by the end of July. Bad news. A delay. Received this e mail from the Commissioner of Public Works.

We have had a few matters along the way that have caused delays, including some coordination among the various suppliers and fabricators assembling the bridge. Our contractor assures all will be ready and completed by the end of THIS September.

Victor G. Carosi, P.E.

Commissioner of Public Works

Town of Greenburgh

JACKSON AVE 9/A INTERSECTION MILLING TO BEGIN AUGUST 2nd

The "Daytime" Milling of the road operation at (Jackson Ave./Rte9A) intersection will begin on 8/2/11. Additionally, the debris on Ravensdale Road will be removed tomorrow.

Thank You,

Marco A. Maiorano, P.E.
Resident Engineer
STV Incorporated

FUN EVENTS FROM: http://www.rivertownsguide.com
- Dobbs Ferry Farmers Market
- Cinderella (Youth Theater)
- Free Friday Nights at HRM
- Jazz & Blues at Dusk: Yerbabuena
- Monuments, Memories and Historical Happenings
- "Barnum on Stage" presented by Broadway Training Center
- Hastings Outdoor Farmers Market
- Fish Tales: Children Discover Nature through Books & Beczak’s Backyard “Would You Rather Be a Pollywog?”
- "Captain Blood"
- "Catch of the Day Seining”
- Live Butterfly Exhibit
- Frogs: A Chorus of Colors
- Greeting from Anywhere Summer Hoedown
- Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra Outdoor Concerts: Musical Journeys
- "Wild Strawberries" Summer Nights with Ingmar Bergman
- Suburbia Roller Derby: Botoxic Avengers versus Indian Point Sirens
- Beacon Flea Market
- Feeding Fun
- Discover Comets! Make a Comet Nucleus!
- "Manon" (Liceu) performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Spain
- Gilbert Gottfried

Weekly Farmers Markets: 2011
Dobbs Ferry: Friday
Hastings: Saturday
Tarrytown: Saturday
Irvington: Wednesday
Hartsdale: Saturday

12th Annual Dobbs Ferry Summer Music Series
Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8pm |
Dobbs Ferry Waterfront. Presented by Jazz Forum Arts.
Rain Location: Embassy Community Center, 60 Palisade Street, Dobbs Ferry.
INFO: 914-631-1000
August 3: Carrie Jackson & Her Trio
August 10: Jo Lawry Group
August 17: John Hart Organ Quartet

Upcoming. . . . .
Sunset Jazz at Lyndhurst Summer Series
Grounds Open at 5pm, Music Starts at 6:30pm
West Lawn, Lyndhurst
Presented by Lyndhurst and Jazz Forum Arts. The concerts are Free and open to the public. Nominal $10 per car parking fee. Walk to the music and get in for free. The property is accessible via the Old Croton Aqueduct and the Hudson RiverWalk trail. Concerts will be held on the West Lawn overlooking the Hudson. In the event of rain, concert will be under the tent in the Carriage House Courtyard. Bring a blanket or low-profile lawn chairs. Enjoy your own picnic or purchase one on site.
August 4 - Ray Mantilla Latin Jazz Group
August 11 - Louis Hayes Quartet
August 18 - Samba New York!
August 25 - Forever Ray: Ray Charles Tribute Group

Sunday, August 7 begins @ 1pm
Dobbs Ferry's 6th Annual Road to Freedom Walk download flyer
Gould Park, Dobbs
Event is free and open to the public. Download flyer for more information. Initiative by The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society and the Village of Dobbs Ferry.

Sunday, August 7 from noon - 6pm
River Day @ Van Cortlandt Manor, 525 South Riverside Avenue, Croton-on-Hudson
Take a boat ride and celebrate our relationship to the river in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Hudson River Ramblers will perform “Once Upon the Hudson,” a musical tour of more than 400 years of river heritage.

Wednesday, August 10 begins @ 6:30pm – arrive early for picnicking
Shades of Jazz | The Sculpture Garden at the Katonah Museum of Art
A solo performance with percussionist Billy Martin. Legendary guitarist John Scofield has tapped three of today’s brightest talents in the bebop and free jazz music communities to join him in celebrating the sixth year of the Katonah Museum of Art’s summer concert series, Shades of Jazz.
OTHER WEBSITES OF INTEREST--

WWW.THEHUDSONINDEPENDENT.COM (serving Tarrytown, Irvington)

RIVERTOWNSPATCH.COM...SCARSDALEPATCH.COM...TARRYTOWNPATCH.COM

WWW.THEDAILYGREENBURGH.COM...WWW.THEDAILYHASTINGS.COM...WWW.THEDAILYDOBBSFERRY.COM

WWW.SCARSDALE10583..COM. WWW.LOHUD.COM...THE SCARSDALE INQUIRER AND ENTERPRISE ALSO HAVE WEBSITES.

Paul Feiner

SHOULD CUMBERLAND FARMS BE ALLOWED TO TAKE OVER BOARDED UP EYESORE--ON OLD ARMY ROAD/CENTRAL AVE?

2011-07-28T11:58:00.003-04:00

One of the biggest eyesores on Central Ave and in the entire town is the Gulf gas station located at the south east corner of the intersection of Central Park Ave with Old Army Road/Underhill Road. The station has been boarded up and reminds me of the Old South Bronx. Empty buildings do not generate the same revenue to the Edgemont school district, town, fire district as revenue producing buildings.

At the Town Board meeting last night the Town Board held a public hearing to consider a special permit application from Cumberland Farms Inc to operate a gas station/convenience store. The service bays will be demolished and a 1,697 square foot convenience store will replace the repair station. In addition Cumberland Farms would remove one existing gas dispenser and the related dispenser island. There would be substantial landscaping improvements on the property. The school distict, fire district, town will generate more tax dollars.

THERE IS A CONTROVERY—Some residents pointed out that under the town code if a gas station on Central Ave is closed for more than six months the station loses their right to operate –since gas stations on Central Ave are a non conforming use. The representatives of Cumberland Farms claim that they never intended to discontinue the use of the property as a gas station. They temporarily closed down the station, they say, because they needed to do some remediation on the property. The intent of the owners of the property was to always continue to have a gas station at this location. The Town Attorney’s office and Building Inspector agree with Cumberland Farms interpretation.

MY THOUGHTS—I am speaking personally. There are a number of vacancies on Central Ave. I believe that if we reject the application the property will likely remain vacant for a while. I do not think this is good for property values in the immediate neighborhood. Would you like to live near a boarded up eyesore? I also think that the town should try generating revenue from this property. If the property is developed the town and Edgemont school district will receive needed tax dollars (substantial cuts in services can be expected in the future due to the tax cap). Another concern of mine: the town is trying to encourage new businesses to open up on Central Ave –to replace the vacant stores. If the town turns down this application –will we be sending the wrong message to the potential new tenants that the town is a difficult place to do business in? Will a rejection of this application hurt our efforts to attract new stores to our business districts? Look at the Dilmaghani property (the abandoned spa on Central Ave—it’s been empty for many years). One of the biggest eyesores on Central Ave and in the entire town is the Gulf gas station located at the south east corner of the intersection of Central Park Ave with Old Army Road/Underhill Road. The station has been boarded up and reminds me of the Old South Bronx. Empty buildings do not generate the same revenue to the Edgemont school district, town, fire district as revenue producing buildings.

At the Town Board meeting last night the Town Board held a public hearing to consider a special permit application from Cumberland Farms Inc to operate a gas station/convenience store. The service bays will be demolished and a 1,697 square foot convenience store will replace the repair station. In addition Cumberland Farms would remove one existing gas dispenser and the related dispenser island. There would be substantial landscaping improvements on the property. The school distict, fire district, town will generate more tax dollars.

THERE IS A CONTROVERY—Some residents pointed out that under the town code if a gas station on Central Ave is closed for more than six months the station loses their right to operate –since gas stations on Central Ave are a non conforming use. The representatives of Cumberland Farms claim that they never intended to discontinue the use of the property as a gas station. They temporarily closed down the station, they say, because they needed to do some remediation on the property. The intent of the owners of the property was to always continue to have a gas station at this location. The Town Attorney’s office and Building Inspector agree with Cumberland Farms interpretation.

MY THOUGHTS—I am speaking personally. There are a number of vacancies on Central Ave. I believe that if we reject the application the property will likely remain vacant for a while. I do not think this is good for property values in the immediate neighborhood. Would you like to live near a boarded up eyesore? I also think that the town should try generating revenue from this property. If the property is developed the town and Edgemont school district will receive needed tax dollars (substantial cuts in services can be expected in the future due to the tax cap). Another concern of mine: the town is trying to encourage new businesses to open up on Central Ave –to replace the vacant stores. If the town turns down this application –will we be sending the wrong message to the potential new tenants that the town is a difficult place to do business in? Will a rejection of this application hurt our efforts to attract new stores to our business districts? Look at the Dilmaghani property (the abandoned spa on Central Ave—it’s been empty for many years).

