To the Editor:

Regarding your June 26th article, “The Problem With Greenburgh’s Problem Solver,” we were part of the “small group of campaign volunteers” at the Hartsdale train station working for Bill Greenawalt, candidate for Greenburgh Town Supervisor.  That morning we distributed hundreds of palm cards for Bill and the Democratic Party endorsed candidates.  Many commuters took our literature without comment.  But a significant number said that “it was time for a change.”  Many commuters stopped and signed our Democratic petition for Bill and the endorsed Democrats.

We were therefore disappointed to see the unusual attention given to one commuter who refused the literature because the present Supervisor helped her with one problem ten years ago.  It is not clear that this well-meaning voter has had much contact with Town government since. If she had, she may well have seen a Supervisor unable to cope with the complex problems confronting a municipal government. His administration is rife with ethical and conflict of interest issues.  That is how he has amassed $130,000 in campaign donations from developers with active projects before the Town.  Such conflicts are fairly easy to research and, in fact, are available on public documents on the Internet. Town staff is afraid of the current Supervisor who interferes with the decision-making process of volunteer boards so developer friends and their attorneys can obtain their favorite projects.  Even the NY Times reporter met several Town employees in the Hartsdale village who had many complaints, but were afraid to give their names for fear of retribution.  This is the “open government” which the Supervisor extols or the “Democracy.com,” which the Times wrote about in a 2004 editorial?  We think not. 

Greenburgh residents, who require some real problem-solving beyond one phone call or receipt of a Supervisor letter, know only too well that it is all a sham.  If you have a real problem in Greenburgh, it is not the current Supervisor you go to, but to the Town’s many public servants and volunteers in Planning, Public Works, Zoning, Legal, the Town Clerk, Police, Tax Receiver and the like.  These are the people running the Town and responding to community concerns.  And they are burdened by the many interfering calls coming from Mr. Feiner, who is out every day, on taxpayer dollars we might add, trying to score political points.  Mr. Feiner uses his office as a perpetual public relations machine---constantly seeking votes---but he fails to manage the mundane affairs of Town government.  And for that, we all lose.  We are saddened that this well-intentioned reporter missed the real story.

Mary Tobias,
Democratic District Leader, Elmsford

Carol A. Wielk
Democratic Area Chair and District Leader, East Hartsdale