[00:00:01]
[ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE]
TOWN BOARD MEETING.TODAY IS FEBRUARY 11TH, AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA START WITH A P CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[ MOMENT OF SILENCE In memory of Jim Harris, first Assistant Director at the Fairview Greenburgh Community Center (currently the Theodore D. Young Community Center. Prior to this employment with the Town, he was the 7th round pick in the 1965 Draft, as defensive tackle for the New York Jets from until 1967. In memory of Laurence J. Doyle, 87, who passed on February 2, 2026, just days after his sister Patricia. A Fordham University (1961) graduate, Larry worked for IBM/World Trade for over 30 years and served as a member of the Greenburgh Zoning Board of Appeals for more than 25 years. In both these roles he was guided by fairness, thoughtfulness and a desire to help others and do what is right. He leaves his soulmate, constant companion, idol and wife for 62 years Cynthia, to whom he was a loving and devoted husband. Those who knew him, including Town staff and fellow ZBA members, remember him for his kindness, calm strength, and his unwavering love of the Red Sox and Ted Williams, as exemplified by his license plate, BOSOX 9, and the Red Sox flag he frequently flew in front of his home in Poet's Corner, Hartsdale. He will be deeply missed by all. In memory of those around the world who have perished as victims of war, disease and natural disaster. Our hearts are with all who needlessly suffer.]
STANDING A MOMENT OF SILENCE.UM, IN MEMORY OF JIM HARRIS, HE WAS THE FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT THE FAIRVIEW GREENBURG COMMUNITY CENTER, CURRENTLY THE THEATER YOUNG COMMUNITY CENTER.
PRIOR TO HIS EMPLOYMENT WITH THE TOWN, HE WAS A SEVENTH ROUND PICK IN THE 1965 DRAFT AS DEFENSIVE TACKLE FOR THE NEW YORK JETS FROM UNTIL 1967.
AND ALSO IN MEMORY OF LAWRENCE DOYLE, UH, 87 YEARS OLD, WHO PASSED ON FEBRUARY 2ND, JUST DAYS AFTER HIS SISTER, PATRICIA, A FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, 1961 GRADUATE.
LARRY WORKED FOR IBM WORLD TRADE, UH, FOR OVER 30 YEARS, AND SERVED AS A MEMBER OF THE GREENBERG ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS.
AND BOTH THESE ROLES, HE WAS GUARDED BY FAIRNESS, THOUGHTFULNESS, AND A DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT.
HE LEAVES THE SOULMATE CONSTANT COMPANION IDOL AND WIFE OF 62 YEARS, UH, CYNTHIA, FOR WHOM HE WAS A LOVING AND DEVOTED HUSBAND.
THOSE WHO KNEW HIM, INCLUDING TOWN, STAFF, AND FELLOWS, EBA MEMBERS, REMEMBERED HIM FOR HIS KINDNESS, CALM STRENGTH, AND HIS UNWAVERING LOVE OF THE RED SOX AND TED WILLIAMS AS EXEMPLIFIED BY HIS LICENSE PLATE, UH, B-O-S-O-X NINE AND RED.
SO FLA, HE FREQUENTLY FLEW IN FRONT OF HIS HOME IN POS CORNER HARSDALE, AND HE WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED BY ALL.
AND JUST ONE OTHER ITEM THING ABOUT HIM IS HE WAS ALWAYS POSITIVE.
HE HAD A POSITIVE, UPBEAT PERSONALITY, UM, AND TREATED EVERYBODY WITH RESPECT.
MADE PEOPLE FEEL GOOD WHEN THEY, UH, SHOWED UP AT THE VARIOUS, UH, YOU KNOW, BOARD MEETINGS AND, YOU KNOW, WITH SO MUCH NEGATIVITY IN THE WORLD, HE SORT OF REPRESENTED THE OPPOSITE.
SO, UM, I, UH, REALLY WILL MISS HIM.
AND WE ALSO HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE AND MEMORY OF THOSE AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE PERISHED AS VICTIMS OF WAR DISEASE AND NATURAL DISASTER.
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH ALL THOSE WHO NEEDLESSLY SUFFER.
NEXT, WE'LL HAVE THE ROLL CALL BEFORE
[ ROLL CALL: Town Clerk Lisa Maria Nero]
YOU DO THAT.SO, AS THE SUPERVISOR SAID, UM, LARRY DOYLE WAS A VERY SPECIAL PERSON, AND HE WAS ON THE ZONING BOARD FOR 25 YEARS, AND THAT'S NOT AN EASY BOARD TO BE ON FOR 25 YEARS.
I HAD THE PLEASURE AND THE HONOR OF SERVING ON THE ZONING BOARD WITH HIM FOR 10 YEARS PRIOR TO GOING ON THE TOWN BOARD.
AND WHAT WAS AMAZING ABOUT LARRY IS THAT HE DIDN'T WANT TO VOTE ON ANY APPLICATION THAT HE DIDN'T PERSONALLY GO AND SEE THE PROPERTY.
AND WE DIDN'T REALLY REALIZE THAT INITIALLY.
AND THEN WE DECIDED, WHY DON'T WE JUST GO AND DO THEM TOGETHER? AND I NEVER REALLY KNEW HOW LARRY WAS GONNA VOTE.
I USUALLY SAY UNTIL FIVE MINUTES AFTER HE DID, BECAUSE HE HAD A CALMNESS ABOUT HIMSELF, HE WOULD ABSORB, AND I THINK IT WAS FROM HIM SPENDING 30 YEARS WORKING FOR IBM, UH, INTERNATIONALLY.
AND OF COURSE, BACK THEN IBM WAS VERY STRICT.
YOU HAD TO HAVE A WHITE SHIRT AND A CERTAIN TIE AND SUIT AND SO FORTH.
UM, AND HE WAS EXTREMELY ORGANIZED.
AND AT HIS, AT HIS WAKE, UH, THEY HAD A PICTURE OF HIM, AND I WISH I HAD IT INSTEAD OF JUST THIS ONE.
BUT IT HAD A PICTURE OF HIM SITTING BASICALLY LIKE HE'S ON THE DAUS.
AND WHEN HE FINDS THAT SOMEBODY IS NOT BEING A HUNDRED PERCENT, UH, TRUTHFUL OR ACCURATE, HE WOULD HAVE THIS EXPRESSION.
HE WOULD NEVER COMPLAIN, BUT HE WOULD GET THIS EXPRESSION AS TO, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT
UM, BUT HE WAS DEVOTED TO HIS WIFE, CYNTHIA, 62 YEARS OF MARRIAGE.
UH, THERE WAS A PICTURE OF THEM AT THEIR PROM.
THAT'S HOW THEY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S HOW LONG THEY WERE TOGETHER.
[00:05:01]
YOU KNOW, CYNTHIA, YOU KNOW, UM, LOSING SOMEBODY THAT YOU'VE BEEN WITH FOR 62 YEARS IS NOT EASY.AND, UH, YOU KNOW, REACH OUT, SAY HELLO, UM, BECAUSE, UM, AND SHE'S IN GREAT SHAPE AND SO IS HE.
AND WHAT MADE IT EVEN WORSE WAS THAT EIGHT DAYS PRIOR TO HIS PASSING, HIS SISTER PASSED AND HE WAS WORKING ON HER AFFAIRS AND TRYING TO STRAIGHTEN THEM OUT.
AND SO HIS WIFE SAID, UH, I'M GOING TO BED.
AND HE SAID I WANTED TO CONTINUE WORKING ON HIS SISTER'S AFFAIRS.
AND WHEN SHE WOKE UP IN THE MORNING, HE WASN'T IN THE BED.
AND THAT'S, THAT WAS THE LAST THAT THEY WERE TOGETHER.
SO, UM, WE HOPE IT WAS PEACEFUL.
WE EXPECT IT WAS, UM, YEAH, HE HAD A CHARACTER FLAW THOUGH, AND IT WAS A PRETTY BIG ONE.
AND I WOULD SIT NEXT TO HIM ON THE DAY, AND HE COULD NOT BE MORE OF A RED SOX FAN.
AND I WAS A YANKEE FAN, AND PEOPLE KNEW THAT.
AND SO THERE'D BE PEOPLE IN THE BACK ROW WHEN THE YANKEES WERE PLAYING THE RED SOX, AND WE WERE REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE SCORE WAS.
BUT THE MEETINGS GOING ON, AND SOME PEOPLE IN THE BACK WOULD YELL OUT THE SCORE, I'M SORRY, THEIR HANDS TELL US WHAT THE SCORES WERE, BUT THEY NEVER TOLD US WHO WAS WINNING.
BUT IT WAS JUST, THERE WAS NO FINER PERSON THAT YOU COULD MEET.
HE EPITOMIZED THE WORD GENTLEMAN, UH, COMPASSION AND WISDOM.
AND I'VE NEVER HEARD HIM SAY A BAD WORD ABOUT ANYBODY.
NEVER, NEVER IN ANY OF THE TIME THAT I WAS WITH HIM.
UH, AND HE IS GONNA BE MISSED.
UM, SO WE HAVE, UM, A PRESENT THE ROLL CALL.
COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON PRESENT, COUNCILWOMAN HABER, PRESENT TOWN ATTORNEY AND PARLIAMENTARIAN.
[ PRESENTATIONS (Maximum 10 minutes each) Ellice Lim, student at Edgemont High School "Mental Health Issues Facing Children of Immigrants" Honoring the entire Holland Family as "Greenburgh Snow Angels Family of the Year" for their dedication to the Snow Angel Program]
NEXT WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, RECOGNIZING AN OUTSTANDING, UM, STUDENT, ELISE, UH, LIM.UM, I, UH, MET HER, UM, UM, NUMBER OF MONTHS AGO, AND, UM, SHE APPEARED ON MY CABLE, UH, TV PROGRAM.
UM, SHE IS, UM, A BRILLIANT YOUNG, UH, YOU KNOW, WOMAN, UM, A STUDENT AT EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL, AND SHE DID, UM, UM, A PROJECT, A RESEARCH, UM, PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN, UM, RECOGNIZED, UM, AS ONE OF THE BEST AROUND, UH, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES FACING CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS.
SO, ELISE, WOULD YOU WANT TO GIVE US LIKE A LITTLE SUMMARY OF YOUR FINDINGS, BECAUSE IT'S SO INTERESTING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT YOU DID WILL HELP A LOT OF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND MENTAL HEALTH, UM, ISSUES FACING CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS, AND SHE'S ONE OF OUR SUMMERTIME INTERNS.
MY NAME IS ELISE LI AND I'M A JUNIOR AT EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TONIGHT.
CAN YOU TELL ME A HUGE FAVOR? JUST BRING THE MICROPHONE JUST A LITTLE CLOSER SO EVERYONE CAN HEAR.
I LIKE TO START SHARING WHY I CHOSE TO DO THIS STUDY.
GROWING UP AS A SECOND GENERATION IMMIGRANT RAISED BY FIRST GENERATION PARENTS FROM KOREA, I BECAME AWARE OF THE UNIQUE CULTURAL CHALLENGES TEENS FACE BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS, SEEING HOW THESE DIFFERENCES CAN AFFECT MENTAL HEALTH, BOTH IN MYSELF AND MY FRIENDS, MOTIVATED ME TO CONDUCT RESEARCH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN SUPPORT TEENS MENTAL HEALTH.
AS A REVIEWED EXISTING RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT SECOND GENERATION IMMIGRANTS ARE ESPECIALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES BECAUSE THEY FACE THESE UNIQUE CHALLENGES, SUCH AS CULTURAL ADAPTATION AND HIGH PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS.
HOWEVER, THIS GROUP IS STILL UNDERSTUDIED.
THIS CAN BE AN ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY WHERE ASIAN AND LATINO IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES ARE GROWING AND MANY TEENS ARE SECOND GENERATION IMMIGRANTS.
IN ADDITION, I LEARNED THAT PARENTAL SUPPORT CAN BE A PROTECTIVE FACTOR IN REDUCING TEENS MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESSES, SUCH AS DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY.
HOWEVER, MOST STUDIES RARELY EXAMINE HOW DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUPPORT MIGHT WORK DIFFERENTLY IN LOWERING TEAM'S MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES, OR HOW THIS RELATIONSHIP CHANGES DEPENDING ON CONTEXT SUCH AS AGE, GENDER, AND SOCIAL ECONOMIC STATUS.
[00:10:01]
WITH MY PERSONAL MOTIVATIONS AND GAPS, I FOUND FROM REVIEWING RESEARCH, I CAME UP WITH THREE RESEARCH QUESTIONS.FIRST, WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPPORT FROM IMMIGRANT PARENTS AND THEIR ASIAN LATINO TEENS, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND NEW YORK CITY? SECOND, DOES THIS RELATIONSHIP DIFFER BY EMOTIONAL VERSUS INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT? THIRD, DOES THE RELATIONSHIP ALSO DIFFER BY CULTURAL CONTEXT, SOCIAL ECONOMIC FACTORS, GENDER AND AGE? LAST YEAR, FROM JUNE TO SEPTEMBER, I SURVEYED 102 ASIAN, LATINO, SECOND GENERATION TEENS FROM WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND NEW YORK CITY.
I SENT INVITATION LETTERS WITH A LINK TO THE ONLINE CONSENT FORM AND SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TO STUDENTS ASIAN, LATINO HERITAGE SCHOOL CLUBS, LOCAL CHURCHES, THE GREENBERG TOWN SUPERVISOR AND COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
I ALSO VISITED LOCAL SHOPPING MALLS TO RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS IN PERSON AND INVITED THEM TO FILL OUT THE PAPER BASED CONSENT FORM AND QUESTIONNAIRE FROM THIS STUDY.
HERE'S WHAT I FOUND MY DATE OF SUPPORTED THAT PARENTS SUPPORT WAS NEGATIVELY RELATED TO TEENS MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES, MEANING TEENS WHO FELT MORE SUPPORTED BY THEIR PARENTS REPORTED LOWER LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION.
HOWEVER, NOT ALL TYPES OF SUPPORT WORKED THE SAME WAY.
THE STRONGEST RELATIONSHIP WAS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND DEPRESSION.
WHILE THE WEAKEST WAS BETWEEN INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT AND ANXIETY.
INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT MAY BE LESS EFFECTIVE THAN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE IS LANGUAGE OR CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PARENTS AND TEENS, BECAUSE IT MAY BE PERCEIVED AS PRESSURE AND EXPECTATION FROM PARENTS.
IN FACT, I FOUND THAT INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION AMONG TEENS WITH HIGHLY EDUCATED PARENTS, MEANING PARENTS WITH MASTER'S DEGREES ARE HIGHER.
I ALSO FOUND THAT CULTURAL CONTEXT MATTERS AMONG LATINO TEENS.
ALL ASSOCIATIONS WERE SIGNIFICANT.
HOWEVER, AMONG ASIAN TEENS, INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANXIETY, WHICH MAY BE DUE TO CULTURAL NORMS THAT DISCOURAGED IN OPEN EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION.
SO THEY MAY PERCEIVE THIS RARE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT MORE OBVIOUSLY, AND FIND IT HARD TO PERCEIVE INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT AS ACTUAL SUPPORT.
IN CONCLUSION, THERE WAS AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PARENTS' SUPPORT AND MENTAL HEALTH.
AND THIS RELATIONSHIP DIFFERED BY EMOTIONAL VERSUS INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT, AND THE RELATIONSHIP ALSO DIFFERED BY ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL ECONOMIC FACTORS.
THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THIS STUDY IS THAT SUPPORT MATTERS IN TERMS OF REDUCING SECOND GENERATION TEENS MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES, BUT THE TYPE OF SUPPORT AND CONTEXT MATTER TOO.
THESE FINDINGS HAVE REAL IMPLICATIONS IN HELPING MENTAL HEALTH BURDENS OF SECOND GENERATION TEENS IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
IF YOU WANT INTERVENTIONS THAT ACTUALLY WORK, WE SHOULD FOCUS ON HELPING PARENTS DEVELOP AND PRIORITIZE EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS.
THIS CAN LOOK LIKE PARENT PROGRAMS THAT TEACH LISTENING STRATEGIES, VALIDATION, AND EMOTIONALLY SUPPORTIVE LANGUAGE.
MY GOAL IS TO SHARE THESE FINDINGS, TO SPREAD AWARENESS THROUGH PRESENTATIONS LIKE THESE AND FUTURE SCIENCE FAIRS SO THAT PARENTS FEEL MORE EQUIPPED, TEENS FEEL MORE SUPPORTED, AND OUR COMMUNITY CAN BETTER ADDRESS THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF SECOND GENERATION YOUTH.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION.
DID YOU, UH, SUBMIT YOUR RESEARCH TO ANY ORGANIZATIONS THAT GIVE OUT AWARDS? UM, I SUBMITTED TO WEST F, WHICH IS LIKE A FUTURE REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR, WHICH I'M GONNA PRESENT MY FINDINGS TO NEXT MONTH.
YOU ARE REALLY, WE'RE SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU.
AND THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT, UM, YOU KNOW, PRO, UH, RESEARCH PROJECT THAT COULD HELP MANY, MANY, UM, FAMILIES.
SO THANK YOU FOR DOING WHAT YOU DID.
EVERY TIME, UH, WE HONOR SOME STUDENTS, I KEEP SAYING TO MYSELF, I WONDER WHICH STUDENT THAT WE HONOR WILL GET A NOBEL PRIZE AND RESEARCH.
SO YOU'RE DEFINITELY ON THE FINALIST LIST IN MY BOOK,
UM, UM, SO WE ALSO, NOT ONLY DO WE HONOR, UM, UH, STUDENTS, BUT WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE AN EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY HERE.
UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE USUALLY, UM, WHEN WE HONOR, IT'S LIKE ONE PERSON, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'VE EVER HONORED AN ENTIRE FAMILY.
SO, VIVIAN HOLLAND, WHO ALSO LIVES IN EDGEMONT, UM, IS A COORDINATOR OF THE GREENBERG SNOW ANGELS PROGRAM.
SHE'S A SOPHOMORE AT EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, SHE'S NOT A STRANGER TO VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY.
SHE HAS VOLUNTEERED AT THE GREENBERG NATURE CENTER SINCE 2018.
AND OVER THE SUMMER COMPLETED OUR, UH, STUDENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.
VIVIAN NOW IS LEADING THE SNOW ANGELS THIS WINTER, AND IT FOLLOWS A FAMILY TRADITION.
[00:15:01]
JACKSON TL WAS THE SNOW ANGELS COORDINATOR FOR HER SENIOR YEAR AT EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 2021 2022 SCHOOL YEAR.HE STRIVES TO HELP HIS COMMUNITY AND EVERYONE IN IT.
HE'S CURRENTLY AT USC AND WILL BE GRADUATING THIS SPRING.
HE HELPED HIS SISTER WITH EFFORT DURING THIS DECEMBER BREAK IN DECEMBER, I WAS ON VACATION FOR RELAXING, AND I GOT AN EMAIL AND, UH, SOMEBODY SAID THAT SHE'S 95 YEARS OLD.
SHE HAD CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, UM, AND SHE COULDN'T SHOVEL HER DRIVEWAY.
SO, UM, I WAS, WHILE I WAS SWIMMING, TAKING A BREAK FROM SWIMMING, I EMAILED VIVIAN AND THE NEXT DAY THE DRIVEWAY WAS CLEARED OF SNOW.
THEY SHOULD HAVE THANKED YOU, BUT THEY THANKED ME.
UM, UM, AND I TOOK, I TOOK THE CREDIT, BUT, BUT THEN, UM, UM, THE SNOW ANGELS, YOU KNOW, THEN THERE WAS A, A MAN 80 YEARS OLD WITH PARKINSON'S.
HE EMAILED ME WHEN I WAS ON VACATION.
UM, I EMAILED VIVIAN AND LIKE WITHIN A DAY, UH, THE DRIVEWAY WAS SHOVELED AGAIN.
UM, NOW VIVIAN COULDN'T DO IT ALONE BECAUSE SHE HAD THE, HER ENTIRE FAMILY HELPING US.
SO THE FAMILY HAS BEEN VOLUNTEERING FOR THE SNOW ANGELS SINCE 2018.
AND DURING A SINGLE SNOWFALL THIS WINTER BREAK, UH, THE FAMILY SHOVELED AT OVER 10 RESIDENTS FOR CITIZENS OF GREENBURG.
THEY DIDN'T DO IT FOR RECOGNITION, UH, THEY DID IT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO HELP THOSE WHO NEED HELP THE MOST.
