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Another Paul Feiner initiative to make Greenburgh the most open government in the United States!
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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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105 comments:
Paul
I wish you well in the primary election,and then unto victory for many years to come. In boca a lupo,in other words lots,of luck.
From todays Journal News
Yonkers residents call for morotorium on 1 and 2 family homes.
Why do other communities discuss morotoriums? And not Greenburgh? Because they dont have Paul "I am a friend to every developer with a checkbook" Feiner as supervisor.
Mr. 9:50 wants moratoriums to prevent any development. I bet he also complains about increasing taxes. And he doesn't see the connection.
Greenburgh had a moratorium on development for about 2 years.
Was that a moratorium on single family homes on one street in Yonkers or citywide?
If you want to compare apples to apples, don't start with an apple in one hand and applesauce in the other.
The difference in Greenburgh as you know was that the proposed moratorium on Central Avenue was stated to relieve pressure on the Edgemont school system which was for purposes of the securing the moratorium, stated as "at capacity". Aside from the reality that such a moratorium on Central Avenue in Hartsdale served no purpose for Hartsdale (C7) schools which were under capacity, the moratorium along only Central Avenue was not crafted to abate the problem, just to penalize the Dromore owner. Had the moratorium extended to ALL residential development in Edgemont, I probably would not have opposed it. An additional student is an additional student no matter from where or what development he or she comes from. However, since the intent was not to make fellow Edgemont residents "feel any pain" (in their own wallets) and as a result speak opposing it, a mortatorim only on Central Avenue was stated. And with this came an accompanying bushel of tall tales.
Again, if Edgemont truly wants to curtail any growth in student population, just extend the moratorium to ANY residential development ANYWHERE in Edgemont.
Wouldn't that be the fairest thing?
"Was that a moratorium on single family homes on one street in Yonkers or citywide?"
Citywide, with active support of the civic associations throughout the city.
Also, Edgemont School District is legitimately at capacity and still has been increasing in enrollment over the past four years. Its growth during the same time period, as compared to the other school districts that serve Greenburgh students, is second only to that of Valhalla.
So, while a moratorium has its pros and cons, Edgemont's claim regarding its capacity and growth is quite legit and well-documented by the NYS DOE.
If you don't like the moratorium idea, questioning Edgemont's motives, in this particular situation, won't work since there is actual data to support the at-capacity/still-growing claim. (And Edgemont's class sizes are equal to or higher than the other school districts that serve Greenburgh students - also documented by the NYS DOE - so it's not like Edgemont is trying to weasel out by keeping class sizes too small.)
Again, pros and cons for a moratorium, but official NYS data will counter any argument that Edgemont school district could handle more students.
"Data not drama" makes a good case for the legitimacy of the concern about the school district's ability to meet the state constitutional requirement of providing "a free and appropriate public education" to every child in the district.
Hal also makes a good point - a moratorium on all subdivision is not without significant merit. The Town's Master Plan is now seriously outdated, and it will benefit all segments of the Greenburgh community to have a new, current, well-designed and enforceable Master Plan. A town-wide moratorium on all subdivision and zoning changes until a new plan has been formulated might go a long way towards restoring Greenburgh's harmony. And, as Hal says, "It only takes 3 votes."
"Only 3 votes" could actually impose a moratorium. That raises a really interesting question - if one assumes developers will respond by cutting off generous campaign contributions to anyone voting for a moratorium - will anyone, no matter how opposed to the Supervisor, have the courage to vote for the community?
Dear Drama and Mr. Lasser,
The point of my posting was not to discuss the "need" to control a presumed influx of new students but the manner in which it was to be implemented. However, whereas the number of students per classroom is the common measure for "at capacity", this does not exclude adding new classrooms even if new construction is required. This provision might have been helpful data instead of leaving only the impression that Edgemont leads the capacity pack. However, you have conveniently sidestepped the real issue which is:
whether a moratorium for ONLY Central Avenue is the solution.
I've already pointed out that I'm willing to overlook the "at capacity" argument and instead focus on the remedy. What I said was needed to solve EDGEMONT'S PROBLEM is that Edgemont should request a moratorium on ANY AND ALL residential construction IN EDGEMONT, not in Hartsdale, not in Fairview, not in North Elmsford, not elsewhere.
What Mr. Lasser has written in his comments following yours is that the Town needs a town-wide moratorium and this notion is pure poppycock, intended merely to sugar-coat the need for Edgemont to assume its own moratorium. As I implied, Edgemont "leaders" will have their own problems in convincing their resident neighbors that preventing all residential developmentin Edgemont is really "good" for Edgemont. I'm thinking that no one who lives in Edgemont actually wants to see their OWN property devalued by removing the sub-division wild card. Thus Mr. Lasser has cleverly extended the moratorium "need" to town-wide so that the "leaders" can still collect their membership dues and say it isn't us, it is the Town's doing.
A similar example of shifting the blame goes back to the introduction of car seat belts. Manufacturers "opposed" the idea and the government had to step in and make them mandatory. This "forced" the manufacturers to install another item that could be sold "for profit" and blame it on the government or the bossa nova or "whatever you do, don't throw me in that briar patch" said the rabbit.
Does the Town need a master plan? Does it need one now as the developable plottage is less and less each year? Even though the Town has given the green light to this project, this does not also mean that another town-wide moratorium need be thrust upon us. It was less than 5 years ago that an almost 3 year moratorium ended. Odd isn't it how long these 6 month moratoria can last.
And while these moratoria are in place, all Town operating budgets will not be similarly frozen. Thus taxes will rise, as they do, even more precipitously but now without the the generous help from mortgage tax recepits that has been a substantial staple of Town revenue to reduce the tax burden.
That revenue, already depleted by fewer refinancings (read the newspapers) of existing housing stock will be further impacted by diminshed proceeds from a slowing of "to be built" new homes.
In fact, I suggest that the financial markets existing beyond Greenburgh will in effect result in a defacto residential moratorium even without any local moratorium enactactment.
Edgemont takes pride in acting as a "Village". Let them solve their School capacity by blocking all possible residential construction within the District. What I suspect will be acknowledged is that those who have a financial stake in allowing residential construction on their own property will find a "higher calling" in protecting their own real property rights; while those who don't will have no problem.
Can someone on the Town Board explain to me, why do we have Greenburgh Police Officers on a boat patroling the Hudson River.
There are already State Police, County Police and other village PD's t out on the water. It's make no sense to me.
vanity, all is vanity. time to file a freedom of information request and ask what the greenburgh navy has done to protect the citizens of greenburgh.
or maybe mr feiner can illuminate?
The boat is best called "Feiner's Folly". It's US Navy/Coast Guard surplus and we apparently got it for FREE - instead of receiving cash to assist in making Greenburgh secure against terrorists in the post 9/11 world.
Thank you Homeland Security, I feel so much safer now that I'm protected by Kapica's Navy.
The annual operating costs are available in the "B" section of the Town budget - if you're interested.
Dear Calling McHale's Navy,
I believe that you are incorrect in your statement that the "Greenburgh" navy is in the "B" budget. The "Marine Unit" budget appears on page 23 (A budget - department 3122) of the proposed 2007 budget in the amount of $14,683.
Lest we remind all, the budget was I believe adopted by a 5-0 vote of the entire Town Board. Where were the 3 dissents? Sleeping? Or do they agree that providing this modest amount of funding to assist four Villages within the Town of Greenburgh, that account for about 40% of the population is a good idea?
I welcome a debate, but let's get the facts correct.
we should merge all of the Police departments .But for now I do not like Town Police officers on the river when there is not many police cars patroling the neighborhoods When was the last time you saw a patrol car in your neighborhood?
Of course the villages' police departments can't be merged with the Unincorporated Greenburgh Police Department, though it would be very wise to merge the fire departments of Fairview, Greenville and Hartsdale into a unified Unincorporated Greenburgh Fire Department, just like the police department (still, though, with the various fire stations).
Also, I agree that the marine presence of the Unincorporated Greenburgh Police Department on the Hudson River is silly and wasteful.
Who does Sheehan think he is,in putting only his name on a petition to keep Dobbs Ferry hosp. opened. The names of each town board member should be on the document.
He should have also represented each of the residents,whether or not they used the facility or not. One can see what Sheehan is doing not only trying to make the rest of the board look stupid,but also many residents of Greenburgh.
We all want the hospital to remain open, but I detest the fact that this maniac[Sheehan]Represents my concerns.
I have voiced my opinion to the right hospital department handling this matter,without Sheehan's help.
I have not seen a patrol car on my street for years. Maybe if there is an emergency you may 2 or 3.cars answering the call. Look on Central ave.and 119 you will see the police hiding to catch speeders.ones passing stop signs, and passing traffic lights.
The chief should take a survey to see how many residents see or dont see patrol cars in their vicinity.
The chief will be in the state of shock,to see the results.
Bernstein was out of order again at tonights town meeting,concerning Westhelp. He only seems to blame Feiner for Westhelp. The rest of the town board voted on this ,with the exception on El capitano.the first time arround, But he did vote a few months back to give the the remaining money.
To mention a lawyer of wrong doing was also in poor taste,considering what he has done with Dromore Rd.
He too should be disbarred.
Paul,
Goodg for you! You finally stood up to the Bully. Sheehan is a disgrace and its about time you put him in his place. Good for you! Sheehan cares only about himself. I hope the rest of the Town Council now realizes this. Sheehan is ready willing and able to throw them under the bus in a moments notice. Bass, Juetner and Barnes...WAKE UP!