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
I plan to reach out to the immediate neighborhood --- will speak to some of the neighbors who live near the boarded up gas station. I want to hear what they think. I also want to hear what you think. Your thoughts are welcome and appreciated.
PAUL FEINER

SAME SEX MARRIAGES PERFORMED TODAY...911 MEMORIAL WALL WORK COMMENTARY

2011-07-24T22:22:00.002-04:00

State Supreme Court Justice Mary Smith, Westchester County Judge Barbara Zambelli, Judge James Hubert (a former Greenburgh Town Judge), Greenburgh Town Justice Arlene Gordon-Oliver, Town Clerk Judith Beville & I officiated at a number of same sex marriage ceremonies this afternoon. NYC and a handful of other communities around the state held ceremonies on Sunday- the first legal day to perform same sex weddings. We were the only town in the Hudson Valley to provide this service on Sunday --no overtime was used. Town Attorney Tim Lewis also helped with some legal questions that came up. It was a great feeling seeing so many smiling faces on this historic day for equal rights.

Frank Pescetti is the mason who is re-tiling the 9/11 memorial wall at Richard Presser Park (Webb Field). He wrote to me today with an update re:the progress of re-tiling the 9/11 Monument wall. The restoration was delayed last week because the weather has been too hot for installation of tile outside. Mr. Pescetti indicated that work will resume the first week of August, weather permitted.

COMMENTARY BY JANET LANGSAM- CEO OF ArtsWestchester.....HISTORY OF 911 WALL

What’s in a number? Sometimes it tells a story. 1800 is the number of tiles in the original 9/11 People’s Memorial Wall constructed in 2001 on Central Avenue in Richard Presser Park in Greenburgh. 1711 is the number of tiles salvaged, repaired, cleaned and reassembled tile by tile by Sarah Bracey White and 41 volunteers who spent hundreds of hours at the task so that the mural can be reinstalled and rededicated on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. Herself, White has spent 105 hours. The original mural was a project of Westchester Arts Council (now ArtsWestchester) in which arts workshops were held throughout the county, encouraging both young and old to express their feelings on the design of a tile. After all, the arts can be a comfort in troubled times.

2500 tiles were decorated and curated by roster artist Ron Mineo into a ceramic “quilt.” When town and village officials were asked to provide a home for the mural, Supervisor Paul Feiner was the first to raise his hand. The wall was constructed; the tiles were installed; Rotary International’s Lou Del Rosario commissioned an artist to create a mural for the other side of the wall; Congresswoman Nita Lowey secured funds for landscaping; Parks Commissioner Gerry Byrne and his staff nurtured the project; and Rotary’s David White came from Bermuda to unveil it. Then the tiles began to fall, many breaking. To prevent further deterioration, the tiles were removed and Feiner, with Town Clerk Judy Beville, began to seek a way to restore the artwork. With funding not readily available, Sarah Bracey White was asked to organize a cadre of volunteers recruited by Feiner to put the puzzle back together. “Paul makes people feel like they matter,” says Sarah. Four crates of broken tiles seemed unsalvageable. But the group was undaunted, taking the broken pieces home to repair with epoxy.

Says Sarah: “The project began to take on mythic proportions. We knew we couldn’t put the World Trade Center back together, but we could rebuild the People’s 9/11 mural.” Tile by tile, the pieces were laid out on an 80-foot tennis court in Anthony Veteran Park and numbered for the reinstallation, which was assisted a contribution from Sam’s Club to pay a mason who, as we speak, is now “buttering” the tiles with cement.

Some folks say that you have to know where you came from to know who you are. Sarah Bracey White came from the segregated South where Jim Crow laws ruled the lives of her community. She was determined to find her own voice, make her own way and leave her mark in the community. She has done that for 18 years as Executive Director of Arts and Culture for the Town of Greenburgh. And now, there is a mural that tells the story of what Sarah Bracey White means to Greenburgh and to the arts.

If you were one of the tile artists, please share the thoughts behind your design on www.thisandthatbyjl.com.

Read about the tile project on LoHud.com.

PAUL FEINER

DOBBS FERRY/GREENBURGH SHARE RESOURCES TO SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY

2011-07-20T09:45:00.001-04:00

Village of Dobbs Ferry announces new Inter-Municipal Agreement with the Town of Greenburgh
TAXPAYERS IN DOBBS FERRY AND GREENBURGH TO SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
Effective September 1, 2011, the Town of Greenburgh and the Village of Dobbs Ferry, one of the six villages in the town, will implement a collaborative agreement to reduce the cost of assessment services by eliminating duplicative requirements. Currently, the Town Assessor assesses property in the entire town, including properties in the six villages, to set the assessment for county, town and school tax purposes, as required by New York State law. The Village, having its own assessment roll, has in the past retained its own Assessor to set the assessment for the Village’s tax purposes. The collaborative agreement, called an Inter-Municipal Agreement (“IMA”), between the town and village was initiated in an effort to significantly reduce the cost of assessment services for property owners in Dobbs Ferry, while ensuring all costs associated with implementing the agreement are covered. The IMA will also eliminate the confusion to property owners in Dobbs Ferry with regard to having two assessor’s doing essentially the same function.
Since the town is not charged by New York State law to perform assessments for a village’s separate roll, Town of Greenburgh and Village of Dobbs Ferry officials have authorized the IMA in order to effectuate this new procedure. The Village will pay to the town the sum of $10,000 annually, which will cover implementation costs associated with this agreement. as a The IMA is expected to reduce the cost of Dobbs Ferry’s assessment services by approximately $20,000 per annum.
Speaking on behalf of the Village, Mayor Hartley Connett commented “Dobbs Ferry is grateful for the support of the Town Supervisor and the entire Town Board for supporting this shared service initiative. This collaboration will save tax dollars for Dobbs Ferry residents and improve the overall efficiency of the tax assessment process."
The Village of Dobbs Ferry plans to continue to work with the other Villages and the Town of Greenburgh to find shared service opportunities that benefit taxpayers.
It’s my hope that this agreement will lead to more cost sharing initiatives between the town of Greenburgh and the villages. We need to reduce costs, share administrative responsibilities. This agreement is a positive initiative to make government more efficient.
PAUL FEINER, Greenburgh Town Supervisor

marriage ceremonies on july 24th...should schools share superintendents?

2011-07-14T19:39:00.000-04:00

NYS SUPREME COURT JUDGE TO PROVIDE WAIVERS OF 24 HOUR WAIT FOR MARRIAGE CEREMONIES ON SUNDAY, JULY 24TH

Greenburgh Town Clerk Judith Beville sent me the following memo following up on her decision to open Town Hall on Sunday July 24th from 12-2 PM. This is the first day that same sex couples can be married in NYS. The office will also process marriage licenses from heterosexual couples who want to get married on July 24th.

I have just been informed by the Supreme Court Chambers in White Plains that a judge will be available at Greenburgh Town Hall to review marriage applications filed on Sunday, July 24, 2011 and, provided the information on the application meets the approval of the Supreme Court Judge, a waiver of the 24 hour wait period for marriage ceremonies will be granted allowing for those couples who desire to marry on July 24th to do so. Couples choosing this option must call or e-mail me, Judith A. Beville, Greenburgh Town Clerk, to make arrangements for their ceremony. My office phone number is (914) 993-1504 and my email is jbeville@greenburghny.com.

Thank you,

Judith Beville, Town Clerk

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT--- SHOULD SCHOOLS SHARE SUPERINTENDENTS WHEN A SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT RETIRES? The Superintendent of Schools at Central 7 (RON SMALLS) has announced his retirement -effective the end of the year. Superintendents earn over $200,000 a year with benefits. Instead of hiring an interim School Superintendent for a year-- I think the school district should consider approaching a neighbor and invite them to share a Superintendent. This could be tried for one year. The school district saves significant money. There would more sharing of administrative responsibilities. I'm not advocating consolidation of school districts--only sharing of one administrative position. If this works it could be a model for the rest of the region. We need to figure out ways to cut costs. School districts are facing significant additional stresses--thanks to the new property tax cap approved by the Governor and State Legislature. It's easier to share services when there is a retirement--once someone is appointed to a job it's harder to eliminate a position. WHAT DO YOU THINK???
PAUL FEINER

TOWN BOARD MEETING ARCHIVES MORE TRANSPARENT THAN EVER

2011-07-13T13:28:00.001-04:00

TOWN BOARD MEETING ARCHIVES--MORE TRANSPARENT THAN EVER!
At yesterdays Town Board work session Town Clerk Judith Beville, our records access officer, introduced the Town Board to our new partner in streaming meetings of the Greenburgh Town Board, SWAGIT PRODUCTIONS. We just launched a revamping of the archives portion of the Town Board meeting which will make town government more transparent than it ever has been. Please check the town website: www.greenburghny.com (Town Board archives—listed on the left side of our website). Some new features of the website include the following:
• You don’t have to watch our entire Town Board meetings to find a topic that was discussed. The meeting is broken down into different categories: presentations, public hearings, public comments and votes. By indexing your topic you can now directly access the portion of the meeting that you would like to view.

