The town owns property in Dobbs Ferry -- 27 Main Street. It used to be an apartment building. The property was foreclosed by the town. Tenants moved out because the building was structurally unsafe. For many months I have been encouraging the Town Board to work with villages of Dobbs Ferry officials so the town can rid itself of the property. It's an eyesore, the property could be put to better use. In my opinion, the building should be demolished.
So far, nothing has been done. On August 14th I will appear before the Dobbs Ferry Village Board of Trustees to discuss this matter. I have invited the entire Town Board to join me. The village had expressed interest in turning the property into a parking lot that could be used by Dobbs Ferry library patrons.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
34 comments:
the Town Council should try, try, try to be helpful to the villages.
the town council should try, try try to be helpful to the villages.
Whatever the village wants it should be granted to them. If they want a parking lot so be it,if they want a park thats up to the people who reside there. We hope the four council members do not have a meeting behind closed doors concerning this matter. But since Berger comes from this village and she is in cohoots with Sheehan we may get what we want.Let's see how this will be handled.
Seems like a waste of time and effort to have the entire town council there for such a basic transaction. If DF wants the property, just transfer it over and work out some simple payments. This is not a complex matter.
Paul why are you so involved with DF? We have a couple of Eye sores right on Central Park Avenue (ie. the old European Health Spa and Gaseteria).These have not been dealt with for many years. I know you sent out an e mail about Starbucks interested in the Gas station but there has been no update.One other note Next to the Candlelight Inn there has been a storefront furniture store vacant for a few years and As i understand it The Candlelight has been trying to make this Takeout food only. Well what is the hold up there? How long will Barnes and Nobel be vacant?
Ask the edgemont Civic assoc.why the properties are vacant. They have been fighting against any and all the businesses that want to open up ,for the longest of time. No super market, no take out foods.You can't blame Feiner for this. He would say yes the board says no. The present board has a very close relationship with this particular association. Please do not expect anything to be done with these properties unless the assoc. says yes.The assoc .is more intrested in the messy way Central ave. looks, rather than looking at the overall picture,if new businesses come to town the landscape will be taken care of.Just remember Feiner has no say in the matter of how Central ave, looks.Put a call into Bernstein and McNally see if they will give you some answers.
To annon 2:36 I can see your point about candlelight and the Gym. I do not see your point about Barnes and Nobel or the gas station since they're in Hartsdale and Not edgemont. As for Feiner He sent out an email 2 months ago about Starbucks moving into gas station and our dearly beloved supervisor as he has done before has not updated us on this at all.
Mr Feiner,
I agree with Anon 9.18 am,
like to add Greenburgh Public
Works Department destruction
of the shrubs and small trees
(and weeds) along 9A north of
Ardsley on the west side of the road,done with a machine that was
build to trim weeds from the
side of the roadway.not cut tree
branches.
Some weeks ago I saw you on Ridge Road wit a channel 12 News crew
complaining about Con Ed's clearing.
If I had a choice,I would take
Con Ed's approach that leaves the
work side clean and presentable
over your administrations hatchet
job anytime.
Why not meet the Channel 12 News
crew on 9A and let them record your administrations solution to
this need.
CHeck with the Edgemont civic assoc. concerning the gym and the candelight. They are running the show as far as development goes. I wish you luck just remember they are the ones that tell the town board what is and what should be. Feiner has nothing to say about the matter,especially with this present board. If he says yes for development the board says no and visa versa.Feiner cannot help you out.As far as the weeds in all the areas. yes the commissioner of Public works is not doing his job. I think it should be time to get someone else who would be better suited for the job. Feiner cannot get to first base with him neither. It seems since Sheehan got on the board, all department heads report to him. Why I don't know but maybe you should ask the high an mighty Sheehan to get the job done.
If Feiner was with a tv crew discussing the tree cutting, more power to him. As far as the destruction of trees on 9A by the town workers that's Regula's fault. His workers are the worst, because he has no interest in the position any more. Paul get someone else in this position. The roadways aren't even good enough for the dogs to roam. The complaints are getting more and more .Something has to be done.
Dear 9:18,
Even with "tens of thousands of dollars" campaign contributions, the Town Supervisor is not a wealthy man.
Perhaps if, years ago he bought any of the properties mentioned in your posting, today he would be.
Alas, I am sad to report that the Supervisor does not own any of them -- nor does the ECC either.
He can ask the owners what is going on although under the new ethics laws he may be prohibited from doing so.
However, Greenburgh is still part of the United States and there are still some vestiges of private property rights and what the owners of those locations you have mentioned intend to do is still their business.