Again the Town of Greenburgh was entertained by the uncrowned King Zog II of Edgemontania, and his consort the presumptive Double Whopper with Cheese Princess Berger.
His unctiousness took time out to excoriate a fellow lawyer as he tried to marry him to his former client, the Supervisor. Shame, Shame! How low can this McCarthyite get? Have you know shame? Will even the future Kingdom of Edgemontania accept this royal pretender. It could be curtains for Zog II. It was difficult to hear over the telly, but the Son of the Shadow believes that another lawyer was not fooled by Zog's attempt at smear politics. Guilt by association is his next mantra!
The pressure is now on the Board to reject the entreaties of Princess Double Whopper to keep her firm's face safely in the public trough! We'll see the Board's loyalty in the face of public scorn.
Of course it won't matter after September 18th, the Princess will be history as Party Leader and the Board will open up the bidding to dump the contract!
The Son of the Shadow -knows all!
I do confess to enjoying the writing skills and satire of the Shadow and his family. Perhaps they too can enter the race for whose family needs the most medical attention.
This is not to be taken as a put down for the Shadow; it is a merely a reflection on the evening's competition.
Tonight's Town Board meeting was witness to a new Greenburgh low water mark: which member of the Town Board, including immediate family, has made the most use of the Dobbs Ferry Hsopital. Despite the Empire Games having packed up and left the area, Francis Sheehan bid for the title and proudly told everyone that his is the sickest family on the Town Board. True; neither I nor the Shadow could invent this. Refusing to share the honors with Feiner or his fellow Town Council members, Sheehan, clearly near implosion after his lecture on the history of Greenburgh grant procurement, forgot to extend the courtesy of a mention to his fellow dais neighbors -- not surprising since he does not share glory well and perhaps a token acknowledgement by including the two Council members running for re-election, Bass and Barnes, who weren't allowed under the Sheehan umbrella and instead were left out in the rain, goes a long way to underscoring his festering resentment at having to carry their baggage as well as his own. But why leave running mate and Village resident (closest to the Hospital) Diana Juettner also out in the rain? I can understand his wanting to exclude Feiner as they are locked in a duel to the death and when Feiner banishes Berger and the Democratic Party to the hinterlands, so goes Sheehan's one chance at getting to score a trip to home plate on someone else's batting.
So, perhaps it was not Feiner's best moment either, but constantly being on the defensive against the 4 on 1 attack from both sides of the dais is not an enviable position to be in for anyone; the result of this constant battering could send anyone to...the nearest hospital.
Should Feiner apologize? Not on his life. If someone holds a gun at you and cocks the trigger, I think not. My only regret is that Feiner had a better command of English when finding himself in taxing circumstances. I know I could have done better than "disgusting" however, on balance, Feiner did hold his ground against the bully; despite Sheehan's assertions to the contrary, there is no legal impediment to having the Town Board as a group named on the motion. So the bottom line is that despite the outcome of the vote, Sheehan did walk off with the trophy for heading the most unwell family on the Town Board.
You have to see the reruns yourself to believe this.
Meanwhile for the only 7 people (or is it 8) who are alleged to read this blog, I did have the opportunity to ask the Town Attorney (and head of the Legal Department), Tim Lewis if Bob Bernstein was empowered to represent the Town in negotiations to buy, write memorandums or drafts to effect the potential purchase by the Town of the Dromore Road property and Lewis' answer was NO. Thus the question remains, who was the buyer if not the Town. I stand by my earlier posts that the only party Mr. Bernstein could rightfully represent would be himself or his designees while, thanks to Mr. Lewis tonight, that designee did NOT, as is in "may" include the Town.
And if the Town were not the intended buyer, why was the Town Council meeting secretly "off campus" with the Developer?
I could follow in the footsteps of a rabid poster who has written that secret, personal emails will prove that Feiner intended to force the Town Board to ram the Zoning change through for the benefit of the Developer. Payment in kind would demand that I write that the Town Council met to find ways to ram such a Zoning change past Feiner for the benefit of the Developer. This fits the facts more closely. Why else would Feiner be excluded from the meetings and Mark Weingarten, the Developer's attorney but Feiner supporter, also be prohibited from attended -- so that he wouldn't alert Feiner to the Town Council's plan to change the Zoning to permit multi-family and thereby selling out Edgemont.
Feiner is on record as wanting to have the property conveyed to the Nature Center and enlisted Abinante's help to get County funds.
Of course I wouldn't write these thoughts and put my name to them.
But, I do like the "what if" hypothesis. You've got to admit that this version fits just as well, if not better, as the one posted by anonymous that says Feiner and Samis are lying.
Have a nice day until we meet again. You know the place.
Wow! Thanks to Bernstein last night, we now know Feiner took $10,000 in contributions from a Mayfair Knollwood lawyer, who, after the state comptroller threatened to declare the $6.5 million grant of WestHELP money to the Valhalla schools illegal, Feiner then hired to represent Feiner on the WestHELP matter.
Then, only a few weeks later, that same Mayfair Knollwood lawyer is arrested and charged with grand larceny from stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly clients. He's since pleaded guilty, been disbarred and is off to jail.
So how do we know that Chase Caro didn't get some of that WestHELP money himself? The answer is we don't. Feiner hasn't provided an accounting of the Town's WestHELP money and the deal he negotiated with Valhalla didn't require that they provide the town with an accounting of the millions it was getting.
So is Feiner guilty by association? You bet he is. It's hard to believe anybody would give Feiner $10,000 and not expect something major in return. The donor is a convicted felon and Feiner hired him to be his "attorney."
It is hard to believe that the 7:01 blog was written by anyone other than Bernstein, the champ of sleaze and lies. It repeats the BS he said last evening, and he puts Senator McCarthy in second place for champ of guilt by association.
Bernstein now has to woek overtime to change the subject from his sneaky and possible criminal behavior in the Dromore Place case, and he does it by bringing up diversions such as the fact that a lawyer who once represented Feiner was caught stealing in another case. Since Bernstein is relentless we can expect to hear this again and again. By now he probably doesn't have more than a dozen residents who are still taken by him - the four council mambers and eight others.
7:22 you are 100% right. those words are the words Bernstein said at last nights' meeting,word for word. He too should be disbarred from his practice.There is nothing else that he could say or do to save face.
Bernstein you too made a big mistake,so take your punishment as a man.McNally step down.from your present position,the town residents should not be represented by you or Bernstein. The manner that you conducted this business on Dromore Rd was the last straw.
Bernstein you spoke about a lawyer last night who had some bad dealings and is now incarceratted,one can say that you too fit into this category.He was said to have stollen money, you were trying to steal land.
So, Anonymous at 8:25 wants to disbar Bernstein for what 8:25 has decided is unethical behavior. All he has to do to begin the process is file a complaint with the Disciplanary Committee of the Westchester County Bar Association clearly stating the facts. Why has neither he (nor the Shadow, nor Son of Shadow, nor Hal Samis, nor Paul Feiner) nor anyone else not done so? Because the complainant would have to sign his name to the document - something none of them dare to do. They all fear the truth is not as they want it to be.
Kaminer should be fired for his violating the First Amendment Rights of the Valhalla School Superintendant.
Holy Cow! if feiner had any scruples he would investigate where convicted swindler chase caro got the 10 grand from - is feiner now using money for his campaign that belongs to the eldery aunt chase caro stole from?
Every time you see a "im with paul" campaign sign just think of chase caro - he was with paul too.
As for Bernstein - bravo - he is "on to Paul." As Lincoln said, you cannot fool all the people all the time.
If I heard him correctly, Bernstein said last night that Feiner hiring convicted felon and $10,000 campaign contributor Chase Caro to be the town supervisor's lawyer on WestHELP was "official misconduct" which Bernstein said was a Class A Misdemeanor.
Under the New York State Penal Code, a public official is guilty of "official misconduct" when, with intent to obtain a benefit, "he commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions, knowing that such act is unauthorized."
Feiner hired Caro to protect him as town supervisor from the political embarrassment of having the state comptroller declare the Valhalla deal illegal.
State law does not give Feiner the legal authority to hire his own lawyer. Feiner knew this when he hired Caro because he objected, successfully, to the town council hiring its own counsel on the same ground.
Based on these undisputed facts, it sure looks like Bernstein is right -- Feiner is indeed guilty of "official misconduct."
And sure enough, "official misconduct is a Class A Misdemeanor."
"Holy cow", Mr. Rizzuto is talking to us from the grave.
If so, perhaps he would be telling us that it is now time to see who Mr. Bernstein's clients are, perhaps they are the designees that were intended to buy the Dromore parcel. Clearly Mr. Lewis established that the Town was not the bride.
Why am I bringing this up? Because it is apparently fair play to look at Mr. Caro's clients when his list includes a familiar name.
Despite the legal smokescreen that I suspect is misapplied, Mr. Bernstein FILE your charges if it is true, the reason that Feiner sought Counsel was that the Town Council wouldn't invite him aboard to join them in using their WESTHELP legal support.
And what is a legal smokescreen?Such an example is to be found in the posting at 10:26 AM in which presumably an accurate rendering of New York State Penal Code is presented but that passage has nothing to do with the conclusion that "State law does not give Feiner the legal authority to hire his own attorney". The bait and switch game is on in full force; the come-on was the Code but it has no application to the topic at hand.
