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[Four Corners Public Information/Community Outreach Meeting on June 9th, 2025 ]
EVERYONE.I'M THE PLANNING COMMISSIONER FOR THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
VERY PLEASED TO BE HERE TONIGHT AND WORKING ON THIS FOUR CORNERS REZONING INITIATIVE, WHICH IS BY VIRTUE OF A GRANT THAT THE TOWN RECEIVED FROM THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
WE'VE GOT AN EXCELLENT TEAM HERE, BFJ PLANNING, THAT'S GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH A PRESENTATION OF WHAT THE TOWN ASPIRES TO DO WITH ITS ZONING, AND PAINT THE PICTURE FOR THE VISION OF FOUR CORNERS.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA TAKE A BREAK, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE A TIME FOR SOME QUESTIONS.
SO WHETHER YOU'RE HERE TONIGHT, UH, LIVE IN THE AUDITORIUM, WATCHING ON, UH, THE ZOOM OR THE LIVE STREAM, OR WATCHING AFTER THIS MEETING HAPPENS, WE APPRECIATE YOUR INTEREST.
AND, UM, WE'LL GET IT STARTED WITH, UH, FRANK FISH.
UM, I'M FRANK FISH WITH BFJ PLANNING.
UH, THERE'S FOUR OF US GONNA DO THIS PRESENTATION, SO I'M GONNA TURN IT TO EVAN, WHO'S GONNA COVER A LITTLE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, AND SYLVIA DEL FAVA, WHO WILL COVER A LOT OF THE DETAILS OF EXISTING CONDITIONS IN THE FOUR CORNERS.
AND JONATHAN MARTIN IS IN CHARGE OF URBAN DESIGN IN OUR FIRM, AND WILL GO THROUGH SOME VERY, AT THIS POINT, VERY, UM, PRELIMINARY DESIGN, UH, JUST THOUGHTS AND AND ISSUES.
SO THAT'S THE, UH, THAT'S THE TEAM.
UH, SO GARRETT'S COVERED THE AGENDA.
AND, UH, UM, I THINK WE'LL JUST HAVE A, AFTER OUR PRESENTATION, THERE'S COFFEE AND IN THE BACK IT'S A COUPLE OF BOARDS IF YOU WANNA EXAMINE THIS STUDY AREA IN DETAIL, BECAUSE SOME OF OUR SLIDES, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE AT A DISTANCE HERE.
SO, UH, WE PUT TWO BOARDS IN THE BACK, SO DURING THE COFFEE BREAK, IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT THOSE.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A, WHAT I, WHAT WE CALL A TOWN HALL MEETING.
JUST GIVE A CHANCE, EVERYBODY, EVERYONE, A CHANCE TO SPEAK THAT WANTS TO SPEAK.
UH, WE'VE GOT SOME STUDIES THAT, UH, ARE EXISTING STUDIES THAT WE USED AS A BASE TO, TO START WORK, AND THAT'S ONE OF THEM.
FOUR CORNERS REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.
SO IT'S A RELATIVELY RECENT, UH, PLAN, UH, BY THE TOWN.
AND IT, IT WAS, UH, UNDERTAKEN TO DEVELOP A VISION, UM, FOR THE FOUR CORNERS.
UM, IDENTIFY ISSUES AND EXISTING ZONING IN THAT PLAN WAS IDENTIFIED BY THOSE WHO DID THE PLAN AS A MAJOR, UH, BARRIER TO NEW DEVELOPMENT.
SO ONE OF OUR, UH, TASKS, UM, IS THE ZONING OF FOUR CORNERS TO TAKE, TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
UM, THE OTHER THINGS IS THE PLANNED VISION, OBVIOUSLY WAS AIMED AT REVITALIZING THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT THEY TOOK A HOLISTIC APPROACH AND SAID, ANYTHING THAT'S DONE IN THE FUTURE, WE OUGHT TO LOOK AT TRAFFIC CONGESTION, INADEQUATE PARKING AND INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES, WHICH WE'VE STARTED TO DO.
WE'VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A, WE ALREADY KNEW ABOUT FLOODING, BUT WE HAD A MORE DETAILED, UH, EDUCATION ON THAT, ON A SITE VISIT.
UM, BUT THE PLAN IDENTIFIED POLICIES TO SUPPORT, UH, FUTURE REZONING.
SO WE HOPE TO LOOK AT THAT, UM, THAT WAY.
THERE'S ANOTHER STUDY, UH, WHICH THE TOWN UNDERTOOK BY A, A FIRM HERE IN WESTCHESTER, A KRF.
AND THEY DID, UH, THESE ARE ONLY TWO DRAWINGS FROM THAT STUDY, BUT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF IT WAS WHAT IN PLANNING IS CALLED, UM, UH, ACCESS MANAGEMENT.
WHAT IT REALLY MEANS IS JUST CONSOLIDATING DRIVEWAYS SO YOU DON'T HAVE A PLETHORA, A PLETHORA OF DRIVEWAYS.
UH, AND IF YOU CAN LIMIT DRIVEWAYS TO ONE DRIVEWAY PER SITE, THAT'S THE IDEAL.
IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, YOU'VE GOTTA SOMETIMES, UH, CONNECT, UH, PARKING, PARKING LOTS.
BUT THAT'S ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE.
YOU CAN SEE THERE ON THE CURB CUT STRATEGY, THERE'S MANY CURB CUTS, WHICH IS EXISTING CONDITION.
A KRF TR ON THE RIGHT, HAD A PROPOSAL SET OF PROPOSALS FOR, UH, TRYING TO MODIFY THOSE.
SO YOU GET FEWER CURB CURB CUTS.
THE FEWER CURB CUTS THERE ARE, THE BETTER THE TRAFFIC FLOW IS 'CAUSE YOU DON'T INTERFERE WITH IT AS MUCH PEOPLE COMING INTO A SITE OR GOING OUT OF A SITE.
UH, THE OTHER THING THEY LOOKED AT IS TO SAY AT THE FOUR CORNERS, FROM A TRAFFIC POINT OF VIEW, THEY FELT THEY COULD, UM, BETTER THE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS THERE BY CREATING RIGHT TURN LANES.
YOU CAN SEE THE THREE OF THEM IN PARTICULAR, THE MOST DIFFICULT ONE IS THE LIGHTER YELLOW, UH, COMING, COMING FROM THE TRAIN STATION AND COMING UP AND THEN TRYING TO TAKE A RIGHT TURN ON, UM, CENTRAL AVENUE.
THE BUILDING'S VERY CLOSE, UH, TO THE CURB.
THE OTHER, THE OTHER, UM, THE OTHER CORNERS IN THE BRIGHT
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YELLOW ARE NOT AS, THEY'RE NOT AS CONSTRAINED IN TERMS OF DOING THAT, BUT, BUT THAT, A, A CAR F INDICATED THAT WOULD MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON, ON THE INTERSECTION.AND THE OTHER THING IS THAT WHO'S SPONSORING THIS, IF YOU WILL? GARRETT'S ALREADY MENTIONED, UH, THIS WE'RE BEING RETAINED ON A, A PARTIALLY ANYWAY, ON A SIGNIFICANT GRANT TO THE TOWN FROM THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S CALLED A STATE SMART GROWTH PROGRAM GRANT.
UH, SO IT'S BEING UNDERTAKEN UNDER, I SHOULD SAY, IT'S BEING UNDERWRITTEN BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
UM, SO THE TOWN ALSO, UH, JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS, FORMED A ZONING COMMITTEE.
UH, SOME OF THE ZONING COMMITTEE IS SITTING RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF ME, AND WE WERE THEN RETAINED TO WORK WITH, UH, THE ZONING COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, AT THIS POINT, I'M GONNA, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE LISTED HERE.
UH, ULTIMATELY WHATEVER WE PROPOSE IN TERMS OF ZONING, WE'LL GO TO THE TOWN BOARD.
AND GARRETT, I, I THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO ENTER IN.
YES, THE PROCESS THUS FAR HAS BEEN AIDED BY FOUR CORNER STEERING COMMITTEE, WHICH IS COMPRISED OF 11 MEMBERS.
EIGHT OF THOSE MEMBERS ARE HARTSDALE BASED.
UM, BEFORE WE GET TO THAT, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR TOWN BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE PRESENT TONIGHT.
UH, OUR WHOLE TOWN BOARD IS HERE, AND WE'RE PLEASED FOR THAT.
UH, TOWN SUPERVISOR, PAUL FINER COUNCILWOMAN, ELLEN HENDRICKS, COUNCILMAN FRANCIS SHEEN, COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN.
SO GETTING BACK TO THE FOUR CORNER STEERING COMMITTEE WHO HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL THUS FAR AND WILL BE WITH US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY UNTIL THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETE.
UM, THEY WERE INTERVIEWED BY THE TOWN BOARD, UM, UPON SOLICITATION VIA E-BLAST, AND EACH OF THE MEMBERS INTERVIEWED WITH THE TOWN BOARD, SO THE TOWN BOARD COULD LEARN ABOUT THEIR VARIOUS EXPERIENCE AND SEE HOW THEY COULD BE AN ASSET ON THIS PROJECT.
AND ULTIMATELY, THE TOWN BOARD BY RESOLUTION APPOINTED 11 MEMBERS.
SO I JUST BRIEFLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM AND THEIR EXPERTISE.
UH, BEN WILLIAMS IS A HARTSDALE RESIDENT AND AN ATTORNEY WITH EXTENSIVE REAL ESTATE AND APPRAISING EXPERIENCE.
BEN ALSO HOLDS AN ENGINEERING DEGREE.
CATHERINE AND HER FAMILY HAVE HAD A PRESENCE AS OWNERS ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF FOUR CORNERS FOR DECADES.
CATHERINE IS A FORMER EDGEMONT RESIDENT WHO HAS A RESIDENTIAL DEVELOP WHO HAS RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE.
VIOLA TALIA FARRO IS A LICENSED REAL ESTATE COMMERCIAL BROKER.
SHE'S A TOWN RESIDENT OF CLOSE TO 30 YEARS AND WAS FORMERLY ON THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD, AS WELL AS THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE.
CHRISTIE CONNECT IS AN EDGEMONT RESIDENT.
SHE'S A MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD AND WORKS AS A PROFESSIONAL PLANNER.
JEREMY FAST IS A HARTSDALE RESIDENT.
HE'S A NEW YORK STATE LICENSED ARCHITECT WITH LAND USE PLANNING EXPERIENCE.
KELLY SHEEN IS A HARTSDALE RESIDENT AND WORKS AS A PROFESSIONAL PLANNER WITH EXPERTISE IN TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE PLANNING, NO RELATION.
PAULETTE WESSING IS A TOWN RESIDENT FOR CLOSE TO 20 YEARS WITH AN HR BACKGROUND.
EDWIN WEINBERG IS A HARTSDALE RESIDENT AND ATTORNEY IN ACTIVE TOWN OF GREENBERG, PLANNING BOARD MEMBER GEORGE GUNLOCK IS A HARTSDALE RESIDENT OF CLOSE TO 20 YEARS.
HE'S AN ACTIVE TOWN OF GREENBURG CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBER WITH HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL LAND USE EXPERIENCE.
FRANKLIN CHOW IS A HARTSDALE RESIDENT OF OVER 20 YEARS.
HE'S A REAL ESTATE AGENT, AND HIS FAMILY HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE IN HARTSDALE WITH MULTIPLE HEALTH-BASED BUSINESSES.
LASTLY, CAROL MURRAY IS A HARTSDALE RESIDENT.
SHE'S A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WITH EXTENSIVE STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND MUNICIPAL PLANNING EXPERIENCE.
WE'RE NOT ONLY MEETING WITH THE COMMITTEE, UM, ON A REGULAR BASIS, BUT I'M VERY HAPPY.
I'M ALWAYS VERY HAPPY WHEN THE TOWN BOARD IS IS HERE BECAUSE EVENTUALLY WHATEVER COMES OUT OF THIS STUDY FROM THE COMMITTEE, UM, THAT IS GOING TO BE, UH, IN THE TOWN BOARD.
ONLY THE TOWN BOARD CAN ADOPT ZONING.
SO THAT'LL BE THE TOWN BOARD'S, UH, PROVINCE.
THE OTHER HAND I JUST WANTED TO MENTION, UH, THERE'S FOUR OF US TONIGHT FROM BFJ PLANNING.
WE DO HAVE TWO SUB CONSULTANTS, UH, ARCH STREET COMMUNICATIONS ON PUBLIC, WHICH ASSISTS US ON PUBLIC OUTREACH AND ALSO CSA GROUP, WHICH IS LOOKING AT STORMWATER, SOME STORMWATER ISSUES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, HOW THEY MAY AFFECT THE ZONING.
SO THOSE ARE, THAT'S THE SORT OF, THAT'S THE TEAM, IF YOU WILL.
UM, SO LET'S SEE IF I CAN GET THIS TO WORK.
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YOU CAN SEE THERE, I'VE MENTIONED IS TO CREATE, UH, SOME NEW ZONING REGULATIONS FOR THE FOUR CORNERS.WE WANNA, WE WANT TO HAVE IT ALIGNED WITH YOUR EXISTING STUDIES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND WE'VE MENTIONED THOSE.
