2 years ago the Greenburgh Town Board settled a lawsuit regarding the Ridge Hill development. We had originally filed the lawsuit because Greenburgh and villages within the town were concerned about traffic impacts, poor planning, size of the project. We settled the lawsuit (even though members of the Board were concerned about traffic impacts, size of the development on the Greenburgh border) because we were advised that we had little chance of success in the lawsuit we had filed because the Yonkers Council was in support of the project.
Yesterday, a member of the Yonkers City Council, Sandy Annabi, was indicted on charges of accepting a $160,000 bribe. She was the swing vote. As a result, the Town Board will vote on a resolution at next Wednesday’s Town Board meeting directing the Greenburgh Town Attorney to review whether we have any legal recourse re: Ridge Hill.
If former Councilwoman Annabi sold her vote the integrity of the SEQR process may have been compromised. The actions Yonkers took could then be illegal. I believe that the town should explore legal options including damages and injunctive relief.
The Town Board will vote on the resolution at our meeting on Wednesday evening, January 13, 2010. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
From January 11, 2007 Greenburgh town website.
Town settles Ridge Hill--legal fees to be reimbursed to town! YONKERS/GREENBURGH FIGHTING ENDS!
Release Date: January 11, 2007
BORDER WARS BETWEEN YONKERS/GREENBURGH ARE OVER…RIDGE HILL LAWSUIT SETTLED…TOWN LEGAL FEES REIMBURSED…ROAD IMPROVEMENTS TO BE FUNDED!
The Town Board unanimously approved a resolution settling the Ridge Hill lawsuit. Yonkershad previously approved a mixed use commercial, retail and residential project on an approximately 80 acre parcel of property located in Yonkers, on the Greenburgh border.
As part of the agreement – which has also been approved by Yonkers, Ardsley and Hastings as well as the chair of the citizens committee that had opposed Ridge Hill (Mary Jane Shimsky)- Yonkers will remit directly to the town of Greenburgh $450,000 as a reimbursement for expenses certified by the Town’s Comptroller as having been incurred by the town in connection with the project.
Yonkerswill also make available to Greenburgh, Ardsley and Hastings the sum of 5 million dollars to be used to improve certain intersections and roads within our respective municipalities. A task force will be created to explore the feasibility of, design and seek funding and approvals to allow for the construction of entry and exit ramps connecting the property to the Sprain Brook Parkway. The Task Force will be under the direction of an independent, qualified task force manager who will be selected by unanimous vote of the Task Force members.
Am I happy with the settlement? I have mixed feelings. I would have preferred density reduction. I still believe that the project is too large. However, I realize that under the current state laws it would have been unlikely for the town to have prevailed if we pursued litigation. If we had pursued litigation we probably would have incurred an additional $300,000- $400,000 in legal expenses. At the end of the day we would have lost. The taxpayers would have spent $800,000 – maybe more- on legal fees and would have nothing to show. Now, our legal fees are being reimbursed. If we pursued litigation we would not have received the 5 million in road improvements.
I also hope that the settlement will end the border wars between Greenburgh and Yonkers. The Task Force will provide Yonkers/Greenburgh with an opportunity to have a dialogue…to get to know each other…to get to work with each other. Hopefully, if we establish a good working relationship with each other there will be more regional cooperation on planning issues.
Paul Feiner
GreenburghTownSupervisor
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9 comments:
where is the lawsuit by the town to get the millions you illegally gave to the valhalla school district?
Is this offense really a defense?
Yes Hal, it is. The State Attorney General should investigate the Town, Feiner in particular, for all of his misdeeds as well. He gave money illegally to the Valhalla School District to garner votes from that part of Town. He gave money illegally to the Fairview Fire District to garner votes from that part of Town. He strong armed Fortress Bible to donate fire equipment in exchange for a site plan approval, he strong armed White Hickory to donate $200,000 to the Town in exchange for a site plan approval. He tried to keep tax refunds in the Town's tills rather than refund the money to those who overpaid (nearly $1 million!). He claims to have not had any knowledge about the Metz Reservoir construction - he knew about nearly 6 months before the application came in and received of all things, a site plan waiver. While he may not have put any of our money in his pockets, he used plenty of it to buy votes!
Now he is claiming that he had no way of knowing that sales tax revenue would be less than anticipated, mortgage tax would be less and retirement benefits would be higher. Did he have plugs in his ears when Comptroller Kollesar told him about these things?
Feiner is no better than Annabi!
Dear Fed Up,
The problem is that Feiner is much more clever than Annabi.
The Hitchcock film "Strangers on a Train" is food for thought.
Two strangers meet, start talking and a plan is advocated by one of them for each to commit a murder on the other's behalf. Thus, with an alibi and no one finding a reason to connect the stranger with the victim, the perfect crime should occur.
Ask yourself why large real estate developers with no investments in Greenburgh contribute so generously to Feiner's campaigns. $1000 here, $1000 there. It's almost as though they were nominees making the contribution on someone else's behest.
Like getting away with murder.
feiner is dreaming again. with hundreds of jobs already in place, this shovel ready project is not going to be stopped.
more press release soundbite blather from the dupervisor who is reeling from the bad press he is being clobbered with at the journal news and elsewhere over his 65.5% tax hike and the crime spree in edgemont.
fortress bible may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Dear Klondike,
From your mouth to Humpty Dumpty's fall.
With a 65+% tax hike for 2010, let's continue to spend more of the taxpayers' limited resoucres on these actions, which are ill conceived and ill-timed. Can't wait to see what 2011 brings.
How about putting more focus and funds on safety? Another armed robbery over the weekend and a sexual assault at a Town Park...Feiner is interested in frivolous lawsuits because they don't require any managerial skills.
As was stated in other blog topics, Feienr's wife works for the State Attorney General. All attempts to initiate criminal investigations of the Feiner administration have thus far been thwarted.
What are the opinions of those of you still using this blog, do you think that bringing issues to Astorino is the way to go or should citizens just take the Town to Court in order to get justice?
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