This is a specialty of Mr Bernstein. Under the presumption that when Bernstein speaks, Smith Barney listens, he uses what is left of his waning reputation to cite law and instead asks us to trust him that whatever he brings to the table actually belongs there.
Come on confess. You want to believe Bob but here's a simple test.
State law prevents Feiner from hiring an attorney to handle the sale of his home. Yes or No.
State law prevents Feiner from hiring an attorney to draw up a will for purposes of estate planning. Yes or No.
State law prevents Feiner from hiring an attorney to defend himself against a claim for damages in an automobile accident.
Yes or No.
State law prevents Feiner from hiring an attorney to sue anyone.
Yes or No.
In fact, Bernstein has never explained that State law allows Feiner to hire an attorney for quite a number of reasons. That a State law may exist that would prevent the Town Supervisor from hiring an attorney might or might not acutally be true, I don't have time for an online search. But if such a law exists, I suspect that the circumstances of Feiner hiring one are not among those instances which the "law" precludes.
Such is the nature of the Big Lie.
So despite language like "undisputed facts", I can assure you that there is indeed dispute; furthermore it is not over what has been claimed are "facts" either.
After hearing and reading about feiner and caro and the ten grand (!) in campaign contributions feiner took from this felon, the "big truth" is that paul feiner has no business being relected as town supervisor. But this should be no suprise, feiner's being doing or defending lots of illegal things like WestHelp. Im really wondering how feiner sleeps at night knowing that the money he has in his huge bank account was probably stolen from the aged and infirm.
There really is no limit to the lies and perversions of facts and law that Bernstein and his friends like 10:26 (if that isn't actually Bernstein, who writes so many of these blogs) will go.
10:26 quotes what he says is the Penal Law that a public official is guilty of a crime when "he commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions, knowing that such act is unauthorized" and then says that Feiner is guilty because he hired a lawyer who is not being paid by the town.
Bernstein is really creative in his lies but he must be running out of energy. Hiring a lawyer is a crime? Wanting counsel about an audit is a crime? Seeking advice from a lawyer when the Town Council has hired a lawyer and kept that lawyer from speaking to Feiner is a crime? How nuts does Bernstein think we are?
What is like a crime is the verbal pollution that Bernstein and his friends and Sheehan and Bass spew at Board meetings. There is nothing left of government thanks to them. I wasn't for Feiner six months ago but now I am telling my neighbors that if they don't want a dictatorship they have to vote for Feiner and his running mates.
take the police off the Hudson and put them on Manhattan Ave. Maybe they would be a deterant for murder and shopping cart thefts.
It would be foolish to dismiss those allegations of "official misconduct" so quickly.
According to what Bernstein said last night, Feiner retained Caro as counsel in Feiner's capacity as town supervisor.
That's very different from Feiner retaining Caro as counsel to advise Feiner personally.
The issue is whether state law allows Feiner, as town supervisor, to hire his own counsel. It doesn't. Even if a lawyer agrees to work for free. The law says only the town board has the authority to retain counsel for town officials, including Feiner.
Thus, when the town board decided to retain Judith Lockhart as independent counsel to investigate how the WestHELP funds failed to be properly accounted for on the town's books and records, this was an action that had to be taken by the entire town board, and, ironically enough, because Feiner insisted on it, it was.
Not so with Caro. Feiner did that entirely on his own, and such unilateral action, which he knew he couldn't do but did so anyway for his own personal political benefit, is what makes what Feiner did here "official misconduct."
It doesn't matter for "official misconduct" that Caro gave him $10,000, and it doesn't matter that Caro is a convicted felon who stole from the elderly and infirm. That, on Feiner's part, is official stupidity.
ok, so the Bernstein-ians hurl Westhelp (and the flood and various natural disasters) at the feet of the Feiner-ites. The Feiner-ites catapult back Dromore Road and cabal-insinuations at the Bernstein-ians. Ad nauseum, ad infinitum. Will all of these parties just agree to find full-time private employment or more fun hobbies, like knitting or model-airplane building, and leave us all alone? It's time to clean out the Augean stables - and that means everyone.
Bernstein's lies live on and on, but not forever because Bernstein's reputation and standing are finally sinking into the depths where they belong. No amount of spinning and explaining the spin will make the spin any better.
Adios Bernstein. And good riddance.
more like hola bernstein, entrada caro,
oy dios mio
adios feiner
GREENBURGH ATTORNEY PLEADS GUILTY TO GRAND LARCENY
OVER THREE QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS STOLEN FROM TWO CLIENTS
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that Chase Caro (DOB 6/19/58) of 30 Hartford Lane, White Plains, New York plead guilty today to one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony.
On August 1, 2006, the defendant, an attorney who practices in New York City and White Plains, received approximately $470,143 on behalf of an elderly client which represented monies received involving the sale of a home in Peekskill, Westchester County.
Despite numerous requests from his client to transfer the money owed after payment of litigation related fees, the defendant failed to do so.
On November 28, 2006, the defendant provided his client with a check in the amount of $310,000, which was returned by his bank for insufficient funds.
The defendant instead stole the money and used the funds owed to his client to pay personal and business expenses.
Caro faces two to six years in state prison.
Restitution, in the amount of $780,000, to the original victim and an additional victim who was subsequently identified in the course of the investigation, will impact sentencing.
Caro will be sentenced on October 29th, 2007.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Conway, of the Public Integrity Bureau, prosecuted the case.
Chase Caro
Pizza shop owners say lawyer took a big slice
Chase Caro, 48, of White Plains, who practices in Manhattan and Westchester County, represented Frank and Francesca Salvi when they sold their restaurant, Francesca Pizza and Pasta, in Shrub Oak. The price was $354,900, but the Salvis didn't get the money. Instead, Caro deposited $319,000 of the funds into his business account, according to a Disciplinary Committee investigation. Another check for the remaining $35,900, is still being traced.
The probe, which led to Caro's suspension, also found he deposited $470,143.05 into his business account from the sale of a Peekskill home owned by Herbert Newkirk, 70.
Newkirk received a worthless check.
"It bounced," said Newkirk, a widower. "Insufficient funds. Caro didn't do anything but swindle me."
"One third of my practice is pro bono," Caro said. "I'm sure when I get my chance to put my side of the story out, I'll be exonerated."
OK. If Caro runs for Supervisor I won't vote for him. You all have convinced me.
Sheehan and Bernstein are involved in the worst type of McCarthyism-like like guilt by association seen in 60 years. It is indicative of a poor campaign being run by Suzanne (don't bother me I'm on vacation) Berger. Sheehan and Bernstein realize Paul is going to win and instead of concentrating on legitimate campaign issues, they want to damage Feiner as much as possible. It won't work. It would be very easy to get a list of students that Sheehan has lectured over the years. How many cops have you taught Frances who have gone on to be arrested themselves????? Can we obtain a client list for Mr. Bernstein? Have any of his clients (corporate or individual) been convicted of anything? You see Bob and Francis, once you start this type of activity it is a very slippery slope indeed.
Good news...I saw a big moving truck today backing up to Bob and Nancy Bernstein's house at 48 Old Colony Road in Hartsdale...call Bob now to congratulate him (725-7280).
That same truck was seen later this afternoon backing up to Charles and Michelle McNally's house at 29 Old Army Road...again, I think a congratulation call is in order (723-7030).
And I guess they will deny that too!
Well, at least, these news should make 90% of Edgemont residents happy!
Dear 6:12
This blog should concentrate on the issues before the Town. It is wrong to give out anyones' phone number and address without their permission whether or not they are publically listed in a phone book.
If you were actually on both Bernstein's street and McNally's street today, I suggest you take up some type of new activity such as knitting. Keeping personal tabs on people tends to get one in lots of trouble.
If on the other hand, your post is a ploy by a Feiner detractor determined to create an impression that there is an armada of pro-Feiner stalkers out there, I don't think it will work.
Either way, this type of posting serves no positive purpose.
chase caro, son of Pulitzer prize winner Robert Caro, lives near WESTHELP and offered to volunteer his time. Feiner did nothing wrong.
Feiner did nothing wrong?
He had the incredibly poor judgment to hire just last November as his lawyer not just someone from Mayfair Knollwood who had given him $10,000, but someone who it turns out was a crook who had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly clients.
And Feiner did this entirely on his own, without the other town board members knowledge or consent, in violation of state law which doesn't give town supervisors that authority.
Feiner brought shame and embarrassment to the town in what he did. That "official misconduct" statute looks like it might well apply here, and if it does, it ought to.
Well democracy was in action today as freedom of the press rang loud and clear. But of course we all have the freedom to make complete and utter dunces out of ourselves, time and time again.
There was a interesting, accurate and fair letter by one John Russo of Hartsdale, detailing Paul Feiner's record on comservation and his farsighted vision regarding the problems of global warming. But he was critical of the Democrats in a constructive way.
But we were also entertained by a moronic letter from known Feiner-hater Lorin Brown. He states, that in 40 years he has not witnessed a worse Greenburgh Town meeting. I found that hilarious. He was at meetings when Ed Vetrano was Supervisor? Who is he kidding? Brown probably did not know what a Town Board meeting was until some one led him by his ear to a Board meeting 6 years ago. In fact over the past five or so years there have been plenty of raucus meetings led by Krauss, Samis, and others. It seems that defending Feiner is not quite cricket, but jumping on him is all right in rugby!