AND THEN THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO GET A REVITALIZED FOUR CORNERS AND DONE IN A SUSTAINABLE, YOU KNOW, SUSTAINABLE WAY THAT, UH, MEETS THE COMMUNITY'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
SO, UH, THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE OVERALL PROJECT GOALS.
HERE'S SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR IT.
UM, WE WANT SOME, WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT ZONING THAT CAN HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY TO IT.
IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S NOT SO PRESCRIPTIVE THAT NOTHING HAPPENS OR IT'S NOT SO, UH, DETERMINATIVE OF THINGS THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE A REAL ESTATE MARKETABILITY TO IT.
SO WE WANNA HAVE IT FLEXIBILITY.
WE WANNA IMPROVE WALKABILITY AND PARKING, AND WE WANT TO IMPROVE AESTHETICS IF WE CAN.
AND, UH, AGAIN, I MENTIONED JONATHAN AS URBAN DESIGNER WILL SPEAK LAST FROM OUR GROUP, AND HE'S GOT SOME PRELIMINARY IDEAS, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF THAT.
AND IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE, PARTICULARLY STORM WATER, WE'VE GOT CSA ON OUR TEAM TO LOOK AT STORM WATER AND COORDINATION WITH THE TOWNS, UH, DEPARTMENTS.
SO THAT'S, UM, THIS MAY RESULT IN SOMETHING THAT HAS A PI PRIVATE OR PUBLIC PRI PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
WE DON'T KNOW YET ON THAT, BUT WE'LL SEE WHERE THAT ENDS UP.
I JUST WANNA END ON A TIMELINE THEN.
I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO EVAN.
BUT WHERE WE ARE, YOU CAN SEE THE TODAY AT THE TOP OF THAT.
SO WHERE ARE WE? WE'VE BEEN WORKING, UH, A BIT WITH THE TOWN ALREADY ON, UH, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN.
WE'VE STARTED, WE'VE ALREADY HAD A CA SORT OF A, A TOUR, A SITE VISIT WITH THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE HAVING INDIVIDUAL, UH, STAKE, WE CALL THEM STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, A LOT MEETINGS WITH TOWN DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND OTHERS, UH, IN, IN THE TOWN THAT MIGHT AFFECT THIS, UH, OUTCOME.
AND THEN THIS FIRST WORKSHOP TONIGHT, UH, IS WHERE WE'RE JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU ALL WHERE ARE WE AND WHAT HAVE WE BEEN ASKED TO DO, AND HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE? WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT? SO I'LL JUST COVER BRIEFLY THE NEXT, UM, POINTS THERE.
UH, BECAUSE EVAN'S GONNA COVER THE PART PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO WORK OVER THE SUMMER ON A PROPOSED, UH, SORT OF ALTERNATIVE ZONING SCENARIOS TO TEST WITH THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND ONCE WE DO THAT AND GET FEEDBACK, UH, WE WILL THEN EVENTUALLY END UP, WE HOPE, IN LATE SEPTEMBER, EARLY OCTOBER WITH A SECOND WORKSHOP, WHICH WOULD BE DONE A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY, WE THINK, UH, MAYBE ROUND TABLE INTERACTIVE MAPS, UH, 'CAUSE WE WANT TO GET IN INPUT FROM THE PUBLIC ON WHAT YOU THINK OF THE ALTERNATIVES WE'VE COME UP WITH.
AT THAT POINT, THEY WON'T BE FIRM RECOMMENDATIONS.
THERE'LL BE POSSIBLY ALTERNATIVES, SUGGESTIONS, AND THEN YOU CAN GET INTO THE DETAILS OF IT.
SO THAT'S THE OVERALL, UH, PLAN.
THE COMMITTEE WILL THEN GET TOGETHER AFTER THAT, OF COURSE, UH, AND BEFORE WE SEND ANYTHING TO THE TOWN BOARD.
UH, AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M HAPPY AGAIN, I HOPE THE TOWN BOARD WILL ALSO ALL COME TO THAT SECOND WORKSHOP BECAUSE THE TOWN BOARD WILL HAVE THE FINAL SAY ON WHAT HAPPENS, UH, HERE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, EVAN, I'M GONNA TURN IT TO YOU.
UM, SO AS FRANK MENTIONED, UH, WE DEVELOPED A PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN AS THE FIRST STEP IN THIS PUBLIC OUTREACH.
UM, THE GOAL OF THIS, UH, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN IS TO REFRESH THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THAT WAS CONDUCTED FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.
UM, AS WE KNOW THAT TOOK PLACE SIX YEARS AGO.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND WE ALSO WANT TO CONNECT, UH, COLLECT NEW INPUT ON ZONING SPECIFIC MATTERS, UH, WHICH WILL BE USED TO SHAPE THE ZONING, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THE MAIN ELEMENTS OF THIS INCLUDE A COUPLE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS.
UH, YOU'RE AT THE FIRST PUBLIC MEETING TODAY.
UM, IT WILL ALSO INCLUDE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS WITH SOME IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, TOWN BOARD MEETINGS, UM, A PUBLIC HEARING, WHICH YOU MAY HAVE SEEN ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, UH, AND A PROJECT WEBSITE, UM, WHICH IS CURRENTLY LIVE.
UM, SO HERE YOU CAN SEE, UH, WHERE ON THE TOWN WEBSITE, UM, YOU CAN FIND THE PROJECT WEBSITE.
UH, IT'S ON THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION PAGE.
UH, YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW THIS URL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.
UH, BUT ONCE YOU GO TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION PAGE, YOU CAN FIND THE FOUR KNO ZONING UPDATES TAB.
AND ON THAT PAGE, YOU'LL FIND ALL OF THE RELEVANT DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS, UH, WITH THIS PROCESS, UM, INCLUDING THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN, WHICH I MENTIONED EARLIER, AS WELL AS MEETING MINUTES FOR
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ALL OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND ANY ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS LIKE SLIDES.UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE, UH, ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE, UH, AFTER TODAY, UM, AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE'LL BE UNDERGOING SOME STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT OVER THE NEXT MONTH, MONTH AND A HALF.
UM, WE'VE SPLIT OUT THESE, UH, STAKEHOLDERS INTO SOME IMPORTANT BUCKETS, UH, AND WE'LL BE MEETING WITH, UM, THE STAKEHOLDERS IN GROUPS.
UM, SO THOSE, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE, UH, STAKEHOLDER ON THIS LIST, BUT IN GENERAL, UM, WE'LL BE MEETING WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS, UH, WITH THE PARKING INFRASTRUCTURE ENTITIES IN THE AREA, UH, WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY ENTITIES AND WITH THE OWNERS AND MAJOR TENANTS, UH, RELATED TO THE PROJECT.
UM, AND THUS FAR, UH, BEFORE THIS PUBLIC WORKSHOP, UM, WE TOOK A WALKING TOUR OF THE SITE WITH THE STEERING COMMITTEE AND SOME MEMBERS OF THE TOWN, UM, UH, JUST TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EXISTING CONDITIONS AT THE SITE.
UM, AND WE LEARNED A BIT MORE ABOUT EACH, UH, THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES THAT EACH OF THE FOUR CORNERS IS CURRENTLY FACING.
UH, AND THIS HELPED US TO START THINKING ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE START OF THIS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
UM, SO NOW I'M GONNA PASS IT TO SYLVIA WHO'S GONNA DISCUSS THOSE EXISTING CONDITIONS IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
UM, SO AFTER THE WALKIN TOUR THAT WE HAD WITH THE COMMITTEE, WE, UM, REALLY STARTED TO DIG INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE EXISTING CONDITIONS AND, UM, STARTING WITH THE ZONING.
SO WHAT'S THE EXISTING ZONING? RIGHT NOW IT'S MOSTLY THE CA DISTRICT, WHICH IS THE, YOU KNOW, LIGHTER COLOR ALONG THE CENTRAL PARK AVENUE, UH, CORRIDOR.
UM, IT MEANS CENTRAL AVENUE MIXED USE IMPACT DISTRICT.
THIS WAS A DISTRICT THAT WAS, UH, MAPPED IN THE AREA AROUND THE 1980S.
AND IT, UM, IT IS SURROUNDED BY RE RESIDENTIAL ZONES, UM, THAT GOES FROM HIGH DENSITY, YOU KNOW, MORE TO THE, TO THE SOUTH TO RESIDENTIAL AREAS, UH, THAT ARE MORE LIKE SINGLE FAMILY AREAS AS WELL.
BUT FOR THE CA, CENTRAL AVENUE MIXED USE IMPACT DISTRICT IN PARTICULAR, WE ARE REALLY, UH, TASKED TO, UM, LOOK IN DETAIL WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT WORKING TO KIND OF COME WITH A NEW ZONING THAT MIGHT WORK BETTER FOR THE FOUR CORNERS.
UM, THIS IS A DISTRICT THAT IS MAPPED ALONG THE ENTIRE CENTRAL AVENUE CORRIDOR IN GREENBURG.
SO THERE MIGHT BE AREAS WHERE THIS, UH, DISTRICT IS WORKING BETTER, UH, THAN IN THE FOUR CORNERS IN PARTICULAR IN THIS AREA.
WE HAVEN'T SEEN, UH, THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT REALLY CHANGING MUCH IN THE LAST 20 YEARS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY ONE OF THE ELEMENTS THAT THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN REALLY POINTED AT FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A BARRIER TO, TO CHANGE AND TO, UH, REVITALIZATION IN GENERAL.
WHAT, UH, WHAT ARE THE USES CURRENTLY ALLOWED IN THE CAD? IT'S A, IT'S A VARIETY.
IT'S MOSTLY COMMERCIAL USES, INCLUDING OFFICE, UH, USE BOTH SELECT STORES, BANKS, UH, RETAIL IN GENERAL.
UM, BUT THE, OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THAT THERE'S LIMITED DEMAND WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE OFFICE IS MORE OF AN HYBRID, UM, UH, WORKING SITUATION AT THE MOMENT, AND SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF DEMAND IN THE AREA.
RETAIL IS REALLY SUFFERING, UH, DUE TO ONLINE SHOPPING.
UH, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THROUGHOUT, YOU KNOW, THE REGION AND THE COUNTRY REALLY.
UM, BUT ALSO MULTIFAMILY IS ALLOWED.
UH, BUT THERE ARE SOME VERY STRICT REQUIREMENTS, UM, THAT WERE SET IN THE, UH, 1980S.
IN PARTICULAR, THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE FOR, UM, ANY MULTIFAMILY USE IS A TWO ACRE MINIMUM.
UM, THERE ARE ALSO SOME FRONT, UM, YARD SETBACKS, UH, THAT, THAT ARE VERY, VERY GENEROUS.
40 TO 80 FEET, DEPENDING ON THE LOT SIZE.
UH, THE DENSITY IS PRETTY LOW.
UH, IT'S, UH, MEASURED IN BEDROOMS PER ACRE.
IT'S 35 TO 40 BEDROOMS PER ACRE.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF BULK, UM, THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT ALLOWED AS OF NOW IS, UH, FOUR STORIES.
AND, UM, THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN POINTED OUT THAT THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT REALLY, UM, MAKING ANY REVITALIZATION, UH, YOU KNOW, HAPPENING IN THE AREA.
AND SO THEY MIGHT NOT BE WORKING VERY WELL FOR THE FOUR CORNERS.
AND LASTLY, UH, THE, UM, MULTIFAMILY, ANY MULTIFAMILY USE, NEW MULTIFAMILY, UH, THE 10% AFFORDABLE HOUSING WILL APPLY AS PER TOWN CODE.
UH, AFTER THE WALK THROUGH, UM, WE WENT, UM, TO KINDA LIKE, YOU KNOW, DIG INTO EACH SINGLE CORNER.
UH, WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL, UH, SOME OF THE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES THAT WE FOUND, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN HEAR FROM YOU ALL, UH, IF THERE ARE, UH, MORE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES OR CHALLENGES IN THESE CORNERS.
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STARTING WITH THE SOUTHEAST CORNER, THE MAIN FEATURE IS THE PRESENCE OF THE, UH, PUBLIC PARKING LOT.THEY ARE THE PUBLIC PARKING LOT IN THE BACK OF THE CORNER.
THERE ARE VARIOUS STORES AND RESTAURANTS.
UM, THEY HIGH UP THE JAPANESE RESTAURANT GENERATES A SMALL SCALE COMMERCIAL, UH, PROPERTIES.
UM, THERE'S SOME VARYING CONDITIONS OF THE SIDEWALKS.
THERE IS A NEW SIDEWALK RIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION, BUT AS YOU GO FARTHER WEST, UH, THE SIDEWALK IS, YOU KNOW, NOT SO GREAT CONDITIONS.
AND SOME OF THE, UH, STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES, UM, ONE BIG ONE IS THIS IS, UM, A FLOOD ZONE.
