Should government provide neighborhoods with benefits?

Question: Westchester has a homeless problem. Our county also has a shortage of low income housing. In the past, whenever a proposed low income housing complex was suggested near a middle income or wealthy neighborhood there was a tremendous amount of local opposition. Usually, the opposition has killed the housing proposal. That's why we continue to face a severe low income housing shortage in Westchester. Everyone wants housing built --in someone elses neighborhood. There is some talk that a court of law or the state government may eventually require localities around the state to do their fair share --to build a certain amount of low income housing in their community.
To ease the local community opposition to the proposed housing do you think that government should offer the neighborhood a dividend/benefit? In Greenburgh this was done with the WESTHELP partnership in 2004. The neighborhood (Mayfair Knollwood civic association) voted 90-10 to accept a 108 unit homeless shelter. In return -- WESTHELP, the county of Westchester, the Town of Greenburgh promised to give the Valhalla School district $650,000 a year for enhanced school programs. The neighborhood was happy. The school district was happy--because they are getting additional programs for the school. WESTHELP was happy because they were able to continue serving the homeless. The county was happy. Because, they did not have to close down a homeless shelter and place the homeless elsewhere. The town was happy because everyone else was happy.
Now---some members of the Town Board who voted for the agreement in 2004 are threatening to break the promise they previously made to the community to provide enhanced funds to the school district
The QUESTION OF THE DAY is this: SHOULD GOVERNMENT PROVIDE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ACCEPT PROGRAMS NO ONE WANTS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD WITH ADDITIONAL BENEFITS/PERKS?

QUESTIONS/ISSUES OF THE DAY-your input wanted

I will begin posting periodic issue questions on this blog. The goal: To encourage citizen bloggers to air their thoughts and help be an important partner in the legislative process. If you have a question you'd like to have discussed on the blog - please e mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com. I'll select appropriate questions and post them on this site. Please indicate in your e mail if I can use your name and credit the question to you.
I'm very pleased that this blog is starting to generate some interest from Greenburgh residents. We're getting a good initial response from residents who want to be a part of the decision making process. People want to be heard. And, those of us in government can learn from our critics as well as from our supporters. I hope that more people, representing different philosophies, will participate in our dialogue.
Thanks again for being a part of the discussion.

WIFI IN NEW ROCHELLE..WHAT ABOUT US?

New Rochelle has launched WIFI in a 20 block section of their central business district, including their train station. WIFI provides internet access to those with computers. For a few years I have suggested that we WIFI our parks. What about E Hartsdale Ave (the downtown area/train station, apartment complex)?
What do you think?
Check the New Rochelle web site: www.newrochelledowntown.com

con ed meeting today

Had a meeting with the Vice President of Con Ed and some county leaders today. Learned, to my surprise, that Con Ed currently does not have the ability to determine (via technology) where power outages are located. They rely on people phoning in. In the 21st century this doesn't make sense. There must be technology available so the company can learn of power outages in a more efficient manner. Why should the company have to depend on phone calls from local governments, the police or customers?

halloween dog parade this sunday

Join us at the first halloween dog parade this Sunday from noon to 4 PM. Dress your dog in his/her best halloween costume. The event will take place at webb field in hartsdale.
PAUL FEINER

homeland security

I attended a meeting of the municipal officials tonight and we discussed homeland security. A few ideas that I think are interesting...
*There should be a requirement that cell phone antenna's have 24 hour emergency backups so that we can guarantee that cell phone service will be provided if there is a major power outage...
*Require generators at gas stations so people will be able to get gas for their cars in the event of an outage...
*Require new drug stores that will open up in town to have generators so people will be able to fill their prescriptions in event of a prolonged outage.
An interesting event. I always get lots of ideas from others.
PAUL FEINER

Library OATS (Construction Minutes)

Supervisor Feiner asked me to post the meeting minutes of the library construction committee here. The links to download them in PDF format are below. You can open them on your own computer after downloading them with Adobe Reader.

-files removed by request of Paul Feiner-

MSG withdraws HELIPAD proposal

MSG withdrew plans to place a HELIPAD at the training facility used by the NY Knicks, Rangers and Liberty teams. Some residents were concerned about quality of life issues. Others expressed concern about the precedent that would be set. I think MSG made the right decision.
PAUL FEINER

suggesting that all documents be placed on web site

A suggestion was made by Charles Vamossy at the Town Board meeting last night that we do a better job of making copies of proposed resolutions available to the public. I will suggest that we post all resolutions on our web site: www.greenburghny.com

greenburgh library to approve $439,000 to school

The Town Board is scheduled to vote to approve $439,000 to the Valhalla school district tonight- re: WESTHELP partnership. The Town Board meeting will take place at 7:15 PM.

