If it doesn’t rain this weekend – there are many fun Halloween activities to take advantage of. Unfortunately, Spooktoberfest was postponed. The Greenburgh nature center’s fall festival is lots of fun for small kids. The Greenburgh library book sale should also be on your list of things to do. Check out:http://www.rivertownsguide.com for more details.
- Farmers Markets
- Westchester Craft Show
- Halloween Events all Weekend!
- Tarrytown Third Friday
- Haunting of Sleepy Hollow
- Spooktoberfest Haunted Trail & Barn
- Greenburgh Library Book Sale
- Warner Library Fall Book Sale
- Marshall Tucker Band in Irvington
- The Claire Lynch Band at the Emelin Theater
- Free Music in Dobbs, Ardsley, Hastings
- Village of Ardsley Garage Sale
- NYS Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck
- Teatown Fall Festival
- Scarecrow Invasion at lyndhurst
- Opening Reception “LEE Kui Dae” in Tarrytown
- The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze
- An Evening with T.C Boyle in Peekskill
- Screening "Food, Inc." on Nyack
- "Rigoletto", part of the Film Festival @ Irvington Town Hall Theater
- Fall Festival at Greenburgh Nature Center
- “Soul Sunday” in Yonkers
- Tarot by Valerie in Dobbs
- Jason and the Argonauts at Purchase
- Richard Alston Dance Company at Purchase
Greg & Doug Dellolio, students at Valhalla High School and residents of Greenburgh have set up a new website: www.greenburghkids.com. If you have any suggestions for the site—please advise and they will be posted on the site. They worked on this new site during the summer.
Work Session Agenda of the Greenburgh Town Board
Tuesday – October 20, 2009 – 9:00AM
(As of September 15, 2009 – Work Sessions will begin at 9:00AM
Except where schedule changes are made by the Board)
(Please note that, although the Work Session Agenda is shared with the public prior to each Work Session, the Agenda may be revised at any point up to the start of the meeting as well as during the meeting, if necessary.)
(All Work Sessions are Televised Live on Cablevision Channel 76, Verizon 35 and are streamed live. Work Sessions and Town Board Meetings will be aired each Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting at 7:02am and 4:45pm. Each segment will run for approximately 6 to 7 hours,
depending upon the length of the two meetings.)
09:00AM Library Board – Budget Proposal
10:00AM Budget Meeting – Town Clerk
10:15AM Update on Cable Issues – George Malone
10:20AM Budget Meeting – Town Comptroller
11:15AM Executive Session - Legal
12:00noon Adjourn Meeting
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38 comments:
Paul--I read a notice sent to Edgemont taxpayers from the ECC about the suggestion to merge the Greenville fire district with Fairview and Hartsdale. I was also told by a friend that the Greenville fire district just awarded every firefighter almost a 5% increase in their base salaries. I am very upset. Is it true that the chief earns more than $200,000 a year? Is it true that others in the department also receive more than Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Senator Schumer and more than the Chief of Police?
How many fires are there in Edgemont annually? How many fires does the Greenville fire department unilaterally put out? I urge you to attend the meeting a week from Monday.
Here's Johnny one nut again. And who knew he could read?
But I think that there is a grain of truth in his request for Supervisor Feiner to attend the consolidation meeting. Perhaps he will learn, if Greenville attends, how to reduce the Greenburgh two year tax increase down from 31% to the Edgemont Fire District's 1.6%.
Who knows, maybe there's something in the firehouse drinking water?
And if I were Lowey, Schumer, and Kapica, I'd attend the meeting too just to take Paul aside and ask for his help in getting a better paying job.
715 Johnny
Hartsdale and Fairview do not put fires out unilaterally either. Get your facts straight. They all use the same mutual aid system because it works.
Supervisor Feiner should be invited to speak to the ECC. The ECC is a respected, independent non partisan group. We may not like Feiner but he raises legitimate points about the high costs of operating our fire district. If the rumors of the salary increases to all the fire district employees are correct (I've heard that the raises ranged from 4 1/4% to 5%) the fire district has some serious explaining to do. If there is any truth to the fact that firemen get more than $200,000 a year when there are few fires inEdgemont, there is something very wrong.
I'm sure that the rumors of excessive salary increases in Greenville are not true. Edgemont civic leaders don't waste taxpayer dollars. Cut out the crap about $200,000 plus salaries and 4 or 5% increases. Not true. Don't believe it.
