A Better Greenburgh

Celebrating Yom Kippur

2026-09-21T08:17:05.563-04:00

Happy Rosh Hashanah

2026-09-12T08:27:18.360-04:00

Happy Birthday America

2026-07-03T17:52:54.405-04:00

Father’s Day On The 1st Day of Summer

2026-06-21T07:24:18.398-04:00

Tax Increases, Tax Exemptions, Bonds or Bust!

2026-06-02T17:03:05.234-04:00

The May 24th town board meeting presented me with more questions. Plus, the tension in the room was palpable.

As far as the “courthouse” this town is plagued with “opportunistic exploitation.” Too many construction companies jump on the GRAVY TRAIN. Every contract, including the Moreno company, should know they’re not the only rodeo in town. Competitive bidding helps companies keep their costs in check. Unbridled spending is why Greenburgh has a problem. As mentioned last night. Why were the town vehicle purchases allowed to be a “free for all”? Why was it discovered after the fact?

Police Station: propose a reasonable budget to add the necessary modifications to have bathrooms. Bonds have interest and consequences for residents.

Increase parking by removing police cars that sit in the vicinity of resident/visitor parking. Why are underutilized police vehicles taking up valuable spaces? Renting a separate location would be a good fit. Also, why does the police chief of this town have 2, $100,000 vehicles to travel around with? One unmarked car could suffice.

As a residents of this town, we’ve witnessed outrageous salaries and a school district that has a budget of $87,000,000. When neighboring school districts function for $30,000,000 less. This town is unaffordable, the birthrate dropped and we have expenses that are unsustainable. Our children are moving away. MORE assisted living facilities are popping up to gently ease seniors out of their beloved homes into a place that will gladly spend their $6,000-$8,000. a month (taken from their home's sale price).

This is PARASITIC & UNACCEPTABLE!

WHY?

The yearly tax ASSESSMENTS makes living here a predatory process. To ENGAGE IN THIS process to give all school districts relief from certiorari's is NOT fair. If their budgets were smaller, it's possible less people would grieve.

The Hackley connection: Legislators are derelict of their duties . It took a curious resident to FILE a FOIL to figure out this nefarious private school with an EXCESSIVE annual income is parasitically robbing its HOST, the taxpayers. HACKLEY CLAIMS 85% OF THEIR INCOME IS FROM TUITION. IT IS not. They’ve perfected & profitted from their practice of the ABUSE of our tax-exempt laws. This emboldened them to remove more single-family homes from the tax rolls. They give their employees perks at the sacrifice of taxpayers.
What will ALL OF YOU DO about this practice?
How many board members read all of the tax-exempt rolls each year? If I can devote 7 hours a year, you can too.
If the sewer and water bills are NO longer subsidized by the taxpayers, how did this happen?
Who will review the wholly exempt tax rolls and implore legislation to stop the hemorrhaging of the taxpayers?
HACKLEY SHOULD LOSE THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING TAX EXEMPT; they violated the trust of the very taxpayers that afforded them the opportunity to build their brand.
WE the people are subsidizing all of the single-family homes removed from the tax rolls by Hackley. Although I took the data and sent an e-mail to the Tarrytown School district and Tarrytown board, this practice of using the court system to further disenfranchise taxpayers MUST stop.
Beyond the forensic REVIEW, this board and supervisor have an opportunity to influence the outdated laws on the books. Legislators are oblivious to the plight of the residents of Greenburgh
(Unincorporated Greenburgh pays more in taxes than Fairview, WHY?

My request to put a freeze on all unsold wholly exempt properties would help ALL residents.

THIS IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF: Greenburgh sold 5 properties at a foreclosure auction this past week and recovered $544,624- the delinquency amount. The Town Board will need to approve the sales. Under NY Real Property Law Section 1142 if any of the properties are the resident’s primary residence, the residents are entitled to any surplus resulting from the sale of the property which would need to be held in escrow as surplus. We anticipate two additional foreclosure sales within the next year.

FOIL: How many residents didn't or couldn’t pay their property taxes in January of 2026? April 2026? If the school tax bill was one lump sum like the April town tax bill, more people would pay attention. Tuesday’s Greenburgh Central School District Budget vote outcome 807-yes, 502-no. Thanks to the efforts of Greenburgh Action Alliance, people are beginning to pay attention.

This town board and supervisor cannot keep the school district woes and town woes separate.

“THIS LETTER FROM THE SANTOS FAMILY IS 1 OF HUNDREDS INCAPABLE OF PAYING THE NEWEST TAX INCREASES: 3.5 % for the town and 3.2 % for the school district.

On April 17th Venita Howard (Receiver of Taxes) and I received a nice note from the Santos family (they gave me permission to use their name).

“I am writing to thank you both for your recent letter and for offering us the opportunity to enter into a payment plan agreement for our outstanding taxes. Your outreach and willingness to work with us has made an inconvenient situation much more manageable. I am pleased to share that since we have entered into the payment agreement, we have successfully paid off the outstanding taxes. Because of your assistance, we were able to avoid foreclosure, which means more than we can express.”

