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Another Paul Feiner initiative to make Greenburgh the most open government in the United States!
Be part of the Dialogue...participate...tell us what's on your mind...!
The views expressed in this blog are the personal views of the participants who post comments on the blog and are not those of the town, town employees or town government. The Supervisors views are his alone.
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- GENERATOR BEING INSTALLED AT TOWN HALL
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- THANK YOU!
- GREENBURGH DEMOCRACY-WEEK OF 9/17 POST YOUR COMMENTS
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September
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172 comments:
PAUL,THE BEST OF LUCK TO YOU AND YOUR RUNNING MATES.
May the best man win.
Show time!
I don't drink,but after the vote tallies are in I will be toasting Feiner,Morgan,Brown and Beville.Job well done.
Right on Samis may the best man win!!!!!!!
Hey Bernstein,what will you be doing after all the votes are counted and Feiner and his team are the winners.
Sorry that I can't see you off but have a very long vacation,far far away.Maybe you could take McNally with you.
Oh by the way get a room for Sheehan too.
Democracy in Greenburgh is barely alive. With the election of Feiner, Morgan, Brown and Beville all that we will be able to do is schedule a funeral.
A return to the PAULITBURO is a return to the very bad old days when the Supervisor did exactly what he wanted, the way he wanted to - and the law be damned.
Bernsteins' lawsuits are the direct result of one man, one party rule by Feiner.
Scary, but Feiner will win with votes against Cheeseburger.
Whatever Feiner did in the past must be good because we never had it so good.
Bernstein lawsuit ,is something that will blow over.
No judge will state that all the people in Greenburgh should pay for what Bernstein is suing for.
Our judges are smarter than him and they can see through him.
On of the biggest phonies that ever stood up at the podium at town hall.
After this election I'm sure we will have seen the last of Bernstein and McNally.
Back to normal meetings.
Question of the Day for Steve Bass:
As you certainly know, there just some thing that shouldn’t be spoken about in public forums. Being who you are, I’m sure you appreciate that.
There are also things that must be spoken about and we seek your leadership on this issue.
Mr. Sheehan magnamously excused you from the Rosh Hashanah meeting on Friday. I read the story in the Journal News, but it did not mention anything about Mr. Sheehan excusing Supervisor Feiner from the meeting.
I may be wrong but isn’t Supervisor Feiner also Jewish? Does Supervisor Feiner belong to some special Jewish sect different that you? Does he belong to some un-favorable Temple different than yours? Why wasn’t he excused too?
The fact that Mr. Sheehan is not concerned about a terrorist defending attorney but may be concerned that there is something wrong with Supervisor Feiner’s Jewish sect or Temple, isn’t this something that we should be aware of?
I would be more concern with the attorney with those terrorist defending tendencies, but maybe after we hear what Mr. Sheehan has to share with us, we might change our minds.
Anyway, this is a long winded way to ask you to sponsor a resolution to compel Mr. Sheehan to testify what is it exactly about the Supervisor’s Jewish-ness that would not warrant an excuse such as you received.
We appreciate your resolution of this.
PS – At what time does the telethon for Eddie Mae begin?
I'm with ... whichever candidate opts to make a couple of phone calls to get the Central Park Avenue median strips and the 119/100A overpass and underpass thoroughly cleaned after so many years of neglect.
If a Supervisor or Supervisor-candidate can't get something simplistic like that done, I doubt s/he would be effective in getting complex town matters handled.
Good luck to all I for one am glad that I will have lighter mail (less garbage from all politicians) and no more annoying phone calls after Tuesday for about a month.I have stated this before We have a do not call list for telemarketers How about a do not call list for political calls and mail. This will save the politicians Big $$$$ on mailings / phone calls and will cut down on annoying calls for the people who have thier minds made up for the election.
I'm going to turn my phone off. As far as I'm concerned if you want to talk to me then call me yourself. We'll chat! My phone is not an advertising venue. Obnoxious! My "do not vote for X" list is getting very long .
I just had another call and I could not disconnect. I had to make a call & every time I hung up & proceeded to dial again that damn recording was still playing.
Damn. Hate it.
I happened to come across some of the pictures of the defaced "I'm with Paul" signs. All I have to say to the vandals are "what are you stuck in the 60's?"
Well actually I would not be surprised if the vandals were "older". I mean seriously spray painting an anarchy sign? My goodness is that lame. You guys can't even deface political signs the right way.
Feiner and his "team" lied to the town about being 100% pro-choice. They are not.
They also misrepresented what Polly Rothstein said to Morgan when she found out he was trying to put an anti-choice Republican on the Democratic Ballot.
Here's the complete text of what Ms. Rothstein said to Morgan. Read it and weep:
---- Original Message ----- From: "Polly Rothstein"
To: "Morgan Kevin"
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 8:45 AM
Subject: Devlin
> Dear Kevin,
When I saw Steve Bass at Richard Brodsky's party a couple of weeks
ago, I spoke firmly to him about raising the abortion rights issue in
this year's primary, as I had found you to be pro-choice.
Now I find out that you carried petitions for Charles Devlin, who
opposes Roe and abortion rights. I know as of last night that this was
used against you in a brochure. Kevin, what were you thinking?? That's
an overt anti-abortion action you took, very unwisely I'd say, setting
yourself up for your opponents' attack on the abortion issue.
It also puts me in a bad position, looking foolish and used, having
publicly supported you last year. I thought I could count on you in the
future.
Polly
Since Feiner lied about this, you can be sure he's been lying about a lot of other things too.
Dear 9:31 AKA Super Bob AKA Bernie The Attorney AKA Bob Bernstein.
Bernstein, you have no credibility left. Who is to say that you have not altered the e-mails? Give us proof of Devlin's position.
You should be more concerned about why Francis Sheehan dishonored your religion.
Don't forget that Bass went along with the Rosh Hashanah Meeting as well. Hopefully he will be held accountable by all people who care about religous freedom.
Question for Bass and Barnes:
What else does Francis Sheehan "excuse" you for?
Question for Sheehan:
What excuse will you give to hire the attorney who defended a terrorist who wanted nothing more than to kill Jews and destroy Israel?
Question for Bernstein, McNally, Lasser, Krauss, O'Shea:
Will you oppose the hiring of this despicable attorney?
Has the Feiner sign stealer been identified yet?????????
Ask Young Kaminer.
Have any Berger signs been defaced? LOL
Thank God tomorrow is the primary. After that this blog might be the venue for useful discussion of views rather than nasty name-calling.
There's still a general election both candidates have third lines. I just have to say I hope someone runs against Richard Brodsky next year.
Poor Gil Kaminer. If Feiner's team wins, he will be fired. Then, there will be a full investigation into the abuse of the Valhalla School Superintendant. Since Gil has already confessed in front of witnesses, he will no doubt tell the truth about this incident. Sheehan will be exposed to all but Gil will be left with no job prospects whatsoever. No one will want to hire someone who threatens a women at the behest of his superiors.
The only abortion being performed in Greenburgh is how Barnes (no longer spouting let's try and get along with each other) and Bass and Berger keep bringing up Pro-Choice, despite fair campaign practices frowns and the underlying issue that it has nothing to do with what the Town Council should be concerned with --unless it come up as another Bass directed Resolution to solve global problems from Greenburgh's Town Hall.
Tell me again that it is important to residents that members of the Town Board might one day have to deal with a variance for a Planned Parenthood building. Please. I'm just dying to revisit the idea of a gay bar requesting an outdoor deck. Tell me that with all the Catholic churches in Greenburgh, there are no residents that actually oppose abortions. Tell me that what Barnes and Bass and Berger want to do is make this election turn, not on Greenburgh issues, but somehow as a Referendum on Pro-Choice. I can understand why Barnes and Bass would want to do this because every Bernstein issue involves them voting with Feiner so they need to distance themselves from their own votes.
Odd too that the words Pro-Choice are valid only in the furtherance of women's rights. The way Barnes, Bass and Berger (as instructed by Ms. Plaskett) would have it, there should be no choice other than the one they provide.
Everyone had better get on board with being Pro "No-Choice" which is actually the only path they allow people to walk on, their performance as Town Council members still not producing sidewalks.
It doesn't matter that Morgan and Brown have said they too are 100% Pro-Choice. As if this was somehow a measure of their worth as Town Council members. However, Barnes, Bass and Berger know better. After all, this tack worked once before so why not use it again. If the big lie works, why subscribe to the truth. There is something about this that should concern voters: people that may be elected to vote on Town matters and serve the public interest are people who have no problem with fabricating lies. Consider that Eddie "May" have been fooling you all these years with her holier than holy routine. As for Bass, well he'll hop on any train that gets him where he needs to go. And if he can't get himself to Washington, he'll try and bring Federal issues to the floor of Town Hall.