• You can also click on to the agenda of the Board meeting you're watching. If you'd like to share portions of the video with your friends or neighbors you can share the portion of the video (a feature we never had before). The result: Many more people will have access to relevant topics that are discussed and may interest their neighborhood. If there is a hearing on a neighborhood issue, civic leaders and members of the community could e mail their neighbors that portion of the meeting.
I would like to thank George Malone, our cable TV coordinator for recommending Swagit to Judith Beville, who coordinated the implementation of this new initiative. A special thanks to Councilman Francis Sheehan for reviewing the contract and to Thomas Madden, Commissioner of Planning and to Joe Lucasey, our webmaster for their efforts.
This is a very exciting new open government initiative. This is democracy and transparency at it’s best.
PAUL FEINER

VETERANS APPRECIATION BARBEQUE SLATED FOR JULY 21...ARDSLEY'S SUNNYDALE TO CLOSE

2011-07-10T22:58:00.000-04:00

Appreciation barbeque. The free event, open to all veterans and their families, will be held at AF Veteran town park, off of Heatherdell Road beginning at 6 PM and concluding by 9 PM. All the food is being donated. Our donors include, as of tonight,:
1. $1000 from Community Mutual Savings Bank
2. Food for 300 ( or more, dependant on final head count) from Shop Rite
3. Tray of Brownies and Cookies from Carmine's Deli & Cafe
4. 2 or more trays of ribs from Harry's of Hartsdale
5. Potato Salad and Macaroni Salad from Wedged in Deli
6. Spinach Pie with Greek Salad from Eldorado Diner
If you would are a veteran and would like to attend the barbeque at AF Veteran park on July 21st please e mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com.

Sad news... Two of the most popular businesses in downtown Ardsley are set to close: Sunnydale and the Village Cafe. Jogi Singh and Nirmal Singh, the owners, have been terrific assets to our community. They work hard, are well liked, the quality of their food was always excellent and they care about the community. Ardsley won't be the same without them.
The following article is from RIVERTOWNS PATCH.
Paul Feiner
Ardsley's Sunnydale, Village Cafe to Close
After 39 years, two Rivertowns staples will close this month.

By Lizzie Hedrick | Email the author | July 8, 2011

After 39 years in business, Rivertowns staple Sunnydale Farms Food Store and the Village Cafe next door will close this month.
Owners Jogi Singh and Nirmal Singh are heartbroken about the decision.

"I moved into the community when I was 19 and a half," said Jogi Singh, who is originally from New Delhi, India. "The community welcomed me."

Throughout his career here, Singh first opened the small grocery store, next the luncheonette and later the gas station across the street—which he has since sold.

"I got married here, raised my children here, went to NYU," Jogi Singh said. Both business partners' two children went to the Ardsley schools.

The men expect to close the adjacent shops later this month.

"I don't know where I'm going after," Jogi Singh said. "When God closes one door, maybe he'll open two more."

NYS should eliminate arbitration panels that force salary increases on local governments

2011-07-06T23:28:00.000-04:00

NEW YORK STATE FORCING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO PAY BIG SALARY INCREASES FOR SOME LOCAL EMPLOYEES
GREENBURGH TOWN SUPERVISOR PAUL FEINER ASKING GOVERNOR, NY STATE LEGISLATORS TO ELIMINATE ARBITRATION PANELS
CLARKSTOWN WAS JUST ORDERED BY NYS ARBITRATORS TO HIKE SALARIES BY 3.4%

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner has written to the Governor and members of the NYS Legislature (as well as local Mayors/Town Supervisors) asking that arbitration panels be eliminated.

It would be easier for local governments to implement the property cap approved by the Governor and NYS Legislature if our state lawmakers eliminate police/firefighter arbitration panels. Just this week, as an example, a NYS arbitration panel awarded the police in the town of Clarkstown a 3.4%retroactive increase for 2008 and 2010. The town wanted to impose a zero percent increase. These panels of unelected arbitrators set salaries for police/firefighters and have the power to impose excessive salary hikes on local governments around the state. In years past the salary hikes imposed by arbitration panels for police and firefighters exceeded inflation.

Elected officials are being asked to control property tax hikes. We're being told that we can't raise taxes over a certain amount. Yet, we currently have no control over the salaries of a large number of our employees - public safety employees. New York State should provide local officials with the ability to control all salaries under our jurisdiction. The buck should stop with elected officials who approve budgets, not with unelected arbitrators.

Arbitration panels were created in New York as part of the Taylor Law in the 1960s with the objective of creating harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees. The law is outdated and should be repealed.

Sincerely,

Paul J. Feiner

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

Copy of article in lohud.com

Clarkstown police awarded 3.4 percent raises for 2 years

11:39 PM, Jul. 5, 2011 |

A state arbitration panel awarded the Clarkstown police union a retroactive 3.4 percent salary increase for 2009 and 2010 even as it conceded that the police officers were among the highest paid in the nation.

The award came over the objections of the Town of Clarkstown, which wanted a salary freeze for the two years. The Clarkstown Police Benevolent Association asked for a 5.5 percent increase for the period.

"It wasn't what we would have written," Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack said. "We were hoping for a lower number."

FIRST LADY OF FLUTE TO INAUGURATE FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES THIS THURSDAY EVENING AT YOSEMITE PARK, OFF OF 119 7 PM CONCERT---
This Thursday --and every Thursday in July up till August 11 --you can enjoy outstanding jazz for free ---at Yosemite Park, in back of the Theodore Young Community Center (Manhattan Ave). The free outdoor concerts begin at 7 PM. The first lady of Flute Bobbi Humphrey will inaugurate the series on July 7.

CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL SPONSORING PROGRAM ON JULY 14TH

JULY 14th - Beth Evans, Principal and Senior Ecologist, Evans Environmental Consulting, will be discussing "Science and How It Is Utilized in Mitigation Planning".
This event will be held at the Greenburgh Nature Center, 99 Dromore Road (off Central Avenue), Scarsdale, NY, commencing at 7pm, as the first part of that evening's CAC meeting. THE PUBLIC IS WELCOME.

PAUL FEINER

FREE CONCERTS TO BE PAID FOR WITH RECYCLING BIN RENTAL FEES

2011-07-05T23:47:00.000-04:00

FIRST LADY OF FLUTE TO INAUGURATE FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES THIS THURSDAY EVENING AT YOSEMITE PARK, OFF OF 119 7 PM CONCERT---This Thursday --and every Thursday in July up till August 11 --you can enjoy outstanding jazz for free ---at Yosemite Park, in back of the Theodore Young Community Center (Manhattan Ave). The free outdoor concerts begin at 7 PM. The first lady of Flute Bobbi Humphrey will inaugurate the series on July 7. July 14th: Jazz elite @ TDYCC. July 21: Kenny Lee AllStars. July 28: Ragan Whiteside; August 4th Wall ALL and his band. Special guest Porter Carroll. August 11th—Pianist Bob Baldwin & Friends. The concerts begin at 7 PM sharp in back of the Theodore Young Community Center- 32 Manhattan Ave.

AN OUT OF THE BOX (OR IN THE BOX) WAY TO FUND CONCERT SERIES The Town Board approved a resolution authorizing me to enter into an agreement with USAGAIN (use it again) to provide recycling bins for clothing and shoes at town facilities. The town will receive $75 per bin per month. An option for the town: being paid $0.05 per pound of clothes fee per month which could be implemented from time to time if deemed appropriate by the Town. The funds received will be used to offset the costs of the concert series--which attract well over 500 people on Thursday evenings for 6 weeks during the summer.

