* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] WELCOME TO [ TOWN OF GREENBURGH OFFICE OF THE TOWN BOARD 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607 Tel: 914-989-1525 Fax: 914-993-1541 Email: HCancro@GreenburghNY.com https://greenburghny.com/485/Watch-Live-Board-Meetings] OUR TOWN BOARD, UH, WORK SESSION. TODAY IS JULY 22ND AT, UH, FIVE 30, UH, OR AFTER FIVE 30. AND, UH, THE FIRST ITEM IS, UM, UH, ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 5TH. THERE'S A NATIONAL NIGHT OUT THAT THE POLICE HAVE EVERY, UM, EVERY YEAR IT'S A GIGANTIC PARTY, UM, OUTSIDE, UH, THE TOWN HALL. AND THE CONCERN WAS, SHOULD WE HAVE A WORK SESSION AT THE SAME TIME? I THINK MOST OF US WOULD RATHER BE AT THE PARTY. UM, AND AT THE, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO RESIDENTS. UM, SO DO WE JUST CANCEL THE WORK SESSION OR, UM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER OPTION IS THE TOWN BOARD IS MEETING ON AUGUST 6TH. UM, UH, MAYBE WE START THE MEETING, LIKE THE WORK SESSION AN HOUR EARLIER ON AUGUST 6TH. WE WERE THINKING THAT WE SHOULD POST, WE SHOULD RESCHEDULE FOR THE MONDAY INSTEAD OF THE TUESDAY OF THAT. WHATEVER THE BOARD WOULD LIKE. WE DO IT RIGHT BEFORE THE BOARD MEETINGS. NO, YEAH. NO. NO WAY TO MAKE CHANGES. THE AGENDA. THE AGENDA, WHATEVER PEOPLE WANT. SO MONDAY, IS EVERYONE GOOD WITH THAT? WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE ROOM IS AVAILABLE. YES. WELL, WE COULD, THERE'S OTHER ROOMS. SO WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE A MONDAY, AUGUST, UH, FOURTH. CAN WE JUST, EVERYONE IS ABLE TO CHECK THEIR ACCOUNT. YEP. SEE, CLEAR. MM-HMM . RIGHT NOW. I DUNNO IF I HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON. WORKWISE, BUT PRETTY, DO WE WANT TO MAKE IT FIVE 30 OR DO WE WANNA MAKE IT LATER? FIVE 30? NO, FIVE 30. YEAH. SESSION EVERY HOUR. YOU ADD TO THE BEGINNING. YOU AT 10. EXACTLY. IT'S 10 O'CLOCK. OKAY. SO WE'RE GONNA DO IT AT FIVE 30. YEAH. OKAY. PERFECT. UM, NEXT I I'LL MAKE SURE IT'S ON THE WEBSITE. THANK YOU. AND I'LL MAKE SURE IT'S POSTED, UH, IN PAPER. THAT'S PERFECT FOR WORK SESSION. IT'S ON VACATION. UH, YEAH, BECAUSE AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY YEAR, WE POST THE TUESDAYS AT FIVE 30. SINCE WE'RE MOVING IT UP A DAY, WE SHOULD REPOST THAT, THAT ONE DATE, SO MM-HMM . I, UM, WE CAN DISCUSS. YEAH. COPY. OKAY. UH, GREAT. UM, NEXT, UM, UM, EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE IS HAVING, YOU KNOW, MAJOR PROBLEMS. THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE'S VERY LITTLE STREET PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC. AND, UM, UM, JOY AND I MET WITH THE PARKING DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, TODAY. AND, UM, WE BASICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS WAS TO HAVE EITHER AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, PERSON DO A, AN ANALYSIS WITH RECOMMENDATIONS. YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY THOUGHT THAT A MORE, THAT WHAT I WOULD'VE LIKED TO SEE WAS ALMOST LIKE A PRO, AN ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR, SOMEBODY WHO COULD DO WHAT HASTINGS HAS DONE OR ADOPT. THAT'S A DOWNTOWN ADVOCATE. A DOWNTOWN ADVOCATE. IT'S ALL SIMILAR, RIGHT? THEY'RE ALL SIMILAR. YEAH. SO THAT'S VOLUNTEER. THAT'S VOLUNTEER. NO, NOT VOLUNTEER. IT'S ALL THE DOWNTOWN ADVOCATE THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO. VOLUNTEER. IT IS NOT, NO, NO. IT IS A PAID POSITION. PAID IT'S A PAID POSITION. BUT IN HASTINGS IT WORKS. AND TARRYTOWN IT WORKS. BUT THERE'S MORE CHALLENGES HERE BECAUSE, UM, HASTINGS AND DO SARA COULD CLOSE THEIR STREET. UM, AND WE CAN'T. UM, WHICH MAKES IT, YOU KNOW, MUCH HARDER, BUT, WELL, THE, THE STREET CLOSURES ARE ONLY PERIODICALLY WHEN THEY HAVE AN EVENT, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, ONCE EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS, SO. RIGHT. IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT IS BENEFICIAL TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT. AND IT'S A NICE FUN FEATURE, BUT IT, IT'S NOT ALL OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT DOESN'T HASTING ONE FRIDAY OF THE MONTH AND THEY CLOSE FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH. BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S REALLY NOT EVERY, IT USED TO BE EVERY MONTH. I DON'T THINK IT'S EVERY MONTH AT THIS POINT. I DON'T THINK IT'S AS OFTEN ANYMORE EITHER. YEAH. BUT IT IS A NICE THING. UM, BUT THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CLOSE THE STREET, OBVIOUSLY. UM, THERE'S OTHER WAYS WE'D HAVE TO APPROACH. RIGHT. SO I THOUGHT IF WE, THERE'S ANOTHER DISTINCTION IN THAT THERE'S GENERALLY ONE BUSINESS DISTRICT AND A VILLAGE, RIGHT. WE HAVE MANY VILLAGE, UH, BUSINESS DISTRICTS IN THE TOWN. RIGHT. BUT EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE IS HURTING THE MOST, I THINK. I DON'T THINK SO. 'CAUSE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR FIVE YEARS NOW. SO I KNOW YOU HAVE HARTSDALE ALSO, NOT ONLY EAST HARTSDALE, BUT YOU HAVE HARTSDALE, CENTRAL AVENUE. YOU HAVE FAIRVIEW OVER HERE. THAT'S ALSO, SO THE CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE JUST, WE'RE NOT BEING INCLUSIVE OF EVERYONE WHO'S GOING TO NEEDS THE, THE ASSISTANCE. SO EVERYONE IS HURTING. SO IF WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING, THEN WE NEED TO DO A, FOR FULL UNINCORPORATED, WE CANNOT JUST FOCUS ON JUST ONE AREA THAT THAT'S NOT FAIR. THAT'S NOT FAIR TO I AGREE TO THE RESIDENT. YEAH. WELL, WE HAVE THE FOUR CORNERS COMMITTEE THAT'S WORKING ON THAT. RIGHT. THAT'S A SEPARATE WHOLE BIG MM-HMM . THAT'S, YOU HAVE THE CHAMBER OF [00:05:01] COMMERCE ALSO, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEY, SO WHAT, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE, DO YOU HAVE A SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITY OR, AND THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS BEEN DOING REALLY GREAT. THEY HAD, UM, A PROGRAM, UH, LAST WEEK AT, UM, THE MEXICAN RESTAURANT ON PAIN STREET. AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, VERY