This inarticulate buffoon, says that Feiner lost control of the meeting. As I recall it was Suzanne, "absent without leave" Berger, who screamed at every one to shut up when her tainted contributions were questioned. By the way since when has Feiner not been interested in "good government?" He has had every award given from "good government" types for the last 24 years. Where was Lorin, out to lunch? Meanwhile our bond-rating is at its highest and tax increases have been "zero" the last two years and for years they have been well under the county average! Wake up you mathematical moron! But his specious claim that Feiner mishandled the Valhalla-WestHelp funds is even more laughable. Those funds weren't Greenburgh's, but Greenburgh's to dole out, buffoon! They have been accounted for and it's Valhalla's problem not Greenburgh's. But Brown forgets that the vote to arrange the payments were 5-0. That is five to zero for the mathematically challenged. While Brown was supposedly attending Town Board Meetings since he was eight or so, his buddies on the Board didn't do their due dilligence. What else is new? Now, because Feiner calls for 7 days of swimming at the Young Center, his "progressive" friends on the Board are putting up road blocks! Anything Feiner does is poison to Brown and his handlers.
But closed-minded twits like Brown can't get over their hatred, jealousy and craveness for power. Get over it, Feiner will win, Berger will be gone from politics and the party will choose someone more competitant and fairer.
Can you believe that this twit is a Democratic Commiteeman and he stoops to this level. But he has been doing it for years.
Anonymously mocking a dedicated long-time Democratic district leader in the town like Lorrin Brown, who also happens to be African American, can only be the work of Feiner's racist-in-chief and campaign manager, Garfunkel.
If Garfunkel is so entertained by what the press reports, he should take a look at Paul Redd's front page column in this week's County Press.
The County Press, Garfunkel, is what we read in Fairview. Mr. Redd is a very smart man. He knows a loser when he sees ones. And he doesn't think much of Feiner's campaign. Go read how he thinks Feiner is underestimating the intelligence of Greenburgh's black voters this year, and since you are his campaign manager, Garfunkel, that means he's talkiing about you too.
What the hell is the point of saying that Lorrin Brown is African-American. He is an angry dolt who over the years has hated many people, Feiner being the latest. He has no sense, never has.
The 8:02 blogger descibed Brown correctly. It is the 8:26 blogger who is racist for bringing up Brown's ethnicity and then accusing the person who never mentioned it.
Feiner and his wacko supporters are the first to accuse others of what they themselves are guilty of doing.
If they claim their signs are being taken down, you can be sure Feiner is out there in the middle of the night taking down Berger signs wherever he can find them. That's just what he does.
And if they accuse Feiner's critics of being hateful, you can be sure that they are the ones really being hateful here.
The comments being made about Lorrin Brown are a good example. Brown wrote a letter to the Journal News criticizing Feiner for the poor way he conducted a town meeting last month. Brown didn't say anything hateful about anybody.
And for this Feiner and his supporters, notably Garfunkel blogging anonymously, have slammed Brown for being an angry hate-filled dolt, a moron, and a close-minded twit. Mr. Brown comes off in this exchange like a gentleman. Feiner and Garfunkel come off like the goons that they are.
Lorin Brown is a complete idiot. Too bad that he always states his classification in the Democratic party. It was said a long time ago on one of the blogs, that this party is picking up all the nuts that are available.
What does he represent. Nothing.
He puts his pants on the same way that I do.He's just a patsy for this party. wHAT HAPENED TO THE REAL PEOPLE that represented the party with all that they had.
This man has only hatred in his heart, a bad sign for a party that says they are for the people.
His representation is limited,Committee man is just a title for a goofer.
He may think that he has power. well he better think again, that every time he gets up at meetings he shows his inability to be a true DEMOCRATE.
Lorin Brown and Sheehan deserve one another.
The two have shown the residents of Greenburgh that there is nothing in their heads but sawdust.
They have so much madness for power that it has become a mental situation.
We should have some straight jackets available at the meetings,to cart away these two so called top democrates.
Want for power has turned into complete hatred for the supervisor. I do hope that the coming election brings us the results that will be Feiner,Brown ,Morgan. and Beville
That a true Democratic ticket,,,,,,.
.
Let's pretend that it is now TWO DAYS BEFORE the Democratic Primary. Don't go outside, don't read the newspapers, sit in comfort in front of your computer screen and let the world come to you.
Here are some of the postings that you will then read from anonymous posters.
Feiner was the real mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, why won't he release his feiner98 emails with Bin Laden.
Feiner claims to have been a patient in Dobbs Ferry on the same day he was ramming Zoning changes past the Town Board.
Feiner still lying says Feiner did not discover the new world.
Berger can walk on water and is voted the safest bridge in Greenburgh by local Dems.
Feiner's paperboy used his access pass into the gated community where Feiner lives to rob his neighbor this June. Why did Feiner, last Christmas, give the paperboy money?
Berger's law firm is awarded large contract by rock pro's Bono and the Edge. You too can hire my firm and I just want to thank all my generous supporters at the firm who have contributed so generously to my campaign even on the condition that win or lose, I don't return.
Tens of thousands of dollars of Feiner campaign contributions have been traced back to former slave owners.
Kevin Morgan's brothers are named Sam and Ralph and they are the real owners of S&R Development.
Feiner has again broken NYS Town Law, this time Article 382.4 and Public Officials Laws 232.3 and 106.7 section C32. These laws forbid elected officials from knowingly hiring baby sitters and drinking iced tea on town owned property.
Hartsdale under water said...
Feiner continues to ignore the weather report. Last time he came to check on store reopening progress, it was raining and he didn't bring an umbrella. We need a professional manager who will know enough to keep a spare umbrella in the trunk. Berger, for example keeps two in her trunk, the ECC and the CGCA.
How dare Feiner run an African American Woman as the poor man's version of Eddie Mae Barnes. Eddie Mae is the kind of person we like to have in Edgemont, she lives, sleeps and shops here and will never have any school age children. Why can't we have more just like her which is why Edgemont also extends the welcome mat to Stevie Bass.
Feiner Trashes the Library.
FEINER STILL TRASHING THE LIBRARY.
feiner approves libary request for garbage compactor.
Feiner continues to avoid Ethics Board probe of whether his sixth grade fund raiser for planting trees in Israel solicited money from Con Ed.
Feiner's future Attorney was found to have a "messy" locker in sixth grade.
Feiner's campaign manager accused by Town Council of heading up a notorious gang planning to forge the index cards used to reserve podium time during Public Comment.
Feiner continues to allow harmful rays from the sun to fall on Edgemont School District. Town insurance policy on this is considered by many to be woefully inadequate. Civic leaders have long suspected that the reason Feiner has long tolerated this unsafe situation is that he hopes Edgemont would just drop dead.
Feiner secret plan to buy total UV protection bubble to cover just the Villages and East Irvington is thwarted by Edgemont attorney. "I warned him about this", says Robbie the Grating to the Scarsdale Inquirer but all Feiner would say is "call my former attorney".
Valhalla School District declares special dividend to residents. Using the remaining uncommitted funds from Feiner's illegal deal, each VSD resident will receive $575 to spend with no strings attached.
Feiner is censured for using Town email system to promote Town Board meetings at which he has the best seat in the room.
Feiner's bicycle searched for drugs.
Feiner makes pact with Developer not to charge for second set of prints.
Feiner leaves work session early to go to the bathroom.
Feiner's negligence in not having weeds removed from Central Avenue medians now linked to the collapse of the sub-prime mortage market.
Still lying about the wall said...
Feiner knew the attack was coming and had already planned to have it built at Webb Field.
JUST WAIT FOR "ONE DAY BEFORE" THE PRIMARY...
10:30 Berger admitted to the public that not one of her signs was taken down ,so stop the lying. You're probably the one taking down Feiner signs,so stop the BSing.
Some local Democrats hypocritical on ecology
Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner has preserved vast amounts of green park areas, and has done so with mostly state and county money. Feiner has addressed global warming by imposing efficiency standards on new construction and via other programs. Democrats chant that global warming is a major issue. Yet Feiner, a pioneer on this most basic of local environmental issues, is facing a primary.
Trees and natural green areas remove CO2 from the air. The new mega-rich Democrats moving into Greenburgh can't wait to rip out trees and green areas for their McMansions, driveways and sidewalks. They are contributing to the destruction of the environment that they say they care about. Bigger houses use more energy, and pollute more air and water; simultaneously, they reduce green areas and trees that remove pollutants. Lawns are not as environmentally friendly as wild areas.
Democrats who want to blame others for environmental woes but don't want to pay, sacrifice or deny themselves anything, may prefer someone to cater to their whims instead of Feiner's visionary record of protecting green space for the future. Parkland does cost, and doesn't provide immediate gratification, but it makes a difference for the earth's ecology.
Politicians sidestep basics like maintenance of pipes and bridges so they can spend on showy, vote-getting programs. It turns out that can sometimes cost lives. It's good to see a leader who does the right thing on environmental basics. It will be interesting to see if Greenburgh's Democrats agree.
John Russo
Hartsdale
Ethics effort should look close to home
In the Aug. 2 article, "Town OKs $25,000 for ethics panel attorney," I found it interesting that Greenburgh Town Board aide Gil Kaminer justified the expenditure by explaining that without outside counsel, Assistant Town Attorney David Fried might be forced to investigate a charge of unethical behavior by his boss, Town Attorney Tim Lewis, or by Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, "his boss's boss."