FRIENDS OF LIBRARY ACCEPTING BOOK, CD AND DVD DONATIONS
The Friends of the Greenburgh Library is now accepting donations of books, CDs, and DVDs in good condition for the annual book sale in September. All hardcover fiction must have a dust cover. We are NOT accepting: encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines, condensed books like Reader's Digest, and no VHS tapes or audio cassette tapes. Paul Feiner

BURGLAR CAUGHT IN EDGEMONT

2011-07-02T13:21:00.001-04:00

INCIDENT: Home Burglary Arrest

As a result of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Greenburgh Police Detective Division, Alecxandro Luciano (also known as Kyle Tighe) age 39 of 1880 185th Street the Bronx, was arrested for a home burglary that was committed on March 11th of this year on Fort Hill Road in the Edgemont Section of Greenburgh.

Luciano was charged with Burglary in the Second Degree, a class C Felony, arraigned before Judge Gordon Oliver and remanded to the Westchester County Jail.

Det. Sgt. Frank Pumillo

internal controls at town gas pumps

2011-07-01T22:55:00.001-04:00

Members of the Citizens Budget Commission are reviewing internal controls and all aspects of the town budget. I received the following response to an inquiry about controls re: gas pumps at the highway garage: We all have had a computer assisted gas system for probably 15 years in which the town vehicle has a computer chip in the fuel tank that registers the vehicle being gassed up and the employee must enter his employee number to activate the pump.. This is accomplished with the hook up of the gas filling hose that registers the vehicle’s computer chip so only town vehicles can use town gas pumps so the ability to fill your own car or steal gas is not possible unless there is an over ride of the system but then this is a documented event. Bottom line gas usage is very accountable in this town.
Joseph J. DeCarlo

Chief of Police

Town of Greenburgh

INSTEAD OF CLOSING SPRAIN RIDGE POOL ON JACKSON, SHOULD THE COUNTY HAVE RENTED OUT THE POOL DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, GENERATING REVENUE FOR COUNTY?

I sent the following letter to the County Executive and some Legislators:

There is a big sign in front of Sprain Ridge Park (off of Jackson Ave—on the Greenburgh/Yonkers border) announcing that the pool is closed during the summer of 2011. A major county asset (the pool) is not being used in 2011—disappointing many children and families.

A suggestion: If the county doesn’t have the funds to keep the pool open during the season they should consider renting the pool to a swim team, camp, private business, non profit organization or another entity. If this would be done the county would generate some additional revenue for the county government and they would also be providing children with a nice pool to enjoy—at no cost to the taxpayers. It’s a crime to close down a county pool for an entire season.

PAUL FEINER

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

914 993 1545 or 438 1343

FUN ACTIVITIES:
http://www.rivertownsguide.com/
Entergy Sponsors Popular Hudson River Museum FREE Friday Nights
The Hudson River Museum’s popular Free Friday Nights admission program will be back in place from July 1 through Labor Weekend, September 2. A grant from Entergy is making the restoration of the program possible. From 5 pm until closing at 8 pm, the public can visit the Museum’s galleries; special exhibitions; Glenview, its historic Hudson River home; and, attend a planetarium show.

Stormville Airport Antique Show & Flea Market
Saturday, July 2 and Sunday, July 3 form 8am - 5pm (rain or shine)
Stormville Airport, 428 Route 216, Stormville

American Roots Music Festival
July 2 at Caramoor in Katonah. Music, food and family activities. It's outdoors and all day with music from 12:30pm-8:30pm. Performers cover the range of bluegrass, folk, gospel, country, blues, string band. Local organizations that are partnering with us to support the festival are: Take Me To The RIver Festival/12milesnorth, Common Ground Community Concerts, River Spirit Music, Tribes Hill, Urban H2O/Beczak, Walkabout Clearwater Coffeehouse. Tickets and more info can be found at http://www.caramoor.org/festival/americanroots

Weekend Quick Takes….
Links and info here http://www.rivertownsguide.com
- Dobbs Ferry Farmers Market
- Jehan Clements: Storytelling for Children
- Free Friday Nights Return at HRM
- "The Sounds of Peace"
- Hamlet
- Fireworks: in and around the Rivertowns
- 12th Annual Dutchess County Hot Air Balloon Festival
- Stormville Airport Antique Show & Flea Market
- Hastings Outdoor Farmers Market
- Live Butterfly Exhibit
- Grace Community Table
- American Roots Music Festival
- Frogs: A Chorus of Colors
- Pirates of the Hudson: The Siege of Sleepy Hollow
- Beacon Flea Market
- 4th of July Antiques & Farmers Holiday Market
- New York Botanical Gardens
- Independence Day 1801
- Independence Day 1851

Weekly Farmers Markets: 2011
Dobbs Ferry: Friday
Hastings: Saturday
Tarrytown: Saturday
Irvington: Wednesday
Hartsdale: Saturday

Next Weekend: Friday, July 8
Hastings Friday Night Live: Midsummer Magic
Friday, July 8 begins from 6pm – 9pm
Boulanger Plaza and Main Street, Hastings.
Vinny DePonto and Mika Allan, guest producers. Visit the website for all of the details. http://www.rivertownsguide.com/fnl.php

Other interesting websites:
thehudsonindependent.com
scarsdale10583.com
Rivertownspatch (or tarrytownpatch.com)
thedailygreenburgh.com...thedailytarrytown.com...thedailyhastings.com...

county should rent out closed sprain ridge pool

2011-07-01T12:28:00.000-04:00

There is a big sign in front of Sprain Ridge Park (off of Jackson Ave—on the Greenburgh/Yonkers border) announcing that the pool is closed during the summer of 2011. A major county asset (the pool) is not being used in 2011—disappointing many children and families.
A suggestion: If the county doesn’t have the funds to keep the pool open during the season they should consider renting the pool to a swim team, camp, private business, non profit organization or another entity. If this would be done the county would generate some additional revenue for the county government and they would also be providing children with a nice pool to enjoy—at no cost to the taxpayers. It’s a crime to close down a county pool for an entire season.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
914 993 1545 or 438 1343

one of most powerful women at UNITED NATIONS to be my WVOX guest

2011-06-30T23:39:00.000-04:00

Judy Cheng-Hopkins, a resident of Hartsdale, will be my guest on my WVOX radio program (1460 AM--www.wvox.com) on Friday, July 1 from 10-11 AM. She was recently named one of the 10 most powerful women at the United Nations by Forbes.
Appointed in August 2009, Cheng-Hopkins is the Assistant-Secretary-General for Peace-Building Support.

Formerly a Director of the World Food Programme, she now helps lead the UN’s Peace-Building Support Office, which coordinates all of the other UN agencies in their peace-building efforts in conflict and post-conflict situations, ranging from Afghanistan to Uganda to Sudan.
She is a member of the UN Sec. General's cabinet and heads an important UN agency and, also, periodically lectures at Columbia University. Also, Judy is a graduate of Scarsdale High Sch. where she was inducted into their "Hall of Fame" three years ago. In 2007 while she was the Asst. High Commissioner of Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland I interviewed her over the telephone on my radio show. PAUL FEINER

report on greenburgh energy use

2011-06-27T09:17:00.001-04:00

Seth Segall of our energy task force and Allegra Dengler, Energy Conservation Coordinator, will provide the Town Board with a report on energy consumption at the Tuesday morning Town Board work session --at 10 AM. This is a summary of their findings. The report provides the community with a good baseline to measure future progress and to understand what needs to be done. The discussion will take place at 10 AM. We need to accomplish our energy conservation, cost savings and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
PAUL FEINER

