COUNCIL OF GREENBURGH CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS (CGCA)
FEINER STATEMENT JEOPARDIZES TOWN’S LEGAL STANDING IN SUIT FILED AGAINST GREENBURGH
Contact: Danny Gold, Chairman, CGCA
Tel.: 914-765-5268
Fax: 914-765-5295
E-mail: jdgold@worldnet.att.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 22, 1999
The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations (CGCA) charged today that Greenburgh Town Supervisor, Paul Feiner, is jeopardizing the Town’s ability to successfully defend itself in a court case brought by Nextel, the cellular communications company, against the Town of Greenburgh. The CGCA specifically called upon Mr. Feiner to recuse himself from the upcoming vote on the antenna law amendments which must be voted on again by the Town Board on March 24, 1999 because the March 10, 1999 vote was deemed invalid due to violations of NYS environmental law (SEQRA). The further delay in passing the amendments buttresses previous charges that the Supervisor has deliberately delayed approval of stricter antenna legislation to help campaign contributors with current applications before the Town.
No longer able to delay the amendments, it appears Mr. Feiner made inappropriate and apparently deliberate comments at the February 24th Town Board meeting linking the passage of the antenna law amendments to an active case before the Zoning Board of Appeals. The linkage will likely result in the Town losing the Nextel lawsuit should the Supervisor continue to be involved in the decision. Most troubling is that the legal suit is brought against the Town by attorneys who are campaign contributors and fundraisers for Feiner’s congressional campaign. Feiner has been accused in the past of trying to give preferential treatment to the Nextel application to show the telecommunications industry that he would be their advocate if his campaign was successful. Nextel's attorney represents many cellular providers.
Mr. Feiner has also been accused of placing obstacles in the way of adopting stricter antenna legislation while trying to expedite the Nextel application before the legislation takes effect. Nextel is applying to the Zoning Board of Appeals for use and area variances to place additional cellular antennas on the WFAS radio tower in Hartsdale, New York. Had the March 10, 1999 vote not been voided, the amendments could have been considered by the Zoning Board in their decision. Due to the need for a revote, the amendments will likely not impact current applications.
At the February 24th Town Board meeting, in the presence of Nextel attorneys, Mr. Feiner stated: "I want to adopt amendments before the Nextel decision, you know, is made in terms of the court date, so we can keep antennas away from FAS [WFAS] and away from 177 East Hartsdale Avenue…"
This statement, linking the adoption of the amendments to an active application before the Town, is impermissible as it suggests that the Town is attempting to circumvent an applicant’s legitimate zoning request. In fact, it is inconceivable that Mr. Feiner was unaware of the import of his words as he and other Town Board members were specifically warned against such linkage by the Town Attorney, Mr. Frederick Turner, just prior to the Town Board meeting. CGCA representative Ella Preiser, who has followed the antenna amendment process since last August states that "the amendments proposed last August deserve to be adopted because they add to an already good town-wide law. They are not application specific even though they may affect some applications currently under review. Mr. Feiner is making them application-specific, which they are not. One can only conclude that the need for a revote and Mr. Feiner's harmful comments are a last ditch effort, however surreptitious, to help his influential friend and campaign contributor."
In fact, the CGCA has learned that the Nextel attorneys did indeed raise the linkage before the Federal Court hearing the case. CGCA understands that plaintiffs for Nextel charged the Town with violation of New York law as well as the Federal Telecommunications Act, in attempting to rewrite the antenna law specifically to defeat the Nextel application before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
"Such actions by the Town Supervisor, which jeopardize his own Town’s legal standing, along with his continued refusal to step aside from the upcoming vote to protect the Town’s credibility and avoid additional legal exposure, is the key reason why the CGCA cannot support the Supervisor. As Town Supervisor, Mr. Feiner has an unalterable responsibility to protect the Town and its citizens from legal liability. To preserve his own integrity and reputation, Mr. Feiner’s only recourse is to recuse himself from the Town Board vote on the antenna amendments as previously requested by the Town's Antenna Board and the Secor Homes Civic Association" states Danny Gold, Chairman of the CGCA.
CGCA in a March 22, 1999 letter to Paul Feiner called upon the Town Supervisor to remove himself from the antenna amendment vote at the Town Board meeting on March 24, 1999.
The Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations, which represents 34 Greenburgh Civic Associations, is a non-partisan community organization dedicated to advancing the common interests of the Town’s residents.