UH, SO WE KNOW THERE'S REPEATED, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'VE BEEN, UH, EPISODES IN THE PAST, AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE LOOKING INTO, INTO, UH, HOW CAN WE RETAIN STORM WATER ON SITE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AND HAVE A ZONING THAT REALLY WORKS, UM, AND IT CAN WORK TOWARD THAT GOAL.
UM, THE ADJACENT PROPERTY, LIKE THE, THE SCALE IS ABOUT SEVEN STORIES.
THERE IS A GOLF COURSE RIGHT THERE.
UM, AND ANOTHER STRENGTH IS THAT ONE, PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, ONLY OWNS A LARGE PORTION OF THIS CORNER.
SO THERE MIGHT BE MORE OPPORTUNITIES IF ALSO THE PARKING, THE LOT MAY BE INTEGRATED IN THIS, UM, POTENTIAL FUTURE REDEVELOPMENT THAT MIGHT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UNLATCH, SOME, SOME, SOME REALLY GREAT PROGRESS, UH, ACROSS CENTRAL PARK AVENUE.
THE SOUTHWEST CORNER, UH, ER IS THE, UH, LITTLE SHOPPING PLAZA WITH THE BAGEL DELI AND, UM, OTHER, UH, STORES, UH, THERE'S A FIREHOUSE, UM, AND THERE'S A BIG, BIG PARKING LOT AREA BEHIND THE FONT AND DINER ARE, UM, THIS CORNER, UH, AS INTERESTINGLY AS A TWO TOWN OWNED SITES THAT ARE CURRENTLY USED FOR STORAGE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RENTED OUT TO A PRIVATE, UM, PROPERTY TO, TO KIND USE AS A STORAGE FOR VEHICLES.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE TOWN HAS SOME CONTROL ON THESE PROPERTIES.
THE FIREHOUSE, AS I SAID, IS RIGHT THERE.
WE WANNA BE SENSITIVE TO THE, UM, SOUTH WASHINGTON, UM, AVENUE.
UM, CORRIDOR HAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES.
UM, BUT ALSO WE ARE COGNIZE THAT THERE IS A LOT WE CAN IMPROVE IN TERMS OF STORM WATER MANAGEMENT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AESTHETIC IN GENERAL, BECAUSE THE BIG PARKING LOT IS LIKE, ESSENTIALLY IMPERVIOUS SURFACE FOR LIKE A LOT, A LOT OF ACRES.
UM, YEAH, ANOTHER STRENGTH THERE IS A VACANT NON-CONFORMING RESIDENTIAL LOT ON SOUTH WASHINGTON THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE INCLUDED IN THESE, UH, UM, UH, ZONING, NEW ZONING, AND MAYBE PROVIDE LIKE ANOTHER CONNECTION TO THIS, UH, CORNER, UM, GOING ACROSS WEST DALE AVENUE.
UM, KIND OF THE FIRST, UH, PHOTO LOOKS UP WHERE DALE AVENUE, UM, YOU RECOGNIZE THE, UH, PROMINENT VACANT SITE OF THE FORMER DO RE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THE BACK WITH THE, THE PARKING AND ALSO THE SUNOCO, UM, GAS STATION AND THE BEAUTIFUL RESIDENTIAL BUILDING JUST, UM, UM, BEHIND THE SUNOCO.
UM, AGAIN, THESE ARE MAINLY TWO BIG LOTS.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, ESPECIALLY IF PROPERTY OWNERS ARE INTERESTED IN, UM, DOING SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE WITH THE NEW ZONING.
UM, THERE IS ALREADY AN EXISTING ACCESS TO WASHINGTON AVENUE.
UM, IT'S A, IT'S A TRUE, TRUE OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, READ VITAL AT THIS CORNER, BECAUSE THE DO WANNA READ HAS BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A PROMINENT CORNER THAT EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, WALKS OR DRIVES THROUGH, UM, MANY TIMES PER DAY.
UM, AGAIN, THERE IS A, A BEHIND, UH, THIS, UH, THIS CORNER.
THERE IS ANOTHER, UM, AREA OF RESIDENCIES.
UM, SOME ARE MULTIFAMILY, SOME ARE, UH, SINGLE FAMILY.
SO WE WANNA BE SENSITIVE TO THAT LAST CORNER, NORTHEAST CORNER.
UH, THIS IS, UH, MOSTLY, UH, IT'S A BIG BUILDING RIGHT BY THE, UH, STREET.
UM, SO THE SIDEWALK GETS VERY NARROW, UH, BECAUSE THE BUILDING IS SO CLOSE TO THE ROAD.
UM, SO THERE'S DEFINITELY SOME, UM, SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, HAVING A MORE COMFORTABLE, UH, ENVIRONMENT FOR PEDESTRIANS THAT, YOU KNOW, MAY BE, MAY NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE SPACE, UH, MORE OF A BUFFER BETWEEN THE CARS, UM, RUNNING THROUGH CENTRAL AVENUE.
UH, SOME PICTURES, UH, ARE ALSO AT THE BACK OF THIS CORNER.
THERE IS AN AUTO BODY USED RIGHT NEXT TO THE RESIDENTIAL AREA.
UM, YEAH, AS I SAID, THE SIDEWALKS ARE VERY NARROW.
UH, THERE IS A NEW BARRIER FENCE CAN LIKE TO PROTECT PEDESTRIANS.
UH, ANOTHER CHALLENGE OF THESE AREA IS THAT THE
[00:25:01]
LOTS ARE NOT VERY DEEP, SO IT'S NOT SUPER EASY TO REDEVELOP THESE LOTS.UH, BUT, UM, A STRENGTH IS THAT THERE ARE THREE PROPERTY OWNERS AND MOST OWN, MOST OF THESE CORNER.
UM, IT SEEMS ALSO INTERESTING THAT THERE'S A BIG TOPOGRAPHY CHANGE, SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME, UH, INTERESTING DESIGN, UH, IN THE BUILDINGS THAT CAN BE EXPLORED.
AND AGAIN, WE WANNA BE CONSCIOUS THAT WILSON STREET IS AN ESTABLISHED SINGLE FAMILY AREA, UH, JUST BEHIND THIS CORNER.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT TO JONATHAN FOR SOME EXCITING, UH, PRELIMINARY DESIGNS.
UH, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
UM, I WAS INVITED INTO THE PROJECT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE 2019 REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND LOOK AT IT FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE.
THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS IN THAT PRESENTATION, AND I WANT TO BEGIN THERE.
AND THEN I WILL FOLLOW WITH SOME PRELIMINARY I IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION.
REALLY NO DESIGNING AT THIS POINT, BUT TRYING TO GET US TO MAYBE THINK ABOUT ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF CONSIDERING THE FOUR CORNERS.
SO, IF WE BEGIN HERE WITH THE DESIGN PRINCIPLES MENTIONED IN THE 2019 REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, UM, THERE ARE SOME PRETTY GOOD IDEAS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, THERE'S A, UH, DIAGRAM TAKEN RIGHT OUT OF THE PLAN.
UH, WE COLORED IT A LITTLE BIT, SO YOU COULD SEE THE ACTUAL ROOFTOPS THERE, OF THE NEW BUILDINGS THAT ARE BEING, UH, PROPOSED, UM, AT LEAST IN THIS STUDY, AND THERE ARE SOME PRETTY GOOD IDEAS HERE.
UM, UH, SOME OF THE GUIDELINES WERE ATTRACTIVE BUILDINGS AND INVITING STOREFRONTS.
SO TRYING TO MAKE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE SORT OF WANT TO GO, THEY WANNA SPEND TIME, UH, THAT'S PART OF REVITALIZATION, UH, BREAKING UP THE SURFACE PLANES OF THE BUILDING.
AND THAT REALLY TALKS ABOUT THIS HAPPENING VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE BIG MONOLITHIC, UH, BUILDINGS, UH, WHERE THEY GO UP, THEY GO, MAYBE GO IN AND OUT A LITTLE BIT, STEP BACK.
AND ALONG THE FRONTAGE, UH, THEY GO IN AND OUT A LITTLE BIT, CREATING A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, SPACE AND A COMFORTABLE, UH, PLACE TO SPEND TIME.
UM, THE STEP BACKS ON THE TIERED BUILDINGS, UH, PUBLIC SPACES AND STREET FRONT, UH, FURNITURE ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
SO AGAIN, TRYING TO THINK ABOUT, UH, THE PUBLIC REALM AND MAKING THAT INVITING, UH, TREE LINED AVENUES AND, UH, STREET FURNITURES AND BURYING THE, UH, UTILITY LINES, AGAIN, PART OF THIS BEAUTIFICATION.
UM, WITH THAT, WE CAN MAYBE FROM AN URBAN DESIGN PERSPECTIVE, TAKE A LOOK AT HOW THIS, UM, SORT OF BEGINS TO LAY OUT.
AND, UM, HERE'S A DIAGRAM, UH, THAT WE'VE ADDED HERE, SHOWING SORT OF THE BASIC LAYOUT OF THAT IMAGE THAT I SHOWED YOU.
SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING DIRECTLY, UH, UP FROM ABOVE.
AND WHAT WE SEE IS THE SORT OF, THE MAIN IDEA HERE IS TO CREATE A FOUR CORNERS WHERE THEY HOLD THE CORNERS, MEANING THAT THE BUILDINGS COME, YOU KNOW, PRETTY CLOSE TO THE STREET.
UH, THERE'S A WIDE ENOUGH SIDEWALK THERE, BUT THE BUILDINGS CREATE A STRONG CORNER.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE IMAGES ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
ACTUALLY, THE ONE ON THE TOP IS FROM THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.
UH, THE ONE ON THE LOWER RIGHT IS ACTUALLY A PROJECT IN, UH, DOWNTOWN SCARSDALE CALLED CHRISTIE PLACE.
AND, UH, FROM WHAT YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THESE BUILDINGS, THE IMAGE HERE IS THAT THE CORNERS ARE HELD AND THEY BECOME VERY STRONG IN THIS, UH, IMAGE.
AND ACTUALLY IN THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, THEY KIND OF CHIP THE CORNERS, AND WE SORT OF GET THAT KIND OF SPACE.
UH, SOME OTHER WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT THIS JUST FOR, UH, DISCUSSION.
UM, WE COULD THINK ABOUT TAKING ONE OF THOSE CORNERS.
AND THIS IS SHOWN HERE, UH, NORTH IS TO THE RIGHT.
SO THIS IS THE NORTHWEST CORNER, AND THAT'S NOT, THAT'S JUST TO ILLUSTRATE THE IDEA.
NOT TO SAY THAT THIS IS WHERE A CORNER PLAZA SHOULD GO, BUT THE IDEA IS PRETTY INTERESTING.
RATHER THAN HOLDING ALL FOUR CORNERS, COULD A PUBLIC SPACE BE CREATED? AND THAT COULD BE A PLAZA, COULD BE A GREEN SPACE, IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT IN AND AROUND THAT OR FRONTING IT.
UH, WE COULD HAVE THOSE SHOPS AND CAFES AND ACTUALLY HAVE A PLACE TO GO AT THE FOUR CORNERS.
AND YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE DIAGRAM, UH, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
UH, ANOTHER SORT OF, UM, IDEA ON THAT IS TO THINK ABOUT, UH, DOING THAT ON TWO CORNERS, OR MAYBE HERE WE'RE SHOWING THEM SORT OF KITTY CORNER OPPOSITE AT A DIAGONAL.
UH, BUT THAT'S, AGAIN, IT'S THE DIAGRAM.
IT'S THE IDEA OF THINKING ABOUT CREATING A SPACE, A SPACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO GO SPEND TIME, WALK DOWN FROM THE NEIGHBORHOODS, RATHER THAN JUST SORT OF AN EXTENSION OF, UH, THIS LONG CORRIDOR.
AND I KNOW IT WELL, I LIVE IN ARLEY AND I COME DOWN THAT HILL EVERY DAY, AND I SIT THERE AND I LOOK AT BAGEL DELL.
[00:30:01]
UH, SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR OF WHAT THIS AREA FEELS LIKE.AND THERE'S OPPORTUNITY HERE, I THINK, TO MAKE A REALLY GREAT PLACE.
UM, AND HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THIS, UH, IN PHOTOGRAPHS.
UH, THE ONE ON THE TOP LEFT, SOME OF YOU MAY RECOGNIZE THIS, THIS IS DOWNTOWN TUCKAHOE, AND THIS IS A FAIRLY SMALL SCALE BUILDING, BUT THAT PLAZA ON THAT CORNER IS REALLY, REALLY BEAUTIFUL.
THAT'S A NICE CORNER TO BE ON.
IT'S OPPOSITE THE TRAIN STATION, AND IT SORT OF CREATES THAT SPACE.
UH, SOME OF THESE OTHERS ARE FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY.
UH, THE ONE ON THE LOWER, UH, LEFT HAND SIDE IS IN, UH, COLORADO.
AND, UH, THE IDEA IS TO STEP BACK AND GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF SPACE ON THIS CORNER.
AND THERE'S A VARIETY OF WAYS OF DOING THIS.
I, I LIKE THE ONE ON THE LOWER, UH, RIGHT HAND SIDE THERE, BECAUSE WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS THEY'VE CREATED THE PLAZA, THEY HAVE A SMALLER SCALE BUILDING, AND THEN YOU GET BACK UP TO SOMETHING THAT'S A LITTLE TALLER.
AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT SORT OF THAT HUMAN SCALE AND, AND THE FIELD THAT YOU WILL GET AND THE CREATION OF A SENSE OF PLACE.
UM, ANOTHER IDEA HERE WOULD BE TO THINK ABOUT, UH, EXTENDING THE CURB TO BUILDING SETBACK, MAYBE FOR A PORTION GOING BACK NORTH AND SOUTH, UH, FROM, UH, UH, HARTSDALE AVENUE ALONG CENTRAL PARK AVENUE, A LITTLE BIT TO THE NORTH, A LITTLE BIT TO THE SOUTH.
UH, THIS IS NOT PRECISE RIGHT HERE, BUT IT, IT'S DRAWN TO ILLUSTRATE THE IDEA.
AND THAT COULD BE A BUILDING, UH, SETBACK, SO THAT, THAT SPACE YOU COULD HAVE, UH, HERE WE'RE SHOWING SORT OF, UH, SOME, A ALI OF TREES HERE.
AND IN A WAY, IT CREATES A BREATHING SPACE THAT YOU'RE COMING DOWN THE, UH, UH, CENTRAL PARK AVENUE, AND YOU ARRIVE THERE, YOU ARRIVE AT FOUR CORNERS, AND SOMETHING IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
THE OTHER NICE THING ABOUT THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES ALL FOUR CORNERS, AND THAT SPACE IS AN IDEAL PLACE FOR WRAPPING THESE, UH, CAFES OR RESTAURANTS OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
AND YOU CAN ACCOMMODATE, UH, OUTDOOR SEATING.
IT ALSO GIVES A, A, A REAL SENSE OF SORT OF, UH, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.
AS YOU GET UP TO THAT CORNER, I'VE CROSSED AT CENTRAL PARK AVENUE MANY TIMES, AND YOU'RE STANDING RIGHT THERE, AND, UH, THE CARS ARE SORT OF VERY CLOSE.
THIS ALLOWS YOU TO STEP BACK, WAIT FOR THAT LIGHT AND, UM, UH, CROSS IN THAT FASHION.
UH, AND THEN HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THIS MIGHT BE.
UH, ON THE, UH, LEFT HAND SIDE, THIS IS, UH, UH, UH, REVITALIZED DISTRICT, UH, IN, UH, DENVER, COLORADO.
AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THEY'VE DONE.
THERE IS EXACTLY, UH, THIS LEA OF TREES AND, UH, A PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY.
THEY'RE PROTECTED FROM THE CARS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
UM, THIS IS A RENDERING, UH, AND YOU'D HAVE TO IMAGINE ON THE VERY RIGHT SIDE OF THIS IMAGE, THAT'S WHERE CENTRAL PARK AVENUE WOULD BE.
UH, BUT THE SAME IDEA THAT THERE IS, UH, UH, THE BUILDING SET BACK A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN THERE'S A PEDESTRIAN REALM, AND THAT COULD HAPPEN JUST AT THE CORNER ON ALL FOUR CORNERS, UH, AS ONE IDEA.
UM, THE LAST SLIDE THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT IS, AGAIN, OUR JOB IS NOT TO DESIGN THE CORNERS.
IT'S TO WRITE ZONING FOR THE CORNERS.
AND, UM, IN THINKING ABOUT THAT, UH, WE HAVE A CONTEXT WHERE THERE ARE SOME SEVEN STORY BUILDINGS.
UH, WE, UH, ARE LOOKING AT VARIOUS HEIGHTS AND, UH, HOW THE BUILDINGS MIGHT BE ARTICULATED AS THEY ADDRESS THE FOUR CORNERS IN CENTRAL PARK AVENUE.
BUT HERE WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS IN A CONTEXT, AND THAT CONTEXT IS SURROUNDED BY RESIDENTIAL USES.
AND THE IDEA IS TO CREATE A PLACE WHERE THOSE PEOPLE WILL FEEL COMFORTABLE AND ALSO COME DOWN, USE, UH, THE NEW AMENITIES AT FOUR CORNERS, BUT THEN THAT THOSE FOUR CORNERS WILL EMBRACE AND FIT IN WELL WITH THAT CONTEXT.
SO, ONE IDEA HERE THAT WE'RE BEGINNING TO LOOK AT IS TAKING THE ZONING AND A, YOU CAN SEE THIS IS A CROSS SECTION.
SO THIS IS SORT OF LIKE RUNNING EAST TO WEST, UH, ALONG HARTSDALE AVENUE.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS SOUTH WASHINGTON AVENUE.
AND SO THERE WE COULD THINK ABOUT THE BUILDING STEPPING DOWN TO MEET THAT SMALLER SCALE OF THE RESIDENTIAL, UH, FABRIC.
UM, IF WE WERE TO CUT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, FURTHER TO THE NORTH, BUT NOW WE'RE, I'M ON THE, UH, RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THIS IMAGE.
WE KNOW THAT UP ON WILSON STREET, UH, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, HAS A RESIDENTIAL FEEL ON THAT CORNER.
IF A NEW BUILDING GOES IN, I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL NOT JUST ABOUT HOW HEIGHT, ALTHOUGH THERE IS TOPOGRAPHY THAT GOES UP THERE, WILSON STREET IS QUITE, QUITE HIGHER THAN CENTRAL PARK AVENUE, RIGHT? BUT I THINK SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT IS WHAT IS THE BACKSIDE OF THOSE BUILDINGS AND HOW DO THEY CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO
[00:35:01]
WILSON STREET? I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT, UH, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE AROUND HERE AND THE DESIGN CONTEXT IN THAT FASHION.THESE ARE PRELIMINARY IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION.
THAT'S AS FAR AS WE'VE GOTTEN.
I'M GONNA TURN IT BACK OVER TO FRANK FOR NEXT STEPS.
UM, THE NEXT STEPS ARE FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
WE'RE GONNA FIRST DIGEST WHAT YOU SAY TODAY.
WE'RE GONNA GO OVER IT WITH THE COMMITTEE.
WE MEET WITH THE COMMITTEE MONTHLY.
AND, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL DO THAT, UH, AS A NEXT STEP.
BUT, AND THEN OVER THE SUMMER, WE'RE GONNA DRAFT SOME DIFFERENT ZONING CONCEPTS A LITTLE BIT BASED ON INPUT TONIGHT, INPUT FROM OUR COMMITTEE, AND THEN WE WILL DEVELOP THOSE CONCEPTS, CONTINUE MEETING WITH THE KEY, UH, DEPARTMENT HEADS AND WHAT WE CALL STAKEHOLDERS, UH, WHICH WILL BE THE CIVIC GROUPS THAT, UM, EVAN MENTIONED.
UH, SO WE'LL DO BE DOING THAT OVER THE SUMMER ALSO.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WE ARE, WE HAVE NOT MENTIONED SOMETHING SO FAR, AND I THINK WE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO MENTION WHATEVER, WE CAN'T START IT.
WE, WE CAN START IT WITH THE TOWN BOARD EVENTUALLY BY DECLARING LEAD AGENCY FOR THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW PROCESS.
THAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
SO EVERYTHING THAT WE DO THAT WE DEVELOP, ONCE IT'S, WE HAVE THE OUTLINES OF IT, THEN WE, WE NEED TO HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A PROPOSED ACTION A LITTLE BIT.
AND WE WILL THEN START, OR I SHOULD SAY THIS IS THE TOWN'S GONNA TAKE THE LEAD ON THIS, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL ASSIST, UH, AND THAT IS LOOKING AT THE IMPACTS OF THIS, FOR INSTANCE, TRAFFIC, WHAT WE PROPOSE, WHAT'S THE TRAFFIC IMPACT, WHAT'S THE PARKING IMPACT, WHAT'S THE IMPACT, IF ANY ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, WE'VE STARTED LOOKING AT SCHOOL DISTRICT ENROLLMENTS.
UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE? WE'VE GOT THE TRAFFIC DATA FROM THE A KRF STUDY.
SO WE WILL GO THROUGH ALL OF THOSE IMPACTS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
UM, BUT THE SECOND WORKSHOP FOR US IS KEY BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN WE'D BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO YOU, AS I SAID, MAYBE IN SEP LATE SEPTEMBER, EARLY OCTOBER, AND TEST OUT THESE ZONING IDEAS, HAVING HEARD YOU THROUGH THIS EVENING.
AND ALSO HAVING HEARD FROM COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT WE'LL BE MEETING WITH OVER THE SUMMER AND INTO SEPTEMBER.
THE STAKEHOLDERS, UM, ONCE WE HAVE THAT, WE'LL GET YOUR INPUT IN THE SECOND WORKSHOP THAT'LL LEAD TO OTHER MEETINGS WITH THE COMMITTEE BEFORE WE DEVELOP THE, THE ZONING THAT DOES GO FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION TO THE TOWN BOARD.
UH, SO THOSE ARE SORT OF THE NEXT STEPS.
BUT THE, THE BIGGEST ONE RIGHT NOW IS, UH, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A, UM, A COFFEE BREAK.
AND IF I COULD, IF I COULD JUST ASK EVERYONE THOUGH, I KNOW IT'S ONLY ABOUT NINE MINUTES FROM NOW, BUT IF WE COULD COME BACK TO YOUR SEATS, IF WE COULD RECONVENE AT EIGHT O'CLOCK.
UM, THAT GIVES YOU ENOUGH TIME FOR A COFFEE.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF BOARDS BACK THERE ALSO THAT GIVE YOU THE, THE DETAILS OF IT.
AND IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO ANY OF US, WE'RE HERE, WE'RE AVAILABLE.
UM, AND THEN AT EIGHT O'CLOCK WE'LL HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETING, WHICH I THINK GARRETT'S GONNA BE, GARRETT WILL MODERATE.
IS IS FIELD QUESTIONS? THERE ARE NO BAD QUESTIONS, NO OFF LIMITS QUESTIONS.
ANYTHING YOU HAVE JUST, AND IT COULD BE COMMENTS AS WELL.
IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE A QUESTION.
YOU HAVE COMMENTS, ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO EXPRESS ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE HEARD TONIGHT? WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.
UM, SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS JUST DO BY RAISING HAND.
I'LL WALK AROUND THE MICROPHONE.
WE'RE GONNA STAY HERE AND, AND, AND DO OUR BEST TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AND TRY AND KEEP IT BRIEF.
IF YOU HAVE MULTIPLE QUESTIONS, MAYBE ASK A COUPLE, TWO, LET'S SAY AT MAX.
AND THEN, UH, WE'LL GO AROUND THE ROOM ONCE WE ENSURE WE HAVE TIME FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK.
WE'LL GET TO PEOPLE THAT HA MIGHT HAVE MORE THAN TWO QUESTIONS, LET'S SAY.
SO, UM, CAN I SPEAK FOR THE PARTIES? YOU CAN SPEAK FOR WHATEVER YOUR PREFERENCE IS.
UM, I WANT EVERYONE TO BE COMFORTABLE, SO WHATEVER YOU LIKE, KEVIN.
WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO START WITH THE QUESTION? ALL RIGHT, TERRY.
FIRST I'D LIKE TO COMMEND YOU ON THE DESIGN PLAN, SETTING IT BACK.
I THINK THAT'S VERY ATTRACTIVE.
UM, MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH PARKING WITH THE PROPOSED BUILDINGS.
UM, HAS ANY STORE BEEN GIVEN TO LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT REQUIREMENTS FOR PARKING SPACES WITH THAT TYPE OF BUILDING? BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE PARKING PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF THE APARTMENT HOUSES, AND IT, WHAT WAS CAR OWNERSHIP EVEN 20 YEARS AGO, MUCH LESS 40 YEARS AGO, HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY.
SO I QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THAT TO ALLOW FOR MORE PARKING SPACE FOR THE RESIDENTS THAT WOULD BE COMING IN.
AND MY SECOND COMMENT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, HOW
[00:40:01]
THE PLAN IS GOING TO HAVE THE PEOPLE IN THESE BUILDINGS NOT BE EXITING NEAR THE INTERSECTION, BUT FURTHER DOWN ON CENTRAL OR FURTHER UP CENTRAL SINCE THE INTERSECTION REALLY CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE IN TRAFFIC.YOU WANNA START? I'VE GOT A FEW THINGS TO SAY, BUDDY.
SO LET'S START WITH FIRST QUESTION.
AS FAR AS OFF STREET PARKING, ABSOLUTELY WE'RE GONNA BE COGNIZANT OF THE EXISTING REGULATIONS.
UH, THE PARKING FOR OFF STREET, UH, IS TIERED BETWEEN THE MULTIFAMILY M1 74, SO WE'LL CERTAINLY TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE.
I WOULD NOTE THAT A FAIR AMOUNT OF THE BUILDINGS ON EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE, UM, DO NOT EVEN HAVE A ONE PARKING SPACE PER UNIT.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY THAT THEY WOULD, WHERE THEY'RE LACKING IS TO GO TO, YOU KNOW, A MAX PARKING LEVEL.
