GRASSROOTS FOR GREENBURGH
P.O. Box 877, Elmsford, NY 10523
GfG E-MAIL UPDATE: GfG ENDORSES FRANCIS SHEEHAN FOR TOWN COUNCIL
September 7, 2001
Francis Sheehan, Democratic Party candidate for Town Council in the Tuesday, September 11th Primary Day election, deserves to be on the Town's governing board. The Democratic Party thought so too and endorsed Sheehan over Timmy Weinberg.The Town Board is a very important force in Greenburgh. Its decisions affect the quality of life for all residents, and its actions can help determine the value of your property, the amount of green space around you, and the level of your tax bill, among other things.
Open space is not only manifested by the many beautiful parks in Westchester, but also by the amount of space between your house and your neighbors, the existence of greenery on the roads you travel, and the feeling that you are still in a suburb and not a city. Although the incumbents, Diana Juettner and Timmy Weinberg, extol their efforts in preserving open space such as the Harts Brook Nature Preserve, such achievements are often the result of diligent local and volunteer community effort, with the Town Board being pulled along when the idea seems right.
In addition, neither Juettner or Weinberg has fully supported a Comprehensive Plan to keep Greenburgh pristine, which would save the last few truly open spaces which exist, despite paying a hefty fee, at taxpayer's expense, for a consultant study. Such study, with many good recommendations, languishes at Town Hall.
Weinberg, in particular, has never fully disclosed or explained how she failed to exercise due diligence in promoting the acquisition of a new Town Hall, three times the size of the present one, and at an inflated cost to the taxpayer of over 7.8 million dollars. It was only an engaged and enraged community, which found out about the potential 3.1 million dollar windfall profit to the property owner who had purchased the property only 4 months before, that a hold was put on her handshake deal. If the incumbents win the election, we are concerned that this deal will go through. This building will cost the taxpayers over 30 million dollars, when renovated!
Other major issues on which the incumbents' records are lackluster at best or downright deplorable include the failure to endorse the worthy recommendations of the Greenburgh Campaign Finance Commission, spearheaded by the League of Women Voters, the awful connection between the incumbents' campaign contributions from developers (or their attorneys) with active business before the Town, and the lack of leadership on preserving buffers (land not used for any purpose), or preventing environmental damage to property at the Unification Church site. There are just too many areas and issues where each of the incumbent candidates has failed to rein in the developer-friendly policies of the Feiner administration.
We find the lack of an independent voice on the Town Council to be bad for Greenburgh. GfG wants to hear a diversity of opinion on the Town Board. Such diversity does not undermine a team effort, but enhances it. It also allows for resident concerns to be aired in a truly open manner. Sheehan's team consists of Greenburgh residents town wide. He is an advocate for true open government, open space, open dialog, and mutual cooperation between civic groups and elected officials.
In the Feiner government, meaningful civic association involvement in Town affairs is practically moribund. Yet, it is the active effort of these wonderfully dedicated volunteers who can make a Town great. We believe that Francis Sheehan, who has a strong record of community involvement, can make a major difference as a Town Council member.
Sheehan has over the years accomplished many things, not only as a citizen advocate and founder and former president of his local civic association in the Secor Homes area, but also as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Antenna Review Board. His able, articulate and intelligent voice has consistently served Greenburgh's residents. Sheehan has:
- Called for early and timely adoption of a Master Plan to protect open space and the quality of life in Greenburgh.
- Assisted in spearheading the recommendations of the Greenburgh Campaign Finance Commission, serving as its secretary and formulating its positions.
- Sought equal access for all points of view on the taxpayer-funded Greenburgh cable TV..
- Successfully fought the proliferation of cellular antenna farms in Greenburgh as a member of the Antenna Review Board.
- Co-authored the nationally recognized “Greenburgh Antenna Law” which seeks to protect residential communities from intrusive cellular antenna construction while maintaining seamless cellular coverage.
- Worked to develop a meaningful coalition between the Town's villages and the unincorporated area of Greenburgh in order to forge a powerful voice in Westchester to help prevent the Big Box stores to the south of Greenburgh and assure that the Tappan Zee bridge improvements do not adversely affect Greenburgh on its northern boundaries.
- Served admirably as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, consistently reviewing applications to assure minimum impact of any proposed building variance on the surrounding community.
- Fought for residents wrongfully denied STAR benefits, urging that all entitled homeowners receive their rightful property tax deduction.
- Exposed the boondoggle plan to purchase a building for the new Town Hall at an extravagant and pumped up purchase price.
- Successfully protected the privacy of Greenburgh residents by getting the Town to remove from its web site the personal property information on each homeowner.
- Worked tirelessly as an active member of the Friends of Wickers Creek Archaeological Society and the Scenic Hudson Telecommunications Committee.
- Founded the Secor Homes Civic Association, Inc. and actively supports the work of the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations.
Finally, this Town and its Town Council have gone too long without an independent voice. It has lacked a Board member who could stand up for the community and not be beholden to developers or the Town Supervisor or for that matter to civic associations or other organized groups. We believe that man is Francis Sheehan, and we proudly support and endorse his candidacy for Town Council in the Democratic Primary on September 11, 2001. We urge you to support him as well.
http://grassrootsforgreenburgh.home.att.net