Actually, a few years back, the Edgemont civic associations blocked a development plan to combine the vacant health club and the owner's carpet store into a new carpet store above and 3 or 4 small stores below facing Central Avenue.
Odd that, because Edgemont says it favors commercial development on Central Avenue.
Perhaps the person(s) to ask is not the Town Supervisor but Michelle McNally and Bob Bernstein.
They know everything that is going on.
If the town owns the property at 27 Main Street, and it apparently does,it should be sold to the highest bidder. The money will then go to the town-wide fund, so all town residents will benefit.
What Feiner wants to do instead is give the property away to Dobbs Ferry so that only Dobbs Ferry will benefit. That may be a sure-fire way to win votes in DF, but how is that fair to town taxpayers in the other villages and in the unincorporated areas? The answer is that it's not.
It's also not legal to give away the property to DF as Feiner proposes to do. That's called municipal waste.
As for the Candlelight in Edgemont, there hasn't been any public hearing yet on the Candlelight's application to create a take-out restaurant out of the old furniture store building next door. All they've had is a work session before the planning board where members of the public were not permitted to comment.
The Edgemont Community Council has therefore not yet commented. Nor has the application even been discussed.
But one thing's for sure: the Candlelight is a beloved Edgemont institution. It's owners, who live in Edgemont, do more to support Edgemont schools in any given month of the year than Feiner and his supporters have collectively done in their lifetimes.
Unlike Feiner's campaign contributor Dilmalgani, who owns the defunct European health spa eyesore across the street, the owners of the Candlelight are model Edgemont corporate citizens.
House volunteer firefighters in tents on the property.
The Candlelight is an Edgemont institution and its owners have been consistently and quietly supportive of the community. The very least they deserve is a fair and unbiased hearing on their proposal.
Didn't Feiner try to ram an illegal sidewalk sale down the throats of the Town Board almost exactly 4 years ago for the sole benefit of Dilmaghani? Didn't that incident, in which Feiner called an Edgemont civic association "a fat cow" result in Bob Bernstein becoming interested in Town affairs? And wasn't it also the beginning of Feiner's public relations nightmare?
Dobbs Ferry, he's got you lined up as his next community filled with people Fairview can love to hate.
Create Rivertown while you still can -
Any time I hear Feiner mention real estate I cringe.
I think the Edgemont civic leaders would get behind reasonable development. But when Feiner stirs the pot, it just wont work.
Feiner has no control over the properties on Central Ave. He has a vote (one vote, the other council members have 4 votes) when it comes to 27 Main Street.
Yes, but Feiner keeps bullying the council. Counterproductive.
Hyperbole, a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect.
examples:
"Feiner keeps bullying the Council"
HE JUST KEEP ROLLING ALONG AND THE TOWN COUNCIL STILL ROWS THE BOAT. WHAT DOES FEINER WEIGH? SURELY NOT AS MUCH AS THE FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND KAMINER COMBINED. DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN A FIGHT HE COULD BULLY THE TOWN COUNCIL?
BESIDES, "BULLY" HAS BEEN RESERVED FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF MR. SHEEHAN. ANY FUTURE MISUSE OF THIS VERB IS SURE TO REOPEN TALES OF YOUNG KAMINER.
"its owners (the Candlelight Inn) who live in Edgemont, do more to support Edgemont Schools in any given month of the year than Feiner and his supporters have collectively done in their lifetimes"
HEY, I'VE HAD A DRINK OR TWO AND A BURGER THERE, BY SUPPORTING THE CANDLELIGHT DO I HELP THEM SO THEY CAN SUPPORT THE EDGEMONT SCHOOLS
"didn't Feiner try to ram an illegal sidewalk sale down the throats of the Town Board..."
ACTUALLY I BELIEVE IT WAS A TENT SALE AND AS FOR RAMMING, JUST THREE VOTES WEREN'T NEEDED BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE OWNER WITHDREW HIS APPLICATION. AND LOCAL FOLK LORE DATES OX HERDER, EL DON BERNSTEIN,
WITH CALLING 911 FOR HELP TO GET HIS GORED OX TO THE VET.
But all of this talk about the Candlelight will prove rather interesting because Edgemont has some problems with take-out food and Edgemont historic preservation addicts have their eye on the "furniture" store.
Together these attitudes could do irreparable harm to the Edgemont School system every month.
"but there has been no update"
Yea, it's weird how Mr. Feiner posts topics, but then doesn't participate in the blog, or provide answers to questions, or give any ongoing updates/resolutions.