Most interesting is what Kaminer apparently did not say, stopping short of including his own bosses, Town Board members Francis Sheehan, Steve Bass, Diana Juettner and Eddie Mae Barnes, as potential targets of the ethics panel attorney. He failed also to include himself.
Kaminer was the person called out publicly at a Town Board meeting for supposedly issuing a threat to the Valhalla school district superintendent if there was a large pro-school turnout at an "open" Town Board meeting. This incident was witnessed by others. Several other town residents heard Kaminer make similar comments the night of the meeting.
Kaminer's intention was clear: suppress any large pro-school comments by school district residents, clearly an infringement of a citizen's right to free speech and lawful assembly. Since Kaminer's salary is paid for by town residents, this was an appalling charge, and the Town Board was urged to investigate. But since Kaminer takes his direction from Councilman Sheehan, it was no surprise that nothing was done.
Ethics Board? Where were they? When the future Ethics Board attorney is retained, I know where he should start looking first.
Tim O'Leary
White Plains
Local thief stole freedom of speech
I'm a believer in Greenburgh because I'm a believer in America. Our amazing town historically has been identified as "our nation in miniature." No wonder that so many great ideas to reach the rest of our country were either created here, or tested here first. Corporations and political parties have for many years been aware of the power of Greenburgh. That's why I find disturbing a little thing that happened to me recently.
It's about a piece of paper. I called the police about it. It was just a green paper sign stolen from my front lawn - not because someone wanted it, but because someone didn't want the three words on it to be seen. What had really been taken was my freedom of speech.
But worse, I was not the only one silenced. Apparently, others who planted that simple green sign have also had it uprooted. I guess a new seed of an idea can be seen as dangerous when it begins growing in the fertile soil of Greenburgh.
What did the sign say? In three short words, it expressed the liberating idea that our town supervisor can be re-elected without controlling help from America's political bosses and special interests - that there could be a new political party just for Greenburgh, serving our citizens first, and that this party would defiantly be called, "The Greenburgh United Party.'' Yes, a new idea for local American towns.
Oh, the sign said, "I'm with Paul."
Terry Pavone
Greenburgh
The CABAL strikes again!
As usual the "killer bees" strike out again! Barnes, Bass, Berger, Bernstein and now Brown! Of course many of the original members have become bored, tired, worn out, or just fed up with the politics of hate! Of course their not so stealth leader is sitting right on the Town Board. This monument to propriety now wants the Dobbs Ferry Hospital to be named after himself! His many days and months of therapy there have made him feel that he was entitled to not only save Dobbs Ferry Hospital, but rename it "The Sir Francis the Talking Mule Medical Center." Wouldn't Donald O, be thrilled!
More from the Grandson of the Shadow!
Dear Mrs. Berger,
Do you support the Constitution of The United States of America?
Do you support women's rights?
If the answer to the above questions are yes, will you support a full investigation of Gil Kaminer's threats to the women school superintendant from Valhalla should you be elected?
I believe these are proper questions to ask Mrs. Berger at next weeks' debate.
WHY THE HELL IS KAMINER MAKING STATEMENTS TO THE PRESS? IS IT HIS SWELLED HEAD OR HAS HE BEEN DEPUTIZED BY THE FOUR COUNCILPERSONS? HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE THEIR ADMINISTATIVE HELPER NOT A PUBLIC DEFENDER.
Kaminer serves as a $70,000 a year tool for Sheehan that he uses against Feiner. Kaminer worked for the Scarsdale Inquirer where he got very chummy with the Edgemont Folks. Upon assuming total control over Greenburgh Francis demanded a "legislative assistant." Young Kaminer serves in that position so well, occasionally moonlighting as a thug who can be used to frighten women. Poor Gil. He isn't even good at that. The woman in question had the guts to complain about it immediately. Feiner wanted this obvious violation of first amendment rights to be investigated. Sheehan said nothing so the other council members kept their mouths shut.
The following can and should be asked of Councilwoman Barnes at next week's debate:
Do you support the Constitution of The United States of America?
Do you support women's rights?
If the answer to the above questions are yes, will you support a full investigation of Gil Kaminer's threats to the women school superintendant from Valhalla should you be elected and why didn't you support the Supervisor when he wanted an investigation?
I was at the police department today and I saw that the Town cut down what appeared to be a 100 year old tree that was located in the rear of the parking lot.
What was the reason?
Will another be planted?
Can I cut trees on my property?
....Oh, right, I am not allowed to do that !!!!!
All of this nonsense about the superintendent of the Valhalla school district having been threatened is garbage; she's made no such charges and even if she had, she'd have no credibility.
That's because Ms. Ramos-Kelly was caught on tape at a Town Board work session last fall lying to town board members that the $650,000 a year in town revenues that Valhalla was getting for free from Feiner was needed to compensate the district for the cost of educating the homeless children residing at the WestHELP shelter.
Turns out, the state comptroller said there weren't any homeless kids there and even if there were a few such kids attending Valhalla schools, the district would already be compensated.
Ms. Ramos-Kelly proved herself to be both disingenuous and disrespectful to Greenburgh citizens in a number of other respects as well. The night she was supposedly threatened, she joined Tim O'Leary and others from Mayfair Knollwood in heckling any Greenburgh resident who spoke out publicly against the illegal grants that Feiner had given to Valhalla.
Dear 5:43
The problem with your argument is that Young Kaminer CONFESSED TO DOING IT IN FRONT OF WITNESSES!
Should a proper investigation be initiated, Kaminer will be placed under oath as will those who witnessed his confession and that will be that.
Citizens 10 Sheehan & Co. 0
Suzanne Berger and Paul Feiner agree: The Town Board is dysfunctional. We need Kevin Morgan and Sonja Brown on the Board. The fighting that Berger and Feiner object to must stop. Sheehan can't be thrown out of office this time. Bass can.
Sheehan must resign due to health reasons.
He is not funtioning with a full deck.
Juettner may take the same step and only then will we have a board that will work for the town.
Those two seats can be filled easily with normal people
Let's vote in Brown ,Morgan, first, and then we could decide who could take over for Sheehan and Juettner..
we dont need feiner clones like morgan and whats her name. feiner's divisiveness and gimmicks have lead greenburgh into a political dead end. 16 years of his adhd is enough. feiner is all about one thing - retaining political power at our expense.
Sheehan is about one thing: TOTAL CONTROL.
Not only total control, but the fall of Greenburgh's open government. He works behind everyone backs,with special people of a certain area and the hell with the others.
He wrote a brief why Dobbs Ferry Hosp, should remain open,stating that his family was the only one in Greenburgh using the facility.To top the cake he was signing the brief with only his name and the hell with the rest of the board.
One can see he is a controlling freak that needs medical assistance asap.
Has Sheehan been hospitalized himself, if so, for what? Does Dobbs Ferry Hospital have a psyhchiatric unit?
Sheehan was subpeoned by the attorney representing Troy at the Zoning Board Hearing. Sheehan refused to come to the hearing. Come on Sheehan, what do you have to hide?
Hopefully the Troy Attorney will subpeona the Edgemont Community Council's Records as well as the Highridge Civic Association's records. That is a quick way to getting to the bottom of whether Bernstein and McNally were charged by their community with acquiring the Dromore Road Property.
Interestingly, no Edgemonter has produced minutes of those organizations to support Bernstein and McNally.
Dear 4:55
Lasser has been very quiet about all this, hasn't he? You would think if he had the evidence to support his Edgemont friends he would have provided it by now.
Feiner must think his supporters are really stupid.
Troy's lawyers don't have the authority under state law to subpoena anybody. Not Sheehan, nobody. All they've done is appeal a determination from the town that its property is zoned single family.
Troy's produced no evidence from any town board ordinances or from the minutes of any town board meeings to show that the town ever zoned the property for multifamily use.
They ain't gonna find it anywhere either because it doesn't exist. All the evidence in the town's records shows the property was zoned single family all along.
All this mean-spirited talk about issuing subpoenas of town board members and Edgemont residents over this is a non-issue and is typical of the hate-filled rhetoric that Feiner is known for.
Dear 11:50
If thats the case I guess Sheehan can sue Troy for alot of money SINCE HE WAS Subpeopned and it caused such worry on his part that he refused to attend the Zoning Board meeting which he NEVER MISSES!
Dear 6:37 -
Lasser has produced no evidence because he has none.
I have no need to defend anyone and therefore have no need to do anything more than try provide facts when they are available.
When I have nothing constructive to add to the conversation, I am content to sit quietly and hopefully learn.
With all the fuss over the Dobbs Ferry Hospital, where was Diana Juettner. I know she was sitting in her seat between Feiner and Sheehan but I am curious how come no one said, "how about adding Diana's name to the Resolution?"
Either she doesn't exist other than a holagraphic projection but since she is the Board member living nearest to the Hospital, either she is very, very healthy or she chooses not to use it.
If she uses other medical facilities instead, then perhaps there is something lacking about Dobbs Ferry that residents should know before any further advocacy.
On the other hand, why does she remain silent; it's not like she could confuse a Hospital for a Library.
Of course, anything is possible.
Dear Bob,
Naughty, naughty.
Troy's Attorney does have the right to have them subpoenaed before the Zoning Board. However, only the Zoning Board has the right to question them.
It is arguable that you create more legislation, when you appear at Town Hall and on this blog, than the entire NYS Legislature.
And lots of stuff ain't gonna be found either because mysteriously it disappears from Town Hall, like the chain of maps.
