Bernstein Vs. Feiner: What are the Takeaways?
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The race for Greenburgh Town Supervisor in the primary on September 10 was one of the most closely watched contests in the county. Bob Bernstein, a lawyer, and an Edgemont resident who has advocated for the incorporation of Edgemont as a village challenged eleven-term Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. Though Feiner won with 64% of the vote to Bernstein's 36% there was lively debate and an energized election.
Here is what both candidates took away from the election and hope for the future:
Bob Bernstein:
What is your analysis of the results?
We did extraordinarily well in Edgemont and not so well in other parts of Greenburgh. It seems the people who know me the best also like me the best, and dramatically so, which is gratifying. I am also very proud that we were able to run an honest, clean and competitive campaign that focused entirely on the issues affecting Greenburgh. I cannot same the same for my opponent who, we now know, sent mailings a day or two before the election to areas outside of Edgemont which contained numerous false, misleading and in some cases defamatory statements about me personally. As for the current supervisor, he received more than 500 fewer votes in 2013 than he received in 2007, which is not insignificant in an election in which less than 6,000 people actually voted. That reduction in his vote total suggests that more and more residents outside of Edgemont are beginning to learn what Edgemont already knows -- that the current supervisor's mismanagement of the town is costing taxpayers millions of dollars which will affect all of our wallets today and in the years to come.
What did you learn from the experience of running?
On the positive side, I got to know and work closely with a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers from outside of Edgemont who wanted so very much to see a change in local government, not so much for themselves, but for their neighborhoods and the Town. I also learned that there are pockets of Greenburgh outside of Edgemont that are truly suffering under the current supervisor's continued mismanagement and I regret that I won't be able to help them, at least not in the short term. On the negative side, it is very difficult to run against a desperate career politician who will do anything he can to cling to power. Feiner spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to remove me from the ballot for using the name "Bob," while falsely accusing dozens of innocent people, including Roman Catholic nuns, of trying to forge signatures to get my name on the ballot. He also refused to participate in the only debate held in the Town's unincorporated area, had his supporters remove, deface and destroy my lawn signs, and then, as a last ditch effort, he waged a particularly vicious campaign of fear and smear. For example, he sent divisive mailings to the villages telling them falsely that I planned to raise village taxes over which I have no control 300%, he falsely accused me of personal professional misconduct and in the process, he libeled me. He also sent mailings to the Town's African American community using fabricated quotes to paint me as a racist.
How has Feiner maintained his base of supporters?
As indicated above, Feiner's base of support actually got smaller this time, by a little more than 500 votes. But he was able to maintain his base by, among other things, successfully pitting the unincorporated areas of the Town against the villages, and by pitting the unincorporated areas outside of Edgemont against Edgemont itself, and by using fear and smear tactics.
What does the outcome of the vote mean for the future of Greenburgh and of Edgemont?
I do not want to speculate right now on the future. Edgemont will certainly have to think long and hard about what it wishes to do. Some view the results as a mandate for Edgemont to incorporate as a village, while others see the results as an important and refreshing first step in bringing change to Greenburgh's town government.
What are your future plans?
I plan to continue practicing law, which I love, while keeping my options open. I received the overwhelming support of the party's district leaders at its convention to run as the party's endorsed candidate, I received over 2,100 votes, and I had the support of nearly 80% of Edgemont's residents in what was for Edgemont a record turnout in a Democratic primary of close to 37%. I owe it to everyone who supported my effort to continue to stay involved and work for the change that many of us feel is so desperately needed.
Paul Feiner:
I want to thank everyone who participated in the recent primary regardless of how you voted. I would respectfully like to offer my analysis of the recent primary and what I have learned from this experience. The total vote in the Democratic primary for Town Supervisor was 5922 of which I received 3801 and my opponent received 2121 a difference of 1680 votes. This represents 64% to 36% of the total votes cast. The Town of Greenburgh consists of 81 election districts. My opponent won 10 districts out of 81. However 6 of 10 districts represents votes in the Edgemont community. This means that 4 districts outside of Edgemont voted for my opponent out of the remaining 75 election districts. The total vote in Edgemont was 817 votes. The primary election is over and there is no Republican candidate running in November. Thus I am looking to the future and I am reaching out to my opponent Bob Bernstein his supporters, as well as the majority of the people residing in Edgemont to join with me in an effort to address the concerns of the people in Edgemont. Of course this doesn't mean we will agree on how to resolve past issues or even future issues all the time. What it does mean to me is that we have transparency and not attack each other constantly to gain political points. I realize this was a difficult election and there maybe hurt feelings on both sides. However we must put aside our personal differences and work cooperatively for a better Greenburgh.