UM, BUT EVEN IF THEY HAD THAT, I THINK A LOT OF THE OFF STREET PARKING, UM, COMPLICATIONS ON EAST HARSDALE AVENUE WOULD BE REMEDIED.
BUT WE CERTAINLY, THERE HAS TO BE A BALANCE OF AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF PARKING WITH VISITORS, UM, BUT NOT TO A POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT, THERE'S JUST PHYSICALLY NOT SPACE TO PARK AND HAVING REQUIREMENTS THAT WOULD ACTUALLY PRE PRECLUDE REDEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THAT, UM, THE HARTSDALE TRAIN STATION IS OF SUCH A CLOSE DISTANCE, UH, THAT CERTAINLY IS A FACTOR.
UM, AS FAR AS THE STRATEGIES FOR PARKING, UH, I'M SORRY, HAVING DRIVEWAY ENTRANCES CLOSE OR NOT CLOSE TO THE FOUR CORNERS INTERSECTION WHEN WE HAD ON THE SCREEN BEFORE THAT ACCESS MANAGEMENT.
UM, IN, IN ESSENCE WHAT THAT DOES IS CUT DOWN THE NUMBER OF, UH, UH, CURB CUTS.
BUT IT IS IMPORTANT, AND I THINK THIS IS PART OF YOUR QUESTION, TO NOT HAVE THE ENTRANCES SO CLOSE TO THE CORNER.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ULTIMATELY THERE'S GONNA BE AN ACTUAL, UH, MINIMUM, UM, OFFSET REQUIREMENT OR EACH CASE WILL, IT'LL BE A CASE BY CASE BASIS, BUT IN GENERAL, THE REGULATION SHOULD STRIVE TO KEEP THOSE DRIVEWAYS AS FAR FROM THE CORNERS AS POSSIBLE.
UH, ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD ONTO THAT? THE ONLY THING I'D ADD, UH, WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT FOR THE COMMITTEE, UM, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DATA ON PARKING NEEDS FOR MULTI-FAMILY BUILDINGS, UH, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THEY'RE CLOSE TO A TRAIN STATION, UH, FURTHER AWAY WE'VE GOT THAT DATA FROM YONKERS AND WHITE PLAINS AND SCARSDALE.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE PARKING STANDARDS TO SHARE WITH THE COMMITTEE AND OF COURSE WITH GARRETT.
AND SO WE, WE WILL TAKE A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THAT.
YOU WANNA HAVE THE BUILDING PARKED ADEQUATELY, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU DON'T WANNA CREATE A STANDARD THAT'S TOO HIGH BECAUSE PARKING, PARTICULARLY IN A STRUCTURE UNDERGROUND PARKING, IT COULD RUN 40 TO $45,000 OF SPACE TO CONSTRUCT.
AND SO WE WANNA BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER PARK NOR TO UNDER PARK, AND WE'LL TRY TO GET THAT RIGHT FROM BASED ON THE STUDIES WE'VE DONE IN WESTCHESTER.
WALTER, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR ME? THANK YOU.
UH, ONE IS THE PHILOSOPHY BEING USED TO DRAW THE BOUNDARIES.
I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN, UH, UH, A ISSUE WHEN I WAS ON THE MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE AND ON THE PLANNING BOARD IS THERE'S TWO WAYS OF DOING IT.
YOU DRAW A CIRCLE AND SAY, THIS IS THE AREA AND YOU DESIGN TO THE AREA, OR YOU COME UP WITH A, A CONCEPT AND YOU'RE PENDING UPON HOW YOU COULD, UH, ACTUATE YOUR CONCEPT, THEN YOU DRAW THE BOUNDARY.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY YOU'RE USING IN ESTABLISHING, IS IT THE FORMER OF THE LATTER
AND THE OTHER ISSUE I, I BRING UP IS THAT YOU INDICATED THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO COMMUNITY GROUPS, WHICH IS GOOD, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS WHO DON'T LIVE RIGHT IN THAT AREA? WHAT OPPORTUNITY DO THEY HAVE TO GIVE INPUT TO THE COMMITTEE? AND THE OTHER THING THAT YOU HAVE TO RECOGNIZE, SO I, JUST SPEAKING TO, UH, UH, TO TERRY WHO LIVES IN, UH, UH, UH, YEAH, UH, POST CORNER, THAT THAT TRAFFIC, EVEN THOUGH SHE DOES NOT LIVE RIGHT IN THAT CORNER, THAT TRAFFIC BACKS UP INTO HER NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO YOU HAVE TO LOOK FURTHER THAN JUST THE CIVIC
[00:45:01]
ASSOCIATIONS.YOU SHOULD INCLUDE THEM, BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK FURTHER THAN THOSE CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS AND THE IMPACT OF OTHER AREAS AND GIVE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIVE IN THAT AREA AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED.
ALL RIGHT, GREAT, GREAT COMMENTS.
SO JUST STARTING WITH THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION COMPONENT, WE DID LIST, UH, THREE SPECIFIC, UH, CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS THAT ARE VERY PROXIMATE TO FOUR CORNERS, THE MOST PROXIMATE WE BELIEVE.
UM, BUT IN FACT, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
UH, THE, THE PROJECT, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HOPE HAVE HAS TOWN WIDE INTEREST, UM, JUST GENERALLY THROUGHOUT TOWN, PEOPLE WANTING TO SEE THE TOWN IMPROVED.
BUT ULTIMATELY WE DO BELIEVE THAT THE COUNCIL OF GREENBURG CIVIC ASSOCIATION IS GONNA BE A GREAT MECHANISM TO, UH, REACH A BROADER GEOGRAPHY OF CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS.
SO WE CERTAINLY IDENTIFY THEM AS A STAKEHOLDER, AND I KNOW THAT THEY'RE REPRESENTED FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM EDGEMONT ALL THE WAY ON UP TO, YOU KNOW, PARKWAY HOMES, PARKWAY GARDENS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, UH, FOR THE MOST PART.
SO, UM, WE DO, THE TOWN DOES ASPIRE TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS, NOT JUST IN THE IMMEDIATE CORNERS, BUT UH, IN A BROADER SENSE.
AND THAT'S THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW, UH, THROUGHOUT SEEKER AND, YOU KNOW, AS THE PROJECT EVOLVES.
UM, THE QUESTION ABOUT THE ZONING MECHANISM AND IDENTIFYING AT THIS DATE AND TIME OF WHICH PROPERTIES ARE, UH, POTENTIALLY IN OR NOT IN, WHICH IS ONE, YOU KNOW, MECHANISM WHICH YOU COULD IDENTIFY, OR IS THERE A PROCESS THAT'S MORE FLUID, I THINK IN ESSENCE WAS THE QUESTION.
AND ULTIMATELY, UM, WHILE WE'RE AT A VERY EARLY STAGE AND WE HAVEN'T IDENTIFIED THE EXACT ZONING MECHANISM, IT IS TRENDING TOWARDS THE POTENTIAL FOR AN OVERLAY ZONE, WHICH HAS A COUPLE ADVANTAGES.
THE USE OF AN OVERLAY ZONE RETAINS THE UNDERLYING ZONING THAT EXISTS.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS, AND I THINK THIS SPEAKS A LOT TO THE OPTIONAL NATURE OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY.
UM, IF THE UNDERLYING ZONING KEEPS ON, ON THE MAP, SO THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE OWNED CA THEY REMAIN, IT'S ONLY OPTIONAL IF, IF PROPERTY OWNERS WANT TO OPT INTO THIS POTENTIAL FOR REDEVELOPMENT.
I THINK THE STRATEGY, UM, FOR NOT AT THIS PRESENT TIME IDENTIFYING WHICH PROPERTIES ARE IN AND WHICH PROPERTIES ARE NOT, THERE'S, THERE'S A VARIETY OF ADVANTAGES TO GOING WITH THE LADDER.
FOR INSTANCE, LET'S TAKE THE DWAYNE REED CORNER.
WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY IF IT'S GOING TO BE SOLELY THE PROPERTY OWNER OF DWAYNE REED THAT POTENTIALLY HAS INTEREST IN REDEVELOPMENT.
PERHAPS THE PROPERTY BEHIND THEM MAY.
AND WE ALSO DON'T KNOW IF THAT GAS STATION'S GONNA HAVE INTEREST.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE PREMATURE, LET'S JUST SAY HYPOTHETICALLY TO RIGHT NOW PUT, SET IN STONE THAT THOSE THREE PROPERTIES ARE GONNA BE INVOLVED WITHOUT KNOWING IF ALL THREE WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROCESS AND ACTUALLY HAVE GEOGRAPHY THAT CONTRIBUTES TO REDEVELOPMENT.
SO THEREFORE, THE BENEFIT OF AN OVERLAY DISTRICT IS FOR THE TOWN TO RECEIVE CALLS OF INTEREST, THE ZONING'S IN PLACE, IDENTIFY WHAT CAN BE DEVELOPED ON THOSE PROPERTIES IF YOU'RE AMALGAMATING PROPERTIES, ENSURE THAT IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE ZONING, THE FOUR CORNERS PLAN.
AND THEN YOU HAVE A SCENARIO WHERE THE TOWN BOARD HAS A GOOD SENSE OF WHAT WOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT.
AND IT'S AT THAT POINT LATER ON, THE PROPERTIES GET REZONED.
AND I ALSO THINK ONE OTHER IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE IS PROPERTIES THAT ULTIMATELY, UH, SEEK TO BE A PART OF REDEVELOPMENT, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT BUILDINGS WILL OCCUR ON EVERY SQUARE INCH OF THOSE PROPERTIES.
THERE COULD BE ACQUISITION OF PROPERTIES THAT TAKE PLACE FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF ENSURING THAT THERE'S AN ADEQUATE GREEN BUFFER.
AS JONATHAN MENTIONED, YOU CAN BE RESPECTIVE OF SINGLE FAMILY AREAS BY STEPPING BUILDINGS DOWN AS YOU APPROACH THEM.
YOU COULD ALSO DO THE SAME BY A COMBINATION OF THAT AND HAVING A GREEN BUFFER.
SO, UM, I I, I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THERE'S A VARIETY OF REASONS THAT PROPERTIES ARE INVOLVED MAY OR MAY NOT BE INVOLVED, AND NOT ALL OF 'EM, ALL OF THEM INVOLVED JUST ACTUAL BUILDINGS.
SO, UM, I HOPE THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION.
UM, IF NOT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TAKE FOLLOW UPS.
UH, ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD TO THAT, GARRETT? THE ONLY THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT GARRETT'S IDEA THAT HE JUST ESPOUSED TO YOU, THAT LOOKING AT AN OVERLAY DISTRICT WE LIKE, BECAUSE WE'VE DONE THAT IN SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES LIKE MOUNT KISCO AND WHAT IT GUARANTEES, WELL, MOUNT KISCO WAS SENSITIVE.
THE PROPERTY OWNERS WERE VERY AFRAID WE WERE GONNA TAKE AWAY SOME OF THEIR RIGHTS.
AND SO WHAT WE DID WAS AN OVERLAY DISTRICT AND SAID, IT'S UP TO YOU IF YOU'D LIKE TO OPT IN TO THE OVERLAY DISTRICT.
THIS IS WHAT THE, THIS IS WHAT THE STANDARDS ARE FOR THE OVERLAY
[00:50:01]
DISTRICT.IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO STAY WITH EXISTING ZONING, FINE.
AND IT ACTUALLY WORKED BECAUSE IN MOUNT KISCO CASE, AND I SENSE THAT IT MIGHT WORK HERE, I DON'T KNOW YET, BUT IT'S ONE OPTION THAT THE PROPERTY OWNERS, IT DIDN'T TAKE THEM LONG TO REALIZE.
IN THE MOUNT KISCO EXAMPLE, THE MAJOR MARKET FOR WHAT COULD HAPPEN IN MOUNT KISCO WAS ACTUALLY RESIDENTIAL.
AND THE CURRENT ZONING, UH, THERE IN MOUNT KISCO, YOU COULD DO RESIDENTIAL, BUT IS SOMEWHAT CUMBERSOME TO DO IT.
AND SO THIS MADE IT, THE OVERLAY MADE IT JUST A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO DO IN THAT CASE.
AND SO SOME OPTED, UH, IN TO THE, TO THE OVERLAY AND IN, IN RE RESPONSE ALSO, WE TRIED IN THE OVERLAY TO, UM, IF YOU OPTED INTO IT, THERE WERE CERTAIN OPEN SPACE.
JONATHAN WENT OVER SOME OF THE DESIGN THINGS WE'D LIKE TO IMPROVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND, AND AS, AS GARRETT MENTIONED, THE STEP DOWN AND THE OPEN SPACE, THE PLAZA IDEA.
NOW I DON'T KNOW WHERE THOSE WILL COME OUT.
WE GOTTA GET GOOD THROUGH THIS PROCESS, BUT I THINK THAT'S ONE OPTION TO THAT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO DISCUSS, BUT YOU WON'T GIVE ME THE TIME TO DO IT.
BUT LET'S MOVE ALONG QUICKLY THROUGH WHAT I DO WANT TO DISCUSS.