All these years of sucking up (as in mama's boy) to the "esteemed" members of the CGCA and GFG apparently isn't enough so he has to mouth slogans that he knows to be false. As for Berger, maybe she's new to the game and she feels that she has to demonstrate that she can be a quick study to overcome criticism of her lack of experience; thus she conveniently "forgets" that she held on to her insurance policy as Greenburgh Democratic Chair and how that role is to ensure fair play in the Primary. Seems that such a "respected and responsible" title would cause her some concern to see Democrat against Democrat, manufacturing lies. She could have put her foot down and stopped it, exercising the power of the Party Chair, but somehow she forgot to act because it might bring a few more votes to her trough.
And what about that other local Saint, Lois Bronz? Where has she been while Barnes and Bass are parading their little dog and pony show? Ms Bronz also looks the other way so she does not have to witness the lies.
As do all of the Democrats which have thrown their lot in with Berger.
Then too, no problem with the next step before seeing the brown shirts appear in Town Hall. Having already welcomed Herr Sheehan, we now are witness to the Berger team promoting the story that Kevin Morgan is now guilty of "associating" with someone who "might" not be Pro-Choice. How dangerous is are these anti-abortion types? Anyone even having coffee with one of them will instantly be converted to their way of thinking.
But since Morgan already had "tendencies", he must be especially vulnerable. In your dreams, Berger crusade.
The only thing about Pro-Choice that I object to is that it obviously is not about choice for everyone. The only choice can be the one that Ms Plaskett has made for you.
I am for women's rights, just a little less now after witnessing this dirty campaign.
"I hope someone runs against Richard Brodsky next year."
Steve Bass may need a new job by then.
As a "Devout Catholic" I'm sure Sheehan was against abortion when he was a Republican. When he switched parties to gain power in Greenburgh, that is when he became 100% pro-choice!
Question of the Day for Steve Bass:
Your willingness to put Greenburgh at the forefront of such pressing international issues as Iraq and Darfur, is certainly something that we have been paying attention to around here.
As a student of politics and conflicts, I’m sure you will acknowledge, is that many global conflicts arise from differences in religion.
In order to prevent a religious conflict from evolving into a full fledge civil war in Greenburgh; we had some thoughts that perhaps could gain some benefit from your leadership characteristics.
Today’s Journal News is reporting that Cablevision will be offering a new station called “The Jewish Channel”. (I would have you ask our liaison to Verizon, Clerk Williams, if they will be offering it, but we understand that Clerk Williams is not around too often).
Could you offer a resolution that will pay for Mr. Sheehan subscription to this premium channel (around $4.95 per month) so that he have a more fuller and richer understanding of Supervisor Feiner’s particular Jewish sect? This greater cultural understanding may possibly avoid a bloody civil war in Greenburgh (which I know that you would be very willing to propose a resolution against also). With this greater religious tolerance, Mr. Sheehan might also excuse Supervisor Feiner from the next special meeting scheduled on Rosh Hashanah.
We appreciate your consideration of this.
PS – Who goes into the voting booth with Eddie Mae?
Sheehan's religous intolerance is now a matter of public record. Bass, Barnes and Juetner MUST be held accountable as well. Each member of the Town Council owes an explanation to the public as well as an apology to Jews.
Some people may argue that the lawyer who represented the terrorist was entitled to represent anyone he wished to. This is true. However, we taxpayers have a right to demand that no attorney who ever represented a terrorist should be enriched by our tax dollars.
Time will tell if Sheehan caves in on this issue as well. If Sheehan insists on hiring this attorney, his feelings toward Jews must be explored. Think of it. 1st he orders a meeting held on Rosh Hashanah. Then he enriches an attorney who represented a terrorist who wants to kill Jews and destroy Israel. At that point, I think it will be fair to question Sheehan's feelings toward Jews.
Councilman Steve Bass told the other members of the board at yesterday's work session that he would be unable to attend a special meeting on Friday,
The above statement was written by Francis Sheehan. This is why Steve Bass needs to be held accountable today. He knowingly helped Sheehan schedule a meeting that would preclude Jews from attending. Bass is just as, if not more, guilty than Sheehan.
Words to the wise:
A vote for Berger, Barnes, and Bass is a vote for Bernstein and Sheehan.
A vote for Williams is a vote for Sheehan.
'nuff said.
Hal is absolutely right! Voting for anyone other than a member of the Feiner Team empowers Bernstein, McNally, O'Shea and Sheehan. Look at the damage that these people have done to the Town! We need to break the control that they have over the Board. We need to take our Democracy back!!!!
VOTE FOR THE FEINER TEAM
Vote for the PAULITBURO Now!
Repent Later!
TOM ABINANTI FOR ASSEMBLY
Anybody other than Brodsky for Assembly
Hey Sheehan,
If your side loses today will you blame Tim Lewis????
a vote for feiner and his slate is a vote for richard garfunkel
Garfunkel is no Bernstein. When Bernstein does not get his way he initiates legal action against everyone. There is no comparison between the two. Plus, you can add the long winded Michelle McNally as part of the Bernstein Team.
Question of the day for Edie Mae:
Do you know today is election day??
A vote for Berger means empowering Sheehan. Supporting Sheehan means:
An attorney will be hired who defended a terrorist who wants Jews dead and Israel destroyed.
More illegal Dromore Road type meetings.
Edgemonters like Bernstein, McNally and O'Shea will cary far greater weight than they do today.
Gil Kaminer will be allowed to run wild and abuse whoever Sheehan sees fit.
More meetings to be held on Jewish holidays.
A question for anyone:
Is the Valhalla School Superintendant Jewish??????
if feiner cannot make a convincing case after 16 years - time for a change.
remember - he promised to serve 8 years
now he wants 18!
berger, bass and barnes all the way.stop the paulitburo.
To 3:19,
There are some differences.
Bernstein, at his best, may have the interests of Edgemont at heart.
Garfunkle, at his best, has the interests of Greenburgh at heart.
Bernstein, at his worst, has the best interest of Bernstein at heart.
Garfunkle, at his worst, has the best interest of Feiner at heart.
Berger has no interest.
Sheehan has no heart.
To 4:08,
Politicians are, after all, politicians and they are expected to change their minds.
Something that even mere citizens are allowed to do.
You want to hold Feiner to something he said over 10 years ago about not continuing in office?
This is the best you can come up with?
To my thinking, Berger similarly changed her mind about something she said, not over 10 years ago, but just 5 MONTHS ago. She, Chair of the Dems, said she would not run on another party line if she lost the Primary and would support the Party's choice.
That idea went out the window fast enough.
I propose that on this issue, we call it a "draw" and move on.
So if Feiner and his slate doesnt win, the Town govt will be anti-semantic and Bernstein will be in control????
4:01 PM - enough already. I am jewish and find your cynical use of my faith to score political points nauseating and offensive. If you want to disqualify lawyers who represent noxious, anti-semitic defendants or alleged terrorists, then you must similarly disqualify the many large, prestigious Manhattan law firms who are, pro bono, representing Guantanamo detainees - who, though their guilt of actual terrorism is yet to be settled, are assuredly no fans of Israel or the U.S for the matter. Whatever happened to the constitutionally protected right to counsel? I learned in law school that attorneys who take up unpopular matters, including representing rapists and molesters who the attorney may find repugnant, are to be admired for defending the sanctity of the constitution for all of us - not castigated and boycotted
Secondly, as far as Rosh Hashanah. Even the most orthodox Jew may forgive Mr. Sheehan (and these "ten days of awe" are a time for forgiveness) for scheduling - according to Paul Feiner's statement on the greenburgh.ny website - a meeting at 5:30 pm on the SECOND AFTERNOON OF THE SECOND DAY of rosh hashanah. The holiday, according to halachah (Jewish law) actually ended at about an hour and a half later (around 7 pm on 9/14). Mr. Sheehan might reasonably not be aware that the afternnon minhah prayers could have coincided with the scheduled meeting. Most observant Jews, might be more bothered that the scheduled meeting impinged upon the beginning of shabbos (which many argue exceeds all holidays in holiness), but Mr. Feiner did not object on this basis. Furthermore, I have not yet seen Mr. Feiner object to, or state his intention not to attend the Town Board meeting scheduled for the evening of 9/26, the first night of the 8 day festival of Sukkot (equal to passover and shavuot in importance). I hope that we can all put these matter to rest and stop this nonsense.
Dear 4:47
You state:
Mr. Sheehan might reasonably not be aware that the afternnon minhah prayers could have coincided with the scheduled meeting.
This statement is patently false. Sheehan WAS AWARE. Bass told him and Sheehan "excused" him from the meeting.
Regarding the attorney who defended the terrorist; If you want your tax dollars going toward this sleazebag, be my guest.
4:47 says;
I learned in law school that attorneys who take up unpopular matters, including representing rapists and molesters who the attorney may find repugnant, are to be admired
Hmmm... Maybe that is why most Americans look upon lawyers as bottom feeders.