UM, THE FRIED CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE.
BEING A SNOW ANGEL HAS BEEN A CO A CORE PART OF THE FAMILY'S IDENTITY.
VIVIAN'S PARENTS BELIEVE IT TEACHES THE VALUE OF HARD WORK AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LOOKING OUT FOR THOSE AROUND US.
MOTHER, UM, JOY, WHO'S HERE, FOUND OUT ABOUT THE SNOW ANGELS THROUGH THE TOWN'S NEWSLETTER IN 2018 AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD VOLUNTEER EFFORT FOR HER FAMILY.
AND SHE'S ALSO AN EXCEPTIONAL ASSET TO THE, TO THE TOWN.
VERY, VERY ORGANIZED THROUGH, UH, SHE HAS A SMALL BUSINESS CALLED THE JOYFUL WAY, WHICH SHE GOES OUT OF HER WAY TO HELP THE COMMUNITY.
UH, CRAIG IS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AND HE, WHO'S ALSO HERE, AND HE, UM, LOVES TO, UH, LEND A HELPING HAND TO ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT.
HE BELIEVES THE KIND TO VOLUNTEER WORK TEACHES EMPATHY AND COMPASSIONATE AT AN EARLY AGE.
OTHER RESIDENT FAMILY MEMBERS ARE LOGAN, UM, WHO GRADUATED FROM EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL IN 2024 AND IS CURRENTLY A SOPHOMORE AT THE NEW ENGLAND, UH, UM, AT, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND IN MAINE.
UM, SHE STARTED VOLUNTEERING WITH THE SNOW ANGELS IN 2018 AND STILL HELPS OUT WHEN HOME KEATON GRADUATED FROM EDGEMONT IN 2024 AND IS STUDYING AT EMORY IN ATLANTA.
ALSO STARTED WITH THE ANGELS IN 2018 AND HELPS WENT HOME.
JUDE IS THE YOUNGEST OF THE SIBLINGS IN SEVENTH GRADE AT EDGEMONT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL.
AND I'M REALLY PLEASED, UM, THAT JUDE IS, IS HERE BECAUSE IT'S SORT OF LIKE HEREDITARY, THE, UH, THE SNOW ANGELS LEADERSHIP.
SO HE IS GONNA BE A FUTURE HEAD OF THE GREENBERG SNOW ANGELS, UH, PROGRAM.
SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR AGREEING IN ADVANCE TO HEAD IT UP.
UM, UM, THAT'S A VOLUNTOLD MOMENT.
UM, UM, BUT HE ALSO HAS THAT, UH, DESIRE TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND WHEN JACKSON GRADUATED FROM EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL, THE TOWN NAMED A DAY IN HIS HONOR BECAUSE HE DID SUCH A GREAT JOB.
BUT IN MOST FAMILIES THERE'S SIBLING RIVALRY.
UM, SO WHAT I WANTED TO DO IS SEND A MESSAGE TO JACKSON THAT ALTHOUGH HE IS TERRIFIC, UM, HIS SISTER DESERVES VIVIAN HOLLAND MONTH, NOT ONLY A DAY.
UM, SO, UM, SO, UM, WE ARE GONNA RECOGNIZE THE WHOLE FAMILY AND I HAVE A PROCLAMATION AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK YOUR WHOLE FAMILY FOR GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THERE'S SO MUCH, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S SO MUCH NEGATIVITY IN THE WORLD.
EVERYBODY SEEMS TO HATE EVERYBODY.
YOU KNOW, THE WORLD IS SPLIT, YOU KNOW, THE COUNTRY IS SPLIT.
SO IT'S SO NICE AND REFRESHING TO HAVE POSITIVE ENERGY AND PEOPLE LIKE YOUR FAMILY IN THE COMMUNITY.
COULD YOU IMAGINE, UM, IF EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD WAS LIKE YOUR FAMILY,
[00:20:01]
WE WOULD NOT NEED A UNITED NATIONS.WHY DON'T YOU GO PRESENT? SO, ALRIGHT, THAT'S, AND DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING? ISN'T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY THING? YEAH.
WHERE'S THE FAMILY? THE BEST ONE.
DID YOU, DID YOU MISS, I LOVE DID YOU MISS THE PART ABOUT FAMILY? IT'S OKAY.
MY FAMILY DOESN'T NEED TO BE A NO.
OH, MY, YOU'LL HAVE YOUR MOMENT IN THREE YEARS.
UM, HE IS 12 YEARS OLD RIGHT NOW.
HE'S GONNA BE THE SNOW ANGELS COORDINATOR WHEN I GRADUATE.
ALONG WITH, HE WANTS TO SAY JASON LEE, WHO HAS A LITTLE SISTER WHO'S THREE YEARS YOUNGER THAN THEM, THAN HIM.
SO I THINK YOU GUYS SHOULD BE COVERED UNTIL 2036.
SO YEAH, YOU'RE WELCOME FOR THAT.
UM, AND SHE'S THE LEADER? YEAH.
I TELL EVERYBODY EVERYTHING AND THEY ALWAYS LISTEN
UM, JACKSON IS GONNA BE VERY MAD.
UM, THE FIRST TIME WE CAME HERE TO TOWN HALL WAS TO GET JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION.
WELL, HE HAD BEEN HERE BEFORE WE CAME HERE TO GET JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION.
I WAS SITTING BACK THERE AND THERE WERE CERTIFICATES THAT WE LIKE HANDED OUT TO SNOW ANGELS VOLUNTEERS.
SO, UM, JACKSON AND MR. FRYER WERE STANDING UP HERE AND THEY WERE HOLDING THE CERTIFICATES.
AND UM, JACKSON WAS READING OFF THE NAMES AND HAVING US COME UP HERE.
HE WAS LIKE, OH, AND VIVIAN HOLLAND AND JUDE CURLEY, YOU TWO COME UP HERE.
UM, AND THEN WE CAME UP HERE AND MR. FRYER SAID, DO YOU WANNA SAY ANY WORDS? AND THAT NEVER GOES GOOD FOR ME 'CAUSE I NEVER HAVE ANY NOTES, AS WE CAN CLEARLY TELL RIGHT NOW,
UM, BUT, BUT YOU ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.
I ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY CLEARLY.
UM, SO I WALKED OVER, I WAS LIKE THIS TALL.
I'M LIKE, I DID MORE SHOVELING THAN HIM
UM, AND THEN MR. FINER WAS JUST LIKE, OKAY, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO THIS KID IS, BUT OKAY.
UM, AND THEN I, I WAS GOING BACK AND I WAS LOOKING AT THE, UM, RECORDING ON YOUTUBE FROM THE BOARD MEETING, AND MR. FINER SAID SOMETHING TO ME THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT.
HE SAID, HE LOOKED AT ME AND HE SAID, MAYBE ONE DAY, LIKE, YOU'LL BE RUNNING THE SNOW ANGELS, LIKE YOUR OLDER BROTHER.
AND I DID NOT REMEMBER THIS AT ALL.
I SAW, LIKE, I WATCHED THE RECORDING BACK AND MY JAW LIKE DROPPED.
UM, AND AT THE TIME YOU COULD SEE IT IN MY FACE.
THERE'S GONNA BE SO MUCH COMPETITION WITH THIS.
THERE WASN'T, I, LIKE, I DID THE INTERNSHIP OVER THE SUMMER AND UM, GOT ASSIGNED TO WORK IN MR. FINDER'S OFFICE.
UM, AND HE CAME IN ONE DAY AND I WAS LIKE, MR. FINER, DO YOU REMEMBER JACKSON? AND HE WAS LIKE, OH, YES, JACKSON TABLO LOVED JACKSON.
HE WAS LIKE, HOW IS HE? I WAS LIKE, HE'S GOOD.
BUT, UM, I'M HIS LITTLE SISTER.
AND THEN MR. FINER JUST WENT, OH, OKAY, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE SNOW ANGELS NOW.
AND THEN WALKED OUT AND I WAS JUST LIKE, OH, WIN IS A WIN.
LIKE, COME ON NOW, PEOPLE, WE SHOULD START CLAPPING A SESSION PLAN.
WELL, WE APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS.
ESPECIALLY IN THE WORST WINTER WE'VE HAD IN SUCH A LONG TIME.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DO IT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW I DO IT EITHER, BUT YOU DID IT ALL RIGHT.
YOU DID IT, BUT YOU DID ALRIGHT.
YOU JUST NEED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT.
SO ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER, SHOUT OUT TO ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER.
YOU CAN REACH ME AT 9 1 4 5 7 4 9 5 3 4.
OR YOU CAN EMAIL ME AT MISS VIVIAN HOLLAND GMAIL.COM, ALL LOWERCASE.
OR YOU CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH MR. FINER OR YOU CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH MR. FINER.
UM, YEAH, HIS CONTACT INFORMATION IS ON THE, WE'VE GOTTEN SOME ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS THIS SUMMER.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, A COUPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WEEKS AGO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS, THERE WERE A FEW NEW PEOPLE AND THEY WERE, EVERY COUPLE HOURS I WAS GIVING THEM MORE ASSIGNMENTS AND, UM, THEY WERE DOING IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS REALLY, IT WAS REALLY GREAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THE SNOW.
THE REASON THE SNOW ANGELS IS SUCH A
[00:25:01]
GOOD PROGRAM IS THERE'S SOME SENIORS IF THEIR HOMES ARE BLOCKED WITH SNOW, AND GOD FORBID THEY HAVE A HEART ATTACK OR AN EMERGENCY, THEY CAN'T GET OUT, THEY CAN'T GET FIRST RESPONSE, THEY CAN'T GET HELP FROM THE AMBULANCE CORPS AND ALL THAT.SO WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU'VE ACTUALLY POTENTIALLY SAVED PEOPLE'S LIVES.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR IS WE, UM, IF SOMEBODY'S LIKE ELDERLY, WE'VE, UH, REACHED OUT TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THEIR STREET AND WE'VE LOOKED AT REVERSE DIRECTORIES AND THEN WE'VE ASKED PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW ANGELS.
SO WE COULD ASSIGN SOMEBODY ON THE STREET, UH, TO PERMANENTLY HELP, UM, UM, SOMEBODY WHO NEEDS THE HELP.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY WHAT MAKES GREENBERG LIKE SPECIAL BECAUSE, UM, WE REALLY WANT TO ENCOURAGE NEIGHBORS TO HELP NEIGHBORS, AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO ENJOY LIVING HERE.
[ SUPERVISOR & TOWN COUNCIL REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS Liaison Reports (Supervisor Paul Feiner, Councilwoman Joy Haber, Councilwoman Ellen Hendrickx, Councilwoman Gina Jackson, Councilman Francis Sheehan) GOOD NEWS...From 2010-2025 the Town earned the highest possible rating from Moody's (Aaa), most recently on 9/9/2025. Less than 1% of communities in the nation have this record of financial stability. From 2008-2024 the Town also earned the highest possible bond rating from Standard & Poors (AAA). To reduce costs, the Town did not seek a rating from Standard & Poors in 2025. Anyone interested in serving on a board or commission should send a resume to the Town Board via Lisa Maria Nero, Town Clerk, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607. TownClerk@GreenburghNY.com]
NOW WE HAVE, UM, I GUESS THE LIAISON REPORTS.UM, UH, THE FIRST IS, UM, UH, JOY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? YES.
SO I'M GONNA GIVE A REPORT ON THE GREENBERG HOUSING AUTHORITY, UM, WHICH IS AN OUTLINE, SO OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND, UM, STATUS.
UH, IN 2025, THE GREENBERG HOUSING AUTHORITY HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN 2025, ESTABLISHING ITSELF AS A MODEL FOR PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITIES NATIONALLY.
HERE'S A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THEIR KEY INITIATIVES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING INITIATIVES.
THE, UH, GREENBERG HOUSING AUTHORITY, IT'S CALLED GHA FOR SHORT, HAS INITIATED THE REDEVELOPMENT OF MAPLE STREET RESIDENCES FOCUSING ON INCREASING AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS WHILE ENGAGING RESIDENTS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.
THIS COLLABORATION WITH THE GREENBERG SCHOOL BOARD AND TOWN PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND AND TOWN BOARD ON ZONING INITIATIVE SHOWS CASES A COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT, SUCCESSFUL PROJECT OUTCOMES, FULL OCCUPANCY OF THE CURRENT MANHATTAN AVENUE SENIOR APARTMENTS AND GREENBERG HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATES THE GREENBERG HOUSING AUTHORITIES EFFECTIVENESS.
BOTH, UH, PROJECTS RECEIVED POSITIVE EVALUATIONS THROUGH A MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS REVIEW BY HCR AND INVESTOR REINFORCING THEIR SUCCESS AND STABILITY, RECOGNITION AND PERFORMANCE.
THE GHA SECTION EIGHT PROGRAM ACHIEVING A HIGH PERFORMING STA STATUS REFLECTS EXCEPTIONAL MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY.
ADDITIONALLY, THE RECEIPT OF CLEAN OR REPORTS EMPHASIZES THEIR ACCOUNTABILITY AND FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY, INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW PLAYGROUNDS AND BROADBAND ACCESS DEMONSTRATES THE G HA'S INVESTMENT IN RESIDENT AMENITIES AND CONNECTIVITY, ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL COMMUNITY RES MEMBERS.
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY G HA'S CONSISTENT CLEAN AUDIT REPORTS FOR MULTIPLE ENTITIES, UNDERSCORES A COMMITMENT TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, WHICH IS CRUCIAL FOR PUBLIC TRUST AND EFFECTIVE OPERATION.
UM, THERE ARE OTHER ITEMS, BUT I THINK THAT'S, UH, A GOOD SUMMARY FOR NOW.
AND, AND THEY REALLY ARE DOING A TERRIFIC JOB, VERY WELL ORGANIZED, AND THEIR RESIDENTS ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE QUALITY OF THE, UH, RESIDENTS THAT THEY'RE LIVING IN AND THE SERVICES PROVIDED.
AND, UH, WE GET VERY FEW COMPLAINTS, UH, ABOUT THAT.
SO I AM THE LIAISON TO THE ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE, UH, LED BY SARAH BRACY WHITE.
ITS MISSION IS THE ARTS AND CULTURE COMMISSION.
I MEAN, COMMITTEE IS TO STIMULATE ARTISTIC INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF GREENBURG RESIDENTS.
IT'S BEEN RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT WESTCHESTER COUNTY AS A LEADER IN ARTS AND CULTURE PROGRAMMING, WHICH ENLIGHTENS AND ENTERTAINS ALL RACIAL, SOCIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS.
ITS DIVERSE PROGRAM SERVES RESIDENTS OF ALL AGES AND ALL SOCIAL ECONOMIC BRACKETS.
SO I'M GONNA DO JUST GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT THEY HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN 2025.
UM, IN THE LAST PAST 12 MONTHS, UM, THEY HAVE MOUNTED 25 2 MONTHS EXHIBITS IN THE FOLLOWING PLACES.
TOWN HALL, THE JERRY BURN CENTER, THEODORE YOUNG COMMUNITY CENTER.
UM, AND THOSE EXHIBITS INCLUDED INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS AND GROUPS OF ALL AGES, AS WELL AS EDGEMONT HIGH SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB, THE EVERGREEN ASIAN CLUB, AMERICAN CLUB AT THEODORE YOUNG COMMUNITY CENTER AND GREENBURG CENTRAL SEVEN DISTRICTS ANNUAL EXHIBIT.
IN ADDITION, THEY CONDUCTED WITH HELP OF THE VOLUNTEER MIRIAM BALE AND THE TOWNS CABLE STAFF, INTERVIEWS WITH EVERY ARTIST WHO'S WORKED, WAS EXHIBITED, AS WELL AS ARTISTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE TOWN'S ART CRAFTS MARKET AND PR IN PRESSURE PARK.
THEY ALSO DESIGNED AND PRESENTED FOUR SEASONAL SESSIONS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPING WRITING WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS BETWEEN NINE AND 18.
CO-SPONSOR SEVERAL SESSIONS OF LEARNING TO SEE WORKSHOPS WITH FRIENDS OF THE GREENBERG PUBLIC
[00:30:01]
LIBRARY OVER ZOOM, UH, PROJECT.ALL OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE PROJECTS AND EVENTS WERE FUNDED INDEPENDENTLY OF TOWN FUNDS, REGISTRATION FEES, FUNDRAISERS, AND A 2025 GRANT FROM NEW YORK STATE ARTS ALIVE PROGRAM, MANAGED BY THE ARTS OF WESTCHESTER, UH, IT WAS ALSO SU SUCCESSFULLY MET ARTS WESTCHESTER SLASH WESTCHESTER COUNTY'S ANNUAL MEETING, UH, MATCHING GRANT OPPORTUNITY IN 2025 WITH DONATIONS, WITH DONATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS.
UM, JUST SOME THINGS THAT'S COMING UP, JUST SOME THINGS THAT'S COMING UP FOR 2026.
UH, WE HAVE POETRY IS FOR EVERYONE, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE HELD HERE AT TOWN HALL ON SATURDAY, APRIL 11TH, 2026.
AND THAT IS GOING TO BE ONE FROM 1:00 PM TO 3:00 PM AND THIS IS IN PERSON, UH, LEMME SEE.
SO ALL THIS INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE.
ADDITIONALLY, WE'LL HAVE, UM, THE GREENBURG ARTISTS AND CRAFTS MARKET, WHICH IS LOCATED AT PRESSURE PARK ON CENTRAL, ON NORTH CENTRAL AVENUE ON HARTSDALE.
AND THAT'S GREENBURG PARKS AND RECREATION.
GREENBURG ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE IS EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THEIR SECOND ANNUAL GREENBERG ARTS AND CRAFTS MARKET.
THIS EVENT IS DEDICATED TO INTRODUCING AND PROMOTING LOCAL ARTISTS AND FOSTERING A DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR CREATIVE PROCESS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
THIS MARKET WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY, MAY 16TH, 2026 FROM 11:00 AM TO 4:00 PM AGAIN.
AND IF THERE'S A RAIN, IF WE HAVE, THERE'S A RAIN DATE OF, UH, SUNDAY, MAY 17TH.
UH, THE PLANNING COMMITTEE IS SEEKING VOLUNTEERS OF ALL AGES IN SEVERAL CATEGORIES TO MAKE THIS EVENT SUCCESSFUL MARKETING, REGISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF EXHIBITORS ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PLANNING, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PLANNING, INTERESTED TO JOIN THE PLANNING COMMITTEE OR AS A VOLUNTEER, PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND SIGN UP AT VOLUNTEERS GREENBURG.
THERE IS A LINK ON OUR WEBSITE, AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
AND I WANNA THANK, UM, SARAH BRACY WHITE FOR ALL OF HER WORK AND ALL SHE'S DONE WITH ALL THE ART HERE AND AT THE TOWN HALL AND BEYOND IN ALL OUR TOWN BUILDINGS.
SO I WAS ASKED BY MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO TALK ABOUT THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD.
SO I WILL TALK ABOUT THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD IS, IT'S BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN DOING THEIR WORK AND THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT WELL.
AND YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ANY LAWSUITS OVER CELL TOWERS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT COMING INTO GREENBERG, UH, BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY THOROUGH.
SO WHAT IS THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD? IT'S A BOARD THAT, UM, WAS CREATED, UM, IN 1996 IN AUGUST.
IT'LL BE THE 30TH YEAR OF THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD.
IT STILL HAS THE SAME CHAIR FROM 1996, CATHERINE LETTER OF
AND WHAT MAKES THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD DIFFERENT THAN ALL OTHER BOARDS IS THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING CALLED THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996, AND IT BASICALLY SAID YOU CAN'T PROHIBIT, UH, CELLULAR TENORS, UM, BUT YOU CAN REGULATE THEM.
AND I RECALL THE FIRST MEETING THAT WE HAD REGARDING PASSING THIS LAW THAT CATHERINE LETTER WAS GETTING.
AND I WORKED ON, I WAS ON THE ZONING BOARD, SO I WAS USING MY ZONING SKILLS TO PUT IT INTO ZONING CODES.
UM, AND THE VERY FIRST BEING, IT WAS VERY RAUCOUS BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF CELL PHONES AND HOW HOW DARE YOU ALLOW THESE INTO THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
AND THE, THERE WAS A BIT OF HUMOR WHEN THE PERSON WHO WAS VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED THEIR CELL PHONE WENT OFF WHILE THEY WERE SPEAKING
UM, AND SO OVER THE YEARS IN 1999, THERE WAS A, A REVISION THAT WE MADE.