road repaving...changes to be made

Last week some residents complained to me about our repaving policy. A road, leading to Edgemont High School and the Hartsdale train station, was closed during early morning rush hour. Some commuters missed the train...students were late to school. They were not aware of fact that repaving was going to take place on that street.
I met with Commissioner of Public Works Al Regula. We agreed to change our bid documents. In the future our contractors will be required to place a variable message board on the streets that are scheduled for repaving. This will be done days in advance of the road work - providing motorists with more information so they can better plan their drive to school/work.
PAUL FEINER

reasons why Barnes & Noble won't renew lease

David Landes of Edgemont has a company -Royal Properties. His company is a commercial brokerage and ownership firm. They have handled many leasing deals on Central Ave including the movement of the Verizon store to their new location in the Dalewood Shopping Center. The old Verizon location is going to become a Vitamin Shoppe Retail.
According to David "Central Ave is going through a shift now. Retail rents have escalated over the past few years with rents now approaching $50 sq feet. Barnes and Noble felt that they have a store in Yonkers which does extremely well and one on Rt 119 and another in downtown White Plains which gives them a presence." ..."as long as rents continue to climb it will weed out the smaller retailer as they will not be able to afford the rents."

half marathon in 2 hours and 1 minute...

Yesterday I ran the Westchester half marathon. The race began at the County Center. Over 1100 runners ran in the marathon, half marathon or quarter marathon. We ran on the Bronx River Parkway to Tuckahoe and back - 13.1 miles. My time was 2 hours, 1 minute and 16 seconds. The NY Journal News published the times of all the runners in today's issue. A few hundred people ran ahead of me. A few hundred people ran behind me. I was somewhere in the middle. For me this was a big accomplishment. I never considered myself an athlete --and just started running a few years ago.
Next month I will be running in the NY Marathon. It's the first time I'll ever try running 26+ miles -- I hope it's flatter than the Westchester marathon! And, hope I won't feel as stiff and tired as I did yesterday afternoon.
Hat's off to the county Parks & Recreation Dept for sponsoring another great county event.
PAUL FEINER

RESPONSE TO BLOGGERS RE: VALHALLA WESTHELP PARTNERSHIP

I have been reading the blogs regarding the Valhalla/Mayfair Knollwood/WESTHELP partnership.
I would like to take this opportunity to clarify some points raised by bloggers.
1) As some of the bloggers correctly pointed out this agreement was approved a few years ago by the entire Town Board. As Supervisor of the town I cannot sign any agreement unless at least 3 members of the Board vote to authorize me to sign a contract. This contract was approved unanimously--by me...by Council members Eddie Mae Barnes, Steve Bass, Diana Juettner. Eddie Mae, Steve and Diana are still members of the board. Former Councilmember Timmy Weinberg also voted for the agreement.
2) Before we voted for the agreement we spent about 2 years negotiating the terms with officers of HELP USA, the county of Westchester, the Mayfair Knollwood civic association. A state agency also reviewed the proposed agreement and signed off. Former Town Attorney Susan Mancuso spent many hours reviewing the document, as did special counsel - Paul Bergins. The entire Town Board reached the same conclusions as I did - that this contract was in the interests of the town. That's why we unanimously voted for the agreement. I object to members of the Town Board responding to political pressure to void a legally binding contract -- without any legal opinion from any state agency, the comptroller or a Judge indicating that the contract is improper. Legal opinions that were provided to members of the Town Board, in advance of our vote, are available to the public for review.
3) I would be happy to share with the public informaiton about the programs offered by the Valhalla school district to residents and students.
4) I appreciate it when members of the council think critically about decisions.The critical thinking should take place before they cast their vote on a contract. I worry that if the board members direct the comptroller not to comply with their legally binding contract that other contractors won't trust the town. A promise to pay -- a binding contract --shouldn't be invalidated unless we are told to invalidate the ageement by a higher authority.
5) This agreement was unusual. In 1988, when I was a Legislator, we were advised by Andrew Cuomo, the county, former Supervisor Anthony Veteran that at the end of 10 years WESTHELP would close their operations and become a senior citizen housing complex. When the 10 years was up Maria Cuomo Cole, President of HELP USA told me that the HELP organization would honor their commitment. However- she indicated that they hoped the town would let them continue their operations. The homeless problem has not been solved, there were few problems with WESTHLP. I spoke to members of the community. They came up with a proposed agreement which included the$650,000 annual payment to the school district. If the $650,000 had not been promised to the school district the neighborhood would not have supported the continued operation of the shelter. The money is not really rent to the town - it's money that was always designated to benefit residents who live closest to the shelter. Otherwise, without the support of the neighborhood, WESTHELP was prepared to close their operation.
6) This agreement makes good policy sense. If WESTHELP closes down - would critics of this arrangement voluntarily agree to place homeless residents in their neighborhood? BOb Bernstein, who is devoting time fighting to invalidate this contract,, would probably not be very happy if WESTHELP moved near his Edgemont neighborhood. What's wrong with giving neighborhoods that help solve regional problems (like homelessness) a perk? This agreement worked -and was replicated in Long Island. If this concept is allowed to continue it could result in some communities- around the county- voluntarily agreeing to accept homeless housing, drug treatment centers, low income housing, that no one else wants.
PAUL FEINER

PAUL FEINER

BARNES & NOBLE TO CLOSE ON CENTRAL AVE

I was chatting with some employees at Barnes & Noble on Central Ave and got some bad news. The store has decided not to renew their lease and will be closing their store sometime early in 2007. Recently, the Fine Arts Theater also closed. Town officials should focus some attention on making sure that Central Ave stays vibrant.
PAUL FEINER

sorry about the repaving problems...