THIS IS A COMMITTEE THAT WA TALKS ABOUT REACH, HOWEVER, NO FLYERS WERE POSTED IN THE FORT CORNERS AREA.
THE TOWN IS VERY QUICK TO PUT FLYERS ALL OVER THE TOWN WHEN TAXES ARE DUE.
SO IF YOU REALLY WANTED TO DRAW THE PUBLIC IN THOSE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA, YOU COULD HAVE CONTACTED THEM BY FLYERS IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER WAYS YOU CHOSE CHOSEN.
NOW YOU'RE USING A-K-E-R-F INFORMATION AND YOU ARE AWARE THAT THE FOUR CORNERS HAS BEEN RECONFIGURED, WHICH DOESN'T SHOW UP ON A KRF DOCUMENTS.
THE STEERING COMMITTEE, YOU SAID TONIGHT 12 MEMBERS WHEN THERE'RE ACTUALLY THERE ONLY 11 THAT YOU NAMED BECAUSE ALICIA SPARKS HASN'T BEEN THERE SINCE JANUARY 27TH.
YOU SAY THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN HARTSDALE.
WELL, YOU CAN LIVE CONSIDERABLY FAR AWAY FROM FOUR CORNERS AND STILL LIVE IN HARTSDALE.
SO I'D LIKE YOU TO TELL ME OF THOSE EIGHT PEOPLE ON THE COMMITTEE, THOSE WHO ACTUALLY LIVE WITHIN THE IMMEDIATE AREA OF FOUR CORNERS.
NOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE ON THE COMMITTEE A PERSON WHO IS ECONOMICALLY AFFECTED TO THE BENEFIT OF YOUR DESIRE TO CHANGE THE ZONING.
THE OWNER OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER IS ON THIS COMMITTEE, WHICH IS DEDICATED TO CHANGING THE ZONING TO BENEFIT THIS TOWN BOARD THREW MEMBERS OFF THE PLANNING BOARD FOR SIMILAR REASONS, AND YET YOU HAVE SOMEONE AS AN INSIDER VOTING ALONG WITH YOU.
NOW, MY DISCUSSION IS HERE ABOUT PLANNING IN GENERAL AND MY SKEPTICISM, AND I'M GONNA ADDRESS WHITE PLANES FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN THINK OF IT.
THE TRAIN STATION, THE BUS TERMINAL, THAT AREA, YOU HAVE TWO PROJECTS NEAR IN COMPLETION OF ROUGHLY A THOUSAND UNITS DOWN THE ROAD WHEN IT GETS THROUGH ALL THE APPROPRIATE STAGES, IS THE ENTIRE BLOCK FRONT WHERE MACY'S AND SEARS ROBOT ARE.
AND THEY'RE PLANNING FIVE, SIX TOWERS AMONG OTHER AMENITIES.
THE ONLY WAY OUT OF WHITE PLAINS AT THAT AREA IS HAMILTON AVENUE.
IT'S A SIMILAR SITUATION TO HARTSDALE AND EAST HARTS AND EAST AND WEST HARTSDALE AVENUE.
SO UNDER THE PLANNING PROCESS IN WHITE PLAINS, WITH ALL THE RESEARCH THAT'S DONE BY THESE FIRMS, WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING BOARDS AND ALL THAT, AND THEIR CONSENT, WHAT YOU HAVE IS, UM, TO GET OUT OF WHITE PLAINS, YOU HAVE ONLY HAMILTON AVENUE.
IF YOU WANNA GO ON TARRYTOWN ROAD, WHICH IS THE WAY TO THE BRONX RIVER PARKWAY TO 2 87 AND CENTRAL AVENUE, THE ONLY SOUTHERN EXIT OF WHITE PLAINS.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE TRAFFIC GENERATED? AND PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA MOVE INTO THESE BUILDINGS, EITHER IN HARTSDALE THAT'S GONNA BE BUILT, ARE NOT PEOPLE WHO ARE PAYING LOW RENT, THEY'RE GONNA BE PAYING LOW MARKET RENT.
THEY HAVE CARS, THEY'RE GONNA BE BUYING UNITS.
IF THEY DECIDE TO CONVERT THEM INTO CONDOMINIUMS, THEY HAVE CARS.
THEY'RE NOT ALL WALKING TO THE TRAIN STATION.
[00:55:01]
AGO IS, WELL, WE CAN CONTROL THE NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES.SO YOU EITHER CAN HAVE A LOTTERY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO BUY APARTMENTS OR RENT APARTMENTS, OR YOU'RE GONNA REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF APARTMENTS THAT YOU MAKE AVAILABLE SO THAT THERE WON'T BE MORE CARS.
AGAIN, HAMILTON AVENUE ALREADY AT FIVE O'CLOCK HAS WHAT YOU SEE ON WEST HARTSDALE AVENUE GOING UP THE HILL AND DOWN THE HILL.
NOW I'LL LET OTHER PEOPLE SPEAK, BUT IF THERE'S MORE TIME, I'LL COME BACK.
OKAY, WE'LL TOUCH ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.
APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS DULY NOTED ON THE OUTREACH.
UH, AS FAR AS FLYERS, WE DID OUR BEST.
UH, WE DID SEND SOME OUT TO, UH, ALL THE BUSINESS OWNERS ON THE FOUR CORNERS AND DID POST ON, UM, SOME STOREFRONTS IN THE AREA, BUT DULY NOTED, WE, YOU KNOW, CAN NEVER DO GOOD ENOUGH WITH THAT.
UH, AS FAR AS THE, UH, FOUR CORNERS INTERSECTION, UH, INDEED SINCE 2019, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME, UH, GOOD IMPROVEMENTS, NAMELY SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS, A DA IMPROVEMENTS, SOME BY THE TOWN, SOME BY THE STATE.
UH, SO ABSOLUTELY THAT WILL BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WITH PLANNING GOING FORWARD.
AND ALONG THOSE LINES, THERE ARE OTHER IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE FORTHCOMING THAT WILL BENEFIT THE TOWN AND THE IMMEDIATE AREA, SUCH AS, UH, THE UPDATE OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS ALONG EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE, WHICH WILL BE SYNCED TO AN ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S DONE, UH, NOT FOR THIS PROJECT, BUT TO BENEFIT THE EAST WEST TRAFFIC.
UM, THAT COINCIDES WITH, UH, FLOWS WITH THE TRAIN PEAKS, UM, AND JUST GENERALLY TO MAKE THE AREA HAVE BETTER, UH, FLOW AND EFFICIENCY.
UH, AND ALSO, UH, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES SUCH AS CURB BUMP OUTS ALONG INTERSECTIONS ALONG EAST HARSDALE AVENUE AND A SIDEWALK UP WEST HARSDALE AVENUE.
THOSE IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH ARE, WHICH ARE FORTHCOMING VIA A GRANT THAT THE TOWN IS IN POSSESSION OF, WILL ALSO BE FACTORED IN.
THEY'RE GONNA HELP THE TOWN REGARDLESS OF THIS PROJECT, BUT THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ON THE HORIZON, UH, THEY WILL BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT INTO THE ZONING THAT'S WRITTEN AND HOW THAT COULD, UH, BENEFIT OR NOT.
THE, THE, THE PLANNING THAT'S GOING ON AT FOUR CORNERS, BUT CHARACTER ONLY ADDRESSING THE TRAFFIC THAT EXISTS NOW, NOT WHAT'S GOING TO OCCUR IF YOU BUILD RESIDENTIAL ON THE
SO JUST A COUPLE OTHER THINGS.
UH, LISTEN, STORM WATER AND TRAFFIC ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE EQUATION HERE.
UM, THEY'RE NOT THE ONLY CONSIDERATIONS, AESTHETICS, UM, WATER USAGE, BUT STORM WATER AND TRAFFIC ARE AT THE FOREFRONT.
I, I, I'M, I CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY SO WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THE TRAFFIC WILL HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR.
UH, THERE IS AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF PASS THROUGH TRAFFIC.
SO WE WILL CERTAINLY, UH, WORK TO IDENTIFY WHAT PERCENTAGE OF TRAFFIC WOULD BE GENERATED FROM THIS PROPERTY, UH, WE IN A REDEVELOPMENT SCENARIO AND HOW THAT WILL COEXIST OR NOT WITH THE, UH, INTERSECTION.
AND IN DOING SO, THINGS LIKE PROXIMITY TO FOUR CORNERS WITH DRIVEWAYS WILL PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN, IN THE ZONING THAT'S WRITTEN.
SO, UM, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE WILL NOT BE UNDER, YOU KNOW, CANNOT UNDERSCORE, UM, TRAFFIC CONCERNS ENOUGH THAT WILL BE STUDIED THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT THAT WAS, UH, UH, IDENTIFIED.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THE PLANNING SIDE OF THINGS THAT YOU, UH, TOOK NOTES ON? YOU FEEL LIKE YOU OKAY, I HAVE STEERING COMMITTEE.
UH, WOULD YOU LIKE THIS? YEAH, WE'RE GONNA GET BACK TO STUFF LIKE THAT IF HAVE TIME.
UH, ANTONIO MOON, I AM ACTUALLY, UH, A TIME RESIDENT FOR 30 YEARS AND A BUSINESS OWNER ON THE FOUR CORNERS.
SO I'M CONCERNED THAT THE STEERING COMMITTEE PRIMARY COMPRISES PROFESSIONALS, THE RESIDENTS, BUT DOESN'T ADDRESS THE BUSINESSES THAT THEY, THAT ARE THERE THAT PROVIDE A SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.
THOSE OF US WHO WILL BE DISPLACED.
IF THIS GOES THROUGH AS BEING A FORMER BUSINESS OWNER IN THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS, I'VE EXPERIENCED THE ZONING THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE US BUSINESS OWNERS, YOU KNOW, UM, SO THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE THAT ARE ON THE COMMITTEE.
YOU DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WE'RE DOING.
YES, I LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT I I PROVIDE A SERVICE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND YOU SHOULD BE TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
YOU SAID TWO PEOPLE HAVE SOME SORT OF HISTORY, UM, OUT OF 11 MEMBERS, YOU KNOW.
SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY TO YOU IS THAT, UM, NOBODY IN IS, UH, TAKING, TAKING ACCOUNT THE INTEREST OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, WHICH, WHICH WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE ABOUT TO FORM THE CENTRAL AVENUE BUSINESS ALLIANCE.
AND IF WE CHOSE OR SO CHOOSE TO FIGHT, WE WILL FIGHT IN A COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION.
SO I, I, I ASK THAT EVERY, MAKE SURE THAT BUSINESS OWNERS ARE ASKED QUESTIONS OR GIVEN A VOICE WITH THIS COMMITTEE.
'CAUSE THE COMMITTEE DOES NOT REPRESENT ME.
THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT THERE EVERY DAY, UH, PROVIDING A SERVICE TO THE, TO OUR PUBLIC.
[01:00:01]
SO WHAT, WHAT CAN THEY DO WHEN YOU CLOSE THAT? MY SHOP DOWN OR MY STOREFRONT DOWN, OR MY BUILDING DOWN? WHAT HAPPENS? HOW DO I PAY MY TAXES IN THIS TOWN AS A TAXPAYER? I'M NOT A RENTER.HOW DO I PAY MY TAXES THEN? SO WE ARE GONNA AFFECT EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, FROM THOSE PEOPLE WHO I PROVIDE.
I TAKE CARE OF 13 FAMILIES, THAT'S 13 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES OR ABOUT THE RESTAURANT GUY WHO TAKES CARE OF 27 FAMILIES AND THAT, AND SO ON AND SO ON.
THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE HERE FOR THE BENEFIT OF IT.
BUT I MEAN, BUILDING OWNERS, US BUSINESS OWNERS, WE CARE.
AND WE ARE NOT REALLY ON THE SIDE OF OUR, OUR LANDLORDS, LET'S JUST BE HONEST.
AND THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO BUY PROPERTY AROUND HERE WHO, WHO KNEW SOMETHING WAS COMING UP AND THEY'RE SITTING HERE, BUT THAT'S OKAY TOO.
BUT WE WERE NOT GONNA SUBMIT TO JUST PASSING AND SITTING DOWN AS BUSINESS OWNERS ON CENTRAL AVENUE.
AND ONE OF MY BUILDINGS ACTUALLY IS CIRCLED AND ON THE F THE FILE SLIDE THAT HE PUT UP, THE YOUNG MAN RIGHT THERE, I STARTED POINTING, UH, WITH THE, WITH THE SUIT JACKET ON THAT HE PUT UP.
SO THAT'S WHAT MADE ME, UH, MORE CONCERNED.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE COMMENT AND I'M MORE APPRECIATIVE OF THE FACT THAT YOU CAME OUT TONIGHT.
UM, SIR, IF I COULD ASK, DO SOME BUSINESS PROMO, UH, WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT BUSINESS ARE YOU EMMA'S KITCHEN PRIVATE.
IT'S ON 28 BED CENTRAL AVENUE.
WE'VE BEEN THERE, UH, CLOSE TO 10 YEARS.
I'M SORRY, IS GEOGRAPHICALLY, IS THAT SOUTH, SOUTHEAST, THAT'S NORTH.
