COUNCIL OF GREENBURGH CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
Minutes of Meeting - July 18, 2000
The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations seeks to provide information to and advance the common interests of member civic groups in important Town affairs. The following civic groups have paid dues for the year 2000:
Beaver Hill Association
Birchwood Civic Association
Broadview Civic Association
Downing Hill Civic Association
East Hartsdale Avenue Civic Association
East Irvington Civic Association
Edgemont Civic Association
Edgemont Community Council, Inc.
Fort Hill Association
Fulton Park Civic Association
Granada Condominium III Association
Hillcrest Park - Ardsley Civic Association
Juniper Hilt Civic Association
Knollwood Manor Civic Association
Knollwood Neighborhood Association*
Longview Civic Association
Lower Manor Woods Neighborhood Association
Mayfair-Knollwood Civic Association
North Elmsford Civic Association
Parkway Gardens Civic Association
Parkway Homes Civic Association
Poets Corner Civic Association
Secor Homes Civic Association, Inc.
Southern Greenville Civic Association
Stone Oaks Condominium
The Cotswold Association, Inc.
Washington Avenue Civic Association
Westchester Hills Condominium
Winding Road Farm Association
Woodhill Civic Association
*also paid 2001 dues
To date, thirty civic groups have paid dues for the year 2000 and one group has paid year 2001 dues. There is $784.24 in the treasury.
Minutes of the June 20, 2000 meeting were read and approved with minor corrections that will be made prior to circulation.
Cleo Oliver, CGCA Vice Chairperson, chaired the meeting.
Elinore Gordon, representative from the Woodhill Civic Association, was welcomed to her first CGCA meeting.
Irene Zuck, President of the Fulton Park Civic Association, was sent "get well" wishes.
CGCA RAISES PRIVACY AND SECURITY CONCERNS ABOUT GREENBURGH "GIS" WEBSITE
CGCA members welcomed and introduced themselves to Susan B. Markisz, a photo journalist for the New York Times. Ms. Markisz attended the meeting during the discussion on the town's GIS website to take photographs for a story being prepared for the Sunday, July 23, 2000, Westchester section of the newspaper. Ms. Markisz mentioned that she also had taken photographs of town staff members.
For several years town employees have been working to develop a computerized Geographical Information System (GIS) that would bring together building, property and assessment data on the 27,000 parcels of property in Greenburgh, including those located in the six villages. At a work session on February 1, 2000 and again at the Town Board meeting on February 9, Supervisor Paul Feiner announced that GIS data would be placed on the Internet. He publicly thanked Town Councilwoman Diana Juettner and Tax Assessor Gerry lagallo "for having the vision to push to have GIS on the Internet." Mr. Feiner also proudly boasted that Greenburgh would be "the first municipality in the state to place maps, tax information, building records and assessment rolls on the Internet." The design features of the website were never discussed at these meetings.
The Town Board held no public discussions either before or after deciding to post the GIS data on the Internet. Zoning Board member Francis Sheehan did raise a concern about this issue. During the discussion period for non-agenda items at the end of the April 12, 2000 Town Board meeting, Mr. Sheehan asked that safeguards be implemented before posting information on the Internet. Mr. Sheehan noted that the Internet could be used to the detriment of Greenburgh residents, especially children, given the recent headlines about the use of the Internet by pedophiles. The Town Board members chose to ignore Mr. Sheehan's comments.
A number of residents visiting the GIS website when it became operational in late June were alarmed at some of the information that was provided. In addition to maps and data about tax assessment, property and buildings (e.g., when built, square footage, number of bedrooms, baths, sheds, pools, etc.), the GIS website also provided personal information, including the names of property owners, information about their mortgages and whether an owner was a senior citizen, veteran, disabled or with income below a certain level. Some residents considered release of this information worldwide a needless invasion of their privacy and/or a threat to their security.
Since the website did contain a statement that property owners could have their information removed, within a few days, a number of residents, including the Town Clerk (the Town's Record Access Officer), requested removal of their information. However, the removal process was burdensome and involved a further invasion of privacy. It was necessary to fill out a form stating your tax account number and the sheet, block and lot number of your property. In addition, to prove ownership, you were required to provide a copy of your driver's license - a further invasion of privacy considering a driver's license contains a person's date of birth, photograph, driving restrictions, etc.
