Insider deal brings free rent at Putnam County offices, Round 3 for Edgemont incorporation

Veterans of the U.S. armed services command a major presence in the hamlet of Carmel. There’s the Veterans Memorial building for the VFW and American Legion along Gleneida Avenue, which stands across the street from the county’s flag display to honor the vets.

Next door, at the county-owned 34 Gleneida Ave. office building, the nonprofit United For The Troops, with deep ties to county Republicans, prepares care packages for troops overseas.

This week, I explored two issues involving 34 Gleneida. First, I looked at the future of the run down county building – the former Chevrolet dealership with upstairs offices that were once the chambers for Putnam County Court judges. Five years ago, the County Legislature decided to sell it, hoping to put the parcel back on the tax rolls after more than 20 years under county ownership.

But that plan fell apart in 2022 after Byron Voutsinas, the son-in-law of Legislator Toni Addonizio agreed to pay $600,000 for the building, which he hoped to transform into a mixed-use development with a dozen apartments with ground-floor commercial space. That plan dissolved when the county was unable to provide parking that worked for the plan.

Then came a proposal by local veterans to raze the building, to open up the courthouse to Gleneida Avenue, and provide a gathering space for veterans by the adjacent Veterans Memorial building.

So far, that’s a nonstarter with county legislators and County Executive Kevin Byrne, still intent on selling 34 Gleneida to a developer. But the central issue remains: the county won’t provide any parking for 34 Gleneida, and it’s uncertain whether any developer would risk buying the property without off-street parking to satisfy the town’s zoning code.

Downstairs at 34 Gleneida

Former Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell, a longtime supporter of Putnam County veterans, decided in 2017 to provide a gift to a nonprofit organization that sends care packages to American servicemen and women deployed abroad.

She allowed the nonprofit, United For The Troops, to occupy the first floor of 34 Gleneida, rent-free, without a contract with the county. The county would provide all utilities and insure the space as well.

Said Odell: ““The mission itself superseded any formality.”

Putnam County veterans are a cornerstone of the local Republican coalition, which controls the county Legislature by 8-1.

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne has continued the arrangement, unwilling to disturb the sweetheart deal with the Mahopac-based nonprofit, and its leaders, Jim and Patty Rathschmidt.

The nonprofit has a vigorous fundraising operation, with a gala in April at Villa Barone in Mahopac, and a golf outing at Putnam County golf course in May. Donations are tax deductible because United For The Troops is a 501(c)(3) organization, the gold standard for nonprofits.

The IRS requires these nonprofits to disclose their financials in annual 990 reports that are easily accessible online.

But United For The Troops obtained its elite nonprofit status through a Texas church, which “covers” nonprofits under its 501 (c)(3) designation for $300 a year. It didn’t matter than the Putnam County nonprofit was not a church. But because the nonprofit comes under the church, its treated as if it was a church, and is not required to submit a 990 report.

So there’s no way to know how much tax-deductible funding has been raised, how much the group has in the bank, and who sits on the board of the politically connected nonprofit.

Round 3 in Edgemont

Welcome to Round 3 of the campaign to create Greenburgh's seventh village in the town's hamlet of Edgemont. Armed with new map, and an exemption from the new state law on village incorporation, the proponents filed more than 1,400 signatures a week ago to start the process.

Two earlier attempts to hold a vote on incorporation were rejected by Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner, citing questions about the proposed village's boundaries. Both times, Feiner was overruled in state Supreme Court, but later upheld at the Appellate Division in Brooklyn.

Feiner now has to set a public hearing to see if there are objections to this proposal. And Greenburgh has threatened to sue New York state over the new state law, which exempts the Edgemont proposal from new regulations.

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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Insider deal brings free rent at Putnam County offices, Round 3 for Edgemont incorporation