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Another Paul Feiner initiative to make Greenburgh the most open government in the United States!
Be part of the Dialogue...participate...tell us what's on your mind...!
The views expressed in this blog are the personal views of the participants who post comments on the blog and are not those of the town, town employees or town government. The Supervisors views are his alone.
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2006
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October
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- Halloween police patrol-should there be organized ...
- October: Miscellaneous
- Why are tax rates different in the "A" budget and ...
- INTERESTING INFO ABOUT THE POLICE DEPT
- Westchester Library System to poll member librarie...
- Carvel's first store to close on Central Ave
- Should the town cooperate with Ardsley in building...
- SAT PREPARATION CAMP and BizCamp
- REPORT OF THE CITIZENS INSURANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- TOWN BD MEETING LASTED TILL 12:40 AM
- INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OUR PARKS...
- HATS OFF TO LONGVIEW CIVIC ASSOCIATION AND PARKS DEPT
- LEAF LAW PROPOSED TO BAN LEAVES ON STREETS
- BLOG ABOUT THE BLOG
- JOURNAL NEWS ARTICLE ON SCHOOL SAFETY-question: sh...
- HELP WANTED-town may evict tenants on foreclosed p...
- TUESDAY HEARING ON LIBRARY CONTRACT
- cablevision & cable box charges...
- 2007 budget suggestions wanted
- library needs to follow up offer re: temporary space
- Join In The Feiner Foot-Fest FORM
- SCHOOL SAFETY ISSUES- PEDESTRIAN SAFE ROUTES TO SC...
- TAX BREAKS FOR MANHATTAN AVE
- STUDENT BLOGGERS WANTED FOR NEW STUDENT VIEWS
- ? What action steps should Greenburgh take re: TZ ...
- GREENBURGH TOWN BD MAY NOT HONOR CONTRACT WITH SCH...
- ? OF THE DAY:SHOULD LIBRARY BE INDEPENDENT
- BARNES & NOBLE CLOSURE EXPLANATION FROM EXCLUSIVE ...
- Should government provide neighborhoods with benef...
- QUESTIONS/ISSUES OF THE DAY-your input wanted
- WIFI IN NEW ROCHELLE..WHAT ABOUT US?
- con ed meeting today
- halloween dog parade this sunday
- homeland security
- Library OATS (Construction Minutes)
- MSG withdraws HELIPAD proposal
- suggesting that all documents be placed on web site
- greenburgh library to approve $439,000 to school
- road repaving...changes to be made
- reasons why Barnes & Noble won't renew lease
- half marathon in 2 hours and 1 minute...
- RESPONSE TO BLOGGERS RE: VALHALLA WESTHELP PARTNER...
- BARNES & NOBLE TO CLOSE ON CENTRAL AVE
- sorry about the repaving problems...
- Can contracts be ignored after they are approved?
- Hillary Clinton in Greenburgh Oct 6
- Elmsford & Ardsley
- Trans Fat-bd of health should require disclosure
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October
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26 comments:
Why should the Greenburgh library have to pay? Is this a typo??
It is so infuriating to watch the Town Council meeting on TV and how Feiner supports the Valhalla school district when his supporters last year fought to defeat the Edgemont School District. The town doesnt pay for our students SAT review, or for our school newspapers; all we wanted was the opportunity to pay for our children's education ourselves, yet Feiner and his supporters fought that while at the ssame town he wants the Town to pay for these things for Valhalla students.
when you believe as paul feiner does that the ends justify the means, you can excuse anything like the illegal westhelp contract,taxing only unincorporated greenburgh for parks open town-wide and telling lies about emails to the village officials committee about frank's nursery. paul - you can't fool all the people all the time. all your sweetheart backdoor deals with elmsford and the valhalla school district are being exposed
Isn't it great when politics and personal issues are used to hurt the Valhalla school district and its children?
A contact is a contract until such time that a legal authority such as a court says otherwise.
Anyone can shop for a legal opinion. Be honest with yourself about what the true motives behind all this foolishness is.
If the day shall come where the Greenburgh Council "breaks" the contract by voting against fulfilling their contractual obligations, we will all witness what will become known as a sorry day in the history of Greenburgh Government. This very likely have significant negative repercussions state-wide as well as significantly impacting the willingness of future parties that the Town of Greenburgh may seek to contract with. They may find that many organizations will avoid doing business with those who do not honor their promises and their contracts.
Fulfill your commitments and maintain your integrity. Otherwise , we will ask for the applicable Town Council members to hang their heads in shame and embarrassment for this travesty.