Why are Kapica's offensive comments being swept under the rug? Where is the openness and transparency in our government?
Why isn't the supervisor voicing outrage?
The ECC last year invited Feiner to speak about the town's huge tax hikes. Edgemont residents expressed concern about cuts to police, sanitation, snow and leaf removal, and expressed opposition to funding an after school program that served only another school district's children. They also expressed opposition to the Town's giving a $1 million grant to the Fairview Fire District. They were upset about the town having two separate recreation departments, each with its own highly paid commissioners. Residents questioned the town's priorities when it came to budget cutting. And Feiner ignored every suggestion that was made.
A few months later, the ECC invited then town comptroller Mike Kolesar to one of its meetings. Kolesar warned the ECC that the Town had a serious problem with internal controls. Feiner fired Kolesar a week later.
Here's the $64,000 question.
Why is Feiner and his acolytes so concerned about Fire Districts, School Districts and County government when he can't reign in his own Police Department and Town budget.
Do residents pay his salary to worry about entities that he has NO control over?
For a guy who has delivered a 31% two year tax increase (this itself only possible by invading fund balances or face an even higher increase) and is about to unveil a 2010 increase of at least 7% to 14%(this again possible only by going back to the fund balance well) does it seem that he is doing such a good job himself in Greenburgh for its residents that he, of all people, should be sniffing at independent authorities.
What he is doing is no mystery. He is trying to take the spotlight off him and deflect it elsewhere, anywhere.
Yes, fire personnel receive enormous pay. I too question the soundness of them. But to win the $64,000, you've got to explain how this is a higher concern when it produces in Greenville a 1.6% tax increase and frugal Paul who has visited and written the entire population, been aided by an army of staff and department heads, can't bring in a budget anywhere close to the Greenville increase. Whose budget is the proof of the greater fool theory?
Humpty Dumpty's fallen off the wall and is on the ground in pieces. All Feiner can do is send his army to try and arrest the old lady who lives in a shoe.
What does one have to with the other you ask?
It's what people who keep sticking their foot in their mouth do.
Hal, Hal, Hal,
Now you are showing either your ignorance or blattant stupidity. How can one compare a fire district to a town, especially when comparing a budget? I am REALLY lost on this one. A Fire Department has specific functions and goals. A town has MANY.
The MAIN purpose of any Fire Department is to PREVENT fires. As far as I am concerned, the Fire Departments in Greenburgh are doing a FABULOUS job and are succeeding in the performance of thier duties. PREVENTION IS A PART OF THEIR JOB! They DESERVE a raise. Think about what the costs would be IF THEY WERE NOT preventing fires.
To Anonymous 10/16/2009 10:41 PM and others:
To those who are interested is getting some insight into compensation for employees of the State of New York and many of its sub-agencies and governments, follow the steps below:
1. enter www.seethroughny.net
2. Click “Payrolls”
Select whatever you are interested in – if the Town of Greenburgh, click on “Towns”, if a fire district, click “Special Districts”
3. I’ll do Greenburgh, so click “Towns”
4. Under the caption Pay years – highlight “2008 – 2009 (4/1/08 – 3/31/09)
5. Under Branch the box should already have “Towns”
6. Under Agency – scroll down and highlight “Greenburgh”
7. Click “Go”
8. Viola – a “complete” list of “full time” employees for the period.
9. If you want to download this information into an Excel table, look for the Excel icon in the lower left and click. Once you have the information in excel, one can sort it in descending order by compensation, if that is what you are interested in.
10. When the box comes up, click “open”.
Some words of caution. This list does not include “part-timers” and “seasonal” workers. It appears to include only those employees whose wages were reported to the State for pension purposes. It does not include certain components of taxable income that are apparently excluded for pension purposes. For example, Council members Juettner, Sheehan and Brown are all listed at $28,332. To the best of my recollection, Councilwoman Brown does not receive health coverage, nor has she received $2,000 annually paid to Council members Juettner and Sheehan for not taking the health coverage. What’s most interesting is that Council member Kevin Morgan is not included in the data at all.
Al Regula and Butch Nanna are also not there, so I am not sure how complete this is.
