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OKAY.UH, WELCOME TARA TOWN BOARD MEETING.
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, UH, JUNE 28TH, UM, AT 7:37 PM UH, WE JUST HAD, UM, A FLAG RAISING CEREMONY, UM, IN RECOGNITION OF, UH, PRIDE MONTH.
[ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE]
WILL START WITH, UM, THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.THE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE OF LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
[ MOMENT OF SILENCE In memory of the people in Ukraine killed during Russia's invasion and relentless intentional targeted bombing of civilians in apartment buildings, hospitals, train stations, schools and children centers, deliberating targeting utilities used by civilians to leave them without electricity and heat through the brutal winter weather, with mass graves being found after invaded areas have been retaken, all in Russia's effort to destroy Ukraine and its people, who are forced to fight for their land, their freedom, and general democratic principles. May they rest in peace and peace be restored to Ukraine]
UH, A MOMENT OF SILENCE, UM, FOR THE PEOPLE IN UKRAINE KILLED DURING RUSSIA'S INVASION AND RELENTLESS, INTENTIONAL, TARGETED BOMBING OF CIVILIANS IN APARTMENT BUILDINGS, UM, IN HOSPITALS, UM, TRAIN STATION SCHOOLS AND CHILDREN'S CENTERS.DELIBERATING TARGETING UTILITIES USED BY CIVILIANS TO LEAVE THEM WITHOUT ELECTRICITY AND HEAT THROUGH THE BRUTAL WINTER WEATHER WITH MASS GRAVES.
UM, BEING FOUND AFTER INVADED.
AREAS HAVE BEEN RETAKEN OIL AND RUSSIA'S, UM, EFFORT TO DESTROY UKRAINE.
AND ITS PEOPLE WHO ARE FORCED TO FIGHT FOR THEIR LAND, THEIR FREEDOMS AND GENERAL DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES.
MAY THEY REST IN PEACE AND PEACE BE RESTORED, UH, TO UKRAINE.
AND, UM, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UH, THE MEETING, UM, UH, STARTED.
[ PRESENTATIONS 7:40 PRIDE -- Mackenzie Lerario *** Come join us for a PRIDE flag raising in the Town Hall parking lot at 7:15 pm *** 7:50 Guru Vandana (Hindu teacher appreciation celebration) by Devendra Inamdar 8:00 Alexa Spar -- Project Bell, a nonprofit that donates "New Beginning Bells" to cancer and transplant treatment centers ]
UH, CEREMONY.AND, UM, UM, UM, Z UH, MACKENZIE, UH, RIO, UM, UM, HELPED, UH, INSPIRE EVERYBODY TO, UM, UH, FIGHT FOR LGBTQ, UH, PLUS, UM, RIGHTS.
AND, UM, HE AND, UH, Z IS GONNA BE MAKING, UM, UH, A PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW AND DISCUSSING WHY THE FLAG CEREMONY WAS SO IMPORTANT.
THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR FEINER, AND THANK YOU TO THE TOWN BOARD IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
I'M A NEUROLOGIST, AND, UH, JUST PASSED MY LICENSING EXAM TO BE A SOCIAL WORKER TODAY.
UM, I'M ALSO AN L G B T Q ADVOCATE AND DO A LOT OF JOURNALISM AND ADVOCACY WORK, UH, TO SUPPORT L G B T Q RIGHTS.
WE HAVE SOME OF OUR TEAM, UH, ALREADY HERE.
UH, LYNN GOODMAN, WHO'S THE FORMER CHAIR OF THE GREENBERG HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND REALLY, UH, HELPED US TO USE THAT FRAMEWORK TO SET UP GREENBERG PRIDE.
WE ALSO HAVE NANCY KABUL, WHO IS THE, UH, VILLAGE OF ARDSLEY MAYOR, WHO WAS INTEGRAL TO, UH, THIS YEAR'S MULTI MUNICIPALITY, UM, PRIDE RALLY THAT WE THREW, UM, UH, BETWEEN TARRYTOWN AND DOBBS FERRY AND ARDSLEY, UM, EARLIER THIS MONTH TO CELEBRATE PRIDE.
UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE THERE, YOU REALIZE, UH, YOU WOULD KNOW THAT IT WAS A REALLY GREAT EVENT, AND WE'LL BE DOING ANOTHER ONE IN 2024.
UM, THANKS TO THE TOWN OF GREENBURG FOR PROVIDING $1,500, UH, IN DONATIONS TO SUPPORT GREENBURG PRIDE.
SO I TYPICALLY GET ASKED IN JUNE TO SAY WHAT PRIDE MEANS TO ME.
UM, I WANNA FIRST SAY WHAT PRIDE MEANS TO GREENBURG, AND THEN I WOULD LIKE TO READ A SPEECH THAT I GAVE AT OUR 2021 GREENBURG PRIDE RALLY, UM, CALLED I KNOW WHO I AM.
IT WAS PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON INDEPENDENT, AND THE SPEECH NOTES THAT I WAS USING THAT DAY WITH MY HANDWRITTEN NOTES ON THEM HAVE BEEN ENTERED INTO THE STONEWALL NATIONAL MUSEUM IN ARCHIVES FOR AN ONGOING COLLECTION ON GREENBERG PRIDE.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS ACTUALLY HISTORIC AND WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE RECORD OF LGBTQ PLUS HISTORY.
WHAT DOES GREEN GREENBERG, UH, WHAT DOES PRIDE MEAN FOR GREENBERG? PRIDE MEANS BEING OURSELVES AUTHENTICALLY AND CELEBRATING OURSELVES FOR WHO WE ARE.
PRIDE MEANS LOVING OTHERS FREELY AND ACCEPTING LOVE FREELY.
PRIDE MEANS SUCCESS DESPITE OVERWHELMING OBSTACLES.
PRIDE MEANS FINDING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY CHOSEN OR OF ORIGIN.
PRIDE MEANS SHARING OUR VULNERABILITY AND INNER CREATIVITY.
PRIDE MEANS TEACHING THE NEXT GENERATION HOW TO LIVE OPENLY AND WITH THE VALUES OF ACCEPTANCE AND TOLERANCE.
PRIDE IS AN ACTIVE PRACTICE, A GOAL TO STRIVE FOR EACH DAY OF THE YEAR.
PRIDE TAKES WORK TO ACHIEVE, BUT ONCE WE ARE THERE, THERE IS NOTHING MORE POWERFUL.
AND THANK YOU SUPERVISOR FINER FOR, UM, POSTING THAT ON THE TOWN OF GREENBURG WEBSITE, UM, YESTERDAY.
TRIGGER WARNING, UM, THIS LANGUAGE, UH, THIS CONTAINS LANGUAGE THAT IS RECLAIMING OF LGBTQ PLUS SLURS FOR EMPOWERMENT PURPOSES.
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BE SENSITIVE TO THOSE TYPES OF WORDS, I AM Z THEY THEM OR DOCTOR, A PHYSICIAN, AN ACTIVIST, A SOCIAL WORKER, A SPEAKER, A WRITER, AN ACADEMIC, A CLINICAL RESEARCHER, A PARTNER, A FRIEND, A PARENT, A CHILD, A COLLEAGUE, A NEIGHBOR.AND MY HEART WILL ALWAYS BE HERE AS A LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBER.
I AM ALSO TRANSGENDER, THEREFORE, MOST PEOPLE KNOW ME AS MICHAEL.
HE HIM OFTEN WITHOUT EVER ASKING MY PRONOUNS AND THE PHYSICIAN, BUT THE TRANSGENDER PHYSICIAN, THE TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST, THE TRANSGENDER SOCIAL WORKER, THE TRANSGENDER FRIEND, THE TRANSGENDER PARENT, THE TRANSGENDER CHILD, THE TRANSGENDER COLLEAGUE, THE TRANSGENDER RESEARCHER, THE TRANSGENDER.
I AM SO MUCH MORE THAN MY GENDER, AND I DON'T APPRECIATE MY GENDER CO-OPTING THE ENTIRETY OF MY COMPLEX IDENTITY AS A HUMAN BEING.
IF MY GENDER IS THE FIRST THING THOUGHT OF WHEN MENTIONING ME, THEN THAT PERSON PROBABLY DOESN'T KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH TO BE DESCRIBING ME.
BUT I UNDERSTAND WHY OTHERS USE THIS WORD SO FREQUENTLY TO LABEL ME WHEN I WALK ON MAIN STREET IN TARRYTOWN, ON BEEKMAN AVENUE IN SLEEPY HOLLOW, I SEE MANY HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS, ACTIVISTS, STUDENTS, SPECIALISTS, PARENTS, CHILDREN, NEIGHBORS.
BUT I DON'T SEE MANY PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME, THAT IS OTHER TRANSGENDER PEOPLE.
SO I SHOUT MY IDENTITY, NOT BECAUSE I WANT TO BELIEVE ME, I DO NOT WANT TO BE DOING THIS WORK, BUT BECAUSE I FEEL I HAVE TO, I HAVE TO, TO BE SEEN, TO BE HEARD, TO BE LISTENED TO, TO BE RESPECTED, TO BE PROVIDED THE SAME LEVEL OF DIGNITY, SERVICE, PRIVILEGE, AND COMPASSION THAT I WAS SO EASILY GRANTED BEFORE I CAME OUT AS TRANSGENDER.
I SHOUT TO GREENBERG THAT I AM AN OPENLY IDENTIFYING TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY MEMBER, OUT AND PROUD, WILLING TO STAND UP FOR MYSELF AND SPEAK MY MIND UNAPOLOGETICALLY AND AUTHENTICALLY AS MYSELF.
I WILL NOT HIDE MY FORM OR MY SCARS, MY VULNERABILITY, MY MESSINESS, MY BEAUTY, MY JOURNEY, AND MY MANY, MANY WONDERFUL IMPERFECTIONS.
I'M UNIQUELY DIFFERENT, AND I WILL NOT MAKE MYSELF LESS COMFORTABLE SO THAT OTHERS WHO HATE ME, MISUNDERSTAND ME, OR CHOOSE TO REMAIN IGNORANT OF ME, CAN BE MORE COMFORTABLE IN MY PRESENCE.
I WILL NO LONGER HESITATE BEFORE USING THE WOMAN'S BATHROOM.
ALLOW SOMEONE TO POINT AND LAUGH AT ME ON THE STREETS OF TARRYTOWN WITHOUT CONFRONTING THEM.
MAKE CONCESSIONS THAT MY PRONOUNS ARE TOO HARD TO GET CORRECT DATE AND SECRET, BECAUSE OTHERS ARE AFRAID TO BE SEEN WITH ME IN PUBLIC.
WALK AWAY IN SHAME IF I AM VERBALLY AND OR PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED IN MY OWN NEIGHBORHOOD.
BELIEVE THAT OTHER IS AN APPROPRIATE OPTION FOR MY GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION ON GOVERNMENT AND HEALTHCARE FORMS. WHAT CAN BE MORE OTHERING THAN THAT? LISTEN TO THOSE WHO SAY, MY LIFE WOULD BE EASIER IF I PRESENTED AS FEMININELY AS POSSIBLE, OR IF I JUST STAYED IN THE CLOSET, BELIEVE THAT I NEED TO BE PAID LESS, WORK HARDER, OR NEED MORE DEGREES, JUST GAINED ANOTHER ONE MYSELF BECAUSE I AM A GENDER OR SEXUAL MINORITY.
OR BECAUSE I AM A WOMAN, SHAVE MY FACE OR BODY HAIR BECAUSE OTHERS PRESSURE ME TO DO SO AS A WOMAN.
EXCEPT THAT MY LIVED EXPERIENCE IS NOT CONSIDERED THE VALUABLE EXPERTISE THAT IT IS.
ADVOCATE THAT A DSM FIVE DIAGNOSIS, A PSYCHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS, SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED FOR ME TO GET MEDICALLY NECESSARY LIFE-SAVING HEALTHCARE.
AND FOR SO MANY TRANSGENDER YOUTH TO DO THE SAME.
ALLOW MY BOUNDARIES TO BE TRANSGRESSED SO I CAN FIT INTO A GENDER BINARY WORLD THAT DOES NOT ACCOMMODATE ME OR REMAIN SILENTLY COMPLICIT WHEN OTHERS RECEIVE SIMILAR INJUSTICES, BECAUSE THEY MAY LOOK DIFFERENT, SOUND DIFFERENT, OR BE DIFFERENT.
HOWEVER, EVEN IN 2021, EVEN AFTER THE US SENATE CONFIRMS A TRANSGENDER WOMAN TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT POSITION FOR THE FIRST TIME, RACHEL LEVINE, BECAUSE I'M OPENLY TRANSGENDER, MANY PEOPLE CAN'T BELIEVE THEY'RE SHOCKED WHEN THEY LEARN.
I'M A PHYSICIAN, WHEN I'M THEIR COLLEAGUE IN THEIR LINE OF WORK, A PARENT, A GOOD HOUSE GUEST, A FRIEND, A PARTNER TO TAKE HOME TO THEIR PARENTS OR A NEIGHBOR IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
WERE EMPLOYED AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN SEX WORK OR MENTALLY HEALTHY OR COMPETENT OR STABLE, OR EVEN WORTH A DAMN.
BUT THOSE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT I SURVIVED, WHAT MANY OTHERS LIKE ME HAVE SURVIVED.
THE PAIN OF COMING OUT, PERFORMING A PUBLIC GENDER TRANSITION IN AN AREA WITH TOO LITTLE GENDER DIVERSITY, THE DEPTHS OF REJECTION, STIGMA, RIDICULE, TOKENISM, THE
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BYSTANDERS, THE ONLOOKERS, AND THE LOOKY-LOOS, OTHER PEOPLE'S PALPABLE SHOT IN FREUD, THE SUFFERING AND HATE SELF-LOATHING, THE VIOLATIONS, THE INSINCERITY, THE GASLIGHTING, AND THE EMOTIONAL LABOR THAT I HAVE COME BACK FROM STARTING THE MOMENT.THREE SIMPLE WORDS LEFT MY MOUTH.
THOSE WORDS ARE I AM TRANSGENDER.
THE DIFFICULTIES OF BEING TRANSGENDER IN A SOCIETY THAT ALLOWS MULTIPLE US STATES TO EVEN CONSIDER TAKING HEALTHCARE AWAY FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT GENDER EXPANSIVE CHILDREN, MULTIPLE US STATES STILL ALLOW FOR CONVERSION THERAPY OF SEXUAL AND GENDER MINORITY CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.
AND SOME ARGUE THAT HOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA IS NON-EXISTENT, THAT BEING GAY IS NO LONGER A BIG DEAL.
IF YOU ARE HUMAN, YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BEING TRANSPHOBIC AND HOMOPHOBIC, PERIOD.
AND IF YOU ARE CISGENDER AND HETEROSEXUAL, YOU LIKELY HAVE NOT FULLY CONFRONTED THE MANY PERSONAL IMPLICIT BIASES THAT COME WITH ACCEPTING ALL SPECTRUMS OF GENDER AND SEXUAL DESERVE DIVERSITY.
AND IF COMING OUT AND TRANSITIONING PROVED ANYTHING TO ME IS THAT I CAN SURVIVE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING LIFE THROWS AT ME, I AM TRANSGENDER.
THOSE THREE WORDS HAVE GAINED ME.
THE CONTROL, THE PERSPECTIVE, THE PATIENCE, THE TACT, THE EMPATHY, THE SELF-LOVE, THE FREEDOM, THE EDUCATION, THE ACCEPTANCE, THE LIFESTYLE, THE CULTURE, THE CREDIBILITY, AND THE EXPANDED HUMANITY TO BE A STRONG, INDEPENDENT, BOUNDARIED, HEALTHY, FOCUSED, DETERMINED, LOVED, SUCCESSFUL, FORGIVING, CONFIDENT, PRODUCTIVE, CRITICALLY THINKING, OPEN-MINDED HUMAN BEING.
SO I LEAVE HERE TODAY THE SAME OPENLY, TRANSGENDER NON-BINARY, GENDER FLUID, GENDER PUNK, GENDER NON-CONFORMING, QUEER PANSEXUAL, D**E T****Y, FEMALE F****T, SISSY, FORMALLY IN THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME AS A STRAIGHT, CISGENDER MALE WHOSE GENDER WAS INCORRECTLY CLASSIFIED BY MY MOM'S OBSTETRICIAN BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER MY BIRTH.
THAT IS TO SAY I WAS ASSIGNED MALE AT BIRTH.
I AM ALSO NEURODIVERSE IN RECOVERY FROM MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS, PREVIOUSLY DISABLED SURVIVOR OF THE ABUSE OF OUR CURRENT HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, WHICH IGNORES THE BASIC SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY.
I AM AN ITALIAN AMERICAN, ANOTHER QUEER ROMAN CATHOLIC, TURNED ATHEIST BECAUSE TOO OFTEN HATE SPEECH IS ALLOWED TO ADVOCATE AS RELIGIOUS SPEECH WHO SINGS TO THEMSELVES WHILE DANCING TO HEADPHONES ON THE STREETS OF TARRYTOWN, WHICH I DO DO.
WHO WILL TELL YOU MY PRONOUNS AND GENDER AND HELP EDUCATE YOU? IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, I WILL FIGHT WITH EVERY OUNCE OF PRIVILEGE AND POWER I STILL RETAIN AFTER A GENDER TRANSITION TO MAKE GREENBERG MORE INCLUSIVE, MORE DIVERSE, MORE ACCEPTING, AND MORE INVITING TO BRAVE QUEER FOLK WHO WISH TO BETTER ENJOY THE BEAUTY AND THE CHARM OF THE HUDSON VALLEY.
LEAVE HERE TODAY AS YOU MAY GIVE TO THE CAUSE.
SIGN A PETITION FOR THE CAUSE, CORRECT OTHERS WHO ARE COUNTER TO THE CAUSE.
EDUCATE YOURSELVES AND OTHERS ABOUT THE CAUSE.
INQUIRE AT YOUR NEXT DOCTOR'S VISIT, WHY THEY DIDN'T ASK YOU YOUR PRONOUNS.
STAND UP FOR A STRANGER, FRIEND, COLLEAGUE, FELLOW STUDENT OR FAMILY MEMBER WHO IS MISGENDERED HIRE, PROMOTE, PAY FAIRLY AND MENTOR MORE TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE.
FIND OUT IF YOUR SCHOOL, ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS OR INSTITUTION HAS A WRITTEN GENDER TRANSITION POLICY.
AND IF IT COVERS GENDER AFFIRMING MEDICAL CARE, CONTRIBUTE TO POLICE REFORM INITIATIVES.
LEARN THAT SEX WORK IS WORK, AND TRANSGENDER SEX WORKERS HAVE THE SAME HUMAN RIGHTS AS ANYBODY ELSE.
STOP ASSUMING A PERSON'S GENDER JUST BY WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AND SO MANY OTHERS THAT I'M JUST TOO TIRED TO CONTINUE TO SAY, PLEASE READ A BOOK OR A WEBSITE, OR A PAMPHLET, OR ATTEND A LECTURE OR TALK ABOUT GENDER AND SEXUALITY OPENLY WITH THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE.
BUT HOWEVER YOU LEAVE HERE TODAY, YOU WILL NOT TAKE AWAY FROM ME MY RIGHT TO SHALL PROUDLY MY IDENTITY AND EDUCATE OTHERS ON IT.
AND THERE ARE NO LONGER ANY HURTFUL WORDS OR ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO MY GENDER AND SEXUALITY THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN HIT ALREADY WITH BEFORE.
STAND UP ONE MORE TIME AND TAKE ACTION TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST THE GENDER BINARY AND HETERONORMATIVITY IN SOCIETY.
AND IF YOU BELIEVE THE FIGHT ENDS ON JULY 1ST, WHICH IS JUST IN A FEW DAYS, RECONSIDER, I AM GAY EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR.
LET YOUR RAINBOW FLAGS FLY IN JULY.
CONTINUE TO WEAR PRONOUN PINS.
CELEBRATE AND SUPPORT US EVERY SINGLE DAY.
LEARN, MAKE MISTAKES, GROW, DO BETTER BECAUSE WE CAN.
AND THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN.
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THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR, UH, THAT INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH.AND YOU KNOW, I REALLY AM VERY, UH, PLEASED THAT GREENBERG IS STRIVING TO, UH, BE A WELCOMING, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY AND TO APPRECIATE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF EVERYONE IN, IN THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE FIGHT DISCRIMINATION.
LYNN GOODMAN, UM, UH, WAS HEAD OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE IN THE TOWN.
DID YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING? NO.
UH, SO I JUST WANNA THANK THE TOWN BOARD FOR SUPPORTING OUR EFFORT.
THANK MAYOR FOR, UH, ACTIVELY, UH, RUNNING, UH, THE TRIBE RALLY THIS YEAR WITH THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND WE APPRECIATE, UH, ALL OF THE SUPPORT THAT THE TOWN OF GREENBERG HAS GIVEN US.
AND, UH, UH, SENATOR ANDREA STEWART.
COUSINS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? WELL, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE ACTUALLY NOT GIVING YOU A CHOICE.
WELL, YOU CAN MIC, I KNOW HOW THESE THINGS WORK,
SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO THIS, UM, IMPORTANT DAY.
AND I'M JUST VERY PROUD TO REPRESENT GREENBERG AND ALL OF THESE COMMUNITIES THAT UNDERSTAND WHAT, UH, DOCTORS HE, UH, EXPLAIN TO US.
UH, IT'S A SHAME THAT WE HAVE TO BE, UH, TOLD ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO CARE FOR EACH OTHER, UH, HOWEVER WE PRESENT.
BUT MONTHS LIKE THIS MAKE US BE TOLD.
AND SO THE EDUCATION IS SO IMPORTANT.
THE EVENTS ARE SO IMPORTANT, AND I'M JUST PROUD NOT ONLY TO REPRESENT A COMMUNITY THAT IS EMBRACING AND GROWING AND EDUCATING, BUT ALSO HAPPY TO REPRESENT A STATE THAT HAS GOTTEN IT RIGHT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT.
AND CERTAINLY, UH, I'M PRIVILEGED TO LEAD THE SENATE AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO SOME GROUNDBREAKING THINGS, INCLUDING, UH, THIS RECENT LEGISLATION THAT, UM, ALLOWS FOR OUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO NOT BE INTIMIDATED IF THEY PERFORM GENDER AFFIRMING CARE, UH, TO SOMEONE WHO TRAVELS TO OUR STATE FOR THAT CARE.
THESE THINGS SEEM UNIMPORTANT UNLESS YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE VALUED AND THAT YOU CAN GET THE CARE THAT YOU NEED.
AND SO, AGAIN, IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO ADDRESS THE, THE BOARD PRIVILEGE TO REPRESENT GREENBERG AND I, AS WE TALKED ABOUT THE FLAG JUST FORMALLY BEING RAISED TODAY, AND I THINK IT WAS YOU OR OR LYNN WHO SAID THAT WE HAVE TO END PRIDE, RIGHT? UH, I THINK WE NEED TO, AS YOU SAID, UNDERSTAND THAT PRIDE DOESN'T END AT THE END OF JUNE.
THAT EVERY DAY SHOULD BE A DAY OF PRIDE, AND WE SHOULD RESPECT AND LOVE EACH OTHER.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING ME THE TIME.
AND WE HAVE, UH, SOMEBODY, MARY JANE
AND OUR, OUR SPEECHES INSIDE, THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO PRIDE.
THERE'S THE JUMP UP TO THE MICROPHONE AND SAY HAPPY PRIDE, BECAUSE WE CELEBRATE THE RIGHT OF PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE WHO THEY ARE AND TO LIVE IT WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF SAFETY.
THE OTHER SIDE OF PRIDE IS BEING AWARE THAT WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO THAT IDEAL YET, EVEN IN A PLACE LIKE NEW YORK, WHICH CERTAINLY HAS A LOT MORE, UM, WILLINGNESS TO HAVE THAT OPENNESS, THAT TOLERANCE, THAT ACCEPTANCE, PROVIDING GENDER AFFIRMING CARE, AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT MEMBERS OF THE L G B T Q AI PLUS COMMUNITY NEED TO MOVE
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FORWARD AND LIVE THEIR LIVES WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT AND PRIDE.AND WE WERE HAPPY IN THE ASSEMBLY TO JOIN WITH THE STATE SENATE IN PASSING THE BILL THAT ALLOWED, UM, DOCTORS IN THE STATE TO PROVIDE GENDER AFFIRMING CARE WITHOUT FEAR OF REPRISALS, ESPECIALLY FROM OTHER STATES WHICH ARE FAR LESS TOLERANT AND FAR LESS HUMANE IN THEIR VIEWS.
SO BOTH ON THE GOOD SIDE AND ON THE HARD WORK SIDE, HAPPY PRIDE AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO DR.
Z AND ALL OF THOSE WHO ARE DOING THE HARD WORK OF MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER THEY VIEW THEMSELVES AS ALLIES OR NOT, ARE SUPPORTIVE.
AND, UM, LAST PERSON I'D LIKE TO INVITE, UH, UP IS, UH, THE MAYOR OF, UH, ARDSLEY.
UH, THERE'S PROBABLY NO COMMUNITY ANYWHERE THAT HAS DONE MORE, UH, TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS AS, UM, AS ARDSLEY, UH, YOU KNOW, HAS, UH, PRACTICALLY EVERY, UH, EVERY MONTH OR SO, UH, THEY HAVE, UH, EVENTS FOCUSING ON, UH, DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES.
UM, THEY, THEY HAVE THE PRIDE FLAG UP.