Dear Anonymous 4:47,
THANK YOU!
If the Valhalla School Superintendant was Jewish, do you think that Young Kaminer would have been "excused" from threatening her?
Young Kaminer was excused from threatening her. Feiner wanted an investigation but Herr Sheehan didn't.
Where is the central location where the votes are tallied???
I just got back from voting in the primary and asked a question about how we can limit mailings and the annoying phone calls? Surprisingly enough they said about half a dozen people complained about the amount of phone calls. Even Mr. Feiner in his pre recorded message today said he was sorry about all the literature ( or litter) that has been going on. Something must be done . How about a do not call list or mailing list which will save the politicians big Money on mailings and phone bills. At least we have a couple of weeks respite from all this political nonsense. I also hope that all political signs after the November election are taken down otherwise the political person should be fined if not down by 2 weeks after election day.These Phone calls, Mailings, and political signs all over town are becoming a quality of life issue.
Here's a little known option.
On registering to vote there is a box that voters can check off.
The box instructs the Board of Elections not disclose your address and presumably phone number as well.
Of course I checked it.
Thus I don't get any mail, phone calls or sign my petition requests.
Goodbye Francis and your team!
Hooray for Paul Feiner!! Down with the Sheehan dictatorship!!
Who else will they run next? Francis Sheehan for supervisor in 2009?
Where are the results posted???
http://www.westchestergov.com/electiontally/link04.html
Thank You. The results seem to have been frozen at 91% reporting for a long time.
Bernstein walking around Edgemont with Bass did wonders for Bass!!!
here are the vote tallies according to the Board of Elections as of 11:20 pm:
Final vote tally for Paul Feiner vs. Suzanne Berger
DEM SUZANNE BERGER 1,918 33%
DEM PAUL J FEINER 3,847 67%
Paul won by a 2 to 1 margin.
DEM KEVIN P MORGAN 2,675 26%
DEM EDDIE MAE BARNES 2,655 26%
DEM STEVE BASS 2,156 21%
DEM SONJA M BROWN 2,770 27%
Judith Beville also won the Town Clerk election against Alfreda Williams.
Looks like some people in the Town will be looking for jobs.
Young Kaminer.................start packing your boxes!
Is this a FINAL vote or are these the numbers with 91% reporting???
Next up, Bernstein walking around Elba with Sheehan.
"Hair" is coming back to the Broadway stage this Fall.
The Age of Aquarius is dawning in Greenburgh.
November will be the clean sweep.
I'm very pleased to witness the triumph of the common sense of untitled Democrats. It turns out after all that it is the Party of the People. And Ayn Rand would be pleased as well.
Three cheers to the Shadow family for writing some of the most funniest, original material I have ever had the pleasure to read.
The sun will come up tomorrow.
Suzanne-
The voters have spoken.
You are the weakest link.
Good bye.
If the results hold up, this election is a referendum on Sheehan. The public is disgusted with his bullying tactics and would like to see nothing more than the bully be bullied!!!
Paul needs to make a clean sweep, including some Department Heads.
In November, when the Independants can vote, Feiner's Team will SWEEP!!!!!!!!!
Berger got crushed
Do we need to talk Bernstein and McNally down from their rooftops??
Congratulations to the Greenburgh voters for seeing past the lies and the dirty politics.
Message to the party organization: You are out of touch. Restore your integrity and turn on the coffers to the party elected nominees.
Message to Andy Spano: Go find another town for your patronage requirements.
TEAM BERNSTEIN - Now your can tear down your signs too!
Mr Sheehan : Next year you will be "excused" too.
Ms. Jutner: Time for you to switch sides again.
Ms Williams: We want a full time clerk at that salary. Good night and thanks for the memories.
The best man won.
Goodbye Gil. Take your threats elsewhere. You might want to join the David McKay Wilson Dance Troupe. I hear they have an opening.
Looks like there won't be anyone to hire the terrorist supporting ethics lawyer.
Shame, isn't it.
Goodbye holier-than-thou Steve Bass, arrogant Gil Kaminer and sleepyhead Eddie Mae Barnes ... enjoy your last months! Juettner and Sheehan are next to step up to the guillotine!
A naive question but does everyone expect Morgan and Brown's vote totals to increase in the general election with independants and republicans voting??
The numbers for the entire Feiner team will soar with the Republicans and Independents voters. Some of his biggest (non-Democratic) supporters were working behind-the-scenes this go-round and chomping at the bit to be able to cast their votes. The margins grow larger, you can count on it!
Thank God Berger, Bass, Barnes and Willims had the support of Andy Spano, Richard Brodsky and Lois Bronz!
GREAT!!!!!!! Hey Francis, why don't you save yourself and your family the embarressment and just resign now! The investigation into you using Kaminer to threaten the women from Valhalla will do you in. Anyway, come January you will be with NO POWER! Kaminer WILL BE FIRED! Everyone is disgusted with you. Leave Now!!!
GET THE RESUME READY, GIL!
The vote count is frozen at 91% reporting. There may be many reasons for this, including that some polls didn't call in the results. Also, it is likely that absentee ballots have not yet been counted. But it does seem that the Feiner team won. And the best news is that Steve Bass is out, that smarmy hypocrite who has fed off the public payroll all his life and knows nothing about how people live and what they need.
What is the message? It is that (a)bullying doesn't work, (b) the public recognizes that the Town Council, led by Sheehan and Bass, tried to isolate the elected Supervisor with the most despicable of tactics, and the public doesn't like that, (c) the public was put off by the dirtiest and untruthful campaign in local history, and (c) the rest of Greenburgh wants Bernstein and the Edgemont mafia put in its place. The message was received. The other message is that Sheehan has failed to become the boss of Greenburgh.
We will now have a decent, civil government in Greenburgh. I am sure that Morgan and Brown will be smart and independent people and that when the don't agree with Feiner they won't hesistate to say No to him. But we won't have the ugliness of recent years. The Council of Greenbburgh Civic Associations wil cease to rule Greenburgh because nobody will listen to their demands. And Bernstein has been shown to be the paper tiger that we knew him to be -- all talk (lying talk at that) and no substance or honesty.
All in all, it was a good day in Greenburgh.
Amen!
A great day for our Democracy. The Council allowed Sheehan to be the defacto dictator of Greenburgh. He used this position to bully and threaten people. If I didn't know better, I would say that Sheehan was a plant by the Republican Party to destroy the Democrats! No one has threatened our freedoms the way Sheehan has.
Hey Michelle McNally, will we still be subjected to your thirty minute speeches in front of the planning board??
Would anyone like to start the betting on what the "excuse" for the Team Bernstein loss will be?
Here's my top 10:
1) Jewish holidays
2) The sun got in their eyes
3) The primaries don't really count.
4) At least we are the real liberal democrats
5) WESTHELP,WESTHELP,WESTHELP
6) Super Bob said he was going to sue us if we lost the primary
7) Young Kaminer didn't threaten enough people
8) Getting full time pay for a part time job is overrated
9) Those sick looks of the democratic organization leadership while standing behind Berger's for her first campaign announcement.
10) Watch out, the Working Party family voters will show up in November en'mass
Paul,
A GREAT VICTORY! Congratulations!
Hopefully, you now understand who your friends are and who your enemies are. Now, it is time to de-fang Sir Francis!!!!!!! Take control over Committee's. Re-write the inept Ethics Laws. Don't allow Sheehan and Juetner the room to breathe. Begin investigations into Sheehan's misdeeds. Get to the bottom of the Dromore Road Situation.
Do days get any better than this?
Team Bernstein: Crushing loss. Season over.
Yankees win, THHHHEEEEEE Yankees win!
Goodnight, Steve ... goodnight Eddie Mae ... goodnight Suzanne ... goodnight Alfreda ... goodnight Dianne ... goodnight Francis. Goodnight Young Kaminer. Sweet dreams!
Oh, forgot: goodnight Bob and goodnight Michelle!
Now Gil, you should have never shot your mouth off in front of witnesses! Remember, there are those of us out here who KNOW the people who heard you confess! Don't be a fool and lie for Sheehan on the stand. Perjury is serious business! You will certainly be fired but you don't want to go to jail, do you?????
Good Night Madelon, Good Night ECC, Good Night Council of Greenburg Civic Associations. Good Night Comprehensice Committee.
Hey Super Bob,
How's your Village of Edgemont looking now????????
Also, GOOD NIGHT Jim Lasser.
Oh and Richard Brodsky....... thanks for your support of Team Bernstein. It really helped us to the win.
It is appreciated!
I was wondering who Sir Francis will invite to the next Dromore Road "non-meeting"?
Good Night Lorin Brown!
Hey Bernstein,
Are you going to suit us over this? Ha Ha Ha. Your money can't buy you the power that you desire. Your candidate was thrashed by a two to one margin. Your personal conduit of information, Steve Bass, came in dead last. You are almost hated as much as Sheehan. Take this que and leave the Greenburgh Stage and take Michelle McNally with you.