I am very concerned that my opponent and some of his supporters are reviving the possibility of Edgemont's Incorporation and becoming a separate village. This has been alluded to in Bob Bernstein's facebook page. If Edgemont became a separate village Edgemont resident taxes will go up significantly to pay for the additional administrative costs. Services that Edgemont residents currently enjoy could also be impacted. The residents of unincorporated Greenburgh will also see significant cuts in services or tax hikes. It would be a disaster for all. The trend in Government is to consolidate instead of creating separate layers of government. In future letters I will be more specific as Supervisor why this would dramatically effect your taxes as well as services you currently enjoy in Greenburgh.
However I am cognizant of the fact I must do better to achieve the support of the people in Edgemont. To achieve this end I will be creating an Edgemont Citizens Committee that will meet with me frequently to discuss ways the town can be more responsive to Edgemont concerns. This citizens group will include open minded residents who have supported and opposed initiatives that I have advocated in th past .I want to better understand your concerns. I am hopeful that the committee will include people who also have not been active in town issues in the past.
If you reside in Edgemont and want to participate in the citizens group please e mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com or call me at 993-1545.
Paul Feiner
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
40 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists in Scarsdale and Edgemont
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Forty high school seniors from Edgemont and Scarsdale High Schools have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. The local honorees are among 16,000 U.S. semifinalists announced this morning by National Merit Scholarship Corp. The database of New York State winners was published on Business First. See the entire list here:
Congratulations to these students:
Edgemont High School Alison R. Clarke
Edgemont High School Caroline A. Graif
Edgemont High School Christine A. Tzelios
Edgemont High School Hannah G. Bender
Edgemont High School Jacob K. Weiss
Edgemont High School Jacob M. Freedland
Edgemont High School Jai P. Madan
Edgemont High School Jason H. Lei
Edgemont High School Jonathan D. Shapiro
Edgemont High School Jonathan P. Sganga
Edgemont High School Timothy F. Yu
Edgemont High School Xianyuan Jia
Edgemont High School Xiaoying Guo
Scarsdale High School Alejandro S. De La Garza
Scarsdale High School Alexandria Natarajan
Scarsdale High School Angelo J. Olcese
Scarsdale High School Archana Ram
Scarsdale High School Aron Szanto
Scarsdale High School Benjamin B. Ulene
Scarsdale High School Brian G. Beitler
Scarsdale High School Brittany Kaplan
Scarsdale High School Carine M. Torres
Scarsdale High School Carolyn Strauch
Scarsdale High School Christopher A. Moetell
Scarsdale High School Christopher L. D'silva
Scarsdale High School Devon M. Kerr
Scarsdale High School Frederick M. Berl
Scarsdale High School Jonathan Faust
Scarsdale High School Joshua L. Kaufman
Scarsdale High School Julia B. Feldstein
Scarsdale High School Julia Ross
Scarsdale High School Noah H. Thaler
Scarsdale High School Phillip Liu
Scarsdale High School Prajjalita Dey
Scarsdale High School Robert J. Kwong
Scarsdale High School Samuel K. Huang
Scarsdale High School Steven M. Lewis
Scarsdale High School Victoria G. Beizer
Scarsdale High School Xinxin Du
Scarsdale High School Zubin S. Koticha
Crime Spree in Scarsdale
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A brazen burglar entered an occupied Popham Road home around 5 am on Tuesday morning July 30 and ransacked the house while the 80 year-old resident slept upstairs. She awoke to find the man standing over her in her bedroom. The woman described the man as 5' 10' to 6' tall, white or Hispanic, wearing a bag or a backpack over his shoulder.
She called the police when the burglar fled and they found that the screen on a rear sliding glass door had been removed and suspect the man entered through the door. The house was heavily tossed and the burglar made off with a laptop, keyboard, credit cards, house keys and the woman's driver's license. He also stole an antique necklace from a cabinet drawer. Police found two knives that had been taken from the kitchen outside the sliding glass door. The woman was unharmed.
Police are currently investigating a second reported burglary that took place around 3 am on Thursday August 1. Someone entered an occupied home at 1 Highland Way, off Fox Meadow Road in Scarsdale. The suspect(s) entered the occupied residence through an unlocked front door. Stolen in the burglary were cash, credit and debit cards and a Toshiba laptop. In addition to the homes that were entered, there were 12 vehicles entered overnight in the last 2 days, and some had items removed. In all cases, the vehicles that were entered were unlocked. All of the incidents took place in the Old Scarsdale, Fox Meadow and Greenacres neighborhoods along the Bronx River Parkway.