INVOLVED. OH, IN VITO? YEAH. UH, ATTENDED. MM-HMM. UH, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE ATTENDED THAT. I DON'T KNOW. WHEN WAS THAT EVENT? WHEN WAS THAT? THAT WAS, UM, I DON'T REMEMBER SEEING, I THINK WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY OF LAST WEEK. WAS THAT IN THE EVENING? IN THE EVENING. IN THE EVENING AT SIX O'CLOCK. IS THERE ANY WAY THAT WE CAN BE, GET NOTIFIED WHEN THESE EVENTS HAPPEN SO WE CAN BE A PART OF IT? WAS IT CHAMBER BENCH? WAS IT CHAMBER EVENT? YEAH, BUT PAUL IS PART OF IT. YEAH. WE SHOULD BE GETTING THOSE NOTIFICATIONS FOR THE CHAMBER. I'LL TELL KRISTA TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET NOTIFIED. ESPECIALLY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE WAS INVITED, BUT THE TOWN BOARD WAS NOT. OH, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE WAS INVITED. WE WEREN'T, THE EXECUTIVE WAS THERE. YEAH, HE SHOWED UP. UM, THEY HAD A GOOD INVITATION, SHOWED UP, INVITATION BY INVITATION. INVITATION. HE DIDN'T JUST, THEY KNEW ABOUT IT. RIGHT. AND WE DIDN'T. OKAY, THANK YOU. OKAY. SO JUST ADD US TO THAT LIST PLEASE. FOR EVENTS. YEAH. UM, SO, SO THAT, SO THAT WAS GOOD. SO I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET INVITED TO ALL CHAMBERS, BUT THE QUESTION IS, THIS IS REALLY, WHAT IS THAT CHAMBER DOING FOR YOU? STARTS TO LIVING AND THE BUSINESSES AND REVITALIZING IT. YEAH. THEY'RE GONNA GONNA BE WHAT? THE MEMBERSHIP, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? NOT, WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO BE DOING? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE SO FAR? WELL, THEY'VE BEEN DOING ACTUALLY A LOT. THEY'RE, UM, THEY BASICALLY HAVE BEEN HAVING DIFFERENT PRO, FIRST OF ALL, THEY'RE TURNOUTS AT EVENTS ARE REALLY GOOD. YEAH. THEY'VE BEEN WHAT EVENTS? THEY'VE BEEN HAVING DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES. MM-HMM . UM, THEY'VE BEEN HAVING THE, YOU MEAN THROUGHOUT THE TOWN? NOT THROUGHOUT THE, THROUGHOUT THE TOWN. I DON'T THINK PAUL MEANS ON EAST DALE AVENUES. NO, MOST NO, I'M SAYING THE, THE CHAMBER, THE, WE NEVER HAD A GREENBERG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. RIGHT. UNDERSTOOD. THEY, UH, THEY, WE FORMED IT, UM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE YEARS AGO. VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT. IT'S ACTUALLY TAKING OFF. UM, TRUDY HOLLAND IS THE HEAD OF, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GROUP KRISTA SPENDS A LOT OF TIME HELP, YOU KNOW, HELPING THEM, UM, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZE ACTIVITIES. UH, WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING IS THEY'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF NETWORKING. MM-HMM . INFORMATION, UM, YOU KNOW, SO HOW MANY MEMBERS, PAUL, HOW MANY MEMBERS ARE PART OF, UM, THE, THE CHAMBER? IT'S PROBABLY OVER 30. LET ME JUST GIVE YOU ALL MY LIST OF QUESTIONS. YOU CAN JUST DO AN ANSWER. ONE, HOW MANY MEMBERS IN THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, IS THERE A WEBSITE? HOW DO PEOPLE, HOW ARE PEOPLE, HOW DOES PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE CHAMBER? WHERE CAN THEY JOIN? WHERE'S THE APPLICATION? HOW MUCH IS THE MEMBERSHIP FEE? UM, WHAT'S THE CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES OR WHAT'S GOING ON? I JUST, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. YEAH. WELL, YESTERDAY, OVER THE WEEKEND, I WAS HANDING OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, FLYERS AT THE CELEBRATE GREENBERG DAY, WHICH INCLUDED INFORMATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CHAMBER. UM, BUT IS IT ON OUR WEBSITE? I MEAN, WE HAVE A LINK. UM, WE SHOULD HAVE A LINK TO, OH, LET ME CHECK. I'M NOT SURE. LINK TO THE WEBSITE. THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. AND TO GO BACK TO COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON'S QUESTIONS, IF YOU CAN ANSWER THOSE. YEAH. I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH I KNOW THAT THEY JUST STARTED, UH, CHARGING DUES RECENTLY, AND I'M NOT, I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST 20 PAYING, UH, MEMBERS, BUT I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY, YOU KNOW? EXACTLY. AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY GROWING BECAUSE EVENTS ARE REALLY GOOD. AND , WHAT KIND OF EVENTS? ? NO, I SAID THE EVENTS ARE, YOU KNOW, MORE WHAT EVENTS? NETWORKING. IT'S EVERY OTHER MONTH THEY TRY HAVING AN EVENT AT A DIFFERENT, UH, BUSINESS. SO CAN YOU GIVE SOME DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR EVENTS? I'M JUST TRYING TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S HAPPENING. WELL, ONCE THEY HAD, UM, A MEETING WHERE THEY HELP BUSINESSES, UM, UNDERSTAND HOW THEY COULD BE SAFER. YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU DO IF, YOU KNOW, HOW COULD YOU PREVENT BURGLARIES OR ROBBERIES? WHAT DO YOU DO, UH, TO KEEP YOUR BUSINESS SAFE? THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, ONE PROGRAM. WAS THEY A GUEST SPEAKER? THEY HAVE THE, THEY HAVE GUEST POLICE OFFICER, SPEAKER. AND WHO WAS THAT? WAS THAT SOMEONE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT? I BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO. ABOUT COMMUNITY POLICING. UM, YOU KNOW, ON, YOU KNOW, ON THAT. UM, AND DON'T THEY DO ALL THE RIBBON CUTTINGS? OR THEY SHOULD OR, SO IF THEY'RE NOT DOING ALL THE RIBBON CUTTINGS, THERE'VE BEEN A LOT OF REQUESTS RECENTLY FOR RIBBON CUTTINGS OF NEW BUSINESSES. THEY, THEY SHOULD BE TAKING THE LEAD ON THAT. THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN ATTENDING THE RIBBON. WELL, NO, THEY SHOULD BE ACTUALLY ORGANIZING THEM. RIGHT. THEY SHOULD COME WITH THE, THE BIG SCISSORS AND THE RIBBON. THAT'S THE, THAT'S WHAT THE, LIKE THE RIVER TOWNS CHAMBER, THEY DO THAT. THEY ORGANIZE IT, THEN THEY INVITE EVERYONE TO COME. IT'S A COMMUNITY DRIVEN MM-HMM . IT'S A COMMUNITY DRIVEN ORGANIZATION. RIGHT. IT'S FOR BUSINESSES TO HELP EXPAND. IT'S FOR BUSINESS TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER. SO THAT'S WHY I WAS, THAT'S WHY I'M TRYING TO ASK, UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMICS OF THIS PARTICULAR ONE. ANOTHER THING TO PROMOTE THEMSELVES AND NEW BUSINESSES. ANOTHER THING WE'RE GONNA DO IS, UM, WE'RE GONNA DO A BUSINESS OF THE MONTH. AND, UM, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE CHAMBER DO THE NOMINATIONS. SO IT WON'T, WHO'S WE ARE GONNA DO? WELL, I'M GONNA BUSINESS RECOGNIZE AT EACH, AT ONCE A MONTH, A BUSINESS IN THE TOWN. AND RATHER THAN HAVE, CAN WE DO THAT? RIGHT? WE COULD DO IT. I'VE DONE IT IN THE PAST. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW. GOTTA BE MINE. IT DEPENDS ON THE, ON HOW [00:10:01] IT'S DONE. WE SHOULD PROBABLY, WE SHOULD PROBABLY MAKE SURE, AGAIN, CAN'T BE PROMOTED. THERE'S NOTHING ILLEGAL ABOUT HONORING PEOPLE. WE'VE HONORED INDIVIDUALS. WE COULD HONOR BUSINESSES. WELL, WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT IN THE CONFOUNDS, THAT WE ARE NOT PROMOTING SOMEONE OVER ANOTHER. THAT'S HOW WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT. I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE JUST NEED TO BE CLEAN. THAT'S ALL. THAT'S ALL THERE WAS. IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST CLARIFICATION AND MAKING SURE. BUT HOLD ON A SECOND. AND THE REASON I BROUGHT IT UP IS BECAUSE WE DID HAVE THIS DISCUSSION A, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO ABOUT PROMOTING BUSINESSES AND HOW THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T DO. SO IT, IT'S, IT'S A FINE LINE. SO YOU JUST HAVE, YOU HAVE HOLD ONE OVER THE OTHER. SO YOU GOTTA BE VERY CAREFUL THAT, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'VE, FOR EXAMPLE, I'M NOMINATING, UH, THE WIGS OUTLET, UM, FOR THE FIRST, UH, HONORARY THAT'S, THAT'S ON CENTRAL AVENUE. AND, UM, AND IT'S, THE REASON I CARE, I RECOMMENDED IT, IS THEY WERE DONATING HERE. MM-HMM. UH, TO CHILDREN WHO HAVE CANCER. RIGHT. UM, SO I THOUGHT, SO I, THAT'S VERY ADMIRABLE. SO RATHER THAN ME SAYING, OH, I'M HONORING SOMEBODY BECAUSE I'M USING MY OWN JUDGMENT, I SAID TO THE CHAMBER, ONE OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT THEY COULD DO MM-HMM . IS, UM, RECOMMEND SCREEN THE HONOREES. SO THIS WAY I'M NOT JUST HONORING EVERYBODY FOR NO REASON. AND IF, IF A BUSINESS IS WORTHY OF IT MM-HMM . THEN THEY WOULD GET RECOGNIZED. YOU KNOW, THE, THE, WHAT'S THE CRITERIA? WELL, THEY, THEY'RE GOING TO, THEY'RE COMING UP WITH, THEY HAVE A WHOLE, YOU KNOW, CRITERIA THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA, THEY'RE GONNA SET UP, YOU KNOW, KRISTA CAME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE GUIDELINES MM-HMM . BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO BE THE TYPE SAYING, OH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NEW BUSINESS. I'M JUST GONNA HONOR YOU. YOU KNOW, I WANT TO HAVE A REAL SOLID CRITERIA MM-HMM . AND HAVE A GROUP, A A GROUP OF PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE BUSINESSES, UM, YOU KNOW, COMING UP. WELL, WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PRESIDENT FOR DOING THAT. WE HONORED THE PHYSICAL THERAPY, UM, UH, FACILITY. WE HONORED, UM, THE WOMAN WITH THE POD IN DOBBS FERRY, BUT WE HONORED THEM HERE BY GIVING THEM A PROCLAMATION. THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT THAT'S DIFFERENT THROUGH THE CHAMBER. YES. IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS, THIS RIGHT, THE SAME THING. IT'S REALLY THE SAME THING. IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS CORRECTLY, WE'RE ALSO NOT PART OF A BUSINESS OF THE MONTH, YOU KNOW, THING. WELL, I'M, I'M GONNA HONOR A BUSINESS EVERY MONTH ON MY OWN. SO, BUT IF THE BOARD, THAT, THE BOARD, I'M NOT, NOBODY'S GONNA, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE WHAT IS YOUR CRITERIA FOR HONOR? WE'RE GONNA, THE CHAMBER IS SETTING UP THE CRITERIA, AND THEY'RE GONNA COME UP WITH, IT'S THE CHAMBER THAT'S GONNA DECIDE. RIGHT. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING. WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET CLARITY. THAT'S ALL. I JUST, ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT WE HAVE A PROBLEM BECAUSE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE. ABSOLUTELY. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT. RIGHT? SO THE THING IS, THE TOWN, WE COULD BASICALLY DO NOTHING, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE AND MORE VACANCIES, OR WHILE WE COULD DO, IS WE COULD WORK HARD TO PUBLICIZE THE EXISTING BUSINESSES, TO PROMOTE THE EXISTING BUSINESSES, UM, TO HELP THEM GET, UH, YOU KNOW, MORE PEOPLE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF, UH, OF, OF THEIR, UM, THE SERVICES THAT THEY HAVE. AND, UM, AND IF WE DO, THAT WORD IS GONNA SPREAD THAT GREENBERG IS A PLACE THAT PEOPLE SHOULD LOCATE TO. SO THE THING IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD VACANCIES ALL OVER THE TOWN, AND THE THING IS, GUYS HAVE EVERY OTHER MUNICIPALITY. RIGHT. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, RIGHT. EVERY OTHER MUNICIPAL, ESPECIALLY SINCE COVID. RIGHT. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, WE CAN'T JUST ACCEPT IT AND SAY, OH, EVERYBODY, EVERY, NO, NO, NO ONE'S ACCEPTING IT. NO ONE'S SAYING THAT. NO. AND WE'RE NOT, AND, AND PLEASE DON'T, DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE AGAINST IT. WE'RE JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT BEEN A PRIVY TO, SINCE YOU ESSENTIALLY LIAISE WITH THEM, THEN YOU CAN INFORM US AS WELL AS INFORM THE COMMUNITY A LITTLE BIT MORE. AND, AND IN SOME THINGS LIKE EVENTS, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ON THEIR INVITE LIST, WHICH WOULD BE GREAT. UM, AND JUST WATCHING OUT FOR WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT DO. NOT TRYING TO SHACKLE YOU, JUST MAKING SURE THAT IT'S DONE WITHIN THE PROPER BOUNDARIES. YEAH. BUT ALL I COULD SAY IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NU PAST NUMBER OF YEARS WHEN THERE'S A NEW BUSINESS, I'VE ALWAYS TRIED PROMOTING, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE NEW BUSINESSES, AND THE BUSINESSES HAVE SAID THAT IT'S