GRASSROOTS FOR GREENBURGH
P.O. Box 877, Elmsford, New York 10523
GREENBURGH RESIDENTS LAUNCH A CITIZENS' WEB PAGE
Contact: Carol A. Wielk
Tel.: 212 686 9147
Fax: 914 693 1792; 212 779 9307
E-mail: GrassrootsForGreenburgh@worldnet.att.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 4, 1999
Grassroots For Greenburgh (GfG) officially launched a citizens’ web page to inform the Greenburgh community about land use and other issues which affect the quality of life in our Town. It can be found at: http://home.att.net/~grassrootsforgreenburgh
The GfG web page has been available to Greenburgh citizens since February, 1999. However, the official launching proudly displays the Greenburgh residents whose support make the page possible and who believe that our Town officials must be held accountable for any decision which undermines the character and beauty of our diverse neighborhoods.
"The information appearing on this web page is long overdue," says Lorrin Brown, President of the North Elmsford Civic Association. "It will serve as a vital link to the broad Greenburgh community about what really goes on in our Town."
The GfG web page is still evolving and will be expanded continually. "In launching this web page," states Francis Sheehan, who serves on the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Antenna Review Board and is a founder and first President of the Secor Homes Civic Association, Inc. (SHCA) and a founder of GfG, "GfG inaugurates a new day of reckoning in Greenburgh. Town actions and decisions, which may have in the past been buried in obscure language or denied the necessary description of community-wide impact, will now be exposed to the healthy light of scrutiny." "We therefore welcome this opportunity to keep the community informed," Mr. Sheehan continued.
"The civic associations of Greenburgh applaud this effort of grassroots citizens to keep the larger community informed," states Danny Gold, Chair of the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations. "Although many of our respective organizations must and will maintain a nonpartisanship on political issues, it behooves us all to actively engage in matters upon which there is common agreement. And there is a widespread feeling in our community that many of the Town’s decisions are encouraging development throughout our Town. Therefore, I welcome the launching of this web page and will visit it often to keep up-to date on what is going on in Greenburgh," commented Mr. Gold.
Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, also a founder of GfG and Chair of the Antenna Review Board said: "The impetus for Grassroots For Greenburgh grew out of the frustration many of our residents have experienced with the Town’s building and planning decisions. These include Town efforts to commercialize a residential neighborhood by allowing cellular antenna proliferation on a non-conforming site, building a multiplex entertainment center in the backyard of a single family home district, or destroying the hard fought for buffer or protected land areas designed to separate a new development from the adjacent neighborhoods. These everyday occurrences are destroying the character of our community," states Ms. Lederer-Plaskett.
"Each of the people who have come together from Greenburgh’s many communities has a common sense of anxiety about where our Town is heading," says William Brown, member of SHCA. "In our area we found a massive soil and gravel business operating right in the heart of our neighborhood. Then we learned that our Town was supplying the material! The Town’s involvement in this illegal operation has never been satisfactorily explained to us," continued Mr. Brown.
The GfG follows Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals issues closely and publishes in full important decisions that have community-wide impact. Its "Local Laws" page posts "open government" issues such as the Town’s new public cable TV access policy or "quality of life" issues such as the Town’s ethics code. The web site can also be used as an archival resource for residents and others to access the history of certain issues facing the Greenburgh community.
A "Civic Association" page describes the workings of the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations, and includes the meeting minutes where area issues or problems are detailed. Separate pages on the web site are also dedicated to "News," "Press Releases," and "Press Coverage" of GfG issues.
"Only through an informed and enlightened community can Greenburgh citizens enjoy the full benefits of open and democratic government. Too many Town decisions are made behind closed doors that deprive our community of equal access and informed consent about the policies that affect their lives," says Carol A. Wielk, President of the Secor Homes Civic Association and a GfG founder.
Grassroots for Greenburgh is an organization of concerned citizens of Greenburgh who care about the quality of life in their community. It is a bipartisan group of people representing the wide diversity of Greenburgh residents who are trying to understand how their Town Government functions. GfG questions Town decisions that adversely affect residents’ lives. It monitors Town officials’ policies and procedures to assure fair and equitable government.