And on a related matter, what DOES exist are Bernstein drafts which clearly allow the purchase of the Dromore property to be purchased by, not the Town, but by Bob Bernstein or his designees and/or associates. Such a purchase could have resulted, under what was believed then was the correct zoning, in a 100,000 square foot office building on the site. The property would have been obtained for the bargain basement price of $20 a buildable foot, a low for Southern Westchester while located in one of the most desirable areas. A windfall for the buyer/developer. And a windfall for Edgemont by substituting residential development for office development. New taxes without costly children. Such good feelings easily wiping out the loss of "open space" and screw the Nature Center. But money talks.
For Mr. Bernstein to purchase the property on behalf of the Town, two things would be essential.
1) that the Town was aware, not likely with the "contract" being a secret.
2) that the Town had allowed him to represent it -- this was denied by Town Attorney Tim Lewis.
Absent both of these conditions, all we are left with is the hate-filled rhetoric that Bernstein is known for.
Feiner and Samis, the Troys' new faux paralegal, seem determined to turn Troys' proceeding before the zoning board into the same kind of circus that passes for town board meetings.
They will not succeed.
Troy's lawyers don't have the legal right to subpoena anybody before the town's zoning board, and the zoning board chairman wouldn't authorize the issuance of any such subpoenas even if he could.
The zoning board considers applications for variances and appeals from determinations made by town officials.
The Troys are appealing the town's having told them last February, when they applied to build 37 luxury condos, that the land they own on Dromore Road is zoned single family residential.
The only issue before the zoning board is whether the town ever took any action to zone the property for multifamily development. The town has produced lots of evidence showing that the property has always been zoned for single family residency. The Troys have no evidence to the contrary because there is none.
Feiner and Samis keep lying about the true facts on Dromore Road, and making up false allegations about others that have nothing to do with the merits of the dispute, because they hope desperately to distract the public from such things as Feiner's having taken tens of thousands of dollars from developers with applications pending before the town, Feiner's having taken $10,000 from convicted felon and Mayfair Knollwood lawyer Chase Caro, and the day after Caro bounced a check to one of his elderly clients for hundreds of thousands of dollars, Feiner's having hired Caro to be his attorney in charge of keeping town revenues continuing to flow illegally to Valhalla schools, with no accountability to the town.
I have just received a flyer from Suzanne Berger, who will be running for the post of Greenburgh Town Supervisor. In this flyer, Ms. Berger asserts that we spend too much on "expensive and needless lawsuits" that could be resolved out of court, citing as an example "our current court battle over who gets access to our parks." She makes a second point about "petty squabbles in Town Government" which she asserts she would have the power to resolve through "civility." Would you please comment on these two issues in order to help me make my decisions when it comes time to vote on September 18?
Thank you.
Dear Lie Keeper,
Dromore is more than the Zoning Board issue. You are correct that the matter of Bernstein trying to buy the property for himself has nothing to do with the Zoning case.
Which is why @11:02 I introduced it as "On a related matter..."
As for the Zoning Board, you are certainly free to read the transcript of the Thursday ZBA meeting and then eat your words regarding having Sheehan and Stellato drop by for a little chat.
If the subpoena was illegal then it would have been disregarded by the Chair, Belasco. Instead, it was discussed on the basis that since the ZBA would only be allowed to ask the questions, had they been there, they could choose not to ask any or ask questions that even if answered would have little relevance to the decision that the ZBA was already prepared to make.
And throwing up a smokescreen and other distrations is certainly not what you do when discussing Bernstein's inappropriate behaviors which would include negotiating with the seller when he knew the seller's attorney was not allowed to be present.
Mr. Caro may have his problems with following the laws and professional ethics. So does Mr. Bernstein.
To Greenburgh Resident.
Unfortunately Ms. Berger's flier is political hogwash. The two issues you wrote about are beyond her powers to resolve, beyond anybody's powers. Here is why.
The battle over who gets access to our parks, which is really a battle over who pays for the parks, is covered by a statute. It can't be negotiated by her because no settlement can bind Greenburgh taxpayers. The issue could not be resolved before in spite of genuine efforts and Ms. Berger is blowing smoke when she says that she could have resolved it. It will be resolved when the appeals court decides the Taxter Ridge appeal.
The petty squabbles are not petty. What is happening is that Francis Sheehan, who has shown a megalomaniacal lust for power and who hates Paul Feiner, has essentially taken over the town government, with the others letting him do it. If Ms. Berger wins there will be no petty squabbles as long as she permits Sheehan to continue to run the Town Board. That will probably happen because Ms. Berger has no force or natural authority, she is a political sidekick to Brodsky and is looking for bigger things. As has been pointed out by Hal Samis, she is a placeholder for Sheehan when he retires from his teaching job in a year or two.
which she asserts she would have the power to resolve through "civility."
Not a Feiner fan at all but I don't think I could vote for this lady. From all accounts her behavior is less than "civil" and her association with the nuts in Edgemont make me vote for Feiner for the very 1st time since I've been living in Greenburgh. Almost 20 years! I would have loved another decent candidate to be running. Hell! I voted for Stephanie Bellino when she ran & still wouldn't give my vote to this woman.
Feiner may win because people will vote against Berger. 'nuf said.
Feiner hired convicted felon and Mayfair Knollwood lawyer Chase Caro to be his lawyer on WestHELP -- the day after Caro bounced a $310,000 check to one of his elderly clients.
Bob Bernstein is also a lawyer. He raised the issue of Feiner's hiring Caro, of Feiner taking $10,000 from Caro, and of Feiner's having accepted tens of thousands of dollars from developers with applications pending before the town.
Bernstein is also the lawyer who said Feiner was breaking the law in charging only the town's unincorporated area for the cost of parks and recreational facilities that are open townwide to all town residents, and so far, the courts have agreed with him.
Bernstein works for a prestigious international law firm and was recently named by Superlawyer Magazine as one of the New York metro area's "Super Lawyers" for 2007.
I'll take Bernstein's word over anything Feiner, Caro or Samis have to say.
Dear Anon 5:49,
Since Bernstein isn't running, does this mean you'll vote for Berger?
Do you think that a vote for Berger is a vote for Mr.Super Duper lawyer Bernstein?
Feiner never hired Caro to be his lawyer.
When will Bernstein, Sheehan, Barnes, Juettner, McNally, Bass agree to take sworn testimony so we can find out the truth about One Dromore?
If the Troy Attorney had no right to subpeona Francis, why was Sheehan scared to show up to the Zoning Board Meeting????
Dear 5:49PM,
Interesting isn't it that onions have layers.
Pop Quiz. What is Superlawyer Magazine?
Time's up.
Let me answer for you.
From The Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com)
July 21,2006 by Peter Lattman
"New Jersey Says "Super Lawyers" is Super Misleading"
New Jersey's Committee on Attorney Advertising ruled this week that lawyer advertising in a publication called "New Jersey Super Lawyers" violates state rules of professional conduct. The publisher plans to contest the decision.
New Jersey is the first state to rule that advertising in "Super Lawyers" -- which published different editions in 21 states -- violates professional conduct rules. The Garden State prohibits lawyer advertisements that either are comparitive in nature or would create unjustified expectations, and the "Super Lawyer" designation could give consumers a false impression, the committee said. The committee, which is appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court, also wrote: "Participation in a survey of this type, where an attorney knows or reasonably should know that the survey would lead to a descriptive label that is inherently comparitive such as "Super Lawyer" is inappropriate."
Concidentally, earlier this week a glossy magazine slipped out of our New York Times called "New York Super Lawyers: The Essential Guide to the Top Attorneys in Mnahattan." It's the NYC version of Super Lawyers. In addition to a list of "Super Lawyers," the publication has original editorial content. Super Lawyers is a clearly labeled advertising supplement published by Minneapolis-based publisher Law & Politics, a division of Key Professional Media.
The New Jersey committee had problems with the methodology the publication uses to award the "Super Lawyer" designation. First, said the committee, the publication doesn't provide enough detail on its methodology available. Second, the committee wrote, "A careful review of the selective aspects of the promotional methodology, however, underscores the arbitrary selection and ranking process used by the publisher, and provides no empirical or legally sanctioned support for the results".
According to "Super Lawyers," its survey select 5% of a state's attorney population for inclusion in its publications. In New Jersey, which has an estimated 38,000 lawyers according to the American Bar Assocaition, that means roughly 1,900 lawyers receive the "Super Lawyer" designation.
"These self-aggrandizing titles have the potential to lead an unwary consumer to believe that the lawyers so described are, by virture of this manufactured title, superior to their colleagues who practice in the same areas of law," says the committee's opinion. "This simplistic use of a media-generated sound bite title clearly has the capacity to materially mislead the public."
Can you think of anything more embarrassing than if someone were to do the research and find that Mr. Caro was also a "Super Lawyer"?
I'm signing off now, I think I just heard an ambulance go by. Perhaps you want to give Bob a call.
But maybe you should reconsider your statement about taking Bernstein's word over anything you hear from (speaking only for myself) Samis.
Hurry with that call, it might even be a falling tree case.
In response to Anonymous contributors complaining about E. Hartsdale and Central Avenues!