AND THEN MORE RECENTLY, BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE DATA THAT IS BEING USED, INCLUDING GOING DOWN THE ROAD, UH, THERE SOMETHING CALLED ELIGIBLE FACILITY, UH, REQUESTS.
AND SO WE HAD TO MODIFY IT AGAIN AND WE WORK WITH A OUTSIDE CONSULTANT, AN ATTORNEY THAT'S AN EXPERT IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE IT STAYS UP TO DATE.
BUT WHAT MAKES THIS REALLY UNIQUE IS THAT WHEN AN APPLICANT COMES IN AND SUBMITS AN APPLICATION, LIKE WE GOT ONE TODAY TO THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT, IF WE DON'T ACT ON THAT WITHIN 10 DAYS, IT'S AN AUTOMATIC APPROVAL.
NOW, IF IT'S A BRAND NEW APPLICATION,
[00:35:01]
WE GET 30 DAYS, BUT THERE'S NOT MUCH TIME FOR US TO NOTICE, HOLD A HEARING, HOLD A DISCUSSION WITH THE APPLICANT AND GET A RESPONSE BACK.AND SO THERE IS NO, EVERY SECOND TUESDAY AND OR SECOND AND FOURTH WEDNESDAY, YOU HAVE A BOARD MEETING LIKE WE DO.
IT'S AN APPLICATION COMES IN, CALLS, GO OUT TO THE MEMBERS WE NEED TO MEET, WHEN CAN WE MEET? AND WE HAVE TO DO IT AS FAST AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
AND THE MEETING SOMETIMES CAN TAKE HOURS.
AND, UM, AND IT'S A JUST A VERY DEDICATED GROUP OF PEOPLE.
EARLY ON, WE MADE A VERY UNPOPULAR DECISION THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO ALLOW 175 FOOT POLES IN THE TOWN OF GREENBERG BECAUSE ALL OF THE PROVIDERS WANTED 175 FOOT POLES.
AND WE SAID, NO, WE CAN REGULATE, WE SAID 1 25, BECAUSE WE KNEW OVER TIME THAT AT 175 FEET, THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO KEEP THEIR ANTENNAS THAT HIGH.
INITIALLY, THEY WANTED HIGH 'CAUSE THEY CAN GET A BROAD AREA, BUT AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE USE THE TECHNOLOGY, THEY HAVE TO LOWER THEM AND ADD MORE ANTENNAS.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, THEY HAVE THESE TALL ANTENNAS, BUT THERE'S NOTHING AT THE TOP ANYMORE.
BUT THEY'RE STILL, THEY'RE STILL THERE.
AND SO YOU'D BE AMAZED TO KNOW HOW MANY CELLULAR, CELLULAR FACILITIES THERE ARE IN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
I WISH I LOOKED IT UP, BUT THERE'S A LOT
UH, AND EXCEPT FOR ONE CASE WHERE SOMEBODY WANTED TO CHALLENGE THE LAW, THEY WEREN'T SUCCESSFUL.
BUT THIS HAS GONE RELATIVELY SMOOTHLY.
THERE WAS AN ISSUE ON TAX TO ROAD WHERE THEY DIDN'T HAVE CELL SERVICE AND THE ANTENNA BOARD WENT OUT AND PROACTIVELY TRIED TO GET CELL SERVICE IN THAT, ON THAT STREET.
'CAUSE CELL SERVICE IS TERRIBLE IN THAT AREA.
AND WE CHANGED THE LAW SO THEY COULD, BUT THEN THE PROVIDERS DECIDED IT WASN'T ECONOMICALLY TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.
WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.
SO THAT'S THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ANTENNA REVIEW BOARD, UH, YOU NOW KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT.
AND, UH, WHEN DO WE MEET? DEPENDS ON WHEN THE APPLICATION COMES IN.
IT'S USUALLY THREE OR FOUR DAYS AFTER THAT.
AND JUST A COUPLE BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENTS.
UH, THE SUPERMARKET ON EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE, THAT USED TO BE THE RITE AID.
THEY'RE STARTING, THEY GOT THE PERMITS.
SO, UH, THAT'S UNDER OR, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION NOW, UH, THE, THE SEWER PIPE THAT'S BROKEN ON EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE THAT'S BEEN IS, UH, THE, THE ENGINEERING OFFICE HAS BEEN, UH, MEETING WITH THE CONSULTANTS AND, UH, THEY INDICATED THEY, THEY HAD A DRAFT OF THE DESIGN.
UM, AND, UH, THAT SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, FINALIZED.
THEY SAID WITHIN A WEEK OR TWO WEEKS.
AND THEN AFTER, UH, UM, THE DESIGN AND THE PLANS ARE APPROVED, UM, AFTER, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE FINALIZED, THEN IT HAS TO GO TO THE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH, COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH HAS TO SIGN ON AND GIVE APPROVAL.
THERE WAS ALSO, UH, TODAY I ATTENDED A, A GRAND OPENING OF GOLF CAVE, UH, THAT'S RIGHT NEAR, UM, THE ACME, UM, YOU KNOW, SUPERMARKET, UM, TRUDY, UM, UH, HOLLAND, WHO'S THE HEAD OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WAS ALSO, UH, THERE FOR, UH, THE RIBBON CUTTING, UM, UH, CEREMONY.
SO IF YOU LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, GOLF, IT'S A NEW BUSINESS.
UM, AND, UM, THEY EVEN HAVE LIKE A LITTLE MINIATURE GOLF AREA AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE, UM, TO THE FACILITY.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HAVE, UM, A NEW BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WILL HELP THE OTHER BUSINESSES, UH, THE FARMERS MARKET ON EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE, UH, THAT WE STARTED, UM, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR, UH, THE FARMER WANTS TO START THE MARKET EARLIER THIS YEAR IN MARCH, EVEN IF IT'S A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, COLD.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I WAS TALKING TO HIM BECAUSE COLBY, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, JENKINS STARTED A FARMER'S MARKET, UM, UH, IN GREENBERG EARLIER THIS YEAR.
THE ONLY MARKET OF ITS KIND THAT GIVES FREE PRODUCE TO EVERYBODY.
UM, YOU KNOW, SHE IS A REAL HERO IN THE COMMUNITY FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT SHE'S, WHAT SHE'S DONE.
BUT, UH, UH, WHEN I SPOKE TO JOEY, WHO IS THE OPERATOR OF THE FARMER'S MARKET IN HARTSDALE, UM, HE INDICATED TO ME LAST YEAR, UM, THAT THEY TRIED DONATING EXCESS FOOD, UH, TO
[00:40:01]
KITCHENS OF THE POOR.AND I, YOU KNOW, SPOKE TO HIM AND I SAID, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE, SAY FOR THE LAST HALF HOUR OR SO, SOMEBODY HAS FOOD STAMPS OR THEY COULD PROVE THAT, UM, THEY ARE FINANCIALLY, YOU KNOW, STRUGGLING, THAT WE COULD PROVIDE THEM WITH OPPORTUNITY OF GETTING, YOU KNOW, UH, FREE FOOD.
AND HE WAS VERY RECEPTIVE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO THAT.
SO, UM, UH, THE TOWN BOARD, I THINK AT THE NEXT MEETING I SPOKE TO, YOU KNOW, GARRETT WILL, UM, YOU KNOW, WILL HOPEFULLY RENEW THE, THE CONTRACT FOR THAT FARMER'S MARKET BECAUSE THESE FARMER'S MARKETS BRING PEOPLE TO, UH, THE AVENUE.
AND THE LAST THING I WANTED TO MENTION IS, UM, I STARTED ABOUT TWO OR THREE WEEKS AGO, A MENTORING PROGRAM.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE, UH, YOUNG PEOPLE IN THEIR TWENTIES, THIRTIES, AND FOUR AND TWENTIES AND THIRTIES, MAYBE EARLY FORTIES, WHO WOULD LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT GOVERNMENT, SERVE ON VARIOUS BOARDS AND, YOU KNOW, COMMITTEES AND MAYBE EVENTUALLY, YOU KNOW, RUN FOR OFFICE.
UM, SO WE STARTED A MENTORING PROGRAM.
MOST OF IT'S BY ZOOM, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, WHAT I'M GONNA BE DOING IT, AND WE HAD AT THE FIRST ONE IT WAS LIKE AMAZING BECAUSE WE HAD DOCTORS, LAWYERS, PROFESSIONALS FROM ALL OVER, UH, THE TOWN.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN GOING INTO PUBLIC SERVICE.
'CAUSE WE HAVE TO THINK OF THE FUTURE GENERATION AND WE HAVE TO THINK OF THE FUTURE OF THE TOWN, AND WE HAVE TO ATTRACT YOUNGER PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, TO GET INVOLVED.
SO WE'RE GOING TO PROBABLY HAVE ANOTHER, THE SECOND SESSION WILL PROBABLY BE, UM, IN, YOU KNOW, THE LAST WEEK IN, IN FEBRUARY.
WE'RE GONNA TRY DOING IT ONCE A MONTH.
AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS, UM, WE'RE GONNA INVITE PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERTISE IN PUBLIC SERVICE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES.
SO WE'RE GONNA TALK, INVITE PEOPLE WHO ARE, UM, IN ELECTIVE OFFICE, PEOPLE WHO, UM, ARE IN APPOINTED POSITIONS, PEOPLE WHO, UM, ARE ACTIVISTS, PEOPLE WHO ARE LOBBYISTS, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE JUST TO TALK ABOUT EVERY ASPECT OF, UH, OF, OF GOVERNMENTS.
IF SOMEBODY IS WATCHING THIS AND AT SOME POINT THEY THINK THEY MAY WANT TO GO INTO GOVERNMENT AS A CAREER, WHETHER IT'S OR, OR IF THEY JUST WANNA GET INVOLVED AND LEARN SOME TIPS ON HOW TO, UM, EFFECTIVELY LOBBY, UH, THEY COULD EMAIL ME AND WE WILL INVITE EVERYBODY.
THIS IS NOT GONNA BE POLITICAL IN ANY WAY.
SO YOU COULD BE A DEMOCRAT, YOU COULD BE REPUBLICAN.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT TOWN ISSUES AT THIS, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA BE TRYING TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE TO BE FOR OR AGAINST ANYTHING.
WE ARE JUST GONNA TELL PEOPLE HOW THEY COULD, UM, THE PROCESS.
SO ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY COULD ATTEND COULD ATTEND THIS AND THEN SHOW UP AT A TOWN BOARD MEETING AND YELL AT US.
WE DON'T WANT YOU TO YELL AT US.
WE WOULD LIKE TO APPRECIATE COMMENTS.
BUT, BUT THAT, BUT THAT'S, IS THERE A CONTACT INFORMATION POOL? THEY COULD EMAIL ME AT P FINER@GREENBERGNY.COM.
BUT I WAS LIKE SO IMPRESSED AND SO EXCITED.
I'M JUST SO EXCITED ABOUT IT BECAUSE THE ARE VERY EXCITED.
AND I JUST HAVE TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD FOR ALL THEIR SHARING 'CAUSE SHARING IS CARING
NO, ME, WE GOT, NOPE, THERE'S A AGENDA HERE.
AND THE, UM, THIS IS JUST A QUESTION IN THE PAST WE LET PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE WE VOTED ON ANYTHING.
SO IS THAT WE'VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE.
WE'VE ALWAYS, UH, HAD PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN IF PEOPLE WANT TO COMMENT ON ANYTHING, THEN THEY COULD COMMENT AND THEN WE VOTE.
ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE REORGANIZATION AND RULES AND PROCEDURES? YEAH, BECAUSE I WOULD THE BOARD BE AMENABLE TO MOVING THAT AFTER PUBLIC COMMENT AND AFTER TOWN TOWN CLERK COMMENTS DON'T SPEAK.
HOLD ON, PAUL, LET'S, LET'S HEAR FROM THE TOWN ATTORNEY.
I'M ASKING IF THE BOARD WOULD BE AMENABLE TO MOVING THAT RIGHT AFTER PUBLIC COMMENT.
BUT OF COURSE, AFTER TOWN CLERK COMMENTS, I WOULD, YES.
SO NOW WE'LL HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC, NO TOWN CLERK.
[ TOWN CLERK COMMENTS AND PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS ]
CLERKUM, UH, JUST A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS.
UM, MAJORITY LEADERS, ANDREA STEWART COUSINS WILL BE HAVING A BUDGET FORUM HERE, UH, LOCATED AT TOWN HALL, UH, NEXT WEDNESDAY, UH, FROM 4:00 PM TO 6:00 PM UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO, UH, THE STATE DELEGATION ABOUT ANY BUDGET, UM, NEW YORK STATE BUDGET ITEMS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COME HERE.
UH, AGAIN, FROM 4:00 PM TO 6:00 PM AND THAT'S NEXT WEDNESDAY ON THE 18TH, ON ON, EXCUSE ME, WEDNESDAY,
[00:45:02]
FEBRUARY 25TH.UH, THE, UH, UH, WE WILL HAVE OUR BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM HERE AT TOWN HALL.
WE WILL BE GETTING THE MEET MEETING AT 7:00 PM AND WE ARE HAVING A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH THE, UH, HONORABLE KEN JONES.
UH, AND WE ARE DISCUSSING THE FIRST, UH, WE'RE HAVING A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH THE FIRST BLACK, UH, WHO BOUGHT HIS SEAT ON THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.
UM, ALSO, UM, GOING TO RE UH, REGARDING WHAT, UH, MS. LIM WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT.
UM, ON FEBRUARY 28TH, MOUNT OLIVE MOUNT OLIVETTE CHURCH, UH, THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE, UH, ON MENTAL ILLNESS, NAMI, AND THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION OF SUICIDE PREVENTION IS HOSTING A SOUL SHOP FOR BLACK CHURCHES.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH, 2026.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE FROM 8:30 AM TO 4:00 PM AND THE PURPOSE IS THIS PROGRAM EQUIPS LEADERS WHO ARE IN THE FOREFRONT OR ON THE FRONT LINES OF COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH, CRISISES AND MINISTERED TO THOSE WHO ARE IMPACTED BY ALL OF THE FACES OF SUICIDE.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, JUST BRINGING TO EVERYONE'S ATTENTION ON, UH, SATURDAY, MARCH 21ST, UH, UH, THE TOWN CLERK AND OF COURSE, COUNCILMAN JA COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON'S ART AND CULTURES DEPARTMENT.
WE ARE HAVING A BOOK TALK WITH GREENBERG'S VERY OWN, EARN YOUR LEISURE CREATORS.
THAT'S GONNA BE TROY MILLINGS AND RASHAD BILAL, UH, THE INVENTORS OF INVEST FEST.
AND THERE ARE AWARD-WINNING PODCAST.
THAT'S GONNA BE SATURDAY, MARCH 21ST FROM 12:00 PM TO 2:00 PM HERE AT TOWN HALL.
THAT'S THE TOWN OF GREENBURG'S ART AND CULTURE, NOT MINE.
YOU'RE NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, THE PUBLIC
[ PUBLIC COMMENT Advanced signup is required. A continuous five-minute limit per speaker will be strictly enforced. The clock will start when a speaker begins speaking and will not be stopped for any reason until the speaker is finished, or five minutes have elapsed, whichever occurs first. Interruptions by Town Board members, the Town Clerk or the public will not be permitted. If a speaker insists on an immediate answer, should an answer be provided, it shall be part of the speaker's five-minute allocation and not be interrupted. There will not be a second five-minute round. Any written comments sent to PublicComment@GreenburghNY.com by 4 PM the day of the hearing will be forwarded to all Town Board members in advance of the meeting for their consideration. Written comments will not be read at the meeting unless the original author is present to do so.]
COMMENTS.FIRST, IF WE CAN HAVE MR. DONALD, IS IT SIEGEL? AS MR. SIEGEL COMES UP, I JUST WANNA REMIND ALL SPEAKERS TONIGHT THAT THERE'S A FIVE MINUTE TIME LIMIT.
THERE'S A CLOCK ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROOM, WHICH WILL START COUNTING DOWN WHEN YOU BEGIN SPEAKING.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.
IF YOU COULD SAY YOUR NAME WHEN YOU APPROACH THE PODIUM.
I'M A RESIDENT OF GREENBURG AND IN PARTICULAR OF EDGEMONT.
UM, I AM HERE TODAY TO DISCUSS, UM, UH, AN ISSUE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, ABOUT A FENCE THAT'S GOING UP, UH, ALONG OR COMING DOWN BEHIND OUR HOMES.
UM, I'M A 35 YEAR, UH, RESIDENT OF GREENBURG.
I USED TO BE A REGULAR AT THESE MEETINGS BACK WHEN I FIRST CAME HERE.
UM, AND THERE WAS, IT WAS KIND OF LIKE IT IS NOW.
IT BECAME MUCH MORE, UH, I, FRANCIS SHEEN IS THE ONLY, AND PAUL ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE I REMEMBER, UH, FROM, FROM COMING TO THE MEETINGS BACK THEN.
UM, OUR CONCERN IS THAT THERE'S A, UH, FENCE THAT IS AT THE BACK OF OUR PROPERTY.
SO OUR PROPERTIES, UNLIKE MOST PROPERTIES, FACES A ROAD AND IT'S A DOUBLE YELLOW LANE ROAD.
UM, AND, UH, TWO YEARS AGO WE WERE INFORMED BY COMMISSIONER FOND THAT THE FENCE WAS COMING DOWN.
UM, WE OBJECTED AND WE TOLD HIM WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION, UNDERSTAND WHY, UH, WE WERE TOLD THE DEFENSE WAS NOT COMING DOWN, BUT WE SAID WE WOULD STILL LIKE TO HAVE, UM, A, UH, A DISCUSSION WITH HIM AND NOTHING EVER HAPPENED.
THEN THIS YEAR WE WERE TOLD THE FENCE IS COMING OUT AGAIN.
AND WHEN WE ASKED FOR A MEETING WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER FA, UH, WITH COMMISSIONER DUQUESNE AND, UH, THE CHIEF OF POLICE, UH, WE WERE TOLD THAT WE COULDN'T HAVE ONE.
WE INVITED THEM TO OUR HOMES BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE THEM TO SEE WHAT THE BACKYARDS OF OUR HOMES LOOK LIKE, UH, COMPARED TO WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN YOU COME DOWN THE ROAD BECAUSE WE'RE LOSING PROTECTION FROM FROM THE ROAD.
UM, THERE ARE 24 OF US THAT WE HAVE A PETITION OF 24 PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED THIS, UH, TO, TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING.
UM, WE REVIEWED THE REPORTS, WE MADE OUR OWN REPORT.
THE REPORTS THAT WE REVIEWED HAD ERRORS AND THEY WERE MISSING A LOT OF INFORMATION.
UM, ONE OF, AND, AND THE ACTUAL ACTION OF TAKING DOWN THE FENCE.
IT SUPPOSEDLY, FOR SAFETY REASONS, WELL I POTENTIALLY COULD MAKE IT WORSE.
THERE'S A THING CALLED THE EDGE EFFECT WHERE YOU REMOVE FENCES IN GREENERY AND, UH, MOTORS TEND TO DRIVE FASTER.
UM, AND THERE ARE NO OTHER ALTERNATIVES WE WERE GIVEN.
IT'S COMING DOWN OR IT'S NOT COMING DOWN.
THERE ARE MANY OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO THAT.
WE TRIED TO MEET WITH THE COMMISSIONERS, THEY REFUSE TO MEET WITH US ONCE THE FENCE
[00:50:01]
COMES DOWN, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY WANNA PUT A SPEED BUMP IN EDGEMONT.NOW, A FEW EARS AREN'T BURNING ENOUGH YET ABOUT THE SPEED BUMPS ALONG THE PIPELINE.
JUST WAIT TILL YOU PUT ANOTHER SPEED BUMP IN EDGEMONT.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE REALLY WANT.
THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MISINFORMATION, BOTH AT, AT THE COMMISSIONER LEVEL AND IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE PUT UP OUR FENCE 35 YEARS AGO, WE GOT PERMISSION NOT ONLY FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF TOWN OF GREENBURG, WE GOT PERMISSION FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD TO PUT THE FENCE UP.
WHAT WE'RE REQUESTING OF YOU TONIGHT IS THAT YOU ASK THE TWO COMMISSIONERS AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO MEET WITH US REAL TIME, NOT SOME, UH, ZOOM OR TEAMS MEETING FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR.