THAT'S THE NEXT TO WHATEVER THAT NORTH, NORTHEAST.
THAT'S THE LAST BUILDING THAT'S IDENTIFIED ON THE SPOT.
EVERY CHA, EVERY CORNER IS GONNA HAVE CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF JUST SHEER PROPERTY OWNERSHIP.
JUST TAKE THE NORTHWEST CORNER, DWAYNE REED, FEWEST AMOUNT OF PROPERTY OWNERS, UH, GAS STATION, DWAYNE REED, AND BEHIND IT IN TERMS, SO, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT DWAYNE REED THAT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT VACANT.
SO THERE ARE NO EXISTING LEASES.
IT'S JUST THAT PROPERTY OWNER GAS STATION SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE, THE AUTO USE BEHIND IT.
THAT IS A HUN COMPLETE 180 FROM THE NORTHEAST CORNER, WHICH ABSOLUTELY HAS DOZENS OF GREAT BUSINESSES.
YOU ATE OUT 10 DAYS IN A ROW AND YOU ONLY WENT ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER.
YOU COULD DO THAT AND GO TO 10 DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS AND HAVE A GREAT EXPERIENCE.
THERE'S TAILORS, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF NEAT BUSINESSES.
I'VE, I'VE WALKED IT, INCLUDING YOUR OWN IN TERMS OF OWNER, UM, COORDINATION.
IT MAY JUST BE, AND THAT'S WHY I REALLY WANTED TO STRESS OPTIONAL.
IT MAY JUST BE THAT THAT CORNER IS THE FURTHEST OUT FROM BEING REDEVELOPED.
AND IT COULD BE 15 YEARS, IF, LET'S JUST SAY IT WAS ALL 15 YEAR LEASES THAT STARTED YESTERDAY.
SO ULTIMATELY, YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT THERE, THERE'S A DYNAMIC WITH PROPERTY OWNERS, THE AMOUNT OF INTEREST THEY HAVE, BUT THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY HAVE LEASES AND HOW THEY'RE CORRESPONDING AND TRANSPARENT OR NOT WITH THEIR BUSINESSES.
THE BEST I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT, AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
I'M GONNA EXCHANGE MY INFORMATION IN ANY OF THE EXISTING BUSINESS OWNERS THAT WANNA MEET WITH TOWN STAFF.
WE WANNA BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE AND, YOU KNOW, KEEP THEM IN THE LOOP.
WE CAN SET UP MEETINGS WITH PROPERTY OWNERS.
UM, BUT I THINK TRANSPARENCY IS THE KEY.
REALLY APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE TOWN.
THIS IS NOT, YOU KNOW, AN EXERCISE TO GET RID OF SMALL BUSINESSES.
THERE COULD BE, UM, STRATEGIES WHERE AS ONE CORNER'S REDEVELOPED.
CERTAINLY THERE'S, IT'S NOT GONNA PRECLUDE HAVING SMALL BUSINESSES AT THAT REDEVELOPED CORNER.
MAYBE THERE'S A WAY WHERE BUSINESSES CAN FLIP IF THERE'S ANOTHER CORNER THAT'S TO BE REDEVELOPED.
SO THERE'S A WHOLE GAMUT OF HYPOTHETICALS THAT IT'S TOUGH TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY LAY OUT IN THIS FORUM, UM, OR EVEN PREDICT.
BUT, UM, I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE TONIGHT AND I APPRECIATE THE COMMENT.
LEASES HAVE DEMOLITION ALL THIS.
UH, MY NAME IS TERRY YOUNG, UH, KING WILSON, UH, IN HARTSDALE.
FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MR. FINER FOR INVITING US TODAY, TONIGHT TO HAVE THIS MEETING WITH WONDERFUL LEADERS.
I DO HAVE TWO QUESTIONS, UM, OR COMMENTS.
I SAY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOUTHWEST, UM, THE RIGHT, THE CORNER, THERE'S A HUGE PARKING LOT.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, THE METER PARKING IS IN EFFECT FOR SEVEN DAYS, 24 7.
IT'S THE SAME STORY FOR THE METER PARKING RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE TRAIN STATION.
[01:05:01]
PROBLEM FINDING PARKING BECAUSE I HAVE A HUGE PARKING LOT.HOWEVER, I HAVE SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE TRYING TO FIND A PARKING LOT, ESPECIALLY DURING SEVERE SNOW STONES.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT, LIKE HOW WE COULD IMPROVE.
SECOND OF ALL, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WILSON STREET, WHEN YOU GO FURTHER UP, THERE IS A SACRED SCHOOL.
SACRED HEART ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A CHURCH.
WE HAVE LITTLE ONES WHO ARE WALKING SOMETIMES.
AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THE WILSON STREET IS A VERY NARROW STREET.
HOWEVER, IT'S A SMALL FOUR CORNERS.
WHY? BECAUSE YOU HAVE CARS COMING FROM EAST, WEST, SOUTH, AND NORTH.
SO FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS, I HAVE SEEN FATAL ACCIDENTS AND ALSO ALMOST ACCIDENTS.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WE DO HAVE LITTLE ONES ON SUNDAYS AND ALSO DURING MONDAY TO FRIDAY, AND THEY HAVE TO CROSS THE STREET BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE IS TAKING THE BUS.
AND I ALWAYS SEE THE LITTLE ONES.
'CAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE EAST, WEST HARTSDALE, THEY'RE WAITING FOR SOME KIND OF BUS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, SHARE MY OPINION.
UH, I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE NARROW ROAD, BUT I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
MAYBE WE MAY NOT HAVE A TRAFFIC LIGHT THERE, BUT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE LITTLE ONES.
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IS, IS GONNA BE WORKED INTO EVERY FACET OF WHAT'S DONE, WHETHER IT'S, UH, ON PRIVATE PROPERTIES OR THINKING ABOUT INTERSECTIONS SUCH AS WILSON.
I WILL SAY WILSON IS ON THE LIST, UH, THROUGH THE GRANT TO BE IMPROVED.
UM, BUT PE I, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IS THE U MOST IMPORTANT SIDE.
I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN SAY ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THAN THAT.
IF YOU DON'T MIND PASSING AMONGST YOURSELF AND YOU'RE DONE.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, UH, COMMENTS IS, UM, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT TRAFFIC AND WE TALKED ABOUT FLOODING.
I THINK ALSO AS A KEY ELEMENT IS ALSO EMERGENCY SERVICES WITHIN THAT AREA.
UM, AND I DON'T MEAN, AND, AND I DON'T MEAN ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE BUILDING, I'M TALKING ABOUT LIKE IN HARTSDALE IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO LIVE FOR SENIORS, DEPENDING UPON THE TARGET MARKET AND WHO MOVES INTO THOSE BUILDINGS.
WE COULD GET MANY, MANY MORE EMERGENCY CALLS.
I MEAN, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT IS MAXED OUT ON THE NUMBER OF CALLS TO THE SENIOR CITIZEN CENTERS, NURSING HOMES, AND IN HARTSDALE VILLAGE FOR THOSE EMERGENCY SERVICES.
SO I THINK YOU NEED TO UPLEVEL THEM FROM A CONTRIBUTOR TO POTENTIALLY A STAKEHOLDER WITHIN YOUR DACY THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS, IS YOU SEEM TO CALL OUT AS A SACRED COW, THE FIREHOUSE.
I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU GUYS TO LOOK AT.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING FOR A REALLY LONG, BEEN TALKING FOR A REALLY LONG TIME IN HARTSDALE ABOUT THE NEED FOR POTENTIALLY A NEW FIREHOUSE IN THAT LOCATION.
THEY DON'T NEED A WHOLE HOUSE.
IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE SPACE.
SO I THINK YOU GUYS JUST SHOULD LOOK AT THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND THE ONLY OTHER THING IS I THINK YOU DID A REALLY GREAT JOB OF CALLING OUT POTENTIAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND YOU SPOKE TO THE AESTHETICS AND THE FITTING IN WITH THE COMMUNITY, BUT IT'S NOT SPECIFICALLY CALLED OUT IN THE DESIGN PRINCIPLES.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU SHOWED GREAT EXAMPLES OF SCARSDALE WHERE THEY DID A REALLY GOOD JOB.
I COULD GIVE YOU A DOZEN OTHER EXAMPLES LOCALLY WHERE THEY DIDN'T, WHERE THEY BUILT MODERN BOX BOXES IN COMMUNITIES WITH VICTORIAN HOMES AND TUTOR HOMES.
SO I THINK YOU SHOULD LIKE, AGAIN, UPLEVEL THAT AND JUST CALL IT OUT.
THIS WAS A REALLY GREAT PRESENTATION AND A GREAT START.
UM, ON THAT, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT.
UM, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ZONING, ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT HAVING AN ENTIRELY NEW ZONING ORDINANCE OR ARE YOU TRYING TO FIT AN EXISTING ZONING ONTO THIS AND FOLLOW UP TO THAT? WILL THERE BE A HEIGHT MAXIMUM TO ANY OF THE BUILDINGS? DEFINITELY THERE WILL BE A NEW ZONING DISTRICT, UM, TRENDING TOWARDS AN OVERLAY DISTRICT, BUT IT WILL BE A BRAND NEW ZONING DISTRICT THAT'S SPECIFIC AND CATERS TO THE NEEDS OF FOUR CORNERS.
AND MOST DEFINITELY WE'LL HAVE HEIGHT LIMITS.
UM, WE'RE NOT THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS, SO YOU KNOW, WE WON'T, THERE WILL BE NO STRIVING FOR ANYTHING CLOSE TO THAT.
BUT, UM, AS WAS MENTIONED, CON CONTEXT SENSITIVE, AWARE OF WHAT SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT ARE CLOSE BY RELATABLE TO SIX, SEVEN STORY BUILDINGS THAT ARE IN THE AREA, YOU KNOW, BUT ULTIMATELY, UM,
[01:10:01]
COMING BACK TO THE PUBLIC WITH DIFFERENT MASSING STUDIES TO ACTUALLY SHOW WE'RE ACT THE, THE, THE PROJECT THROUGH THE GRANT CALLS FOR A RENDERING OF A CORNER SO THAT ONE COULD SEE EXACTLY WHAT, UM, A REALLY DEVELOPABLE CONCEPT LOOKS LIKE.SO, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA COME BACK WITH AND YOU GET A SENSE OF, UM, HIGH ASPIRATIONS AS PART OF THAT.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE HARTSDALE NEIGHBORS ASSOCIATION ALONG WITH DIANE.
UM, AND, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING WITH YOU GUYS AS PART OF THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
A FEW THINGS, FIRST OF ALL, ABOUT THE, I THINK YOU'VE TOUCHED A LOT OF THE REALLY GOOD, UM, POINTS THAT WERE IN THE ORIGINAL STUDIES.
UM, A COUPLE MORE THINGS THAT I HEAR FROM TALKING TO SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN, IN HARTSDALE.
UM, ALL OF US ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT TAXES AND, UM, WHILE THESE BUILDINGS WILL BE ABLE TO INCREASE THE REVENUE, THERE ARE ALSO LOTS OF DEEPER TAX IMPLICATIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR, UH, US IF EDGEMONT RE INCORPORATES.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING I KNOW THAT WILL, IT'S LESS YOUR CONCERN, BUT IS PART OF THE STUDY AND SHOULD BE PART OF THE STUDY THAT WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS ON THE TOWN FOR HAVING THIS.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WITH THE OVERLAY CONCEPT IS THAT, UM, ALL OF THESE PROPERTIES THERE ARE SMALL, UM, THE BIGGEST ONE I THINK IS CATHERINE'S PROPERTY, WHICH IS ABOUT AN ACRE.
MANY OF THEM ARE ONLY AN EIGHTH OF AN ACRE.
SO IF YOU HAVE AN OVERLAY DISTRICT AND SOMEBODY DECIDES TO OPT OUT, NOW YOU'VE GOT SOME REALLY CRAZY LOOKING BUILDINGS AND MAYBE SOME WHICH ARE NOT GOING TO BE ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE TO BUILD, GIVEN THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO NOT JUST IMMEDIATELY SAY, YEAH, OVERLAY, BUT LOOK AT PERHAPS ESTABLISHING MINIMUM ONE ACRE LOTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS PART OF HOW DEVELOPMENT HAS TO HAPPEN.
IF YOU DO IT WHERE YOU JUST LET PEOPLE OPT IN, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF TINY LITTLE BUILDINGS NEXT TO BIGGER BUILDINGS, AND IT'S GOING TO BE, JUST DEPENDS ON WHO OWNS WHAT.
AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE AN ATTRACTIVE, UM, VIABLE ECONOMICALLY.
I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE A REALLY GOOD SOLUTION.
SO WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT WE, THIS IS AN EITHER ALL IN OR ALL OUT KIND OF THING.
I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE AN OPT IN.
UM, ANOTHER THING REGARDING THE OUTREACH TO THE TOWN, UH, TO, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, I AGREE THAT THERE'S VERY LITTLE OF THIS INFORMATION GOING OUT TO ANYBODY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I LIVE IN MANOR WOODS, SO I'M RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS.