I was on East Hartsdale Avenue this morning, and I have been on it countless times since my uncle practiced dentistry, with an office there, after the last World War. The street is a typical small mixed-use commercial thoroughfare like many that can be visited thoughout Westchester County, and I have been on everyone, on and off, for the last 55+ years. Whether it is Main Street in White Plains, of Huguenot Avenue in New Rochelle, or the Boston Post Road, or White Plains Post Road in Eastchester, or Gramatan Avenue in Mount Vernon, or Mamaroneck Avenue in Mamaroneck, all these streets are heavily trafficked. East Hartsdale Avenue is in an area that services a train station; a bridge crossing the Bronx River and its parkway, and it is one of the few routes that one can travel across the county’s small rivers. There is also a heavy concentration of apartment buildings and a tremendous flow of traffic from Central Avenue to Scarsdale. It is what it is! It is not the responsibility of the Supervisor to prevent every natural disaster, and for sure it is not the Town, or the Supervisor’s responsibility to be the rental agent for the property owners.
The Supervisor has spent countless hours on that street promoting commerce and stimulating interest for both potential retail interests and consumers. He knows all the merchants, haveasked them for their input and has initiated action there for years.
Parking is difficult, traffic is heavy, and the public has been fleeing from these small commercial areas for years. How come with all the commuters, who constantly walk to the station and live nearby, a supermarket cannot exist? Supermarkets today need very large square footage to prosper, and there is not an adequate amount of parking to satiate their needs. Is that his or the Town’s fault? Meanwhile, many who carp about the need for expensive beautification, worry about high taxes in the same breath. Today, nothing comes cheap! As for Central Avenue, I see the parking lots that service the stores along Central Avenue and Route 119 constantly filled. Are shoppers being driven away by the lack of traffic mediums or beautification? No!
There are age-old struggles between commercial and residential areas. Everyone wants easy access to stores, adequate parking and wonderful leafy glades surrounding stately architecture to shop comfortably without a hassle. If you are interested in that type of venue, I suggest you shop on Pondfield Road in Bronxville or downtown in Scarsdale. But living there is another story, if you can afford the price tag, be my guest. By the way, even the Miracle Mile on Northn Boulevard in Nassau County fell apart because of inadequate parking! Whate else is new?
Therefore grousing about commercial areas seems a fool’s journey. My sense is that our local community, and its citizens, would be much better served by accuating less expensive healthcare, better and more affordable funding sources for our schools, affordable housing for the middle class, and less expensive government services. These goals are not easy to attain. In the Town of Greenburgh, taxes have not risen in the past few years, our bond ratings have increased three times in the last five years, services have been excellent, and public safety is record is second to none in Westchester. The Supervisor is accessible on a 24/7 basis, and has been an affective negotiator with developers and has kept the interests of the village residents who make up almost half of the Town population, at the top of his agenda. No elected official in Westchester has been more farsighted, progressive and more concerned with the environment, alternate energy solutions, and conservation.
Meanwhile, Ms. Suzanne Berger has sent out her first mailing and she wants to return to fiscal responsibility and transparency, but she has engineered a 6-7 figure contract for her law firm, Bryan, Cave with the Town, with the complete support of Board Member Francis Sheehan. Is that wrong? Well she is the current Greenburgh Democratic Party Chair, and a high percentage of her contributions come from Bryan Cave! A vast amount of the contributors live outside of Greenburgh. She claims they are friends for twenty years! Do you really believe that? She also states that she wants to stay out of court! Well, it has been the Board that has authorized a legal defense fund for themselves, and the new Ethics Board. It has been her ally, and Feiner-hater, Bob Bernstein that has sued the Town. She states, that she knows the law inside and out! But she has taken contributions from three judges. These contributions are unethical and illegal. She states that she wants to keep out parks and neighborhoods from overdevelopment. How does one over develop a “Park?” That statement is obvious flummery. She talks about making housing available to teachers – as well as our police officers. What is her housing plan, and why hasn’t it been revealed, and when will it be offered to the electorate?
She wants to end squabbles on the Town Board. In other words she will cave in to Francis Sheehan and his colleagues that were meeting illegally to finesses a real estate deal in Edgemont, which would "buffalo" the voters into supporting a moratorium on housing to protect the current schools population, while turning over property to the control of her political allies. She states that she will bring people together! Where is evidence of that? She promises in her last sentence that she will “re-focus our Town Government back on our schools and other priorities.” How does she plan to usurp the authority the local school boards? There are nine schools systems that serve all or part of Greenburgh. What are the “other priorities” and where and how does she intend to intervene regarding the schools? A lot of voters would like to know how she intends to engineer that “slight of hand” trick.
In other words, her campaign piece is full of platitudes, with nothing concrete, and basically fluff without substance. She talks of “transparency,” well her piece is so transparent that it could be made of Saran Wrap!
Richard J. Garfunkel
hey gaffe-funkel, why do you always fail to say you are feiner's campaign manager? feiner was the engineer behind one of the worst fiasco's in the town's history - WestHelp. You speak of bond ratings - feiner's penny wise and pound foolish budgeting (and incompetence) caused the town to be vastly undersinsured when a serious accident (caused by a falling tree) occurred causing death and destruction on a local couple - feiner's neglect resulted in the failure to fund an adequate tree maintenance plan in the park district where the tree fell. feiner has been caught solicting thousands of dollars in campaign funds from developers and those with applications pending before the town board and its various boards.
We have had 16 years of feiner's gadfly antics, inability to focus on true priorties like infrastructure. Under his watch, the central seven school district has collapsed and hartsdale has been maginalized. The town has reached a political dead end under feiner. Time to sweep him from office.
Regarding Anon 7:36 AM:
As I recall the WestHelp vote was 5-0, and therefore I believe that the Board's role regarding oversight failed. There have been countless explanations regarding the dispersal of funds, and as I recall recent audits have accounted for the monies. The onus on spending resides with the Valhalla School Board.
You call Feiner's budgetary prudence penny-pinching and foolish, but most understand that government has its limitations, and the problem many face in Westchester, and Greenburgh, is high local taxes, mostly coming from school budgets that are out of the control of any elected official including the Supervisor. Central 7 has a Board and they meet, allocate funds, and they can hire and fire administrators. Why don't you go after Chuck Bronz and his fellow Board members?
In the history of this region one couple lost their lives over a tragic and unusual accident. Most sensible and feeling individuals mourn this horrible loss of life. I have been a resident here for over six decades and thankfully this has happened with incredible rareness. So blame the Supervisor for Mother Nature. With regards to the insurance coverage, it was in line with many neighboring communities, he didn't reject the recommendations of the Board, or any of the underwriters. Yes, there can always be more coverage. But insurance expense always falls in the category of "risk, reward," and it is a decision that is shared across the Board. What is the evidence that the Supervisor rejected a call for greater coverage?
I noticed recently that Board Member Bass came into direct conflict with Con ED over tree trimming, and because of his actions, Con Ed said, that Greenburgh should take on the expense. It didn't seem that Bass's gambit worked.
There are an unlimited amount of trees in Greenburgh and the Town hired an arborist and the expense and time of loooking at every tree is titanic. I suggest that anon 7:36 volunteer to be part of NGO to work on the trees.
But when a tree ordinance regarding a ban on the "clear cutting" of trees on private property in Edgemont came up, with the support from the Supervisor, Board member Bass and his supporters, the McNally's, balked and the tree legislation has languished.
The Supervisor has been accused of accepting money from developers. As I recall that practice has gone on with every candidate and office holder from time and memorial. But the difference has been that the Supervisor has never been influenced by campaign gifts, plain and simple. His honesty is well-known and highly respected. There has never been a connection between the Supervisor and any nefarious deal, and your claims, as usual, are spurious.
With regards to infrastructure, the Parking Authority is working on the E.Hartsdale Parking structure and does it through their own revenue authority. The tennis facilities at Veteran's Park have been stalled by litigation initiated by Robert Bernstein. The recreation department's budget regarding the repair and enhancement of existing fields is always growing and work is constantly in motion. The Supervisor fought for repairs of the Metro North Bridge at Hartsdale and has insisted on making it accessable for the handicapped.
The Court House and the Police Headquarters are being renovated and under the Supervisor's watch our new Town Hall was acquired and the antiquated shack that served as Town Hall for decades has been fianlly removed.
So what are your real claims and issues? My sense is that you hide under the cloak of anonyminity because you do not have the courage to put your name under your silly piece. If you did, all of us would know that you are just another member of the fading CABAL that has wreaked havoc on Greenburgh for years.
Richard J. Garfunkel
samis - do not copy and paste entire newspaper articles - it's copyright law
gaffe-funkel cant hide from the fact that greenburgh has reached a political dead end with feiner.
only feiner defends the corrupt deal with westhelp. among other gaffes by feiner include the taxter ridge giveaway and thaat hideous webb field wall. now we learn that feiner took 10 grand from disbarred attorney chase caro from the mayfair - knollwood section. a person with true integrity would return the money to chase caro's victims. i really wonder - how does feiner sleep at night?
The Westhelp deal wasn't corrupt. It was unconstitutional. It made sense when it was done some years ago.
Calling it corrupt is just the typical way that Feiner-haters speak when they have no substance to their charges, which is most of the time.
With Westhelp ,I think the county was also involved ,With it's conception. Check it out ,because you keep putting the blame only on The Greenburgh Supervisor.
I also think some of the Board members also voted to proceed in giving the money to Westhelp.
when millions are given away under false (or dishonest) pretenses and there is no accounting as to how the money illegally given was spent (which is now under a separate audit byt he state comptroller), such circumstances can certainly be called corrupt. one might add that the money was given as a salve to the mayfair-knollwood folks who decried the homeless families living at the shelter on the grounds of westcheser community college. now we learn of 10 grand being given by a member of the mayfair knollwood community to the supervisor who became a lobbyist in chief for this tainted transaction.