SO WE CAN PRESENT THE DATA AND THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE GATHERED AND WE CAN LISTEN TO THEM, BUT THEY COULD ALSO LISTEN TO US.
UM, MAYBE THE TOWN CAN VOTE ON THAT TONIGHT.
UH, MAYBE THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
UM, AND IN ADDITION TO MEETING WITH US HERE AT TOWN HALL, WE WOULD LIKE SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.
SO IF THEY INVITE BACK THE COMPANY THAT WAS, UH, THAT WROTE THE REPORT, WE WOULD LIKE TO MEET WITH THEM AND EXPRESS OUR CONCERNS AND SEE WHAT THESE TRAFFIC ENGINEERS SAY.
THERE ARE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING STUDIES THAT WE LOOKED AT THAT OPPOSE THAT, UH, TAKING DOWN THE FENCE COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE.
AND FINALLY, WE WOULD REQUEST THAT WHEN A DECISION IS MADE, WE'D BE INVITED BACK TO HEAR THE RATIONALE WHY, WHY THE UH, POINTS THAT WE MADE WERE NOT REASONABLE.
WE'RE NOT ASKING THAT ANYTHING BE DONE THAT EXCEPT THAT WE BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH THE COMMISSIONERS WHO RUN THE TOWN.
AND I, I MUST SAY WHEN, WHEN, UH, FRANCIS, WHEN YOU MENTIONED LARRY DOYLE AND YOU GAVE SUCH AN ELOQUENT EULOGY, UM, I WROTE DOWN WHAT YOU SAID AND HE SAID, UH, HE WOULD NOT VOTE UNTIL HE VISITED THE SITE HIMSELF.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT.
AND I DON'T THINK IT'S TOO MUCH TO ASK THE RESIDENTS IN OUR AREA TO COME TO ASK THE COMMISSIONERS TO COME AND LOOK AT OUR BACKYARDS AND SEE THE SITUATION.
BUT IF THEY DON'T WANT TO COME, AT LEAST GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY, A MINIMUM OF ONE HOUR, WE HAVE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND OTHER DATA TO PRESENT SO WE CAN MAKE OUR CASE.
YOU NEXT WE HAVE MR. DAVID BERRY, UH, SPEAKING.
MY NAME IS JOSEPH O'NEILL AND I'M A RESIDENT OF EDGEMONT GOING ON 70 YEARS.
AND I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHY WE ARE SO CONCERNED ABOUT OUR LITTLE AREA.
CAN YOU PULL THE MIC DOWN A LITTLE BIT? OH YEAH, SURE, SURE.
HOW'S THAT? A LITTLE BIT BETTER? YES.
UH, I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE TRAFFIC DOWN AT THE POND.
IT IS NOW DEEMED A PARK CHILDREN CROSS BARKLEY ROAD, EDGEMONT ROAD TO GO UP TO THE SCHOOL.
AS PEOPLE USE THE TRAIN STATION AND GO TO THE SCHOOL, WHY IS THERE NOT, WHERE NOT ONE SIGN SIGNAGE SAYING SLOW DOWN, CROSSING AHEAD, CHILDREN CROSSING, PARK AHEAD.
THERE IS NOT ONE INDICATOR TO SLOW THE DRIVERS DOWN.
I WENT, I FEED THE DUCKS ALL THE TIME, AND I WAS WALKING DOWN THE POND WITH MY OLD BREAD.
I WAS CROSSING, I WAS CROSSING THE ROAD AND I HEAR ON THE HO ON THE HORN BEHIND SIX H UXBRIDGE ROAD HOUSE NEXT TO DON AND JOANNE.
OKAY, I'M STANDING IN THE ROAD, I'M P****D OFF, PARDON MY LANGUAGE.
AND THIS WOMAN GOES, GET THE BLANKETY BLANK BLANK OUT OF THE ROAD.
GET, I'VE GOTTA GO TO THE TRAIN STATION, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
AND I'M STANDING THERE AND I'M SAYING, EXCUSE ME, I'M CROSSING THE POND, CAN'T YOU? AND SHE ROLLED HER CAR INTO ME, CONTACTED MY HIP, CONTACTED MY HIP, AND SHE WAS SMILING THE WHOLE TIME.
WE ARE DEALING WITH IRATE DRIVERS DOWN THERE AND WITHOUT ANY SIGNAGE, YOU'RE ASKING FOR DISASTER.
NOW I AM FRIENDS WITH THE CROSSING GUARD DOWN AT THE POND, AND I SAY TO HIM, I RELAYED MY EXPERIENCES DOWN TO, HE SAID, IT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO THIS O CONCEIVED PLAN ABOUT IT, REMOVING THE SEAGULLS AND THE BERRY'S PRIVACY
[00:55:02]
DOES NOT FLOAT.HOW ARE YOU GUYS? I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE DOING GOOD.
SO MY NAME IS ERICA AND I HAVE A VERY SIMPLE QUESTION.
I HAD BEEN APPLYING FOR THE, TO BE INCLUDED IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR LIKE MONTHS NOW.
AND THE FIRST ZOOM MEETING WITH LANE COBB AND LEAN GOODMAN WENT VERY WELL.
AND THEY SAID THAT, OKAY, YOU ARE IN.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THEY WROTE AN EMAIL.
SO I HAD BEEN IN TOUCH WITH, UM, THE TOWN BOARD FOR SOME TIME NOW.
SO MY QUESTION IS THAT, UH, WHEN CAN I BE INTERVIEWED AND WHEN CAN I BE FORMALLY BE A PART AND INCLUDED IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE? AND, UH, I HAD BEEN AN ACTIVIST FOR 10 YEARS.
I AM A DISTRICT LEADER NOW FOR A YEAR AND A HALF.
AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, I AM A MEMBER OF THE NAACP.
I'M IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND ALSO EDUCATION.
AND LISA KNOWS THAT RECENTLY I HAD BEEN A PART OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT.
AND I'M VERY SURE, VERY CONFIDENT THAT IF I AM GIVEN THIS OPPORTUNITY BY THIS BEAUTIFUL TOWN BOARD, I WILL DO A FULL JUSTICE.
EVERYBODY, UH, LEARNS IN COURSE OF TIME.
SO I AM VERY CONFIDENT ON MYSELF THAT, UM, I WILL LEARN CERTAIN THINGS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, AND GAIN MORE EXPERIENCE.
SO CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME THAT WHY IS THE DELAY? I'M GONNA ASK, UM, UH, THAT WE SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW, UH, WITH YOU.
UM, AND I THINK THE TOWN SHOULD BE ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION IN, UM, IN VARIOUS BOARDS.
SO, UM, UH, WE SHOULD ASK, UM, HOLLY TO PUT YOU ON THE AGENDA AT THE FIRST AVAILABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WORK, WORK SESSION, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR AN INTERVIEW.
UM, AGAIN, WE SHOULD NOT BE DISCOURAGING PEOPLE FROM BEING INVOLVED.
AND YOU DEFINITELY HAVE SHOWN THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED AND YOU'RE DEDICATED TO THE TOWN AND YOU'RE DEDICATED TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND, UH, THE HUMAN RIGHTS, UH, LEADERSHIP, YOU KNOW, COMMITTEE, THEY ALSO APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'VE, YOU, YOUR, YOUR COMMITMENT FOR MORE DIVERSITY AND FOR PEOPLE TO WORK TOGETHER AND APPRECIATE EACH OTHER'S DIFFERENCES.
RIGHT? AND PAUL, IF YOU RECALL THAT YOU HAD SENT AN EMAIL TO HOLLY BEFORE ALSO, I MEAN LAST YEAR, SOMETIMES IN DECEMBER, TO ARRANGE, UH, AN INTERVIEW, UM, MAYBE BEFORE DECEMBER, YOU KNOW, IN NOVEMBER I GUESS.
WELL, WE HAVE A RULE THAT THREE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD HAVE TO PUT SOMETHING ON THE AGENDA.
I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU, UM, BEING INTERVIEWED AND YOU KNOW, I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE BOARD WILL GIVE YOU THE COURTESY OF, OF BEING INTERVIEWED.
SO THE LAST THANK YOU, SO THE LAST EMAIL I SAW, YOU'RE ASKING ME A QUESTION, RIGHT? THE LAST EMAIL I SAW FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION WAS THAT THEY WANTED TO MEET WITH YOU AND LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU.
I DON'T SEE ANY EMAIL WHAT THEY SAID THEY THINK YOU'RE A GOOD FIT FOR THE COMMITTEE.
DO, IS THERE SUCH A, IS THERE SUCH AN EMAIL? NO, I MEAN, I'M JUST ASKING THAT WHEN CAN I BE INTERVIEWED? I MEAN, IF THERE IS ANY QUESTION OR CONCERN OR SUGGESTION, THEN, YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE SORTED OUT DURING THE INTERVIEW.
AND AS I SAID, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I'M ALWAYS LEARNING EVERY DAY I AM LEARNING AND THE INTERVIEW WOULD BE THE BEST THING.
SO, BUT EACH TIME YOU GET UP AND YOU'VE DONE THIS, A NUMBER OF MEETINGS, YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW THEY APPROVED YOU OR WHATEVER, WHAT IT WAS.
BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT EMAIL.
I'VE SEEN AN EMAIL THAT SAYS THAT THEY WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU.
COULD YOU SEND US, COULD YOU SEND THIS INFORMALLY? INFORMALLY? I SAID THAT THEY KIND OF APPROVED, BUT IT DEPENDS ON THE TOWN BOARD.
THAT'S WHY FRANCIS, ON EVERY SINGLE TIME I COME, I KEEP ON ASKING LIKE AN OLD BROKEN RECORD THAT WHEN I WILL GET THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE INTERVIEWED AND IF THERE IS ANY SUGGESTION OR CONCERN OR ANY QUESTION THAT CAN BE SOLVED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS DURING THE INTERVIEW.
SO DID DID YOU PROVIDE THEM ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AFTER THEY SAID I WAS NOT ASKED AFTER THAT, SO I'M JUST WAITING.
[01:00:01]
THEY SENT AN EMAIL SAYING THAT THEY'D LIKE TO MEET WITH YOU AND LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU.I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT AFTER THAT.
I'M TALKING IN RESPONSE TO THAT EMAIL.
DID YOU PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION? OH YEAH, OF COURSE, OF COURSE.
COULD YOU SHARE THAT WITH US AND WHAT THE RESPONSE WAS? MM-HMM
WELL, I THINK WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL, I'M GONNA UH, UH, WRITE TO LYNN AND LANE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE, I'M THE LIAISON TO THE COMMITTEE AND I'LL TAKE CARE OF THE INTERACTION.
WELL I'M GONNA ALSO INVITE, UH, YOU KNOW, WRITE TO THEM AND I'LL ASK THEM FOR THE ERROR.
THE COMMITTEE HAS TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION REALLY UP TO, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S NOT THE COMMITTEE THAT MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE'RE ALL APPOINTMENTS, ALL APPOINTMENTS ARE MADE BY THE TOWN BOARD BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMITTEE.
NO, WE, WE DO NOT GIVE ANY BOARDS FETAL.
WE TAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE.
WELL I'M, THAT'S WHAT THE PROCESS IS.
ILL, I'LL ALSO REACH OUT TO LYNN AND AND LANE BECAUSE I THINK YOU THAT'S FINE.
I THINK WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S, YOU UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS.
WELL, I DO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS.
WE'RE NOT, I'M NOT RE SPEAKING WITH YOU.
HI SHERRY, AND I'M SO SORRY, I DON'T WANNA SAY YOUR LAST NAME INCORRECTLY.
IS THIS VISIBLE ON THE CAMERA? UM, TERRANCE, COULD YOU, COULD YOU GET THAT SIGN VISIBLE? THEY CAN ZOOM IT AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.
YEAH, AT THE APPROPRIATE TIMES.
UH, YOU'LL, WHEN I TALK ABOUT THAT.
YOU'VE SEEN ME IN THE, IN THE PAST.
UH, FIRST I WANT TO THANK SUPERVISOR FINER FOR HOSTING THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING, UH, LATE LAST YEAR AND HEARING OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS.
AND I WANT TO THANK THE TOWN BOARD FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY REBUTTAL LETTER, UH, ON THE KNOWLES, UH, EXPANSION PROJECT, UH, IN FULL.
I KNOW IT WAS VERY, VERY LONG.
UH, I'M HERE TONIGHT TO OFFER MY COMMENTS ON LAST NIGHT'S WORK SESSION FOR THE KNOWLES EXPANSION.
UH, THUS FAR IN THIS PROCESS, AS YOU KNOW, MY NEIGHBORS AND I HAVE BEEN LIMITED TO WRITTEN COMMENTS AND FIVE MINUTE STATEMENTS AT THE TOWN BOARD MEETINGS SUCH AS I'M DOING NOW.
AND LAST NIGHT WAS NO EXCEPTION.
WE LITERALLY HAD NO SEAT AT THE TABLE FIRST ABOUT THE ABANDONED HOUSE.
SO THIS IS MY POSTER BOARD HERE.
SO I'M MAKING SOME COMMENTS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, UH, AT THAT WORK SESSION.
FIRST ABOUT THE ABANDONED HOUSE.
YES, IT'S NOW BOARDED AND HAS CAMERAS, OUR NEIGHBORS AND I DO NOT AGREE THAT THIS RESOLVES THE VIOLATION AND WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THE TOWN INTERPRETS THIS AS ACCEPTABLE TO CLOSE THE VIOLATION.
NEIGHBORS ARE TRYING TO SELL THEIR HOMES AND IT'S SIMPLY NOT RIGHT.
SECOND, THE APPLICANT ASSERTED LAST NIGHT THAT THEY HAVE BEEN PROACTIVE WITH US CITING A MEETING WITH MY HUSBAND AND I BACK IN AUGUST.
I WANT TO CLARIFY THAT, THAT THIS MEETING HAPPENED ONLY AFTER MY REQUEST, AFTER I FOUND, HAD FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS PROJECT ON MY OWN IN JULY AND HAD ATTENDED A PLANNING BOARD MEETING.
ADDITIONALLY, IN LATE MARCH OF LAST YEAR, I HAD EMAILED THE KNOWLES AFTER SEEING BULLDOZERS AND SOIL TESTING NEXT TO MY BACKYARD.
AND I ASKED THEM DIRECTLY IF THEY WERE PLANNING AN ADDITION.
THEY DENIED THE PROJECT IN WRITING TO ME, UM, AND SUBMITTED A FORMAL APPLICATION TO THE TOWN.
TWO WEEKS LATER, THESE CORRESPONDENCES ARE ON THE RECORD AND I'D SUBMITTED THEM MONTHS AGO.
THEY WERE COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE AND FULLY INTENDED FOR ME NOT TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS PROJECT UNTIL A HEARING NOTICE APPEARED IN MY MAILBOX, AT WHICH POINT IT WOULD'VE BEEN TOO LATE TO MOUNT TO DEFENSE.
PERHAPS THEY FEARED MY REACTION IF I WAS APPROACHED EARLIER OR PERHAPS THEY WERE ADVISED TO PROCEED THIS WAY, BUT THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED AND THEY WERE NOT PROACTIVE.
NEXT, I WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THAT THERE'S A 75 FOOT ROADWAY SETBACK TO THE ROADWAY THAT DIDN'T SEEM TO BE CLEAR LAST NIGHT, UH, IN THEIR PRESENTATION.
AND THEIR PLAN CALLS FOR JUST THE ROADWAY TO BE JUST 25 FEET FROM MY PROPERTY LINE.
AND THAT WAS, THAT'S AFTER THEY MOVED IT BACK 12 FEET.
THIS VARIANCE WAS ADDED BY THE TOWN ONLY AFTER MY ATTORNEY SUBMITTED HIS LETTER ABOUT CODE, CODE CONFLICTS AND MISSING VARIANCES.
THE ROADWAY SETBACK IS A VERY BASIC REQUIREMENT, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WAS MISSED BY THE TOWN.
I DO FEEL SOME SYMPATHY THAT THE NOLL SPENT TWO YEARS IN FORMAL DESIGN WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE SETBACK, BUT THEY HAVE A
[01:05:01]
VERY EXPERIENCED TEAM OF ENGINEERS WHO SHOULD HAVE FLAGGED IT AS WELL.AND WHY AM I THE ONE FLAGGING MISSING VARIANCES ON THIS PROJECT? ALSO, EVERY TIME I REVIEW THIS PROJECT, NEW MISSING VARIANCES APPEAR.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE I'D LIKE TO ADD TONIGHT.
THE TOWN HAS A 14 FOOT HEIGHT LIMIT ON LIGHT POLES.
THE PROPOSED ROADWAY HAS 12 FOOT LIGHT POLES, BUT SEVERAL OF THESE ARE ON THE EDGE OF A FOUR TO EIGHT FOOT RETAINING WALL.
THE OVERALL HEIGHT SHOULD REFLECT THE TOTAL, AND IT EXCEEDS THE LIMIT.
IF THE TOWN DOES DEEM THIS NOT TO BE A VARIANCE, BE PREPARED THAT ANYONE WANTING A LIGHT POLE OVER 14 FEET COULD SIMPLY PLACE IT ON A RETAINING WALL.
LASTLY, I WANT TO RESPOND TO THE BOARD'S COMMENT THAT A PUBLIC HEARING IS THE PLACE FOR NEIGHBORS TO VOICE CONCERNS.
I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS, BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, THE APPLICATION IS INCOMPLETE AND INACCURATE.
I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE TO MY ATTORNEY'S LETTER REGARDING UNIT COUNT CONFLICTS AND MISSING VARIANCES FOR THE STORMWATER POND AND RETAINING WALL.
I HAVE ALSO SHARED A NEW VARIANCE TONIGHT.
THESE MUST BE CORRECTED OR EXPLAINED OR ADDED AND EXPLAINED IN A WAY THAT I CAN RESPOND TO DURING A PUBLIC HEARING.
THE PUBLIC DESERVES AN ACCURATE AND COMPLETE APPLICATION TO COMMENT ON, ON THE PUBLIC HEARING COMMENT SESSIONS.
THIS PROJECT IS NOT READY FOR ALL THESE REASONS.
I RESPECTFULLY ASK AGAIN THAT A RESOLUTION TO PROCEED WITH A PUBLIC HEARING NOT BE APPROVED UNTIL ALL VARIANCES AND CODE CODE CONFLICTS ARE EITHER ADDED OR CLARIFIED WHY THEY ARE NOT.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALLOWING US TO ATTEND LAST NIGHT'S WORK SESSION, AND I MADE IT UNDER FIVE GREAT TIMING.
AND I'D LIKE TO SUBMIT FOR THE RECORD.
OH, YOU CAN SUBMIT TO THE CLERK, ACTUALLY.
UM, IF YOU WANTED TO SEND ANYTHING ELSE, IT'S TOWN CLERK@GREENBERGNY.COM.
NEXT WE WILL HAVE JOANNE FLORIO SIEGEL.
HELLO, MY NAME IS JOANNE FLORIO SIEGEL, AND I AM A RESIDENT OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AT LIVING AT FOUR UXBRIDGE ROAD WITH MY HUSBAND DONALD SIEGEL.
AND WE RAISED OUR FAMILY COMPLETELY AS ADULTS.
UM, I, I CALL, I'M MAKING THIS STATEMENT THIS EVENING BECAUSE, UM, AS MY HUSBAND OUTLINED IN EARLIER, IN HIS EARLIER TESTIMONY, WE RECEIVED A LETTER IN 2024, UH, NOVEMBER OF 2024.
AND WE DID HAVE, UM, CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE THE LETTER INDICATED FROM COMMISSIONER FA THAT THE FENCE BEHIND OUR HOUSE WOULD BE REMOVED.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT ALL VEGETATION THAT MIGHT BE, 'CAUSE THE ISSUE WAS WHAT THEY SAID, UM, IS, WELL, THEY CAME BACK AND SAID, IT'S A, IT'S A, UM, A SITE ISSUE, NOT A SPEEDING ISSUE.
I WANNA SAY THAT WITHIN THE ONE YEAR, THEY, THERE WAS A SIGN THAT SAID 30 MILES AN HOUR, UM, FOR THE ROAD EXPERT, UH, EDGEMONT ROAD THAT BORDERS THE, UM, THE SCHOOL, THAT SIGN WAS CHANGED TO 25 MILES AN HOUR.
SO THEY CHANGED IT WITHIN THE YEAR.
WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T GET A NOTICE ON THAT OR ANYTHING.
