This past week found me in Greenburgh, delving into issues revolving around land use, property taxes, and the need for affordable housing.
The issues swirling around the Greenburgh Planning Board were unprecedented in our region. After attending a three-day workshop on affordable housing earlier this year at Pace University’s law school, four members of the Planning Board decided to form a nonprofit organization dedicated to building affordable housing.
It’s a laudable goal, but has proved nettlesome with several members of the Greenburgh Town Board, which approves membership on the powerful land-use panel.
They fear that the town’s Ethics Code doesn’t go far enough to guard against conflicts of interest that may arise if the Planning Board members are speaking with potential developers.
A resolution passed last week by the Town Board would bar Planning Board members from serving if they are also an officer, director or “key person” in an organization that is primarily involved in land use in the town.
At the center of the issue was longtime Planning Board Chairman Hugh Schwartz, an ally of Supervisor Paul Feiner, who insisted he would recuse himself from any project his nonprofit proposed to be built. But that wasn’t enough for the board.
It was interesting that Feiner was the odd man out in the vote, with the board voting 4-1 to approve the resolution, with Feiner the only vote in opposition.
Edgemont incorporation: Round 3
The Greenburgh Planning Board issue led me back to the Edgemont incorporation battle, which I began covering in 2016. That was in the time of Brexit in Great Britain, when the country voted to exit the European Union.
Flash forward eight years, and Edgemont remains a hamlet in the unincorporated part of Greenburgh, and still without its own local government.
On Monday, the Edgemont Incorporation Committee filed its third petition, which came after Supervisor Paul Feiner had successfully nullified two earlier attempts by objecting to the proposed map for the new village. Both attempts went all the way to the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court, which backed Feiner's objections.
It's interesting to note that the state Supreme Court justice whose rulings were overturned by the appeal panel, Susan Cacace, is now the Democratic candidate for Westchester County district attorney.
This time, the Edgemont committee hired a surveyor to create a new map. We’ll see how this unfolds after Feiner sets a public hearing. Feiner warned that there’s another avenue for town opposition: a lawsuit challenging a 2024 state law that set a new process for creating a village -- but exempted Edgemont.
Such a lawsuit could take years to wend its way through the state court system, costing taxpayers more in legal fees, which have already exceeded $250,000.
The major hauls for Jones and Lawler
The second quarter filings are in for Rep. Mike Lawler, R-Pearl River, and former Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-Sleepy Hollow, showing the formidable fundraising capabilities of both candidates.
Jones has a slight edge in cash-on-hand as they enter the final four months of the campaign. Those of you in the 17th Congressional District should expect all sorts of flyers in your mailboxes soon.
Reach out
I love to hear from readers with tips or feedback. You can email me at dwilson3@lohud.com.
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