Reproduced with permission of The Scarsdale Inquirer.

© 2004 S.I. Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Published in The Scarsdale Inquirer on Friday, November 12, 2004

By DAVID GOTTLIEB

Golf balls will continue to fly for the time being at Westchester Golf Range, but golfers practicing their swings will likely give way to 36 luxury homes by 2006. The owners will sell their 32acre property to Garson Development Co. for $10.5 million three years after a highly publicized controversy when the town pursued takeover of the range by eminent domain for a new town hall/library complex.

This latest announcement regarding the driving range has set off yet another controversy involving the town supervisor.

A trio of e-mails this week added fuel to accusations Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner illegally accepted campaign contributions earlier this year. Immediately after Feiner released an e-mail about the prospective golf range sale, Edgemont resident Bob Bernstein charged him, via e-mail, with accepting a $2,000 campaign contribution to pave the way for town approval of the project.

Feiner reported in an e-mail on Sunday, Nov. 7, that he had just attended a meeting with the Viziolis and the Sarubbis, owners of the range at 701 Dobbs Ferry Road and about 20 neighbors. They met to discuss an agreement by the owners to sell their property to the Bedford developer. He wrote, "I asked the families who reside near the property if they would prefer seeing the town acquire the land for a new library. All present said `no.' The meeting was called by Garson Development and attended by managing partners Jeff Garson, Ron Deutsch and Robert Duttinglione, and two other members of the firm.

Grassroots for Greenburgh raised the following questions on its Internet site : Who are these 20 neighbors who apparently have no opposition to this huge development in their neighborhood? Did the neighbors prefer the development because the owners/Feiner's contributors will reap a much greater profit from million-dollar homes than a library serving Greenburgh's children?

Library board vice president Ginger Grant told the Inquirer, "I'm not aware of any interest this year in that property," After lengthy negotiations with golf range owners proved fruitless, the town hall/library relocation committee recommended in June 2002 that "the town move forward as expeditiously as possible to acquire the property through either a negotiated purchase or eminent domain, whichever is determined to be most advantageous to the town." The town then opted for eminent domain, but after an aggressive publicity campaign by the owners, the town withdrew. Its headquarters are now at 177 Hillside Ave..

At a public forum on Nov. 4, the library board presented a new plan to renovate and expand the library at its current Tarrytown Road location.

While library consultants making the presentation noted that they continue to scout other possible locations as a cautionary measure, the new plan is clearly the preference of the board. Mentioned as a possible alternative location was Frank's Nursery, which is adjacent to the golf range. The leasehold of the land is now being auctioned because Frank's Nursery is closing all its stores across the country.

Planning commissioner Mark Stellato said that Jeff Garson had made an informal visit to his office over the summer to discuss with him and his staff the prospective development of the property. Two concepts were suggested: either three-quarter of an acre individual plots or clusters typically designed to leave more of the land' available for such resident uses as swimming pools, athletic or picnic facilities, green space, etc. The town code allows cluster zoning but Stellato said that the Garson concept would require new legislation.