Good Night Byran Cave. Hey Suzanne, will you be the first person in that firm to LOSE A million dollar no bid contract?????
Dear Diana Juetner,
I hope that you study the carnage that is this years' democratic primary. Every member of your team lost because of the publics' outrage over the behavior of Francis Sheehan. The same fate awaits you two years from now. This is what you get for turning into a zombie who OBEYS Sheehan's every whim.
Sheehan defeated. Bernstein defated. McNally defeated. O'Shea defeated. Lasser defeated. Lorin Brown defeated. The 3 B's defeated. The Scarsdale Inquirer defeated. What a great day!!!!!!!!
(Probably the last) Question of the Day for Steve Bass:
Given the results, this will likely end our daily question of the day segment for you. I’m sure you might appreciate that.
Steve, you and the majority of your team came into our communities, into our homes and you made commitments to us. We believed you. We wouldn’t we?
Then you lied to us.
You and your team were condescending, mean and pompous. You not only did not honor your commitments, you lied about them too. You “took no prisoners” and were ruthless in your efforts to gain you and your “majority’s” misguided desires.
The results last night were your “Play for Play”.
You might have a political future, but you will first need to go back to your roots and determine if you truly have the integrity to play this game properly. Find a good role model. Do not latch on to the first shinny piece of metal that catches your eye. Understand that you become who you associate with.
Public service is difficult and often thankless. That however is never an excuse for reckless and dishonest behavior. Those political mailings, those debates and your entire campaign were an embarrassment to Greenburgh. Abortion, the linchpin issue facing Greenburgh’s future?….Steve wake up. It doesn’t matter that the consultants said that was the way to go. You should have known better.
Steve, we needed you to focus on OUR town. We all have serious concerns for Darfur and Iraq and clean water and air. Your actions in these areas just absolutely reeked of grandstanding. Steve, we needed you to focus on OUR community issues. What about that did you not exactly understand?
You got caught up in the foolishness, and it seems you lost your way.
You are still young. Think about what and who you want to be. Come back as a better and honest man. You will never be disappointed over choosing that path.
Good luck to you on your journey and thank you for your service.
Steve...you need to pull yourself away from Francis Sheehan as well. Following that meglomaniacs every order like a dutiful soldier was a significant reason for your devestating defeat last night.
"Steve...you need to pull yourself away from Francis Sheehan as well. Following that meglomaniacs every order like a dutiful soldier was a significant reason for your devestating defeat last night." ...
That and the fact that that you CHANGED, Steve. After aligning yourself with Czar Sheehan, you changed for the worst. You became the worst of politicians, Steve.
Checkmate.
Berntein failed miserably at the role of kingmaker (or queenmaker). His crown prince, Steve Bass, fell badly. Barnes seems to have lost. It all exposes the fiction of Bernstein's influence.
Nest to go is the ugly grandmother and Rasputin.
Good morning Suzanne ... good morning Steve ... good morning Eddie Mae ... good morning Alfreda ... good morning Czar Francis ... good morning Diana ... good morning Gil ... good morning Bob ... good morning Michelle. Great day, isn't it?
Have a good one!
Back in 1949 when Hollywood still had some of its allure, another giant ape film came out called "Mighty Joe Young." It starred the fetching Terry Moore, Ben Johnson and Robert Armstrong, who had starred in the original "King Kong" as Carl Denham, the impresario who brought Kong back to New York.
Last night in Greenburgh, not far off Knollwood Road, there is another "Mighty Joe Young." It is an eatery where a strange and macabre meeting took place last night. It was here that a new group of "players" met. But this was not a celebration of an old story about "ape" makes good, and rescues the heroine. This was more like the last seen of "King Kong" where Denham said, "it was beauty that killed the beast!" This time it was another blond, no beauty, who also screeched like Fay Wray, but this time it wasn't a giant ape, but it was another "King," the rotund uncrowned King Zog II of Edgemontania, who was splattered on the streets of Greenburgh.
Of course, the focus of this modern day saga was the Princess Whopper with Chee Chee Berger. She is now known as just Ms. Whopper, in honor of her propensity to weave tall tales as she attempted to kidnap the Democratic Party, with the help of the uncrowned King Zog II of Edgemont. Of course this plan was once again woven with the same old false canards that we all heard in 2005. Again and again, we heard the siren song from Princess Whopper, and her minions, about "choice" and who has it, and who doesn't. But the real issue was not over a woman's choice, but over the people's choice. The people of Greenburgh saw through this cynical veil of smoke and mirrors. This time they were not dazzled by the last minute slanders. This time they were not confused by the baseless accusations. This time they were not taken in by the empty promises and rhetoric. This time they were dazzled by the legal jargon and character assassination. This time The Princess and the so-called King were exposed as power-hungry demagogues.
So what was accomplished last evening? Well our "friend" Town Board member Steven "Striped" Bass was caught in the net of his own lies, and with his defeat, Sir Frantic the Duck aka the Talking Mule, will be left all alone on the Board. His long-winded mindless diatribes will be now echoing to a shrinking audience of Cabal members, which used to strut into Town Hall with uncontrolled bravado and arrogance. It won't be too long until the time comes around, that the name "One-Term" Francis, will resonate through another short ugly chapter of the history of politics in Greenburgh!
More from the Shadow Group LLC
Too bad Shadow Industries is now without targets to bad-mouth, though it will be nice to get back to serious discussions rather than rhetoric-filled polemics.
BERGER LOSES BY 32 PERCENTAGE POINTS ... the REAL Democrats have spoken, Suzanne. Paul will get over 70% of the popular vote in November when the Republicans and Independents can vote. It's time to save face, for both yourself and the party, and announce that you are dropping out of the election. If you do not listen to the voters of your own party and continue, you should be forced to resign your post as Greenburgh Democratic chair!
Berger,now the true democrates will speak.
Since you will be running on another line other than the dem.party line,you should drop out of the race.
You are not a democrate and you should also leave the position of chairperson.
You cannot be faithful to another party even if you received their endorsement.
What favor are they looking for?.
I can't wait until January and we breathe our first breaths of freedom from the Sheehan Tyranny!!! Just think Francis, in less than four months the investigations into your various illegal activities will begin.
long live sheehan.
the paulitburo is the new tyranny.
remember what feiner wrote - he will follow a "villages first" policy.
What was up with that remark?
Also, what was up with the "if you don't get the services you don't have to pay for them" remark last night?
Gah.
Dear 5:00
"Long live Sheehan?????"
Are you kidding???????
I realize that there are always fools who will follow a dictator but don't you realize what Sheehan has done? Sheehan is without question the most hateful politician in Westchester. He is a disgraceful hypocrite! No one should sing this one term politicians praises.
To anonymous wondering about Starbucks on Central Avenue.
On the Planning Board Agenda tonight under new business is Case PB 07-04: Starbucks site plan and Wetlant/watercourse permit.
"A work session to review a proposed site plan application to demolish the existing 600 sf building and construct a new one story 1,700 foot Starbucks Restaurant and associated drive-through service window with 75 parking spaces......Property is located within the Central Avenue Mixed Use Impact District..."
FYI, Planning Board and Zoning Board agendas are shown on the town website under "meetings".
starbucks? who cares.
lets see how the new town board tackles the problems of sidewalks, a vs. b budget funding disputes and the looming big tax increase for unincorporated greenburgh.
bloom will be off this rose very soon.
remember - feiner and company will be in control and will have no excuses.
memo to juettner - the smart move would be resign as liasion to both the parks dept and the library (unless you want to join steve bass)
How come Juettner and Sheehan cannot see how the residents want them off the board.
Have they no brains.
What are they waiting for they should know that their goose is cooked.
We now have the next 2 years to do 4 years of work. The last 2 years was a waste.
really? feiner shenanigans such as
the westhelp scam was uncovered and stopped and his outrageous
pay for play was stopped in part
the library construction got going
the best government is a small government - we dont need anymore feiner "brainstorm" of the hour
lets hope the supervisor now limits his press releases to one or two a month
WestHelp, WestHelp, WestHelp ... it's always Paul's fault, isn't it? Let's review:
1. WestHelp was enthusiastically pursued, endorsed and approved by all members of the town board, including Bass, Barnes and Juettner.
2. The WestHelp spending annually was reviewed, vetted and approved by all members of the town board, including Bass, Barnes and Juettner (unless they'd like to now admit publicly that they didn't bother to review the proposals that were submitted to them for consideration, which would, of course, be an admission of gross negligence of their duties).
3. With election campaigns on the horizon, they lied before the town as to why they originally were in support of the WestHelp agreement, making claims that were not supported either by facts or their past actions.
They are a disgrace and Greenburgh will be better off without them. Good riddance!