When questioned why the Town was globally distributing personal information about Greenburgh property owners, Tax Assessor Gerry Iagallo stated that the information was open to the public. Mr. Iagallo claimed that there was little security risk since it was impossible to download information from the website and one could only print what was viewable on one's computer monitor. After discussions with concerned residents, Mr. Iagallo agreed to eliminate the capability of searching by surname (which made it possible to find single females, Greenburgh police officers and others in sensitive positions who have unlisted phone numbers and/or post office box addresses). Mr. Iagallo also revised the form to have one's information removed from the website - to prove ownership, a resident now could submit a copy of a utility bill or delete all personal information on a copy of one's driver's license. As of today, it also is no longer necessary to provide one's tax account number or sheet, block and lot number.
Since few people knew about the personal information that the Town was posting on the GIS website, community members took steps to inform Greenburgh property owners. Grassroots for Greenburgh, a community group, issued an e-mail "privacy alert" on June 30, 2000. Francis Sheehan wrote a "letter to the editor" which was published in the Journal News on July 7, 2000. Al Baker, a reporter for the New York Times, read Mr. Sheehan's letter and wished to speak with him but had difficulty trying to reach him since Mr. Sheehan is not listed in the phone book. Mr. Baker called one of Mr. Sheehan's neighbors. Out of respect for Mr. Sheehan's privacy, the neighbor refused to give out Mr. Sheehan's phone number but agreed to deliver a message to him. Mr. Baker also spoke with some CGCA members about the GIS website. Mr. Baker was informed that this issue would be discussed at the CGCA regular meeting on Tuesday, July 18 and was invited to attend the meeting. Mary Tobias also wrote a "letter to the editor" and had to make four phone calls to the Journal News before the letter was published on July 17.
Francis Sheehan brought his laptop computer to the meeting to show CGCA members the types of information available on the GIS website. Mr. Sheehan also demonstrated that he could perform functions the Town claimed were blocked, such as surname searches and downloading. As CGCA members called out names, Mr. Sheehan easily brought up the records of property owners on his computer monitor. No special program was needed. He retrieved the information directly from the GIS website. Mr. Sheehan also displayed records that he had downloaded to his computer in Microsoft Excel format. Susan Markisz, the New York Times photographer, was able to take pictures of the downloaded data. However, since the lens on her camera was so fine that one could read the names of property owners, everyone present agreed that pictures of the screen should not be taken in the interest of protecting residents' privacy.
Information about Supervisor Paul Feiner's home was not on the GIS website. Several CGCA members noted that in recent weeks they had routinely searched, using both the Supervisor's name and his wife's name, but never found the Supervisor's data on the GIS website. Two weeks earlier, employees in the Tax Assessor's office told residents that information on condominium and co-op owners had not yet been posted to the website. It was noted that Mr. Feiner's condominium is in a gated community and he obviously does not face the same kind of security risks that many residents may face as a result of the information being posted on the website.
Concern was also expressed that Supervisor Feiner is spreading confusing information about the GIS website. In a July 11 letter to civic association presidents, Mr. Feiner stated that "All of the information [on the website] is public information at Town Hall, and many companies already provide it on their web sites (Yahoo, Lexis/Nexis etc.)." CGCA members do not dispute that the data on the GIS website is public information, but it was noted that Yahoo is a search engine not a land-use database. Lexis/Nexis is an extremely expensive subscription based commercial site and those with access to it have not found the information contained on the Town's GIS website. Mr. Feiner also gave misleading information to a senior citizen who questioned the Town's decision to put her personal information on the Internet. Mr. Feiner wrote to her that ". . .all the records that are on the GIS are public information. This is a state law. You should contact State Senator Nicholas Spano or Assemblyman Richard Brodsky if you feel the law should be changed." CGCA members noted that while the information is public, there is no state law that requires the Town to post this information worldwide. And, information at Town Hall is subject to the Freedom of Information Law that provides safeguards when public access is sought.
It was noted that the Westchester County Board of Realtors has had the information contained on the Town's GIS site for years. But only realtors who subscribe and pay a monthly fee to the County Board of Realtors have access to the information. Responsible realtors do not divulge personal information about property owners to the general public or the world.
Contrary to Mr. Feiner's claim, Greenburgh is not the first municipality to post property data on the Internet. Earlier this year, the Village of Scarsdale posted such data on its website but shut down the system when questions of privacy and other issues arose. A committee is studying the issues. (Copies were distributed of a July 7 Scarsdale Inquirer article, "Scarsdale meets the Internet" by Tom Leek.)