THEY'VE, UH, HIGHLIGHTED, UH, THE IMPORTANT, THE, THE VALUE OF THE INDIAN COMMUNITY, THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
UM, RIGHT NOW NANCY IS, UM, HELPING MIGRANTS, UM, AND, UH, WHO ARE, ARE TEMPORARILY HOUSED IN, IN, IN ALEY.
AND THEY, THEY REALIZE YOU, YOU'VE DONE JUST A MARVELOUS, UH, JOB AND YOU REALLY ARE AN INSPIRATION, UM, AND A ROLE MODEL FOR ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY EASY, UH, TO BE FOR PRIDE WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE IS FOR PRIDE, BUT YOU USUALLY ARE LIKE FIVE OR 10 YEARS AHEAD OF EVERYBODY ON MOST ISSUES.
SO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING?
UM, AS MOST OF YOU KNOW ME, WHEN YOU SEE ME WEARING MY HAT, YOU KNOW, THAT ARDSLEY ISS IN THE HAT HOUSE, UM, THAT'S MY SYMBOL.
BUT I AM REALLY JUST SOMEONE, UM, WHO HAPPENS TO BE THE MAYOR OF ARDSLEY THAT BELIEVES THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT OUR COMMUNITY AND THE FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE SHOULD RECOGNIZE EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY PERSON THAT LIVES IN OUR COMMUNITY AND VALUE THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE, AND NOT JUDGE THEM BASED ON ANYTHING THEN WHO THEY ARE.
AND WE SHOULD LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.
THAT'S WHAT I'VE STRIVED TO HAVE ARDSLEY BE LIKE, WE DO HOST ALL THOSE EVENTS.
WE ARE HAVING A DIWALI EVENT COMING UP SOON.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA HAVE AN AMER ART ITALIAN AMERICAN EVENT COMING UP SOON.
SO WE DO, I LOOKED AT THE, UM, DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE VILLAGE OF LEY, AND I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? LET'S LOOK AT WHO LIVES HERE AND, AND FOCUS ON THAT.
ALSO, ALONG WITH JUST HAVING PEOPLE COME TO ME AND SAY, LET'S CELEBRATE.
AND I GO, YEAH, WE ALL CELEBRATE TOGETHER.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I DO, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S HOW HUMAN BEINGS SHOULD TREAT EACH OTHER.
UM, Z I ONLY MET YOU A FEW MONTHS AGO, I THINK.
AND WHAT YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME IN A FEW MONTHS IS ASTOUNDING.
I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE DONE IN YOUR LIFE.
I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW HARD IT'S BEEN.
I HAVEN'T HAD THOSE STRUGGLES.
I OFTEN TELL PEOPLE I AM A PRIVILEGED WHITE WOMAN, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, BUT I TRY TO LOOK AT THE WORLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT PRIVILEGED LIKE I HAVE BEEN IN MY LIFE.
AND I TRY TO LEARN EVERY DAY, THINK ABOUT IT EVERY DAY, TRY TO CONSIDER WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S SHOES EVERY DAY AND STRIVE TO DO BETTER EVERY DAY.
AND Z YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME A LOT IN THAT CATEGORY IN THE FEW MONTHS THAT I'VE GOTTEN TO KNOW YOU, AND I'D LOVE TO GET TO KNOW YOU MORE.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIME TO SPEAK HERE.
I WASN'T EXPECTING IT, BUT THANK YOU.
UM, IN THIS, IN THE SPIRIT OF INCLUSIVENESS, UH, OUR NEXT, UH, SPEAKER IS DANDRA, UH,
AND, UM, UH, DANDRA IS GONNA DISCUSS GURU VANNA, UM, AND WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT.
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UH, VERY SUPPORTIVE ABOUT, UH, THE VARIOUS INITIATIVES THAT, UH, HINDU SWANG HAS BEEN DOING IN THE AREA.UM, SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION ACTUALLY WOULD BE DONE BY OUR, UM, UM, RISING HIGH SCHOOLERS WHO WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN MAKING THIS EVENT SUCCESSFUL.
UH, SO LET ME INVITE THEM, UH, TO GO AHEAD WITH THE PRESENTATION.
IT'S NOT CONNECTED THE INTERNET, BUT, UM, GOOD EVENING.
BOARD MEMBERS AND AUDIENCE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS AAMAR, AND THESE ARE MY FRIENDS, KAR, AK AND DAVE KANDAR.
WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE R Z SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND WE'RE STUDENTS IN ALEY HIGH SCHOOL AND R Z MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND WE ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF THE VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION, HINDU SWAM, SUNK.
TODAY WE HAVE COME TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT GURU VANANA, AN EVENT WHICH WAS HELD IN ZI THIS YEAR.
A GURU IS SOMEONE WHO IMPARTS KNOWLEDGE UPON A STUDENT OR ANYONE ELSE.
VANANA IS A RI WORD, MEANING WORSHIP, REVERENCE, ADORATION, AND PRAISE.
SO PUT ALL TOGETHER, GURU VANANA MEANS RESPECT AND WORSHIP FOR A TEACHER.
IN GURU VANANA, WE WORSHIP THE TEACHERS AND WE SHOW OUR GRATEFULNESS FOR TEACHING US AND HELPING US TO SUCCEED IN THE FUTURE, WHICH WE'RE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL.
DURING THIS YEAR'S GURU VANANA, WHICH WAS HELD ON MAY 20TH, SEVERAL TEACHERS FROM THE LEY AND SCARSDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT WERE PRESENT AT THE EVENT THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE LEY SCHOOL DISTRICT, DR.
RYAN SCHOENFELD, UH, CONGRESSWOMAN, UH, MRS. MARY JANESKY OF THE 92ND DISTRICT SIMA ROCK, THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE CONGRESSMAN MIKE LAWLER, OF THE 17TH DISTRICT WERE ALSO PRESENT AT THE EVENT.
THE EVENT WAS ALSO COVERED IN SHARING SUCCESS, WHICH IS AN R Z SCHOOL NEWS, UH, BLAST.
UH, TWO NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, UH, CALLED THE RIVERTOWN ENTERPRISE AND PATCH WHITE PLAINS.
WHY WE DO GURU VANANA IN THE HINDU CULTURE, WE THINK OF A TEACHER WITH THE HIGHEST RESPECT.
AND AS A GURU, WE THINK THEY'RE EQUIVALENT TO GOD.
THIS CAN ALSO BE SEEN IN THE, WHICH IS A PRAYER, UH, CALLED GU, THE GOES.
THE MEANING OF THIS IS THAT A GURU IS CONSIDERED TO BE LORD RAMMA, LORD VISHNU, AND LORD SHIVA, WHO ARE THE DIVINE GODS.
OUR TEACHERS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE EQUALS TO GOD SINCE THEY'VE TAUGHT US THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND HELP US SUCCEED IN LIFE.
SO THE HISTORY, A CAN BE TRACED ALL BACK TO INDIA, SO PEOPLE WOULD WORSHIP PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE IMPECCABLE KNOWLEDGE OF VEDAS.
SO IN GRAVANA, WE SHOW RESPECT TO OUR TEACHERS THROUGH OUR INDIAN TRADITION, WHETHER IT MEANS BY DOING PUJA, TOUCHING FEET, OR ET CETERA, ALL SHOWING HINDU TRADITION.
SO THE HINDU SWS SUNG HAS BEEN CELEBRATING GARA FOR OVER A DECADE, AND HAS BEEN AN ONGOING TRADITION EVER SINCE, WITH THE GOAL OF SHOWING APPRECIATION FOR TEACHERS.
SO THE HINDU SWIK SUNG IS A NON, IS A VOLUNTARY NON-PROFIT, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION THAT AIMS TO ORGANIZE THE HINDU COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE HINDU IDEALS AND VALUES.
H SS S HAS 235 WEEKLY CHAPTERS ACROSS 34 STATES THAT CONDUCT STRUCTURED PROGRAMS, A REGULAR ATHLETIC AND ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP STRONG CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN ITS MEMBERS, EMPHASIZING VALUES SUCH AS SELF-DISCIPLINE, SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND A SPIRIT OF SELFLESS SERVICE, WHICH MEANS SVA FOR HUMANITY.
SO DOING SACRED CEREMONY OF GERM VANNA, OFFERINGS OF FLOWERS, INCENSE, AND OTHER SACRED ITEMS ARE PRESENTED TO THE GROUP ACCOMP, ACCOMPANIED BY THE RECITATION OF PRAYERS AND MANTRAS.
STUDENTS ALSO BOW DOWN TO HER TEACHERS IN A WAY TO BOW TO THE DIVINITY IN THEM.
SO BURNING INSTANCE, APPLYING BINDI TO HER TEACHER'S FOREHEADS AND BOWING DOWN SOME SIGNIFY GRATITUDE AND RESPECT, SIGNIFYING THE GREAT RESPECT FOR THE GURU BY THE STUDENT.
[00:30:02]
WE ALSO SING SONGS TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TOWARDS OUR TEACHERS AND EXPRESS OUR CULTURE.THIS YEAR, DURING OUR GURU EVENT, WE, UH, DISPLAYED THREE SONGS.
WE DISPLAYED POOP, GINI, GEN BOOMI, AND
OUR FIRST PEEP PIECE, BOOP, WAS PERFORMED BY THE VAMSHI.
THE VAMSHI IS THE FLUTE, LOOKING ONE WITH THE BACK, WITH THE BLACK BACKGROUND.
UM, A VASHI BOOP IS AN AWA, WHICH CONSISTS OF FIVE NOTES, AND IT'S ARAG FROM THE HINDUSTANI MUSICAL TRADITION.
ANOTHER PIECE WE PLAYED WAS TRANSLATES TO THE MOTHER AND MOTHERLAND ARE SUPERIOR TO HEAVEN.
THE NEXT PIECE THAT WE PLAYED TON HAD EVERYONE.
WE HAD THE TABLA, WHICH IS, UM, THE LEFT CORNER.
WE HAVE THE FLUTE, THE VIOLIN, VIOLA, WHICH ARE WESTERN INSTRUMENTS.
AND THE CHORUS WHO IS SINGING THIS
SO IN ORDER TO BE VICTORIOUS, YOU HAVE TO OVERCOME A LOT OF OBSTACLES.
ALL THESE PIECES ARE ESSENTIALLY PLAYED BY KIDS WHO HAVE LEARNED THESE INSTRUMENTS TO PERFORM FOR THE GURUS.
SO WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF GURU VANANA? GURU VANANA ALLOWS STUDENTS TO DISPLAY THEIR GRATITUDE TOWARDS THEIR GURU OR THEIR TEACHER THROUGH THEIR HINDU CULTURE.
TEACHERS HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT HINDUISM THROUGH THIS EVENT AND GET REALLY EXCITED TO COME.
MANY TEACHERS GET EMOTIONAL AS WELL.
UPON REALIZING THE SIGNIFICANCE THAT GURUS HOLD IN HINDU CULTURE, TEACHERS GET INTRODUCED TO THE HINDU MUSIC CULTURE, AS WELL AS THE DELICIOUS FOOD AND TALK TO THE SHAKA COMMUNITY.
WE ALSO SHOWCASED AN EXHIBITION COVERING THE VARIOUS CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE HINDU SOCIETY TO THE WORLD, INCLUDING ART, MATH, SCIENCE, YOGA, AND MORE.
ANA REALLY GIVES TEACHERS AN INSIGHT INTO THE HINDU TRADITION.
SO THESE ARE OUR PICTURES FROM THIS YEAR'S EVENT.
UM, AS MENTIONED BEFORE, OUR SUPERINTENDENT OF OUR SCHOOL ALSO ATTENDED, AND THERE ARE PICTURES OF US DOING PUJA TO THE TEACHERS AND BOWING DOWN TO THEIR FEET, AS WELL AS, UH, PERFORMING THE SONGS THAT WERE MENTIONED BEFORE.
AND THEN THERE ARE TIS ON THE TOP LEFT, WHICH ARE GODS THAT WE WORSHIP AND PRAY TO, AND MORE, UH, INSTRUMENTS US PLAYING, AND THEN BOWING DOWN TO TEACHERS AND GROUP PICTURES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING TONIGHT.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT, AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT NIGHT.
AND, UM, OUR LAST, UM, PRESENTER IS ALEXA SPAR, AND SHE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT PROJECT BELL, A NONPROFIT THAT DONATES NEW BEGINNING BELLS TO CANCER AND TRANSPLANT, UH, TREATMENT, UH, CENTERS.
UM, UM, I THINK A FEW YEARS AGO, HER SISTER WAS HERE WITH A SIMILAR, UM, YOU KNOW, PRESENTATION, SO SHE'S CONTINUING THE TRADITION.
WHAT'S THAT? THEY'RE HAVING A PROBLEM.
THAT'S WHY WE WERE TRYING TO WORK ON, DID YOU JUST PLUG SOMETHING IN? I THINK, UH, YOUR DIS YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION IS BEING DISPLAYED FROM UPSTAIRS.
ARE YOU GOING TO DISPLAY IT FROM YOUR COMPUTER AS WELL? GARRETT? ARE YOU DISPLAYING THE, THE PRESENTATION SHOWING UP ON MY COMPUTER? RIGHT? IT'S NOT SHOWING UP HERE.
RIGHT? IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE, WE'RE DISPLAYING YOUR PRESENTATION FOR YOU.
YOU JUST PLUGGED IN TO DISPLAY IT.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S CAUSING THE INTERFERENCE.
MY NAME IS ALEXA SPA, AND I ALSO GO TO
[00:35:01]
R Z HIGH SCHOOL.UM, I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU GUYS TODAY ABOUT PROJECT BELL, WHICH IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT I'M THE CO-PRESIDENT OF, WITH MY SISTER ISABELLA, WHO'S RIGHT THERE.
UM, IT WAS FOUNDED IN 2016, AND OUR MISSION IS TO DONATE NEW BEGINNING INSPIRATIONAL BELLS TO CANCER AND TRANSPLANT CENTERS AROUND THE WORLD.
SO, WHAT IS PROJECT BELL? AS I SAID, PROJECT BELL WAS FOUNDED IN 2016, AND WE DONATE NEW BEGINNING BELLS TO CANCER AND TRANSPLANT CENTERS.
THE BELL RINGING CEREMONY IS, IS MEANT TO PROVIDE HOPE AND INSPIRATION TO THOSE WHO COMPLETE TREATMENT.
SO FAR, WE HAVE DONATED OVER 100 BELLS GLOBALLY THROUGH THE US SOUTH AMERICA, AFRICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN.
AND SO FAR WE ESTIMATE THAT OVER 100,000 PEOPLE EACH YEAR DONATE ONE OF THE BELLS THAT WERE DONATED.
SO, THE PROJECT BELL STORY, THE BELLS ARE VERY CLOSE AND DEAR TO MY HEART BECAUSE WHEN ME AND MY SISTER WERE 12 AND 10, OUR MOTHER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A BENIGN YET LIFE-THREATENING BRAIN TUMOR.
SO WE TRAVELED DOWN TO BOSTON SO SHE COULD RECEIVE RADIATION THERAPY.
AS WE SAT IN THE WAITING ROOM, WE SAW FIRSTHAND HOW IMPACTFUL THE NEW BEGINNING BELL, THE NEW BEGINNING BELLS WERE.
WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT NOT MANY PEOPLE AND NOT MANY OF HOSPITALS HAD THIS AROUND THE GLOBE, WE DECIDED WE WANTED TO CHANGE THAT.
SO MY SISTER FOUNDED THE PROJECT IN 2016 AT THE AGE OF 12, AND SINCE THEN, I HAVE COME ON BOARD AND EXPANDED THE VISION AND INCLUDED ORGAN DONATION.
SO OUR PROJECT IN 2016, IT STARTED BY DONATING, BY CREATING BRACELETS AND SELLING THEM IN ORDER TO GET MONEY IN ORDER TO, UM, DONATE THESE BIG BELLS.
'CAUSE THEY COST A LOT OF MONEY.
BUT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE HAVE, UM, BEEN ABLE TO EXPAND FURTHER PAST THAT TO RELY SOLELY ON DONATIONS FROM FAMILIES IMPACTED, OR PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR MISSION.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE INCLUDED AMBASSADORS AND WHO HELP, UM, GET OPPORTUNITIES FOR US.
AND THEY, WE HAVE THEM ALL THE WAY FROM THE WEST COAST, AND WE EVEN HAVE ONE IN CHILE.
AND THIS YEAR, PROJECT BELL HAS DONATED, HAS BEGUN TO DONATE BELLS TO ORGAN DONATION TRANSPLANT CENTERS.
LIVE ORGAN, DONATE, LIVE ORGAN DONATION CENTERS, AND, UM, UNFORTUNATELY PAST RECIPIENTS.
SO FOR LIVE ORGAN DONORS, WE GIVE TWO BELLS.
ONE FOR THE ORGAN DONOR AND ONE FOR THE OREGON RECIPIENT.
PROJECT BELL TRANSPLANT, I CAN GO FURTHER ON THAT.
IN 2022, WE DONATED OUR FIRST TRANSPLANT BELL TO DEL SETON MEDICAL CENTER.
AND NOW WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH SEVERAL OTHER FACILITIES TO KEEP DONATING.
WE HAVE DONATED BELLS TO CENTERS THAT HAVE PROVIDED ORGANS, INCLUDING HEARTS AND KIDNEYS, BUT HOWEVER, OUR GOAL IS NOT ONLY TO DONATE BELLS, BUT ALSO TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE NEED FOR ORGAN DONATION.
AND IN DOING THAT, WE HAVE COLLABORATED WITH ORGAN DONOR CENTERS, INCLUDING TOUCH OF LIFE.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE, SORRY, UM, THIS WAS TAKEN AT A DEDICATION CEREMONY IN TEXAS AND THESE LITTLE KIDS SHOWN NEXT TO ME IN THE PICTURE.
UM, WERE ACTUALLY THE CHILDREN OF A, UM, RECIPIENT.
SO IF WE LOOK AT THE WEBSITE, IF CARROT, YOU'RE NOT SHARING.
SO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PROJECT BELL, YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE.
UM, IT'S JUST PROJECT BELL.ORG.
AND FROM THERE YOU CAN SEE TESTIMONIALS, PRESS AWARDS.
WE'VE BEEN IN, UM, MORE ABOUT TRANSPLANT, ABOUT US, HOW TO CONTACT US, UM, THE SPANISH VERSION OF OUR WEBSITE, WHICH IS MAINLY FOR, UM, PROJECT BELL AND CHILI.
AND THERE'S MORE ABOUT HOW TO DONATE.
SO IF WE GO TO THE PRESS SLIDE, PLEASE.
I'D LIKE TO SCROLL DOWN AND CLICK THIS TWO MINUTE VIDEO.
THE FIRST VIDEO UNDER VIDEO COVERAGE?
[00:40:03]
YES, THAT ONE.IT'S ONLY TWO MINUTES, BUT IT GIVES A MORE IN-DEPTH, UM, SUMMARY ABOUT PROJECT BOWEL TRANSPLANT.
GARRETT, I THINK YOU HAVE TO UNSHARE AND THEN ACTIVATE THE AUDIO WITHIN OPTIMIZED.
A NEW PIECE OF EQUIPMENT TO ITS HEART SPECIALTY CARE AND TRANSPLANT CENTER TODAY.
IT'S NOTHING FANCY, IT'S NOT A FANCY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.
IT'S NOT EVEN GONNA BE USED IN SURGERIES.
NO, IT IS AN OLD FASHIONED BRASS BELL.
AND KAY X N IS DYLAN MCKIM LEARNED.
IT'S BEING USED TO INSPIRE SOME OF THE PATIENTS THERE.
INSPIRING SOME OF THE STAFF AS WELL.
DYLAN, I KNOW YOU'RE LIVE AT THE ASCENSION SETON CENTER OVER ON 38TH AND LAMAR.
PROJECT BELL IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT DONATED THE BELL HERE AT ASCENSION SETON.
PROJECT BELL'S A NON-PROFIT STARTED BY TWO SISTERS WHO ARE TRYING TO EMPOWER AND INSPIRE PATIENTS ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
NOW, THESE BELL CEREMONIES ARE COMMONLY USED FOR CANCER PATIENTS WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENTS.
BUT THE BELL HERE WILL HANG IN THE CARDIOVASCULAR INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR HEART TRANSPLANT PATIENTS.
THE HOSPITAL HAS TRANSPLANTED 474 HEARTS SINCE 1986.
TODAY, PATIENT NUMBER 4 74 WILL BE THE FIRST TO RING THE BELL DURING THE CEREMONY.
PATIENTS IN THE FUTURE WHO HAVE JUST GONE THROUGH A HEART TRANSPLANT WILL GET TO RING THE BELL AFTER THEIR SURGERY.
IT'S A WAY TO CELEBRATE THE EFFORTS IT TOOK TO GET TO THAT MOMENT.
IT CAN TAKE MONTHS FOR PATIENTS TO WAIT FOR A HEART DONOR FOR THEIR SURGERY.
NOT ONLY ARE THE PATIENTS CELEBRATING THE SUCCESS OF THE OPERATION, THE BELL ALSO MOTIVATES PATIENTS POST-SURGERY.
I SPOKE TO ONE OF THE SURGEONS AT THE HOSPITAL, DR.
HE SAYS HE HOPES TO HEAR MORE BELL RINGING IN THE FUTURE.
IT REALLY IS A HALLMARK MOMENT IN THESE PATIENTS' LIVES WHERE THEY'RE ABLE TO REALLY CELEBRATE WHAT THEY'VE GONE THROUGH.
AND THEY HAVE THIS NEW START WITH, WITH THEIR NEW HEART.
VITRI ALSO BELIEVES THAT THIS BELL WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO HOSPITAL STAFF AS WELL.
DOCTORS AND NURSES BEEN THROUGH A LOT SINCE THE PANDEMIC.
VITRI SAYS THIS BELL CEREMONY WILL ALSO GIVE THOSE, THOSE, UH, STAFF WORKERS AS NURSES, THE DOCTORS, A CHANCE TO CELEBRATE ALONG WITH THEIR PATIENTS.
UM, OVERALL PROJECT BELL AIMS TO GIVE INSPIRATION AND HOPE.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM PROJECT BELL WAS WHEN ME AND MY MOTHER TRAVELED DOWN TO TEXAS TO GO SPEAK AT A DEDICATION CEREMONY.
AND WE TALKED TO SOMEONE WHO HAD RECENTLY RECEIVED, UM, RECEIVED A HEART TRANSPLANT, AND HE WAS TELLING US ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF, OF WHAT THE BELL HAD FOR HIM.
AND IT'S, AND HE SAID TO US HOW, UM, HOW HE WAS SO EXCITED TO RING THE BELL AFTER HE TOOK HIS FIRST LAP AROUND, UM, THE HALLWAYS.
AND I, IT MIGHT SOUND CLICHE, BUT HE DID GET HIS HEART ON VALENTINE'S DAY.
SO THAT MADE IT ALL MORE SPECIAL FOR US.
BUT AGAIN, I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING US, AND FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROJECT BELL, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE, UM, PROJECT BELL.ORG.
IT HAS EVERYTHING YOU COULD, YOU COULD THANK YOU.
YEAH, I'D JUST LIKE TO, UH, THANK YOU AND YOUR SISTER FOR, UH, UH, YOUR LEADERSHIP IN, IN THIS EFFORT.
YOU KNOW, WE READ, SO IF YOU READ THE PAPERS, UH, EVERY DAY THERE'S NEWS ABOUT HOW HORRIBLE THE WORLD IS AND HOW EVERYBODY'S DOING, YOU KNOW, FIGHTING AND KILLING EACH OTHER, AND THERE'S SO MUCH NEGATIVITY.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS I LIKE THESE TYPE OF, UH, PRESENTATIONS OF THE BOARD IS WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING, UH, THE BEST IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT YOU DID, WHAT YOU DOING, WHAT Z IS DOING, WHAT DEVRA AND, UM, UH, THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, UH, WHO MADE THE PRESENTATIONS ARE DOING IT REALLY MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT LIVING IN, IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
AND ALSO, IT'S NICE BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE, THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA BE THE FUTURE LEADERS OF OUR, UM, OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING.
I DO, I DO WANT TO SAY THAT IN PUTTING TOGETHER THE AGENDA, I GO THROUGH AND I USUALLY TRY TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PRESENTATIONS.
AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH PROJECT BELL
[00:45:01]
THAT IF YOU GO ON OUR AGENDA, I PUT A HYPERLINK TO YOUR WEBSITE SO THAT IF ANYBODY WANTS TO DONATE OR LEARN MORE ABOUT IT, THEY CAN DO IT JUST FROM A HYPERLINK.AND I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER DONE THAT BEFORE, SO, OKAY, GREAT.
UM, UH, JUDITH, WILL YOU DO THE ROLL CALL? YES.
[ TOWN CLERK COMMENTS]
I JUST LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE ROOM.UM, I'M A LIFELONG, UH, EDUCATOR AND A LIFELONG LEARNER MYSELF.
AND I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU AND, AND TO EVERYONE HERE IN THE ROOM, UM, THREE WORDS THAT I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE AND SHARE WITH ANOTHER YOUNG PERSON WITH REGARDS TO FURTHERING YOUR EDUCATION.
AND I, I, I HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
I HEARD THIS QUOTE FROM THE ACTOR, HILL HARPER, WHO IS A, NOT ONLY AN ACTOR, BUT A MENTOR AND A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER.
HE SAID, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE TRY TO ENCOURAGE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO SEEK A HIGHER EDUCATION AND TO IMPRESS UPON THEM THE IMPORTANCE OF ACQUIRING AN EDUCATION.