WestHelp was never a scam. Bass, Barnes and Juettner all voted publicly to approve it, the county agreed to it, and HelpUSA agreed to it. Numerous public meetings were held in Greenburgh to discuss it.
The attempts to dismantle it, and to tarnish the reputations of innocent people along the way, were motivated by nothing more than money, greed and rumor-mongering, engineered by $70,000-a-year Town Board "assistant" Gil Kaminer, Francis Sheehan and Bob Bernstein.
It was greed, NIMBYism and politics of the worst kind.
The state audit went out of its way to offer recommendations on how a more direct payment could be made to the Valhalla schools.
Yet somehow, the word "illegal" keeps being used to describe the agreement, by people who believe that if they repeat it enough, it will become so.
The Board's treatment of the WestHelp issue and the Mayfair Knollwood community in general was shamefully unethical and downright immoral.
wrong. westhelp served to demonize the homeless. feiner lied about school kids from the shelter going to valhalla. millions of dollars of town money was sent to valhalla without any accounting as to how the money was spent and who would spend it.
outrageous.
Will the Westhelp argument never die? Cool it, the campaign is over.
But if you want to know exactly what happened, here it is.
The original Westhelp was built in 1990 or so. There was much nimbyism about it for sure. It was supposed to last only 10 years.
In about 2000 the county wanted to extend the shelter for another ten years but couldn't because of Greenburgh's rights. The Westhelp partnership (I forget their name) said they wouldn't continue it without consent of the local population. To get their consent it was agreed by everybosy -- the partnership, the county and the town, that Valhalla school district would get a grant of $650,000 a year for the ten years of the new sublease. Whether you think that was right or not, that was the deal and everybody, including the Town Board, voted for it with full knowldege.
As it happens, the payment was illegal because a town can't make a grant of this kind. The state comptroller said that in order to implement the intent the town can renegotiate the deal so that the payment would come from the county instead of the town, but the town had to receive fair rent for the lease. What fair rent is remains a question. Whether the fair rent is the entire $1,225,000 or so, or is the net amount that the town recorded in the budget, or some amount in between, remains to be answered.
Bernstein and his followers seized on this to attack Feiner as giving away "their" money. Well, it isn't "their" money. It was intended from the beginning to go to the Valhalla School District, and if a fair rent can be established it is not wrong for the remainder of the grant to go there. That was the deal. If the Valhalla grant had not been part of the deal the rent to Greenburgh would have been less, for sure. What remains is to see whether Valhalla kept up its obligations about the grant, and if they did not then it is not unreasobale to terminate their moral and legal rights to the grants.
So quit blathering about Westhelp Westhelp Westhelp Westhelp... What remains, if Valhalla acted as required under the grant, is to determine a fair rent, and if there is anything left over after that then it is not wrong to honor the deal that everybody made openly and honestly.
Eventually the nuts will have to find something else to carry on about.
Anon 1:34
Is the campaign still on? As it is said, "If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there, is their a noies?" Your views are like that tree. There is no one listening, but there is still noise. You may continue, in your secrecy, to continue to bleat like a mindless lamb about the "WestHelp" scam, but moron, let it go!
It has been explained countless times to dolts like yourself what the dyanmics of the WestHelp agreement were, how come you can't get it? I am sure that from your writing you are certainly a 5th grade graduate!
Meanwhile I would rather have an over abundance of brainstorms from Feiner, than brain-drizzles from you.
As for pay for play, I am sure that you have no clue about whatever that means. "Striped" Bass, before he was netted, realed in, and fileted used that term in one of his fatuous pieces. But it was meaningless then and now.
Did you ever take a look at his war chest? Well you should have. Where did a two-bit Town Board member accumulate $50,000?
As for the rest of the Cabal, we will still hear more from them over the coming months, but their nefarious activities have been exposed. As the new term commences much more will be learned about the uncrowned King, Zog II of Edgemont and his dealings with Sir Frantic of Ha(i)rrison and their meeting with Richard of Troy, They would have had better luck looking for Helen.
As to Ms. Berger-Jones, she was graceless in her campaign and her concession. She should resign immediately from her Party post and slink out of town. I would hate to be recognized around here.
I am sure when the Dromore Road Meeting and the activities of the Board's water boy are revealed, the District Attorney will get real work to do.
Many of us are waiting with baited breath!
The Son of the Shadow
you mean wonderful brainstorms like that hunk of junk in front of webb field which is a press release excuse for a 9-11 memorial or things like taxter ridge that no one even knows where it is?
time to focus on basic services not gimmicks
and feiner's solution to the a vs b budget problems is????????
no more eddie mae or striped bass to excuse inaction
Town employees are reporting that Gil Kaminer, town employee, is spending town taxpayer time on the November election, working to help Eddie Mae Barnes, Steve Bass & Alfreda Williams.
If this is true (and I'm not sure it is) it would be a violation of the Ethics Law.
Ethics aside, is anyone worried about Kaminer helping Barnes, Bass and Williams? Is anyone worried about Bass, Barnes and Williams? I'm not.
The majority of Greenburgh DEM's made their decision loud and clear
If Bass, Berger, Barns and Williams were true DEM's-they would drop out of the race.
WE DON'T WANT THEM REPRESENTING US!!!
GO AWAY 3B'S & W!!!
If Gil is doing this, a formal written complaint should be made to his bosses ie the Town Council. It will force the Council to call for an investigation.
This is great. Another nail in Young Kaminer's coffin. Francis, you can't excuse Gil from this one.
If Kaminer is doing what some town employees are saying take a camera to work and film everything he does.
This has been going on for sometime,how come it was not exposed sooner.
Anon makes little sense. Why would the council investigate kaminer if he is helping them on town time win re-election? DUH!
REport Kaminer to the town council you have got to be kidding,what will they do to their fair haired boy.
The report should go straight to the supervisor and then to the ethics board bypassing the council.
Sheehan did you tell Kaminer to do campaign work during working hours stealing the tax payers money.
Sheehan has "excused" Kaminer from violating any laws as long as he was operating at the behest of Sheehan.
DROP OUT OF THE RACE
BASS, BARNS, BERGER, WILLIAMS
WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE!!!
GO AWAY!!!
Anon 4:02 pm
You are still fighting windmills. You must live across from Webb Field or something, because when one drives past, one drives past! What are you on some anti 9/11 architectural review committee for Gentleman's Quarterly.
You've sickened enough people with your mindless diatribes. Why don't you get off your fat ass, start a petition drive down at the local Marine Recruiting Station to tear down that wall. In fact, you sound like Reagan, "tear down that wall." Its mindless dolts like yourself who focus on a wall at Webb Field and think its elimination will solve all of Greenburgh's so-called problems. One way to solve one of Greenburgh's problems is for a low-life, like you, to get out of town.
And how about your ridiculosu remark about "basic services." I assume most feel they are quite good. It seems that the electorate was quite happy. In MV, the electorate was not, and the Mayor was ousted. In Greenburgh the Board Members criticized Feiner at the drop of a hat, took credit for all of initiatives with 5-0 votes, and the public saw through their charade and cast them asunder.
So get lost low-lfe and shut the hell up about Webb Field, no one gives a farthing for your thoughts.
Only two topics this evening.
#1 No more "Pay to Play"
Well how is that going to come about? No contributions from those with applications pending before the Town?
Ok, maybe if John Doe is the person appearing before the Zoning or Planning Board. And if he wants to extend his deck 6 inches he may very well sign his name when filling out the application form which can be viewed on the Town's website.
But if you are really after the calibre of contributor that might give "tens of thousands of dollars", then Mr. Bass, you haven't done zip.
The big developers make their applications under the name, the XYZ LLC. LLCs are not evil incarnate; they bestow tax advantages and limit liability; both features for the benefit of the Members. But who are the Members? And despite my repeated invitations to the Town Council (read Sheehan) to force the identification of the MEMBERS of the LLC to be made public (when LLCs borrow money, the lenders insist that those with 10% ownership be named and their personal financial statements also be supplied; the Members comply with this requirement because they want the money). 'Oh absolutely' said Mr. Sheehan, 'you know if anyone wants that information to be public, it is me.'
Next I hear is that this is not appropriate as part of the Ethics laws. 'We'll close the loopholes by changing the application form they fill out when requesting Zoning or Planning Board review.' So I invite bloggers go to the Town website and pull up the application form and look to see for themselves if this has been done. Can't find it? Neither could I.
Similar to agreeing to the Lender's conditions when borrowing money, if Applicants want variances from the Town, then they must allow their LLC veil to be pierced. All that the Town need do is include a page in the application requesting the names and addresses of all member owners because the Town is concerned about potential Ethics conflicts.