Watch last nights Town Council meeting on TV. The behavior of some of the Valhalla supporters was disgraceful. I can understand their emotion, I care about my child's school also. What is unconsciousable is how Feiner made no attempt to keep order and even egged them on.
As to "shopping for an opinion", that is what happened when Feiner got the original Bergins "opinion" (which I put in quotes as it was an unsigned memo on blank paper without a letter head that did not even address the entire situation). In fact there never was an opinion at the time on this matter. As the gentleman form Help USA stated, Westhelp did not investigate any issues involving the town making payments. Why would they or the county?
Tim Lewis is our Town Attorney -- no one shopped around for his opinion. He is paid to provide legal advice to the Town.
The contract is being reviewed because a private citizen, as is his right, complained to New York State. For the town council to make unrestricted payments now, given Mr. Lewis's opinion, would be reckless.
As to Miles Doherty's comment in todays Journal News that any audit by the state should not be treated as a cease and desist order, the state investigation is much worse than a cease and desist order, as it would appear that there is no legal opinion stating that the contract is legal, there is at least one (Mr. Lewis's) that it is not legal, and that there is a very real chance that Valhalla will be ordered to give back the 1.8million, not just for Greenburgh to stop future payments.
a promise is a promise is a promise is a promise. the town council members- should keep their promise.
you are right. the headline should read greenburgh town board to approve.
Anonymous from Edgemont implied that I fought to defeat the edgemont school district budget. Not true. I have never fought the school budget. In fact, I have handed out literature for the school budget. Some of my supporters are active in the edgemont school foundation. Other supporters object to the tax rate. People have a right to have different views.
Will anyone be investigating the claim that a Greenburgh town employee made threats against the Valhalla Superintendent?
It would also be interesting to see what Council Members, if any, authorized this individual to make such threats. Conversely, if this employee was operating on their own without any Council Member instructions, then such behavior should be harshly dealt with in the future and possibly subject that individual to an ethics investigation.
Additionally, I recommend that any investigation include discussions with any other recent prior parties with issues in front of the Town Council, including Verizon, to assess if this is representative of a pattern of behavior. I would think that the honorable Council Members would be embarrassed if it were determined that these charges are accurate , for surely that should not reflect the intention of Town government .
A prior commentator felt that the behavior of some of the Valhalla supporters was “disgraceful”.
To those who are experienced in the disappointment of elected officials in not honoring their promises and contracts it may have been as so described. Alternatively, look at it from the perspective of a community that did the right and honorable thing every step of the way, in accepting the homeless housing in their community, only to find out that some of our governmental leaders are now saying maybe they made a mistake and too bad for those who believed them.
Many of the citizens who were in the audience last evening have not seen how government can act so capriciously and without genuinely feeling the hurt from those, who should be expected to honor their moral promises and written contracts.
To the extent of “shopping opinions”, by now the majority of the town council has been exposed to a significant number of opinions. Clearly the majority of the opinions to date by all parties in interest are overwhelmingly of the belief that the contract is legal. Lawyers, as a breed, as was clearly discussed last night are not infallible. Why even Mr. Bernstein who parsed Mr. Lewis's opinion in such a way to indicate that the agreement is illegal, took his turn at the podium to point out where he thought that Mr. Lewis was wrong about his interpretation of another portion of the contract. Mr. Bernstein was deciding as to what aspects of Mr. Lewis opinion he accepted and which aspects of his opinion he cannot accept.
Mr. Lewis is the current Town Attorney and even if “no one shopped around for his opinion” there was a prior town Attorney who apparently had a different opinion. She was paid to provide legal advice to the Town. In baseball, the tie goes to the runner. How do you suggest we break this tie between the prior town attorney, who was paid, and the current town attorney who is also paid?
Is Susan Mancuso ever gave any opinion, other than for the Town to get outside legal counsel, no one seems to have a copy.
Read www. valhallavoice.com to understand the ethics of kelly and the rest of the valhalla group. -- but greenburgh should not be a party to this.
Any contract that George Rosenberg and Bob Bernstein (of all people) agree is likely against state law and should be put on hold until state investigates -- probably should be.
To me this situation sounds like Bernstein was right when he said Feiner had to have known the contract was illegal, but chose to turn a blind eye.
Why else are theere no legal opinons (signed, on letterhead) to be found?
And Valhalla knew it too -- look at www.valhallavoice.com --- they have been playing hide and seek with the indemnity page
Ahhhhh... the appropriate reason now to break a contract is when George Rosenberg and Bob Bernstein "(of all people)" say so.
I must admit, that is something that I never learned in school.
Please let us know where and when the coronation ceremony will be for this new divining legal authority will be celebrated.