WE ASSUMED THAT, AND, PARDON ME, BUT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE ASSUMED ANYTHING.
'CAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE ASSUME THINGS.
UM, THAT THIS, THE, THE, UM, THE PROJECT WAS GOING TO BE TERMINATED OR ENDED.
WE RECEIVED ANOTHER LETTER IN NOVEMBER OF 25, INDICATED THAT THE TOWN HAD DONE AN ADDITIONAL STUDY.
THE FIRST STUDY, UH, THAT THEY GAVE WAS, I BELIEVE, FROM THE, UH, THE SCHOOL.
UM, AND IT INDICATED THAT, UM, THAT THE, THAT THEY, THEY WANTED TO, UM, REMOVE THE, THE, THE FENCE BECAUSE OF ISSUES RELATED TO THE SCHOOL AND, AND STUDENTS DRIVING THROUGH THE AREA.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, THAT STUDY WAS BASED ON A 30 MILE AN HOUR LIMIT.
THE LIMIT IS NOW 25 MILES AN HOUR.
AND THERE'S NO WAY, BECAUSE THERE WAS A TRAFFIC STUDY DONE THAT 20, AT 25 MILES AN HOUR, INDEED, THAT WOULD BE, UM, THAT THEY WOULD, UH, THE SPEED WAS NOT THE ISSUE.
WE KNOW THAT PART OF EDGEMONT ROAD BORDERS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY, WHEN WE MOVED INTO THE AREA, THERE WERE FENCES ALREADY ERECTED AT 6 10, 12 UXBRIDGE ROAD.
AND SO WE DID NOT SURREPTITIOUSLY PUT UP A FENCE.
WE RECEIVED PERMISSION FROM THE, UH, THE TOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE A LETTER ON THAT ALLOWING US TO PUT THE FENCE UP THAT IT WAS NOT A SITE IMPEDIMENT.
WE ALSO GOT A LETTER FROM THE SCHOOL FROM MR. CONVOY, WHO WAS,
[01:10:01]
UM, UH, WAS PART OF THE, UM, SCHOOL BOARD, OR NOT THE SCHOOL BOARD, BUT THE SCHOOL PERSONNEL.AND AS CC WAS GIVEN TO NANCY TIGAN, THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT AT THE TIME, NOTHING WAS DONE SURREPTITIOUSLY.
WE BROUGHT THIS ATTEN THE PROBLEM TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMISSIONERS AND WANTED THEM TO COME AND HAVE SITE VISITS SO THEY COULD SEE HOW OUR PROPERTIES REALLY BORDER RIGHT ON THAT ROAD.
AND THAT THE FENCE IS A PROTECTION FOR OUR FAMILIES, IN ADDITION TO ALERTING, UH, VEHICLES THAT THEY'RE APPROACHING A CURVE.
WE WANT THE COMMISSIONERS TO COME AND SEE THE SITE.
THE SECOND REPORT THAT WAS DONE BY THE TOWN WAS ONLY DONE AS A DESKTOP STUDY, WHICH MEANS THERE WAS NO PERSON THAT CAME TO THE AREA TO VIEW IT.
WE HAD THE POLICE DEPARTMENT COME IN PERSON AND MEET WITH US AND TOOK THE TIME TO O OKAY, THE FENCE ON OUR PROPERTY.
NUMBER TWO, UM, AS I SAID, UM, WE DID NOT SURREPTITIOUSLY, AND I WANNA SAY THIS AGAIN, SURREPTITIOUSLY PUT UP A FENCE, AND I WANNA STOP RIGHT NOW TO SAY THE RUMORS THAT GO ON IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AND, AND IN OUR AREA IN PARTICULAR, I WANNA SAY THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS BEEN VERY, VERY, JUST LIKE THE WOMAN HAD MENTIONED BEFORE ON HER PROPERTY, THE TOWN SUPERVISOR HAS BEEN THE ONLY RESPONSIVE PUBLIC OFFICIAL TO COME BEFORE US.
WE HAVE NO PERSONAL INTERACTION WITH HIM, AND THE RUMORS THAT GO ON ABOUT DEAMING US AS REALLY PERSONALLY OFFENSIVE.
SO I WANNA MENTION THAT AS WELL.
AND WE'RE GONNA ASK THEN FOR THE TOWN BOARD TO MEET WITH SO THAT WE CAN MEET WITH THE COMMISSIONERS AND HAVE A MEETING WITH HIM, WITH THEM TO DISCUSS THIS.
WE HAVE DONE A LISTING OF ALL THE SCHOOL SIGNS WITHIN OUR AREA THAT DESIGNATE US AS A SCHOOL ZONE.
SO I WOULD HOPE YOU AGREED TO ALLOW US TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
MAY WE HAVE, I WAS GONNA ASK YOU TO TAKE IT, IT MAKES IT SEEM LIKE THEY'RE DOING YOUR PROJECT.
HELLO, UH, MY NAME IS SHANNON COGHLAN.
UH, I'M ALSO A RESIDENT OF UXBRIDGE ROAD.
UM, I'D LIKE TO ECHO SOME OF THE EARLIER COMMENTS FROM, UM, DON JOANNE AND, UM, UH, JOE.
UM, MY HUSBAND AND I MOVED WITH OUR TWO YOUNG CHILDREN TO EDGEMONT IN JANUARY OF 2025.
UH, WE MOVED FROM OUT OF STATE.
SO THIS IS OUR FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH EDGEMONT AND, UH, GREENBURG.
AND I WILL SAY THAT IT'S BEEN PRETTY SHAKY.
UM, SO WE PURCHASED A HOME WITH A FENCE.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE A, A VERY LARGE PROPERTY.
UM, AND REMOVING THE FENCE IS REALLY GOING TO MAKE THINGS INFINITELY LESS SAFE FOR MY CHILDREN.
SO I'M HERE AS A MOTHER, UM, APPEALING TO YOU ALL TO PLEASE CONSIDER AN IN-PERSON MEETING, RIGHT? THIS IS A VERY NUANCED TOPIC.
WE NEED ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION ABOUT IT.
REMOVING THIS FENCE MAKES THE STREET LESS SAFE, NOT ONLY FOR MYSELF, MY FAMILY, BUT MY NEIGHBORS, RIGHT? AND SURROUNDING NEIGHBORS.
WE UNDERSTAND, UM, FROM SOME ANALYSIS BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT REMOVING THE FENCE ENCOURAGES CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OR COULD ENCOURAGE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, BECAUSE NOW THE PROXIMITY TO THE BRONX RIVER PARKWAY, UM, A ALLOWS POTENTIAL BAD ACTORS TO HAVE A, A VERY CLEAR SIGHT LINE INTO OUR HOMES, RIGHT? AND NOW WE ARE OPENING OURSELVES UP FOR A SITUATION FOR POTENTIAL ROBBERIES, CRIME, HOME INVASIONS, VERY UGLY THINGS, RIGHT? THAT ARE SUPER CONCERNING.
SO, AGAIN, UH, I, I THINK WE'RE PLEADING FOR SOME ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION.
UM, THE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO MENTION IS JUST, AGAIN, BEING A NEW RESIDENT, UM, I, I'M, YOU KNOW, A BIT, UM, DISAPPOINTED IN THE COMMUNICATION.
UM, WE PURCHASED THE HOME JANUARY OF 2025, AND THE, UH, WRITTEN COMMUNICATION FROM THE TOWN THAT WAS IN OCTOBER OF 2025 WAS, UM, ADDRESSED TO THE PRIOR OWNERS OF THE HOME.
SO MY HUSBAND AND I WEREN'T EVEN AWARE OF THIS.
UM, IT WAS ONLY, YOU KNOW, THANKFULLY OUR NEIGHBORS KNOCKED ON OUR DOOR AND, AND TOLD US OF THE TOWN'S, UM, INTENTION TO DO THIS.
SO I QUESTION WHY WE WERE PAYING TAXES ON A HOME FOR 10 MONTHS, UM, AND, YOU KNOW,
[01:15:01]
COULDN'T HAVE THE COURTESY OF HAVING A LETTER ADDRESSED TO US.UM, WE'VE ALSO HAD SOME WRITTEN COMMUNICATION, UH, GO OUT TO THE EDGEMONT, UH, COMMUNITY COUNCIL, A CC.
UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY, UM, I HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY TYPE OF RESPONSE FROM THAT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M HERE IN PERSON AGAIN AS, UM, A NEW RESIDENT.
UH, IT'S A LOVELY COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SO EXCITED ABOUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND EVERYTHING THAT, UM, EDGEMONT HAS TO OFFER.
AND, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO, UM, FIND THE TIME AND THE WILLINGNESS TO, TO GIVE THIS AN, UH, UH, THE MORE IN DEPTH LOOK THAT IT DESERVES.
I, I HAD A, A QUESTION FOR THE TOWN BOARD.
YOU KNOW, I'M JUST THINKING AS A RESULT OF THIS, UM, IT REALLY SHOULDN'T BE ONLY THE COMMISSIONERS THAT WOULD MEET WITH, UM, UH, WITH YOU.
UM, UH, I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT THE TOWN BOARD HAVE A SITE VISIT, UM, AS PART OF A WORK SESSION.
YOU KNOW, WE COULD MEET, SAY FOR, WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE WHEN THERE'S BEEN NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, YOU KNOW, CONCERNS THE WHOLE TOWN BOARD, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT ARE IMPACTED, THE POLICE CHIEF, UH, THAT WE COULD INVITE THE EDGEMONT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND WE COULD INVITE THE TRAFFIC CONSULTANT, UH, UH, TO A ON-SITE MEETING, UH, UH, ON OXBRIDGE, YOU KNOW, AT SOMEBODY'S, WE COULD MEET AT SOMEBODY'S HOUSE, AND THEN WE COULD SEE IF WE COULD WORK THINGS OUT.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS REAL.
IT'S THE SAME ISSUE THAT WE HAD YESTERDAY WITH THE KNOWLES.
A LOT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THE BIGGEST PROBLEM I THINK, NATIONALLY IS PEOPLE DON'T TRUST GOVERNMENT.
ANY GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, NO MATTER WHAT.
AND WHAT I'VE ALWAYS TRIED DOING IS I WANT TO GET PEOPLE TO FEEL THAT WE'RE LISTENING.
AND I FEEL THAT, UM, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE A HUNDRED PERCENT ONE WAY OR A HUNDRED PERCENT THE OTHER WAY.
BUT I FEEL THAT IF WE HAVE MEETINGS AT PEOPLE'S HOMES AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS WITH ALL THE PARTIES, AND THE GOAL OF THE MEETING IS NOT TO SAY IT HAS TO BE MY WAY OR WHATEVER THE GOAL SHOULD BE, TO HAVE A DIALOGUE AND TO SEE IF WE COULD RESOLVE, UH, THE DISPUTES.
EVERY, YOU KNOW, I THINK I MET YOU IN THE SUMMER.
UH, I WAS ON MY BICYCLE AND, UM, JUST HAD, I THINK YOU'RE MOVING.
UM, AND, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SO THE THING IS, I SORT OF FEEL THAT, UM, IF WE, IF WE AS A TOWN BOARD WOULD AGREE TO SCHEDULE, YOU KNOW, A MEETING, AND WE HAVE ALL THE PARTIES FROM THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL, THE POLICE, THE, UH, ALL THE COMMISSIONERS, UM, THE TOWN BOARD, THE NEIGHBORS, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, THE, ANY TRAFFIC CONSULTANTS, UH, THEN I'M LIKE ALMOST A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE THAT WE COULD SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
AND I'M SURE THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'LL SAY, THIS TOWN IS REALLY RESPONSIVE.
WE WANT YOU TO FEEL THAT YOU MADE A GOOD INVESTMENT, NOT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE A GREAT HOUSE AND LIVE IN A GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A GREAT COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT'S LISTENING TO YOU.
THAT TO ME IS ALL, UH, ANY RESIDENT COULD SAY SAME THING WITH THE NO.
YOU KNOW, IF WE HAD MEETINGS WITH THE DEVELOPER, NO, I HAVE A RIGHT TO SPEAK.
IF WE HAVE MEETINGS WITH, SO DO SO, DO I, RIGHT? YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO SPEAK AFTER ME, UH, BECAUSE I SPOKE FOR, WE'RE SPEAKING.
SO THE THING IS, IF, IF WE HAVE A MEETING, UH, WITH THE RESIDENTS OF THE KNOWS AND DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, THE SHEDS, AND WE, AND WE, AND WE DISCUSS SOME OF THE CONCERNS YOU HAVE, THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'RE GONNA FEEL POSITIVE ABOUT THE GOV.
YOU MAY FEEL MORE POSITIVE ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT THAN YOU FELT FIVE MONTHS AGO.
I'D LIKE TO JUST, I DON'T HAVE CONTEXT FOR THIS IN TERMS OF HEARING FROM OUR COMMISSIONERS WHAT THE ISSUE REALLY IS.
SO I FEEL VERY MUCH AT A LOSS, UM, TO, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO US, RIGHT? WE'RE, YOU KNOW, ONE YEAR INTO OWNING THE HOME AND SUDDENLY THE FENCE IS LITERALLY GETTING RIPPED OUT FROM UNDER US.
AND I HAVE NO, I CAN'T EVEN ARTICULATE WHAT THE REASONING IS.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, I SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO PLAY BACK TO YOU WHY THE FENCE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED, YOU KNOW, ALLEGEDLY, LET'S JUST LOOK AT IT.
LET'S, AS ALL THE BOARD SHOULD LOOK AT IT, NO.
HOW ABOUT WE HEAR FROM OUR COMMISSIONERS ABOUT A BRIEFING OF WHAT IS THE SITUATIONS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE, AND THEN WE COULD MAYBE GO FURTHER WITH THE MEETING, WHATEVER.
I DON'T KNOW, I, IT'S JUST AS A VACUUM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW.
MAY I HAVE YOUR INFORMATION SO I CAN, UM, IF YOU'RE GONNA SET UP A MEETING, SO I NEED YOUR INFORMATION.
WELL, I DON'S BEEN ASKING FOR IT.
I HAVE TO REPLY AT THIS POINT.
WE, WE WERE, WE WERE WILLING TO HAVE A MEETING THIS PAST MONDAY, UM, VIA ZOOM, WHICH THE RESIDENTS ARE AWARE OF.
COMMISSIONER DUANE, COMMISSIONER F SERGEANT FONTELLA AGREED TO HAVE A MEETING VIA ZOOM THIS PAST WEEK.
UM, I, I, I UNDERSTAND IT WOULD BE IDEAL TO GET ON SITE AT SOME POINT.
WE HAD NOTED THAT, UH, BASED ON THE CURRENT AMOUNT OF SNOW IN THE AREA AT THIS TIME, WE'D BE UNWILLING TO DO SO.
HOWEVER, I HEARD THERE WAS A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
WE COULD HAVE EASILY DONE THAT VIA ZOOM TO CONTINUE THE DISCUSSIONS.
I WORK WITH THESE GENTLEMEN ON A DAILY BASIS.
I SEE HEADS SHAKING IN THE AUDIENCE, BUT I KNOW THEY'RE EXTREMELY
[01:20:01]
REASONABLE PEOPLE.THEY'LL LISTEN TO ALL THE CONCERNS OF THE RESIDENTS, AND I'M SURE WE'LL BE ABLE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD APPROPRIATELY AND KEEP EVERYONE WELL INFORMED AND EVERYONE HAPPY ABOUT THE CONVERSA, UH, ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING AND HAVE AN OPEN, HONEST DIALOGUE.
UM, LEMME JUST SAY THAT THE MEETING WAS NOT CONFIRMED.
WE, WE, WE HAD ASKED IF A ZOOM LINK WOULD, WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE, AND THE RESPONSE WE KEPT GETTING BACK WAS NO ONSITE.
SO THE ONSITE MEETING WASN'T ACCEPTABLE.
SO IF WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT THAT A MEETING CAN OCCUR VIA ZOOM, LET'S GET THAT LINK OUT AND LET'S GET IT GOING.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT FURTHER THEN.
WELL, MAYBE IN THE SPRING, THEN WE REALLY HAVE TO SEE THEIR BACKYARDS AND HOW IT WILL IMPACT THEM.
AND OUR ATTORNEY SAID THAT BECAUSE OF THE SNOW AND THE WEATHER, THAT WAS NOT REAL, LET'S BRING IT FORWARD AND LET'S SHOW UP ON SITE.
WHEN THIS, WHEN THE SNOW MELTS, I MEAN, WELL, YOU KNOW, ONE, ONE OPTION, I'M JUST GIVING A COMPROMISE.
OPTION ONE OPTION COULD BE TO HAVE A ZOOM MEETING FIRST, AND THEN FOLLOW AND SAY, NO, LEMME JUST SAY, UH, ZOOM MEETING FIRST, FOLLOWED BY WITH A COMMITMENT THAT IF ANY DECISION IS BEING MA IS GONNA HA BEING MADE BEFORE ANY DECISION IS MADE, UH, THERE WOULD BE A SITE VISIT WITH THE TOWN BOARD AND ALL THE PARTIES.
SO IT COULD BE BASICALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, IF IF THE COMMISSIONERS WANT A ZOOM MEETING FIRST, WE COULD GIVE THEM THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY.
AND THEN AGAIN, WITH A, WITH AN UNDERSTANDING THAT NOTHING'S GONNA BE DONE UNTIL THERE'S A ONSITE VISIT WITH ALL THE PARTIES.
SO, SO, UH, IF THEY WANT TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE RESEARCH AND GET MORE FACTS AFTER A, A ZOOM MEETING, I, I WOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH THAT BECAUSE THE MAIN THING I WANNA SEE IS A DIALOGUE DISCUSSION.
AND I FEEL THAT EVERYBODY ON THE TOWN BOARD, UM, SHOULD BE, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE IN THIS CASE.
AND BASICALLY, UM, UH, EVERYBODY ON THE TOWN BOARD SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN A SITE VISIT WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND, UM, WITH, UH, THE POLICE AND WITH A TRAFFIC CONSULTANT.
AND AGAIN, SO A ZOOM MEETING IS JUST PRELIMINARY, LIKE FIRST STEP.
I'M SORRY, BUT YOU, YOU HAD YOUR FIVE MINUTES.
IT WAS A ONE QUICK COMMENT THOUGH, WASN'T A BACK AND FORTH DISCUSSION.
I HAVE TO FOLLOW, I HAVE TO FOLLOW THE RULES IN THE MEETING UNLESS THERE'S A SUSPENSION OF THE RULES.
I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE SUSPEND THE RULES.
SO THAT, DO WE HAVE A SECOND, A ZOOM MEETING? WE, WE DON'T HAVE A SECOND.
SO CAN WE CONTINUE ON WITH THE MEETING PLEASE? WE'VE ALL, NEIL ALLEN, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DECEMBER 19TH MEETING THAT YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP AT? GOOD EVENING? EVENING, UH, I'M NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, LAST SUBJECT.
I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT ANOTHER SUBJECT, WHICH HAS BEEN BEFORE THE BOARD FOR A WHILE.
IT'S, UH, AN EAST IRVINGTON SUBJECT.
IT'S, UH, CONCERNING SIDEWALKS.
AND I'M FROM THE, UH, EAST IRVINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION.
UM, WE'VE BEEN HOPEFUL, UH, SINCE THE ALLOCATION FOR THE SIDEWALKS HAS BEEN GRANTED ALREADY, THAT, UH, THEY WOULD BE MOVING FORWARD.
BUT I'VE BEEN TO A COUPLE OF MEETINGS, UM, WITH BOARD MEMBERS, UH, OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
AND WE SEEM TO, THE IMPETUS AND MOMENTUM FOR DOING THIS SEEMS TO BE SLIPPING AWAY.
AND I HAVE A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING THAT AS DO, UM, OTHER RESIDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, I HEARD YOU TALKING ABOUT NOT WANTING TO GO TO A, UM, SITE IN THE SNOW.
WELL, THE SNOW WOULD'VE BEEN A PERFECT TIME TO GO TO TAXI ROAD AND SEE HOW PEOPLE COULD NOT WALK ON TAXI ROAD.
THEY, THE DIFFICULTY IN WALKING THEIR DOGS, WALKING THE, PUSHING THEIR STROLLERS DOWN.
THERE'S NO SIDE AREA TO GO TO BECAUSE ALL THE SNOW IS PILED UP.
UM, IT WASN'T, AND IT WAS REALLY DANGEROUS AS I WATCHED PEOPLE WALK, UM, TO GO, UH, TO GO DOWN THE ROAD NEXT TO CARS.