Concerns were expressed that the Town could be held liable if it could be proved that information gleaned from the GIS website was instrumental in the commission of a crime. The suggestion that the Town keep track of everyone who visits the GIS website does not address the invasion of privacy issue but creates another type of privacy issues.
After a lengthy discussion on this topic, CGCA members composed and unanimously passed the following resolution:
The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations strongly opposes the Greenburgh Town Board's needless distribution of data about Greenburgh residents and their properties on the Town's inherently flawed website. The site allows downloading, printing and surname searches, functions that the Town Board claims have been blocked.
The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations calls upon the Greenburgh Town Board to direct the Town Assessor to shut down the GIS site immediately. The website should not be reactivated until serious privacy issues and site design flaws are addressed. Thereafter, all residents should be informed of the information to be posted and an "opt-in" rather than an "opt-out" system should be employed.
CGCA Vice Chairperson Cleo Oliver will read the CGCA resolution into the record at tomorrow evening's Town Board meeting. A copy of the resolution also will be faxed to reporter Al Baker of the New York Times.
Copies of the form to have one's information removed from the GIS website were distributed. Thelma Washington, President of the Parkway Homes Civic Association, filled out one of the forms in the presence of the fifteen people attending the meeting. Since she will not be able to attend the Town Board meeting tomorrow evening, she gave the signed form to Ella Preiser to deliver to the Tax Assessor.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Madelon O' Shea, the CGCA representative to the Comprehensive Plan Committee, reported on what took place during the half-hour that she attended the Committee meeting this evening. Saratoga Associates, the Town's consultants, presented draft recommendations (1) limiting the size of houses that could be constructed on lots and (2) limiting to 50% the areas of steep slopes or wetlands that could be counted when calculating allowable density on parcels over three acres. Mrs. O'Shea informed the Committee that the CGCA would not agree to support anything without actually seeing the proposed legislation. Town Planner John Feingold (AKRF) suggested that the draft recommendations could be put before the Town Board and simultaneously someone (either Saratoga or AKRF) could begin writing the legislation. Mrs. O'Shea asked that a moratorium on development be enacted in August before any more properties are lost to development. Councilwoman Timmy Weinberg, who chairs the Comprehensive Plan Committee, wants to wait until September or October to simultaneously enact a moratorium, accept the proposed recommendations and start writing the legislation.
CGCA members questioned the long delay. Phase II of the Comprehensive Plan was supposed to be completed in May 1999. There have been no meetings of the Committee for more than six months. On October 13, 1999 the Town Board passed a resolution directing that a moratorium be drafted. During this long delay, applications for development have been presented on a number of the parcels being studied, and in some cases, approvals for development have been granted on the studied parcels.
CGCA members suggested that the decision to hold a Comprehensive Plan Committee tonight - the same night of a regular CGCA meeting - is just one more example of the disrespect shown the CGCA. Mrs. O'Shea responded that Councilwoman Weinberg said she was unaware that the CGCA had a meeting scheduled. It was noted that the calendar of CGCA meetings for the year 2000 was filed with the Town last December.
JUDGE FINDS FOR ORCHARD HILL RESIDENTS
Residents of Orchard Hill were successful in their lawsuit challenging the Building Inspector's decision to issue permits for the five houses under construction on Kathwood Road. On July 11, Judge Peter Leavitt decided that the Building Inspector had no authority to draw new lot lines and ordered that the building permits be annulled and vacated. The owners, WBRC and Baker Roofing, must apply for subdivision approval from the Planning Board by September 18, 2000. The judge denied the Orchard Hill residents' request that the property be restored to its original condition but granted permission for the residents to reargue this request if the builders do not receive new subdivision approval or obtain new building permits by January 8, 2001. CGCA members noted this time frame is unrealistic.
CGCA members question whether the court decision adequately addresses the issue of the sale of this property by the state Department of Transportation as "excess" parkway land. In his decision, the judge cited a 1922 court decision stating that there are differences between "park" and "parkway" lands. However, the 1951 law establishing the Sprain Brook Parkway reserves the land acquired to be held "in perpetuity. . . for parkway purposes and for no other purposes." CGCA members can find no evidence that this law was ever rescinded.