HE SAID, STOP TRYING TO BROWBEAT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AND JUST SAY THESE THREE WORDS, THREE WORDS, EDUCATION CREATES OPPORTUNITIES.
AND I SEE YOU SHAKING YOUR HEAD YES.
EDUCATION CREATES OPPORTUNITIES AND THAT IS SO TRUE.
SO I SAY THIS TO YOU AND PUT THE HOPES THAT YOU WILL FURTHER YOUR EDUCATION AND CONTINUE ON THE UPWARD TRAJECTORY OF LEADERSHIP, INFORMING, EDUCATING, AND RAISING THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND AWARENESS AMONG PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR MESSAGE.
[ ROLL CALL: Town Clerk]
COUNCIL SUPERVISOR PAUL FINER.PRESENT COUNCILWOMAN GINA JACKSON.
COUNCILMAN FRANCIS SHAN, PRESENT AND TOWN ATTORNEY JOE DENKO.
[ PUBLIC DISCUSSION Presentation on a Proposed Anthony Veteran Park related Sportime Tennis Lease Agreement followed by public comment relevant to the proposal. [Rules for Public Comment apply.]]
NEXT, UH, WE'LL HAVE A PUBLIC, UH, DISCUSSION ON A PROPOSED ANTHONY VETERAN, UH, RELATED SPORT TIME TENNIS LEASE AGREEMENT, FOLLOWED BY PUBLIC COMMENTS RELEVANT TO THE PROPOSAL.WHERE YOU PUT THE WORD MADE IT TIRED.
IS IT, IS IT CONNECTED? I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM.
WOULD NOW BE A GOOD TIME TO RESET IT? YOU'LL BE ON.
YOU NEED A COUPLE MINUTES? YEAH.
IS THERE SOMETHING MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE IN BETWEEN SO WE DON'T HEY, AARON'S READY TO GO WITH A BAMBOO PRESENT.
SHORT BREATH, BAMBOO PRESENTATION.
SO WE WANT TO DO THAT WHILE YOU'RE, WHILE YOU'RE WORKING ON THAT.
WELL, THEN WE HAVE TO OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC HEARING.
SHOULD PUT THAT WHOLE PRESENTATION, Y'ALL OKAY.
JUST TRYING TO KEEP IT FLOWING.
[00:50:01]
UM, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE DONE IN TWO? LET ME ASK A QUESTIONS.ARE THERE SING A SONG? IS THERE ANY, WHAT IF WE HAD, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS ON, UH, ANY OTHER AGENDA ITEMS? NOT THE, NOT THE BIMBO, BUT EVERYTHING, AND THEN WE COULD DO THE AGENDA.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARD FOR THEM TO GET TO THE TWO MINUTES.
DO YOU WANT PULL? DO YOU WANNA PULL IT? LET ME SEE.
UM, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE ARE WAITING, UM, I WANTED TO, UH, MENTION THAT THE THEATER YOUNG COMMUNITY CENTER, UM, IS HAVING A FAMILY DAY OF JAZZ SATURDAY, JULY 8TH, FEATURING LIVE PERFORMANCES BY GENTLEMAN OF SOUL THREE D UH, RHYTHM OF LIFE AND GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING GUITARIST MARK WOODFIELD.
ENJOY A DAY OF LIVE MUSIC, BOUNCY ATTRACTIONS, FACE PAINTING, FOOD, AND FUN FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES.
AND, UH, YOU COULD ENTER A 50 50, UH, RAFFLE.
AND THAT'S FROM 11, UM, AM TO 6:00 PM AT YOSEMITE PARK.
THEN WE'LL STOP WITH MY GOOD EVENING.
I'M GERARD BYRNE, COMMISSIONER OF PARKS AND RECREATION FOR THE TOWN OF GREENBURG, AND WE'RE HERE TONIGHT TO TALK TO PRESENT A, AN EXCITING PROPOSAL THROUGH SPORT TIME AND, UH, GIVE THE PUBLIC A CHANCE TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS.
I HAVE A PREPARED STATEMENT BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO THEM.
GOOD EVENING, AND GLAD THAT WE ARE HERE TONIGHT.
GOOD EVENING AND GLAD THAT WE ARE HERE TONIGHT TO DISCUSS AND HEAR A PRESENTATION FROM SPORT TIME FOR OBTAINING LEASE AGREEMENTS FOR INDOOR AND OUTDOOR TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL USING A PORTION OF THE ANTHONY F VETERAN PARK TENNIS COMPLEX.
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON HOW WE GOT HERE.
BACK IN 2004, THE TOWN SOLICITED PROPOSALS FROM OUTSIDE VENDORS TO OPERATE INDOOR TENNIS ON SUMMER OF THE A F V COURTS.
AFTER A THOROUGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROCESS, SPORT TIME WAS SELECTED TO DEVELOP, MANAGE, AND OPERATE A PROGRAM FOR 15 YEARS WAS AN OPTION TO RENEW.
THE LICENSE AGREEMENTS WERE SIGNED IN 2007, BUT A RESIDENT SUED THE TOWN STATING IT VIOLATED THE INTENT OF THE FIN IN LAW AND THAT NON-RESIDENTS COULD NOT USE THE TENNIS COURTS AND WON IN COURT.
THE AGREEMENT WITH SPORT TIME AT THAT TIME WAS NULLIFIED.
SO IN JUNE OF 2012, THE TOWN REQUESTED AND GOT THE STATE TO PASS A HOME RULE LEGISLATION THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO LEASE THE ANTHONY
THAT COULD INCLUDE NON-RESIDENT PARTICIPATION.
THE 30 YEAR CLOCK WOULD BEGIN WHEN THE OPERATION OF THE LEASE BEGAN.
WE FLOATED REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS AFTER 2012, BUT THE CLIMATE WAS NOT GOOD TO SECURE A GOOD, SECURE, A GOOD AGREEMENT.
SO WE DIDN'T MOVE FORWARD AT THAT TIME.
THEN IN MARCH OF 2022, THE TOWN FELT THE TIME WAS RIGHT TO SEND OUT ANOTHER REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF A TENNIS PROGRAM AND THE FACILITY FOR INDOOR AND OUTDOOR TENNIS SEASONS.
WE RECEIVED TWO PROPOSALS, ONE FROM SPORT TIME AND THE OTHER FROM TENNIS INNOVATORS.
A SELECTION COMMITTEE OF TOWN OFFICIALS, ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS, STAFF AND RESIDENTS DID A THOROUGH REVIEW OF THE PROPOSALS AND RECOMMENDED TO THE GREENBERG PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TO SELECT SPORT TIME AND TO BEGIN DRAFTING LEASE AGREEMENTS FOR TOWN BOARD CONSIDERATION, WHICH THEY ENDORSE.
SINCE THAT TIME, MEMBERS OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE, INCLUDING MYSELF, WORKING WITH THE TOWN ATTORNEY AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM SPORT TIME DRAFTED IN ALMOST FINAL FORM NOW LEASE AGREEMENTS FOR THE INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SEASONS THAT ARE POSTED ON THE TOWN WEBSITE.
THE AGREEMENTS PENDING APPROVAL WILL CEASE FOURTH TIME INVEST AN ESTIMATED $12.5 MILLION FOR FACILITY DEVELOPMENT AND ALL FIXED IMPROVEMENTS WILL BECOME THE PROPERTY OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
UPON CO COMPLETION, THE FACILITY WILL GENERATE A MINIMUM OF $6.7 MILLION IN LICENSE FEES TO THE TOWN FOR THE FIRST 15 YEARS AND APPROXIMATELY 21 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF 30 YEARS.
THE HOME RULE LEGISLATION PASSED IN 2012 REQUIRES THAT ALL PROCEEDS OF SUCH LEASES BE USED FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING TOWN PARK AND RECREATION FACILITIES, AND FOR THE ACQUISITION OF
[00:55:01]
ADDITIONAL TOWN PARK AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND ARC PARK SYSTEMS FOR THE RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG WHO RESIDE, WHO RESIDE OUTSIDE OF ANY INCORPORATED VILLAGE IN THE TOWN.ON MAY 2ND SPORT, TIME MADE A PRESENTATION TO THE TOWN BOARD AT ITS WORK SESSION, WHICH IS POSTED NOW ON THE TOWN WEBSITE.
IT WAS LATER AGREED TO HAVE A PRESENTATION AND PUBLIC DISCUSSION, WHICH WE ARE DOING TONIGHT.
AT THE JUNE 7TH GREENBERG PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING, THEY ENDORSED THE COMMISSIONER'S RECOMMENDATION THAT THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD ENDORSED TO PROPOSE LEASE AGREEMENTS WITH SPORT TIME TENNIS FACILITIES, PARENTHESES, MAY 9TH, 2003, CLEAN DRAFT AT ANTHONY AT VETERAN PARK, THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE AND PARKS BELIEVE THAT THIS TENNIS FACILITY IS A PLACE THAT PROVIDES PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES RELATED TO TENNIS AND OTHER RACKET AND PADDLE SPORTS.
BUT FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, WE PLAN TO DEFINE THIS MORE CLEARLY BY AMENDING THE HOME RULE LEGISLATION.
WE ARE VERY EXCITED FOR SPORT TIME TO CONSTRUCT A NEW FACILITY AS PROPOSED, WHICH THAT WILL REMOVE ONLY SEVEN TENNIS COURTS FROM OUR 19 COURT COMPLEX, BUT ADD 10 TENNIS COURTS AND 10 PICKLEBALL COURTS IN THEIR PLACE.
IN ADDITION TO SPORT TIME, WE'LL PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY RACKET, SPORTS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT WILL GENERATE LICENSE FEES TO THE TOWN THAT CAN ONLY BE USED TO IMPROVE OUR PARK SYSTEM.
PARKS AND RECREATION WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE REMAINING 12 COURTS TO PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE, AND HIGH QUALITY TENNIS SERVICES THAT WE HAVE BEEN OFFERING FOR DECADES.
SO AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE CLAUDE OKIN, PRESIDENT AND C E O OF SPORT TIME TO PRESENT THEIR PROPOSAL.
THEN WE'LL OPEN UP THE MEETING FOR COMMENTS.
THANK YOU, UH, SUPERVISOR FINER AND BOARD MEMBERS.
UH, I KNOW WE WERE JUST HERE A LITTLE BIT AGO, SO I'M SORRY TO PUT YOU THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
IT HASN'T CHANGED TOO MUCH, BUT I'LL TRY TO MAKE QUICK WORK OF IT.
UM, WE HAVE MADE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO, IN AN ATTEMPT TO ANSWER SOME ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED AND WE HAVE OUR VERY TALENTED ARCHITECT HERE TO TRY TO BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE, THE DESIGN.
SO HOPEFULLY, WE'LL, WE'LL ADD SOME INFORMATION THIS TIME AROUND, BUT I'LL TRY TO LEAVE AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, SO WE ARE HERE TO, UH, IN SUPPORT OF OUR, OF OUR WINNING PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP AT TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL FACILITY IN ANTHONY F VETERAN PARK.
AS, AS, UH, JERRY SAID, WE, WE, WE'VE BEEN AT THIS FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS.
WE'RE EXCITED THAT IT SEEMS LIKE IT MAY ACTUALLY HAPPEN THIS TIME.
I THINK IT WOULD BE A GREAT PROJECT.
UM, QUICKLY TRY TO SORT OF GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE COMPANY BECAUSE I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS WE KEEP BEING SELECTED IS 'CAUSE WE'VE BUILT A STRONG COMPANY, STRONG LOCAL COMPANY.
WE'RE THE LARGEST OPERATOR OF TENNIS CLUBS IN NEW YORK STATE, CURRENTLY OPERATING 15 TENNIS AND SPORTS CLUBS, 188 COURTS, INDOOR COURTS, SOFT AND HARD COURTS IN BUBBLES AND IN BUILDINGS, OUTDOOR COURTS, BIG, UH, SORT OF COUNTRY CLUBS, SMALL NEIGHBORHOOD CLUBS.
WE, WE HAVE A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT WE DO AND, BUT ALL AROUND A HEART AND SPINE OF TENNIS AND RACKET SPORTS.
UM, IN PICKLEBALL, WE'VE GONE FROM ZERO TO 50 COURTS IN ABOUT THREE YEARS.
AND THE SAME TIME THE PICKLEBALL INDUSTRY HAS GONE FROM ABOUT 500,000 PLAYERS TO 9 MILLION PLAYERS.
AND BLOOMBERG SAYS IT'S GONNA BE 22 MILLION PLAYERS BY THE END OF 2023, WHICH IS KIND OF SHOCKING EVEN FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS BOOM.
UM, WE SERVE ABOUT 30,000 MEMBERS AND PLAYERS, UH, A LOT OF, UH, KIDS, YOUNG ADULTS AND CHILDREN.
AND WE EMPLOY BETWEEN 500 AND 900 EMPLOYEES DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF THE YEAR.
THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, ALMOST A THOUSAND, UH, EMPLOYEES WORKING FOR US, ALMOST 300 OF WHOM ARE TENNIS AND, AND SPORTS COACHES.
WE HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED ACRES OF PROPERTY AND ALMOST A MILLION SQUARE FEET OF COVERED SPACE UNDER MANAGEMENT.
UM, I GUESS THE POINT OF THESE SLIDES IS TO SAY THAT WE'RE A RESPONSIBLE OPERATOR WITH A BALANCE SHEET AND A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY.
AND, UH, WE, WE DELIVER ON OUR PROMISES IN THESE TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS.
AND I'LL, IN A MINUTE, I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER LEASES AND LICENSES THAT WE'VE UNDERTAKEN.
UM, BUT WE'VE BEEN IN, I'VE BEEN IN THE BUSINESS PERSONALLY FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS.
I STARTED WORKING IN TENNIS CLUBS WHEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD IN NEW YORK CITY.
I COULDN'T AFFORD TO PLAY DURING THE TENNIS BOOM IN MANHATTAN WHERE I LIVED.
MY PARENTS WERE TEACHERS, WE WEREN'T WEALTHY AT ALL.
AND I WENT DOWN TO A CLUB WHERE A BUNCH OF KIDS HUNG OUT EVERY DAY AND I SAID, I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO DO IF I CAN BE A TENNIS PLAYER.
SO WE VACUUMED COURTS AND LIGHT BULBS AND FILL JUICE MACHINES AND ANSWERED
[01:00:01]
PHONES.AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, WE WERE 12 OR 13, IT WAS ILLEGAL.
BUT BY THE TIME I WAS 14, I STRUNG TENNIS RACKETS.
AND BY THE TIME I WAS IN COLLEGE, I WAS TEACHING MY WAY THROUGH COLLEGE, UH, AS A TENNIS PRO OUT IN, IN THE HAMPTONS.
SO TENNIS HAS CHANGED MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER.
IT'S GIVEN ME DISCIPLINE AND TAUGHT ME BUSINESS AND, AND ALLOWED ME TO HAVE A GOOD LIFE.
I'M PROUD OF THE COMPANY WE'VE BUILT.
MY FELLOW LEADERS IN SPORT TIME HAVE, YOU KNOW, BEEN DOING THIS WITH ME FOR DECADES AND WE WANT TO KEEP DOING IT FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN.
UM, I HAVE WITH ME HERE TODAY CARLOS CAMPO, WHO'S THE REGIONAL MANAGER, UH, MAN, REGIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR WESTCHESTER IN OUR NORTHERN REGION.
SO HE MANAGES OUR CLUB IN
BEN SCHLANSKY IS MY PARTNER IN ALL THINGS SPORT TIME.
HE'S THE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF LEGAL LEGAL OFFICER OF SPORT TIME.
HE RUNS OUR NEW YORK CITY BUSINESS AND, AND OUR JOHN MCNA, OUR TENNIS ACADEMY BRAND, WHICH OF WHICH WE'RE VERY PROUD AND WHICH WILL BE PART OF WHAT WE DO IN GREENBERG.
SHOULD WE, UH, SHOULD WE CONTINUE? BEN ALSO HAS BEEN WORKING ON AND OFF FOR THE COMPANY SINCE HE WAS 18 YEARS OLD.
SO HE'S A LIFER AND A GREAT, UH, COLLEAGUE ALI.
UM, WE'RE A BLUE CHIP LICENSEE, UH, UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE WHO BID ON THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND CREATE A SHELL COMPANY OR TRY TO WIN A LICENSE AND THEN RAISE MONEY AFTERWARDS.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO THE SPORTS TIME CLUBS, L L C, THE COMPANY THAT HOLDS ALL OF OUR ASSETS, UH, ARGUABLY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF ASSETS AND WHO OPERATES OUR FULL BUSINESS, WHICH THIS YEAR IS ABOUT A $70 MILLION BUSINESS WITH ABOUT $13 MILLION OF NET INCOME, IS THE ENTITY THAT WILL SIGN THE LEASES AND GUARANTEE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY.
UH, AND THIS BUSINESS HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK SINCE 1994.
SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A REAL, A REAL, UH, A REAL, UH, LESSEE.
UM, THAT'S WHAT THIS SLIDE IS SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU.
AND THEN OUR OTHER EXPERIENCE AS A LICENSEE IN, IN, IN MANY MUNICIPALITIES, THESE ARE LICENSES HERE.
THEY'RE GONNA BE LEASES TO OVERLAPPING SEASONAL LEASES HERE IN GREENBURG BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE LAW IS STRUCTURED.
BUT WE'VE DONE THIS DANCE AND SUCCESSFUL, UH, TYPE OF BUSINESS IN NEW YORK CITY.
WE'RE PROBABLY THE FIRST OR SECOND MOST PRODUCTIVE LICENSING IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY, UH, WHERE WE'VE BUILT A $65 MILLION FACILITY AND PAID TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LICENSE FEES.
OUR LICENSE THERE WAS JUST EXTENDED FOR 25 YEARS, UH, WHICH REQUIRED A UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THE FRANCHISE REVIEW COMMITTEE.
EVERY, UH, EVERY BOROUGH, UH, CHIEF AND THE, AND THE HEAD OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR, WHICH I'M NOT SURE HAS EVER HAPPENED IN NEW YORK CITY BEFORE.
SO WE'RE PRETTY PROUD OF THE VALUE WE'VE CREATED THERE.
WE'VE DONE IT IN EASTCHESTER WHERE OUR LICENSE WAS JUST EXTENDED FOR A 20 YEAR EXTENSION IN MAAC, WHERE WE'VE BEEN SINCE 2002 IN EAST HAMPTON, WHERE WE'VE BEEN SINCE 2011.
AND HEMSTEAD LA JUST LAST YEAR WE WERE SELECTED BY NEW YORK STATE TO OPERATE THE STATE FACILITY IN HEMPSTEAD LAKE STATE PARK.
SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANOTHER TENNIS AND RACKET SPORTS COMPANY WITH AS MANY MUNICIPAL LICENSES AND LEASES AS WE HAVE IN NEW YORK.
AND I THINK THE REASON IS JUST THAT WE BRING VALUE, PAY TOP DOLLAR, INVEST MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF CAPITAL AND, AND MEET OUR OBLIGATIONS AND DO A GOOD JOB.
UH, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU QUICKLY ABOUT SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE'VE DONE, BUT I'LL REALLY SPEED IT UP.
WE OPENED OUR NEW YORK CITY FACILITY IN 2009.
WE WERE AWARDED THE, THE, UH, LICENSE IN 2004.
IT TOOK FIVE YEARS TO DEVELOP, UH, THE FACILITY AND FUNDRAISE AND CONSTRUCT AS PART OF THE RANDALL'S ISLAND PARK REDEVELOPMENT.
THAT'S THE PARK UNDER THE TRIBE, BOROUGH BRIDGE THAT'S NOW BECOME THE SPORTS DESTINATION FOR MOST OF NEW YORK OR ONE OF THEM.
UM, OUR 20 YEAR LICENSE PERIOD STARTED IN 2009.
AS I SAID, WE JUST GOT A 25 YEAR EXTENSION THAT WILL COMMENCE WHEN WE OPENED THE EXPANDED FACILITY.
UM, WE'VE INVESTED THE ORIGINAL FACILITY COST 20 MILLION.
WE'VE INVESTED ANOTHER, UH, 45 IN THE EXPANSION, SO 65 IN TOTAL, SORT OF OUR TENNIS GIFT TO NEW YORK CITY, ALTHOUGH IT'S AN EXCELLENT BUSINESS FOR US.
AND WE'VE PAID THE CITY MORE THAN $17 MILLION IN LICENSE FEES TO DATE.
UM, THE CLUB WHEN COMPLETED WILL FEATURE 30 INDOOR OUTDOOR COURTS, 18 IN PERMANENT STRUCTURES, 12 THAT GOES INDOORS AND OUTDOORS.
A U 10 CENTER, UH, TWO CLUBHOUSES, THE BIGGEST, ARGUABLY THE LARGEST ACADEMY IN THE COUNTRY.
JOHN, THE JOHN KER TENNIS ACADEMY, AND MUCH MORE.
AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE THRILLED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS.
UM, THIS IS JUST A SITE PLAN OF THE ORIGINAL CLUB IN RANDALL'S ISLAND.
THIS IS A SITE PLAN OF WHAT'S ALMOST COMPLETE NOW.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S A VERY LARGE FACILITY.
[01:05:01]
TENNIS CLUB AND TRAINING FACILITY IN THE WORLD, OR IT WILL BE BY SEPTEMBER.UM, SO AS A NEW YORK KID WHO COULDN'T AFFORD TO PLAY, I'M, I'M PRETTY EXCITED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DELIVER THIS AND WE'D HAVE A CHARITY TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, OTHER KIDS, UH, LIKE ME AND, AND WHO NEEDED THE HELP A LOT MORE THAN I DID, UH, GET TO PLAY HERE, UH, FOR FREE AND, AND WITH SCHOLARSHIPS, GO TO COLLEGE THROUGH THEIR TENNIS.
UM, HERE ARE SOME AERIAL SHOTS OF THE ORIGINAL CLUB.
I DON'T HAVE A NEW SHOT OF THE, UH, EXPANSION CLUB YET, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY ARE, ARE ON THE INTERNET ON OUR CONSTRUCTION PAGE AT THE RANDALL'S ISLAND WEBSITE.
UH, LAKE ISLE WE OPENED IN 2012, I BELIEVE, ONE WEEK AFTER SUPERSTORM SANDY, BY SOME MIRACLE, WE HAD BUILT THIS NEW CLUB WITH THREE AIR STRUCTURES AND NONE OF THEM WERE DESTROYED IN THE STORM, ALTHOUGH OUR AIR STRUCTURES IN MAAC WERE EVISCERATED.
SO I GUESS WE BUILT THESE NEW ONES, RIGHT? BUT, UH, THIS WAS A $7 MILLION PROJECT.
UH, THE TOWN THERE HAD THE LAKE ALL COUNTRY CLUB AND AN OUTDOOR TENNIS CENTER, WHICH NEEDED RENOVATION, BUT THEY WANTED A YEAR-ROUND FACILITY AND WE BUILT THAT FOR THEM.
UM, AND WE'VE PAID, UH, ABOUT 4 MILLION IN LICENSE FEES SO FAR.
WE OPERATE AN EIGHT COURT FACILITY THERE, ALSO HOME TO A JOHN KERNER TENNIS ACADEMY SITE.
AND WE, UH, WE HAVE ACTUALLY COMPLETED THE LICENSE EXTENSION REFERENCED ON THIS SLIDE AND MADE AN ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT THAT HAS ALLOWED THEM TO IMPROVE RACKET SPORTS IN ONE OF THEIR PARKS.
AND WE'LL BE THERE FOR ANOTHER 30 ODD YEARS AT LEAST.
THIS IS A, A, A SITE PLAN OF THAT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, SOME PICTURES OF THE ACTUAL SITE THAT WE BUILT THERE.
WE BUILT THAT CLUBHOUSE, WE RECONSTRUCTED ALL OF THE COURTS, BUILT ALL OF THE GRADE BEAMS AND FOUNDATIONS THAT SURROUND THEM, BUILT THREE BUBBLES, A NEW CLUBHOUSE, UH, AND MORE.
AND SO LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO HERE? UM, AS JERRY SAID, YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL, UH, TENNIS FACILITY THAT'S BEEN SERVING MANY PEOPLE FOR A LONG TIME.
WE'RE GOING TO USE A RELATIVELY SMALL PORTION OF THE PROPERTY, ONE THAT ACCOMMODATES SEVEN COURTS.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO BUILD, UH, 10 TENNIS COURTS, BOTH HARD AND SOFT SURFACE COURTS.
THE PARK DOESN'T HAVE ANY SOFT SURFACE COURTS AND FOLKS THERE, ESPECIALLY OLDER FOLKS WHOSE BONES ARE A LITTLE MORE BRITTLE, HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR THEM FOR 20 YEARS OR MORE.
SO WE'RE GONNA BUILD SIX SOFT COURTS AND, UH, FOUR HARD COURTS AND 10 PICKLEBALL COURTS, WHICH EVERYBODY SEEMS TO WANT.
AND WE ARE BECOMING EXPERTS IN OPERATING PICKLEBALL.
UM, ALL THE LICENSE FEES, AS JERRY SAID, WILL BE USED TO FIND IMPROVEMENTS IN YOUR TOWNS PARKS.
UH, THERE'LL BE A JOHN MACKER TENNIS ACADEMY THERE, ALL RESIDENTS OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREA WILL GET 10% OFF EVERYTHING THAT WE OFFER FROM MEMBERSHIP TO PROGRAMS, TO COURT RENTALS.