Why is this important? Because if you wanted to make a contribution that might result in an appearance of impropriety, you would not do it in the name of the LLC which would be too easy to target. You would do it in the individual names of the LLC members. All that anyone would know is that John Smith made a contribution but no one would know that John Smith owned some% of the XYZ LLC which has an application before the Zoning Board. So unless this door is closed, "Pay to Play" is still child's play in Greenburgh.
So much of a rush to pass those Ethics laws and so easy to add a page to the Application form. One wonders why it hasn't already been done.
It has been discussed here and in meetings that even the XYZ LLC could make an outright contribution to the Democratic Party and then the Democratic Party could make a contribution to, say, Mr. Bass or Ms. Barnes. That's perfectly legal under those new tough Ethics laws that shut down "Pay to Play" says Mr. Bass.
But not so obvious is that the XYZ LLC could make a contribution to Mr. Brodsky and he could make a contribution to Ms. Berger who could then even make her own contribution to Mr. Bass. All of these transactions are also legal under the new tough Ethics laws that shut down "Pay to Play" says Mr. Bass.
'We can always change the laws in the future, no law is perfect but it is important that we get these Ethics laws passed now' said Ella Preiser.
No comment on that comment other than my registering disappointment.
In any case, Mr. Bass, you have not ended "Play to Pay" anymore than you have stopped atrocities in Darfur. But now you will have more free time to pursue all your interests.
#2 WESTHELP
Resusitation efforts are still underway to revive this dead topic which should been allowed to continue on to the burial ground unimpeded. However, without going into how those that were entitled to receive the money used it:
(Your uncle gives you a check for your birthday instead of buying you a Ralph Lauren silver toothbrush holder; he finds out that you spent all of it on Girls Gone Wild videos. Ask the Sunday Times ethicist if his wife, your aunt, should be angry, ask for the money back or acknowledge that it became your money and you can spend it as you want)
Let's have another look at what happened.
There's a building owned by Greenburgh which may become vacant or otherwise fall into neglect. It is not located in an area zoned for retail and its location is not all that valuable as an office location. It is not well located for commercial tenants. The only prospective tenant and one that is already familiar with the real estate is the County which wants to rent it to house some of its "wards". The nearby neighborhoods protest because they feel that they already have their fair share of such "wards" and are about to suggest that the County house these "wards" elsewhere, perhaps in Edgemont. The Town Board says ok let's make a deal. We have a building that will just sit there idle and be of no benefit to anyone, including Greenburgh residents. In fact it will cost money just to maintain it vacant as can be proven by pointing to the $310,000 it cost to repair and maintain the Library where it didn't exist. Cheer up, the County will rent it bringing dollars that Greenburgh would otherwise never receive; we can help the County which may be grateful down the road elsewhere but we first have to respect the concerns of our those residents who live nearby. Let's be the conduit for the County's rent payments and send them on to benefit the residents in close proximity of these new neighbors, some of whom may or may not be enrolled in the local school district which will say what all school districts say: that it costs the district money for each additional student.
Everyone will benefit; the County, the neighborhoods which will tolerate these "wards", the school district, the fire district and we can move on to the next problem.
OK says the Town Council but please don't bother us with a lengthy explanation; we don't have a problem and we're not saying that just to make you happy; after all we get paid to think.
But it turns out that there is a big problem because it just isn't allowable under existing State law. Nobody said before it was done: don't do it, not even the County, which should know better, with all of its staff, Steve Bass on call, and similar deals around the County. It just got done, done in full view, and now how can we unwind what's done and how can we take back our promises to the nearby residents? Just because the State says no way, the County isn't going to lock the WESTHELP front door.
'Feets don't desert me now' say the Town Council. 'We don't know nuthin bout nuthin' they add.
And that is where things stand.
It started out well-intentioned. It didn't steal money. The monies collected were disbursed to where they were intended or they remained under Town control. It isn't at all like the OJ defense. In fact, had it not been an election year, it would never have become near as big a headline as it had. But what bugs me most about it is the level of hypocrisy surrounding the presence of those "wards" of the County. Some holier than thou residents of Edgemont led the attack saying that there was no need to "compensate" the nearby residents because the "wards" will have no detrimental effect on the neighborhood. Just ask the Police Chief. I'll be honest; if I lived there and I had my money invested in my home and my school district, I would be saying the same things as those neighborhood residents did, "Pay to Play" in my neighborhood and to tolerate another such facility I would want to be paid an equivalent "social" dividend, not to my personal checking account but to be used as my neighborhood sees fit for its benefit and enjoyment. If I were absorbing the cost playing
host at the party, I'm not buying drinks for the rest of the Town.
I'm told that Edgemont has similarly "suffered" by allowing one "group home" in its midst. I'm also told that this happened only after intensive neighborhood protest failed. But I've never been answered regarding how many occupants there are in this group home, where is it located, what is the historical significance of the building and what is the nature of the occupants' affiliation?
The reason I'm bringing this up is that I'm thinking that maybe the Town should find a way to acquire the Dromore Property at a reasonable profit to the owner, build a comparable facility so that the County can move ALL the WESTHELP population to this new facility, and the no school age children that'll never exist from these "wards" won't need to go to the nearby Edgemont Schools and be a burden upon their scarce desk supply. And don't overlook at another benefit: think about the buying power that these new "wards" will bring to the Central Avenue retailers. Store leasing brokers pay attention. Let's be socially conscious BUT not run afoul again of any NYS laws; so Town Board, don't make the same mistake twice and forward any of the County's rent for the new Dromore facility to the Edgemont School District.
As for the former WESTHELP premises, let's sell it to the highest bidder and, with the proceeds, buy theater tickets to the next revival of Sweet Charity and scatter them over southeast Greenburgh. Maybe Cablevision will donate the use of their helicopter for this purpose.
Because now we know in no uncertain terms: no one area should benefit from cries of NIMBYism and let the tix fall where they may.
Or we could just put this sick puppy to bed for once and for all.
There are still some unresolved problems to be solved and the Town Council will want center stage with no distractions when it unveils its going away present to the Town -- the long awaited glitch-free sidewalk plan!
I think your idea for Dromore & Westhelp if fabulous. Sounds practical to me. Voila! Problem solved!
Off in the distance the sound of Edgemont residents picking up phones to make urgent calls to Realtors or attorneys, is heard................
Hal:
The Town Board and the County Board of Legislators were told not to do WestHelp. In addition to myself, Robert Reninger and Sam Wilkins going before the county board during Lois' tenure as chair, I also wrote them a letter that was read before the Committee on Budget and Appropriation. The minutes and a link are enclosed for your review.
http://www.watpa.org/wcbol/comm/ba/2003/ba030127.htm
COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND APPROPRIATION
MINUTES
JANUARY 27, 2003
MEMBERS PRESENT: Wishnie, Bronz, Kaplowitz, Oros,
Stewart-Cousins,
Swanson
LEGISLATORS: Ryan, Pinto, Rogowsky
OTHERS PRESENT: IT: Kay Foster, Allen Elliott, John
Elliott, Norm Jacknis; Seniors:
Mae Carpenter; Labs &
Research: M. Hyland, Larry
Fasnacht; DEF: James Hogan;
Law: Rick Cashman; DSS:
Nancy Travers, Joel Levy; Town of
Greenburgh: Paul Bergans; Paul
Feiner; Budget: James Arnett,
Arthur Vietro, Leslie Bennett; C.E.:
Bill Randolph, Andrew Neuman;
CBAC/LWVW: Barbara Strauss;
BOL: Bob Boland, Barbara
Dodds, Tara Bernard, Steve Bass,
Susan Kirkpatrick, Rafael Vega,
Sunday Vanderberg
Chairman Wishnie called the meeting to order at 9:20 a.m.
On the motion of Legislator Kaplowitz, seconded by Chair Bronz, the minutes
were approved.
On the motion of Legislator Kaplowitz, seconded by Legislator Swanson, the
Court Ordered Certioraris was received a filed.
A11 ¬ Greenburgh Homeless Housing Facility (WESTHELP): There was a
discussion about the 149 residents vs. 159 residents in paragraph c (i) and
(ii). A monthly report is issued by the Department of DSS and it lists the
daily occupancy of homeless at the facility. A letter has been received
from Terry Williams, a fire commissioner, stating that the Fairview Fire
District will not be receiving any of the funds that the Town of Greenburg
receives. Supervisor Feiner said the fire district will share in some of
the money. Mr. Williams also states that Greenburgh is in violation of the
Statutes of the State of New York by transferring money to the
Mayfair-Knollwood and Knollwood Manor Civic Assoc. Supervisor Feiner stated
that he has been in touch with the State comptroller¹s office and is abiding
with the law. Chairman Wishnie requested that Assistant County Attorney,
Rick Cashman, read Mr. Williams letter to be sure that the Board is not
breaking any laws by agreeing to this Legislation. Mr. Cashman assured
Legislator Wishnie that there would not be any laws broken. On the motion
of Legislator Swanson, seconded by Chair Bronz, the motion was carried by a
vote of 5-0 with Legislator Oros out for the vote.