The ZBA had scheduled a special meeting for July 13, primarily to hear the two Kathwood Road cases. Because of the court decision, the ZBA adjourned the cases indefinitely so that the residents would not have to file new applications in case the court decision is overturned on an appeal the builder might bring.
PROPOSED GROUP HOME - DOBBS FERRY ROAD
Approximately 100 residents attended the June 28 Town Board meeting at Travis Hill Park. Most speakers urged the Town Board to reject the proposal for siting a WARC group home for disabled persons on Dobbs Ferry Road because of the onerous and unfair tax burden on those living in the Fairview Fire District where more that 40% of the property is tax exempt.
The Town Board held discussions on this issue at both the July 11 and July 18 work sessions. Two Dobbs Ferry Road residents as well as three representatives from WARC and Westchester County attended today's work session. Area residents had begun a search for other possible sites in Greenburgh or other solutions, such as building a modular home on an existing tax-exempt site within the Fairview Fire District. Since under the law only the Supervisor or the Town Board can deal with WARC and a decision is required by tomorrow (July 19), the residents asked the Town Board to seek an extension of time so they could pursue other alternate sites.
The attorney representing the group hone advised that WARC was willing to consider other sites but is required to work within the law. The law provides for no further extension of time. The attorney spelled out the options the Town Board could exercise tomorrow night.
(1) Doing nothing would be the same as granting approval.
(2) Voting "no" would result in a hearing before the Commissioner that the Town would likely lose.
(3) Voting "no on saturation" would result in a hearing before the Commissioner and the Town would be required to demonstrate that this group home combined with other group homes in the area would have a substantial adverse impact on the character and nature of the community.
(4) Formally presenting at least one alternate site for the group home would give the Town [and residents] a minimum of 16 or 17 additional days. WARC would be required to review the suitability of the alternate site and this could take 20 minutes or years. If WARC rejected the alternate site, the Town would have an additional 15 days to present more possible sites. Again, WARC would review the sites. If these alternate sites were rejected after review, at the end of 15 days a hearing would be held before the Commissioner.
Some Town Board members continued to ask for an extension of time but appeared unwilling to consider the automatic time extension offered by option #4. Mr. Feiner male it very clear that he would vote to approve the group home at tomorrow's meeting, and it is likely that Councilwoman Timmy Weinberg will also vote for approval. At the July 11 work session, Mr. Feiner stated that the real issue was not the tax burden but that residents didn't want a group home in their neighborhood. He was chastised by Town Clerk Alfreda Williams.
Representatives from WARC noted that the group home would agree to pay the fire district tax for a period of five years if the Town Board approves the group home at tomorrow night's board meeting Mr. Feiner, the other Town Board members and the WARC representatives all acknowledged that the heavy tax burden resulting from tax-exempt properties needs to be addressed. Mr. Feiner plans to continue to press the need for tax relief with state lawmakers.
SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN GREENBURGH
Curt Constable, President of the Juniper Hill CA, noted that there has been no arrest regarding the sexual assault that took place in his neighborhood. On May 15, a 20-year old woman found a man hiding in her bedroom closet. The knife-wielding man dragged the woman to the basement, bound, gagged and sexually assaulted her. Residents in the area are concerned about this crime. Mr. Constable spoke with a Greenburgh police detective who appeared dismissive and indicated that neighbors have nothing to worry about as there is an active investigation. Cleo Oliver, Chairperson of the Police Advisory Committee, noted that her group had discussed the assault. She encouraged Mr. Constable to call Police Chief John Kapica directly for an update on the investigation.
CGCA members also mentioned the June 21 sexual assault of a 14-year old mentally disabled girl behind the Dalewood Shopping Center on Central Avenue. An arrest was made in this case. A transient living in the woods behind the shopping center has been charged with the crime. The issue of how to deal with the transients. living in these woods had also been discussed by the Police Advisory Committee. (Copies were distributed of a July 7 article in the Scarsdale Inquirer, "Police, landlords say transient problem complex" by David Gottlieb.)
MISCELLANEOUS
Glenville Woods/Wyldwood. At the July 11 Town Board work session, board members were informed that legislation has been passed and is awaiting the Governor's signature to de-dedicate the 4-acre Town parklet in Glenville and permit a land swap of another four acres for parkland. Funding for the additional 1/3 cost of purchasing the 40-acre property for open space has not been secured. Westchester County has offered $300,000 toward the cost, but with strings attached - the Town must take over the cost of maintaining County-owned roads. The applicant's consultant asked the Town Board to place the issues of SEQR determination and rezoning of the property to R-7.5 PUD on the July 19 Town Board agenda. The Town Attorney did not feel comfortable making that recommendation at this time.