Based upon area surveillance video, the Scarsdale Police have a suspect who is a male white or light skinned Hispanic, 5'8" – 5'11" who was wearing shorts and a dark colored shirt. The police are requesting that any residents that utilize home surveillance systems review the dates of 07/30/2013 through 08/01/2012 between the hours of 2:00 am and 5:00 am for any suspicious persons or activity and provide the information or video to the Scarsdale Police to assist in the investigation.
Police Arrest 19 Masseuses at Local "Spas"
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Greenburgh Police, acting alongside several major government agencies have arrested 19 Asian workers at local spas in Scarsdale, Hartsdale and White Plains for providing services without proper licenses. According to a press release from the Greenburgh Police Department dated August 15, the agencies undertook an 11-month investigation of the massage parlors before making the arrests for "unauthorized practice of a profession," which is a class E felony under the NYS Education Law. According to the release, undercover officers entered seven spas on Wednesday August 14, posing as customers. Nineteen of the workers were arrested for not possessing proper licenses and the agents from Homeland Security provided bi-lingual officers to debrief the workers who are of Asian descent.
There was not evidence to suggest that the female workers were trafficked as sex slaves in connection with the "spas."
As a result, the following massage parlors were closed down:
- Aroma Spa, 698 South Central Avenue, Scarsdale
- Charming Spa, 400 South Central Avenue, Scarsdale
- Gili/Finest Spa, 114 South Central Avenue, Hartsdale
- Forest Yin Spa, 100 North Central Avenue, Hartsdale
- Crystal Spa, 332 Tarrytown Road, White Plains
16 woman, ranging in age from 28 to 53 and live in Flushing were arraigned in Greenburgh Court and an additional three workers from the Darae 54 Spa at 54 North Central Avenue in Elmsford were arrested and held for arraignment.
The investigation was the culmination of work by the NYS Attorney General's Office, agents from U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement, Homeland Security, Westchester County District Attorney's Office, NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Elmsford Police Department and the Greenburgh Police Department Drug and Alcohol Task Force.
DAS Antennas in Scarsdale: Planning Board Considers New Code
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In response to an application by Crown Castle to install antennas in residential areas of Scarsdale, the Planning Board held a work session to discuss some potential changes to the latest draft of a proposed zoning ordinance regulating installation of Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) technology on Wednesday July 17. These regulations would apply to antennas installed on roads and properties governed by Scarsdale Village. Crown Castle has already installed antennas on state-owned roads in the Village, and did so without receiving approval from the Village of Scarsdale.
The purpose of the latest draft of the proposed rules regulating the installation of these facilities (as sited in the proposed Article XII) is as follows: "It is the intent of the Village to protect and promote the health, safety and general welfare of its residents by establishing an orderly process for regulating the siting of wireless telecommunications facilities while balancing the need for adequate service levels. Therefore, the purposes of the article are to establish standards for the safe provision of telecommunication services consistent with applicable state and federal law, to minimize the adverse visual impact of wireless facilities through proper design, site placement, height limitation and vegetative screening and thereby to retain the residential character of the village and maintain property values."
During this meeting, there were a few revisions to the proposed draft, which primarily deals with the zoning regulations and technicalities to which all wireless telecommunications facilities must adhere when installing additional wireless telecommunication facilities (nodes.)
The most important part of Article XII pertains to the granting of Special Use Permits to applicants. All applicants must obtain a Special Use Permit from the Planning Board, and the draft states that "no wireless telecommunications facility shall be constructed or installed until the application is reviewed and approved by the Planning Board and/or building inspector, and a special use permit has been issued." The Planning Board is authorized to review, analyze, evaluate, approve, reissue and revoke special use permits for any wireless telecommunications facility in Scarsdale. This Special Use Permit is valid for five years; after which it may be renewed if it's still in compliance with all criteria required to obtain a Special Use Permit, and it follows all applicable local, state and federal statutory laws. However, the Planning Board may also choose not to renew this permit after five years, or terminate it at any time, if it is necessary to modify the conditions of this Article XII in order to protect the public.
We asked Scarsdale Village Planner if the proposed new code will stipulate a minimum distance between a residence and a DAS antenna, and here is what she explained, "While there is no specific distance requirement between a DAS antenna and a residence, as proposed, the DAS antenna would be located in the right of way. The Village zoning code has front yard setback requirements which run from the property line, at the edge of the right of way, to the residence. The front yard setback requirements range from 30 ft. to 75 ft. depending on the zoning district."