UH, DURING THE OUTDOOR SEASON WHEN WE'RE NOT USING THE FACILITIES FOR KIDS CAMPS OR OTHER SPORTS ON PROGRAMS, THEY'LL BE ADDED BACK TO THE AVAILABLE COURTS THAT PERMIT HOLDERS CAN ACCESS AT THE PARK IN ADDITION TO THE COURTS, THE 12 COURTS THAT THE PARK WILL CONTINUE TO RUN ON ITS OWN AND THE PICKLEBALL PARK COURTS THAT THE PARK WILL CONTINUE TO RUN ON ITS OWN.
AND, UM, WE WILL HAVE A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND A COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT PROGRAM HERE JUST AS WE DO IN NEW YORK CITY AND ON LONG ISLAND.
UH, AND OUR COMMITMENT IS THAT RIGHT OUTTA THE GATES, WE'LL DO, UM, 500 FREE COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING HOURS AND FUND A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS OF SCHOLARSHIPS.
SO, SO IN, IN YEAR ONE, WE'LL HAVE OPEN TRYOUT.
WE JUST HAD O WE JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE HAD OUR OPEN COMMUNITY TRYOUTS IN NEW YORK AND IN LONG ISLAND THIS WEEK.
AND 300 KIDS CAME TO THOSE TRYOUTS.
160 IN NEW YORK CITY AND 140 ON LONG ISLAND.
AND WE, WE, WE HAVE ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS OF SCHOLARSHIPS IN THOSE LOCATIONS.
SO WE'LL START A LITTLE SMALLER HERE, BUT TWO 50 IS A LOT OF KIDS.
IT MEANS MAYBE 20 OR 30 KIDS WILL BE TRAINING EVERY WEEK TO BE COMPETITIVE PLAYERS AND TO GO TO COLLEGE THROUGH THEIR TENNIS HERE IN, UH, GREENBURG.
AND OF COURSE, THE COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING MEANS THAT WE'LL BE BRINGING IN SCHOOL GROUPS AND, UH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION GROUPS AND SENIOR GROUPS.
WE'LL WORK WITH JANET AND HER WELL-KNOWN AND DESERVEDLY LOU PROGRAM TO SERVE, UH, COMMUNITY WITH DI ALL DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES WITH DIFFERENCES.
UM, WE WANT TO BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND WE HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF DOING THAT IN A BIG WAY EVERYWHERE THAT WE DO BUSINESS.
UM, I'M GONNA QUICKLY DETAIL THE SITE IMPROVEMENTS.
I THINK I'VE COVERED MOST OF THAT, THEM, AND THEN I'LL INTRODUCE OUR ARCHITECT TO YOU WHO'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED THE LAST TIME.
BUT ANYWAY, SEVEN COURTS BECOME A 10, 12 COURTS REMAIN.
COURTS ARE ADJACENT TO THE NEW HARD COURTS AND ARE ENCLOSED
[01:10:01]
IN A BUBBLE.ANOTHER FOUR PICKLEBALL COURTS ARE IN A, A SEASONAL BUILDING WITH REMOVABLE SIDES.
THAT ALSO IS THE CHILDREN'S AREA AND A GENERAL SPORTS AREA.
UM, WE BUILD A BEAUTIFUL CLUBHOUSE ON TWO LEVELS WITH VIEWING INTO ALL THE FACILITIES, UH, A D A ACCESSIBLE WITH SOME RETAIL, WITH SOME FOOD SERVICE LOCKER ROOMS AND, UH, CLASSROOMS. AND I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THE NUMBERS.
SO THE GUARANTEED MINIMUM EXPENDITURE ON THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, NOT INCLUDING REMOVABLE EQUIPMENT LIKE BUBBLES AND BUBBLE INFLATION EQUIPMENT, WHICH WILL BE, UH, ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IS ABOUT 10 MILLION.
BUT AS JERRY SAID, OUR CURRENT WORKING BUDGET IS MORE LIKE 12 MILLION BASED ON OUR TRACK RECORD OF BRINGING THESE PROJECTS IN AT OR UNDER BUDGET.
IT COULD BE A LOT MORE, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'RE BETTER AT BUDGETING THAN WE USED TO BE.
WHEN WE BUILT THE FIRST FACILITY IN NEW YORK WHERE BUDGET WAS SEVEN AND A HALF, IT CAME IN AT 21.
WE COMPLETED THAT PROJECT DURING THE RECESSION OF 2008.
AND, UH, WE'VE NEVER FAILED TO COMPLETE A PROJECT.
SCARY AS THAT MAY BE, UM, FOR US.
UM, AND AS JERRY SAID, WE BUILD A FACILITY FOR MUNICIPALITY UNDER A LICENSE RELEASE.
UH, AND THAT'S SORT OF THE SCARY PART.
WE, WE, WE, WE RAISE ALL THAT MONEY.
WE CAN'T REALLY USE DEBT BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BORROW AGAINST SOMETHING YOU DON'T OWN, BECAUSE THE DAY WE DELIVER IT AND TO SERVICE, IT BECOMES YOUR PROPERTY.
UH, AND WE JUST GET TO OPERATE IT AND RUN THE BUSINESS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU, UH, OR AT LEAST SHARE THE PROFITS WITH YOU, RUN THE BUSINESS FOR THE, FOR THE SPECIFIED TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE 12 PLUS MILLION, WE THINK WE'LL SPEND ON THE CONSTRUCTION, OUR CURRENT BUDGET, UH, HAS 4 MILLION MORE IN CAPEX, MEANING ANNUALIZED ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT, NOT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OR HOUSEKEEPING, BUT IMPROVEMENTS LIKE BUBBLE REPLACEMENT, ROOF REPLACEMENT, THINGS THAT ARE, HAVE A DEPRECIABLE LIFE.
OUR MAINTENANCE AND HOUSEKEEPING BUDGET OVER THE TERM IS $21 MILLION.
WE SPEND A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FACILITIES ARE IN THE SAME CONDITION 10 AND 20 AND 30 YEARS AFTER WE'VE OPENED THEM AS THEY ARE THE DAY THAT WE OPEN THEM.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S A 15 YEAR LEASE TERM WITH THREE FIVE YEAR EXTENSIONS.
WE EXPECT TO BE HERE FOR THE WHOLE TIME.
WE HAVE TO BE, TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF THE AMOUNT WE WOULD INVEST.
UM, THE MINI MINIMUM GUARANTEED LEASE FEE PAYMENTS WOULD BE $15 MILLION.
UM, BUT THE, IN EVERY YEAR, THE TOWN WILL GET THE HIGHER OF THE MINIMUM PAYMENT, WHICH GOES UP EVERY YEAR AND COMPOUNDS EVERY YEAR, OR 10% OF GROSS REVENUES, WHICH HONESTLY IS ABOUT HALF OF THE PROFITABILITY OF A WELL-RUN COMMERCIAL, TENNIS AND, AND RACKET SPORTS CLUB.
SO THE, THE BASIC PREMISE OF THESE DEALS AND HOW WE COME IN AND BID, WHY WE WIN, 'CAUSE I KNOW SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE RAISED SOME QUESTIONS, IS WE INVEST TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WE GET TO OPERATE AND THROUGH THE 10% FEE, WE, WE PAY THE MUNICIPALITY ROUGHLY HALF OF THE NET PROFITABILITY OVER TIME.
AND THEN WE, WE OBVIOUSLY GUARANTEE THEM A SUM OF MONEY THAT'S PRETTY CLOSE TO THAT.
SO THE TOTAL MINIMUM GUARANTEED LEASE FEE DURING THE 30 YEAR TERM IS 21 MILLION.
BUT WE PROJECTING THAT WE'RE GONNA PAY YOU MORE LIKE 25 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, IF HISTORY IS ANY, UH, INDICATOR, WE'LL PAY MUCH MORE THAN 25 MILLION.
WE, WE'VE, IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, OUR LEASE FEES ARE ABOUT TRIPLE WHAT WE ORIGINALLY ESTIMATED AT LAKE ISLE, ABOUT DOUBLE.
IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT MUNICIPALITIES TEND TO EXTEND WITH US BECAUSE WE, WE TEND TO BE CONSERVATIVE, CAREFUL AND OVERPERFORM.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S, I HOPE WHAT HAPPENS HERE.
YOU CAN SEE IT'S A TRANSLUCENT BUBBLE DOWN VIEW.
YOU CAN SEE THERE IS A BUBBLE WITH SIX COURTS, THREE, TWO ROWS OF THREE.
YOU CAN SEE HOW THE CLUBHOUSE ATTACHES TO THAT BUBBLE IN THE INDOOR SEASON AND LOOKS OUT ON THOSE COURTS.
SO PARENTS AND SPECTATORS CAN SAFELY VIEW FROM TWO LEVELS ACROSS THE COURT ARRAY.
SAME BASIC PRINCIPLE TO THE LEFT.
LOOKING AT THE SITE PLAN, THERE ARE FOUR HARD COURTS AND SIX HARD PICKLEBALL COURTS, AGAIN, ATTACHED TO THE CLUBHOUSE.
WITH VIEWING A D A ACCESS, THERE'LL BE A LIFT IN THE BUILDING SO THAT, UH, WHEELCHAIR ACCESS IS EASY ON BOTH LEVELS.
AND THEN THERE'S THAT INDOOR OUTDOOR PICKLEBALL AND SPORTS AREA JUST ABOVE THE MAJOR MASSING OF THE FACILITY.
AND THEN THE PARK EXPANDS FROM THERE.
ALL THE FEATURES THAT ARE THERE REMAIN.
SO I'M GONNA STOP TALKING AND I'M GONNA INTRODUCE JOHN FRY, WHO'S A LOCAL ARCHITECT WHO'S DONE MANY NOTABLE PROJECTS WHOM WE'RE LOVING WORKING WITH THIS WITH ON THIS PROJECT.
HE'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE MORE, MORE ABOUT THE DESIGN, AND THEN I'M AVAILABLE AS ARE MY COLLEAGUES, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD OR THE PUBLIC MAY HAVE.
I JUST WANNA SAY AGAIN, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT
[01:15:01]
THIS, ALTHOUGH IT'S, UH, IT'S A TIRING PROJECT, BUT WE'RE SO EXCITED TO BE GETTING CLOSER TO FRUITION.WE THINK IT'S GONNA BE GREAT, JOHN.
I'LL HOLD ON THIS SLIDE FOR A MOMENT.
UM, THE RELEVANT NOTION REGARDING HEIGHT IS BOTH RELATED TO THE GEOMETRY OF THE BUBBLE, THE FOOTPRINT OF EACH, UH, NORTH AND SOUTH AREAS OF COURTS.
BUT YOU'LL NOTICE THE TOPOGRAPHY, UH, INDICATED ON THIS SITE PLAN IMAGE.
IF THE, UH, THE LINEAR BUBBLE TO THE SOUTH IS APPROXIMATELY 40 FEET HIGH, WHICH PLACES THE, THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE ELEVATION AT APPROXIMATELY ELEVATION 3 43.
ON THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER, THE EXISTING POOL TERRACE IS ABOUT ELEVATION 3 41.
SO THE TOP OF THE SOUTH BUBBLE IS ABOUT TWO FEET ABOVE THE POOL TERRACE FOR CONTEXTUAL PURPOSES, AS CLAUDE NOTED.
IT, THE LOWER LEVEL IS, UH, MULTIPURPOSE AREAS.
THE UPPER LE LEVEL, IT, UH, OR THE ENTRY LEVEL IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE SPACE.
THE VIEWING SPACES, THE CONCESSION SPACES, UH, EACH NORTH AND SOUTH BUBBLE IS VIEWABLE FROM, UH, THE COMMON, UH, SPACE TO THE EAST.
UM, SECTIONAL DIAGRAM HERE GIVES YOU THE SENSE OF, UH, THE DASH LINE IN THE LOWER ELEVATE.
IN THE LOWER SECTION IS OBVIOUSLY THE LARGER FOOTPRINT BUBBLE TO THE NORTH, IT'S APPROXIMATELY 52 FEET.
UH, YOU CAN, THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CLUBHOUSE OBVIOUSLY IS, UH, MUCH SMALLER.
IT'S APPROXIMATELY 22 FEET AT THE FLAT ROOF LINE.
THERE'S A SKYLIGHT FEATURES THAT, THAT COLLECT NATURAL LIGHT FROM THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH.
THE AVERAGE ELEVATION OF THAT IS ABOUT 26 FEET ABOVE THE LOWEST ELEVATION.
YOU CAN SEE THE FRAME COURT STRUCTURE, WHICH IS TO THE WEST, UM, AS TUCKED IN TO THE EXISTING TOPOGRAPHY.
IT'S ACTUALLY THAT COURT LEVEL IS HIGHER THAN THE NORTH AND SOUTH BUBBLE, BUT STILL LOWER THAN THE POOL TERRACE ELEVATION.
THIS IS ANOTHER VIEW LOOKING, UH, NORTH THROUGH THE SMALLER BUBBLE WHERE THE, UH, FABRIC FRAME COURT STRUCTURES TO YOUR LEFT.
UH, ONE ELEMENT THAT'S OBVIOUS HERE ARE THE RETAINING WALLS, UH, IN THIS VIEW.
THEY'RE ALONG THE WESTERLY EDGE OF THE SOUTH BUBBLE.
THE SPRING BOOK PARKWAY, WHICH I FAILED TO MENTION, IS THE OTHER CONTEXTUAL ELEMENT HERE IS OFF THE IMAGE TO YOUR RIGHT.
UH, WE WILL SHOW THAT FOR CONTEXT IN FUTURE IMAGES, BUT AS BEST WE CAN TELL TODAY, IT'S ABOUT 25 FEET LOWER THAN, UH, THE COURT ELEVATION THAT YOU SEE IN THIS IMAGE.
THREE D DIAGRAMS GIVE YOU A VIEW FROM THE SORT OF THE NORTH LOOKING WEST WITH THE, UH, CLUBHOUSE HUB IN BETWEEN THE TWO BUBBLES AND THE FABRIC FABRIC FRAME STRUCTURE TO THE WEST, THE NO BUBBLE VIEW.
ANYBODY ON THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY RESIDENT OF THE PUBLIC? WE HEARD, UM, A SIMILAR PRESENTATION A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.
WHAT IS THE ESTIMATED, WHAT IS THE ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION TIME? UH, IF YOU COULD ANSWER WITH THE MIC, PLEASE.
WE THINK THE TOTAL CONSTRUCTION WINDOW WOULD BE ABOUT 12 MONTHS, BUT THE, THERE'S SOME FLEX DEPENDING ON WHEN THE START DATE IS.
THE GOAL WOULD BE TO, THE IDEAL GOAL WOULD BE TO OPEN THIS FACILITY AT EITHER BEGINNING OF A SUMMER OR AN INDOOR SEASON.
UM, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, I I CAN'T, I DON'T WANNA SPECULATE AT THIS POINT EXACTLY WHAT THE TIMING IS.
THINGS DRAG A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE ALWAYS FIGURE OUT OBVIOUSLY HOW TO, UH, HOW TO CONTEXTUALIZE THE CONSTRUCTION WITH THE CON OPERATIONS THAT EXIST TO, TO ENCAPSULATE IT SO WE'RE NOT INTERRUPTING, BUT ALSO SO THAT WE'RE NOT SITTING ON A FACILITY THAT, THAT'S NOT, THAT'S READY TO OPEN, BUT CAN'T REALLY BE OPEN FOR A SEASON.
BECAUSE WHEN WE OPEN IT, OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING FAR DISTANCES TO PLAY MAY WANT TO PLAY CLOSER TO HOME.
IF WE DID THAT IN JANUARY, THEY WOULD'VE ALREADY COMMITTED TO OTHER PLACES.
SO WE HAVE TO BE A LITTLE SMART IN, IN THE PHASING THE PROJECT.
[01:20:01]
UP BEING IT'S, YOU KNOW, A 14 MONTH FROM FIRST SHOVEL IN THE GROUND TO OPENING.IT MAY BE, UH, MAY BE 12 MONTHS, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY THE ABSOLUTE RANGE WOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE 12 TO 18 MONTHS.
I THINK I, MY, I THINK 14 MONTHS IS A REALISTIC TIMEFRAME FOR THE START TO FINISH PROJECT.
SO YOU'RE THINKING 2024? UH, IT DEPENDS WHEN WE, IT DEPENDS WHEN THE, WHEN THE LEGISLATION PASSES AND RIGHT, BUT I'M, THE THOUGHT IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO START AS MUCH PRE-CONSTRUCTION AS SOON AS WE GET THROUGH THIS PART OF THE PROCESS.
WE NEED TO SIGN LEASES AND WHATEVER PROCESS YOU GUYS NEED TO BE READY TO DO THAT.
THE DOCUMENTS WE THINK ARE, ARE READY FOR BOTH SIDES.
WE, WE, WE THINK THEY DO, THEY'RE WELL-CRAFTED.
SO AS SOON AS WE DO THAT, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TRY TO DO AS MUCH OF THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION AS, UM, SENSIBLE UN UNTIL WE'RE WAITING FOR THE LAW TO BE MODIFIED.
BUT I THINK 2025 IS MORE REALISTIC.
YOU WERE TOLD THAT THE LEGISLATION SHOULD BE APPROVED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
HOPEFULLY IN JANUARY THE GOVERNOR STILL HAS TO SIGN IT THOUGH.
SO IF WE, IF WE WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY AT SOME POINT THERE'S GONNA BE A PLANNING PROCESS.
UM, AND YOU'LL, YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE PROBABLY THE LEAD AGENCY, BUT WE DON'T KNOW YET HOW MUCH ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW AND NEGOTIATION THERE'LL BE, WE ALWAYS DO WHATEVER PROCESS WE HAVE TO DO TO MAKE IT, TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY.
SO I I I MEAN I, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, WE CAN, WE WOULD'VE TO GET A CALENDAR OUT, I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THIS FOR A FEW MINUTES, BUT IF WE COULD SOMEHOW BREAK GROUND IN THE SPRING OF, OF 24, YOU KNOW, COULD WE BE OPEN IN THE FALL OF 25? MAYBE, MAYBE MORE LIKE MID, MID.
WHAT WE'D LIKE TO AVOID IS A MID-WINTER OPENING, BUT WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO.
DO YOU ENVISION ANY VARIANCES? I WOULD HAVE NO WAY TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
PARK, THERE'S A LOT OF PARKING AND UH, OBVIOUSLY THE SETBACKS ARE GOOD THAT WE'RE AGAINST THE PARKWAY IN A MUNICIPAL FACILITY, USUALLY VARIANCES RELATE TO EITHER USE OR PARKING.
AND I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THERE WOULD BE ANY EITHER OF THOSE HERE.
WELL, THERE MAY BE HYPE, BUT IF THEY'RE, UH, MY SUGGESTION IS STARTING SOONER IS BETTER THAN STARTING LEADER.
IF YOU WANT TO DO 2025, THAT'S OUR PLAN.
CAN I JUST YEAH, AS FAR AS, UH, VARIANCES ARE CONCERNED, LIKE AT UH, EAST BROOK PARK WHEN WE BUILT THAT, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP HEIGHT OF OUR, UH, OUTDOOR BASEBALL FIELDS, THAT'S AT 70 FEET.
THE HIGHEST THIS WILL BE, I THINK IS 42 FEET.
SO I THINK THERE'S BEEN PRECEDENT IN THE PAST OF THE HEIGHTS WITHIN BUILDING THE PARKLANDS.
WE WILL WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH, UH, CHARACTER KANE'S OFFICE AND THE PLANNING BOARD AND WHATEVER WE HAVE TO DO, WE WILL.
BUT THERE HAS BEEN SOME PAST PRECEDENT.
AND IN ALL DUE TO RESPECT TO BOTH THOSE DEPARTMENTS, IT'S THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT THAT DETERMINES WHETHER OR NOT THE VARIANCE IS NECESSARY.
THEN WE'LL WORK OF COURSE WITH THEM WHAT'S IN THE, UH, LEASE AGREEMENT IS THAT WE WILL FILE ALL TOWN PROTOCOLS AND, AND PROCESS.
MY ONLY POINT IS DON'T WAIT AND WAIT AND WAIT AND THINK THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THE SOONER YOU CAN START NOW IF YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR, DID I HEAR YOU SAY THAT YOU, YOU HAD TO WAIT FOR THE PICKLEBALL LEGISLATION TO GET PASSED BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY ACT? WELL, I, I, NO, I THINK THAT, I THINK THAT BEN MAY WANT TO HELP ME.
I THINK THE PLAN IS TO SIGN THE LEASES AS SOON AS WE'RE ABLE AND TO START THE DUE DILIGENCE AND, UH, ZONING AND PLANNING.
UM, WE OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD WANT THE LEGISLATION TO PASS BEFORE WE START INVESTING.
IT'S THE PROJECT HAS TO CHANGE.
IF THE LEGISLATION ISN'T PASSED AND WE, TO BE HONEST, WE WOULD'VE TO REEVALUATE THE PROJECT.
UM, BUT I, WE DON'T EXPECT THOSE, YOU KNOW, WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO MOVE AHEAD IN A, IN A WORKMAN-LIKE MANNER.
IF THE LEGISLATION PASSED THIS SESSION, WOULD THAT HAVE SPED UP YOUR OPENING DATE? YES, I BELIEVE SO.
BY, BY BY SOME PORTION OF THE TIME THAT WE'RE GONNA WAIT FOR IT TO PASS.
'CAUSE SOME THINGS PROBABLY CAN'T HAPPEN UNTIL IT'S PASSED.
COULD YOU HAVE THEN OPENED IN THE END OF 2023? THE PLAN WAS 24.
THE PLAN WAS TO OPEN IN, THE PLAN WAS TO OPEN IN THE FALL OF 24.
THAT WAS THE PROJECT TIMELINE AND NOW IT'S GONNA BE PROBABLY 2025 PROBABLY.
SO ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO COMMENT ON THIS? FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO SPEAK, THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED, UM, AS PUBLIC COMMENT.
SO EVERYONE WILL BE GIVEN FIVE MINUTES.
AND IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS,
[01:25:02]
UH, THIS SECTION OF THE MEETING CALLED THE PUBLIC DISCUSSION, PLEASE COME AND SIGN UP.BUT WE HAVE SOMEBODY I JUST WANNA MENTION, IF SOMEBODY SPEAKS ON THIS, THEY STILL COULD SPEAK ON PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT OTHER THINGS.
LATER SPEAK ON PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
YOU MAY ALSO SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMENT.
SO THE FIRST PERSON WHO HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THE PUB DURING THIS SEC SEGMENT OF THE MEETING PUBLIC DISCUSSION IS HOW SAMS ASSUME WE UNDERSTAND GIVEN THE PRESENTERS OVER A HALF HOUR RECORDING IN PROGRESS, FIVE MINUTES.
IS THAT CORRECT? YES, THAT IS CORRECT.
SO MAYBE I'LL ASK QUESTIONS THAT THEY'LL BE SO EAGER TO ANSWER AND GET OFF THE BOARD.
THEY'LL ASK ME TO CONTINUE AND PERSUADE YOU OTHERWISE.
NOW IT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I CAN'T QUARREL WITH THAT.
AND UH, WHATEVER FACILITY THEY BUILD, I'M NOT GONNA QUARREL WITH THAT.
I'M NOT INTERESTED IN THE HEIGHT OF THE FACILITY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN DUE DILIGENCE QUESTIONS THAT I DON'T BELIEVE THE TOWN BOARD HAS ADDRESSED.
FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD LIKE THEM TO EXPLAIN WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN MAAC IN DECEMBER, 2019, WHICH ENDED IN A DECISION THAT THEY AGREED TO.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT IF SUCH A FACILITY EXISTED IN GREENBURG, BUT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, WHICH THEY EITHER OWNED OR RENTED, THERE WOULD BE TAXES PAID TO THE TOWN.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE REVENUE FROM A LEASE, WE HAVE NOTHING TO COMPARE IT AGAINST AS THOUGH THEY WERE PAYING TAXES FOR THEM.
IT'S ALSO A GOOD DEAL BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY TAXES, WHICH IS WHY THEY'VE LINKED THEMSELVES TO MUNICIPALITIES.
WHY ARE THE RENT SECURITY DEPOSITS IN THE LEASE SO LOW RELATIVE TO THE RENT? NOW I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO POINT OUT EVERY PAGE AND TO REFERENCE THESE, BUT YOU DO AND YOU HAVE THE LEASE RENT.
STEP-UPS ANNUALLY PAY INCREASE BY 5%, BUT SPORTS TIME IS ALLOWED UNDER THE LEASE TO RAISE FEES BY 10%.
AND IF THEY WANT TO RAISE THEM ABOVE THAT AMOUNT, THEY HAVE TO SEEK YOUR PERMISSION, WHICH I'M SURE YOU'LL BE GRANTED IF TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL ARE NOW IN BOOM TIMES LIKE GOLF ONCE WASN'T BOOM TIMES.
WHY IS THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT WALKING AWAY FROM TENNIS AND SETTING FIVE COURTS TO OUTSIDERS TO OPERATE? THIS IS THE TIME THAT PARKS AND REC, WHICH WOULD CHARGE RESIDENTS AND NON-RESIDENTS MUCH LOWER FEES THAN THEY WILL BE CHARGING.
WHY ARE THEY ABANDONING THE RESIDENTS WHO ALREADY PAID TAXES TO GREENBURG TO SUPPORT SUCH ENTITIES AS THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT? WHAT IS MEANT BY RENT GUARANTEED BY THE LEASE? WELL, I HAVE A COPY OF THE LEASE NOW.