So use this with some skepticism. One may look up by individual name. Enter Kolesar and you will see that I was paid $134,143 for this period.
If you are interested in fire district data, highlight “Special Districts” and then select “fire and police” and then for the specific district, highlight Greenville, Fairview, Hartsdale, or whatever.
Finally to those who don’t want to “believe” the compensation reported in various topics in this blog, search for yourself and “believe”.
"Edgemont civic leaders don't waste taxpayer dollars".
Really? Ask Bob how much his lawsuits cost the Town. Appeals are expensive and though the Town won, they had to respond to false arguments.
Just opened my mail to find that my mortgage -property tax escrow payment is going up $157.75 /month starting December. Thank you Town of Greenburgh and Central School District!
Bernstein's lawsuits were defended by the town's own lawyers who would have been paid the same money had he not brought any lawsuits. But thanks to Bernstein, unincorporated Greenburgh was saved from a tennis bubble contract that would have cost unincorporated Greenburgh taxpayers more than $3 million in capital improvements for the benefit of a private vendor -- all because Feiner signed a contract that said if Finneran means the tennis courts must be restricted to unincorporated residents only (which was the position the town took), then unincorporated Greenburgh must not only foot the bill for the improvements, but they must also guarantee the vendor his lost profits!!
It's hard to say whether Bernstein's lawsuits will have any effect on Feiner's plans to continue charging only unincorporated taxpayers for benefits and amenities afforded all town residents -- even people who don't even live in Greenburgh, but if that comes to end, we'll have Bernstein to thank for that too.
Bernstein has raised legitimate issues which can not be ignored. It would be better if the town simply acted legally and avoided these court cases. Saying that the law is illegal is not leadership. Work to change the law if you disagree with it.
Hey Paul how much will the library ask for this time arround.
Haven't they robbed the public enough together with your help.
Let's see what kind of a man you are .
Turn them down we have paid enough.
Paul,
Is there any reason why Secor Park is closed. We pay taxes to enjoy these parks and they have a gate closing this park.
If you expect Paul to answer any of your questions you are in the wrong town.
Is it not part of the contract for the person renting out hartsbrook that they are to open and close gates to get a discounted rent. Maybe this is a gate that can be added on to the list.
Dear Law Follower: Just because Bernstein files a lawsuit doesn't mean that the town is violating the law. So far Bernstein lost one major case he brought against the town at the Court of Appeals level (the highest court). This week he lost a case in the Appellate Division. Obviously, Mr. Bernstein's interpretations of the law has been incorrect.
Feiner certainly violated state law when he signed the tennis bubble contract which provided that if the law restricts use to residents of unincorporated Greenburgh, which was the position Feiner was advocating in court, then taxpayers in unincorporated Greenburgh would have to foot the bill for a $3 million capital improvement, plus guarantee the tennis bubble vendor's profits. Thanks to Bernstein, unincorporated Greenburgh dodged a bullet.
Also, thanks to Bernstein, it's also clear that the Town will never again be able to violate state law by purchasing parkland open to all town residents, but paid for by only unincorporated.
Irvington says thank you to Inc. Greenburgh and Paul for the free ride for Taxter. If only we could actually use the park, it would be good.
Thank you Bob for stopping the tennis bubble payments to the town. Without your interference the town would be a million dollars richer by now.
Every taxpayer in unincorporated Greenburgh should be sent a copy of the tennis bubble contract that Feiner signed so they could see for themselves that it would have resulted in unincorporated taxpayers having to fund up to $3 million in improvements and guarantee Sportime's profits -- all of which would have more than offset any phantom "rental" payments the town would have received from this bogus deal. At least Bernstein had the wherewithal to stop this stupid idea before it started costing us real money. Hmm, what would taxpayers think if they knew Feiner had signed such a contract?
Yes. The tennis bubble would have been a financial disaster for Greenburgh. Thanks to Bernstein for smoking this out.
Feiner is hanging the unincorporated area.
Thank God that there are Bernsteins and many others like him that are watching Pauls inability to make the right decisions.
The next step is to get Feiner out of office,
Yes he will win this electon but my crystal ball sees that with the investigations that will be going on he will resign and with him goes Sheehan and Juettner.
I very seldom make a mistake.
The bubble contract is a muliple problenm.