Anon 11:55AM
I don't know or care who you are. But for sure you repeat the same drivil and mindless claims, time and time again. Your soapbox is worn out to splinters. The contributions, the story of WestHelp, the developers, and the mismanagement claims have been proven time and time again to be spurious.
Your remarks about Webb Field are pretty disgusting and insensitive. It is a memorial for 9/11 and it has not ruined the field or any vista of the field. it was put together by Westchester students, and your views are offensive.
Of course you don't have the guts to sign your name, so anything you write is questionable. You hide like a night-rider under a sheet, your cloak of anonymity. Come out of the darkness you guttersnipe and have the courage to say what you believe.
Feiner, like all the others, will stand on his record, face the electorate, not like yourself, and hopefully he will be again "hired" by the people. That is what democracy is about. It is not about nameless character assassins. I state my remarks at the Town Board, write letters to the editor, and sign this blog.
I note that members of the hate-oriented CABAL have secret meetings with the Board members and developers. I also recall unsigned campaign notes posted at the Hartsdale RR Station in 2005 slandering the Supervisor and his running mates.
But this tactic of hit and run and 11th hour slander and lies is not new. Last year it was the Feiner Team that was slandered over "choice," the Tappen Zee Bridge, and real estate. The Fair Campaign Practice Board ruled against Town Board Members, who were defended by Suzanne Berger, the party boss! Have you read about here court cases regarding housing and being on the other side of the NAACP?
What is your feeling about Bryan, Cave, secession by Edgemont and the breakup of Greenburgh?
Maybe you did not know that Bass and Barnes, when they were interviewed by the Scarsdale Inq., all stated they were diametrically opposed to secession by Edgemont. Wow! How come, according to the Troy sworn affadavit, (not mine)Bass was attempting to engineer a referendum on the Dromore property that would have given land to Edgemont wheeler-dealers? How come Barnes, a defender of Fairview, got sucked into this web of deceit? Did she understand the impact that seccession would have on the Young Center and her constituents? Obviously not!
Why don't you address that chicanery? I am not an apologist for the Supervisor, but a strong supporter. There is a difference.
So when you have the guts to sign your name, your issues will be addressed.
Richard J. Garfunkel
hey gaffy - you think the wall is so wonderful? (you dont say that do you....) lets take a vote whether to move it to either your front lawn or boulder ridge, the gated community where feiner lives.
what is really disgusting was the use of FEMA funds in the construction of the wall and the gift to the rotary of the other side of the wall which is also hideous. you want to see a fitting and well thought out memorial - go to kensico dam - what feiner gave us in greenburgh is an eyesore so he could issue a press release. shame on feiner.
Do you idiots think that you are clever by distorting someone's name? At least Garfunkel signs his name, which is more than you do. I won't sign mine because I see what you idiots do.
Anything that Feiner did, he did with the consent of the Town Council.
If the Town Council could show up for all the photo-ops, they can also show up for the blame. There is enough to spread around
Bass. Barnes & Juettner
the Greenburgh version of
Larry, Curly & Moe
Just three votes!
Dear Mr. Garfunkel -
There is another possible explanation for the Troy affidavit averring that Barnes and Bass were trying to engineer a deal for an Edgemont Town Hall. The deponent might just be shading the truth. A reasonable person might infer that the affidavit contains errors of fact because your nemesis Bernstein would never refer to the allegedly proposed use as a Town Hall when the proper term would, if that were the intended use, designate the parcel for a Village Hall. The only people who refer to Edgemont's investigation of incorporating as a village as an attempted secession are a small, very intense group who, for reasons they have never articulated, fear even the discussion. If Greenburgh can have six villages, why is a seventh such heresy? If Edgemont voters chose to incorporate what would be inherently wrong with their choice?
Please stop using the emotional charged, and completely inaccurate, term "secession". Only the incorporated villages have threatened to leave Greenburgh - Edgemont never has.
gaffy - should we order a crew to move the presser park wall to your front lawn?
contrary to what you say (how should you know anyway you live so far away),presser park went downhill the minute that wall feiner wanted was put up. shame on feiner and juettner too - liaison to the parks dept!
The concept of the wall at Presser Park was initiated by some sort of society,the rotary club. Feiner and the town board only gave permission for them to put up the wall at Presser park.
Feiner had nothing to do with the drawings or final construction.
Please stop putting all the blame on Feiner.
You should respect each and everyone who passed away on that day. What have you done to remember the 911 victims. Think about it.
People are so intolerant. Many people are happy with the wall. Stop trying to force your views on everybody.
Mr. Lasser-
Thanks for your letter. You know Bernstein better than I do, and you may have a better sense of what he has been up to. But in my reading of the affadavit, it seems to me that Bernstein had to play out his hand so that Troy would accept a smaller piece of the pie. Is that so? Maybe!
Does Edgemont have a right to form itself into a village? I believe they have that right. Do the numbers work? Maybe! can they be tweaked? Maybe!
But some of my friends in Edgemont, and I do have friends there, are long-time political people, one was even a party official, do not think it will work. Others say that the Edgemont study committee (EVEC) rejected the concept.But times and attitudes change. We all know nothing is set in stone.
Franly I believe in political choices and the two-party system. It is important for our community and the country. If it cannot work, lets go to an open primary and a runoff, and let everyone vote.
But today the primary rules, and only a fraction of the electorate will participate. That's too bad!
With regards to this blog, you at least sign your name, with three or so others. Does that signify that all of us have not written anonymously? No! But for sure there is no solid proof of the authorship of any of this claptrap! But, it is interesting that 95% of all of the criticism brought on Paul Feiner comes from anonymous contributions.
Hal Samis and myself (and we do not communicate or coordinate our thoughts under any stretch of the imagination,) have defended Paul Feiner and have attacked his opponents, and his political rivals, on the Board and off it, from different perspectives.
Samis was a brutal critic of Paul's, and time and time again, I defended Paul from his attacks. I have no partnership with him. But he has shown great insight and reason on this blog. Maybe he feels that Paul is the lesser of two evils or he has started to understand Paul's style of governing.
But for whatever reason, politics is the art of the possible, and compared to the average politician in Westchester, from Nick Spano to Clinton Young and to many others, Paul is an honest hard-working saint.
Yes, he has raised money! Is it tainted money, which bought his vote? No!
That's the bottom line. If people don't like Chase Caro, or decisions on WestHelp or other issues then vote for Berger. I would be astounded if any thinking person believes she is qualified. I believe she has been incredibly unfair as the party chairperson. I saw her in action in the summer of 2004 at a gathering of Kerry supporters at Rudy's Beau Rivage. She was hoorible and unfair to Paul then and there. Before I knew who the hell she was, I asked her why Paul was not allowed to speak! Of course she had no good reason, but said to me that it was Brodsky's party and he decided the agenda. So she the party boss, or tool, and played perfectly the role of the stooge. Well she still is one!
But this blog, which reflects much of the vitriole displayed at the Town Board over the last five years, is basically a forum for character assassination. Robert Bernstein is the new leader of that fading pack, which I characterized as the CABAL years ago. Even one unidentified wag (moron) accused me of anti-Semitism. That's a stretch! If I ever confront that slanderer he/she would need a new head.
Most of them, and I will not recount their names, have fallen by the wayside. They were either bored with their own rethoric or became tired of the counter-attacks. I came into this picture five years ago as a political person from White Plains, who was fed up with the Democratic organization there. I know, and get along quite well, with all the personalities from Al Delvecchio, to Joe Delfino, to Mike Keating, to Glen Hockley, to Paul Schwarz and all the others one can think of. I just got tired or party politics, and when Richard Ottinger, who my wife worked for for eight years, retired in the 1980's, I concentrated on national issues.
By accident I wound up in Greenburgh, and was invited down to the Town Hall by Paul Feiner and got an earful. Since that time I felt compelled to form a defense for Paul, for whom I regard as a decent full-time progressive politician, who likes new ideas and puts people first. I know political people all over the County, including County Legislator Marty Rogowsky, who is the current majority leader. I was his campaign manager in 1976. Most political people I know have a high respect for Paul's energy, work and concern for people.
So he has been in a long-time and he has beaten many people like Tolchin, Bronz, Abinanti, Greenawalt and others. He's not a glad-hander, and not a deal-maker, and not an organization flunky, but an independent hard-working Supervisor, and, yes, a politician. But his enemies have never forgotten their losses and he stands in the way of the Brodsky thirst for power.
So since "November Doesn't Count," and the election will be decided in September, you have one choice!
It is in the primary, and the choice must be Feiner and his running mates. This way Bernstein and his acolytes will fade away and we will go back to normality.
But thanks for contributing to civil discourse. I wish only that the personal attacks that started with Krauss, O'Shea, Sheehan and many others would finally cease. I believe that with a Feiner victory and a clean sweep a new and more harmonious era will begin.
Richard J. Garfunkel
PS: To the moron that is hung up over the wall at Presser Park, get a life. If I had room on my townhouse lawn I would gladly have that wall. I am gratified and honored that many youngsters put the time and effort into remembering the fallen herose and innocent souls lost on 9/11!
Gaffy - suggetion - move upstate where there is more land and take the wall with you. A great first step to improve greenburgh.
anon-idiot- 6:11
I'll move upstate when you croak!
rjg
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