Energy Consumption by Town of Greenburgh Municipal Operations 2008-2010
1) Electricity Consumption
From 2008 to 2010 the total number of kilowatt hours consumed by the Town of
Greenburgh for facilities increased from 7,882,038 KWH to 11,870,332 KWH, an
increase of 51%. This increase is mostly accounted for by the new Library which was
not in full use until 2009, and the Knollwood Road Pump Station, the Townʼs largest
electricity consumer, which was incorrectly billed for 2008 and 20091. If we exclude the
Library and Knollwood Pump Station, Town KWH consumption declined 2% from 2008
to 2010 (from 7,765,275 KWH to 7,645,876 KWH) despite 2010 having 27% more
cooling degree days than 2008 which increased summer air conditioning demand. This
shows the Town is having some small success in holding down electricity consumption
(See Figure 1).
While most Town facilities show only minor fluctuations (3% or less) in KWH
consumption from year to year, several facilities succeeded in making notable
reductions. Most of these were Park and Recreation Department operated facilities:
Anthony F. Veteran Park lowered consumption by 13%, Travis Hill Park by 24%,
Yosemite Park by 20%, Rumbrook Park by 37%, and the Greenburgh Nature Center by
14%. In addition, the new Library decreased consumption by 13% from 2009 to 2010.
On the other hand, two facilities significantly increased their electric consumption from
2008-2010: The Justice Court increased consumption by 7%, and Town Hall by 6%.2
Total Town electrical costs rose by $352,157 (a 24% increase) from $1,468,773 in 2008
to $1,820,930 in 2010, reflecting NYPAʼs increased price per kilowatt hour and the
increased costs of the new library (+$54,596) and the change in cost for the Knollwood
pumps (+$179,965).
2) Natural Gas Consumption
From 2008 to 2010 the Town decreased its therm consumption by 6% from 210,044
Therms to 197,835 therms, while heating degree days declined by 4% over the same
time period. In 2009 when heating degree days increased by 5%, therm consumption
increased by 1%. The small consumption increase during a colder winter, and the
1 See Appendix 1
2 Town Hall increased consumption in the winter, spring and summer of 2010 compared
with 2008 (but decreased comparative consumption in the fall). Peak Town Hall
consumption in 2010 was in July and August. The Justice Court showed increased
usage for 8 of the 12 months of 2010. Justice Court usage peaks were in January-
February and July-September.
larger decrease during a warmer winter suggests the town has had some success in
reducing heating energy costs. (See Figure 2).
The largest decreases in therm consumption from 2008-2010 were by the Theodore D.
Young Community Center (-20%) the DPW Garages (-9%), Anthony F. Veteran Park
(-8%), the Ridge Road Barn (-11%). Itʼs interesting to note that two of the four biggest
reducers were again Parks and Recreation facilities.
Not all Town facilities decreased their therm use, however. Town Hall increased therm
consumption by +10% despite the warmer 2010 winter (and by +13% during the colder
2009 winter.) The Knollwood Road Facilities decreased therms (-24%) during the
colder 2009 winter and increased therms (+8%) during the warmer 2010 winter, the only
facility showing a counter-intuitive consumption swing.
The total cost for natural gas for the Town for 2008-2010 deceased 48% from $287,083
to $150,598. This reflects both the 6% reduction in consumption and the decreased
price of natural gas from 2008-2010. (New York state commercial prices for natural gas
fell from a high of $15.22 dollars per thousand cubic feet in July, 2008 to a low of $8.82
per thousand cubic feet in August, 2010.)
3) Gasoline and Diesel Fuel
The Town has had modest success in reducing vehicle fleet energy consumption by
2.5% over the past two years. The vehicle fleet reduced overall gasoline and diesel fuel
consumption from 302,500 gallons (2008) to 300,981 gallons (2009), to 294,788 (2010).
(See Figure 3) The price of vehicle fuels was $886,126 in 2008, $537,515 in 2009 and
$659,342 in 2010, reflecting both reduced consumption and fluctuating prices per
gallon.
4) Greenhouse Gas Emissions
These energy consumption reductions are equivalent to an estimated reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions of 757 metric tons of CO2e, a 2% reduction in CO2e
compared with 2008.
5) Conclusions
The good news is that in 2010 the unincorporated Town of Greenburgh decreased
electricity consumption by 2% (if one excludes the Library and Knollwood Pumps),
natural gas consumption by 6%, gasoline/diesel fuel consumption by 2.5%, and
greenhouse gas emissions by 2% from 2008 baseline levels. These decreases are
moves in the right direction in terms of energy conservation, reduced taxpayer costs,
and greenhouse gas emissions. The bad news is that these reductions are insufficient
to meet proposed greenhouse gas reduction targets of 15% by 2015 and 20% by 2020.
A comprehensive Climate Action Plan will be needed to accomplish those goals.
Figure 1
Electricity Consumption (Kilowatt Hours)
* Revised Total = Total Consumption - (Library + Knollwood Pump Station)
Total Revised Total*
6000000
7200000
8400000
9600000
10800000
12000000
2008 2009 2010
Figure 2
Natural Gas Consumption (Therms)
Note: 2009 had 5% more heating degree days than 2008. 2010 had 4% fewer heating
degree days than 2008.
Consumption
190000
197500
205000
212500
220000
2008 2009 2010
Figure 3
Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Usage (Gallons)
Consumption
294000
296250
298500
300750
303000
2008 2009 2010
Energy Costs (Dollars)
Appendix 1
Electricity Gasoline Natural Gas Total
0
750000
1500000
2250000
3000000
2008 2009 2010
Knollwood Road Electrical Consumption 2008-2010 (Metered Kilowatt Hours)
The Water Departmentʼs Knollwood Road facility is the Townʼs single largest consumer
of electricity, but itʼs impossible to make annual comparisons of consumption due to
erratic NYPA metering (see below).
2008 2009 2010
January 104,800 2,400 253,600
February 274,400 2,400 1,600
March 292,800 2,400 2,400
April 252,000 2,400 2,400
May 297,600 2,400 1,600
June -1,103,200 264,800 1,202,400
July 3,200 283,200 401,600
August 4,000 271,200 367,200
September 3,200 319,200 368,000
October 3,200 268,200 284,000
November 2,400 240,800 212,000
December 2,400 245,600 259,200
Total 136,800 1,904,800 3,356,000

GREENBURGH WELCOMES ACORDA THERAPEUTICS TO TOWN---MOST RECENT BIO TECH COMPANY TO LOCATE HERE

2011-06-26T23:03:00.001-04:00

GREENBURGH TO BE NEW HOME FOR ACORDA THERAPEUTICS---ONE OF THE BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR IN NYS...
TOWN WANTS TO BECOME BIO TECH CAPITAL OF HUDSON VALLEY
Acorda Therapeutics Inc will announce officially on Monday they will lease significant space in the Ardsley Park buildings, located just south of the village of Ardsley. Acorda Therapeutics will join Seimans, Beyer, Epicept, Profectus Biosciences, Progenetics Pharmeceuticles, PsychoGenics, Regeneron Pharmaceuticles, Apex Laboratory,Additives Division, Standards Research Services I International, CCS Research Inc & Biomed Pharmaceuticals and other companies that have chosen to locate in Greenburgh!

Greenburgh wants to become the bio tech capital of the Hudson Valley. We will continue to encourage more bio tech companies to locate in our town.

This company develops and markets drugs that improve neurological functions in persons with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and nervous system disorders. The company has marketed two products --Ampyra extended release tablets to improve walking in MS patients and Zanaflex capsules, a short acting drug to manage spasticity.

ACORDA--ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO WORK FOR IN NEW YORK STATE-check www.acorda.com.

Acorda was a multiple award winner at the 2011 9th Annual American Business Awards (ABA). Acorda CEO Ron Cohen received a Stevie Award as Executive of the Year in the Health Products & Services category, and the Company’s website, www.acorda.com, received the Stevie for best pharmaceutical website/blog. The Stevie Awards were created by the ABA to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and business people worldwide.

Acorda was ranked 3rd among all large employers in the 2011 “Best Places to Work in New York” survey, and was the only biotechnology/pharmaceutical company to be included among the best 50 employers statewide. The rankings were based on feedback from employees about workplace culture, benefits, overall job satisfaction and other criteria. The program is a partnership between the New York State Society for Human Resource Management, the Business Council of New York and Best Companies Group, an independent company that manages Best Places to Work programs on state, regional and national levels.

Acorda was ranked 5th among small life sciences companies, and 5th overall among both large and small companies, in the “Best Places to Work in Industry 2011” survey conducted by The Scientist. The Scientist bases its rankings primarily on an online survey of employees in research, development and other science-related fields. Employees are asked to rate their workplace in categories such as research environment, integrity, training and development, and overall job satisfaction.

Acorda was named to the 2010 Forbes Most Trustworthy Companies list. Forbes and Audit Integrity, an independent financial analytics company, rank firms with the most transparent accounting and prudent management. Fewer than 5% of public companies make the list.

Acorda was included in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, an annual ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America. Award winners were selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2005 to 2009.

Acorda’s recently redesigned corporate website, www.acorda.com, was launched in August 2010. The site received the Interactive Media Award (IMA) for Outstanding Achievement. IMA evaluates websites based on five criteria: design, content, feature functionality, usability and standards compliance

We're excited to welcome Acorda to Greenburgh.
PAUL FEINER

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

BIOMED NEW OWNERS OF OSI PROPERTY--MORE BIO TECH COMPANIES COMING TO TOWN...

2011-06-23T22:29:00.000-04:00

BioMed Realty Trust, which owns the Landmark at Eastview (ALSO IN GREENBURGH) closed on the the OSI vacant property on Old Saw Mill River Road on Thursday. They now own the property. 400,000 square feet of lab's and office space will now be part of BioMed.
About 400,000 square feet of laboratory and office space will now be part of BioMed.

This is fantastic economic development news for the town! More high quality bio tech companies....more jobs...great for property values...and good for the local merchants in Ardsley and surrounding business districts. In these difficult economic times it is encouraging to live in a community that continues to be a sought after community to live in and work at.

