SECOR HOMES CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. Box 550, Ardsley, New York 10502
GREENBURGH BOARD OF ETHICS ASKED TO INVESTIGATE CONFLICT OF INTEREST CHARGES AGAINST A TOWN OFFICIAL
Contact: Carol A. Wielk
Tel.: 212 686 9147
Fax: 914 693 1792; 212 779 9307
E-mail: cwielk@worldnet.att.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 23, 1999
The Secor Homes Civic Association (SHCA) today filed a request before the Greenburgh Board of Ethics (Board) regarding the decisions of the Greenburgh Town Engineer, Brett Auerhahn, P. E., over a protected buffer area in the Westchester View Estates.
The SHCA, in a letter to the Board, stated that Mr. Auerhahn is rendering judgments which obliterate the buffer zone in order to satisfy his former employer and developer of the site located at Westchester View Lane. At the time of the initial development, Mr. Auerhahn was the site engineer and objected to the buffer at that time. Mr. Auerhahn’s name is affixed to the original building and site plans upon which the development proceeded.
The buffer zone was established on March 19, 1987 by the Greenburgh Planning Board as a condition for development. The Planning Board established a 50-foot buffer area along the southerly and southeasterly boundaries that adjoin the Ferncliff Cemetary and the homes on Jean Lane. Among the conditions the Planning Board imposed were:
No tree may be removed on the easterly or southerly 50' boundary of Lot 12 or the southerly boundary of Lots 10 and 11.
No saplings or large bushes may be removed by the developer along this buffer to better shield the existing and new homes from the Ferncliff buildings.
The SHCA notes that Mr. Auerhahn, in his position as Town Engineer, is determining that the buffer area does not survive the development phase; an interpretation that the SHCA believes is clearly incorrect. In a recent letter to the community, Mr. Auerhahn wrote that the prohibition on the property was not intended "to exist in perpetuity for all subsequent owners of these lots."
But, according to Carol A. Wielk, Secretary of the SHCA and a resident of Jean Lane, "the most troubling aspect of this matter is that the Town Engineer does not think to recuse himself from decisions in an area where he has a clear conflict of interest."
Mr. Auerhahn’s conflict was brought to the attention of Paul Feiner, the Town Supervisor, in a December 30, 1998 letter from the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations. As no word or action from Mr. Feiner or other officials was received, Ms. Wielk states that the SHCA believed it had to petition the Greenburgh Board of Ethics for a judgment on the matter.
The Greenburgh Code of Ethics states unequivocally that Town employees "exercise independent and impartial judgment….and avoid even the appearance of impropriety." (Section 570-1)
In filing this request, the SHCA urges the Greenburgh Board of Ethics to recommend an immediate suspension of all development on the buffer area until this matter is resolved.