Also, someone send a note to the NYS Judicial system of this change in procedures.
Thanks!
My point was, when both rosenberg and bernstein, who are usually on differnet sides of a fence, and lewis all think a contract may be illegal and NO ONE SAYS IT ISNT, THERE ARE NO OPINIONS FROM BERGIS, MANCUSO OR ANYONE SAYING IT IS OK, it is time to be prudent and wait for nys
The Town cannot keep doing things which are not legal once they know them to be improper. Just because four of the five currently sitting Town Board members voted for the money in the past doesn't mean they can or should vote for it now. Institutions that once were perfectly legal and received government funding for their maintenance, like segregation, are no longer legal -and as such may no longer be supported by the government. Times change, circumstances change and like it or not, the law changes. You are sworn to uphold the law as it exists, not as you would like it to be. Fulfill your solemn oath or resign in protest.
Times may change -- but to me it looks like this was illegal then and illegal now. We'll never know -- did anyone represent to the Council that the Town DID have an opinion (like maybe Feiner) when it really didn't -- in open meetings or exec. session???
The two opinions that count were from Susan Mancuso and Paul Bergins. Susan was our town attorney . Paul Bergins was the outside counsel who was hired by Susan. Both worked on this agreement for about 2 years. Prior to the vote I asked both of them if this contract was legal and they said yes. I am prepared to sign an affidavit indicating that the town board was advised before we voted that this was a legally binding contract. I'm very disappointed in the Town Council members who previously voted for the agreement and who have now decided that they might not honor the contract.
Greenburgh Town Board members Steve Bass, Eddie Mae Barnes, Diana Juettner and Francis Sheehan claim that the $439,000 could legally be released to the school district. But, they won't release the $650,000 that was previously promised. If the $650,000 is illegal why isn't the $439,000? You can't be half pregnant. All the funds are legal or none of it is. The Board should have honored the contract with the school district and given the district 100% of the funds promised. If a court of law orders the funds to be returned, the town will comply with a court directive.
-- If all Bergins produced after two years of work was that meaningless meemo, give it up. And all this work and money and nothing in writing from Mancuso -- give it up -- THESE ARE NOT OPINIONS
-- You bullied the town council into a CONTIGENT release of the 439 -- has the school district agreed to the terms?
-- big deal the Town will comply -- WHAT ABOUT THE VALHALLA SCHOOL DISTRICT????
Has Paul Bergins been invited to the next Town meeting? What was he paid for this opinion? Have we asked him for a real opinon?
"The behavior of some of the Valhalla supporters was disgraceful."
If someone thought that the Valhalla supporters behaviors was so, then I can't wait to hear what words you would use to describe the disrespectful manner in which some bloggers feel that they must communicate on this site with Supervisor Feiner.
I think the Supervisor is doing something very forward thinking by proving a near live time ability to communicate with him and other members of the community between town meetings.
Anyone is allowed to disagree. The disrespect here however is inappropriate and lowers the quality of the conversation. If you feel that you must lower yourselves to that level of discourse, don't be disappointed when others may ascribe their feelings about the substance of your comments as equivalent to your ability to communicate professionally.
I bet that you could communicate properly if you tried.
If this is to become a spitting match, then I would recommend that the Supervisor discontinue this otherwise valuable communication tool.
I wonder if the anonymous writer who keeps writing the anti feiner messages is the same person. get a life!
annoymous watch your mouth!... i am sorry but i have known Mr.Feiner for years now he does NOT FOOL PEOPLE!!!! ;( Paul is always helpful, otherwise duh i wouldn't voted for him!
- from very angry poster
I am furious at Town Council members Bass, Juettner, Barnes. They came to our homes in mayfair knollwood a few years ago. They promised us that they would support the funding to the valhalla district. We voted for them when they ran for re-election. They voted for the contract. How can they do what they are doing and break their promise? I will never vote for them again. I will tell all my friends who live in Edgemont that they cannot be trusted.
I have one wish: that the town bd stop fighting paul feiner for the sake of fighting and political ambition. do the right thing for our town. you approved a contract. you voted for the contract. do what you said you would do. lets check the drinking water-- are town council members who fight paul on everything drinking water that is polluted?
dear angry:
i suppose you believe it was ok for mr feiner to lie to the town board about emails to herb rosenberg regarding frank's nursery?
question, when you tell a lie, isnt the purpose for doing so to fool or mislead someone?
may i suggest you focus your anger on how under mr feiner's watch the town is unraveling as he panders to the villages and now the residents of mayfair knollwood or that the probably illegal contract with the valhalla school district has no provisons to audit how our taxpayer dollars are spent. curb your foolish anger.
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