COUNCIL OF GREENBURGH CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
Minutes of January 19,1999 Meeting
The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations seeks to provide information and advance the common interests of member civic groups in important Town affairs. The following groups paid dues in 1998:
Ardsley Estates Civic Association
Beaver Hill Association
Birchwood Civic Association
Broadview Civic Association
Cotswold Association, Inc
Downing Hill Civic Association
East Hartsdale Avenue Civic Association
East Irvington Civic Association
Edgebrook Cooperative, Inc.
Edgemont Civic Association
Edgemont Community Council, Inc.
Fulton Park Civic Association
Glenville Community Association*
Granada Condominium III Association
Hillcrest Park - Ardsley
Hillside Wyndover Civic Association*
Juniper Hill Civic Association
Knollwood Manor Civic Association
Knollwood Neighborhood Civic Association
Longview Civic Association
Lower Manor Woods Civic Association
Manor Woods Civic Association
North Elmsford Civic Association
Northern Greenville Civic Association
Parkway Gardens Civic Association
Parkway Homes Civic Association
Poet's Corner Civic Association
Secor Homes Civic Association, Inc.
Southern Greenville Civic Association
Stone Oaks Condominium
The Colony at Hartsdale
Westchester Hills Condominium
Winding Road Farm Association
Woodhill Civic Association
*1999 dues have also been paid.
Thirty-four associations paid 1998 dues, and six members have paid 1999 dues. There is $710.98 in the treasury.
The October and November minutes were approved.
OPEN GOVERNMENT? (THE COPIER ISSUE)
CGCA and other Town volunteers who meet in the evening are no longer able to use the photocopy machine for relevant Town documents and articles. The door to the office area where the copier is located is now locked in the evenings. According to Supervisor Paul Feiner, there are "too many people walking around the building, and things are being taken from desks." CGCA members agreed that depriving volunteers of the copier needed for Town-related information is another indication of the Supervisor's confining shabby treatment of volunteers.
MORATORIUMS CONTINUE
Gas Station Canopies. The Town Board recently passed the third moratorium on gas station canopies.
Adult Use. The Town Board recently passed the sixth adult use moratorium, and has yet to make a recommendation. Supervisor Feiner believes the CGCA's bringing the issue up will "hurt the community." A volunteer Adult Use Committee, formed in November 1995, has been waiting almost three years for a meeting - requested in the spring of 1996.
SUPERVISOR'S GOALS
On December 30, CGCA Chairman Danny Gold sent a list of suggested 1999 goals to Supervisor Feiner - who had requested input from Town residents. Unfortunately, the Supervisor did not choose any CGCA-recommended goals. CGCA members also feel strongly that the Supervisor should not be involved in Greenburgh Central 7 School District issues as part of his paid responsibilities -- tax money from residents and businesses should not be used for the Supervisor's Central 7 involvement. The CGCA agreed that Mr. Feiner's Central 7 input should as a volunteer. It was noted that most other items on Mr. Feiner's goal list are tasks required of a supervisor normally performing the job.
SHEEHAN RESIGNS FROM FIRE DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
On January 13 Francis Sheehan resigned his position on the Fire District Advisory Committee. Mr. Sheehan's resignation was the result of Supervisor Feiner's threat to withhold approval of the 1998 antenna amendments (see the following section) until Mr. Sheehan turned over results of a fire district study. Mr. Sheehan made the Supervisor's threat public on January 13; a January 14 e-mail to Town residents from the Supervisor said the "committee .....fizzled out," and invited residents "to join a new committee looking into fire district costs." Further, the Supervisor, in a January 13 e-mail to Mr. Sheehan, said, "...the committee became a running joke in the community - people laughing at the lack of follow-up." The CGCA is appalled at the Supervisor's tactics. A memorandum from Mr. Sheehan outlining the matter and including hard copies of e-mails was distributed.
ANTENNA ADVISORY BOARD
Planning Board unanimously passes 1998 amendments. On December 16 the Planning Board unanimously recommended the AAB's proposed 1998 amendments to the Town Board.
Supervisor delays Town Board action on 1998 amendments. While the 1998 amendments were submitted in August and unanimously approved by the Planning Board on December 16, Supervisor Feiner has so far prevented the amendments from being placed on the Town Board calendar for a public hearing and vote in spite of numerous requests from the AAB. The amendments would tighten loopholes in the Antenna Ordinance and make the AAB a Review Board with aesthetic purview.
In addition to the verbal communication to AAB member Sheehan that the 1998 amendments would be held up until Sheehan submits a Fire District report, the Town sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP) on January 6 for a consultant to go back to square one and re-write the Antenna Ordinance - wiping out everything the AAB accomplished since 1996. (In 1996 a consultant was paid $13,000 to review the Antenna Ordinance prior to its adoption at that time by the Town Board.) The January 6 RFP elicited one response by I I AM on January 7 - at which time the AAB first learned of the Request. In addition, the Town Board's January 13 agenda was quickly filled up with a variety of nefarious issues, further delaying Board action on the amendments.
Consultant confusion? While the AAB earlier requested a consultant for the Nextel/WFAS application, the Supervisor went several steps further with his RFP for a review of the entire Antenna Ordinance and 1998 amendments, and to do the work now handled by the AAB.