I'M NOT GUARANTEEING ANY LEASE.
SO WHO ACTUALLY IS GUARANTEEING THE LEASE? IT'S NOT SPECIFIED WHO THE GUARANTOR IS.
THEY SAY THEY GET THEIR FINANCING SOLELY FROM GOLDMAN SACHS, WHICH IS A LARGE FIRM, BUT ARE THEY GUARANTEEING THE LEASE PAYMENTS OVER 30 YEARS OF THE LEASE? I THINK THINK YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO'S ACTUALLY GONNA MAKE THESE PAYMENTS IF THEY DEFAULT.
WE RECENTLY EXPERIENCED COVID THAT WASN'T SUCH A GOOD TIME TO BE PLAYING TENNIS, WAS IT? THERE ARE UNFORESEEN AND SITUATIONS WHICH MAY COME UP, WHICH MAY AFFECT THEIR ABILITY TO COLLECT RENT OR FOR US TO COLLECT RENT AND THEM TO COLLECT PEOPLE TO PLAY TENNIS.
I THINK WE NEED SOME PROTECTION THERE.
SO WE HAVE RENEWAL OPTIONS AFTER THE 15 FIRST 15 YEARS OF THREE FIVE YEAR TERMS TOTALS, 30 YEARS.
DOES THE TOWN HAVE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO CANCEL THE LEASE JUST BECAUSE IT WANTS TO, NOT FOR A SPECIFIC COURSE.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO EXERCISE THE OPTIONS.
WHAT DOES THE TOWN HAVE OF IN ITS FAVOR? EXCLUSIVE LICENSE.
[01:30:01]
PAGE EIGHT OF THE OUTDOOR LEASE, WHICH BASICALLY SAYS THAT THE LEASE DOESN'TAND OF COURSE YOU HAVE BROOK QUITE NEAR TWO COURTS THERE.
IS IT STILL UNDER LEASE TO A PRIVATE ENTITY? AND OF COURSE YOU HAVE A CONCESSION STAND RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO WHERE THEY WANT TO BILL, WHICH HAS A LEASE.
AND THE TOWN STILL HAS NINE COURTS OF WHICH IT CONDUCTS TENNIS PROGRAMS. RENTS THEM FOR TENNIS PLAY AS DOES THE UH, THEODORE YOUNG COMMUNITY CENTER.
IS THAT COMPETITION OR NOT? WHY IS THAT IN THE LEASE? WHEN IN FACT WILL THE FIRST LEASE PAYMENTS BE MADE? YOU'VE ALREADY JUST DISCUSSED WHEN THEY WILL TAKE FULL FORCE AND EFFECT TO OPEN WHAT THEY'LL BE TALKING AND WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO THOSE SEVEN COURTS IN THE INTERIM.
NOW OF COURSE I HAVE MORE THINGS, BUT FIVE MINUTES.
I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED SPORT TIME PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GREENBERG'S PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AS THE SELF-DECLARED BEST TENNIS PLAYER ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD,
SPORT TIME WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE OF THEIR VAST EXPERIENCE IN TENNIS FACILITIES, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND CAPITAL SUFFICIENCY, ALL OF WHICH MAKES THEM AN IDEAL COMPANY TO PARTNER WITH.
SPORT TIME WILL BRING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CAPITAL INVESTMENT INTO THE PARK ALONG WITH A RECURRING REVENUE STREAM.
THAT REVENUE STREAM WILL BE SPECIFICALLY ALLOCATED TO IMPROVE AND HELP THE TOWN PARKS THAT REVENUE CAN HELP CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS NOT JUST ANTHONY VETERAN PARK, BUT ALL PARKS IN THE PARK TOWN SYSTEM AND PROVIDES INCREASED ACCESS DURING THE WINTER MONTHS.
FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO PLAY TENNIS, YES, I KNOW JERRY HATES THIS WORD, BUT WE ARE CANNIBALIZING SEVEN OF THE 19 COURTS.
AS THEY SAY, NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE.
HOWEVER, I BELIEVE AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, THIS IS A DECISION WE HAVE TO MAKE.
I HAVE SPENT MANY A WEEKEND AT THE INTERACTIVE POOL, WHICH ABUTS THE TENNIS COURTS AND I CAN'T RECALL EVEN A SINGLE INSTANCE WHERE THE COURTS WERE NEAR FULL.
I'M SURE SPORADICALLY THAT HAS OCCURRED IN SOME POINT IN GREENBURG HISTORY, BUT NOT FREQUENT ENOUGH TO PASS UP THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CAPITAL INVESTMENT.
YOU'LL STILL HAVE 12 OPEN TENNIS COURTS, ONE OF, IF NOT THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF PUBLISHED TENNIS COURTS IN THE AREA.
TOWN RESIDENTS WILL ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO SPORT TIME COURTS WERE NOT IN USE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS.
SO AS PART OF THE GREENBERG REC PARK AND REC ADVISORY BOARD, I'VE ALREADY, UH, VOTED TO SUPPORT THIS PROPOSAL AND I'VE ALSO SHARED SOME COMMENTS WITH THE TOWN BOARD AND DIRECTOR BY REGARDING THE LEASE AGREEMENT.
BUT I'D LIKE TO REITERATE SOME OF THEM NOW DURING THE PUBLIC CONVERSATION.
UH, THESE ARE COMMENTS ON THE LEASE AGREEMENT WITH THIS FOUR TIME, UH, POINT C THREE LEASE FEES.
SECTION C, THIS SECTION PRESCRIBED THE DATE BY WHICH LEASE PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE.
DOES IT NOT DESCRIBE ANY PENALTY FOR LATE PAYMENTS? I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME SPECIFIC TERMS AS TO SOME KIND OF PENALTY FOR A LATE PAYMENT.
OTHERWISE, WE HAVE NO WAY OF ENFORCING TIMELY PAYMENT OTHER THAN LITIGATION, WHICH IS EXPENSIVE AND CO COST.
SO SOME PENALTY OR WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF PAYMENTS ARE LATE SHOULD BE SPECIFIED.
I'D ALSO LIKE THE TOWN BOARD AND THE TOWN ATTORNEY TO CONSIDER POINT 10 BOOKS AND RECORDS.
IT SAYS THE TOWN SHALL MAKE BEST EFFORTS TO KEEP ALL INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL AND SHALL NOT DISCLOSE SAME TO THIRD PARTIES OTHER THAN AS REQUIRED BY LAW.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHETHER THAT MEANS THAT IF SOMEONE WANTS TO FOIA REQUEST THE MATERIALS PROVIDED SO AS TO AUDIT THE RECORDS TO ENSURE THE TOWN IS NOT BEING SHORTED OR THE PROPER PAYMENTS ARE BEING MADE, THAT THIS MATERIAL IS EITHER EXEMPT FROM FOIA OR INCLUDED.
AND FINALLY, AND PROBABLY MOST IMPORTANTLY, POINT 25 SPECIAL EVENTS.
THIS SECTION ONLY DISCUSSES THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE TOWN REGARDING SPECIAL EVENTS FOR SPORT TIME.
WHY IS THERE NO SUCH PROVISION FOR SPORT TIME? SAY THEY WANNA SCHEDULE A BIG TENNIS TOURNAMENT ON THE SAME DAY AS GREENBERG DAY OR A BUSY SATURDAY IN THE POOL.
WELL, THAT PARKING LOT IS ALREADY QUITE FULL FROM, UH, POOL PEOPLE.
UH, WE COULD HAVE A PARKING SITUATION OR SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY ISSUE IF THEY WISH TO SCHEDULE LARGE EVENTS DURING BUSY TIMES.
AND WE HAVE NO ADVANCED WARNING OR ABILITY TO REGULATE THAT.
IF THEY'RE ASKING FOR IT, WE SHOULD BE ASKING FOR IT TOO.
WE SHOULD BE REQUIRING NOTICE IN ADVANCE AT THE MINIMUM AND PERHAPS A PROVISION FOR A SPECIAL PERMIT SHOULD THE TENNIS FACILITY WANT TO HOLD A MAJOR EVENT.
AGAIN, I FULLY SUPPORT THIS PROPOSAL AND LOOK FORWARD FOR THE WORK TO COME.
I THINK THERE'S SOME IRONING OUT OF SOME SPECIFIC DETAILS IN THE LEASE AGREEMENT THAT WOULD MAKE THIS, UH, AN EVEN BETTER WIN-WIN.
BUT LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, SEEING THIS FACILITY COME TO PHYSICIAN AND, UH, CHALLENGING DAIRY 2 1 0 1 MATCH
AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO RECORD THAT? I'M VERY GLAD
AND I HOPE YOU'LL SEND THAT TO HER BECAUSE DO YOU REMEMBER, YOU WERE GOING SO FAST.
YOU HAD, YOU'D ONLY, YOU STILL HAD A MILLION A MINUTE, 47 MORE ATTENTION,
ARE YOU OPEN TO, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING SOME OF
[01:35:01]
THE SUGGESTIONS THAT MR. ZINGER HAD? YEAH, I'M JUST ASKING IF YOU KNOW SOME OF THE SUGGESTIONS MR. ZINGER HAD.YOU KNOW, ARE YOU OPEN TO THOSE? I WAS GONNA SAY, I MEAN, I I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PROCESS ALWAYS OF HAVING CITIZENS SPEAK.
AND I, I THINK THE FEEDBACK IS INVALUABLE AND I SUPPORT EVERYBODY'S RIGHT TO THEIR OPINION.
I, I, THE, THE, THE MOST, THOSE SUGGESTIONS IN THE, BY THE LAST PRESENTER I THINK ARE ALL SENSIBLE.
I, I I, I WANT TO LOOK AT THAT SECTION ABOUT THE EVENTS.
'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT SECTION WAS TO DO JUST WHAT THE PRESENTER SUGGESTED, BUT IF IT DOESN'T DO THAT, WE'RE VERY MUCH OPEN TO IT.
THERE SHOULD NEVER BE A SITUATION WHERE EITHER WE CAN'T HAVE CONSIDERATION TO HAVE AN EVENT OR WE HAVE AN EVENT THAT SOMEHOW CREATES A PROBLEM OR, OR BLOCKS A, A NORMAL USE OF THE PARK.
WE, WE, WE WANT TO BE A GOOD PARTNER IN EVERY WAY.
UM, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PLAY HIM? I I, NOT ONLY WOULD I BE WILLING, I WOULD HAVE SOME LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE THAT IT WOULD AT LEAST BE A CLOSE MATCH
BUT WE, BUT WE SHOULD PLAY IT PRETTY SOON.
'CAUSE IF THINGS ARE NOT, I, I'M NOT GETTING YOUNGER APPARENTLY, APPARENTLY, BUT WE DEFINITELY WANT RING SIZE SEATS.
A ONE-ON-ONE TENNIS MATCH I THINK WE CALL SINGLES.
AND THAT'S, IT'S A LOT OF COURT TO COVER, BUT WE'LL GET, WE'LL GET IT DONE
UM, BUT THAT COULD FILL THE PARKING LOT.
YEAH, I WOULD JUST MAKE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS ABOUT THE EARLIER COMMENTS.
UH, I, WITHOUT GETTING, THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM, SO I DON'T WANT TO GET IN THE WEEDS HERE, AND I'M NOT HERE TO DEBATE A, A CITIZEN.
BUT, UM, THE, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE MUNICIPALITY, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THE MUNICIPALITY HAS DONE ITS DUE DILIGENCE, RIGHT? WE'VE SUBMITTED AUDIT, WE HAVE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
WE, AND WE, THEY'RE AUDITED EVERY YEAR.
AND OUR OBLIGATION IN THE LEASES IS TO SUBMIT THEM EVERY YEAR IN AN AUDITED FORMAT.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO VACATE THE, OUR, THE ENTITY OF VALUE OR SOMEHOW HIDE.
LIKE THAT'S WHY A COMPANY OUR SIZE WOULD BE CHOSEN.
UM, WE HAVE, AS I SAID, WE HAVE A BALANCE SHEET AND THE, THE GUARANTOR OF, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION DIRECTLY, THE GUARANTOR OF THESE LEASES IS THE LESS C AND THE LESS C WILL BE FOUR TIME CLUBS, L L C AND SPORTS TIME CLUBS.
L L C IS WHICH FINANCIAL STATEMENTS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED AS PART OF THE PROCESS IS THE ENTITY THAT OWNS AND OPERATES THE MILLION SQUARE FEET OF INDOOR SPACE, THE A HUNDRED ACRES OF PROPERTY.
SO IT'S NOT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A KNOWN, IT'S PART OF THE LEGAL AGREEMENT.
UM, WHEN WE, SO IF IT'S, IF IT'S NOT AS CLEAR AS IT MIGHT BE ACCORDING TO OUR TOWN ATTORNEY, UH, YOU HAVE NO OBJECTION TO PUTTING WHO IS ACTUALLY GUARANTEED THE LIST.
YEAH, IT SAYS THAT, I MEAN IT'S, I I'M, IT SAYS IT.
I I'VE BEEN TAKING NOTES FOR, FOR BOTH SPEAKERS SO FAR, AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO AND FOLLOW UP WITH THEIR LEGAL COUNSEL AND THEIR, WE HAVEN'T SIGNED, SO ANY, ANY ADJUSTMENTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE IN EITHER SIDE, WE'RE OPEN TO.
UM, THE, UH, I WANTED TO MAKE ONE MORE POINT ABOUT THAT, THOUGH.
THE, THE SCENARIOS IN WHICH SOMEHOW THE CAREFULLY RESEARCHED GOOD GUYS BECOME BAD GUYS I THINK ARE SORT OF IMAGINE, SO WE BUILD A $12 MILLION FACILITY.
YOU WANT US TO RUN IT BECAUSE I'M TELL 'CAUSE MANY MUNICIPALITIES HAVE TRIED TO DO THIS ON THEIR OWN.
AND I'M TELLING YOU AS IT, IT, IT MAY NOT BE A FACT, BUT IT IS ALMOST A FACT THAT YOU WILL GET MORE LICENSE FEES AND HAVE HAPPIER CITIZENS HAVING A PROFESSIONAL OPERATOR RUN IT THAN TRYING TO RUN SOMETHING LIKE THIS ON YOUR OWN.
IT'S JUST A COMPLICATED BUSINESS THAT TAKES DECADES TO LEARN HOW TO RUN.
RIGHT? IT'S NOT THAT EASY TO BE PROFITABLE AND WE'RE PAYING YOU 10% OF REVENUES.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE MAKE MONEY OR NOT.
WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BE PROFITABLE IF WE'RE NOT PROFITABLE.
AND WE'VE HAD LICENSES WHERE THERE WERE YEARS THAT WE WEREN'T PROFITABLE, WE STILL PAY THE LICENSE FEES.
WE'VE NEVER MADE A LATE PAYMENT ON ANY CONTRACT SINCE 1994.
BUT LET'S IMAGINE THAT IMAGINARY SCENARIO.
WE BUILD YOU A $12 MILLION FACILITY AND SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH US, WE DISAPPOINT YOU OR OURSELVES.
THE WORLD CHANGES IN SOME WAY.
WE DEFAULT YOU OWN THE FACILITY ON DAY ONE, WE'VE PAID FOR IT, IT'S YOURS.
YOU CAN SIGN UP ANOTHER OPERATOR, YOU CAN RUN IT YOURSELF AND KEEP ALL THE MONEY IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW HOW YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.
THAT THE, THE, THE SECURITY PAYMENT IS $12 MILLION ON ESTIMATED LICENSE FEES OF $200,000 A YEAR, PLUS THERE'S A SECURITY PAYMENT.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS AS PEOPLE SAY, THE DETAILS ARE PRETTY GOOD IN THE FAVOR OF THE MUNICIPALITY AND WE HAVE A TRACK RECORD.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S PROBABLY THE, THE, THE, THE, THE MOST SALIENT POINT TO WHICH I WANTED TO RESPOND.
BUT WHAT HAPPENED IN 1994 THAT YOU MADE A LATE PAYMENT? YOU SAID YOU HAVEN'T MADE A LATE PAYMENT.
SO YOU'D NEVER HAD A LATE PAYMENT.
THE COMPANY, YOU HAVEN'T HAD A LATE PAYMENT
[01:40:01]
SINCE 1994? WELL, THAT WAS AUGUST 22ND, 1994 WAS THE BIRTH OF THE COMPANY.AND SINCE THEN, WE'VE PAID ALL OUR BILLS ON TIME RIGHT BEFORE THAT WE DIDN'T EXIST.
WE'VE NEVER HAD A LATE PAYMENT AS OPPOSED TO, WE'VE NEVER HAD A LATE PAYMENT SINCE 1994.
FIRSTLY, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMMISSIONER FOR ALL THE TIME AND BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS YOU PUT INTO THIS PROJECT OVER ALL THE YEARS.
AND YOU WERE, YOU WERE AT THE BEGINNING, RIGHT? YEAH.
EVERYONE IN THE TOWN SHOULD ACKNOW.
IF YOU DON'T MIND, COULD YOU SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE? YEAH, EVERYONE SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
SO, UM, I'M HERE REPRESENTING THE RESIDENTS, TAXPAYERS AND TENNIS COMMUNITY OF THE TOWN.
IN SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSAL BEFORE YOU WITH SOME RESERVATIONS, I'VE BEEN A PRATT RESIDENT OF THE NINTH RANKED TOWN OF GREENBURG, OFF AND ON FOR 65 YEARS.
BEEN A SEASONAL PERMIT HOLDER OR GUEST AT A F V SINCE ITS ACQUISITION BY THE TOWN 49 YEARS AGO.
I WON'T GO OVER THE BENEFITS TO THE TOWN FLOWING FROM THIS PROPOSAL AS THEY ARE TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION HERE TONIGHT.
UH, THE TWO BASIC RESERVATIONS THAT I URGE YOU TO ADDRESS ARE AS FOLLOWS, WHERE HAS THE TOWN ELECTED TO RE RELOCATE THE EXISTING HANDBALL AND PADDLE BALL COURTS? THERE ARE FOUR OF THEM, IN CASE YOU'RE NOT AWARE OF THAT.
THEY WEREN'T ON THE, UH, ARCHITECT'S DRAWING.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S NOT BEEN ANSWERED.
UH, WE COULD LIKELY LIVE WITH THREE NEWLY REBUILT ONES AND DO NOT NEED TO REPLACE ALL FOUR.
SECONDLY, MEMBERSHIP T MEMBERSHIP FEES FOR THE TOWN RESIDENTS AND MEMBERSHIP FEES FOR ACTIVE A F E SEASONAL TENNIS OR PICKLEBALL PERMIT HOLDERS.
I'M ASKING THE BOARD TO ENDORSE THE PROPOSAL OF A 10% DISCOUNT IN FEES FOR RESIDENTS, BUT ALSO REQUIREMENT FOR THE APPLICANT TO OFFER A 40% DISCOUNT TO ACTIVE A F E SEASONAL TENNIS OR PICKLEBALL PERMIT HOLDERS.
I HAVE ALSO, I ALSO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COURT MATERIALS THE APPLICANT IS PLANNING TO USE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW COURTS.
THESE ARE TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS THAT I WILL BRING BEFORE THE PLANNING BOARD AND WITH THE APPLICANT WHEN THE APPROPRIATE TIME COMES.
UM, LASTLY, THE HARD TRUE COURTS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED TYPICALLY USE A LOT OF WATER ONLY A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OR A CAR WASH USES MORE IN MY ESTIMATION.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE WILL BE DEDICATED SUPPLY PIPING AND SEPARATE METERING REQUIRED AS PART OF THIS APPLICATION.
I AM MERGING THE, THE BOARD TO PLACE THIS PROPOSAL BEFORE VOTE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
THE RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN WAITING 18 YEARS TO SEE SOMETHING HAPPEN, SO PLEASE, LET'S GET AFTER IT.
WELL, WHY DON'T YOU ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS? I JUST, I JUST, OH, OKAY.
I JUST WANT TO ANSWER TWO QUESTIONS THAT HE RAISED THAT ARE BOTH MATERIAL.
SO THE, THE, THE, THE SPEAKER'S CORRECT THAT SOFT COURTS OF ANY TYPE, THIS PARTICULAR CORD IS A MANUFACTURED CRUSHED STONE CALLED HART.
IT'S BASICALLY A, A, A, A BASE SALT ROCK.
IT, IT'S GOOD FOR THE, IT'S IT'S CLEAN.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NON-TOXIC AND IT WORKS VERY WELL AS A TENNIS SURFACE.
IT'S BEEN USED IN THIS COUNTRY SINCE THE LATE FIFTIES, ALTHOUGH UNDER DIFFERENT TRADE NAMES.
IT, IT DOES TAKE A LOT OF WATER TO MAINTAIN IT IN A PLAYABLE CONDITION.
IF YOU WATER IT FROM ABOVE, IF YOU SPRAY WATER ON IT, IT CAN TAKE MILLIONS OF GALLONS A YEAR, IN FACT IN A LARGE FACILITY.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO BUILD HERE.
WE'RE PLANNING TO BUILD THE NEWER TECHNOLOGY, UH, HARD TRUE COURTS THAT ARE CALLED SUB IRRIGATED COURTS.
NOW, THE BRAND NAME OF THOSE IS CALLED HIQ COURTS.
AND THE, THESE ARE HARD, THESE ARE THE, THESE ARE THE TYPE OF SOFT SURFACE COURTS THAT MAINTAIN THEIR HYDRATION BEST WITH THE ABSOLUTE LEAST WATER USE.
THEY'RE MANDATED IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES BY LAW IN CERTAIN PLACES IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES AND IN OTHER RESORT COMMUNITIES WHERE THERE'S WATER, UH, SAVING STATUTES.
[01:45:01]
UH, VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER.'CAUSE THEY ESSENTIALLY FLOAT ON AN AQUIFER THAT'S UNDER A GEOTEXTILE LAYER AND THE WATER JUST COMES UP INTO THE COURT FROM UNDERNEATH RATHER THAN BEING SPRAYED ON TOP.
A LOT OF THE WATER IN THOSE CASES SURFACE DRAINS AND EVAPORATES, AND YOU'RE CONSTANTLY BATTLING TO KEEP THE COURTS WET ON TOP.
AND YOU ALSO HAVE TO USE CHEMICALS LIKE CALCIUM CHLORIDE, WATER RETENTION CHEMICALS.
I KNOW ALL THIS 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 35 YEARS, BUT NOW WE HAVE THIS WONDERFUL, IF VERY EXPENSIVE TECHNOLOGY CALLED SUB IRRIGATION.
WE JUST BUILT SEVEN OF THESE COURTS IN NEW YORK CITY TO REPLACE CONVENTIONALLY IRRIGATED COURTS.
AND THEY'RE WORKING BRILLIANTLY.
SO WE'RE THAT'S IN THE PROJECT.
SO, AND WE CAN GET YOU THE SPECS, BUT IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT TECHNOLOGY.
'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE 'EM OUTTA SERVICE FOR TWO HOURS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY TO WATER 'EM.
THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE AND THEY, AND THEY'RE LESS SLIPPERY.
IT'S JUST A, IT'S A GREAT THING OTHER THAN THE COST.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION, UH, WELL, WHILE YOU'RE WAITING FOR THE THINKING OF THE OTHER QUESTION.
I THINK THE MAIN POINT WAS IS ARE UTILITIES SEPARATELY METERED? WE'LL BE, YEAH.
UM, UH, YOU MENTIONED YOU NEVER MISSED A LATE PAYMENT.
UM, DID YOU EVER, UH, YOU, ONE THING THAT I, YOU KNOW, WAS EXCITED ABOUT WAS, UH, ALL THE, DO YOU KNOW THE, UH, INITIATIVES, UH, THE SCHOLARSHIPS AND THE PROGRAMS THAT WILL BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SERVE? HAVE YOU EVER, UM, YOU KNOW, NEGLECTED TO KEEP ANY OF THE PROMISES YOU MADE RELATING TO, UM, UH, THE DONATIONS AND THE SCHOLARSHIPS? NO, WE'VE, WE, I MEAN, TO BE HONEST, WE, WE TRY TO NEGOTIATE AGREEMENTS WITH SOME BEST EFFORTS LANGUAGE.
AND WE'LL DO THE SAME THING HERE IF WE CAN.
ONLY BECAUSE EVERYTHING'S NOT UNDER OUR CONTROL.
FOR INSTANCE, DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE, WE HAD, WE HAD ABOUT 800 KIDS COMING EVERY WEEK TO RANDALL'S ISLAND FROM SCHOOLS IN, UH, EAST HARLEM, IN THE SOUTH BRONX.
AS PART OF OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH THERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THIS VERY GRAND CLUB PATRONIZED MOSTLY BY VERY WEALTHY PEOPLE, BUT LOCATED NEXT TO THE POOREST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTRY.
AND WE FOUNDED THIS CHARITY IN 2012 WITH JOHN MCENROE CALLED THE JOHNNY MC TENNIS PROJECT.
'CAUSE JOHN IN SPORTS ARM AGREED THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE AN ACADEMY IN A CLUB PATRONIZED TO, TO BE A LITTLE VULGAR BY JUST RICH WHITE FOLK.
WE WANTED THE CLUB TO REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF NEW YORK CITY AND OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THE COACHES WHO COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND EVEN OF MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND JOHN'S OF BEING MIDDLE CLASS KIDS WHO WANTED TO PLAY.