Solomon Schechter School. Representatives from the Poets Comer CA and Stone Oaks Condominium worked with the Town Planning Department in preparing a Findings Statement which placed certain restrictions on the development of this proposed 675-student middle/high school on West Hartsdale Avenue. The Town Board adopted the SEQR Findings Statement and granted Site Plan Approval for the school at the June 28 Town Board Meeting. CGCA members raised questions about whether the conditions of the Findings Statement have been violated. Work took place on the property on Saturday, July 15, and numerous large stately trees had been removed.
Springhill Suites Hotel. The ZBA has scheduled a July 27 public hearing on the applicant's request for variances to erect a 145-room hotel on Route 119. To date, the FEIS has not been made available. Since the Town Board cannot issue a Findings Statement, the ZBA will be unable to decide this case.
Leatherstocking Lane. Because illegal fill was found, the DEC "stop work" order is still in effect regarding this enormous landfill operation and the issue is in litigation. Effort has been undertaken to divert some of the water that was running off onto the neighboring property of Jean and Timothy Hiltz.
West Nile Virus. On this evening's local news, it was announced that Westchester County would begin ground spraying tomorrow in areas where dead birds and mosquitoes infected with the virus have been found. CGCA members noted the difficulty in reporting dead birds - one women spent 20 minutes on the phone. It appears the county health department does not pick up and test all dead birds. Greenburgh residents have been told to double bag dead birds and place them in the garbage.
ZBA Member to be Appointed. The agenda for tomorrow's Town Board meeting indicates that the board will appoint Thomas L. Clark, Jr. to the Zoning Board of Appeals to fill the unexpired term resulting from Leigh Burton's resignation. Once again, the Town Board did not notify the public that an opening existed so that interested residents could apply for the position.
Millennium Pipeline. It was noted that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has accepted a revised application and is taking public comments regarding this proposal to build a natural gas pipeline from Canada to Mount Vernon, NY. The pipeline has been rerouted because Con Edison and the New York State Public Service Commission, fearing an accident during construction, objected to the pipeline being built along the utility's right of way.
Water Filtration Plant. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has issued a midterm report stating that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection is falling behind in a number of areas of the 1997 agreement to protect water quality in the Catskill/Delaware watershed. Failure to comply with the terms of the agreement could result in the city being ordered to build a filtration plant. After the report was issued, Robert Kennedy, Jr., the chief prosecuting attorney for the Garrison-based environmental group Riverkeeper, announced that the group will sue the city in hopes of renegotiating the agreement to provide more controls. Meanwhile, a DEIS is being prepared on the proposal to build a filtration plant at the Greenburgh/Mount Pleasant border should filtration be mandated.
Fortress Bible Church and School. At tomorrow's Town Board meeting, the board will make a SEQR determination of significance and refer to the Planning Board for review and recommendation this application to build a church and 150-student school on Dobbs Ferry Road.
Glusker Subdivision. At the June 21 Planning Board work session; the Town's planner noted that the applicant has submitted a Full Environmental Assessment Form. The application is considered an "unlisted action" under SEQR and the Planning Board declared its intent to be Lead Agency. Planning Board member Thomas McNamara questioned whether the "parkway" land issue has been resolved.
Adult Use Legislation. Questions were raised as to the current status of proposed legislation. There has been no word from the Town Board since the June 20 work session. The Town Board has to determine where to locate adult establishments, write the necessary legislation (the previous draft legislation was poorly written and would never withstand a lawsuit) and refer the matter to the Planning Board for review and recommendation. CGCA members continue to be concerned that there is no moratorium in place and an adult establishment could open in any of the business areas of Greenburgh.
Confusion re Farmers Market. Copies were distributed of several articles from newspapers about if and where the Farmers Market would take place. In the July 7 edition of the Scarsdale Inquirer on page 7 there was a letter from Supervisor Feiner which stated that the market would be held at Webb Field until August 26 and moved to East Hartsdale Avenue on September 2. On page 8 of the same paper, there was a notice that the market would be closed until September 9.
Also distributed: Copies of a June 16 editorial, "Feiner tuning" in the Rivertowns Enterprise