It is expected that Acorda Therapeutics Inc will lease significant space in the Ardsley Park buildings. This company develops and markets drugs that improve neurological functions in persons with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and nervous system disorders. The company has marketed two products --Ampyra extended release tablets to improve walking in MS patients and Zanaflex capsules, a short acting drug to manage spasticity.
PAUL FEINER

OUR NEXT CONCERT AT THE HARTSDALE FARMER'S MARKET --THIS SATURDAY AT 10 AM, E HARTSDALE AVE
BILL GALANIN, A GUITARIST WILL PERFORM. If you are a musician, have a band and would like to provide the community with entertainment at our farmer's market on Saturday mornings during the summer months - please contact Town Clerk Judith Beville at 993 1504 or e mail her at jbeville@greenburghny.com. Musicians donate their time/talents to the town but will be acknowledged at a Town Board meeting in the fall.

FUN THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND...VISIT http://www.rivertownsguide.com
- Dobbs Ferry Farmers Market
- Frogs: A Chorus of Colors
- Live Butterfly Exhibit
- Around the World in 80 Days- Westchester County Nights at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
- Rita Rudner
- Hastings Outdoor Farmers Market
- "Nature through the Lens"
- The Picture House presents Family Flicks GHOSTBUSTERS
- Opening Night: H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan
- The Barj Project
- Beacon Flea Market
- Bicycle Sundays
- Cultural Heritage Celebration: African American
- Science Sundays : Tour Our Galaxy
- "Macbeth" - From the Royal Opera House, London, England
- Power Trio! Adam Nusbaum Quartet

Weekly Farmers Markets: 2011
Dobbs Ferry: Fridays
Hastings: Saturday
Tarrytown: Saturdays
Irvington: Wednesdays
Hartsdale: Saturday's

12th Annual Dobbs Ferry Summer Music Series
Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8pm |
Dobbs Ferry Waterfront. Presented by Jazz Forum Arts.
Rain Location: Embassy Community Center, 60 Palisade Street, Dobbs Ferry.
INFO: 914-631-1000
June 29: Nanny Assis Group feat Danise Reis–Brazilian Music
July 6: Mark Rapp “The Song Project”
July 13: Jason Miles Group
July 20: Freddie Bryant Quartet
July 27: 3D Ritmo de Vida
August 3: Carrie Jackson & Her Trio
August 10: Jo Lawry Group
August 17: John Hart Organ Quartet

Coming…..
American Roots Music Festival
July 2 at Caramoor in Katonah. Music, food and family activities. It's outdoors and all day with music from 12:30pm-8:30pm. Performers cover the range of bluegrass, folk, gospel, country, blues, string band. Local organizations that are partnering with us to support the festival are: Take Me To The RIver Festival/12milesnorth, Common Ground Community Concerts, River Spirit Music, Tribes Hill, Urban H2O/Beczak, Walkabout Clearwater Coffeehouse. Tickets and more info can be found at http://www.caramoor.org/festival/americanroots

Sixth Annual Hastings-on-Hudson Village-Wide Tag Sale
throughout Hastings Saturday, July 9 from 10am - 4pm
The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson Parks and Recreation Department is now accepting applications for the sixth annual village-wide tag sale! Now is the perfect opportunity to reorganize storage space and sell what you may not need; remember your trash could be another’s treasure! If you are interested in hosting a tag sale at your residence, please contact Bryan Healy at bhealy@hastingsgov.org or 478-2380, ext. 600.

From thehudsonindependent.com website
Saturday 25
Writer’s Bootcamp: How to Get a Literary Agent: From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Hudson Valley Writers’ Center in Sleepy Hollow. Call 332-5953 or visit www.writerscenter.org.

Butterflies of Teatown: At 10 a.m. explore the fields and forests in search of butterflies at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining. Call 762-2912, ext. 110 or visit www.teatown.org.

Lenape Life: At 1 p.m. experience life of the indigenous people 400 year ago at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining. Meet at Cliffdale Farm. Call 762-2912, ext. 110 or visit www.teatown.org.

Music: Josh Keller’s 1930s Review is at the Black Cat Café in Irvington from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Call 231-9060 or visit www.blackcatchef.com.

Let’s Hang On!: A tribute to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford. Dinner at 6:15 p.m. & show at 8 p.m. Call 592-2222 or visit www.broadwaytheatre.com.

Sunday 26

Concert: Singer-songwriter Kenny White will perform at 2 p.m. at the Ossining Public Library. Call 941-2416 or visit www.ossininglibrary.org.

Literary Afternoon: At 4:30 p.m. in celebration of Gay Pride Month Elaine Sexton and Erin McHugh will read from their work at Hudson Valley Writers’ Center in Sleepy Hollow. Call 332-5953 or visit www.writerscenter.org.

Monday 27

911 wall being restored..meeting monday evening to discuss gelsprain

2011-06-19T23:33:00.000-04:00

We make housecalls--MONDAY, June 20th (Ardsley Road to discuss Gelsprain project: 6:30 PM

Town officials are always willing to make housecalls when you have concerns. We work for you. ON Monday evening, June 20th members of the Town Board and I will join other town officials meeting with construction contractors and residents to discuss construction related issues for the recently approved development (24 new homes will be built off of Ardsley Road, just east of Sprain Road). Some residents have quality of life concerns. The goal of the meeting is to develop a working relationship with the construction team and neighborhood. We hope that inconveniences to neighbors minimized. We will meet Monday at 6:30 PM in front of 695 Ardsley Road.

9-11 Tile Wall Restoration Project--the work continues this week. Volunteers wanted

The Arts and Culture Committee is coordinating the restoration of the People's 9-11 wall at Presser Park (nee Webb Park) on Central Avenue. The tiles were originally created in workshops sponsored by ArtsWestchester with funding from Project Liberty. Rotary International has provided financial support for the project. Many people are volunteering their time to the restoration. Over 1500 tiles will be placed back on the wall before the 10th anniversary of 911.

Community volunteers are assisting with sorting, cleaning, marking and boxing tiles for return to the original wall at Webb park. The staging area is currently at Anthony Veteran Park, on tennis court #1. (Anthony Veteran Park is off Heatherdell Road which is off Ridge Road in Ardsley.)

Schedule of times that volunteers can show up at Anthony Veteran Park to assist Sarah Bracey White with the project:

Monday (June 20th)

Tuesday (June 21st)
Thursday (June 23rd)
Friday (June 24th)
6 - 8 pm all of the above days.
[In case of rain, work rescheduled until the next day]
Volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves, a pair of pliers and water.

Additional volunteer times will continue to be announced on this site.

PAUL FEINER

farmers market saturday...worksession tuesday..please recycle =...

2011-06-17T23:48:00.001-04:00

REMINDER- HARTSDALE FARMER'S MARKET ON SATURDAY. CONCERT AT 10 AM AT DESANTI PLAZA, E HARTSDALE AVE

Town of Greenburgh
Work Session of the Greenburgh Town Board

Agenda: Tuesday – June 21, 2011 – 09:15 AM

(Work Sessions begin at 9:15AM except where schedule changes are made by the Board.)

((All Work Sessions are Televised Live on Cablevision Channel 76, Verizon 35 and are streamed live. Work Sessions and Town Board Meetings will be aired each Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting at 7:02am and 4:45pm. Each segment will run for approximately 6 to 7 hours,

depending upon the length of the two meetings.)

· 09:15 AM Agenda Review

· 09:30 AM Flooding in Elmsford --follow up to meeting we had with NYS DEC and US Army Corp of Engineers

· 10:30 AM Capital Budget (discussion prior to submitting proposed 2011 budget)

· 10:45 AM Empire Medical Plan

· 11:00 AM Ethics Code – discussion of some possible amendments

· 11:30 AM Hastings Affordable Housing

· 12:00 Noon Habitat for Humanity--possible house town owns near veteran town park

· 12:15 PM Motion for Executive Session by____2nd_____Aye_____

· 01:00 PM Adjourn

REMINDER: NEW RECYCLING LAWS WENT INTO EFFECT JUNE 1st

Talking Trash

There's a lot of municipal talk about the county's expanded recycling program which officially starts on June 1, 2011.

But do you really know what is included in the expansion to numbers 3-7?

Just in case, here's a handy reference list.

Please note that all plastics must be coded (with any number between 1 and 7), rinsed clean and be free of food waste and other products.

BREAKING NEWS: Plastic caps on jars and bottles are now accepted for recycling!

Number 1 Plastics -- PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate)
* Found in: Soft drinks, water and beer bottles; mouthwash bottles; peanut butter containers; salad dressing and vegetable oil containers; oven-safe food trays.
* Recycled into: Polar fleece, fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, straps, (occasionally) new containers.

