Edgemont Residents Meet the Chief

Concerned about a recent spate of crimes in their area, Edgemont Community Council (ECC) President Bob Bernstein invited Greenburgh's new Police Chief Joseph DeCarlo to attend their regular ECC monthly meeting.  The meeting was announced in the Journal News and over 60 residents attended and reports appeared on Eyewitness News, Fox, News12 and 1010Wins.

Fear has been mounting in the past few months due to three robberies of 7-11 stores and the Chase Bank on Central Avenue. Concern piqued when there was a home invasion in Edgemont on Sunday 12/20, where the residents were tied up at knifepoint and their home was ransacked.  Though police believe that the home invasion was not related to the burglaries, residents are still feeling wary and vulnerable. Sonya Brown, a Greenburgh Town Councilwoman who lives in Fairview, said that due to the high crime rate in her area, she is afraid to be home.

The Greenburgh Police Force has cut manpower by seven percent in the last two years and coverage of Edgemont has been reduced. In fact, at the meeting, Chief DeCarlo admitted that force coverage  has been cut to below the nationally-recognized levels of 2.9 officers per 1,000 residents.  In other incorporated villages of Greenburgh who fund their own forces, such as Irvington, Tarrytown and Elmsford, there has been no increase in burglaries and ECC members speculate that a higher ratio of officers to residents in these towns may prevent crime.

While police protection has been cut, Edgemont town taxes have increased by 55% in the past five years. And where do these funds go? Residents argue that millions are being spent needlessly on a multitude of non-essentials such as two separate recreation departments, each with its own set of commissioners, programs, summer camps and transportation departments. In addition, Greenburgh now has its own SWAT team, while Westchester County already had one, and funds have been spent on a Greenburgh after-school program, duplicating programs in each school district. Some also questioned the wisdom of the town paying more than $100,000 for messengers, a $52,000 annual salary for an Arts Consultant and the formation of a marine unit.

Paul Feiner, and three members of the Greenburgh Town Board attended the meeting and chided the ECC for inviting the press even though the ECC contends the press learned about the meeting in the Journal News. Feiner appeared concerned that negative press about crime in Edgemont would affect his administration.

To address the fact that there have been more that twenty home burglaries in one section of Edgemont in the past two years, police have added one squad car to patrol the area bordered by Ardsley, Fort Hill and Underhill Roads. However, if needed in another area, this extra car will be called away to assist. And since the area is now experiencing a series of armed taxi cab robberies, the extra patrol car could easily be diverted.

The solution? Some leaders are calling for the incorporation of Edgemont so that among other things, residents could fund their own dedicated police force and only pay for services they can use.

Watch the live Eyewitness News report and the Fox report