(1) It proves Feiner received his law degree from a strree vendor or from a mail order law school. And, our town board attorney will approve anyrthing Feiner puts in front of him whether it's legal or not; good for this town or not; makes any sense or not.
The hypocricy evidenced by this contract is sotto sopra. Feiner is fighting in court tryingto uphold the Finneren Law, yet signs a contract which is in violation of that same law.
$3,000,000 ho hum. How about the Fortress Baptisst Church case which will costus probably twice that if we're lucky because Paul found yet another law he didn't have to obey, and stated in the newspapers self incriminating evidence for the plaintif to use against the Town.
Paul Feinerwill be in office t least two more years. Withhis team of bobbing heads in place what other fiscally costly SNAFUs will he present us with?
The tennis bubble initiative could have generated millions for the town. Tennis players would have enjoyed the opportunity to practice our sport during the off seasons--when town park is not open. Ed, I disagree with your thoughts on this subject.
Anon at 10:42, probably Feiner blogging anonymously once again, doesn't seem to understand that the tennis bubble contract he signed required unincorporated Greenburgh to foot the bill for $3 milliion in capital improvements and guarantee Sportime's profits over the 15-year life of the lease, thereby offsetting any of the "millions" Feiner claims the Town would have received. Indeed, the contract was structured so that unincorporated would have received no net benefit whatsoever. This is not a matter of opinion; it's a matter of black and white. The contract is a document that anyone can read. But you won't see it ever posted on the Town's website.
Ah, the Farmers Market in Hartsdale. This started out as a summer program and is now extended all the way through Thanksgiving! Yes, it brings some traffic into the village during the summer when things seem to quiet down. It does however compete with existing businesses. This market should not run past Labor Day. Don't our local vendors deserve a break? Should they now have to compete for fall business? Westchester View is bringing in pumpkins & flowers. Directly competing with our local florist and produce store. The produce store is hangning on by a thread...he is sure to be gone by the end of the year!
The Hartsdale Farmers Market is so feeble, it doesn't really pose much of a threat to anyone. Nor is it much of a draw. For those who want to see what a real local farmers market can provide, without threatening any local merchants in Scarsdale village, check out the Scarsdale Farmer's Market, which has many more vendors who come from real farms upstate along the Hudson with a much greater variety of food, produce and even wine from a local vineyard.
Paul,
When Chief Kapica retires will you name a month after him the way you did for Regula? Of course, if you do, you take the chance of having the whole story of his racist remarks coming out.
Chief Kapica has created one of the most diverse police departments in Westchester, how can you call him racist?
Why don't you ask the Chief who he HAD TO apologize to for using racially insensitive language.
Paul will NEVER ALLOW the truth to come out. If he were to, he would lose the African American vote 100%.
What does Detective Double Dip have to say on the subject? Come on Kevin, you KNOW what the Chief said and why he had to apologize..... Why don't you come clean? This will be hung around your neck when you run for re-election two years from now. Speaking of necks.....didn't the Chief have something to say about nooses???????
Interesting how Double Dip and the rest of the Paulettes have nothing to say, isn't it??????
DON'T PULL THE LEVER FOR ANY LOCAL TOWN OFFICIAL THIS ELECTION DAY. SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE OF NO SUPPORT!
10/18 10:42PM
Sorry to tell you perfection is not always for the good.
You are 100% wrong.
We would not have reaped millions, not 6, or even 5 figures, because Sportime could not be profitable selling to as small a universe as the population of unincorporated Greenburgh. And the Finneran Law, which Paul has been fighting to maintain,(when it suits his case-of-the-day) expressly prohibits anyone other than an unincorporated resident from using town park...and the tennis bubble would be in town park.
So, unless the contract Paul signed has a bailout clause(highly unlikely, else he would be defending it) allowing the contract to be null and void IF people other than Finneran sanctioned people are eligible to become members AND Sportime makes the improvements they said they would make there is no way on Earth- even Paul's alternate planet- Sportime could hope to recoup their investment. Ergo, whatever they spend becomes yet another unicorporated's liability.
This contract is indefensible, and the vetter and signers guilty of malfeasance.
Irrespective of whether 10:42PM is Paul in nom de plume or not, in the vernacular of a former S. Bronx kid the Sportime contract SUCKS, SUCKS and SUCKS.
And you know what, Paul's going to have 26 more month up at the plate.
Think about it.
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