Supervisor seeks input from former campaign worker. While the Supervisor announced that a friend who clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court -- a "specialist in telecommunications" -- would be willing to volunteer some time and input, the volunteer's past association with the Supervisor indicates a conflict of interest - he had been Mr. Feiner's campaign manager, and was the Director of Transition after the Supervisor's first election to his current position. The volunteer, who just began teaching at a university in Colorado, has also worked for Cablevision.
177 East Hartsdale Avenue proposal. If the 1998 amendments had passed, the Hartsdale Parking Garage would have been available for OmniPoint antennas. Because of the delay, OmniPoint needs a use variance for Hartsdale Parking, and may instead file to put the antennas on the roof of the multifamily building at 177 East Hartsdale Ave.
Civic support sought. Danny Gold will write to civic association leaders encouraging them to communicate with the supervisor and newspapers about the situation.
AAB slandered, threatened. The Supervisor was quoted as saying, "At least I'm not trying to make money off the Antenna Law like Catherine (Lederer-Plaskett, AAB Chair)" outside a recent Town Board work session. AAB member Sheehan, who heard the remark, made the Supervisor address the statement - and backtrack - at the meeting .... And, at the January 13 Town Board meeting the Supervisor publicly accused the AAB of "lying" - which all AAB members present took strong exception to .... Further, the Supervisor, on several occasions, threatened the survival of the AAB and to remove Lederer-Plaskett as Chair.
WFAS/Nextel issue. Owner/tenant information regarding the WFAS property and tower is not readily available.
The attorney for the Town's insurance company ensured that the Town hire a consultant for the WFAS/Nextel application.
The judge overseeing the lawsuit filed against the Town by Nextel attorney David Snyder ordered the Zoning Board of Appeals to hold special, continuous meetings unless the issue is resolved at the ZBA's January 28 meeting. CGCA members agreed this decision should be appealed because of its implication forcing local volunteer boards to meet on consecutive nights for the convenience of an applicant.
Communication industry campaign contributions discussed. It was noted that members of Congress vote on the federal Telecommunications Act, and the influence of such contributions was discussed.... The possibility of a referendum disallowing candidates for local office from receiving campaign contributions from persons or companies with cases before the Town was also discussed. Supervisor Feiner's earlier promise not to accept campaign contributions from developers before Town has been broken: according to The Scarsdale Inquirer (January 15) the Supervisor can no longer "make such a restriction anymore" because of the "reality of running for Congress." (The Supervisor denied being influenced by contributions.)
"Antenna advisors say Feiner wants to nix their board." This article from The Scarsdale Inquirer, January 15, was distributed.
KEREN
Keren's Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was received in December. The scope of the project has been reduced: retail footage has decreased 10% (250, 000 square feet --> 225,000 square feet), and the number of senior units has been reduced to about 1,000. Because the project is now so different from its initial concept, the Town's consultant, Frederick A. Clark, requested additional funds.
The CGCA discussed the Town Board's Resolution that there be no further development in the 9A corridor until the much-discussed by-pass road becomes a reality. Construction of the by-pass won't begin until well after the millenium.
OPEN GOVERNMENT AND BACK ROOM PUBLIC HEARINGS
The Aqua Bar in the Master's Shopping Center was recently denied a cabaret license; the bar appealed and a public hearing has been scheduled for the February 2 work session - during daytime hours when the public generally cannot attend. Public hearings should be held in the auditorium during evening hours when the public can be present. CGCA members wondered if denial of the cabaret license has anything to do with the anticipated multiplex.
SECOR HOMES/SUPERVISOR LETTER EXCHANGE
Copies of two letters regarding a plethora of issues were distributed: Secor Homes President Stephen Gosik wrote a 13-point letter to Supervisor Feiner on January 12 including reference to the "commercialization" of Secor Road, illegal antennas on the WFAS tower, proposed Nextel antennas, Town-wide Zoning Code changes to accommodate Prospero's Nursery, and accepting campaign contributions from persons or companies doing business with the Town or having applications before the Town. Supervisor Feiner's January 15 response included the statement that, "Unfortunately, campaign costs lots of dollars," then went on to say there are "numerous examples" of his voting "against the desires of contributors."
MISCELLANEOUS
9A Multiplex. A letter regarding signage is now in the file.
Open government and Town Board work sessions. Some time ago, the CGCA asked that all Town Board work sessions be televised for the public; it was later agreed that sessions during which applicants discuss large developments be videotaped. So far no work sessions have been videotaped.
The Journal News's Greenburgh coverage. Press releases from the Supervisor's office instead of beat-reporting limit - and skew - local news coverage. The newspaper's new format further hampers local news. An article promised by a reporter about the antenna situation has so far not been published.
FEMA visits Planning Board. A representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency met with the Planning Board to inforn members of the regulations covering building in areas with special flood hazards.
Long-pending HHH Auto Body application approved by the Planning Board.
Westchester View Lane. A December 23 letter from Carol Wielk, Secor Homes, to Town Engineer Brett Auerhahn was distributed. The CGCA is disappointed that Mr. Auerhan misinterpreted the March 19, 1987 Planning Board conditions for the site, allowing for violation of the buffer. Mr. Auerhan's conflict of interest in the matter was also discussed.
Voter registration lists used for Town mailings. Comptroller Norah C. McAvoy said, in a December 14 letter, that the Town's "computerized records indicate properties and buildings and not individual residents." Ms. McAvoy indicated that until a data base solution is found voter registration lists would continue to be used for mailings because a Town data base would be "very costly and labor intensive." McAvoy welcomed CGCA input.
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 PM.