I GOT A POSTCARD FROM THE TOWN, HOWEVER, WITH A, WITH A, ABOUT THE CONCERNS ABOUT EDGEMONT INCORPORATION WITH A QR CODE ON IT.
SO THE TOWN WAS WILLING TO SPEND ON POSTCARDS THAT I'M SURE WERE SENT TO EVERY HOMEOWNER IN TOWN.
AND I'D LIKE TO SEE, MAYBE WE COULD DO THAT.
MAYBE WHEN YOU DO THIS KIND OF STUFF, YOU SEND OUT POSTCARDS TO PEOPLE.
OKAY, I GOT, I GOT IT FROM SOMEBODY.
SO, UM, AND YOU CAN, AND IT'S GOT A LINK TO THE TOWN WEBSITE AND YOU CAN GO GET ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EIC.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD CONSIDER DOING, SENDING THESE POSTCARDS OUT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE DISCUSSED THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A, ON A PROCESS STANDPOINT, YOU HAVE ONE PUBLIC MEETING SHOWN IN YOUR TIMELINE.
UH, YOU'RE GOING TO DO ANOTHER OUTREACH AT THE END OF THE PROCESS WHERE YOU START TO BECOME, YOU'RE STARTING TO GET, UH, YOUR DRAFT DONE.
BUT IS THAT ANOTHER PROCEDURAL MEETING OR IS THAT GOING TO HAVE SOME SUBSTANCE TO IT, FIRST OF ALL, BUT AFTER THAT, YOU HAVE ONE PUBLIC MEETING AND THAT IS NOT ENOUGH.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO HAVE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
WE DON'T NEED TO GO CRAZY AND HAVE 20 OF 'EM, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE MORE THAN ONE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
AS YOU CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THIS, I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE KIND OF ALMOST LIVE WHERE NOT A WEEK, TWO WEEKS LATER, IT SHOWS UP ON THE WEBSITE WHEN YOU MAKE A PRESENTATION TO A SUBMITTAL TO THE TOWN BOARD, YOU PUT IT OUT THERE AS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.
YOU PUT IT OUT THERE FOR ALL OF US TO SEE YOU HAVE AND, AND LET US KNOW THAT IT'S THERE.
OKAY? YES, WE WILL BE CHECKING, BUT NOT EVERYBODY DOES.
WE NEED TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE.
WE NEED TO HAVE YOU ALL THE COMMITTEE AND EVERYBODY ELSE BE ACCESSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN ALWAYS
[01:15:01]
GIVE YOU MORE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK REGARDING THESE PLANS.THIS SHOULD BE AN ITERATIVE PROCESS.
IT SHOULD NOT BE A, YOU GUYS GO AWAY, DO YOUR WORK, COME BACK, PRESENT IT ONE PUBLIC MEETING, AND THEN OFF YOU GO AND DEVELOP IT AND THEN VOILA, IT'S VOTED ON BY THE TOWN BOARD.
THIS REALLY NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS A, A PARTICIPATORY.
UH, GARY MOTION, I THINK SHE AFFILIATIONS, UH, YES.
SHE WAS THE ORIGINAL INSPIRED PLACES WAS ADVOCATED FOR 19 AND DOCUMENTS WERE WRITTEN BY HER READY.
SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE ON, WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME.
MAYBE WE'LL DO, UH, ONE MORE AFTER WALTER.
YEAH, I HAVE, I, UH, JUST, UH, CLARIFICATION, THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT TRAFFIC AND WHITE PLANES AND TRAFFIC HERE AND A COMPARISON, UH, FROM A PROFESSIONAL, UH, DOING THE, UH, STUDIES THAT YOU HAVE DONE ON TRAFFIC.
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN TRAFFIC WHEN YOU BUILD RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS NEXT TO A TRANSPORTATION CENTER OR, UH, WHEN YOU BILL IT AWAY FROM A TRANSPORTATION CENTER? BECAUSE I WOULD ASSUME THAT IF YOU'RE NEXT TO A TRANSPORTATION CENTER, THERE'S MORE FOOT TRAFFIC AS OPPOSED TO DRIVING, BUT JUST, I'M ASKING THE QUESTION, IS THAT TRUE? THAT'S JUST AN ASSUMPTION ON MY PART, BUT IS THAT TRUE? YES.
WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS COMMON SENSE ACTUALLY, BUT IT'S TRUE.
THE, THE TRAFFIC STUDIES SHOW THAT THE CLOSER YOU ARE TO THE TRAIN STATION OR WHAT WE CALL A TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT OF TOD, YOU TEND TO HAVE SLIGHTLY LESS NEED FOR PARKING, BECAUSE I'M NOT SAYING THAT NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA HAVE A CAR, BUT NOT EVERYBODY IS GONNA HAVE TWO CARS.
UM, SO THERE'S GONNA BE LESS NEED THE CLOSER YOU GET TO A TRAIN STATION.
NOW HERE IN THIS CASE, WE'RE NOT ACROSS THE STREET FROM A TRAIN STATION, SO WE NEED TO TAKE IN HOW FAR WE ARE, BUT WE ARE A LITTLE BIT CLOSER AND WE HAVE THOSE STUDIES.
FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE STUDIES OF APARTMENTS ALREADY BUILT RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE YONKERS TRAIN STATION.
WHAT IS THE ACT? WE'VE BEEN IN THOSE APARTMENTS WITH THE, WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE OWNERS TO FIGURE OUT THE EXACT UTILIZATION OF THE PARKING.
SO WE HAVE THAT DATA, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME DATA FURTHER AWAY FROM THE TRAIN STATION IN WHITE PLAINS OF SOME OF THE NEW MULTI-FAMILY BUILDINGS.
SO GEORGE YAMAR, WHO'S THE J OF BFJ, MY PARTNER, HE'S GOT THAT KIND OF DATA AND THAT CAN GO IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
THE OTHER THING I WANNA MENTION, UH, AND I'M SORRY I DON'T KNOW YOUR NAME, BUT, UM, I'M SORRY CHRIS, UH, YOU RAISED ALSO THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ITSELF WILL START USUALLY WITH A WELL HAS TO START, IT'S THE LAW, THE SCOPING SESSION.
IT'LL ALL BE INVITED TO THAT SCOPING.
THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE JUST A TWO STEP, YOU KNOW, PROCESS OF PUBLIC OUTREACH.
JUST THAT EEIS ALONE WILL REQUIRE TWO SETS OF PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ONE IN A SCOPING SESSION, THE OTHER ON THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.
SO THERE'LL BE A SERIES OF INCREMENTAL, UH, DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS.
AND AFTER THAT, D-E-I-S-I HATE TO GET BOGGED DOWN IN SEEKER, BUT WE HA WE DO SEEKER A LOT AFTER THAT.
DEIS, THERE'S GOTTA BE A FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
UM, SO THAT HAS TO RESPOND AGAIN TO, TO COMMENTS AND ONLY THEN WITH THE TOWN BOARD BEING A POSITION TO MAKE WHAT'S CALLED A, UM, FINDINGS STATEMENT.
AND AFTER THE FINDINGS STATEMENT, THEY CAN THEN ACT ON THE ZONING.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE AN INCREMENTAL SET OF, UH, OF, OF STEPS WITH THIS.
UH, WHICH I THINK YOU HAVE A TOWN BOARD THAT IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS.
YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN THE ZONING TIMELINE, BUT WHAT WE DID NOT EXPLAIN, AND WE CAN, AT THE NEXT MEETING, WE, WE CAN GO OVER SINKER IN DETAIL SO YOU'LL HAVE THAT.
YEAH, WE'D LIKE TO BE TOTALLY, TOTALLY INCREMENTAL AND KEEP, KEEP THOSE DOORS, KEEP THOSE, KEEP LISTENING TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING.
AND UH, I HAVE A CONCERN ALSO FOR PARKING.
[01:20:01]
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TRY TO EXPLAIN TO THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN, IN HARD OR AROUND THIS AREA THAT IS PROPOSED TO BE BUILT, THAT ACTUALLY, IF YOU LOOK THAT SECTION, UH, IT LOOKS BAD.AND AS MUCH AS WE WANT TO KEEP OUR KIDS THREE AND FOUR YEARS OLD, TO STAY THAT AGE, WE HAVE TO ON A POINT OUR LIVES TO LET 'EM GROW AND BECOME SOMEBODY WE CANNOT JUST HAUL, UH, PROGRESS.
AND, AND AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO JUST WALK IN WILSON AND NOT SEE CARS, NOT SEE PEOPLE AROUND, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT FOUR CORNERS, THAT LOOKS BAD FOR DALE.
AND, UH, WE HAVE TO SEE THE THINGS THAT, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GIVEN TO US.
I BELIEVE, UH, WE HAD THE SAME MEETING, WHAT, WHAT WAS THAT SIX YEARS AGO, SEVEN YEARS AGO WITH THE FEDERAL THAT WE DON'T HAVE BACKUP FOR THE FEDERAL.
HOW MANY YEARS AGO WAS THAT, GARRETT? WE WERE TRYING TO GET, WE, WE WERE TRYING TO GET FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL, BUT THEY DON'T GIVE US NOTHING.
UH, REMEMBER THIS, THIS KIND OF SITUATION LIKE SIX, SEVEN YEARS AGO, MAYBE, SORRY, LONG TIME AGO.
WE, WE TRIED TO LOOK FOR THIS FEDERAL, UH, FUNDING AND THEY DON'T GIVE IT TO US RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE THESE, THESE, THESE, THIS MONEY MAYBE THAT THE FEDERAL IS WILLING TO PUT FOR FOUR CORNERS.
AGAIN, I OWN PROPERTY RIGHT THERE.
I BELIEVE IT'S GOOD FOR ALL OF US, UH, FOR TAXES.
UH, YOU SHOULD SEE THE INCREASE OF YOUR, YOUR PROPERTY AND VALUE.
UH, I MEAN IT'S, IT'S SO MANY THINGS THAT THAT IS FINE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
UM, NOW WE HAVE A PARKING LOT, A MUNICIPAL PARKING LOT RIGHT THERE BEHIND CENTRAL AVENUE.
AND IF YOU COME FROM THE, FROM THE SECTION OF WILSON, IT'S AT 20 20, 25 HIGH, UH, UH, UH, PITCH.
UH, IT CAN BE CREATE A RAMP AND YOU CAN PUT ANOTHER A HUNDRED, 200 CARS IN THERE AND IT WILL BE ANOTHER PARKING LOT THAT WILL BE BUILDABLE FOR THAT SECTION.
IT, IT WOULDN'T IMPACT THE BEAUTIFICATION OF CENTRAL AVENUE BECAUSE IT'S BEHIND CENTRAL AVENUE.
IT'S DONE IN MANY DIFFERENT PLACES.
AND WE DON'T HAVE TO DIG ON THE GROUND AND AND BE CHARGED WITH 45,000 FOR, FOR EACH CAR.
AS, AS THE, UM, AS THE TEAM WAS SAYING, WE CAN BUILD A RAMP.
WE CAN CREATE A, A A A, A RAMP FOR THE, FOR THE PARKING LOT.
I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY WAYS WE CAN IMPROVE THIS, BUT JUST TO CLOSE MIND AND SAY, AND THE FIRST MEETING THAT WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE WE GOING.
AND A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT SAY THAT THEY DON'T EVEN LIVE IN, IN, IN, IN, IN, IN WILSON.
THEY DON'T EVEN LIVE IN CENTRAL AVENUE.
THEY LIVE 10 BLOCKS AWAY, 20 BLOCKS AWAY.
THEY JUST WANT TO SAY SOMETHING.
AND I, I, I THINK THIS IS A RIGHT THING FOR THAT SECTION.
DO YOU WANNA BE COGNIZANT OF THE TIME? UH, WE, WE STARTED A LITTLE LATE, SO, UH, MAYBE ONE MORE.
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRAFFIC STUDIES OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN APARTMENTS IN RELATION TO THEIR, TO THE TRAIN STATION, WE HAVE TWO APARTMENT HOUSES, ROUGHLY A BLOCK FROM CENTRAL AVENUE THERE.
MAYBE WE COULD JUST SOMEHOW DO A STUDY THAT REFLECTS DALE'S EXISTING CONDITIONS.
SO, I MEAN, RATHER THAN WORRYING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN YONKERS, LET'S LOOK AT WHAT'S THE REALITY IN BUILDINGS IN HARTSDALE THAT ARE IN THAT IMMEDIATE VICINITY.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
WANNA NOT ASK A QUESTION THAT REALLY WANTED TO, WOULD YOU ANSWER MY QUESTION ABOUT THE MEMBER ON THE BILL PUBLICLY? I'D LIKE IT DONE PUBLICLY.
EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE SOMEONE WHO'S GONNA BENEFIT ECONOMICALLY ON THIS COMMITTEE.
THINK EVERYONE IN TOWN WANTS TO BENEFIT IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
FROM EVERYTHING WE'RE BRINGING TO THE TABLE HERE.
THAT'S A BIG BENEFIT IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
ALRIGHT, SO WHAT I WANNA DO, I DO WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT.
AND UM, CHECK THE WEBSITE OUT.
COME BACK TO US WITH MORE QUESTIONS.