AND I KNOW YOU HEAR A LOT THROUGHOUT THE EVENING ABOUT SAFETY AND CONCERNS LIKE THAT.
AND THIS IS AN, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT, UH, CLEARLY CONCERNS SAFETY FOR PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY STILL DO WANNA WALK.
UM, SOME PEOPLE WOULD EVEN WALK DOWN TO IRVINGTON TRAIN STATION IF THEY COULD GET THROUGH THAT FIRST PART OF TAXI ROAD, UM, DOWN TO SUNNYSIDE AND WHICH HAS A SIDEWALK ON IT ALL THE WAY TO BROADWAY AND THEN WALK DOWN TO BROADWAY.
UM, I KNOW THERE ARE ISSUES THAT SEEM TO KEEP CROPPING UP NOW, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT SEEMS LIKE
[01:25:01]
THE COMMUNITY HAS GROWN OVER THE LAST, WELL, I'VE BEEN THERE 37 YEARS.IT'S NOT A BUCOLIC LITTLE SETTING ANYMORE.
THERE ARE MORE HOMES, THERE'S MORE TRAFFIC, THERE'S MORE, UM, PEDESTRIANS AND MORE CARS.
AND THE NEED FOR THE SIDEWALK IS, IS GREAT.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S REALLY MY MAIN CONCERN HERE IS THE SAFETY, UH, FOR PEOPLE.
AND THE FACT THAT, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE GREENBERG IS ONONE A BIG PROCESS OF UP UPDATING THE, THE ENTIRE TOWN, UM, IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
SIDEWALKS HAVE BEEN PUT UP LOTS OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF, UH, GREENBURG.
AND HERE WE ARE AND WE'VE GROWN.
THE COMMUNITY HAS GROWN, BUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO MAINTAIN THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY HAS NOT IMPROVED COMMENSURATELY WITH IT.
SO IT BECOMES A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION.
NOW, A LOT OF HOUSES WERE BUILT THAT, THAT, THAT REQUIRED TOWN APPROVAL.
THERE WAS FLOODING, UM, RES YOU KNOW, IN, IN RELATION TO THAT.
'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT WAS ONE OF THE OBJECTIONS.
UM, I KNOW THE SNOW REMOVAL, UM, OF THE SIDEWALKS FOR CERTAIN PEOPLE IS A, IS AN ISSUE TOO.
BUT I DON'T THINK YOU CAN EXPECT THE CIVIC ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS NOT A TAXING AUTHORITY LIKE THE TOWN IS TO, UM, RAISE THE MONEY TO PROVIDE THAT TYPE OF SERVICE.
AND MAYBE SOME SORT OF COMPROMISE CAN, COULD BE WORKED OUT.
BUT LET'S, LET'S BUILD THE SIDEWALKS.
UH, FIRST LET'S NOT USE THESE LITTLE EXCUSES TO, UM, NEGATE WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN EXPECTED TO HAPPEN FOR PEOPLE.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT, ABOUT ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID, I WOULD'VE, I I WROTE EACH OF YOU AN EMAIL AS DID MEMORY OF MANY OF THE, UM, UH, BOARD MEMBERS OF THE, UH, EAST IRVINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION, UH, DID GET A RESPONSE.
HAD YOU RESPONDED, I WOULD'VE INVITED YOU UP TO TAXI THE ROAD DURING THE, AFTER THE STORMS, AND YOU COULD SEE YOU FOR YOURSELVES WHAT THE SITUATION WAS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU TRAVEL UP AND DOWN TAXI THE ROAD FROM ONE 19 TO BROADWAY.
UM, BUT YOU WOULD NOTE, YOU KNOW, THAT WHAT I'M SAYING IS, IS, UH, SPOT ON.
AND SO I, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M HERE TONIGHT.
I UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA.
UM, BUT I HOPE IT GETS ON THE AGENDA SOONER.
AND I AM HOPEFUL THAT, UM, THE BOARD WILL BE RESPONSIVE.
CAN I JUST ASK YOU, DO YOU LIVE ON TAXI ROAD? I'M THE RIGHT OFF TAXER ON WILLOW.
AND SO WHEN YOU SAY IT'S A SO LITTLE ISSUE FOR THE PERSON WHO CAME WHO LIVES ON TAXI ROAD, YOU DO RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN THE PLOWS WENT DOWN, THEY, YOU'D STILL BE WALKING THE ROAD RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE SNOW GOT SO PACKED ON SIDEWALKS THAT THERE'S NO WAY THAT THEY COULD REMOVE IT.
SO WE ARE FACED WITH AN ISSUE AS TO IF WE PUT IN A SIDEWALK, THEY ARE NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR MOVING BASICALLY IMMOVABLE SNOW.
AND THE PERSON WAS, WAS NOT YOUNG AND WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY, THE ADDED RESPONSIBILITY.
AND SO WHAT WE HAVE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ON TAXI TO ROAD, WHO WILL NOT HAVE TO SHOVEL THAT SIDEWALK SAYING, LET'S MOVE FORWARD.
AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE ON TAXI TO ROAD WHO SAID, FIGURE OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THE SNOW.
I I, YOU KNOW, YOUR TIME IS UP, I'M SORRY, BUT THAT IT'S NOT A SILLY LITTLE THING FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE ON TAX TO ROAD.
AND THAT'S WHY WE BOTH ARE ABOUT TO ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION.
ALRIGHT, WELL, I DON'T MINIMIZE IT.
SO, SO, WE'LL, WE'LL KEEP YOU INFORMED ABOUT THE, THE CONVERSATION AND KEEP THAT GOING.
DID THE TOWN BOARD SAY THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT TUESDAY AT THE WORK SESSION? BECAUSE WE HAD, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T, WE ASKED.
WE ASKED, I ASKED TO PUT IT ON.
AND, UM, WE FELT THERE WAS MORE, A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO GATHER BEFORE WE DISCUSS IT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO, FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
SO TWO WEEKS FROM NOW, IT'LL BE DISCUSSED.
AND, UM, THE, I WANTED TO ASK THE TOWN ATTORNEY A QUESTION.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I WAS SORT OF THINKING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THE SNOW, THE SNOW SHOVELING IS ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, AN ISSUE.
WOULD THE TOWN HAVE THE ABILITY OF, UM, SAYING WE'RE, UH, BUILDING A SIDEWALK AND ON SOME STREET, YOU KNOW, ON SOME SIDEWALKS, SAY DURING A SNOWSTORM, WE'RE CLOSING THE SIDEWALK FOR THE DURATION OF THE SNOWSTORM.
BECAUSE 90% OF THE YEAR, THERE'S NO SNOW ON A SIDEWALK.
SO THE THING IS, TO ME, IF WE COULD HAVE THE PROTECTIONS FOR RESIDENTS
[01:30:01]
AND PEDESTRIANS, UM, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIME, THAT TO ME WOULD BE A WIN.AND, YOU KNOW, THIS WAY THE NEIGHBORS WOULD, WOULD BENEFIT.
THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ADDITIONAL COST.
WE WOULD HAVE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, NEW SIDEWALKS.
AND IF THERE'S A WEEK OR TWO WHERE THE SIDEWALK IS CLOSED, THEN WE PUT UP A SIGN SAYING SIDEWALK CLOSED, YOU KNOW, THIS WEEK, THEN, UH, THEN THEY, NOBODY HAS TO SHOVEL.
AND EVERYBODY BASICALLY IS HAPPY.
'CAUSE ALL YOU KNOW, I KNOW, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY BOTHERS ME, IS OVER THE YEARS SINCE, SINCE I'VE BEEN SUPERVISOR, I'VE WITNESSED AND NOT HAVE WITNESSED, I'VE BEEN PRESENT WHEN THERE'S BEEN, UH, FATALITIES, PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES ALL OVER THE TOWN.
WE HAD A PEDESTRIAN, I THINK TWO PEDESTRIAN FAT, UH, UM, FATALITIES ON OLD TARRYTOWN ROAD.
WE HAD ONE, UM, IN EDGEMONT, UH, IN EDGEMONT.
UM, SOMEBODY WAS CROSSING, UH, NEAR FORT HILL.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND PARADISE, YOU KNOW, A FEW YEARS AGO, UM, WE HAD SOME PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES, UM, ON, UM, ON EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE OVER, YOU KNOW, OVER THE YEARS.
AND I FEEL THAT IF WE DON'T, TO ME, THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE.
AND I FEEL THAT ON TAXI ROAD, WE HAD A YOUNG, UH, STUDENT OVER HERE.
HE CAME IN, A CAR HIT HIM, AND HE WAS INJURED, HE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INJURED, AND, UM, AND, AND FORTUNATELY RECOVERED, BUT HE COULD HAVE LOST HIS LIFE.
SO IF WE DON'T PUT THE SIDEWALK ON, AND THEN GOD FORBID, A YEAR FROM NOW SOMEBODY DIES, UH, THEN EVERYBODY'S GONNA BE YELLING AT THE TOWN BOARD SAYING, HOW COME YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING? AND THEN THE TOWN BOARD'S GONNA LAND UP SAYING, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE CARE OF IT, BUT WE COULD AVOID A DEATH.
WE COULD AVOID A SERIOUS, AND WE'RE ALL AGREEMENT ABOUT THE NO.
SO WHY DON'T OF SIDEWALK? SO WHY DON'T WE, WHY DON'T WE SAY TO THE COMMISSION, WE HAVE A PLAN.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE TOWN BOARD OVER A YEAR AGO COMMITTED TO THE SIDEWALK ON TAX TO ROAD? WE ALL MADE A COMMITMENT.
WE PUT IT IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET TO PUT THE SIDEWALK IN.
SO IF THE TOWN BOARD DOES, SO THERE WAS A COMMITMENT.
EVERYONE OF THE BOARD, WE ALSO, WE ALSO LISTENED TO OUR RESIDENTS WHO CAME OUT AND WAS WITH CONCERNS.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS WHAT'S AT, 'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T GET NOTICED, RIGHT.
SO WE, AND YOU KNOW, THAT, AND WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION.
SO I DON'T WANT, AGAIN, I DON'T WANT YOU TO PLAY OUT THAT THE TOWN BOARD DOES NOT CARE, RIGHT? AND THE TOWN BOARD IS JUST LEAVING ON THE TABLE AND, AND, AND DOESN'T WANNA DO ANYTHING WITH IT.
WE ARE ADDRESSING THE COMMENTS THAT THE RESIDENTS CAME IN WITH, CONCERNS THE SAME, CONCERNS.
THE COMMISSIONER, I MEAN, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, UH, SHE MENTIONED SAME CONCERNS.
AND THAT'S WHY, AGAIN, WHY WE WERE GONNA ASK YOU WHERE YOU ARE.
SO I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK THAT WE'RE NOT THINKING OF OUR, OUR RESIDENTS.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS OKAY WITH THAT.
IMAGINE YOU HAVING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING, UH, CLEAN UP THAT SNOW AND THEN THE SIDEWALK JUST WENT IN AND YOU HAD NO, AND YOU HAD NO SAY ON THAT.
YOU WOULDN'T APPRECIATE THAT YOU WOULD BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT.
RIGHT? SO WE ARE JUST DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
AS COUNCILWOMAN HABER SAID, WE, THIS IS GONNA BE PUT ON THE AGENDA.
WE'VE AGREED TO PUT THIS ON IN TWO WEEKS, AND WE'LL HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.
WE ALSO HAD YOU LIVE ON JUNIPER HILL? I DO.
WE PUT A, WE PUT A SIDEWALK ON FAIR STREET, A FEW I DO ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO ON JUNIPER HILL.
AND, AND I, AND I WILL STATE, YES, I DO LIVE ON JUNIPER HILL, AND IF YOU DRIVE PAST MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL SEE THE SNOW HAS NOT BEEN MOVED.
AND I WILL PAY THE FINE BECAUSE I CANNOT MOVE THAT SNOW.
SO I, I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD FINE, I THINK NO.
WELL, BUT, BUT I'M SAYING I'M TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT.
SO I JUST, I, SO I JUST WANT YOU TO BE, I DON'T WANT WALK AWAY, I DON'T YOU TO WALK, WALK AWAY BECAUSE I HAVE, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER EVERYONE.
SO, SO WHAT I NOTICE OUT THAT GOING ON EACH AGENDA LAST YEAR, QUITE FRANKLY, I WAS ALL FOR LET'S HAVE THE TOWN TAKE OVER THE HEAVILY USED ROADS, WHICH INCLUDES TAXI TO ROAD, UH, AND DO THAT.
BUT EVER SINCE THE FORENSIC REPORT CAME OUT AND REALIZED, AND WE REALIZED WE DON'T HAVE A, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES AND WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK OUR WAY OUT OF THE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES.
SO IT'S NOT AN EASY AS, IT'S NOT AS EASY DECISION NOW AS IT WAS LAST YEAR.
AND IT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO DISCUSS AND WE'LL DISCUSS IT NEXT TUESDAY.
WE APPRECIATE AND WE APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS, BE ABLE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, MY SUGGESTION, THANK YOU OF, UH, OF BASICALLY, UH, UH, SAYING, YOU KNOW, IF WE BUILD A SIDEWALK, WE COULD, UH, CLOSE THE SIDEWALK WHEN IT SNOWS AND THIS WAY YES.
THEN WE COULD BUILD A SIDEWALK.
I I MEAN, TYPICALLY YOU DO SO WHEN IT'S CONSIDERED A HAZARD TO THE PUBLIC, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A PRECONCEIVED NOTION THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE SHUTTING DOWN SIDEWALKS.
SO I'LL, I'LL LOOK INTO THE SUGGESTION AND SEE.
BECAUSE WHAT WE CAN PROPOSE, LIKE THIS WINTER IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF SNOW AND ICE THAT'S NOT MOVABLE.
SO IT WOULD BE A SITUATION WHERE MOST WINTERS PEOPLE CAN CLEAR THEIR SIDEWALKS, RIGHT? BUT YOU'RE ALSO PUTTING PEOPLE IN THE STREET NOW WHEN YOU HAVE BLACK ICE IN THE ROADWAY, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A SIDEWALK TO GO BECAUSE THERE'S, BUT THIS WAS AN, MAYBE THIS IS JUST A REALLY ONE OFF TYPE OF A STORM, RIGHT? LET'S
[01:35:01]
HOPE SO.BECAUSE WE, WE LIVE IN THE NEW YORK, NEW THE NORTHEAST.
OTHERWISE YOU SHOULDN'T LIVE HERE.
DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT IT'S COLD, BUT IT'S GETTING A LITTLE RIDICULOUS.
THANK, WE TRULY APPRECIATE IT.
AND JUST TO, UH, ADD TO COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON'S, UH, COMMENT ABOUT LISTENING TO THE TOWN, UH, TO THE RESIDENTS, UH, THAT THOSE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE AT THAT MEETING WERE ALL SCANNED AND SENT IMMEDIATELY TO THE TOWN BOARD TOWN ATTORNEY, AND I IMMEDIATELY ADDED THEM TO THE MINUTES.
SO IF YOU WANNA GO BACK TO THAT MEETING, UM, YOU WILL HAVE ALL THE COMMENTS, POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REGARDING TEXT.
AND GINA, IF, UH, GOD FORBID, UH, ANYBODY, UH, TRIES, UH, ISSUING A SUMMONS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T SHOVEL, I'M GONNA ASK FOR A PARDON.
YOU'LL GET DOUBLE THE FINE, RIGHT?
AND, UH, WE CAN NOW HAVE MR. DYLAN PINE, UH, GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE TOWN BOARD.
UH, I WAS GONNA SPEAK THIS EVENING AS CHAIR OF THE PLANNING BOARD AND CONGRATULATE, UH, EMILY ANDERSON ON BEING APPOINTED TO A VOTING SEAT AND AKASH PATEL, UH, AS OUR NEW ALTERNATE, UH, WHICH WOULD BRING THE BOARD UP TO SEVEN MEMBERS FULL, FULL STAFFING, UM, WHICH I KNOW HAS BEEN A, A LONG ROAD IN ACCOMPLISHING.
UM, BUT SINCE THE, THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN DIRECTLY INVOKED IN SOME OF THIS, UH, COMMENTS THIS EVENING, UH, I FEEL AN OBLIGATION TO SPEAK AS PRESIDENT OF THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
UM, I DID DO A, A QUICK SEARCH OF MY EMAILS AND I, I DIDN'T RECEIVE AN EMAIL, UH, FROM MS. COUGHLIN.
SO I, I DO MY BEST TO RESPOND TO EVERY EMAIL THAT IS SENT TO ME.
UM, ULTIMATELY THE PRESIDENT OF THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL IS AN UNPAID VOLUNTEER JOB.
UM, BUT I, I DO DO MY BEST TO BE AS, UH, RESPONSIVE AND ENGAGED WITH RESIDENTS AS POSSIBLE.
UH, I DO KNOW THAT I, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL OR A PHONE CALL FROM MS. SIEGEL JUST BEFORE THE SUPER BOWL ON SUNDAY THAT I HAVEN'T, UH, CALLED BACK.
UH, BUT I DO INTEND TO DO SO, UM, IN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION WITH THE EDGEMONT ROAD, UH, CROSSWALK FENCE, JUST TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, AND I WOULD IMPLORE THE, THE TOWN BOARD TO, TO GET A FULL BRIEFING FROM THE COMMISSIONERS.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL AND THE EDGEMONT ASSOCIATION BEFORE IT HAS ADVOCATED FOR A CROSSWALK ON EDGEMONT ROAD FOR CLOSE TO 15, 20 YEARS NOW.
UM, THERE, THERE WAS SOME, SOME INTENSE DISCUSSION ABOUT IT AROUND 12, 13 YEARS AGO.
AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, I DON'T HAVE THE FULL CONTEXT, THAT CONVERSATION STOPPED.
UM, AND THEN WHEN THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL DID ITS PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THREE YEARS AGO, UH, THE COMMUNITY CAME, UH, UH, AND RESPONDED VERY STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF A RAISED CROSSWALK, UH, ON EDGEMONT ROAD.
UM, ULTIMATELY, I, I, I WOULD HESITATE TO, TO REPRESENT THE RAISED CROSSWALK AS A SPEED HUMP.
AND CERTAINLY IF WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THE SPEED HUMPS ON, UH, THE PIPELINE ROAD BETWEEN, UH, EAST HARTSDALE AVENUE AND EDGEMONT PLACE, I CAN PROBABLY SPEND, UH, IN ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES DISCUSSING THAT.
UM, BUT ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE BELIEVE THAT THIS RAISED CROSSWALK WILL MAKE THE NEIGHBORHOOD SAFE, WILL MAKE, UH, STUDENTS WALKING TO SCHOOL HAVE A SAFER TRAVEL.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING FROM THE, THE FEEDBACK THAT I'VE RECEIVED FROM THE TOWN STAFF, UH, IN REGARDS TO THE CROSSWALK IS THAT THE FENCE, UH, AT LEAST WHERE IT'S CURRENTLY LOCATED WITHIN THE TOWN RIGHT OF WAY IS, UH, A SITE LINE OBSTRUCTION, AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE FENCE IS A SITE LINE OBSTRUCTION.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE ALSO IS SOME FOLIAGE, PRIMARILY BAMBOO, WHICH, WHICH HAS ITS ITS OWN ISSUES UNDER THE CODE, UM, IS CAUSING SOME SITE LINE OB UH, SITE LINE OBSTRUCTIONS.
UH, THE GOAL OF THE ECC IS, IS NOT NECESSARILY TO SEE THIS FENCE REMOVED.
UM, IF, IF THERE IS A WAY, UM, TO INSTALL THE RAISED CROSSWALK AND MAINTAIN, UH, SOME OR, OR ALL OF THE FENCE, I, I THINK THAT'S A SOLUTION THAT, THAT WE'D POTENTIALLY BE COMFORTABLE WITH.
UM, THOUGH I DO APPRECIATE THAT THE TOWN HAS ITS ITS OWN ISSUES AND CONCERNS WITH A FENCE BEING INSTALLED, UH, IN, IN THE, THE TOWN RIGHT OF WAY ON, ON PUBLIC PROPERTY.
UM, I, AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I I I DO THINK THAT A CONVERSATION WOULD BE WORTHWHILE.