SO WE RAISED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR TO DO IT, BOTH BY BRINGING SCHOOLS IN EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR FROM UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES AND GIVING THEM THE CHANCE TO LOVE, FALL IN LOVE WITH TENNIS AND THEN THROUGH THE SCHOLARSHIPS.
BUT DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE COULDN'T DO IT.
THE BUS, NO, NOBODY WOULD COME, RIGHT? THE BUSES COULDN'T RUN, KIDS COULDN'T BE IN ENCLOSED.
SO, SO WE FAILED FOR THAT BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME.
BUT NOW WE HAVE 2,400 KIDS A WEEK, TWO YEARS AFTER THE PANDEMIC.
SO IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, WE'VE NOT FAILED.
UH, I, I REMEMBERED WHAT THE OTHER THING WAS.
UM, WE, WE CAN LOOK AT ANYTHING IF WE HOPE A LOT OF THE PLAYERS USE THE FACILITY WILL BE RESIDENTS OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREA AND PERMIT HOLDERS.
IF THAT'S, IT'S CERTAINLY A, A, A MEANINGFUL PERCENTAGE IN MAAC.
I THINK AS MANY AS 30 OR 40% OF THE PLAYERS OR VILLAGE RESIDENTS IN EAST CHESTER, A LARGE PERCENTAGE, IF WE GAVE A DISCOUNT OF 40% TO THAT, TO THOSE FOLKS, WE JUST WOULDN'T HAVE A BUSINESS TO RUN.
IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST TOO MUCH.
UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT A HIGH MARGIN BUSINESS.
YOU CAN LOOK AT THE PROFORMA FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING FINE TO MAKE, TAKE A RISK OF THIS SIZE, BUT WE'RE NOT GETTING RICH, SO WE HAVE TO CHARGE A REASONABLE FEE.
ALSO, JUST TO BE CLEAR, THE, THE RESIDENTS OF THE VILLAGE WILL HAVE OTHER A ADVANTAGES, UH, I'M SORRY, OF THE, OF THE, UH, TOWN WILL HAVE OTHER ADVANTAGES LIKE ADVANCED COURT RESERVATION PRIVILEGES AND THAT ABILITY TO USE THE PERMITS WHEN COURTS ARE AVAILABLE.
SO THEY'LL SORT OF HAVE PREMIER ACCESS.
AND IF WE GIVE PREMIER ACCESS AND FOUR TIMES THE DISCOUNT, WE JUST, WE JUST CAN'T DO THE DEAL.
BUT HAVING SAID THAT, HAPPY TO TALK TO EVERYONE ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO CREATE A SPECIAL WELCOME AND, AND A, AN AFFORDABLE PATHWAY FOR RESIDENTS WHO NEED IT.
UH, I THINK OUR GOAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO HELP PEOPLE WHO CAN'T AFFORD IT.
NOT JUST TO HELP PEOPLE BECAUSE OF WHERE THEY LIVE, TO BE HONEST, BECAUSE THAT JUST MAKES IT BETTER TO TARGET IT.
BUT I JUST HAVE ONE OTHER, UH, BRIEF QUESTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A BUBBLE, I THINK, IN MOUNT VERNON, AND THERE WAS A STORM, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY YOU HAVE HURRICANES OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND I THINK IT COLLAPSED, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW WOULD YOU REACT TO PEOPLE YOU
[01:50:01]
KNOW, WHO YOU KNOW ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT? WELL, I, I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT BUBBLES ARE AS STURDY AS BUILDINGS.I CAN ONLY TELL YOU THAT WE HAD, UH, TWO SUCH BUBBLES IN THE VILLAGE OF MA MARINETTE THAT DID COLLAPSE IN SUPERSTORM SANDY.
WE ARE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL INSURED, ALTHOUGH BUBBLES CAN'T BE AS WELL INSURED AS BUILDINGS.
SO WE SELF-INSURE A PORTION OF THAT.
BUT WE WERE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE RE WE WERE REOPENED WITHIN FOUR MONTHS.
AND THAT'S BELOW THE FLOODPLAIN.
UM, I MEAN, BUBBLES ARE GREAT THINGS.
UH, AND WE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE AS MANY BUBBLES AS ANY OPERATOR IN THE COUNTRY.
UH, WE HAVE GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE MANUFACTURERS.
WE HAVE OUR OWN SORT OF BELIEF ABOUT THE BEST INFLATION UNITS AND THE BEST PROTOCOLS IN HIGH WINDS.
AND THERE'S ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT YOU DO.
UH, BUT BASICALLY INSURANCE, BASICALLY THE ANSWER, UH, SUPERVISOR FINER IS RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT ON SITE MANAGEMENT, GOOD INSURANCE, AND A QUICK RESPONSE IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT IS, IT IS, IT IS AS, AS, UH, ONE OF MY PARTNERS USED TO SAY, A FAKE BUILDING.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT BUILT OUTTA CEILING CONCRETE.
DO THE, IS THERE, LIKE, IF THERE'S LIKE A MAJOR, YOU KNOW, STORM OR WHATEVER, DO YOU TAKE, YOU KNOW, DO YOU STILL OPERATE IF THERE'S HIGH WINDS OR DO YOU, YOU KNOW, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE, THE CURRENT, YOU BUILD MASSIVE FOUNDATIONS, UM, CALLED GRADE BEAMS. THEY'RE, I MEAN, THEY'RE LITERALLY MASSIVE.
IF YOU, I'LL TAKE PICTURES AND SHARE THEM.
YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO PUT THAT MUCH CONCRETE AND REBAR IN THE GROUND.
NOW, IN EUROPE, THEY, THEY, THEY, THE, THE, THEY BUILD, IT'S ABOUT A 10% OF THAT.
AND THEY HAVE LIGHTER WEIGHT STRUCTURES.
IT'S JUST, IT'S OUR BUILDING CODE.
IT'S, IT'S GOOD, BUT IT'S A LOT.
AND THEN THE BUBBLE ATTACHES TO THAT CHANNEL BUILDING, UH, TO THAT GRAVE VIEW THROUGH A CHANNEL LOCK, UH, THAT LOCKS IT IN PLACE.
AND THEN THERE ARE HIGH TENSION CABLES THAT ARE CALLED STRESS RELIEF, THAT KEEP THE BUBBLE FROM SWAYING IN THE WIND AND THAT ARE DESIGNED TO KEEP IT STATIONARY IN HIGH WINDS.
AND IN ADDITION, IN HIGH WINDS, YOU PRESSURE, YOU, YOU BRING THE PRESSURE OF THE BUBBLE UP ALMOST TO THE LIMIT OF ITS CAPACITY TO MAINTAIN ITSELF.
SO IT BECOMES, RATHER THAN SOMETHING SEMI RIGID, SOMETHING ALMOST IMPENETRABLE HARD.
AND THAT'S, SO THERE'S MANY, WE DO ALL THOSE THINGS AND WE DO THEM ROUTINELY.
IF THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, A, A CATEGORY X HURRICANE, ANOTHER SUPERSTORM, I CAN'T PROMISE YOU, BUT OUR LAKE ISLE BUBBLES WITHSTOOD IT.
OUR RANDALL ISLAND ISLAND BUBBLES WITHSTOOD THE LAST HURRICANE.
WE'VE HAD GOOD LUCK WITH BUBBLES.
WE LOST TWO IN SUPERSTORM SANDY THAT WERE PART OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WAS BUILT IN 1964.
THOSE BUBBLES WEREN'T ATTACHED TO THE GROUND WITH A MASSIVE FOUNDATION AND A GR AND A CHANNEL LOCK.
THEY WERE ATTACHED TO THE GROUND WITH CABLES THAT ARE RE RE DUG EVERY YEAR.
SO JUST AN OLD TECHNOLOGY, WHICH IS WHY WE LOST THEM.
I THINK WHAT THE SUPERVISOR MIGHT BE, JEREMY, SORRY, COME ON.
CAN CAN YOU ANSWER, UH, TO THE PUBLIC, UH, WHAT IS THE PROTOCOL DURING, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, INCLEMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT WOULD, YOU WOULD SHUT DOWN AT THAT TIME? SO NO ONE'S IN THE BUBBLE.
WHILE I THINK THAT MIGHT'VE BEEN ONE OF THE QUESTIONS.
YEAH, I MEAN, THESE BUBBLES ARE DESIGNED TO BE COMPLETELY SAFE AND NORMAL.
HIGH WIND CONDITIONS, 20 TO 25, 30 MILE AN HOUR GUSTING TO 50 OR 60 IS NOT REALLY AN ISSUE.
UM, IF THE BUBBLE STARTS TO MOVE AROUND, WE SHUT IT DOWN.
IF THERE, OBVIOUSLY IF THERE'S A SEVERE WEATHER ALERT, A HURRICANE, A SUPERSTORM, UH, TORNADO THREATS, WE SHUT IT DOWN.
IT'S JUST, IT'S NOT HAPPEN A LOT.
EVEN WITH THE WEATHER BEING SCARIER THAN IT USED TO BE.
FOR REASONS WE ALL KNOW, WE HAVE NO FURTHER REQUESTS TO SPEAK.
THIS WAS VERY, UH, THIS PUBLIC DISCUSSION INFORMATIVE AND REALLY THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE PRESENTATION.
YEAH, AND I, I JUST WANT TO ADD ONE THING ABOUT THE, UH, DISCUSSION.
UM, WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT, UM, SPORT TIMES PROGRAMS AND THE TOWN PROGRAMS, WE'VE, WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS REALLY HARD.
UH, JANET LEFKOWITZ WAS HERE EARLIER.
SHE WAS OUR TENNIS DIRECTOR, JOEL CASEY.
WELL, JANET HAS REALLY PUT HER HEART AND SOUL INTO THIS COMPLEX.
AND, AND FOR YEARS, WE'VE ALWAYS COME BACK TO THE TOWN BOARD ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO MAINTAIN THIS BEAUTIFUL FACILITY.
AND THE REALITY OF IT IS, IS THAT THE FACILITIES ARE IN DECLINE.
AND WHAT THIS ARRANGEMENT DOES, WHICH IS WHY IT'S A WIN-WIN, IS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE A $12 MILLION INVESTMENT.
TAKE SEVEN COURTS, EXPAND IT TO 10, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SPECIAL, UH, ESCROW FUND WHERE THE MONEY WILL GO IN AND IT GOES BACK INTO THE SYSTEM.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, UH, JOE, LA CASEY, UH, MYSELF AND JANET, OUR FIRST GOAL IS TO PUT ALL THAT INTO OUR TENNIS COURTS HERE AT ANTHONY, AT VETERAN PARK AND THROUGHOUT
[01:55:01]
OUR PARK SYSTEM, AND GET THEM UP TO THE STANDARDS THAT MAKES 'EM REALLY HIGH.AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE PROBABLY THE ONLY MUNICIPALITY THAT IS GOING ON SITE WITH SPORT TIME THAT WILL HAVE A PUBLIC COMPONENT.
IF YOU LOOK AT LAKE ISLE, IF YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, THE VILLAGE MA, EVEN AT RANDALL'S ISLAND, ALL OF THOSE TENNIS COURTS ARE MANAGED AND OPERATED BY SPORT TIME.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE.
'CAUSE WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE AFFORDABLE, UH, TENNIS AT THE REGULAR RATE.
THAT'S, IT'S A WONDER, I THINK IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM, BUT NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE REVENUE COMING IN AND AT THE SAME TIME, WORKING WITH THEM FOR THE ONES THAT CAN'T AFFORD.
'CAUSE THIS IS GONNA BE COMMERCIAL RECREATION RATES, YOU KNOW, THE FAIR MARKET VALUE, MARKET VALUE.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR YOUTH THAT WANT TO AND CAN'T AFFORD IT, THEY'RE GONNA GET, YOU KNOW, TRAINING AND COURT TIME ON IT.
SO I THINK THIS IS A REALLY WIN-WIN.
WE HAVE TO WORK OUT SOME OF THESE KINKS, WHICH I THINK WE'RE JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE COMING TO THE FINISH LINE AND, UH, WE HOPE IN THE NEAR FUTURE THAT WE CAN GET A LEASE AGREEMENT AND THEN MOVE FORWARD.
UM, YEAH, AND I'D JUST LIKE TO ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE JANET LEFKOWITZ FOR ALL HER WORK, UH, UH, LEADING THE EFFORT.
UH, YOU KNOW, GREENBERG, UH, WITHOUT JANET LEFKOW, I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS WHY, UH, WE HAVE A GREAT, UH, TENNIS, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM IS BECAUSE OF HER.
COULD YOU, COULD YOU PLEASE, IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A CONVERSATION, IT'S GOING ON FOR MOST OF THE MEETING, PLEASE TAKE IT OUTSIDE.
RIGHT? SO I JUST WANNA, UH, THANK YOU JANET.
UM, AND, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, LARRY LEITZ WAS ALSO INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING VETERAN PARK, UH, YOU KNOW, BIL.
SO BOTH YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND HAVE DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT.
YOU KNOW, YOU BASICALLY, UH, UM, UH, REALLY, UH, DESERVE THE THANKS AND APPRECIATION OF THE TOWN FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR, UH, FOR RECREATION AND, YOU KNOW, AND FOR TENNIS.
AND, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, FORTUNE MAGAZINE SAID WE WERE THE NINTH BEST, UH, COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES, UH, FOR FAMILIES.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS IS BECAUSE OF RECREATION.
AND I THINK, UH, WITH THIS FACILITY, MAYBE WE WILL GET TO NUMBER EIGHT INSTEAD OF NINE OR MAYBE NUMBER ONE.
I WAS GONNA SAY, BUT THAT'S AFTER, AFTER A COUPLE YEARS AFTER YOU'VE BEEN OPEN FOR A FEW YEARS.
AND JANET'S NOT A POKER PLAYER BECAUSE HER COMMENTS, WHILE SOME PEOPLE WERE SPEAKING, YOU COULD JUST READ THEM ON HER FACE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT SHE AGREED OR DIDN'T AGREE WITH THEM.
OKAY, UM, PAUL, BEFORE MOVING ON TO NEXT, UM, I JUST WANT TO SHARE A, A COMMENT ON YESTERDAY.
WE HAD YESTERDAY, UM, JUNE 27TH WAS PRIMARY DAY IN SOME MUNICIPALITIES IN WESTCHESTER.
UH, WE HAD SEVERAL RESIDENTS TO SHOW UP HERE AT GREENBURG TOWN HALL AND TO THE LIBRARY EXPECTING TO VOTE.
AND I JUST WANTED TO, UM, SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC THAT TOWN OF GREENBURG DID NOT HAVE A PRIMARY.
UH, I SPOKE WITH TEJAN NELSON, WHO IS ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS, UM, AT, UH, FOR THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
AND SHE ASKS THAT I PLEASE SHARE WITH OUR PUBLIC THAT EVERYONE RECEIVES A WHITE CARD IN THE MAIL THAT, UM, PROVIDES THE DATES OF ELECTIONS FOR THE YEAR.
IF YOUR COMMUNITY IS HAVING A PRIMARY, THEN YOU WOULD RECEIVE A CARD OF A DIFFERENT COLOR INDICATING, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRIMARY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, UM, SHARE THAT WITH THE, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, GO ON THE RECORD BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE CALLED ME, CALLED THE CLERK'S OFFICE, OR, UM, SHOWED UP AT THE LIBRARY OR SHOWED UP HERE AT TOWN HALL EXPECTING TO VOTE.
AND ONCE AGAIN, THE TOWN OF GREENBURG DID NOT HAVE A PRIMARY.
HOWEVER, THE TOWN OF GREENBURG WILL PARTICIPATE, AS WILL EVERY COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, UM, IN THE GENERAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 7TH.
SO PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS.
THERE WILL BE A GENERAL ELECTION HERE AT TOWN HALL AND THROUGHOUT THE TOWN OF GREENBURG, UM, ON NOVEMBER 7TH.
UH, SO PUBLIC HEARING, BEFORE YOU DO THAT, I JUST WANT, SINCE
[ SUPERVISOR & TOWN COUNCIL REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS GOOD NEWS...The Town continues (since 2008) to have the highest possible bond rating from Standard & Poors (AAA) and (since 2010) (Aaa) from Moody's. Less than 1% of communities in the nation have this record of financial stability. Recently, on 3/23/2021, Moody's reaffirmed the Town earned Moody's highest rating and, on 03/26/2021, Standard & Poors once again reaffirmed the Town earned Standard & Poors highest rating. Anyone interested in serving on a board or commission should send a resume to the Town Board via Judith A. Beville, Town Clerk, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607 Any individual or group interested in a visit from the Town Board should email the Board at TownBoard@GreenburghNY.com ]
WE'RE DOING ANNOUNCEMENTS, I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THERE'S A BLOOD DRIVE ON FRIDAY, JUNE 30TH, THAT, UH,[02:00:01]
ASSEMBLY MEMBER MARY JANESKY IS PROMOTING.IT'S GONNA BE AT THE, THE LIBRARY, AND, UH, IT'S FROM 1130 TO 3:30 PM A BLOOD DRIVE AT THE LIBRARY.
FRIDAY THE 30TH, JUNE 30TH, TWO DAYS FROM NOW.
UH, WE HAVE, UM, UH, PROPOSED, UM,
[ To consider a local law creating a new chapter in the Code of the Town of Greenburgh entitled "Bamboo"]
A PUBLIC HEARING ON, UM, A LOCAL LAW CREATING A NEW CHAPTER IN THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG ENTITLE.I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE OPEN UP THE HEARING.
UM, COUNCIL, SHE WHO KINDLY FOR BOTH AARON SCHMIDT.
WE HAVE SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK.
IS THERE AN INTRODUCTION OR SHOULD WE JUST MOVE RIGHT TO, UH, CALLING ON THE SPEAKERS? I THOUGHT AARON IS GONNA SPEAK.
ISN'T AARON? SHE SUPPOSED TO SPEAK? AARON'S GONNA SPEAK.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE PROMOTING AARON.
SUPERVISOR FINER AND MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD FOR THE RECORD.
AARON SCHMIDT, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DEPARTMENT OF THE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION.
JUST, UH, EXCUSE ME FOR ONE SECOND BECAUSE MY SPEECH SHOW IS LOST IN SHARE SCREEN
YEAH,
RUNNING BAMBOO CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, POTENTIALLY HARMFUL TO HUMAN HEALTH, DESTRUCTIVE TO STRUCTURES, WALLS, DRIVEWAYS, WALKWAYS, AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS.
ROOTS CAN PUSH THROUGH BRICKWORK, DRAINS, PATIOS, AND EXPLOIT CRACKS OR WEAKNESSES AND CONCRETE.
IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE DRAFT LOCAL LAW, OUR OFFICE RESEARCHED OTHER ORDINANCES IN EFFECT PRIMARILY ON LONG ISLAND, WHERE RUNNING BAMBOO HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR OVER A DECADE NOW, INCLUDING THE TOWNS OF SMITHTOWN, OYSTER BAY, BROOKHAVEN, AND HEMPSTEAD, AS WELL AS THE VILLAGES OF BURG AND THE BRANCH AMONG OTHERS.
THE DRAFT LOCAL LAW PROHIBITS THIS TYPE OF VEGETATION FROM BEING PLANTED INTO THE GROUND AND WITH RESPECT TO EXISTING RUNNING, BAMBOO MAKES IT UNLAWFUL, UNLAWFUL TO PERMIT, CULTIVATE, AND OR ALLOW IT TO BE MAINTAINED IN A MANNER THAT IT MIGRATES ONTO ANY ADJOINING PROPERTY, INCLUDING ANY PUBLIC PROPERTY AND OR ANY TOWN RIGHT OF WAY WITH RESPECT TO CONTROL, WHICH CAN BE DIFFICULT.
THE LOCAL LAW REQUIRES THAT BAMBOO OWNERS TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT RUNNING BAMBOO FROM INVADING OR GROWING ONTO ADJOINING OR NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES, INCLUDING THE TOWN'S RIGHT OF WAY.
WHILE METAL SHEATHING IS LISTED AS AN OPTION, IT ULTIMATELY IS UP TO THE BAMBOO PROPERTY OWNER TO ENSURE THAT OFFSITE INVASION DOES NOT OCCUR.
SHOULD RUNNING BAMBOO BE FOUND TO HAVE MIGRATED ONTO AN ADJACENT PROPERTY, IT WILL BE DEEMED A PUBLIC NUISANCE, AND THE BUILDING INSPECTOR'S OFFICE WILL BE PROVIDED THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE A NOTICE OF VIOLATION, WHICH WILL REQUIRE THE PROPERTY OWNER TO REMOVE SUCH RUNNING BAMBOO WITHIN A 30 DAY PERIOD.
FAILURE TO CURE A VIOLATION WITHIN THE ALLOTTED TIME PERIOD WILL RESULT IN FINES BETWEEN 100 $500 PER OFFENSE.
REPEAT OFFENDERS MAY BE SUBJECT TO FINES UP TO $1,000.
THE DRAFT LOCAL LAW WAS REFERRED TO THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL, WHICH REVIEWED IT DURING ITS TWO MEETINGS THIS MONTH, FOLLOWING HELPFUL RECOMMENDATIONS ISSUED BY THE C A C THAT HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE MOST RECENT DRAFT ON JUNE 26TH, THE C A C ISSUED A POSITIVE RECOMMENDATION TO THE TOWN BOARD ON THE PROPOSED LOCAL LAW TOWN STAFF HAVE ALSO RECEIVED A NUMBER OF EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS FROM RESIDENTS WHO HAVE EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR THIS LEGISLATION.
THANK YOU, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
DO WE HAVE ANYONE SPEAKING? YES, HAL, SAM? NO.
FOR THE BAMBOO, THEN, UH, ELAINE TAYLOR GORDON.
I AM GOING TO SPEAK FOR THIS LAW.
I THINK IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL.
[02:05:02]
UM, MY CREDENTIALS ARE THAT IN WHERE I LIVED IN SCARSDALE BEFORE FOR 20 YEARS, I WAGED AN EIGHT YEAR FIGHT AGAINST BAMBOO FROM MY NEIGHBOR THAT WOULD HAD INVADED MY FRONT PROPERTY AND ACTUALLY BROKE THROUGH THE MAIN LINE, UM, THAT CAUSED A FLOOD AT MY HOUSE.IT TOOK ME EIGHT YEARS OF MY OWN EXPENSE, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO GET RID OF THAT BAMBOO.
WHEN I MOVED HERE SEVEN YEARS AGO, I MOVED INTO A PROPERTY ON CROSS HILL ROAD IN HARTSDALE ESTATES, WHERE MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR WITH 2.6 ACRES OF LAND, HAD TWO STANDS OF BAMBOO IN HER FRONT YARD.
SHE CONTAINED IT, UH, IT WAS TIED UP.
UM, IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN REALLY CONTAIN A STAND OF BAMBOO, ACCORDING TO CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, IS TO BUILD A CONCRETE BARRIER AROUND IT, 18 FEET INTO THE GROUND.
YOU CAN ALSO TRY, UH, DIFFERENT KINDS OF HARDWOOD FENCES.
IT IS A SCOURGE, IT WILL DESTROY ANY NATIVE TREE.
AND I THINK THAT GREENBURG, THE CITY OF TREES, REALLY SHOULD NOT BE, UM, ENCOURAGING ANYONE TO PLANT SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO ATTACK OUR OWN TREES.
BAMBOO IS NOT NATIVE TO THIS PART OF THE WORLD.
IT IS A JUNGLE PRODUCT, AND IT BELONGS IN THE JUNGLE.
AND PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN JUNGLES KNOW THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT WITH MACHETES.
THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN DO.
SO LET ME FAST FORWARD TO THE FACT THAT THE PERSON WHO LIVED NEXT DOOR TO ME LEFT HER PROPERTY AND LEFT IT ALONE.
FOR ABOUT A YEAR, SHE MOVED TO RIDGE RIDGEFIELD, CONNECTICUT, AND THE BAMBOO WENT WILD.
AND THE BAMBOO ON ITS OWN INVADED THE THE RIGHT OF WAY BECAUSE NO ONE IS TAKING CARE OF THE BAMBOO.
AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO BY, IT'S AT 36 CROSS HILL ROAD, RIGHT OFF TOP LAND IN THE RIDGE, UM, ROAD AREA.
AND I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS BAMBOO, BECAUSE IT BELONGS IN THE JUNGLE AND IT IS INVADING ALL OF THE NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES.
IT HASN'T COME TO ME YET BECAUSE I'M 50 FEET ABOVE HER, BUT IT WILL, IT GOES UNDERNEATH THE ASPHALT.
IT IS AN UNDERGROUND ROOT SYSTEM THAT WILL OBLITERATE EVERYTHING.
IT CAN TAKE DOWN TALL BUILDINGS, IT CAN COVER CARS.
UM, IF YOU DRIVE ON ANY KIND OF PARKWAY, IN FACT, ON RIDGE ROAD, RIGHT NEAR THE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE OVERHEAD LINES, YOU'LL SEE THAT THEY'RE ALL COVERED WITH INVASIVE WEEDS.
WE DON'T JUST HAVE A BAMBOO PROBLEM HERE.
WE HAVE A JAPANESE KNOT WOOD PROBLEM.
WE HAVE A TREE OF HEAVEN PROBLEM.
WE HAVE, UM, OH, THAT ROOT THAT, THAT IS PRIZED FOR TEA IN ASIAN COMMUNITIES AS A MEDICINAL TEA.
I CAN'T THINK OF THE, I ALWAYS FORGET THE NAME, BUT IT'S BITTER SOMETHING OR OTHER, UM, WITH HUGE ELEPHANT EAR TYPE LEAVES THAT CAN COVER A FIELD IN TWO WEEKS.