"Ask the edgemont Civic assoc.why the properties are vacant. They have been fighting against any and all the businesses that want to open up ,for the longest of time."
Huh?? Edgemont would very much welcome additional commercial tax revenue!
"Just remember Feiner has no say in the matter of how Central ave, looks."
Huh?? He's the SUPERVISOR!
Just sell the Dobbs Ferry property to the highest offer, and be done with it. Pretty simple.
The advantage of being Hal Samis is that he has no responsibilities, no interest in how things came to be, and no stake in the future of the community. Almost a perfect clone of his mentor, Paul Feiner...
yea, samis is getting pretty boring and predictable too ... he used to make valuable points that benefitted the town, but now his focus has become so narrow and obsessive ... i used to think he'd make a great supervisor or town board member ... oh well
"Samis has no stake in the future of the community"
About as much stake as Steve Bass has in Darfur.
About as much stake as Eddie Mae Barnes has in her community.
About as much stake as Edgemont residents have in the ownership of the commercial properties on Central Avenue.
Dear 9:48,
Darn, I've lost your vote for two positions I wasn't seeking.
As a resident, though, you can't imagine how deeply I am concerned to have lost the respect of anonymous.
Because imagine how badly Mr. Bernstein and Ms. McNally must feel to have lost my respect also.
". . .but now his focus has become so narrow and obsessive"
Isnt that the criteria for Greenburgh Town Supervisor?
27 Main Street is an opportunity for the Village of Dobbs Ferry, which includes more than 10,000 residents of the Town of Greenburgh to create affordable housing for seniors, community parking, and an elevator that can connect the Library on Main Street to the Embassy Club on Palisade Street, which is the base of operations of the Village's seniors' program. Transfering the property to the Village on the condition that the Village would pursue these goals would benefit the entire Town.
If Dobbs wants the property to develop affordable housing and the like, it should partner with a developer willing to do this, with assistance from the county (which offers financial assistance to support affordable housing projects) and then bid at auction for the property.
That way Greenburgh's taxpayers get full value, as the law requires, and Dobbs gets what it wants (or claims it wants).
Just because Dobbs may have laudable goals for the property doesn't mean that the taxpayers of the rest of the town should foot the bill. Nor does it mean that Dobbs's purpose is a town-wide purpose. It aint.
Dobbs here is looking out for Dobbs. Remember, this is the village that doesn't let residents of other villages or the unincorporated area use its parks.
That's right folks, if you live in Fairview, you can't use the parks in Dobbs Ferry. The same is true if you live in Edgemont. None of you are allowed.
Why is this the case? Because Dobbs has had a long history of restrictive zoning in the 1940s and 1950s to keep out blacks and Jews. And they didn't want blacks and Jews who lived in other parts of the town to use their waterfront parks.
Restrictive zoning to keep out racial and religious minorities has been illegal for years, but Dobbs still won't let non-residents use its parks.
So why should be the town be giving Dobbs a sweetheart deal on town-owned property? Dobbs should be treated no differently than any other bidder for the property.
"history of restrictive zoning in the 1940s and 1950s to keep out blacks and Jews"
This is by no means only part if Dobbs Ferry's history. That's unfortunately the way it was all around Westchester back in the day. Heck, just look at the three main ZIP code boundaries of Unincorporated Greenburgh; how do you think those were decided?
Regarding the property in question, what's its assessed value? If Dobbs Ferry would like to pay that amount, let them have it. Otherwise, just put up a For Sale sign.
"history of restrictive zoning in the 1940s and 1950s to keep out blacks and Jews"
Most definitely not a Dobbs-only issue. Have you ever closely examined the school district lines for Greenburgh Central 6 (now Edgemont), Greenburgh Central 7 and Greenburgh Central 8 (7 and 8 are now Greenburgh Central)?
Sad to realize that drawing lines like that (school districts, ZIP codes, etc.) used to be legal.
If interested, copy and paste this in a new window:
http://giswww.westchestergov.com
Click Greenburgh, then on the right click the + sign next to Districts, check School Districts and/or ZIP code boundaries, and use the Zoom and Pan functions to move around and discover an unfortunate history lesson.
Fan of history,
I dont about G8, but when G6 (Edgemont) and G7 (originally just Hartsdale) were drawn, NEITHER had many minorities. And then G7 could have joined up with Edgemont, but chose, I repeat chose, to go with what was then G8 (basically Fairview). So explain to me how this was discriminatory. Hartsdale voted and chose. Obvioulsy now that Edgemont has paid off the bonds to pay for its high school, some in Hartsdale would like to revisit that decision. Go complain to the state. You made your own bed.
Post a Comment