MY ONLY HESITATION IS THE ECC, AT LEAST AS AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN PRESIDENT, IS THAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DEFERRED TO THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS OF TRAFFIC SAFETY EXPERTS, ENGINEERS
[01:40:01]
IN, IN GUIDING US IN WHAT IS SAFE.I I'M NOT A, A TRAFFIC ENGINEER.
I'M NOT A, A PUBLIC SAFETY EXPERT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, FROM THE INFORMATION THAT, FROM THE REPORT THAT I'VE READ FROM JOHN CANNING AND CONVERSATIONS FROM OTHERS, THERE WAS CONCERNS ABOUT SIGHT LINES.
IF THERE'S OTHER, UH, INFORMATION OUT THERE THAT, THAT COUNTERS THAT ARGUMENT, I THINK THAT'S WORTH REVIEWING.
UM, BUT AGAIN, OUR, OUR OBJECTIVE IS EXPLORING A RACE CROSSWALK ON, UH, ON EDGEMONT ROAD ACROSS FROM CRANES POND.
UM, IF, IF THERE IS DOUBT OF THE COMMUNITY'S COMMITMENT TO THAT, YOU KNOW, I WILL, I WILL GET AS MANY, UH, NAMES ON A SURVEY AND AS MANY PEOPLE HERE AT A MEETING, UM, YOU KNOW, BACKING UP THIS PERSPECTIVE.
AND CERTAINLY AGAIN, THE, THE SURVEY THAT WE CONDUCTED THREE YEARS AGO THROUGH OUR, THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, COULDN'T HAVE BEEN CLEARER THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO RAISE CROSSWALK ON, ON EDGEMONT ROAD.
UM, SO I THINK THERE ARE, UM, STILL CONVERSATIONS TO BE HAD.
I'M EAGER TO HEAR FROM THE EXPERTS ON WHAT, UM, WHAT WHAT OTHER INFORMATION AND INPUTS THERE MUST BE.
BUT, BUT I'M, I'M NOT GONNA STAND HERE TODAY AND SAY THAT I KNOW MORE THAN, THAN WHAT THE EXPERTS AND THE STAFF HAVE, HAVE SHARED WITH ME UP TO THIS POINT.
SO, UH, I, I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH WITH THOSE WHO'VE EMAILED ME.
AND, UH, I'M WELCOME TO BE A PART OF ANY MEETING THAT'S CONDUCTED EITHER HERE IN TOWN HALL OR OR ON SITE.
ARE THERE ANY MORE SPEAKERS THAT HAVE NOT SPOKEN? OH, THERE'S SOME ONLINE.
HI, CINDY COLLINS, EAST IRVINGTON, NEW YORK.
I KNOW NEIL ALLEN ALREADY SPOKE SO ELOQUENTLY, SO I DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH MORE TO ADD.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT EVEN AS RECENTLY AS THIS MORNING, THERE WAS A, THERE WAS A CRASH ON TAX ROAD, THERE WAS A HEAD-ON COLLISION AND THE ROAD WAS CLOSED.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THE TOWN BOARD IS AWARE OF THIS TAX ROAD CONTINUES TO BE A HEAVILY TRAFFICKED AREA.
I MYSELF HAVE ALSO BEEN IN A CAR ACCIDENT ON THIS VERY ROAD THIS PAST DECEMBER, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS ON EVERYONE'S MIND.
IMAGINE IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN WALKING THEIR DOG ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, AS MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS ALREADY DO, GIVEN NO OTHER OPTION.
WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR SOMETHING WORSE TO HAPPEN.
OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN BEGGING AND PLEADING FOR A SIDEWALK, AND WE FINALLY HAVE THE FUNDING IN PLACE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
I KNOW THERE ARE STILL SOME DETAILS WE ARE TRYING TO WORK OUT TO HELP OUR RESIDENTS WITH SNOW REMOVAL, BUT WHEN IRVINGTON RESIDENTS HEARD THAT WE WERE GONNA GET A SIDEWALK, WE WERE ECSTATIC.
WE HAVE 181 SIGNATURES FROM MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WHO SUPPORT THE TAXI TO ROAD SIDEWALK, AND WE WERE PROMISED IT WOULD GET BUILT THIS SPRING.
I KNOW THAT WE HEARD FROM THE SNOW ANGELS AT THIS VERY MEETING, AND I KNOW THAT THAT IS AN OPTION.
I STILL AM HOPING THAT THE TOWN AND HEALTH RESIDENTS WHO LIVE A LONG TAXI, BECAUSE THIS WINTER HAS CERTAINLY NOT BEEN EASY.
BUT EVEN IF SNOW REMOVAL IS NOT AN OPTION AT THE TIME, THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY IS AT RISK WITHOUT A SIDEWALKS.
AND THE LONGER WE WAIT, THE WORSE THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE.
PLEASE MAKE GOOD ON YOUR PROMISE.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA BE MEETING IN TWO WEEKS, TWO WEEKS FROM YESTERDAY AT THE WORK SESSION.
AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT THE TOWN BOARD WILL KEEP, UH, THE COMMITMENT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER SIDEWALKS THAT, UH, SHOULD BE BUILT, BUT I THINK AT THE MINIMUM WE SHOULD COMMIT TO THE SIDEWALKS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN PROMISED THE COMMUNITY.
AND CERTAINLY WE PROMISED YOU THE SIDEWALK A FEW YEARS AGO, AND WE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS GONNA BE BUILT, UH, LAST YEAR.
UM, SO I DON'T THINK THE TOWN SHOULD RENEGE ON A PROMISE THAT'S, BUT, BUT AGAIN, NEIGHBORS CAME OUT AND TOLD US THAT THEY DIDN'T GET NOTICE.
APPARENTLY SOME PEOPLE DID, BUT SOME PEOPLE DIDN'T.
WE'RE HAVING A LOT OF BACKGROUND NOISE.
COULD YOU MUTE MS. COLLINS? CAN YOU MUTE YOUR PHONE? THERE YOU GO.
UM, AND SO WE, WE LISTENED TO THE PUBLIC, AND THE PUBLIC CAME OUT AFTER THEY, THEY SAID THAT THEY GOT NOTICE, UH, APPARENTLY THEIR ORIGINAL NOTICE WAS THAT IT WAS GONNA BE A SHORT SECTION OF SIDEWALK, AND PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T ON THAT SHORT SECTION SAID, HEY, THIS IS TERRIFIC.
AND THEN THAT SECTION WAS EXPANDED IN FRONT OF THEIR HOMES AND THEY SAID, WAIT A SECOND, NOW I HAVE TO SHOVEL THE SIDEWALK.
AND AN ELDERLY COUPLE IN PARTICULAR
[01:45:01]
SIDE OF THOSE TWO SEATS RIGHT THERE.AND THEY COULD NOT HAVE MADE A MORE IMPASSIONED SPEECH REGARDING, HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO SHOVEL SNOW? AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW, WHERE IT'S ALL COMPACTED JUST TYPICAL SNOW.
HOW DO YOU DO THAT? AND WE THOUGHT WE HAD A SOLUTION LAST YEAR, BUT WE DON'T HAVE IT THIS YEAR.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT LAST YEAR, I THINK, CINDY, YOU SENT ME AN EMAIL.
IT WAS SOMEBODY WHO, UH, UH, WROTE ON FACEBOOK.
UH, I REMEMBER IT SAYING, I WAS NOT, ACTUALLY, IT WAS SOMEBODY WHO TOLD US THEY WERE NOT NOTIFIED, AND THEN CINDY FOUND, UM, A FACEBOOK POST WHERE THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SIDEWALK, YOU KNOW, A WHILE BACK.
SO THEY OBVIOUSLY WERE NOTIFIED BECAUSE THEY POSTED ON THE, ON, ON FACEBOOK ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE SIDEWALK.
BUT AGAIN, THIS IS A LIGHT, THIS COULD BE A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION.
THERE HAS TO BE A SIDEWALK THERE.
UH, AND IF THERE'S NOT A SIDEWALK, THAT, AND IF SOMEBODY, GOD FORBID, IS KILLED, IT'S THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TOWN BOARD.
AND NOBODY COULD SAY, OH, WE WEREN'T AWARE.
WE UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT THE BUT WHY YOU
WE, WE UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUS MAKE COULD SAY, IF THERE'S SOMETHING WE FROM, IF THERE'S A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION, UM, BASICALLY IF THE TOWN, IF THE ISSUE IS THE SNOW, WHICH FRANCIS HAS, YOU KNOW, MENTIONED THE TOWN COULD DO WHILE WE'VE WE'RE DOING ON ARDSLEY ROAD, WE'RE CLEAR, WE'RE CLEARING THE SNOW, WE CLEAR THE SNOW ON COLUMBIA ALREADY.
THAT'S, THAT'S A RELATIVELY, UH, NEW SIDEWALK.
UM, UH, SO THERE'S SOME SIDEWALKS AROUND THE TOWN THAT WE'VE TAKEN THE RESPONSIBILITY.
THIS SIDEWALK HAS THE SAME SIGNIFICANT, THIS PROPOSED SIDEWALK HAS THE SAME, UH, POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE AS, UM, THE SIDEWALK, UM, ON COLUMBIA OR ON ARLEY ROAD, BECAUSE THIS SIDEWALK CONNECT TO BROADWAY AND IRVINGTON, WHICH IS, UM, WHICH HAS BUS DEPOT BUS STOPS, AND ALSO THE IRVINGTON TRAIN STATION.
SO, UM, IT COULD BE USED BY, UH, COMMUTERS, UH, FOR, UH, PEDESTRIANS TO GET TO THE TRAIN STATION AND BUS STOPS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I, YOU KNOW, LET'S, UH, I THINK THE COMMISSIONER HAD TOLD ME, UM, UH, OR THE ENGINEER SAID THAT THEY WERE PLANNING TO GO OUT TO BID.
UM, SO UNLESS THE TOWN, UM, AND THEN ONCE THE BID IS THEY'RE GONNA GO OUT TO BID, AND THEN THE TOWN BOARD HAS TO SAY YES OR A NO.
BUT I HOPE THIS TOWN BOARD SAYS YES, BUT SUPERVISOR, YOU KEEP SAYING, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ONE LIFE, THEN WHY AREN'T WE PUTTING A SIDEWALK ON EVERY HEAVILY USED ROAD SO THAT WE, 'CAUSE EVERY LIFE IS IMPORTANT, AND IT, IT COMES DOWN TO MONEY, UNFORTUNATELY.
WELL, TO ME, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO DO SOME OF THESE THINGS.
AND THE FORENSIC AUDIT SHOWS THAT WE HAVE EVEN LESS THAN WE THOUGHT.
WELL, TO ME, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE TOWN, THERE'S TWO THINGS.
WE HAVE TO HAVE A TOWN THAT'S RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT'S WHY WE SHOULD BE MEETING WITH RESIDENTS AND HAVING DIALOGUE.
THE SECOND THING IS WE HAVE TO HAVE A WELL RUN TOWN AND A WELL-MANAGED TOWN AND, UH, RES A TOWN THAT HAS GOOD SERVICES, AND PRACTICALLY EVERYBODY THAT SPEAK TO FEELS THE TOWN THERE.
YOU HAVE GREAT POLICE, WE HAVE GREAT PUBLIC SERVICE, UH, PUBLIC WORK, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES, THEY WORK REALLY, REALLY HARD.
UM, SO THEN THE LAST THING IS SAFETY.
AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE MOVE HERE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE SAFE.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU JUST MOVED INTO A COMMUNITY AND YOU HAVE A, A SMALL CHILD, UH, I DON'T WANT YOU TO WORRY THAT YOUR CHILD'S GONNA LOSE HIS OR HER LIFE BECAUSE, UH, WE'RE NOT SAFE.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T BUILD, UM, EVERY SIDEWALK EVERY YEAR.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE DO A LITTLE EVERY YEAR, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST, SINCE 2017, I THINK WE ADDED 12 MILES OF NEW SIDE, ABOUT 12 MILES OF NEW SIDEWALKS.
WE'RE STILL SEEKING, YOU KNOW, MORE SIDEWALKS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE SPACE IT OUT.
SO IF WE DO A ONE EVERY YEAR OR SO, OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, THERE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, OUR AREA'S GONNA BE MUCH MORE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY.
WE'RE GONNA BE BUILDING, YOU KNOW, DOPPS FERRY ROAD, GREAT NEW SIDEWALK WAS BOTH, YOU KNOW, WINTER EVERY, AND I, IT'S NOT EVEN COMPLETE.
AND I SEE PEOPLE WALKING THERE EVERY DAY.
NEXT YEAR WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, FROM THE HARTSDALE TRAIN STATION ALL THE WAY TO THE GREENBURG LIBRARY, THERE'LL BE A SIDEWALK.
AND THEN SHORTLY AFTER THAT TO THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE PEOPLE WANNA LIVE HERE.
THE, THE ISSUE, THE ISSUE IS THAT WE DID A LOT OF SIDEWALKS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, BUT IT'S BECAUSE WE THOUGHT WE HAD A LOT OF FUND BALANCE.
AND WE HAD A LOT OF FUND BALANCE BECAUSE WHAT WAS RESERVED FOR A COURTHOUSE, $39.4 MILLION WAS ALLOWED TO SLIP INTO FUND BALANCE BY
[01:50:01]
THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.AND SO WE NO LONGER HAVE MONEY FOR THE COURTHOUSE, NOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE GET $39.4 MILLION BACK? OKAY, WE HAVE 7 MILLION WAS RESERVED, RESTRICTED, BUT THE REST WAS ALLOWED TO GO INTO FUND BALANCE.
IT LOOKED LIKE WE HAD A LOT OF MONEY, AND IT LOOKED LIKE, OKAY, LET'S DO SIDEWALK, LET'S DO SIDEWALK, LET'S DO SIDEWALK.
BUT NOW WE KNOW THAT HOW DO WE GET A COURTHOUSE, WHICH WE DESPERATELY NEED AT THE SAME TIME WE DO ALL OF THESE THINGS.
SO WHEN I'M SITTING UP HERE AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT AN INFINITE WELL OF MONEY.
PEOPLE THINK, OH, IT'S A TOWN THAT HAS A LOT OF MONEY.
WELL, WE DON'T, THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE DON'T, BECAUSE YOU SAY WELL MANAGED, IT HASN'T BEEN WELL MANAGED.
WE HAVE TO ADMIT THAT'S OPINION.
WE HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THAT'S YOUR OPINION.
WE HAVE TO ADMIT THAT YOU'RE THE LIAISON TO, UH, YEAH, HERE WE, THE COMP CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.
LET, LET ME, LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING.
THERE'S ALWAYS, I'VE RECOMMENDED A CITIZENS BUDGET COMMITTEE, AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS THAT, YOU KNOW, NEXT WEEK WITH EXPERTS WHO COULD HELP US LOOK FOR WAYS OF, UM, TIGHTENING UP AND MAKING SURE THAT THE MONEY, UH, YOU KNOW, GOES, GOES FAR.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S, AND I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO ALL THE, UH, DOLLARS THAT WE'VE SPENT THAT I DIFFER WITH BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO A BACK AND FORTH ARGUMENT, BUT THERE'S WAYS OF SAVING MONEY AND CUTTING EXPENSES.
BUT SIDEWALK SIDE, THERE'S NOT, TO ME, THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT.
AND I, I WAS TRAUMATIZED EVERY TIME I, I, I HAD TO SPEAK TO A FAMILY MEMBER BECAUSE THEY LOST THEIR LIFE.
THEY, A WIFE OR A CHILD OR A FAMILY MEMBER LOST THEIR LIVES.
I DON'T WANNA GO THROUGH THAT ANYMORE.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT, I KNOW THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, THIS ACCIDENT, UH, TODAY ON TAXI YEAR, IF SOMEBODY WAS WALKING ON THE STREET, UH, THEY COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.
I'M NOT GONNA, I DON'T WANT TO TOLERATE THAT.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I, YOU KNOW, I'M IN, I'M, YOU KNOW, I'M TOWN SUPERVISOR BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS SAFE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S JUST VERY, VERY SAD.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, THE THING IS, THIS IS A PRIORITY.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE SPENDING MONEY ON VEHICLE.
YOU KNOW'S, A LOT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE SPENDING, SIDEWALKS SHOULD BE AMONG THE HIGHEST PRIORITY.
WELL, AND CAN WE MOVE ON WITH THE AGENDA? LET, LET ME BE CLEAR, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO THE SIDEWALK.
I'M OPPOSED TO US NOT HAVING A MEANS TO HELP, PARTICULARLY THE ELDERLY TAKE CARE OF THAT SIDEWALK SO THAT WHEN IT SNOWS, THE PEOPLE AREN'T IN THE ROADWAY ANYWAY.
AND THAT WE THOUGHT WE HAD A SOLUTION TO, UNTIL WE REALIZED HOW MUCH MONEY WAS ALLOWED TO SLIP OUT OF THE COURTHOUSE.
BUT THE COURTHOUSE, UH, RESERVE, WHICH WE ALL VOTED TO PUT INTO A RESERVE THAT WAS NEVER PUT INTO A RESERVE, AND IT SLIPPED INTO FUND BALANCE, BUILDING UP ARTIFICIALLY THE FUND BALANCE.
AND NOW WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR THE COURTHOUSE, AND WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF FUND BALANCE.
NO, I DON'T, I DISAGREE WITH YOU, BUT, WELL, YEAH, I DON'T WANNA, I DON'T WANNA SEE 28 MILLION.
A AT A TOWN BOARD MEETING, UH, WHERE WE HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE AT A FUTURE TOWN BOARD MEETING FOR, UH, FOR, UH, A YOUNG, UH, FOR A PEDESTRIAN WHO LOSES THEIR LIFE BECAUSE, UH, BECAUSE A CAR HIT THAT PERSON, AND THEN WE'RE ALL GONNA MAKE SPEECHES, HOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE.
THERE'LL BE A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE SAYING, WHAT'S HAPPENING? THEN THE BOARD IS GONNA REACT AND SAY, OH, WE'RE GONNA BE, WE PROMISE YOU WE'RE GONNA MAKE THE AREA SAFER.
I DON'T WANNA SEE THAT, UH, UH, PICTURE OF THE PERSON WHO LOSES THEIR LIFE.
I DON'T WANNA SEE THESE EU HEAR THESE EULOGIES.
I WANNA BASICALLY BE ABLE TO SAY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT, UM, I DON'T WANNA HA, I WANNA BE PROACTIVE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THE DEATH, SO WE DON'T HAVE THE INJURIES.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M TOTALLY COMMITTED TO SIDEWALKS ALL OVER.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
THEY'RE GONNA BE BUILDING A SIDEWALK ON, UM, UH, WE GOT A GRANT ON OLD ARMY ROAD THAT'S GONNA BE 2027, UH, DYLAN.
UM, WE'VE BEEN MEETING, WE ARE LOOKING AT A SIDEWALK ON, UM, UH, FORT HILL, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM, UH, FROM, UH, YEAH, FORT HILL ROAD FROM LONGVIEW TO, UM, TO UNDERHILL, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IF WE COULD GET THAT, THAT WOULD BE REALLY FANTASTIC.
PEOPLE ON MOUNT JOY, THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THE SIDEWALKS THAT THE EDGEMONT COMMUNITY COUNCIL HAS SUPPORTED.
I'M TOTALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MAKE EDGE.
EDGEMONT DOESN'T HAVE ANY, UH, BUSES, UH, KIDS DON'T, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE ONLY SCHOOL DISTRICT, I THINK, IN THE TOWN WHERE THERE'S NO BUSING OF KIDS.
SO WE WANNA MAKE EDGEMONT A PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY AND PEDESTRIAN SAFE COMMUNITY.
SO MY COMMITMENT IS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT OVER, YOU KNOW, A, A PERIOD OF TIME, UH, WE MAKE EDGEMONT, JUST LIKE WE'VE DONE IN THE FAIRVIEW AREA, A MUCH MORE PEDESTRIAN, UH, FRIENDLY, YOU KNOW,
[01:55:01]
COMMUNITY.'CAUSE IT'S GONNA MAKE IT MORE DESIRABLE.
AND IT ALSO WILL ENCOURAGE YOUNGER FAMILIES WHEN PEOPLE ARE SELLING THEIR HOMES TO MOVE HERE, AND THEY'LL, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO SAY, I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY, UH, MY SON OR DAUGHTER GETTING KILLED GOING TO SCHOOL.
I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT.
CAN WE PLEASE MOVE THE AGENDA? WELL, I THINK THERE'S ONE MORE SPEAKER ALSO.
THERE'S ONE MORE SPEAKER COMING ON, BUT I DO WANNA SAY, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT SIDEWALKS.