Number 2 Plastics -- HDPE (high density polyethylene)
* Found in: Milk jugs, juice bottles; bleach, detergent and household cleaner bottles; shampoo bottles; butter and yogurt tubs.
* Recycled into: Laundry detergent bottles, oil bottles, pens, recycling containers, floor tile, drainage pipe, lumber, benches, doghouses, picnic tables, fencing.

Number 3 Plastics -- V (Vinyl) or PVC
* Found in: Window cleaner and detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, cooking oil bottles, clear food packaging.
* Recycled into: Decks, paneling, mudflaps, roadway gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, mats.

Number 4 Plastics -- LDPE (low density polyethylene)
* Found In: Squeezable bottles; frozen food containers.
* Recycled Into: Trash can liners and cans, compost bins, shipping envelopes, paneling, lumber, landscaping ties, floor tile.

Number 5 Plastics -- PP (polypropylene)
* Found in: Some yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, medicine bottles, coded flower pots.
* Recycled into: Signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers, landscape borders, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, trays.

Number 6 Plastics -- PS (polystyrene)
* Found in: Disposable plates and cups, meat trays, egg cartons, carry-out containers, aspirin bottles.
* Recycled into: Insulation, light switch plates, egg cartons, vents, rulers, foam packing, carry-out containers.

Number 7 Plastics -- Miscellaneous
* Found in: Water bottles, certain food containers.
* Recycled into: Plastic lumber, custom-made products.

Regarding Plastic Bags: Be advised that plastic grocery and carryout bags, as well as other plastic bags (including dry cleaning bags), may be dropped off at any of several large grocery and retail stores for recycling. Each year, Americans throw away more than 100 billion plastic bags. Less than 1% is recycled. Recycling these bags reduces waste and litter, resulting in cleaner streets and waterways. In addition, using recycled plastic bags in place of virgin plastics reduces our demand for foreign oil. Recycled plastic bags provide valuable material to manufacturers of plastic lumber, plastic bags and other useful products. For more information on plastic bag recycling and drop off locations, click here.

Read the Curbside Recycling Guide to learn how to separate recyclables for curbside collection. In addition, you can bring other items, including household chemicals, rechargeable batteries, electronics, and plastic bags for recycling and old or expired medications for disposal to Household Material Recovery Days. Check out the schedule of upcoming events to find a Household Material Recovery Day or Mobile Shredder event near you.

FUN EVENTS THIS WEEKEND FROM WWW.RIVERTOWNSGUIDE.COM

Saturday, June 18 from 8:30am - 1:30pm | Hastings Outdoor Farmers Market, Hastings Library Parking Lot

-- Saturday, June 18 & Sunday, June 19, begins at 11am | "Clearwater Generations", Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson
-- Saturday, June 18 from 11pm through Sunday, June 19 @ 11pm | 24 Hour Movie Marathon, Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville
-- Sunday, June 19 from 8am - 3pm (and every fair weather Sunday) | Beacon Flea Market, Henry St Parking Lot, 6 Henry Street (Parking Lot Only), Beacon

Weekend Quick Takes….
Links and info here http://www.rivertownsguide.com
- Dobbs Ferry Farmers Market
- Opening: A SPIN ON GREEN
- Tarrytown Third Friday: Pet Parade
- Ukrainian Heritage Festival
- 6th Annual Art Walk 2011
- The Comedy of Errors - Westchester County Nights at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
- Hastings Outdoor Farmers Market
- Live Butterfly Exhibit
- "Clearwater Generations"
- Walk: Old Croton Aqueduct from Gerlach Park (Ossining) to New Croton Dam
- 6th Annual Art Walk 2011
- World Wide Knit in Public Day 2011
- Giant Plastic Bag Kites (Kite Flight and Workshop)
- Yolanda F. Johnson: "A Spirituals Experience"
- Form & Function Art Exhibit
- Steamships on the Hudson
- Los Lonely Boys
- 8th Annual Red Carpet Night Fundaraising Gala: Featuring Peter Frampton
- Jackie Mason: Second Performance!
- 24 Hour Movie Marathon
- Beacon Flea Market
- Bicycle Sundays
- Live Butterfly Exhibit
- Stereoscope and the World of Photography

Weekly Outdoor Farmers Markets: 2011 Opening Day Schedule
Dobbs Ferry: Fridays
Hastings: Saturday
Tarrytown: Saturdays
Irvington: Wednesdays

12th Annual Dobbs Ferry Summer Music Series
Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8pm
Dobbs Ferry Waterfront. Presented by Jazz Forum Arts
Rain Location: Embassy Community Center, 60 Palisade Street, Dobbs Ferry. INFO: 914-631-1000
June 22: Sheila Jordan & Her Trio; Jay Azzolina, Cameron Brown, Tony Jefferson
June 29: Nanny Assis Group feat Danise Reis–Brazilian Music
July 6: Mark Rapp “The Song Project”
July 13: Jason Miles Group
July 20: Freddie Bryant Quartet
July 27: 3D Ritmo de Vida
August 3: Carrie Jackson & Her Trio
August 10: Jo Lawry Group
August 17: John Hart Organ Quartet

One significant way that everyone can contribute to environmental conservation is through waste reduction. In addition, old products can also be donated to reduce additions to the waste stream. Charities accept old furniture, clothing, toys, and other items for reuse. Through Westchester County's Treasure Hunt program residents can recycle their old items by giving them away for free.

And finally, here's something you can write home about. Westchester County is a leader in recycling. In 2009, 61 percent of all solid waste was recycled, which is well above the EPA national goal of 35 percent. It is also an impressive improvement over the 2008 county recycling rate of 46 percent.

from thehudsonindependent.com

Saturday 18

Old Croton Aqueduct Walk to New Croton Dam. Meet 11 am. Explore scenic Croton Gorge Park at the base of the dam's spectacular spillway. Five miles roundtrip. Bring lunch and water. Meet in Gerlach Park, Ossining. Enter on Old Albany Post Rd. north of Reservoir Rd., turn left, and continue to parking area. Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct. Information: C. Fahn, 914-478-3961, czf...@yahoo.com, or www.aqueduct.org.

Spirituals Concert: At 2:30 p.m. soprano Yolanda F. Johnson will celebrate Black Music Month with a lecture recital at the Warner Library in Tarrytown. Call 631-7734 or visit www.yolandafjohnson.com.

Simply Sinatra: Performance by Steve Lippia at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford. Dinner at 6:15 p.m. & show at 8 p.m. Call 592-2222 or visit www.broadwaytheatre.com.

Rock Concert: Los Lonely Boys will perform at 8 p.m. at the Tarrytown Music Hall. Call 877-840-0457 or visit www.tarrytownmusichall.org.

24 Hour Movie Marathon: Starting at 11 p.m. at Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. Prize for anyone who stays all 24 hours. Call 747-5555 or visit www.burnsfilmcenter.org.

Sunday 19

Box Turtles in the Wild: At 4 p.m. visit their habitat at the Greenburgh Nature Center.

Have a great weekend.

PAUL FEINER

FEDERAL LAWSUIT DISMISSED --

2011-06-16T23:38:00.000-04:00

Mike Kolesar, the former Town Comptroller, had sued the town in the US District Court--Southern District of NY after he lost his position with the town. I am pleased to report that the plaintiff has stipulated to dismiss the above mentioned lawsuit with prejudice. The stipulation has been executed by our attorney, as well as Mr. Kolesar's, and was filed with the Court on Thursday afternoon. The Town made absolutely no payments to effectuate this dismissal, which the plaintiff voluntarily made shortly after the depositions of non-party witnesses, Herbert Rosenberg and Robert Bernstein. We are pleased, but not at all surprised, by this very favorable result.
PAUL FEINER

3rd free outdoor concert at hartsdale farmer's market saturday

2011-06-15T22:37:00.001-04:00

The 3rd FREE OUTDOOR CONCERT at the Hartsdale farmer's market for the 2011 summer season will be held this Saturday, June 17th at 10 AM. The concert will feature the Westchester Harp Ensemble. The concerts are held at DeSanti Plaza, across from the Hartsdale train station.

We still have openings for bands, choirs, musicians to perform on other Saturday mornings during the summer months. We don't pay our musicians but will honor them at a Town Board meeting in the fall with a Certificate of Appreciation. We will also help promote the band/choir/musicians. If you would like to perform, please call Judith Beville, Town Clerk at 993-1504 or jbeville@greenburghny.com.
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP MUSICIANS SET UP EVERY WEEK. Please e mail Ms. Beville if you would like to help.