At the meeting the Planning Board discussed the latest draft and then proposed that the Village Attorney incorporate the following provisions into a new draft to be considered at a subsequent meeting. Once the code is passed by the Planning Board it will be sent to the Board of Trustees for approval.
Here are the latest provisions:
The Planning Board is authorized to issue this Special Use Permit to an applicant, provided that the applicant meets the following standards (the permit won't be granted if it fails to meet these criteria):
1) The applicant must seek to attach a wireless telecommunications facility to a structure that is 100 or more feet in height, and not part of the water distribution system.
2) The applicant's facility must be no less than 350 feet from the nearest school, day-care center or place of worship
3) The applicant must seek pre-approval by the Board for all modifications of wireless telecommunication facilities to ensure that they pose no public safety risks.
4) The proposed wireless telecommunications facility must be the least intrusive means of closing a significant gap in wireless services.
5) Every wireless telecommunications facility shall be designed, constructed, maintained and operated in a manner that minimizes noise and traffic to surrounding areas
6) Every wireless telecommunications facility shall be protected against unauthorized access
7) The approving authority (Scarsdale Village) may require that the facility be enclosed by a fence
8) Wireless telecommunications facilities must comply with applicable laws and regulations regarding radiofrequency emissions. Applicants must, at all times, comply with individual and cumulative standards for environmental effects of radiofrequency emissions, and must demonstrate compliance with those standards upon request.
i. If at any time, the radio frequency emissions are not in compliance with applicable standards, the village will be notified and the wireless communication facility will immediately be terminated.
1. Before resuming operation, the operator must explain the cause of the failure to comply with radio frequency emission standards, and demonstrate that all measures have been taken to correct the failure and to ensure the prevention of any future non-compliance.
ii. Applicants must submit a report signed by an expert on calculation of radio frequency emissions containing information about the
1. Transmission and maximum effective radiated power
2. Direction of maximum lobes and associated radiation
9) Applicants are expected to use an existing building or structure for placement of wireless telecommunications facilities, unless they prove that no existing structure provides a suitable location for the facility.
i. If there are no suitable existing structures for the wireless telecommunications facility and a new support structure is indeed necessary, every structure must be a monopole (rather than a self-supporting lattice or guy-wire support tower)
10) The applicant must document additional capacity for future shared use of the support structure. This additional capacity must be left available to future applicants providing wireless services.
11) For any wireless telecommunications facility being placed in the street, its new support structure must be a utility pole. This utility pole must have physical dimensions consistent with existing poles in the area, and it must be made available for use by utilities and cable systems, as well as the wireless communication facilities (the utility pole does not carry the sole purpose of sustaining WTC facilities.)
12) The antenna array (one or more rods, panels, discs or similar devices used for the transmission/reception of radio frequency signals) can't extend more than 120 feet when measured from the base of the attachment structure. In other words, the maximum height of a wireless telecommunications facility with a support structure cannot exceed 120 feet.
13) A wireless telecommunications facility must have minimal adverse visual impact on surrounding areas, parks and roadways
i. An antenna array shall be of colors that are harmonious with the exterior of the attachment structure
ii. A support structure shall be of a neutral color that is harmonious with the surrounding natural features, buildings and structures
iii. When a fence is required to secure a wireless telecommunications facility, the outside of that fence shall be landscaped with trees or shrubs
iv. Applicant must provide a landscape plan outlining the existing trees to be preserved, the location and dimensions of proposed planting areas, the size, type and number of trees/shrubs to be planted, etc.
14) Lights or illumination of wireless telecommunications facility are prohibited unless required by applicable law
15) Signs for wireless telecommunications facility are prohibited unless required by applicable law
16) Any applicant's violations of this article are punishable by a fine of $1000 per day, or imprisonment of a period of 15 days.
The list above does not include all of the provisions outlined in the proposed Article XII, which spells out, in detail, every single aspect of the wireless telecommunication system as it relates to the impact on our town. However, this list does highlight some of the more important rules and regulations that are relevant to Scarsdale residents.
Since Next G, now Crown Castle, proposed the installation of the antennas on residential streets, concerned residents have appeared at several meetings to urge the Village to regulate the placement of these boxes. While the Planning Board is barred by federal law from preventing the installation of the antennas due to health concerns about radio waves, they can make stipulations in regard to how and where they can be placed and the proposed code should give the Village more authority and control over the installation of antennas by private carriers in the Village right-of-way.