On the motion of Legislator Ryan, the Public Safety & Criminal Justice
committee was called to order.
reagan was right. tear down this horrible eyesore cum pseudo 9-11 memorial wall in front of webb field.
one never hears from anyone that this wall is anything other than a heap of concrete signifying nothing other than the empty heads sitting on the town board that authorized it.
thanks for nothing barnes, bass, juettner and feiner.
Mr. Williams conveniently omitted the most important fact: after listening to the arguments presented by himself and the others on his side, the Westchester County Board of Legislators (also) voted in FAVOR of the WestHelp agreement.
williams was right and was 100% vindicated by the state comptroller.
Williams was wrong, including his speech to before the county board when he said the Fairview Fire Dept. wasn't going to receive any money. Of course, now thanks to Sheehan & Co. that it true.
Williams should stop worrying about WestHELP and spend all of his available time on trying to fix the embarrassing Greenburgh Central 7 school district that he is responsible for.
And O.J. was found not guilty of killing Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, too.
Sir Francis seem to have a much kinder demeanor with his larest post on the Town's website. Maybe, just maybe he has been humbled.
Maybe he loks kinder. He will never win an Oscar for acting. He is what he is, and it ain't pretty.
BEWARE. A leopard can not change its spots and neither can SHEEHAN.
Maybe he now thinks he has two years to overcome the damage he has done to his reputation. He would be wrong. Sheehan, you will be tossed out at our next opportunity to pull the lever for whoever runs against you. Damage done.
Hopefully, the new Board will start hearings into all the illegal things Francis has done. I would love to question Young Kaminer under oath!! Anyway, if hearings are held, the revelations from them will force Sheehan to resign.
Campaign Aftermath!
With regards to the Barnes-Bass campaign, they had little to say, except we were part of the town's success and Paul stood in the way! Huh! They initiated absolutely nothing. They won their tiny victories in the Fair Campaign Practices hearing when Berger and Bass stated that the Moody's Bond rating was the town's and not Paul's alone. But, in truth, the Moody's rating singled out the "management," therefore the executive, not the legislative. That was one of their minute post-election victories. Their other triumph was the fact that Paul stated that he had hired Nikki Coddington, and that they (the Board) stymied most, if not all of his conservation initiatives. On those seamntic points, the Board "threw a bone" at the Berger-Bass-Barnes team. But substantively the FCP Board censured the other side on much more harsh issues; slush fund attacks, cronyism, being in the pocket of developers, and the like. Along that path, we will be submitting charges against them regarding their unfair and repetitive attacks on Choice and Indian Point.
The "Choice" attack cost Kevin and Sonja votes, and don't believe the reverse. We affectively countered their slander with letters from Polly Rothstein and indignation from the community. But the "big lie" from 2005 will continue to resonate in some quarters.
Our campaign featured a great many personal neighborhood letters, as last time, excellent counter-attacks, and a strong message of a "united team." Where was Alfreda Williams on their posters and literature? Where was the linkage between Berger, Bass, and Barnes? There was none!
This time we counter-attacked vigorously on the following: their use of email surveillance, secret meetings on Dromore, the Bryan,Cave contract and Berger's non-local fundraising, their opposition to alternate non-fossil fuel power, their opposition to the SAT camp, and their phony, loop-hole ridden, ethic's code. The Feiner Team stressed teamwork, library oversight, fiscal management, open and friendly government and helping the schools!
Their literature:
Paul Feiner: 16 years on the job,wastes tax dollars, taxes are too high, "pay for play" politician, a junior high student, $150G war-chest, cozy with developers, unaccountable slush fund, cronyism, costly court battles, short-sighted budgeting, desperate to hold power, "stop him now," police threatened by accreditation loss, blocking ethics requirements, can't get along with elected officials (SHEEHAN AND BASS?) more and more. They made Paul a "Pariah."
Brown and Morgan: Developers a blank check, not real Democrats, therefore more traffic and pollution, more over-crowded classrooms, taxing seniors out of their homes, not pro choice, not against Indian Point, not real Democrats, using the WCLA, for purely political and prejudicial reasons, open and ethical government (LIKE THE DROMORE ROAD/HARRISON MEETING WITH RICHARD TROY!), progressive leadership on the Iraq War, keeping our schools safe, (THEY ARE GOING TO LOWER THE TAX RATES, SO THEY HAVE 3 MORE MONTHS!), opposed to the Patriot Act, against genocide in Darfur, for clean water and clean air, and more and more.
One of their pieces claimed that they hired more police officers, acquired more parkland, spearheaded library renovation (KEEPING THE PROJECT ON BUDGET, since when?), cracked down on secretive, wasteful slush funds, accounting gimmicks, will conduct more long-range planning to deal with infrastructure, reducing borrowing costs.
One could go on and on. Paul fought back, and in his direct race, not blurred by "bullet" votes, he crushed Suzanne Berger with his greatest victory. She was well-financed by mostly three sources, outside money (her law firm buddies), her own bank account, and the party's funds. In the other "direct" race, newcomer Judy Beville defeated a do-nothing, mean-spirited, multi-year incumbent in a landslide. Next the other side will accuse Judy of dirty politics. No, she was on the right team, and came across as a professional! Plain and Simple!
The people spoke, vox populi, and the results are in. It was a singular triumph for the people vs the bosses. In this new atmosphere of one-party politics, we have to pay much more attention to inclusiveness, truth in advertising and sincerity.
Richard J. Garfunkel
garfunkel protests too much. feiner beat someone no one knew and who barely campaigned outside of direct mailings.
even with the feiner money and organization, barnes didnt lose by much.
Isn't it time for the haters to stop the juvenile tactic of mocking names. His name is Garfunkel, not Gaffefunkel. Grow up. It's no wonder that the endorsed slate lost with dimwits like the 7:06 blogger as their base of support.
To 7:06 p.m.
Are you people for real? The Democratic leadership brought out all the heavy guns to support the "anti-Feiner" slate of candidates -- Andy Spano, Richard Brodsky, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Lois Bronz, Tim Idoni and on and on -- and now your side cries like a bunch of 10-year-olds afterwards that "Feiner beat someone no one knew" or earlier posts that belittled Bass and Barnes as "weak" and who ran "with no record" to speak of. Na-na-na-na-na!
Here's the important fact: Feiner barely won the last election over Bill Greenawalt, but instead of running Bill up against him again, the Democratic leadership brought Berger up to the main stage and she was as weak and transparent as parchment paper. And Feiner trounced her.
And what doesn't matter is how little Barnes lost by -- she lost the Democratic line (which she won handily last time, I might add) and her margin of defeat (like Bass) will grow larger come November when the Republicans and Independents cast their votes for the Feiner slate.
Now, go put your thumb back in your mouth and suck on it!
Garfunkel has done a fantastic job with his messages on the blog.He really set many of us in the right direction as far as voting for the most honest slate in the town of Greenburgh.
True democrates are needed in the fore front to bring up the party to where it was years ago.
We are going in the right direction to a victory in November
Garfunkel thank you
Kudos also go to Samis,without him and his knowledge of good town government things would not have been exposed as far as the four members on the town board.
Samis thank you very much.
hal samis should run against sheehan
He is smarter, fair, and damnit--knows how to save the town money
Come on Hal--
I'm behind you 100%
"I'm with Hal"
"I'm with Hal"
Hal I said the same message under another title on the blog.
It would be great if you ran against Sheehan or Juettner.
If one of them do resign I will make it known that you are the one to take over the vacant seat.
O boy what a town we would have.
Anon 7:06
I am sure that a vast majority of the citizens of Greenburgh would not characterize me as "Gaffe." But since you choose to do it anonymously, so be it. I like a few others have been willing to sign my contributions, unlike low-lifes like yourself.
With regards to the past campaign, Suzanne Berger was well known to the rank and file, and obviously received very little support. If the turnout would have been as big as Mount Vernon's (33%), as opposed to the less than 25% in Greenburgh, she would have been beaten by more votes.
Most people believe that Feiner is invincible because he does a great job, they are satisfied with town services and their level of taxation, and he is always there for them. Some one has to be there!
Four-way races, especially against incumbents are impossible to handicap, and in the history of Westchester very few long-time Board, or Council Members, are defeated, but it happens. It did happen in White Plains, but he did not have the party's blessing. But Barnes and Bass received the overwhelming endorsement of the Greenburgh Democrats and the numerical winners, Morgan and Brown, were not household names.
Two years ago, against incredible odds, with a seasoned, and well-known foe and the opposition of all the newspapers and Democratic elected officials, Paul Feiner barely won. He ran a strong personal campaign, but his focus was not crafted to answer spurious unfounded attacks. The 11th hour "choice" issue cost him hundreds of votes and probably elected one of the worst Town Board members in history. C'est la vie. By the way, Polly Rothstein, the founder of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion stated that Sheehan was much less pro-choice than anyone in the recent race.