REALLY BEEN EXTREMELY, YOU KNOW, HELPFUL. A LOT OF THEM. WELL, THAT'S WHEREIN LIES, PERHAPS THE CONCERN. THAT'S ALL JUST PROMOTING, I DON'T KNOW. LET'S SPEAK TO OUR ATTORNEY ABOUT THIS. WELL, THE, THE REASON WHY IT CAN BE PROBLEMATIC IS YOU TAKE THEIR PUBLICITY PIECE TALKING ABOUT HOW GREAT THEIR RESTAURANT IS AND HOW GREAT THE FOOD IS, AND THEN YOU SIGN YOUR NAME BELOW IT AS IF YOU HAVE A, YOU HAVE DETERMINED THAT ALL OF THAT IS TRUE. AND SO YOU'RE PUTTING THE TOWN'S NAME ON THEIR ADVERTISEMENT AS OPPOSED TO, UM, IT BEING YOUR OWN PERSONAL OPINION. [00:15:01] YOU'RE JUST TAKING WHAT THEY SEND YOU. AND YOU COULD TELL, 'CAUSE THE WRITING FORMAT'S JUST TOTALLY DIFFERENT. NO, THAT'S, ILL BE, I'LL BE MORE CAREFUL WITH THAT. BUT, BUT AGAIN, LOOK, BUT WAIT, BUT WAIT, BACK UP. BUT WHEN YOU SAY BE MORE CAREFUL, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? SO IS HOW, HOW, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IF THEY, IF A BUSINESS WRITES UP SOMETHING? BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER A BUSINESS COMES, I SAY, WRITE UP SOMETHING AND I'LL, I'LL PUB, I'LL USE, I'LL USE THAT LANGUAGE. I THINK I SHOULD BE CLEAR AND MENTION THAT THIS IS COMING FROM THE BUSINESS. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BASICALLY GIVE THE BUSINESS THE BEST. WELL, YOU'RE INTRODUCING TO THE BUSINESS, TO THE TOWN. THAT'S FINE. I THINK THAT'S A VERY CONSTRUCTIVE AND EXCELLENT IDEA. MM-HMM. OR WE COULD ADD TO THE WEBSITE FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WEBSITE THAT WE HAVE UP. THANK YOU GARRETT DECAY, COMMISSIONER OF PLANNING. THEN WE CAN ADD ALL THE NEW BUSINESSES ALONG WITH ALL THE OPENINGS THAT'S, THAT'S LISTED ON THERE. AND WE CAN KEEP THAT GOING. MAYBE WE SHOULD REVITALIZE THAT WEBSITE AND UTILIZE THAT PAGE. THAT IS A BRILLIANT, A, A REALLY BRILLIANT IDEA. I KNOW. A GOOD, SO LET ME, UM, ADD NEW BUSINESSES ON WEBSITE. THIS IS A GOOD PROJECT FOR, WELL, ON, ON THE PAGE, ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PAGE THAT YOU PAID FOR, RIGHT? WE PAID FOR, WE PAID FOR THIS BEFORE I WAS ON, WE PUT THAT IN PLACE FIVE YEARS AGO. SO THAT IS, THAT'S A SUPERB IDEA. SO I'M REALLY GLAD, AND I'M GONNA, BUT YOU HAVE TO DRIVE PEOPLE TO THE WEBSITE TO SEE IT. SO IT'S LIKE YOU HAVE TO ANNOUNCE IT AND THEN TELL THEM WHERE THEY CAN GET MORE INFORMATION THROUGH SOME SORT OF, JUST DO A POST AND SAY, PLEASE, PLEASE BE AWARE. WE HAVE NEW BUSINESSES. CHECK OUT OUR PAGE HERE. YOU JUST HAVE A LITTLE BLURB RIGHT THERE ON THE WEBSITE. CLICK HERE FOR NEW BUSINESSES, CLICK HERE FOR, UM, VACANT OPPORTUNITIES, VACANT, UH, SPACE OPPORTUNITIES, ALL THAT STUFF. YOU COULD PUT THAT ALL THERE. THAT'S, THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY THE WEBSITE WAS CREATED. YOU KNOW WHAT ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COULD DO IS, UM, HAVE AN EVENT FOR NEW BUSINESSES. SO IT COULD BE BASICALLY, BUT THAT'S WHAT THE NEW POSTED PART. THE, BUT THEY COULD HAVE, HAVE AN EVENT WHERE BASICALLY THEY'RE RECOGNIZING ALL THE NEW BUSINESSES AND WELCOMING TO THE TOWN. AND THEN WE COULD HAVE, UM, UH, DEPARTMENT HEADS, UH, EXPLAINING THERE, MINGLING AND MENTIONING WHAT WE AS IT, WHAT WE COULD DO TO HELP THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'RE ALL DEALING WITH THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT. ALL THE BUSINESSES, THEY ALL DEAL WITH THE POLICE BECAUSE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SAFE, YOU KNOW, SAFETY ISSUES. SOME OF THE BUSINESSES MAY, UM, NEED DIFFERENT PERMITS OR WHATEVER. UH, THEY MAY, THERE MAY BE THINGS THAT WE COULD DO TO HELP THEM. THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU DO AN IN INFO SESSION AT TOWN HALL FOR, OR WHEN YOU HAVE A NEW BUSINESS, AND I'VE ALREADY SAID THAT TO THE BUILDING, YOU HAVE AN INFO CARD WITH ALL THE, ALL THE NUMBERS, ALL THE IMPORTANT NUMBERS. IF YOU NEED THIS. HERE YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE A PACKET. SO WHEN THEY FINISH THEIR PERMITS AND THEY GET THEIR CEOS AND ALL THAT STUFF, HERE YOU GO. WELCOME TO BINGO. GOOD IDEA. THERE YOU GO. ISN'T THE, THE SUMMER INTERNS ARE DOING, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE INTERNS ARE DOING. GREAT. YOU'RE DOING A, UH, YOUR INTERNSHIP PROGRAM IS FABULOUS THIS YEAR. I WANT TO COMMEND YOU PUBLICLY. UM, UM, BECAUSE, UM, THE INTERNS THAT I HAVE THAT YOU ASSIGNED TO MY OFFICE, THEY, THEY ARE DEFINITELY THE BEST GROUP OF INTERNS THAT I'VE HAD SINCE I'VE BEEN SUPERVISED. THEY ARE SO GOOD. WOW. THAT'S REALLY, THEY GET WORK DONE IN LIKE 15 MINUTES. THAT NORMALLY WOULD TAKE ABOUT, UH, THREE MONTHS . THAT'S GREAT. COULDN'T WE HAVE LIKE THE CHAMBER DO A PRESENTATION? TRU, YOU KNOW, THE HEAD OF THE CHAMBER, TRU DO A PRESENTATION TO US IN A WORK SESSION ABOUT WHAT THEIR ACTIVITIES ARE, WHAT THEIR PLANS ARE, WHAT THEIR MISSION IS, WHO'S ON IT? THIS IS REAL. THIS WAS LIKE ONE OF THE BEST WORK SESSIONS WE'VE HAD SINCE I'VE BEEN SUPERVISOR. NO, BECAUSE I'M GETTING PURPLE. SO MANY GREAT IDEAS. UM, SO, UM, BUT GETTING BACK TO, SO, SO ARE YOU GONNA INVITE THEM TO, TO COME TO A WORK SESSION? THE CHAMBER? YEAH, TO THE END. WE WELL COULD DO THAT ALSO. THAT'S ANOTHER GREAT IDEA. . OKAY. SO, SO I'M A LITTLE JADED ON THIS IDEA, YOU KNOW, THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITY OR PLANNED ACTIVITY, IT'S GONNA HELP THE BUSINESSES BECAUSE YOU HAD A VERY WELL PUBLICIZED, YOU WANTED TO CALL IT A BLOCK PARTY, BUT NOBODY FROM THE BLOCK REALLY SHOWED UP. AND ALL THE BUSINESSES THAT WERE SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE CANCELED OUT AND OR THE FLAVORS TO TASTING. WE'RE TRYING TO HELP THE BUSINESSES, BUT THE BUSINESSES AREN'T. THEY HAVE TO HELP DESIROUS TO THEMSELVES, THEMSELVES. WELL, THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR A YEARS. YOU KNOW, WE TRIED GETTING A CHAMBER AND IT NEVER WORKED FOR, FOR, AND NOW YOU HAVE ONE, AND NOW WE HAVE ONE. SO I FEEL THAT SOMETIMES BUSINESSES SHOW UP. YOU KNOW WHAT, I HAVE LIKE, NO IDEA. YOU KNOW, IT WAS VERY HOT THAT DAY. UH, THE, SO WE HAD FOOD TRUCKS, BUT IT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER TO EXPECTED. WERE NOT FROM THE BUSINESS. A MATTER OF FACT, THEY WERE TAKING BUSINESS AWAY FROM THE STORES BECAUSE THEY WERE SELLING THINGS THAT WERE, YOU COULD GET IN THE STORES. EVERYTHING'S A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. AND [00:20:01] IF SOMETHING ISN'T TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL, YOU, YOU LEARN FROM IT AND YOU DO IT BETTER THE NEXT TIME. UM, SO I THINK, SO PAUL, SO PAUL, THIS IS A SUGGESTION. I THINK YOU JUST HAVE TO BE CLEAR ON WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. SO IF YOU'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE TO DRUM BUSINESS TOWARDS EAST HARSDALE, THEN THOSE ARE THE BUSINESS THAT YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON TO INVITE OUTSIDE BUSINESSES. AGAIN, IT TAKES AWAY, BUT IF WE ARE FOCUSING ON AND SAYING, HEY, GREENBERG, WE HAVE NEW BUSINESSES, OR WE HAVE EXISTING BUSINESSES ON EAST HARSDALE AVENUE. WHY DON'T YOU COME IN FOR THE DAY AND COME MEET THEM? WHETHER THEY HAVE OUTSIDE SIDEWALK SALES OR THEY COME IN ONE AREA, YOU DO MAYBE 12 TO TWO. YOU INCLUDE SOME TYPE OF AN EVENT MUSIC, WHATEVER, MEET YOUR NEW BUSINESSES, OR YOU HAVE THAT DAY, BUT YOU CAN'T INVITE OTHER BUSINESSES IN IF YOU'RE TRYING TO HELP THE BUSINESS YOU SAY ARE STRUGGLING OR COMPLAINING THAT THERE, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH FOOT TRAFFIC COME DOWN THERE. SO YOU HAVE TO CREATE THAT FOOT TRAFFIC. WELL, WELL, THERE WERE SOME, I MEAN, THE ICE CREAM, THE NEW ICE CREAM PLACE WAS THERE. RIGHT. THAT, BUT I THINK THE OTHERS HAVE, THAT'S ABOUT IT. THEY CANARA THE PERUVIAN, UH, MARKET WAS THERE. OKAY, WELL THAT'S GOOD. BUT, BUT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE A FULL, YOU KNOW, ALL, THERE ARE ABOUT TWO OR THREE FOOD VENDORS THERE. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, BUT THE, THE, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IT IS A PROCESS. AND YOU'RE RIGHT, IT IS A PROCESS. UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON ON EAST HARSDALE AVENUE. WE HAVE THE REPAIRS FOR THE, THE WATER BREAK. WE HAVE TRAFFIC CONTROL ISSUES THAT ARE GOING TO BE RESOLVED IN ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO. I THINK THAT'S ALL PART AND PARCEL OF A PACKAGE TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESS. BUT IT'S ALSO BUILDING UP AS, AS, AS, UM, COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON MENTIONED THE EXISTING BUSINESSES, BECAUSE THEY REALLY DO NEED TO BE BUILT UP. AND, AND MAYBE IT'S THE, HOW MANY OF THE BUSINESSES, FOR INSTANCE, SINCE WE STARTED OFF WITH EAST HARTSDALE, HAVE HOW MANY EAST HARTSDALE HAVE BUSINESSES ARE PART OF THE CHAMBER? OKAY. WELL, WE HAVE HAVE TO DO A BIG RECRUITMENT. THE THE OTHER THING WE HAVE TO DO IS WE HAVE TO, BUT BY ACTION STEPS, WE HAVE TO PROVE THAT IT, THAT'S WORTHWHILE TO BE A CHAMBER. CAN, CAN YOU ANSWER HOW MANY ABOUT HOW MANY EAST HARTSDALE HAVE BUSINESSES ARE PART OF THE CHAMBER WHEN WE, WHEN THE, THE CHAMBER PRESENT? THAT, WHEN THEY COME TO, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? WELL, BUT THE POINT OF IT IS THAT, THAT I, I'M JUST IN SUPPORT OF WHAT, UM, COUNCILMAN SHEEN SAID, IF THEY DON'T PARTICIPATE IN PROMOTING THEMSELVES, IT, IT, IT IS, IT IS A HARD LIFT TO GET THEM TO COOPERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER, BUT THEY HAVE TO MAKE THE EFFORT. AND THE CHAMBER PROVIDES THAT EFFORT FOR HELPING THE CHAMBER'S PRETTY NEW. THEY ARE PRETTY NEW AND THEY'RE JUST GETTING THEMSELVES, YOU KNOW, UP TO SPEED. SO THAT'S WHY IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE THEM TELL US ABOUT WHAT THEIR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN HAVE BEEN AND WHAT THEIR SUCCESS. OH, I'M, I'M NOT, I'M NOT DISPUTING THAT. I'M JUST SAYING THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, TO, TO RESPOND TO, PAUL HAS IDEAS AND THERE'S NO, NO DIS ON HIS HAVING IDEAS. 'CAUSE THOSE IDEAS ARE GOOD, BUT SOMETIMES IT'S PUTTING THE HORSE BEFORE THE CART. AND SO I'M TRYING TO ADD SOME ORDER TO IT OF GETTING THE BUS EXISTING BUSINESSES . CARD. CARD. SORRY. THANK YOU. I WANTED TO JUMP IN, BUT JUST, I PAUSED. WE ALL DID. WE ALL CRINGE. LIKE WE UNDERSTOOD THEY WERE PUTTING THE CART. HE'S PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE. OKAY. I STAND CORRECT. BUT THE POINT IS THAT IF WE CAN START OFF INCREMENTALLY WITH GETTING THEM ENGAGED EXACTLY. MORE SO. AND HEAR WHAT THEIR BUSINESSES, BUSINESSES ON EAST HEART STILL HAVE MM-HMM . AND GET THEIR IDEAS, GET THEM TO ENGAGE AND BE PART OF THE PROCESS AND DEVELOPING HOW THEY FEEL THEY CAN HELP PROMOTE. I THINK THAT IS A GOOD STARTING POINT. SO MAYBE THE, THE CHAMBER COULD HAVE A SERIES OF MEETINGS FOCUSING ON ONE AREA AFTER THE OTHER. EAST HEART STILL HAVE FAIRVIEW, THE DIFFERENT AREAS, BUSINESS DISTRICTS, CENTRAL AVENUE. MM-HMM . AND, AND JUST HAVE THOSE LITTLE SUBGROUPS, UM, INPUT THEIR IDEAS FOR THEIR AREA. MM-HMM . AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ON A LARGER SCALE, SOME OF THOSE ARE TRANSLATABLE AND THEY CAN THEN GO ON FROM THERE [00:25:01] AND HAVE, UM, A MORE UNIVERSAL DISCUSSION. THE ONLY THING I WANNA MENTION IS FOR A CHA, I REMEMBER WHEN I TRIED GETTING A CHAMBER STARTED YEARS AGO, IT DIDN'T WORK BECAUSE IT WAS ME ORGANIZING IT BY MYSELF AND I GOT EXCITED ABOUT IT AND NOBODY WANTED TO PARTICIPATE. WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THIS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT BECAUSE BY THEY'RE HAVING EVENTS THAT ARE WELL ATTENDED, UH, PE UH, UM, PEOPLE, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE SAYING, WOW, THIS IS REALLY A GREAT, UM, EVENT. WORD OF MOUTH IS, IS SPREADING. AND IF, IF BUSINESSES FEEL THAT A CHAMBER IS, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, IS WORTH MM-HMM . GETTING INVOLVED IN, THEY'LL PARTICIPATE. SHERRY , SHE GAVE ME THE IDEA. ADAM, MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS, I FUNCTION, I THINK YOU WERE AT THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TWO YEARS AGO, THREE YEARS AGO. AND SHE WAS AT THE EVENT. SHE WAS IMPRESSED WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH EVENT DYLAN PINE WAS AT THE EVENT LAST, YOU KNOW, LAST WEEK FROM THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL. SO YOU, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING COMMUNITY SUPPORT. WE'RE GETTING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING LAST WEEK THE ONE THAT AT IN VITO THAT WE DIDN'T GET THE INVITATION TO . NO, BUT I'M JUST SAYING, I, I DON'T THINK I, I'M NOT SURE. WELL, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERY TIME THERE'S ANYTHING. I THINK, I THINK TOO, I THINK TOO, PAUL, YOU KNOW, ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE TO REMEMBER TOO, THE BUSINESSES DRIVE THE CHAMBER. RIGHT. 