UM, THIS PAST MONTH I SPENT $10,000.
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I'VE DONE IT WITH A PRIVATE COMPANY THAT ALSO OBLITERATES POISON IVY TO GET RID OF BAMBOO AND THESE OTHER INVASIVE THINGS ON TWO OF MY HILLS GOING DOWN TO MY NEIGHBORS.
AND AFTER I DID IT, I NOTICED THAT SHE HAD ALL OF THESE WEEDS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A, OF A FENCE THAT WE HAVE IN COMMON.
I NEED HELP FROM THE, THE TOWN OF GREENBURG IN MAKING IT A LAW, BUT I AM NOT ALONE HERE.
OTHER PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT THEY, IT'S LIKE THE, THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHES.
THIS IS A VERY SCARY PROBLEM, AND I THINK I MADE MY POINT.
I'M GONNA SIT DOWN NOW, BUT I HOPE THAT YOU'LL TAKE THIS VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
THERE IS AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION AND IT HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS.
ANYBODY ELSE? SIR, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AT THE PODIUM.
UM, IS THAT M O O R M O O R E.
UH, I'M ALSO A RECIPIENT OF A NEIGHBOR'S, UH, BAMBOO.
UM, I WOULD CALL IT, UM, WILLFUL NEGLECT.
UM, I'VE BEEN PUTTING UP WITH IT FOR ABOUT 12 YEARS NOW, AND I'M VERY MUCH AN ADVOCATE OF, OF THIS LAW.
UM, THERE'S, FOR ANYBODY WHO IS NOT
[02:10:01]
IMMEDIATELY AFFECTED BY BAMBOO, THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT THEY SHOULD KNOW THAT BAMBOO IS, IS, UH, MOSQUITOES ARE ATTRACTED TO BAMBOO PLANTS AND THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO BORE INTO THE REEDS AND PLANT THEIR EGGS.AND THE, THE BAMBOO REEDS ARE IMPERVIOUS TO INSECTICIDES.
SO IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A STRAND OF BAMBOO IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, IT IS AFFECTING YOU.
IT'S INCREASING YOUR, YOUR MOSQUITOES.
UH, AND, UH, I DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING MORE ABOUT THAT HEALTH ISSUE, UH, THAT THE, THAT TOPIC IS, IS, UH, IS INCLUDED IN THE DRAFT.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALL UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S IN THAT DRAFT, BECAUSE THIS IS TRULY A HEALTH ISSUE.
AND I JUST THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE THAT ALSO.
YEAH, AND I'D JUST LIKE TO MENTION THAT, UM, YOU'VE BEEN, UH, WRITING TO ME FOR PROBABLY SEVEN OR EIGHT, MAYBE 10 YEARS, UH, ON THIS.
AND, UM, YOU WERE LIKE CONSTANTLY WRITING EVERY, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR OR WHATEVER.
SO I APOLOGIZE THAT IT TOOK, UH, SUCH A LONG TIME, UH, TO TAKE THIS ISSUE SERIOUSLY.
AS YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST ARE NOT AWARE OF.
SO WHEN YOU SAY, OH, WE'RE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT BAMBOO, YOU KNOW, REGULATIONS, IT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT OR YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION, IT, A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST ARE IGNORING YOU, WILL IGNORE THE ISSUE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, SINCE YOU KNOW, YOU BROUGHT IT UP AND SINCE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HIGHLIGHTED, I THINK THIS IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT, UM, PROPOSED LEGISLATION.
BUT I WANTED TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR, YOUR EFFORTS AND, UH, AND APOLOGIZE THAT IT TOOK SO LONG, UH, FOR THE LEGISLATION TO BE DRAFTED.
AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF YOU, BECAUSE YOU DEFINITELY WERE VERY, VERY PERSISTENT.
COULD I JUST MAKE A POINT OF CLARIFICATION ON THIS LAW, THE WAY IT'S CURRENTLY DRAFTED? UM, RIGHT NOW THERE'S JUST SOME LANGUAGE THAT SAYS BAMBOO PROPERTY OWNER IN A FEW PARTS.
THIS IS JUST A GRAMMATICAL CORRECTION THAT, UM, I SUGGEST TO AARON AND THE C A C, INSTEAD OF SAYING THE BAMBOO PROPERTY OWNER, I THINK WE, WE WILL CHANGE THAT TO THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY FROM WHICH THE BAMBOO ORIGINATED.
JUST TO CLARIFY THAT, IT'S THE FIRST PROPERTY THAT HAD BAMBOO, SO THAT IF IT SPREADS TO ANOTHER PROPERTY, THAT PERSON WON'T BE IN VIOLATION OF THIS LAW.
JUST A SLIGHT GRAMMATICAL UH, CHANGE.
THERE WAS A, A ZONING CASE WHERE BAMBOO WAS, THEY GOT A VARIANCE AND BAMBOO WAS ALLOWED INSTEAD OF EVERGREENS.
I I'M ASSUMING THAT THIS WILL APPLY TO THAT PARTICULAR PROPERTY AS WELL, CORRECT? YES, BASED ON THE DEFINITIONS, YES.
ALL RIGHT, SIR, I SEE YOUR HAND UP.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK? YES, PLEASE.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FIRST AND LAST AT THE PODIUM.
UM, WE HAVE, YOU LIVE IN WHICH SECTION TOWN? UM, GREENBURG.
WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? LIKE A B C STREETS.
SORRY, FOUR YEARS THERE,
UH, I NEVER FACED WHAT THE BAMBOO WAS OR, UH, HEARD ABOUT IT, BUT YES, PRETTY SOON.
I AGREE WITH THAT LADY'S COMMENT.
UH, AND WE, YOU KNOW, PUSH THE LINE BACK.
UM, BUT HOW DO WE KNOW WHETHER IT BELONGS TO OUR PROPERTY OR LIKE, I MEAN, IT'S ON MY PROPERTY AND MY NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY.
SOME OF IT WE HAVE CUT, MOVED IT BACK, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S STILL THERE.
I, I'M KIND OF LIVING WITH IT BECAUSE IT PROVIDES ME SOME PRIVACY, YOU KNOW, IN THAT SENSE.
BUT WE KEEP EVERY YEAR JUST PUSHING THE LINE BACK UP.
I MEAN, OF COURSE THERE ARE MOSQUITOES AND DEAD BIRDS AND WHATNOT, BUT WHEN YOU, WHEN I READ THE, THE, THE STATEMENTS IN THE, OF THE LAW OR WHATEVER THE PROPOSAL, I, I MEAN, EVEN IF I PUT THE SHEATHING OR I JUST CUT IT OUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA GO AWAY IN ONE YEAR, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE ROOTS ARE SO DEEP, THEY'LL KEEP POPPING UP HERE AND THERE.
HOW DO WE, UH, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT IT IS, IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY OR MY NEIGHBOR'S RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE, BECAUSE IT IS ON THE BORDER OF MY, YOU KNOW, MY, WITH TWO OF MY NEIGHBORS.
WHAT STREET ARE YOU ON? WHAT STREET ARE YOU ON? MORLAND, MORELAND.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S THE ONE THAT CAUGHT THE BARRIERS.
WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK, WE'LL LOOK INTO IT, BUT IT SURE.
IT'S, IT STARTED SOMEWHERE, RIGHT?
THAT'S THE ONLY STATE, RIGHT? WELL, OKAY.
THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS LAW IS
[02:15:01]
TO, AND I GUESS WE HAVE AN ARBORIST, THEY CAN GO OUT AND TAKE A LOOK, UM, TO DETERMINE WHO, WHO WAS THE ORIGIN.THAT'S WHY WE SUGGESTED THE CHANGE IN THE LANGUAGE.
IT'S WHO, WHERE DID THE BAMBOO ORIGINATE? ORIGINATE? BECAUSE IT SHOULDN'T BE THE BURDEN ON THE NEIGHBORING PROPERTY, RIGHT? YEAH.
THAT'S WHY THIS LEGISLATION, UM, IS DESPERATELY NEEDED.
I MEAN, THIS IS, OH YEAH, THIS IS, THIS IS A TERRIBLE SITUATION AND IT'S ALMOST, IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET RID OF IF IT REALLY TAKES OVER WITHOUT TREMENDOUS EXPENSE.
RIGHT? AND EVEN THAT YOU'RE NOT SURE.
YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T CALL OUT.
YOU CAN'T, I YOU CAN'T CALL OUT, RIGHT? IT'S ON THE RECORD.
YOU GOTTA BE AT THE MICROPHONE TO SPEAK.
SO, UM, BUT THE, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR STAFF CAN GO AND TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT THEY CAN DETERMINE.
ONE SYSTEM PASSES, BUT THAT IS AN INTERESTING SITUATION.
SO IF THEY MOVED IN AND THE BAMBOO WAS ALREADY THERE AND THEIR NEIGHBORS MOVED IN, AFTER THE BAMBOO IS THERE, THEN HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IT IS? MY GUESS IS WHICHEVER ONE IS THE GREATER DENSITY IS THE ONE THAT IT STARTED.
BUT WE'LL LEAVE THAT TO THE ARBORIST.
AND SHOULD THAT BE SPECIFIED IN THE, SHOULD WE HAVE LIKE A CLOSE IN THE LEGISLATION? YOU KNOW, HOW, UH, IF THERE'S A DISPUTE, UH, OVER WHICH PROPERTY IT IS, UM, I, THE ONLY WAY WE COULD GIVE A PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF THIS LAW IS IF WE CAN SHOW THAT THAT'S WHERE THE BAMBOO ORIGINATED FROM.
SO I, I DON'T THINK IT NECESSARILY HAS TO BE INCLUDED IN THERE.
WE WOULD, UM, SOMEONE BE ABLE TO FIGHT THE VIOLATION, UM, IF THEY COULD TRY TO SHOW THAT IT DIDN'T ORIGINATE FROM THEM.
I, I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THERE IS A GOOD FAITH EFFORTS CLAUSE AS WELL.
SO WHEREAS YOU WILL HAVE 30 DAYS TO REMOVE THE BAMBOO, THERE ARE A FEW INSTANCES WHERE THE BUILDING INSPECTOR CAN GIVE YOU ADDITIONAL TIME IF YOU'RE SHOWING GOOD FAITH EFFORTS TO HAVING IT REMOVED.
AS YOU SAID, IT MAY TAKE LONGER THAN 30 DAYS.
UM, BUT OF COURSE THAT WOULD BE DISCUSSION WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER AND THE BUILDING INSPECTOR AND THE BUILDING INSPECTOR'S DETERMINATIONS.
DO, DOES AARON KNOW HOW, UH, I KNOW IN LONG ISLAND YOU MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UM, PREVALENT AS A LAW.
DO YOU KNOW IF THERE'S OTHER COMMUNITIES IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, UH, THAT HAVE BAMBOO LEGISLATION? OFFHAND? I DO NOT KNOW.
WE DID FOCUS ON LONG ISLAND, BUT I CAN REPORT BACK TO THE TOWN BOARD ON THAT IF THERE ARE OTHERS WITHIN WESTCHESTER.
UM, I JUST, WE LOOKED AT BA AT BAMBOO ON THE ISLAND BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN DEALING WITH IT FOR A LENGTHY PERIOD OF TIME.
WE'VE EVEN COMMUNICATED WITH SOME OF, UH, THOSE COMMUNITIES ON ENFORCEMENT AND THEIR EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE AND OR REMOVE OR ERADICATE CERTAIN AREAS THAT INCLUDE THE BAMBOO, OR HAVE BAMBOO GROWING, AND THEY'VE BEEN SOMEWHAT SUCCESSFUL.
SO THE HOPE IS THAT WE CAN BE AS WELL.
JUST TO, UM, ADD ONTO THE RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION FROM ONE OF THE FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT EACH INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, CASE THAT IS BROUGHT TO TOWN STAFF'S ATTENTION IN THE CASE BY CASE BASIS, BASIS.
AND SOME OF THEM ARE CLEAR CUT BECAUSE THERE'S A WOODEN FENCE AND THERE'S JUST A FEW SHOOTS ON ONE SIDE AND THE OTHER, IT'S JUST ALL BAMBOO.
SO THOSE ARE EASY, BUT THERE MAY SEEM SOME, SOME ISSUE.
AND, AND THE LAW REALLY, UM, IS, IS SPECIFIC TO WHO'S RESPONSIBLE WITHIN A GIVEN SITUATION IF IT SPREADS.
BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BAMBOO THAT, YOU KNOW, NO ONE IS GOING TO KNOW ABOUT, BUT IT, IT, IT, IT'S INCUMBENT UPON THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BAMBOO GROWING TO ERADICATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
IT SHOULDN'T HAVE THE LAW TRIED TO DICTATE, UH, OR, OR THEY, THEY SHOULDN'T BE BROUGHT TO THE BUILDING INSPECTOR'S ATTENTION.
UM, THEY CAN JUST DO THAT ON THEIR OWN.
I AM CONCERNED THOUGH, THAT THERE, BEFORE THE ZONING BOARD, THERE'S A DECISION THAT SAYS THAT BAMBOO IS AN EVERGREEN.
AND I, IF WE HAVE TO, I'D LIKE TO INCLUDE IN THE LAW THAT THAT'S NOT CORRECT.
WE WILL HAVE A SECOND FI, UH, FIVE MINUTE PERIOD IF THE HEARING WILL CLOSE TONIGHT.
YEAH, YOU'LL GET ANOTHER ROUND.
CAN I SAY SOMETHING ELSE? Y YOU, YOU'LL, WELL, I DON'T KNOW, IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE WHO WANTS TO SPEAK? OH, NO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY FURTHER REQUESTS TO SPEAK.
DOESN'T HAVE ANY OTHERS? NOPE.
I WANTED TO DO THIS IN THE PROPER FORUM BECAUSE I SEE THAT COUNCILMAN SHEEN IS VERY UPSET THAT I INTERJECTED AND I DON'T WANT TO OFFEND.
I THINK HE WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT THE, I JUST LIKE RULES.
[02:20:01]
SOMETHING WITH YOU.THE WAY TO GET RID OF BAMBOO, AND I'M AN EXPERT ON THIS NOW, AND I HAD THE PLEASURE OF, OF, UH, MEETING, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHMIDT ON THE PHONE WHO WAS VERY HELPFUL.
HE HAD ME MEET WITH VEGA, WHO IS THE CONSULTANT OF UNINVASIVE, UH, PRODUCTS TO, UM, TO THE TOWN AND WHO USED TO WORK WITH THE GREENBERG CENTER, AND I ALSO MET WITH KATHY LUDDEN, WHO IS THE NATURALIST.
SO I KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF BAMBOO.
AND I ALSO KNOW THAT YOU MUST MAKE IT PART OF THE RULING THAT EACH HOMEOWNER THAT HAS BAMBOO MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT, EVEN IF IT GOT THERE BY ACCIDENT.
I DIDN'T PUT THE BAMBOO ON MY LAND WHEN I BOUGHT IT.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT MY NEIGHBOR SENT IT TO ME AS A GIFT.
AND WHILE SOME PEOPLE THINK IT'S VERY LUCKY, I THINK THAT IF YOU HAVE BAMBOO ON YOUR PROPERTY, YOU'RE VERY UNLUCKY.
UM, YOU CAN GET RID OF IT WITH PAINSTAKING METHODS.
IT HAS TO BE CUT DOWN WITH A SIGHT OR WITH WEED WHACKERS DOWN TO THE GROUND, AND THEN WHATEVER LITTLE STUMPS, YOU CAN'T GET RID OF THE ROOTS.
IT BECOMES HARD AND WOODY AND VERY, VERY TALL.
YOU HAVE TO INJECT THE ROOTS WITH HERBICIDE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ROUNDUP.
AND WHEN YOU DO IT IN THAT WAY, YOU ARE NOT AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING ROUNDUP OR ANY KIND OF GLYPHOSATE IN, IN THE ENVIRONMENT.
IT DOES NOT AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT WHEN YOU LOCALIZE IT THAT WAY.
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO GET RID OF IT ONCE YOU HAVE IT.
SO A HOMEOWNER WHO SEES THOSE LITTLE SPROUTS COMING UP MUST GET IT QUICK BEFORE IT MULTIPLIES.
I'M QUITE SERIOUS BECAUSE IF NOT, YOU HAVE A REALLY BIG, EXPENSIVE PRO OF, UH, PROBLEM.
SO THAT PART OF THIS LAW SHOULD BE AN EDUCATION PROCESS TO THE PEOPLE IN EACH COMMUNITY.
AND I KNOW THAT ALL OF WESTCHESTER IS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW.
CORNELL IS VERY INVOLVED WITH IT, WITH THEIR EXTENSION PROGRAMS AND MANY, MANY OTHERS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT EACH COMMUNITY IS DOING, BUT I KNOW THAT IT IS NOT JUST GREENBURG AND I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST WESTCHESTER.
IT'S ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.
SO IF YOU HAVE A LAW AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE EDUCATION PROCESS TO, UM, TELL PEOPLE HOW TO DEAL WITH IT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A REAL PROBLEM.
SO YOU ALMOST HAVE TO GO HAND IN HAND AND PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THEY WILL BE FINED.
JUST LIKE IN NEW YORK STATE, YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN WATER, BUT THIS IS USUALLY OVERLOOKED.
YOU HAVE TO PUT IN DRY WELLS IF YOU HAVE TOO MUCH WATER, OTHERWISE YOU'RE INUNDATING YOUR NEIGHBORS.
WE LET IT SLIDE, BUT AS COMMUNITIES, WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, UH, HOPE THAT WE CAN DO THAT AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, WE, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT EDUCATION, WE HAVE AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.
JUDITH AND I, UH, HAVE BEEN SPONSORING IT, AND WE HAVE, I THINK 42, UH, SUMMER INTERNS AND MAYBE WE COULD, UH, ASSIGN THE INTERNS TO, UH, HELP DEVELOP AN EDUCATION CAMPAIGN, UH, FOR, UH, FOR THIS, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE REALLY NOT AWARE OF.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING STUDENTS INVOLVED HIGHLIGHTING IT, I THINK WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, A GOOD USE OF, UH, OF, YOU KNOW, OF THEIR TIME.
I I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT SUGGESTION.
ELAINE, MAY I GET YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION BEFORE YOU LEAVE THIS SE THIS EVENING? I'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME AND SPEAK TO THE INTERNS.
YEAH, YOU WERE VERY, UH, YOU REALLY MADE A A, YOU REALLY, UH, BROUGHT IT TO LIGHT.
YOU KNOW, YOU, YOUR PRESENTATION WAS ONE OF THE BEST, UH, PRESENTATIONS IN TERMS OF PUBLIC HEARINGS BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A COMPLICATED ISSUE FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON.
AND YOU, YOU MADE IT UNDERSTANDABLE AND EASY, YOU KNOW, EASY FOR PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE, YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF THIS LEGISLATION.
SO I, I THINK THIS IS REALLY GREAT AND WE WILL WORK ON THE EDUCATION EFFORT.
WE COULD ALSO HAVE CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION.
MAYBE WE SHOULD, UH, JUDITH, MAYBE WE COULD GET THEM TO, UH, SHOW UP WITH THE, UM, WITH THE, WITH THE STUDENT INTERNS TO EXPLAIN THE WHOLE ISSUES AND, AND SPEND.
I WOULD HELP YOU ON THIS IF YOU, IF YOU NEED MY HELP, I'D BE HAPPY TO, UM, VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME.
[02:25:01]
OKAY.NO, THE YOUNG LADY WANTS, WANTS TO SPEAK TO SPEAK.
AND PLEASE COME FORWARD AND STATE YOUR NAME FIRST AND LAST FOR THE SONOGRAPHER.
SO THANK TISHA IC, T I C I A U L, AE C K I JUST WANTED TO END WITH A QUICK STORY THAT SOME, UH, CLOSER TO ME.
A WOMAN FROM, UH, JAPAN TOLD ME THAT, UH, WHEN THERE IS AN EARTHQUAKE, THEY SEND THE CHILDREN INTO THE BAMBOO FOREST BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SEPARATE.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.
SO, SO IF YOU CUT RID OF IT, GOOD FOR YOU.
I, I PULLED UP THE PROPERTY 35 CROSS HILL ROAD WITH THE BAMBOO.
SO I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE CLOSE THE HEARING AND LEAVE THE RECORD OPEN FOR SEVEN DAYS.
WOULD WE BE VOTING ON THIS AT THE NEXT MEETING? YES.
SO WE'LL BE VOTING ON THIS JULY 12TH.
SO MAY I ASK A QUESTION? YOU CAN, NOW THAT IT'S CLOSED,
WE, WE, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'VE ALL BEEN IN SUPPORT OF THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
I JUST AS A POINT OF INFORMATION, THANK.
SO, MR. MOORE, THE NEXT TIME YOU EMAIL ME WITH A SUGGESTION, I SHOULD, I SHOULD, UH, TAKE IT SERIOUSLY IMMEDIATELY, RIGHT? NOT WAIT 10 YEARS.
SO, UH, NOW THAT, NOW THAT WE'RE OFF THE RECORD, IT WAS THE SUPERVISOR WHO, AND I DON'T THINK HE REALIZED IT AT THE TIME, BUT HE DECLARED BAMBOO TO BE AN EVERGREEN AND THE ZONING BOARD.
AND, UM, WE GOTTA GET THAT RESCINDED.
UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE IT, THE EXCEPTIONS.
WELL, WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE EXCEPTIONS, I DON'T THINK WITH BAMBOO.
YOU DON'T WANT TRUE OF HEAVEN EITHER.
WELL, I JUST LOOKED AT YOUR PROPERTY'S
NEXT, UH, PART OF THE MEETING WE HAVE, UH, THE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT.
[ PUBLIC COMMENT Advance signup is required. A continuous five minute limit per speaker will be strictly enforced. The clock will start when a speaker begins speaking and will not be stopped for any reason until the speaker is finished or five minutes has elapsed, whichever occurs first. Interruptions by Town Board members, the Town Clerk or the public will not be permitted. If a speaker insists on an immediate answer, should an answer be provided, it shall be part of the speaker's five minute allocation and not be interrupted. There will not be a second five minute round. Any written comments sent to PublicComment@GreenburghNY.com by 6 PM the day of the hearing will be forwarded to all Town Board members in advance of the meeting for their consideration. Written comments will not be read at the meeting unless the original author is present to do so.]
WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT ANYTHING? YES.WELL, JUST TO SHOW YOU THE SOFTER SIDE OF SAMATH, AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING THAT FOLKSY SPIRIT FROM THE TENNIS THING, WHEN I WAS 13, I WORKED AS THE ASSISTANT TO THE TENNIS PRO AT FENWAY GOLF CLUB.
HOWEVER, AND IT'S MY SUSPICION BY THE WAY, THAT THERE WERE FEWER RESIDENTS WHO ATTEND OR WATCH TOWN BOARD WORK SESSIONS, THEN WATCH TOWN BOARD MEETINGS SUCH AS THIS.
SO FOR THAT PURPOSE, I URGE EVERYONE WATCHING TO WATCH THE REPLAY OF YESTERDAY'S TOWN BOARD WORK SESSION.
I'VE SEEN BETTER MANNERED KINDERGARTENS, WHICH PROBABLY SUGGESTS THAT THIS TOWN BOARD SHOULD BE REPLACED BY THE MANAGEMENT OF SPORT TIME.
BUT IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN SEEING FIRSTHAND EVIDENCE OF SYSTEMIC RACISM, THEN THEY SHOULD MAKE IT A POINT TO WATCH YESTERDAY'S WORK SESSION.
BECAUSE THERE WAS MAINLY A LONG DISCUSSION ABOUT A FOOD MARKET IN THE FAIRVIEW SECTION OF TOWN, AND ALL THE HURDLES THAT WERE THROWN IN THE WAY OF THE SPONSOR HURDLES THAT WOULD NOT BE APPLIED AGAINST ANY OTHER FOOD MARKET, EVEN IN THE PARTS OF GREENBURG, WHICH ALREADY HAVE FOOD MARKETS.
THE SPONSOR, KOBE STARTED IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR, AND AFTER ONE AFTER ANOTHER DOTTING THE I'S AND CROSSING THE T'S, SHE FINALLY HAD TO ENGAGE OUTSIDE COUNSEL TO CARRY THE FIGHT FORWARD.
YOU MIGHT ASK YOURSELF, AFTER WATCHING THE WORK WORK SESSION, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT
[02:30:01]
JUST ONE MEMBER OF THE TOWN BOARD AND NOT THE TOWN SUPERVISOR, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT, CAN MANIPULATE, MANIPULATE THE TOWN ATTORNEY, THE CHIEF OF POLICE, AND THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO OBEY HIS UNFAIL LABLE COMMANDS? THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THEIR CONCERN WAS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN THE CONTRACT THAT THE SPONSOR OF THE FOOD MARKET WAS EXPECTED TO SIGN WOULD HAVE TO HAVE AGREED TO MAKE HERSELF FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYONE WHO PARKED ILLEGALLY ON NEARBY MANHATTAN AVENUE, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY WENT.AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE WHO ATTENDED THE MEETING BY ZOOM RESPONDED, THAT'S HIS JOB.
THE GREATEST DANGER OF THE FOOD MARKET APPEARS TO BE THE PRESENCE OF A SHED.
A SHED BIG ENOUGH TO STORE THREE TABLES, SIX CHAIRS IN A FOLDABLE TENT.
THE MUSIC MAN PROBABLY MADE A MISTAKE WHEN THEY TALKED ABOUT THE TROUBLES THAT A POOL TABLE WOULD BRING TO RIVER CITY, IOWA, WHEN INSTEAD IT SHOULD BE A SHED.