Yesterday my car broke down. I drove my wife to the Hartsdale train station (using her car). We got stuck in traffic and couldn't access the Pipeline Road since the road near Edgemont High School was being repaved. I received some other complaints from residents who also were inconvenienced. Students were late to class...commuters missed the train. People were annoyed because of the lack of advance notice.
First-- to those of you who were inconvenienced please accept my apologies....
I will ask the commissioner of public works and town officials to consider two actions that could help avoid this kind of traffic mess in the future: when roads are being repaved we should post advisory signs in advance of the road closure so people can make adequate plans --and use alternate streets.
If streets are near schools/train stations we should consider the possibility of having the road work start later in the day -after rush hour.
Your thoughts would be welcome.
PAUL FEINER

Can contracts be ignored after they are approved?

This Wednesday night the Greenburgh Town Board will be casting a very important vote: A proposed resolution to fund the WESTHELP partnership. A few years ago the Town Board unanimously worked out an agreement with the Mayfair Knollwood civic association. In consideration of the neighborhoods continued support of a 108 unit homeless shelter, the Town Board arranged for WESTHELP to give the town $650,000 a year which would be passed along to the Valhalla school district, the school district that serves Mayfair Knollwood. The homeless shelter, which no other neighborhood wants, would continue to serve homeless families.
The Town Attorney's office found that the agreement was legal...
The Town Attorney hired an outside counsel, Paul Bergins, who also found that the agreement was legal...
The county of Westchester had their legal dept review the document. They found the agreement to be legal.
WESTHELP had their lawyers review the legal documents. They found the agreement to be legal.
A state agency also found the document to be legal.
IN 2006, some of the Board members are having second thoughts about keeping the commitments made to the neighborhood and school district. It's possible that the WESTHELP partnership funds won't be approved.
I think that elected officials have a responsibility to keep their promises -- to honor contractual agreements. No state agency, no court of law has told us that we can't issue the funds to the school district.
If the Town Board does not honor our commitments to the school district and neighborhood - it will send a very strong message to everyone: you can't trust promises made by public officials.
If the neighborhood had known that this agreement would not be kept, the WESTHELP homeless shelter would have been closed a few years back.
PAUL FEINER

Hillary Clinton in Greenburgh Oct 6

Senator Hillary Clinton will be in Greenburgh tomorrow (Friday, Oct 6) at noon. She will talk to seniors and others about health care and will be meeting at the Greenburgh Neighborhood Health Center, Tarrytown Road.
Next Thursday the Public Service Commission will be holding a hearing on the Con Ed power outage at Greenburgh Town Hall at 2 PM.
PAUL FEINER

Elmsford & Ardsley

Last night the Ardsley Village Board entered into a contract to provide library services to Elmsford. This village of Elmsford had previously had an agreement with the Greenburgh Library system for library services. Elmsford shopped around for a less expensive agreement. And, they got an agreement with Ardsley that was cheaper than they would have had with Greenburgh. The town will lose over a quarter of a million dollars a year as a result of this agreement. Elmsford residents will still have access to the Greenburgh library because under the rules of the Westchester library system a library card from one library is honored county-wide. Although Elmsford residents will have an Ardsley card - the reality is that most Elmsford residents will probably still use the Greenburgh library. Ardsley will get substantial revenue from the agreement and won't have significant additional costs.
The Westchester Library System is looking into the legality of the Ardsley/Elmsford agreement. THis agreement, if upheld by the library system, will create significant policy changes for the library system. Small communities may close down their libraries and shop around for inexpensive library service contracts with communities around the county.
The Greenburgh Library is independent of the Town Supervisor and Town Board. They have a special status under NY State law. Although the Greenburgh Town Board approves their budget the library board can modify the budget. The Town Board, for example, can include funds in the budget for books. After the budget is approved - the Library Board has the ability to reduce the book allocation budget and transfer funds previously designated to books for anything else (salary increases, conferences, etc..). The Town Board approves the total amount of money the library can spend each year - but the library board has total discretion how the total dollar amount can be spent. I had contacted the Greenburgh Library Board many times this summer (I have copies of the e mails on file in my office) requesting an opportunity to participate in meetings with Elmsford. My requests were denied. In fact, a major gripe I had with the Greenburgh Library Board this summer was the fact that the library bd, for a period of time, refused to have contact with Elmsford officials.

Trans Fat-bd of health should require disclosure

I sent a letter to the Commissioner of Health today re: trans fats. I think that Mayor Bloomberg's proposed ban on trans fats at restaurants might be extreme-- don't people have a right to eat unhealthy food? I do believe that people also have the right to know what they are eating-before they order a meal at a restaurant. I'm suggesting that the Westchester County Dept of Health require all restaurants to include on the menu info re: what meals contain trans fat. This information will help consumers make an informed dinner choice.
I have suggested that the Board of Health hold hearings on this proposal.