'CAUSE IT'S A COMMUNITY OF BUSINESS SAYING, HEY, WE'RE GONNA SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER, AND THIS IS THE EVENT. SO AS MUCH AS YOU'RE TRYING TO DRIVE IT, YOU GOTTA TALK TO THE BUSINESSES. NO, WE DOING THAT. YOU HAVE TO TALK TO THE BUSINESSES SO THE BUSINESS UNDERSTANDS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DO AND WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE CAN DO FOR THEM. RIGHT. BUT AGAIN, A CHAMBER IS DRIVEN BY BUSINESSES AND THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN. OKAY. BUT I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A PAUL SHOW, SO THAT'S WHY I JUST WANNA MAKE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, SO ALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOOKING TO BE PART OF THE CHAMBER IS THEIR LITTLE PLACARDS IN THE WINDOW TO SAY, HEY, I'M PART OF THE GREENBERG CHAMBER. THE NEXT IDEA IS YOU CAN WRITE DOWN THAT YOU HAVE A LITTLE PLACARD THAT SAYS, UH, PART MEMBER OF GREENBERG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT. SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT IN THE WINDOW. SO THEY, ANY OTHER BUSINESSES CAN BE INTERESTED AND SAY, WHAT THIS HAS THIS DONE FOR YOU. YEAH. BECAUSE AT THE END END THE YEAR, HUH? END THE YEAR. IN THE YEAR. IN THE YEAR. ABSOLUTELY. THIS, YEAH. THESE ARE STANDARD PRACTICES FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, LIKE YOU SAID. YEAH. THAT'S GOOD. I, I, YEAH. BUT SO I THINK I PROBABLY, I THINK WOULD BE PROBABLY HELPFUL IF MAYBE YOU DO A LITTLE MORE RESEARCH ON DIFFERENT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. YOU CAN TALK TO THE ONE IN TERRYTOWN. YOU CAN TALK TO ONE IN THE FIVE BARRELS. THEY ARE VERY STRONG ACTIVE CHAMBERS. I DON'T THINK PAUL, AND, HOLD ON, HOLD ON. JOY. AND THEY DID NOT. AND THEY DID NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. MM-HMM . IT TAKES TIME TO GROW. YES. WELL, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW. YOU NEED TO, BUT, BUT YOU ALSO NEED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS. THEY NEED ONCE A MONTH. IT CAN'T, IT ONCE, IT CANNOT, IT CANNOT BE JUST YOUR IDEAS. IT HAS TO BE HAVING A CONVERSATION COLLECTIVELY TO SAY, WHAT DO WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD? HOW CAN WE, WE UNDERSTAND OUR CHALLENGES, WHAT CAN WE DO? SO ADVERTISEMENT, LIKE THE LITTLE PLACARDS, BUT YOU GOTTA SHOW THAT THERE ARE COMMUNITY AND THEY'RE COLLECTIVELY WORKING TOGETHER. YES. LET ME, THAT'S THE CHAIR. THE PRESIDENT. WHAT IS SHE? THE CHAIR? THE PRESIDENT. WHAT'S HER TITLE? TRUDY. WHAT'S HER TITLE THOUGH? SHE'S, UH, WHATEVER PRESIDENT. IS SHE THE PRESIDENT? OKAY. SO THAT, SO SHE, SHE SHOULD BE REACHING OUT TO OTHER CHAMBERS, LIKE THE RIVER TOWNS CHAMBER. AND SHE, I KNOW SHE'S SPOKEN WITH SHERRY FOR ALL OF THESE BEST PRACTICES, LIKE COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON'S TALKING ABOUT HAVING THE PLACARDS, HOW YOU MEET WITH THE BUSINESSES, HOW YOU GET THEM ENGAGED. BUT THAT'S REALLY HER JOB. NOT, NOT SO MUCH YOURS. LET ME MENTION SOMEONE ELSE THAT YOU HAVE TO DO ALL THE EVENTS. I'VE HAD VIRTUALLY NO INVOLVEMENT IN PLANNING IT. GOOD. THAT'S FINE. THIS LAST, THIS EVENT THAT THEY, THIS LAST EVENT THAT THEY HAD, UM, I FOUND OUT ABOUT IT MAYBE TWO DAYS BEFORE, YOU KNOW, THE EVENT, YOU KNOW, THE ONE, THE, AT THE RESTAURANT. SO MY FAILING IS, I'M GONNA MENTION THAT ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING. I'VE, I'VE TAKEN NOTES. I MEAN, MR. THE GREENBERG CHAMBER, WE SHOULD DEFINITELY BE ON. ABSOLUTELY. AND I JUST WANNA BE MINDFUL AND, AND AGAIN, JUST WANNA BE MINDFUL. THERE'S THINGS THAT WE, WE CANNOT MEET DURING THE DAY. . RIGHT? RIGHT. THERE'S CHALLENGES FOR US TO MEET DURING THE DAY. MM-HMM . THE COUNCIL PEOPLE. MM-HMM . THE COUNCIL MEMBERS MM-HMM . HAVE A CHALLENGE MEETING DURING THE DAY. RIGHT. SO WE, WE WOULD ASK IF IT'S POSSIBLE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A RIBBON CUTTING MM-HMM . IF YOU COULD DO IT ON A SATURDAY MORNING. OKAY. AT LEAST IT'S OR AFTER FIVE. AFTER FIVE WE HAVE OR, AND OR AFTER FIVE AND YEAH. AND OR AFTER FIVE, RIGHT? MM-HMM . JUST SO IT'S CONVENIENT. NOT, NOT, YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT CONVENIENT FOR US, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BE PART OF IT BECAUSE JUST KEPT WORKING HOURS. IT'S, IT'S UPSETTING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THEM COME THROUGH MM-HMM . AND THEN WE CAN'T ATTEND BECAUSE RIGHT. WE CAN'T ATTEND, BUT WE WANT, BUT WE WANNA SHOW THAT OUR SUPPORT FOR THESE SMALL BUSINESSES COMING HERE. NO, THAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS. IS AN EMAIL GOES INTO YOU, PAUL, TO SAY, WHEN IS IT CONVENIENT FOR YOU? YOU THEN TELL THEM, UH, WITHOUT CONSULTING WITH US. AND THEN WE CAN MAKE IT IF WE CAN. BUT, YOU KNOW, BUT WELL, THEY ALWAYS COPY THE BOARD. YEAH. I MEAN, A LOT OF THOSE AFTER COME IN, NO, THEY COME IN SORT OF COLD. [00:30:01] BUT SOME, SOME BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, WE, THEY'RE NOT REALLY, SOME OF THEM BOARD MIGHT SAY, OH, I'M DOING IT ON THURSDAY. BECAUSE THEY HAVE FAMILY, THEY HAVE FRIENDS, THEY HAVE BUSINESS ASSOCIATES. THAT'S THE DAY THEY WANT. SO IT'S SAY WE'RE DOING IT ON THURSDAY AT TWO O'CLOCK, COULD YOU BE THERE? AND THEN I'LL LOOK AT MY CALENDAR. I'LL SAY, FINE. NOW THE THING IS, IF I SAID I'LL DO IT ON A SATURDAY, THEY MAY NOT WANT TO DO IT ON A SATURDAY, BUT