THIS WAS THE CONTINGENT POINT OF THE WORK SESSION.
ANOTHER THING THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT IS THAT VENDORS MUST BE FINGERPRINTED AS THOUGH THEY WERE CRIMINALS.
PERHAPS THE OPERATOR OF THE FOOD MARKET WAS A RUSSIAN AGENT EMPLOYING TERRORISTS TO ATTACK THE TOWN OF GREENBURG WITH THIS NEW WEAPON A SHED.
SO THIS MEETING LASTED OVER TWO HOURS, AND THE BIGGEST CONCERN ABOUT THE SHED WAS THAT IN MY GENERATE A SUIT LAWSUIT AGAINST THE TOWN, THE VALUE OF THE SHED WAS APPROXIMATELY A THOUSAND DOLLARS WITH THE CHAIRS.
AND, AND TABLE PROBABLY COST THE TOWN MORE THAN $2,000 FOR THE ATTORNEYS WHO SAT HERE DURING THE WORK SESSION TO ATTEND LATER THE EXECUTIVE SESSION IN THEIR BILLINGS.
SO HERE'S WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO.
THIS IS ONLY IN GREENBURG, AND THIS CAN HAPPEN, AND THEN ONLY IN GREENBURG IS WHERE BLACK LIVES MATTER EXCEPT TO GINA JACKSON.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME RUNNING FOR REELECTION.
I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THAT AS I RESPOND TO YOU.
SO YOU'RE TALKING WITH THE LAST WORD.
UM, THIS CONTRACT, THE TERMS THAT WERE PUT IN THIS CONTRACT WILL APPLY, OR SIMILAR TERMS, WILL APPLY TO ALL FUTURE EVENTS ON TOWN PROPERTY OR IN TOWN STREETS.
UM, THESE ARE REGULATIONS THAT WE FEEL PROTECT LIABILITY FOR TOWN NO MATTER WHERE THE EVENT MAY OCCUR.
UM, WE DO NOT ALLOW SHEDS IN ANY OTHER PORTION OF THE TOWN.
WE HAVE A TOWN CODE THAT STRICTLY PROHIBITS THAT.
AND IN TERMS OF THE PEDALLERS FORM, THE TOWN CODE ADDRESSES THAT IT WAS ENACTED IN 1990, AND THAT INCLUDES THE FINGERPRINTING CLAUSE.
AND AS MS. HENDRICKS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN HENDRICKS POINTED OUT YESTERDAY, UH, WE SHOULD ADDRESS THAT PART OF THE CODE AND LOOK TO AMEND IT MOVING FORWARD.
SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT AS I WROTE TO THEIR ATTORNEY A WEEK IN ADVANCE OF YESTERDAY'S WORK SESSION, THESE ARE TERMS THAT ARE GOING TO APPLY TO ALL SIMILAR EVENTS.
I JUST HAVE A QUESTION, JOE, YOU WERE GONNA, UH, SPEAK TO MR. BERNSTEIN? YES.
WE HAD A PLEASANT CONVERSATION.
ALL THE ISSUES HAVE BEEN RESOLVED.
AND ARE WE READY? ARE WE, WE WILL BE VOTING ON FRIDAY AT FIVE 30, RIGHT? WE, WE, WE HAVE A CONTRACT THAT I WILL PROPOSE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE TOWN BOARD PURSUANT TO OUR CONVERSATION LAST NIGHT, UM, THAT, THAT WILL EITHER GO OUT TONIGHT OR TOMORROW MORNING.
WHAT TOOK EVEN LONGER ACTUALLY, THAN THE FINAL DISCUSSION ON THE CONTRACT WAS TO FINALIZE THE MAP AREA AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S EXHIBIT C.
AND I WANTED ALL THREE EXHIBITS TO BE COMPLETED AT THE SAME TIME UPON PRESENTATION.
THE PEOPLE WERE CALLING ME, YOU KNOW, TODAY, UH, ASKING IF THE MARKET IS ON.
AND I'VE BEEN TELLING THEM, UH, THE CONSENSUS OF THE BOARD YESTERDAY WAS THAT WE REACHED AN AGREEMENT AND, UH, THE MARKET WILL BE GOING TAKING PLACE ON SATURDAY.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE ANYBODY WAS EXISTED.
I ALWAYS, I ALWAYS SAY PURSUANT TO TOWN BOARD
[02:35:01]
VOTE, OBVIOUSLY, RIGHT? BUT WE, BASED ON THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD YESTERDAY, ALL OF THOSE TERMS SEEM TO BE IN THERE, RIGHT? SO, SO PEOPLE, SO PEOPLE SHOULD JUST ASSUME.NOW THE OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IN HARTSDALE, UH, WE HAVE THE DIGITAL BOARDS UP PROMOTING THE HARTSDALE FARMERS MARKET AND, UM, THE, THE APPLICANT IS NOT LOOKING FOR DIGITAL BOARDS.
THE ONLY REASON, THE ONLY REASON I'M SUGGESTING IT IS I SORT OF FEEL THAT WE'RE GONNA BE APPROVING A CONTRACT ON FRIDAY AND THE MARKET IS STARTING ON SATURDAY.
AND YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT IT WOULD BE NICE IF, UM, IF WE REALLY WANT THE MARKET TO BE SUCCESSFUL, I THINK WE SHOULD MOVE AT LEAST ONE OF THE BOARDS TO EITHER MANHATTAN AVENUE OR SOMEPLACE CLOSE TO MANHATTAN AVENUE.
SO AT LEAST IT GIVES PEOPLE A CHANCE MORE THAN, I MEAN, WE'RE GONNA BE PASSING THIS AT FIVE 30 ON FRIDAY.
I THINK WE AGREED TO THAT, DIDN'T WE LAST NIGHT? NO, WE DID, BUT I'M SAYING, COULD, COULD, WOULD THE BOARD HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS IF I WOULD ASK RICH FUND TO, UH, ON, YOU KNOW, TO MOVE THE DIGITAL BOARD TO MANHATTAN AVENUE, UH, YOU KNOW, TOMORROW? SO THIS WAY AT LEAST IT GIVES PEOPLE ADVANCED NOTICE AND THEN THEY COULD GO TO THE MARKET ON SATURDAY, OTHERWISE NOBODY'S GONNA SHOW UP BECAUSE NO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE PASSING AT, UH, AT FIVE 30, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, ON, ON FRIDAY AND THE MARKET OPENS ON SATURDAY AND NOBODY SHOWS UP, THE FARMERS ARE GONNA BE DISCOURAGED.
AND SO I SORT OF FEEL THIS GIVES, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAD IT UP AT LEAST A DAY BEFORE, THEN THERE'S A CHANCE THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA PARTICIPATE.
SO I WILL THEN, AND I WILL THEN, UM, UH, POST ON THE WEBSITE, UM, THAT THE BOARD WILL BE VOTING ON FRIDAY, BUT AT THIS POINT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S REALLY NO OPPOSITION AND WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, WE HOPE PEOPLE WILL SPREAD THE WORD THAT, UH, THE MARKET IS GONNA TAKE PLACE.
WELL, BEFORE YOU SEND THAT OUT, WHEN WILL WE GET A COPY OF THE FINAL DOCUMENT TONIGHT? SO WOULD YOU RATHER THAT I WAIT TOMORROW UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING? YOU, YOU OKAY, I'LL, I'LL, YOU KNOW, WAIT TILL SOMETIME TOMORROW, YOU KNOW, UM, AND, UM, THIS WAY I'LL SEND YOU A, I'LL SEND EVERYBODY A, A DRAFT, UM, AND I'LL ASK, YOU KNOW, UNLESS ANYBODY OBJECTS, YOU KNOW, COULD GO OUT SAY TOMORROW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH EVERYBODY, OH, WE SUPPOSE WE GET THE CONTRACT AND EVERYTHING, YOU CAN SEND A NOTICE.
PAUL, I JUST HAVE TO MAKE A POINT TO, UH, TOWN ATTORNEY ALL DUE RESPECT TO, UM, JOE, UM, THE CLERK'S OFFICE, UH, ADMINISTERS THE PEDLER LICENSES, AND, UM, IT IS NOT THE INTENT OF THE PELOS LICENSE OF THE PEDLER OF THAT CODE TO I IMPOSE UPON VENDORS, UM, FOR, UM, FARMERS' MARKETS.
AND IF THAT WERE THE CASE, THEN THAT SAME, UM, UH, COACH WOULD HAVE TO APPLY TO THE HARTSDALE FARMER'S MARKET VENDORS.
AND SO, I, I JUST WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR, UM, TO, TO THE PUBLIC THAT, THAT THAT WAS AN, AN UNUSUAL, UM, UM, UH, APPLICATION OF THE LAW TO APPLY THE REQUIREMENT OF THE PEDDLER'S LICENSING TO, UM, IN THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION.
AND, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO POINT OUT AT, AS THE ATTORNEY, I NEED TO READ THE LAW, NOT AS IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE INTERPRETED, BUT THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN.
AND I DID NOT SEE AN EXCEPTION FOR THIS TYPE OF EVENT.
SO, AND, AND I JUST WOULD LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT IT WASN'T THE BOARD OR MYSELF WHO BROUGHT THIS LAW UP IN A PREVIOUS WORK SESSION.
IT WAS ACTUALLY THE APPLICANT'S ATTORNEY HIMSELF.
AND WE'VE SINCE CLARIFIED THAT WE'RE NOT REQUIRING THAT THE FORM BE FILED FOR SAVANNAH.
TAYLOR GORDON WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, SO WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD.
WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD THEN WITH MODIFYING THAT LAW, BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE HEARING IS THAT THE STRICT LETTER OF THAT
AND WITH OUR NEW TOWN ATTORNEY, HE'S TAKING A FRESH LOOK AT ALL THE LAWS, AND THAT'S WHY HE, AND THAT IS NOT WHAT WE'RE HEARING.
WHAT WE'RE HEARING IS THAT THERE IS NO MENTION IN THAT PELAS LAW, UH, WITH RESPECT TO, UM, MARKETS, VENDORS.
IT'S VERY, VERY SPECIFIC AS TO WHO, UM, IT APPLIES TO ELAINE, MR. BURSTEIN.
AND OUR TOWN ATTORNEY AGREE THAT IT DOES APPLY, AND THAT'S WHY MR. BERNSTEIN RAISED IT ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT.
AND IT'S GOOD THAT HE DID, BUT NOW WE CAN ADDRESS IT AGAIN.
THERE'S NO MENTION IN OUR LAW THAT IT APPLIES TO, YOU'RE NOT THE TOWN ATTORNEY.
WELL, WHETHER, NEITHER YOU, YOU ARE NOT THE TOWN ATTORNEY, OKAY.
IMAGINING THE TOWN, I KNOW YOU ALL WANNA GO HOME
[02:40:01]
AND SO DO I.I'M JUST SAYING THAT HAVE NEVER APPLIED IT IN THIS SITUATION.
I BEG YOU, I IMPLORE YOU MAKE IT EASY FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.
I, I, WHAT I WAS HERE LAST NIGHT BY ACCIDENT.
I GOT CONFUSED AS TO WHEN THE BAMBOO THING WAS HERE.
SO I WAS HERE AND I WAS PRESENT DURING THE WHOLE DISCUSSION.
WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW IS THAT BOTH HAL SAMIS AND I WERE PART OF THE ORIGINAL, UH, COMMITTEE, THE BOARD, TO WORK WITH FAIRMONT TO HA TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
AND I HAD TO DROP OUT BECAUSE MY, MY HUSBAND BECAME VERY ILL.
AND SO FOR THE LAST, UM, YEAR AND A HALF, I HAVE REALLY BEEN ABSENT.
BUT THESE PEOPLE DID A PHENOMENAL JOB TO PULL THIS WHOLE THING TOGETHER.
AND I THINK THAT WE SHOULD DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IN OUR POWER AS A COMMUNITY TO HELP THEM MAKE THIS THE SUCCESS THAT IT SHOULD BE.
IT WILL BRING PEOPLE INTO THE AREA, IT WILL GIVE THEM A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AND A FEELING THAT THE COMMUNITY IS REALLY SUPPORTING THEM.
AND I DON'T ALWAYS AGREE WITH HAL, BUT I AGREE WITH HIM A LOT.
AND I CERTAINLY DON'T ALWAYS AGREE WITH PAUL, BUT I AGREE WITH HIM A LOT.
AND WHEN HE'S RIGHT, HE'S RIGHT, AND HE'S RIGHT ABOUT THIS.
AND I'M JUST ASKING YOU PLEASE, TO, IF YOU HAVE TO MASSAGE THE LAW A LITTLE TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO DO THIS, IF YOU MAKE IT TOO, UM, DIFFICULT, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO HAVE PEOPLE PAR PARTICIPATE.
AND THOSE PEOPLE WERE VERY UPSET LAST NIGHT.
I WATCHED KEN JONES WORK WITH THEM.
UM, AND, AND HE WAS ABLE TO BROKER AN AGREEMENT, BUT IT WAS TOUGH.
HE BASICALLY SAID, ACCEPT WHAT THEY WERE GIVING YOU AND GO HOME.
BUT I TALKED WITH THEM AFTERWARDS AND THEY WERE UPSET, AND THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
SO PLEASE, I BEG YOU, AS SOMEONE IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT REALLY WANTS TO HELP FAIRVIEW ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS, LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN PLEASE.
WE'VE, WE HAVE, WE'VE, WE HAVE THE PROVISION, OKAY? IT IS, WE, YEAH, WE, WE, WE DEFINITELY ALL AGREED AND, AND WE ALL CAME TO THE TABLE WANTING A FARMER'S MARKET.
THAT'S, THAT'S, THERE WAS NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
WE JUST HAD TO IRON OUT SOME OF THE DETAILS, AND THEY'RE STILL NOT IRONED OUT.
I, I KNOW THAT THERE'S, THERE'S STILL SOME CONSTERNATION THERE.
WELL, IT'S GONNA BE APPROVED, UH, YOU KNOW, ON FRIDAY AT FIVE 30.
THE BOARD BASICALLY, I THINK THAT THE AGREEMENT, THE AGREEMENT ACTUALLY IGNORES A LOT OF THINGS THAT, THAT, UM, MR. DUQUE JUST MENTIONED.
I JUST THOUGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE THINGS THAT THE TOWN ATTORNEY, UM, CITED ABOUT THINGS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, UM, THE REGULATIONS AND THINGS OF WHICH I'M NOT FAMILIAR.
I CAN'T REALLY ADDRESS THEM, BUT I THINK THAT THAT WAS, UM, NOT PART OF THE AGREEMENT.
AM I CORRECT? I MEAN, THIS IS MY INTERPRETATION.
SO, SO I, I POINTED TO TWO SECTIONS OF THE TOWN CODE.
SECTION THREE 90 WE'RE WAIVING THAT.
THEY WON'T BE SUBJECT TO THOSE PROVISIONS.
WE'VE COME TO A DETERMINATION THAT INSTEAD OF HAVING A SHED, THERE WILL BE STORAGE AT THE THEODORE YOUNG COMMUNITY CENTER INSTEAD.
AND THAT STAFF WILL HELP WITH THAT STORAGE.
SO I, I BELIEVE WE'VE ADDRESSED BOTH OF THOSE MAJOR ISSUES.
RIGHT? AND, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, ARE COATING AND THANK YOU COUNCILMAN, UM, JONES FOR, FOR MAKING THIS SUGGESTION THAT WE ARE AT NO EXPENSE TO THE, TO THE MARKET.
STORING AND, AND TRANSPORTING.
WELL, THE INDIVIDUALS HAVING TO PAY FOR IT IF THEY SIGN OFF ON IT, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT AFTERWARDS, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE PERSONALLY LIABLE, WHICH IS RIDICULOUS, YOU KNOW, UM, FOR THE TABLES AND CHAIRS, FOR, FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ORGANIZING TO BE, I MEAN, THESE INDIVIDUALS, THEY CAN'T BE PERSONALLY FINANCIALLY LIABLE FOR THIS, FOR THE POLICE PRESENCE.
THAT WAS REMOVED TERM CONTRACT.
I'M, I'M SO SORRY TO KEPT YOU LATER.
ALSO, WE HEARD THAT, UH, THIS WAS GOING ON SINCE NOVEMBER.
THE TOWN BOARD LEARNED ABOUT THIS.
A SUPERVISOR KNEW ABOUT IT EARLIER, BUT THE REST OF US ON THE ABOUT BOARD LEARNED ABOUT THIS ON APRIL 27TH.
THERE WASN'T A CONTRACT UNTIL JUNE FOR A EVENT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO START THE BEGINNING OF JUNE.
THE SHED ISSUE CAME UP AT THE VERY LAST MONTH.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TO WORK THINGS OUT AND WITH OUR TOWN ATTORNEY WHO'S MAKING
[02:45:01]
SURE THAT ALL THE I'S GET, UH, DOTTED AND THE T'S GET CROSSED.UH, IT WAS A LOT TO TURN AROUND AND FOR MOST OF US UP ON THE
[ BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Reappoint Dan Rosenblum to the Greenburgh Water District Advisory Committee Reappoint Alvin Fenichel to the Greenburgh Water District Advisory Committee Reappoint Jeffery Jaikumar to the Greenburgh Water District Advisory Committee Reappoint Helen Orce to the Greenburgh Police/Community Advisory Commission Reappoint Lloyd Cort to the Greenburgh Police/Community Advisory Commission]
BOARD HERE IN ABOUT FIVE OR SIX WEEKS, BUT WE DID IT.OKAY, SO NOW WE GO TO THE AGENDA BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
REAPPOINT DAN ROSENBAUM TO THE WATER DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
L REAPPOINT L
REAPPOINT JEFFREY, UH, JAKE MORRIS TO THE REPOINT.
I, I HAVE TO PUT IN THE TERMS IF, IF, UH, SO WE'LL JUST VOTE ON THEM.
WE'LL HAVE TO PUT IN THE TERMS. THE TERMS WILL BE THE EXTENSIONS OF WHATEVER THEY CURRENTLY ARE.
I JUST DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO, TO ADD THOSE IN TODAY.
SO WE STILL COULD VOTE ON IT, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY.
REPORT REAPPOINT HELEN OR TO THE GREENBURG POLICE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMISSION? IT'S HELENE.
UH, REAPPOINT LLOYD COURT TO THE GREENBURG POLICE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMISSION.
[ AT 1 - 6/28/2023 Resolution authorizing tax certiorari settlement with petitioner Domenick Ferrera for property located at 52 N. Evarts Avenue. The Town’s share of the refund is $61±; the County’s share is $456±; the Saw Mill Valley Sewer District’s share is $66±; the Elmsford Union Free School District’s share is $2,752±. Refunds from all sources total $3,335±.]
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TAX TERTIARY SETTLEMENT.THE PETITIONER DOMINIC, UM, UH, FERRARA REFUNDS FROM ALL SOURCES $3,335.
[ AT 2 – 6/28/2023 Resolution authorizing settlement of property damage related Claim, File No.: 54/23C, by Karen Kho, for an amount not to exceed $7,131.25]
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PROPERTY SETTLEMENT OF PROPERTY DAMAGE RELATED CLAIM FILE NUMBER 54 23 C BY KAREN COE FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED, UH, 7,000 1 3 1 25.[ CD 1 - 6/28/2023 Resolution declaring the intention of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh to be Lead Agency for the amended site plan and related applications of Mount Hope Cemetery Association located at 50 Jackson Avenue (P.O. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY), and referring the amended site plan application to the Planning Board for review and recommendation [TB 23-06]]
AYE, AYE, UM, RESOLUTION DECLARING THE INTENTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG TO BE LEAD AGENCY FOR THE AMENDED SITE PLAN AND RELATED APPLICATION AMOUNT, HOPE CEMETERY, LOCATED AT 50 JACKSON AVENUE AND REFERRING THE AMENDED SITE PLAN APPLICATION TO THE PLANNING BOARD, UM, FOR REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.[ CD 2 - 6/28/2023 Resolution approving, with conditions, an amended site plan and tree removal permit application by Bocada Jeep Dealership, for property located at 380 Saw Mill River Road (P.O. Elmsford, NY) [TB 23-04]]
UM, RESOLUTION APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS AND A AMENDED SITE PLAN AND PRE REMOVAL PERMIT APPLICATION BY[ CO 1 – 6/28/2023 Resolution authorizing Fiscal Year 2023 budget transfer]
AUTHORIZING, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2023.I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT IN FAVOR, AYE.
[ CO 2 – 6/28/2023 Resolution authorizing the Town Supervisor to enter into an agreement with Fifth Asset, Inc., d/b/a DebtBook, for the purpose of installing and maintaining cloud-based software, at a cost of $13,700]
AUTHORIZING TOWN SUPERVISOR 10 IN AGREEMENT WITH FIFTH ASSET DV, A DEBT BOOK FOR THE PURPOSE OF INSTALLING AND MAINTAINING CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE AT A COST OF $13,700.[ PW 1 - 6/28/23 Resolution authorizing extension of the "Proposed Milling and Resurfacing of Various Streets 2023 in the Town of Greenburgh" contract with Montesano Brothers, Inc., for additional road resurfacing, increasing the total amount of the contract by an additional amount not to exceed $3,250,000]
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXTENSION OF PROPOSED MILLING AND RESURFACING OF THE VARIOUS STREETS IN THE, UH, TOWN OF GREENBURG CONTRACT WITH, UM, UH, MONTESANO BROTHERS FOR ADDITIONAL ROAD RESURFACING, INCREASING THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF CONTRACT BY AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED, UM, $3,250,000.[ PW 2 - 6/28/2023 Resolution approving Change Order No. 1 and amending the contract with Peter J. Landi, Inc., for the improvements at Massaro Park, for an amount not to exceed $119,900]
RESOLUTION APPROVING CHANGE ORDER AND AMENDING THE CONTRACT WITH PETER LANDY FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS OF MS. ARROW PARK FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 119,900.I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND ON FAVOR, AYE.
[ PW 3 - 6/28/2023 Resolution approving Change Order No.1 and amending the contract with Costas Construction for the Administration Building roof replacement project at Anthony F. Veteran Park for an amount not to exceed $58,750]
RESOLUTION APPROVING CHANGE ORDER AND AMENDED AMENDING THE CONTRACT WITH COST US, UH, CONSTRUCTION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECT AT ANTHONY VETERAN PARK FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $58,750.I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT CHANGE ORDER NUMBER ONE.
YEAH, CHANGE ORDER NUMBER ONE.
[ PW 4 - 6/28/2023 Resolution approving Change Order No. 2 and amending the contract with Costas Construction for the Administration Building roof replacement project at Anthony F. Veteran Park, for an amount not to exceed $22,210]
RESOLUTION APPROVING CHANGE ORDER NUMBER TWO AND AMENDING THE CONTRACT WITH COSTAS CONSTRUCTION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECT AT ANTHONY VETERAN PARK FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 22,210.I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN
[ PW 5 - 6/28/2023 Resolution approving Change Order No. 3 and amending the contract with Costas Construction for the Administration Building roof replacement project at Anthony F. Veteran Park, for an amount not to exceed $6,740]
FAVOR, AYE.RESOLUTION APPROVING CHANGE ORDER THREE.
AND AMENDING THE CONTRACT WITH COSTAS CONSTRUCTION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECT AT ANTHONY VETERAN PARK FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $6,740.
[ PW 6 - 6/28/2023 Resolution approving Change Order No. 4 and amending the contract with Costas Construction for the Administration Building roof replacement project at Anthony F. Veteran Park, for an amount not to exceed $48,780]
CHANGE ORDER NUMBER FOUR AND AMENDING CONTRACT THAT COSTUS CONSTRUCTION FOR ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECT AT ANTHONY VETERAN PARK FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 48,780.I JUST WANNA SAY ON, ON PW 3, 4, 5, AND SIX, UM, I VOTED AYE, BUT I DID QUESTION WHY SHORTLY AFTER GETTING THE CONTRACT, AND I MEAN VERY SHORTLY AFTER GETTING THE CONTRACT, THERE WERE FOUR CHANGE ORDERS, INCREASING THE PRICE SIGNIFICANTLY.
UH, WE DID HAVE AN OUTSIDE COMPANY, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHANGE ORDERS AND DEEM THEM TO BE ACCEPTABLE.
UH, BUT ALSO WHAT'S MOTIVATING ME TO VOTE FOR IT IS THAT THE, EVEN WITH THE CHANGE ORDERS, IT'S STILL LOWER THAN THE LEX NEXT LOWEST BIDDER ON THE ORIGINAL BID.
UM, BUT I I, I'M NOT A BIG FAN OF HAVING AWARDING A BID AND THEN IMMEDIATELY WITHIN A MONTH HAVING FOUR CHANGEOVERS.
YEAH, I AGREE WITH YOU A HUNDRED PERCENT.
[02:50:01]
YOU MOVE HERE? NO, YOU, YOU GOTTA CLOSE THE SEVEN.WELL, NO, YOU WANT TO SET A SPECIAL MEETING FOR OH, OH.
UH, I'D LIKE TO SCHEDULE A, UH, A MEETING, UH, FIVE 30 TO APPROVE THE FARMER'S MARKET.
GO TO THE FARMER'S MARKET AND ALSO DOES POLICE POSITIONS.
YOUR THERE'S A SPECIAL MEETING FOR FRIDAY AT FIVE O'CLOCK.
ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY SECOND IN FAVOR? AYE.
MOTION TO NOW WE NEED ADJOURN IT.