Last summer and fall 18 concerts were held on E Hartsdale Ave! The goal: to promote community, to encourage people to shop on E Hartsdale Ave and to enjoy our farmer's market. And...to listen to great music!

The Westchester Harp Ensemble, founded by Lois Colin, has been in existence since 2004.

Members of the harp ensemble, students of Lois Colin, include Maggie Varenne of the Bronx, Natasha Raikhovski of Larchmont, Theresa Phoenix of Irvington, Marinna Chung of Yonkers, Eleanor Reich of Purchase, Maggie MacNichol-Skau of Eastchester, Mariana Lee of Larchmont, Remy DeVere of Greenwich, Julia Longo of Rye, Christine, Danielle and Molly Colasacco of Eastchester.

The Harp Ensemble has performed at the following places:

Senior centers throughout Westchester, Westchester Children’s Hospitals,The Northern Westchester Center for the Arts, Sunday Service with Children's Choir of Briarcliff Congregational Church, Eastchester Public Library, Irvington Public Library, Rye Public Library, Larchmont Public Library annual March concerts with Pam’s Piper’s, New Rochelle High School, Hartsdale Outdoor Concert Series, Thomas Paine Cottage, Colonial Fair, LMC-TV program.

www.loiscolin.com

www.westchesterharpensemble.com

PAUL FEINER

BIOMED TO TAKE OVER VACANT BUILDINGS IN GREENBURGH--FOR BIOTECH USE

2011-06-13T00:11:00.000-04:00

TOWN BOARD APPROVES RESOLUTION THAT WILL HELP BIOMED TAKE OVER VACANT BUILDINGS IN UNINCORPORATED GREENBURGH FOR BIOTECH USES...

Last year the town received disappointing news. OSI, which had planned to relocate their biotech company to unincorporated Greenburgh (Ardsley) decided to halt their relocation (even though they had spent significant dollars on the newly acquired buildings). The reason: A Hostile takeover.

GOOD NEWS BioMed Realty Trust, which owns the Landmark at Eastview (ALSO IN GREENBURGH) has decided to buy the vacant property on Old Saw Mill River Road.

About 400,000 square feet of laboratory and office space will now be part of BioMed.

According to a report in the Westchester County Business Journal "BioMed Realty, the prospective new landlord, is expected to lease about 130,000 square feet of space in two Ardsley Park buildings to Acorda Therapeutics Inc. The publicly traded company might lease an additional 120,000 square feet over the next several years, Acorda officials said in their recent application to the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency for project tax breaks.

Based in Hawthorne, Acorda develops and markets drugs that improve neurological function in persons with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and other nervous-system disorders. The company to date has marketed two commercial products, Ampyra extended-release tablets to improve walking in MS patients, and Zanaflex capsules, a short-acting drug to manage spasticity.

Acorda officials in their project proposal to the IDA said the company has outgrown its Hawthorne facility at 15 Skyline Drive in the Mid-Westchester Executive Park. It plans to relocate all of its 159 current employees to Ardsley. Over the next five years, Acorda expects to add 190 biotech jobs there with an average annual salary of $120,000."

The Town Board approved the following resolution last week. Had we not approved this action BioMed would not have purchased the property. A joint meeting was held with the Ardsley School Board and Town Board to discuss the resolution prior to the Town Board approving the action. I think this is good for the town. Vacant buildings will be occupied. Good for property values. Good for local businesses. More job opportunities. Potential additional revenue for the town...

PAUL FEINER

TB-1 – 06/08/11

RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE TOWN BOARD’S AGREEMENT WITH THE DECISION OF THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY “WESTCHESTER COUNTY IDA,” TO TERMINATE THE MARCH 16, 2010 PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES AGREEMENT (“PILOT AGREEMENT”) BY AND BETWEEN THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY IDA, OSI PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., AND OSI ARDSLEY LLC LOCATED AT 410, 420, 430, 440, 444 AND 460 SAW MILL RIVER ROAD, IDENTIFIED ON THE OFFICIAL TAX MAPS AS 8.430-305-7..1, 8.430-305-7..2, 8.430-305-7..3, 8.500-350-3, 8.500-350-4, 8.430-305-7..4

WHEREAS, the Town of Greenburgh is a signatory to certain Payment in Lieu of Taxes Agreement dated as of March 16, 2010 (the “PILOT Agreement”); and

WHEREAS, OSI Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company and OSI Ardsley, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company (together referred to as “The Company”) are obligated under the PILOT Agreement to make payments to the Town in lieu of taxes; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the PILOT Agreement, the Company granted a mortgage encumbering the property located at 410, 320, 430, 440, 444 and 460 Saw Mill River Road, Ardsley, New York (the “facility realty”) as security for the PILOT payments; and

WHEREAS, on June 8, 2010, the Company was acquired by Astellas US Holdings, Inc. (“Astellas US”) and the Company has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas US LLC; and

WHEREAS, by reason of the acquisition, the Company no longer intends to utilize the Facility Realty as its corporate headquarters, general corporate offices and research and development and manufacturing facilities; and

WHEREAS, the Company has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement providing for the sale of the Facility Realty to Biomed Realty, LP which sale is scheduled to close in June 2011; and

WHEREAS, the Town has provided quality services to review and evaluate the issues to ensure the Town and School are held harmless with regard to the Termination of the Agreement, the Company has agreed to compensate the Town in the sum of $10,000; and

WHEREAS, in order to induce the Town to agree to the termination of the PILOT Agreement and the PILOT Mortgage, the Company has agreed to pay certain portions of the PILOT payments that would have been due had these agreements not been so terminated and agrees to provide $1,500,000 to be held in escrow with the Westchester County IDA as acceptable security for such payments should payment of any shortfall not occur; and

WHEREAS, Town will accept all, if any shortfall payments as normal tax collection procedures apply, and will pay to the School and County within the same time frame allocated for normal tax collection and payments to the taxing jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS, it is in the interest of the Town to execute agreements to terminate the PILOT Agreement and the PILOT Mortgage and an agreement that will require the Company to pay any difference between the tax paid by the new property owner and what would have been the payment under the PILOT Agreement with the Company; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh hereby authorizes the execution of the PILOT Shortfall Payment Agreement, the PILOT Termination Agreement, the Satisfaction of Mortgage, the Escrow Agreement and any other relevant settlement documents consistent with this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Town Board hereby authorizes the acceptance of $10,000 from OSI Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company and OSI Ardsley, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company (together referred to as “The Company”) to offset the cost to the Town associated with the review, evaluation and modification of the agreements referenced herein.

http://greenburghjobs.blogspot.com/-great summer jobs for students

2011-06-10T00:22:00.001-04:00

http://greenburghjobs.blogspot.com/

great summer jobs for students

FROM THE DAILY GREENBURGH--BATTLE OF BANDS THIS SATURDAY TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHILDREN WITH HEART DEFECTS

2011-06-09T19:19:00.001-04:00

Greenburgh Musicians Raise Money for Heart Defects
Greenburgh Musicians Raise Money for Heart Defects by Natalia Baage-Lord05/23/11
. Greenburgh Interns Zach Bergenfeld, Josh Ringel, Jon Rood and David Schuman
Photo Credit: Greenburgh Interns
Josh RingelPhoto Credit: Greenburgh Interns
▲▼ Calling all local musicians. If you and your friends want to play some music at the Greenburgh Battle of the Bands fundraiser in Hartsdale you should sign up now.
On June 11, the Hartsdale Farmer’s Market, adjacent to the train station, will host the event to raise money for the Gift of Life International Foundation. It gives free medical services to children with congenital heart failure.
“It’s a good cause because $6,000 can change a child’s life forever,” said Josh Ringel, co-creator of the event and intern to Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. “The Gift of Life helps people internationally as well as domestically by raising money for kids who need heart transplants or suffer from heart defects.”
All money raised goes to the charity. Ringel and the other interns involved encourage local businesses to donate gift cards that will be raffled off during the event. Schools are asked to participate with bake sales with half of the proceeds going to the Gift of Life.
Music lovers are encouraged to support the local bands by donating spare cash while enjoying the market's weekly offerings of fresh fruits, vegetables and other edible delights.
Feiner’s interns, who created this event, are Ringel, a junior at the University of Albany; David Schuman, a junior at Vanderbilt University; and Zach Bergenfeld and Jon Rood, seniors at Ardsley High School.
The Gift of Life Foundation was created by the Manhasset Rotary Club in 1975 to help children with heart ailments or other similar illnesses.
For more information and to sign up for Battle of the Bands, please contact: greenburghny1@gmail.com.
Have you donated your talents or money for events like this one? Please tell us about them.