ALL I'M ASKING YOU TO SUPPORT US, I WILL SUPPORT US AND SAY, WHEN POSSIBLE WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THE FULL BOARD HERE. MM-HMM. I'LL DO THAT. UM, AND MAY, MAY I HAVE A FEW MINUTES OR MAY I HAVE A DAY TO CHECK THEIR SCHEDULE TO SEE IF THEY'RE AVAILABLE? I'LL DO THAT. DEFINITELY. ALRIGHT, SO, AND IF IT'S POSSIBLE, GO AHEAD. SO WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT AN RFP. OH, WE, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THE TOPIC IS. WELL, WE'RE, SO WE'RE, WE'RE SORT OF TALKING AROUND WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, WHICH IS, THIS IS A VERY SPECIFIC THING IN TERMS OF HIRING A, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, DOWNTOWN AVENUE. BUT I HEARD YOU START OFF BY TALKING ABOUT HOW MANY VAS THERE ARE VACANCIES AND HOW WE HAVE TO ADDRESS VACANCIES. THIS DOESN'T EVEN, THE PERSON DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO HAVE ANY REAL ESTATE BACKGROUND WHATSOEVER. WELL, THAT'S WHY THIS IS ADDRESSED. THIS IS ALL ABOUT MARKETING. THAT'S WHAT I, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. IT'S ALL ABOUT EVENT COORDINATION. THAT'S WHAT I THINK WOULD BE MOST USEFUL. BUT I DON'T REALLY, THIS IS THE PROBLEM. WE TALK ABOUT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IS, OR DO THEY THINK THAT THIS IS THE MOST USEFUL? YOU'RE SAYING WHAT YOU THINK IS THE MOST USEFUL. YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT, I'M GONNA DECLARE SOMEBODY TO BE A BUSINESS OF THE MONTH. THAT'S GONNA BE YOU. WHEN YOU SAID BEFORE IT FAILED BECAUSE IT JUST BECAME YOU AND NOT THE COMMUNITY, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE HEADING AGAIN IN MAKING IT ALL ABOUT YOU. AND I DON'T MEAN THAT DISRESPECTFULLY, RIGHT? IT'S JUST THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE, YOU'VE ALREADY STARTED THIS CONVERSATION OFF SAYING YOU ARE GOING TO PICK A BUSINESS IN A MONTH. YOU ARE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. AND FRANKLY, I DON'T SEE HOW THIS ADDRESSES VACANCIES WHATSOEVER. OKAY. THAT, WELL, IF YOU WANT TO COME UP WITH THIS AND, AND, AND YOU DID HAVE YOUR FINGERS, YOU KNOW, ON THAT BLOCK PARTY THAT TURNED OUT TO BE NOTHING BUT A FEW, UM, FOOD VENDORS AND NOBODY FROM, LET'S FACE IT. WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO DO TO MAKE THE E STARS 11 BUSINESSES THRIVE IS HAVE THOSE BUSINESSES REACH OUT TO THE PEOPLE ON THE AVENUE. THERE IS A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE ON THAT AVENUE. PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO DRIVE ELSEWHERE. BUT DO THEY GO AROUND AND DO THEY PUT FLYERS? DO THEY GIVE DISCOUNTS? DO THEY DO I I HAVE NO IDEA. I DO KNOW, I SAT HERE LISTENING TO A BUSINESS OWNER TELLING US HOW HE WANTS TOWN TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR PARKING FOR HIS CUSTOMERS. MM-HMM . I HEARD US BEING CRITICIZED BECAUSE THE STORES THAT ARE THERE ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE AVENUE. WE ARE NOT THE ONES THAT ARE RENTING. RIGHT. WHAT ARE WE, HOW, HOW IS THIS EVENT COORDINATOR SUPPOSED TO GET SOMEBODY TO NOT ALLOW A STORE TO COME IN THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA SELL MARIJUANA? IT'S NOT AN EVENT COORDINATOR. THAT'S NOT REALLY AN APPROPRIATE TITLE FOR THIS. WHEN YOU HAVE A DOWNTOWN ADVOCATE OR BUSINESS DEVELOPER CONSULTANT, THEY LOOK AT WHAT BUSINESSES WOULD BE PRODUCTIVE FOR WHATEVER LOCATION MUNICIPALITY THEY'RE LOOKING AT. AND THEY WOULD TRY TO GUIDE, STEER, AND BRING IN THOSE TYPES OF BUSINESSES. RIGHT. BUT THAT'S A GOOD POINT THAT YOU MENTIONED ABOUT INCENTIVES, BECAUSE AS I'VE SAID MANY TIMES, I'M ON EAST DALE AVENUE QUITE A BIT. MM-HMM . NO, THERE AREN'T A LOT OF INCENTIVES. THEY DON'T DO LIKE HAPPY HOURS. THEY DON'T DO LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT, WHATEVER IT IS THAT, UH, BRINGS PEOPLE IN AT FOR AN INCENTIVE. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF THAT. UM, IT THAT'S THE JBO CONFERENCE. EXACTLY. RIGHT. THEY CAN DO THAT TOO. BUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF HASTINGS HAS A CHAMBER. DO YOU PARTICIPATE? 'CAUSE DOPPS RIVER, WE'VE HAD A MIXED EXPERIENCE HAVE YEAH. TERRYTOWN HAS A VERY ACTIVE ONE. YES, IT DOES. UM, AND IN, IN DOPPS FERRY, WE HAVE HAD BOTH DOWNTOWN, DOWNTOWN ADVOCATES AND CHAMBERS. AND IT'S GONE THROUGH DIFFERENT ITERATIONS. AND, UH, A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH ALSO THE, THE, UH, HIGH, UH, RENTS. I, I HAVE TO SAY, I WAS ON THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN COMMITTEE WHEN, FOR HASTINGS, WHEN I LIVED IN HASTINGS, THAT DETERMINED THAT WE NEEDED SOMEONE TO HELP PROMOTE HASTINGS DOWNTOWN. UM, AND THAT HAD TO HAVE BEEN A, WELL, IT WAS ACTUALLY 2011 THAT WE PUBLISHED THAT. AND THEN IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR, WE PRIORITIZED, UM, ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND WE, THE, THE NAME DOWNTOWN ADVOCATE EVOLVED. [00:35:01] IT WASN'T AS IF IT HAD REALLY A, YOU KNOW, A DEFINITION IN THE, IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OR THE LIBRARY. SO THAT SOMETIMES THAT CAN BE MISLEADING. UM, AND WHAT THAT DOWNTOWN ADVOCATE DOES IS SHE WORKS WITH THE REAL ESTATE BROKERS TO PROMOTE REAL ESTATE. SHE REACHES OUT TO, UM, BUSINESSES. WE HAD AN EMPTY SUPERMARKET FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS IN HASTINGS, AND SHE SOLICITED DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. SO IT WAS A LOT MORE THAN PROMOTING FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE, WHICH WAS A WAY TO CREATE SPIRIT AND INTRODUCE, UM, THE, UH, THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, THE BUSINESSES, OTHER THAN THE RESTAURANTS DON'T REALLY PARTICIPATE IN THOSE FRIDAY NIGHT LIVES. THEY'RE CLOSED BECAUSE THEY FOUND THAT WITH DIFFERENT VENDORS LINING THE STREETS, THAT PEOPLE WEREN'T COMING INSIDE. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU ADJUST AND IT'S A LEARNING PROCESS. RIGHT. UM, BUT, BUT TO, TO, UH, FRANCIS' POINT, HAVING THAT REAL ESTATE BACKGROUND OR HAVING SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THE, WITH DEVELOPING THE REAL ESTATE IS VERY KEY. RIGHT. BUT YEAH, ALL I WANNA SAY IS WHAT I PRESENTED THE BOARD IS A DRIFT. MM-HMM . AND A FEW WEEKS AGO, UM, YOU KNOW, I SAID, OH, I THOUGHT WE SHOULD HAVE A HIRE SOMEBODY. UM, AND I THINK YOU AND JOY MENTIONED, OH, COME UP WITH A DRIFT MM-HMM . SO I DID A DRIFT MM-HMM . SO WE CAN REFINE, IF YOU WANNA REFINE IT AND IMPROVE ON IT SURE. OR CHANGE IT, THAT'S FINE. I JUST FEEL WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING AND UNDERSTAND WE'RE DOING NOTHING RIGHT NOW. OKAY. I DO THINK THAT TRUDY WOULD WEIGH IN ON THIS DESCRIPTION. I, I DID SEND IT TO HER. AND DID SHE WEIGH IN? SHE THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD. YOU KNOW, SHE, SHE, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS, AND THIS WAS BASICALLY ALSO DRAFTED, UM, UH, BY STEVE GOLD WITH THE HELP OF STEVE GOLDBERG. GOLDBERG. YEAH. UH, WHO DOES THIS FOR A LIVING? HE'S A ECO, YOU KNOW, HE HELPS. SO WHAT ABOUT HIM? NO, SAY, I THINK A LOT OF, A LOT OF WHAT YOU HAVE IN HERE IS VERY GOOD. I THINK ONE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO GINA'S POINT RIGHT OFF THE BAT, IT SHOULD BE THE ENTIRETY OF GREENBERG AND THAT FIRST PART DESCRIBING THAT'S FINE. JUST, UH, EAST HEART STILL HAVE, MAYBE WE CAN DO THAT FOR THE OTHER, UM, OTHER AREAS IN WHICH WE HAVE COMMERCE TO PROMOTE THEM AS WELL. UM, AND THEN, AND REFINE IT, ADD THE THINGS. AND THAT'S, THIS DISCUSSION IS ABOUT HOW WE, HOW WE ADD TO IT. WE'RE NOT READY FOR THAT. BE RP. OF COURSE YOU WOULD GET IT FOR A CONSULTANT, DIFFERENT CONSULTANTS. YEAH. BUT IT'S NOT IN THE FORMAT. THAT'S, YEAH. BUT WHY DON'T, WHY DOESN'T EVERYBODY TAKE A LOOK AT THIS REVIEW IT, MAKE SUGGESTIONS, AND THEN, UM, UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST, WE COULD, UH, OR SOMETIME IN AUGUST, WE COULD, UM, REFINE IT. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY MODIFIED VERSIONS, WE COULD, UH, WE COULD LOOK AT IT OR THE BOARD COULD SAY, WE DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING. AND THAT'S, THAT'S WELL, DEFINITELY I THINK WE COULD ADD, YOU KNOW, LIAISON WITH REAL ESTATE BROKERS. ADD THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. YEAH. AND, AND YOU CAN SHARE IT WITH THE CHAMBER AND GET THEIR INPUT. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE HAVE MORE, UM, SUGGESTIONS, WE CAN MAKE THOSE SUGGESTIONS. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE RIGHT. YOUR SUGGESTION, JOY IN TERMS OF THE LIAISON, UH, WITH BUSINESSES IS A REALLY GOOD ONE. BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, ONE, NO, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS REALLY NEEDED IS, UM, WE'RE NOT GETTING MOST CH MANY COMMUNITIES. THE, THE LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE NOT AS CURRENTLY THAT INTERESTED. MM-HMM . SO IF YOU HAD A DOWNTOWN ADVOCATE, THAT ADVOCATE'S GOAL WILL BE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS OF MOTIVATING THE BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE AND TO DO THINGS AND BE PART OF, UH, SOMETHING THAT COULD BE EXCITING FOR THE COMMUNITY. AND THEN IT WILL TAKE ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN IF IT WORKS. YEAH. AND KEEP IN MIND, AND, AND AGAIN, THIS IS GOING BACK TO MY, MY MORE GRANULAR KNOWLEDGE AND ONLY THE ONE INSTANCE, AND THAT WAS HASTINGS, IS THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH LANDLORDS AND THAT'S FREE ENTERPRISE. AND SOME OF THOSE LANDLORDS CHARGE VERY EXORBITANT RENTS. YEAH. AND WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THAT. SO THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEM. SOME OF THE LANDLORDS ARE NOT EVEN RESIDENT. THEY'RE, THEY COME FROM OUT OF TOWN, SO THEY DON'T HAVE THAT SAME VESTED INTEREST IN COMMUNITY. UM, SO HAVING, HAVING SOME OUTREACH WITH THE REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY AND LANDLORDS WOULD BE SOMETHING [00:40:01] THAT WE WOULD WANT TO HAVE THIS PERSON. HOW ABOUT A SURVEY? YES. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS DONE IN HASTINGS. SOMETHING I WAS GONNA, YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA KNOW WHAT YOU'RE WORKING AT, RIGHT? WE ARE DOING ALL THIS STUFF. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE REAL ISSUE IS. SO HAVE A SURVEY TALK TO TALK TO THE BUSINESS OWNERS. TALK, TALK TO RESIDENTS THAT'S ON THAT STREET. IF YOU'RE REFERRING TO ACE HARSDALE, TALK TO THE RESIDENTS. WHY ARE YOU NOT, WHY ARE YOU NOT WALKING DOWN TO THE STORES? FIND OUT WHAT'S MISSING AND FIND OUT WHAT STORES THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE. WELL, THEY WANNA MARKET, WANNA MARKET. NO, WE, WE, WE SPENT, YES. WE, WE HAVE. SO END RESULT OF ALL THAT IS THEY WANNA MARKET. NO, WE'RE SAYING THAT'S ONE THING THAT YOU'RE SAYING. WHAT DO THEY WANT? YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A FARM. THEY HAVE ACTUALLY A PRETTY MUCH OF AN ARRAY OF BUSINESSES. HAIR SALON, NAIL SALON, DRY CLEANER, WINE SHOP, YOU KNOW, THEY BASICALLY RESTAURANTS, RESTAURANT, A VARIETY. TALK ABOUT RESTAURANTS. THEY, YEAH. IT'S JUST THAT THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF FOOT TRAFFIC BECAUSE OF VARIETY OF DIFFERENT REASONS. SO ANYWAY, WE SHOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THOSE REASONS, NOT TONIGHT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THOSE REASONS. BUT BEFORE WE CAN MEANINGFULLY REVISE THIS, I THINK WE NEED TO HEAR FROM THE CHAMBER. AGREE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. OKAY. THAT'S GOOD. OKAY. OKAY. SO NEXT ON THE LIST IS A MOTION FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION SESSION FOR THE PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING PERSONAL MATTERS, LEADING TO DEPLOYMENT, EMPLOYMENT, PROMOTION, DEMOTION, DISCIPLINE, SUSPENSION, DISMISSAL, OR REMOVAL OF PARTICULAR PERSON OR CORPORATION, AND TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE REGARDING PENDING PROPOSED AND CURRENT LITIGATION. SECOND. ANY SECOND? SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL IN FAVOR. AYE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.