I WANNA LET MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE CAN HANDLE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT YOU DON'T SEE AND THAT'S PIPES UNDERGROUND.
SO THAT WE DON'T RUN OUTTA WATER.
WE DON'T HAVE BROKEN PIPES THAT TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS TO FIX.
THERE'S A LOT THAT WE HAVE TO SPEND MONEY ON, AND WE HAVE TO BE, BE CAREFUL WITH HOW WE SPEND OUR RESOURCES.
AND SO WE, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, WE HAVE A COMMITMENT TO WHAT WE, WE'VE ALREADY SAY THAT.
UNLESS, CAN YOU DO IT IN THE STUDIO? LET THE, THE REMAINING PERSON IN TERRANCE, CAN YOU LET, HE'S NOT THERE.
NEIL, CAN YOU UNMUTE AND BELIZE YOUR THANK YOU.
FEEL FREE TO PUT ON YOUR CAMERA IF YOU WISH.
UH, MY NAME'S NEIL GRUENSTEIN.
I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE EAST IRVINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION.
BEEN A GREENBERG RESIDENT FOR 20 YEARS, UH, ON THE CIVIC ASSOCIATION FOR THE LAST 10, AND PRESIDENT FOR THE LAST FOUR.
AND, AND I ALSO LIVE ON TEXT ROAD.
SO I AM, UM, INTIMATELY AWARE OF THE ISSUES AND THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE ON TAXI ROAD AND HAVE HAD FOR AS, AS LONG AS I'VE LIVED HERE.
I MEAN, THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT A SIDEWALK ON, ON THIS STREET HAVE BEEN, UM, RUNNING AT LEAST INTERNALLY WITH THE CIVIC ASSOCIATION AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR 10 YEARS.
UM, I, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND, UM, THE CONCERN OF, OF HAVING ELDERLY PEOPLE, UM, WORRIED ABOUT SHOVELING.
I CAN TELL YOU I'M, I'M NO YOUNG SPRING CHICKEN.
UM, AND I HAD TO DIG OUT THREE FEET OF SNOW THAT THE, UH, THE SNOW PLOWS PUT ONTO MY DRIVEWAY ON TOP OF MY DRIVEWAY AND WALKWAY AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND AS WELL AS GOING ACROSS THE STREET AND HELPING MY ELDERLY NEIGHBOR, UM, CLEAR HIS, HIS SIDEWALK.
SO, UM, WHILE I, I UNDERSTAND THE CONCERN ABOUT, UH, AN ELDERLY COUPLE DOING IT.
THERE ARE A MILLION DIFFERENT OPTIONS, INCLUDING THE SNOW ANGELS, INCLUDING KIDS THAT LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT FOR 15 BUCKS WOULD, WOULD HAPPILY CLEAR SOMEBODY'S DRIVEWAY OR SIDEWALK.
UM, I WOULD HOPE THAT THAT WOULD NOT BE THE, THE, THE THING THAT PREVENTS US FROM GETTING A WELL NEEDED SIDEWALK ON TAXI TO ROAD.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT CINDY WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS MORNING.
I UNDERSTAND SHE MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT, UM, A HEAD ON ACCIDENT ON TAXI ROAD AT FOUR O'CLOCK THIS AFTERNOON, ABOUT LIKE 200 FEET FROM MY, FROM THE END OF MY DRIVEWAY.
THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT WITH A CAR AND A SCHOOL BUS.
UM, IT JUST DEMONSTRATES HOW DANGEROUS THIS ROADWAY IS AND, AND IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF NOT ONLY SIDEWALKS, BUT SPEED CONTROL TO, TO, TO BRING THE SPEED DOWN, BECAUSE EVERYBODY USES THIS AS A PATHWAY FROM ONE 19 TO BROADWAY.
AND IT IS TERRIBLE, UM, TO, TO SEE KIDS STANDING ON THE CORNER WAITING FOR THEIR BUS IN THE MORNING AND SEEING PEOPLE FLYING BY AT 60 MILES AN HOUR IN, IN WHAT'S NOW A 35 MILE AN HOUR ZONE.
THAT SHOULD BE A 25 MILE AN HOUR ZONE.
SO I CAN THINK OF NO BETTER PLACE IN, IN GREENBURG TO, TO PUT SIDEWALKS IN ON TAXI ROAD.
AND I KNOW WE'VE BEEN, UM, SOMEWHAT REDUNDANT ABOUT THIS.
WE'VE, WE'VE ALL SHOWED UP FOR MEETINGS IN THE PAST.
WE'VE ALL WORKED, WORKED AND SPOKE, SPOKEN WITH PAUL AND GARRETT AND RICH AND JERRY BY WHEN WE WERE BUILDING THE, THE NEW PLAYGROUND DOWN THE STREET OF WHICH KIDS CAN'T EVEN GET TO, BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY TO GET THERE IS, IS IS BY CAR.
UM, AND SOMETHING, SOMETHING'S GOTTA BE DONE.
IT'S JUST, IT, IT, IT, IT, IT, IT, IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAPPENS.
AND I, AND I, I JUST THINK THAT ALL OF THESE OTHER, OTHER SIDEWALKS ARE BEING BUILT.
AND WHILE I, I RECOGNIZE THE, THE, THE HANDFUL OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE RAISED THEIR HAND TO COMPLAIN ABOUT EITHER, EITHER THE SNOW OR OTHER ISSUES, YOU GUYS ARE BUILDING SIDEWALKS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT IT'S, THAT EVERY SIDEWALK THAT GOES IN HAS UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT YES, WE ALL WANT SIDEWALKS.
AND, UH, CINDY TOOK THE TIME TO DO, UM, A, UM, A PETITION, UH, LAST YEAR AND, AND GOT 182 SIGNATURES.
I KNOW THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE THAT ARE UPSET ABOUT IT.
I, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT THE TOWN AND, AND I'D EVEN BE HAPPY TO BE A PART OF TALKING TO THEM TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS.
BUT BY NO MEANS ARE, ARE THOSE OBJECTIONS A GOOD
[02:00:01]
REASON TO, TO NOT, UH, BRING THE SIDEWALKS HERE THAT WE'VE BEEN PROMISED REPEATEDLY.SO I THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF THIS AND HOPE THAT, THAT, THAT, UM, THE RIGHT THING GETS DONE.
IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE? I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
[ REORGANIZATION / RULES AND PROCEDURES]
RULES AND PROCEDURES, UH, REORGANIZATION BY THE TOWN BOARD 2026 AND 2027 TOWN BOARD MEETING RULES AND PROCEDURES, 2026 AND 2027.I EXPRESSED SOME CONCERNS YESTERDAY, BUT I'LL VOTE FOR THIS BECAUSE WE NEED, UH, REORGANIZATION AND MEETING RULES AND PROCEDURES.
I, I, I DON'T WANT TO KEEP HAVING FIGHTS AND FEUDS WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE BOARD, BUT I'LL VOTE AND THEN WE COULD JUST MOVE ON.
I KNOW THE TOWN ATTORNEY MADE SOME CORRECTIONS, BUT I DID SEND AN EMAIL TO EVERYBODY ON THE BOARD, UM, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK ALL OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT MADE IT INTO THE DOCUMENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, FOR A PUBLIC HEARING, IT'S IN HERE THAT AFTER 30 SECONDS, THE PERSON CAN RECLAIM THEIR TIME, BUT THAT DIDN'T ALSO MAKE IT INTO PUBLIC COMMENT.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF SOMEBODY ASKS US A QUESTION AND IT APPEARS TO BE A FILIBUSTER, THEN THEY CAN RECLAIM THEIR TIME AFTER 30 SECONDS.
FRANCIS, WHAT YOU SENT AT 6:46 PM THAT'S THE LATEST.
WAS IT PRINTED THIS TIME HERE? NO.
SO NOT THIS ONE? NO, IT'S UH, UM, ALL GOOD.
AND THEN, UH, UH, THE TOWN ATTORNEY HAD MENTIONED THAT WE SHOULD, UH, ADD 'CAUSE WE AGREED TO IT.
THE CHAIR WILL CALL FOR DISCUSSION.
YEAH, THAT WAS MY AD ACTUALLY, RIGHT? YEAH.
UH, ONCE THE TOWN BOARD MEMBER SECONDS, A PROPOSED MOTION THAT WAS PUT AT THE END OF THE DOCUMENT AND UH, I PUT IT UNDER MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS.
UM, REGARDING ZOOM MEETINGS, UH, IT READ VOTES VIA, VIA THE CONFERENCE WILL BE DEEMED VALID PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER, UH, 5 95 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG.
IF A QUORUM IS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN ONE OR MORE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, UH, PLACES VOTES VIA UH, VIDEO CONFERENCE WILL BE DEEMED VALID.
AND THE REASON I DIDN'T PUT THAT LANGUAGE IS THAT PHYSICAL QUORUM PRESENCE IS ACTUALLY SPELLED OUT IN THE SECTION, BUT IT DOESN'T HURT TO ALSO PUT IT IN RULES AND PROCEDURES TO MAKE IT MORE OBVIOUS.
I DIDN'T THINK ANYBODY WOULD GO THOUGH.
RIGHT? UH, I THINK THAT WAS IT.
UH, WHEN WE MAKE OUR LIST AS TO WHAT WE THINK SHOULD BE ON THE AGENDA, UH, THE WAY IT READS NOW, EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IS GOING TO APPEAR ON THE AGENDA
SO THE, THE WORK SESSION, THE WORKS OUT.
SO, UM, REGARDING THAT, I PUT, WE'RE GONNA MAKE A LIST OF WHAT WE THINK SHOULD BE ON THE NEXT WORK SESSION AGENDA, TIME PERMITTING, AND THEN HOLLY COULD FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S REASONABLE OR NOT.
SO OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK, UH, YEAH.
AND, UH, NEXT WORK SESSION, SHOULD EVERYONE LOOK AT THE REVISIONS ON THE ASSIGNMENTS TO THE, UM, COMMITTEES SO THAT THERE WAS, WE ADDED A COUPLE OF COMMITTEES AND WE HAD TO DO A RESOLUTION YOU SAID FOR THOSE OR RIGHT.
THE ONLY ONE I THINK WE SHOULD DO A SUBSEQUENT RESOLUTION TO MAKE FOR THE HEART SALE.
WE, WE COULD PREPARE THAT FOR THE NEXT YEAH.
THE, THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS MISSING AS THE FOUR CORNER STEERING COMMITTEE, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I, UH, HIGHLIGHTED MY RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE MORE THAN ONE, UH, PERSON AS A LIAISON OR ROTATE, UH, THE LIAISON POSITION.
SO EVERYBODY ON THE BOARD WOULD GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, UM, SERVE ON THE MORE IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, UH, BOARDS IF THEY, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY ON THE TOWN BOARD SHOULD BE TREATED AS AN EQUAL.
AND, UM, AND EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE THE, THE SAME SHOULD BE TREATED BY DEPARTMENT HEADS THE SAME.
BUT, UM, AND I THINK IF WE HAD ROTATED THE, THE POSITIONS, I THINK IT WOULD'VE, I THINK WE WOULD HAVE A BETTER GOVERNMENT.
AND I THINK THERE'S LESS OF A CHANCE THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BE THE DEPART, THE TOWN BOARD MEMBERS, EVERYBODY WOULD BE MORE FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE WORKINGS OF EACH DEPARTMENT.
AND I THINK THERE'D BE LESS OF AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MISTAKES.
SO DID YOU, YOU SAY YOU WANTED A RESOLUTION ON THESE THINGS? NO.
A, A RESOLUTION TO, UH, FORMALIZE SOME OF THE COMMITTEES THAT YOU HAVE.
THE FOUR CORNERS REORGANIZATION DOCUMENT, THE FOUR CORNERS IS ALREADY FORMALIZED.
THERE'S, THERE'S, I THINK THERE WAS ONE OTHER WE COULD DO IT AFTER THE FACT IT DOESN'T.
WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WHAT WE KNOW.
NO, THAT'S AN OFFICIAL AND I'LL, I'LL CLARIFY WITH
[02:05:01]
THE CLERK WHAT, WHICH ONE DEEMED OFFICIAL AND WHICH NEED ANOTHER RESOLUTION.HARD SALE BUSINESS TASK FORCE.
THAT WAS THE ONE I WAS REFERRING TO THAT WAS UNDER ONE.
SO PAUL, YOU WANT TO VOTE, UH, MAKE A MOTION ON THESE AS? AMEN.
AND THOSE WILL TAKE IN EFFECT FOR OUR NEXT MEETING.
[ Appointment of Madhu Melepura to the Library Board of Trustees, to fill an unexpired term to expire December 31, 2029]
COMMISSIONS APPOINTMENT OF MAD UR TO THE LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO FILL AN UNEXPIRED TERM TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31ST, 2029.UM, APPOINTMENT OF JUAN ROMAN TO THE LIBRARY BOARD.
WAIT, WE NOT VOTING? YOU WANNA DO IT SEPARATELY? OKAY, SURE.
UH, I'D LIKE TO MAKE THE MOTION SECOND.
[ Appointment of Juan Roman to the Library Board of Trustees, to fill an unexpired term, to expire December 31, 2028]
OF JUAN ROMAN TO THE LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO FILL AN UNEXPIRED TERM TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31ST, 2028.I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR, AYE.
NOW WE GO THE UH, APPOINTMENT OF
[ Appointment of Emily Anderson from Alternate Member to Full-Time Member of the Planning Board to fill an unexpired term, to expire December 31, 2028]
MOLLY ANDERSON FROM ALTERNATE MEMBER TO FULL-TIME MEMBER OF THE PLANNING BOARD TO FILL AN UNEXPIRED TERM TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31ST, 2028.[ Appointment of Vikash Patel to the Planning Board as an Alternate Member, for a term to expire December 31, 2026]
PATEL TO THE PLANNING BOARD AS AN ALTERNATE MEMBER FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31ST, 2026.I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR, AYE.
[ AT 1 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing the retention of the law firm of Morris Duffy Alonso Faley & Pitcoff to represent the Town of Greenburgh in the matter of Mina Namba v. the Town of Greenburgh and Greenburgh Police Department, for an amount not to exceed $25,000]
UH, RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING RETENTION OF THE LAW FIRM OF MORRIS DUFFY ALUM SOFA PIT PITT CUFF TO REPRESENT THE TOWN OF GREENBURG IN THE MANNER OF MINA NABA VERSUS TOWN OF GREENBURG AND GREENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 25,000.[ AT 2 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing settlement of property damage related Claim, File No.: 143/25C, by Robert Verna, for an amount not to exceed $5,369]
AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT ON PROPERTY DAMAGE RELATED CLAIM.FILE A NUMBER 1 43 25 C BY ROBERT RNA FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 5,000, UH, $369.
[ AT 3 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing tax certiorari settlement with petitioner Astor Buck, LLC for property located at 50 S. Buckout St. The Town’s share of the refund is $2,195±; the County’s share is $13,644±; the No. Yonkers Sewer District’s share is $2,949±; the Irvington Union Free School District’s share is $104,625±. Refunds from all sources total $123,413±]
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TAX SHE SETTLEMENT WITH PETITIONER A BUCK FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 50 SOUTH BUCK STREET.THE TOWN SHARE OF THE REFUND IS 2 1 9 5.
THE NORTH UH, YONKERS SEWER DISTRICT SHARE IS 2 9 4 9.
THE IRVINGTON UNION FREE FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT SHARE IS 1 0 4 6 2 5 REFUNDS FROM ALL SOURCES TOTAL.
[ AT 4 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing tax certiorari settlement with petitioner 126 North Broadway, LLC for property located at 126 N. Broadway. The Town’s share of the refund is $158±; the County’s share is $1,055±; the Saw Mill Valley Sewer District’s share is $188±; the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns’ share is $7,488±. Refunds from all sources total $8,889±]
T FOUR RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TAX ARY SETTLEMENT WITH PETITIONER 1 26 NORTH BROADWAY FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1 26 NORTH BROADWAY.UM, THE REFUNDS FROM WALL SOURCES TOTAL 8,000 8 8 9.
I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR, AYE.
[ AT 5 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing settlement of Claim/Litigation Matter, Claim/Litigation File No.: 79/20C, Tina Scolpini v. Town Of Greenburgh, Town of Greenburgh Police and Officer Falcone, for a total amount not to exceed $25,000]
AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF CLAIM LITIGATION MATTER.CLAIM LITIGATION, UH, TINA, UH, SC VERSUS TOWN OF GREENBURG, UM, TOWN OF GREENBURG POLICE, UM, AND OFFICER FALCON FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 25,000.
WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THAT SECOND IN FAVOR? AYE.
[ CD 1 - 02/11/2026 Resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh supporting the submission of a 2026 USDOT Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Program planning grant application for a project known as the NYS Rt. 119 Complete Street - Empire State Trail Connection]
RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG SUPPORTING THE SUBMISSION OF 2026 U-S-D-O-T.BETTER UTILIZATION, UTILIZING INVESTMENTS TO LEVERAGE DEVELOPMENT BUILD PROGRAM PLANNING.
GRANT APPLICATION FOR PROJECT KNOWN AS THE NEW YORK STATE ROUTE ONE 19 COMPLETE STREET, EMPIRE STATE, UH, UH, TRAIL CONNECTION.
[ CD 2 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing change orders in connection with the Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters phase 3 permanent stabilization and exterior envelope construction project, for an amount not to exceed $142,806.49]
TWO RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CHANGE ORDERS IN CONNECTION WITH ODELL HOUSE ROSHAMBO HEADQUARTERS.PHASE THREE, PERMANENT STAB, STABILIZATION AND EXTERIOR ENVELOPE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED ONE 142,000 8 0 6 AND 49 CENTS.
UH, CED THREE RESOLUTION AMENDING
[ CD 3 - 02/11/2026 Resolution amending prior approved architect design and related services to Stephen Tilly Architect in connection with an ongoing restoration project for Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters located at 425 Ridge Road, P.O. Hartsdale, for an amount not to exceed $91,000]
PRIOR APPROVE, UM, A ARCHITECT DESIGN AND RELATED SERVICES TO STEVEN TILLEY ARCHITECT IN CONNECTION WITH AN ONGOING RESTORATION PROJECT FOR ADE ADELL HOUSE SHINBO HEADQUARTERS AT 4 25 RIDGE ROAD AND, UH, THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 91,000.[ CO 1 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing fiscal year 2026 budget transfer]
AUTHORIZING FISCAL YEAR 2026.[ CO 2 - 02/11/2026 Resolution scheduling a Public Hearing for 7:30PM on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, to consider a rate increase for the Consolidated Water District #1]
SCHEDULING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR 7:30 PM ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH TO CONSIDER A RATE INCREASE FOR THE CONSOLIDATED WATER DISTRICT NUMBER ONE.[ PO 1 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing the Police Department to award the bid to upfit one (1) 2025 Ford Transit 250 Cargo Van to Advantage Outfitters, the lowest bidder at a total cost not to exceed $10,229.48 ]
ONE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO AWARD THE BID TO UPFIT ONE 2025 FOUR TRANSIT TWO 50 CARGO VAN TO ADVANTAGE OUTFITTERS THE LOWEST BIDDER AT A TOTAL COST NOT TO EXCEED 10,229 48 CENTS.[ PO 2 - 02/11/2026 Resolution authorizing the Police Department to go out to mini-bid for the purchase of Dodge Durango unmarked administration vehicles]
MM-HMMUM, RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO GO TO A, A MINI BID FOR THE PURCHASE OF DODGE DURANGO UNMARKED ADMINISTRATION VEHICLES.
[ PW 1 - 02/11/2026 Resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh authorizing the execution of a modification of FEMA hazard mitigation grant agreement related to the Babbitt Court mitigation project to extend the period of performance]
RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION[02:10:01]
OF A MODIFICATION OF FEMA HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT AGREEMENT RELATED TO BT COURT MITIGATION PROJECT TO EXTEND THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE.[ PW 2 - 02/11/2026 Resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh authorizing the execution of a modification of a FEMA hazard mitigation grant agreement related to the Hartsdale Brook (Bronx River tributary) flood mitigation project to extend the period of performance]
TWO.RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A MODIFICATION OF A FEMA HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT AGREEMENT RELATED TO HARTSDALE BROOK, A FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECT TO EXTEND THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE.
UM, AND THE LAST TWO ITEMS ARE BEING HELD OVER SO I'D LIKE TO MOVE OVER.