This time around, the Feiner campaign team counter-attacked against Berger's slick and well-financed, but negative charges. I listed in my earlier piece all her claims; slush fund, cronyism, in the pocket of developers!
No one who has been in this town for 25 years could swallow that balderdash. In other words, she was full of it! And you, and everyone else, know what the "it" is.
There are people who were generally tired of a 16-year incumbent, and others who generally do not like Paul Feiner, or his style. That's politics. They voted against him. But in America all you have to do is win by one vote. There is no need for a super majority, but in our political lexicon, 57% is considered a landslide, and 66% is a Tsunami!
If one talks about untested incumbents, Barnes was financed by Feiner's popularity for many, many years. In the Scarsdale Inquirer, she said, and I quote, "I believe this race turned out in a way a majority of the people did not expect." How come this majority did not vote that way? She also stated, "... not all the voices were heard."
Well there are 28,000 registered Democrats in Greenburgh, and if she, and her running mates, were that critical to the life and health of Greenburgh, they would voted in droves.
But, of the people who usually vote, about 6400 did come out. This was a greater number than in 2005, and they backed Feiner and Beville overwhelmingly. It was enough to toss three incumbents into well-deserved retirement.
The graceless Party Chairperson, Suzanne Berger, who went down to ignominious defeat, stated in her self-serving way, on Primary night, that "her campaign, unlike the Supervisor's was about telling the truth, and not pandering." The Fair Campaign Practice Board, regarding the quality of her claims, on substantive charges, quite differently. They may have said that Feiner should not have taken the complete credit for the high Moody's ratings, or for the hiring of Nikki Coddington, but they did say, in essence, she "PANDERED, LOUD AND CLEAR," with "SLUSH FUND, CRONYISM AND THE LIKE." By the way her running mates went way over the cliff with: accusing their opponents of polluting the air and water, not supporting Darfur, aiding and abetting the war in Iraq, and putting young women in jeopardy by taking away choice. It goes on and on. Was Barnes aware of what Bass printed in his "paid for" literature? He had the big bank roll, what did she have? So it seems that their negativity backfired, do tell!
Carol Wlelk, a person who despises Paul Feiner, and has campaigned against him for untold years, stated that she, "wondered how candidates with no experience had ousted qualified incumbents?" Well Kevin Morgan had a great deal of experience, certainly more than Francis Sheehan!
She added that he "focused on 'concierge services' to residents and ignored the real issues of running the town."
In other words, our resident political guru, Ms. Carol Wielk, thinks that the average citizen is a dolt who was doped! I am sure that if the whole town read the Scarsdale Inquirer, she would get a few nasty calls. In my opinion she is the one that is out of touch. I suggest she go back to "hating" in quiet, so she doesn't embarrass herself in public again!
This time around things and events were a bit different, and the stories in the newspapers, the letters to the editor, and the luke warm support amongst the rank and file did in the Berger slate.
By the way, right after the candidates came to 180 E. Hartsdale Avenue to speak, the head of the co-op Board of that building, a 35-year resident of Hartsdale, immediately wrote a letter to all of the local residents endorsing Paul, and asking for the ousting of Barnes.
So one can make a hundred excuses for their defeat, but the one excuse that is most correct is that the public was fed up with Berger's lies, the Board's dirty deals over Dromore Road, Barnes inaction on housing and parking, Bass's deals with Sheehan and Paul Feiner's great rapport with the average vote. They must generally like him to re-elect him 13 times since he started running against the party bosses 24 years ago!
Richard J. Garfunkel
Think about, Hal.
We need you!
Francis,
How is your paranoia level now? You have to worry about Gil Kaminer turning evidence against you. You have to worry about Bass turning evidence against you regarding Dromore Road. You have to worry about Mark Stellato turning evidence against you regarding who ordered him to illegally alter the Zoning Map.
You see Francis, you are no longer the 800 LB. Gorilla. You are just another hack politician in the MINORITY. You have no power any more. No one will be scared of you any more.
You should save yourself and your family the embaressemnt of what will come out in the following months. Do the right thing and resign. The public has spoken. You have no support. You can only wind up in significant legal problems should you choose to stay the remainder of your term. You will not be re-elected anyway. The Democratic Party has already laid a significant amount of the blame for this massive defeat on your doorstep. You have very few friends left. Do the right thing and resign.
Do Tuesday's primary results mean the end of the "Bernstein Era?" The king is dead, long live the king. Now that he knows being a Kingpin entails more than backroom deviousness, and a winning strategy, he can return to practicing the law- until practice makes perfect, or he's found lacking in that endeavor also.Like a Roman candle, he glowed brightly, but fizzeled quickly.Maybe, reading "The Prince'"again, will be his "summer reading" assignment?
Bernstein needs to realize that the people of Greenburgh spoke in overwhelming numbers. What they said was NO MORE! No more illegal meetings, no more abusive Board members, no more Bob Bernstein and Michelle McNally and the undue influence that they had. Bernstein and McNally have been humbled by the results. They know that Sheehan will be eliminated in the next election cycle so they will have no influence whatsoever. I see Bernstein, McNally, Lasser, Krauss, etc, working on getting Edgemont to become a Village. That is the ONLY WAY they will ever be able to have power and influence again.
I'M WITH HAL-
I'M WITH HAL-
I'M WITH HAL-
I'M WITH HAL-
Hal Samis is not a fund raiser. He is not a glad hander. He is definitely not a phony.
Hal Samis is a bright man. He has a good analytical mind. He, without benefit of elective office, has devoted countless hours to researching and summarizing costly problems inherent in some of our(Greenburgh's) most costly, major projects, and all cost free.
Hal Samis would be an independent, peoples' candidate if eleced to the Town Council.
Who would he be opposing? Let's start with then 18-year incumbent, Diane Juettner. What is her claim t fame? Her most noted accomplishment is, well, surviving for 18 years without contributing a blessed thing while raking in upwards of $432,000.00 + benefits. And that' folks is her only tangible accomplishment. Period. Pargraph. End of thought.
Then there is Francis Sheehan. The living example of the saying,"success doesn't change a man, it simply unmasks him."Don't get me wrong, Francis is a hard worker while being an extremely upwardly mobile politico. In less than one term, he assumed leadership of the board(Supervisor excluded), bypassing two 16-year office holders- Barnes and Juettner, and 7-year vet, Bass. Quite a jump for a freshman council person. However, his "take no prisoners" mantra, and his utterly condescending rudeness to constituents who do not "worship at his altar,"plus his holier than thou attitude have alienated friend, foe, as well as John and Jane Q. Public alike.
So please forgive Hal's cynical presentations, and listen to what he says and not how he says it.
He needs your help and support. You can call him.His Number is in the book.
Hal is the same as Francis. The only difference is that he is on the other team.
Yeah, the winning team.
In two years the Town Council has not addressed a single important issue as to which there were questions. What they have done is praise each other endlessly and refuse to answer questions from the public.
Hal Samis has raised a number of important issues which the Town Council should have thought about, and he has done it with facts and figures plus a tart tongue.
I think that Hal Samis has made a major contribution to the forced departure of Steve Bass and Eddie Mae Barnes (hallelujah!) and he should be thanked. His postings have been extremely educational and he will be listened to more and more now that the Bass-Barnes pair are gone and Sheehan can no longer rule the Town Council (hallalujah again!).
I'M WITH HAL!
I'M WITH HAL!
BE WITH HAL!
HAL IS THE MAN!
QUOTE FROM WESTCHESTER COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN REGINALD LAFAYETTE, COMMENTING ON WHO HE WOULD SUPPORT IF MT. VERNON MAYOR ERNEST DAVIS RUNS AGAINST DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY WINNER CLINTON DAVIS ON THE INDEPENDENCE AND CONSERVATIVE PARTY LINES (from today's Journal News, page 8A):
"I support Clinton Young, the party nominee. I am the chair of the Democratic Party. How can I not support the party? Both are my friends, and I supported Davis (in the primary) because he was the party designee."
Memo to Suzanne Berger: THAT'S how a Democratic chair is supposed to act! If you do not plan on supporting the winners of Greenburgh's democratic primary on Sept. 18 then you need to resign your chairmanship immediately!
The Greenburgh results were certified by the Westchester Board of Elections. There were some slight changes with Kevin Morgan increasing his victory margin over Eddie Mae Barnes by 50 votes to a margin of 120+.
There were some other slight changes that reflect tiny adjustments.
The campaign for November proceeds forward and The Feiner Team, with Sonya Brown, Kevin Morgan and Judy Beville, will continue to actively campaign.
Over the weekend the team made stops at various community events and we are preparing our literature and position papers for public dissemination. Will be announcing endorsements at coming press events!
Richard J. Garfunkel
Campaign Chairperson
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