Venita Howard, the Receiver of Taxes and I are more than willing to help residents avoid foreclosure. We want to make this as stress-less a process as possible.

PAUL FEINER

Greenburgh Town Supervisor”

Film permits: Its great film companies want to film here. A $10,000. Film permit revenue in the general fund is good for all of us. WHY are tax exempt properties allowed to profit from filming, storing movie equipment, food trucks, etc? WE THE PEOPLE subsidize their property taxes? Those earnings should also go into the General fund. This is how we can avoid more property tax increases. This MUST change. Who will step up?

What's wrong in Greenburgh? The parasitic taxes have exhausted the monetary capabilities of the host – the taxpayers. Residents that live in condos and co-ops that pay (65%) of the school taxes are still asleep. Although new condo owners pay 100%, it's too little, too late. The Legislators are not legislating.

Most contracts are NEVER under budget, nor are they on time. I recommend ALL contracts for Outside agencies to study the 4 corners project be null and void.

I implore this town board to sue the company that dragged out the 100 East Hartsdale Plumbing debacle. This project is costly regardless of the “savings” mentioned last night. I implore the entire town board to put pressure on Legislators to reel in the tax-exempt properties and the laws that govern them.

There are many issues facing the taxpayers of this town; you possess the power, motivation, inclination and intelligence to get this issue resolved. This is not the end of the issues I didn't have time to bring up in my allotted 5 minutes. To be continued…

“If you give a man a fish, he will only eat for a day. If you teach him how to fish, he will eat for a lifetime.”

– Greenburgh Action Alliance

Memorial Day

2026-05-24T18:40:48.161-04:00

Honoring Those Who Gave The Ultimate Sacrifice

Damaged Central Ave Sewer Line Update

2026-05-21T10:07:24.292-04:00

In April I was appointed to be Commissioner of the Department of Public Works. I have more than 40 years of construction experience and aware that there are accepted engineering methods available to repair sewer infrastructure located beneath or adjacent to existing structures. As the Commissioner of Public Works and as a taxpayer, I believe the Town must fully evaluate these repair options before proceeding with what is now estimated to be a $24 million public sewer project with an additional cost to the 100 East Hartsdale Avenue Building owners of approximately $600,000.

Yesterday I received what could be very good news regarding the ongoing sewer emergency at 100 East Hartsdale Avenue. Recent high-resolution sewer inspections have produced important new information about the location and condition of the damaged sewer line, which may change the scope, cost, and overall approach to the project.

In May 2024, the Town received a report that sewage was entering the garage at 100 East Hartsdale Avenue and the Water Department responded. The Town attempted to clear the sewer but was unable to clear the blockage. An investigation determined that a brick manhole located in front of the building had collapsed. The manhole is connected to a 16-inch sanitary sewer line that runs beneath the building and parking garage. The collapse occurred shortly after Con Edison performed gas work and excavation activities in the immediate area.

Following the collapse, the Town attempted to clean and inspect the sewer line with CCTV equipment. However, due to heavy blockages and debris, the Town was unable to confirm the exact location or extent of the failure. To maintain sewer service, the Town installed emergency temporary bypass pumps, which remain in operation today. These pumps have required continuous maintenance and repeated emergency repairs due to pump failures at a monthly cost of approximately $240,000 - $260,000. To date, the Town has spent approximately $5.5 million on bypass pumping operations.

Because the original camera footage was unclear, the Town’s consulting engineer assumed the sewer failure was located beneath or immediately next to the building foundation. Based on that assumption, a sewer reroute project around the structure was proposed. That plan involves difficult excavation between buildings, limited site access, easements, and the reconnection of private sewer laterals in the 100 East Hartsdale Avenue building to a new public sewer main. The reroute project, originally estimated to cost $7-12 million, is currently estimated to cost between $24 million and $29 million, while also requiring the building owner to spend approximately $600,000 to extend and connect the private sewer connections to the public main.

In order to determine where the break was, I had a specialized sewer inspection contractor clean and inspect the line. Last week, the contractor successfully cleared the sewer and recorded new high-resolution CCTV footage. The footage we received Friday confirms that the sewer pipe beneath the building remains in generally good condition and that the damaged section is located beneath the front sidewalk approximately 7-9 feet from the collapsed manhole. The sewer line beneath the building and parking garage has not failed.

Yesterday, Town staff met with the Town’s emergency contractor and a secant pile specialist after they reviewed the footage. During that meeting, they confirmed that a secant pile system appears capable of allowing the damaged section of pipe to be safely exposed and repaired in place while minimizing impacts to adjacent structures, groundwater conditions, and neighboring properties.

A secant pile system is a specialized construction method that creates a reinforced underground retaining wall using overlapping concrete piles drilled into the ground with minimal vibration. This approach allows excavation work to occur safely in tight urban areas and near existing structures while controlling soil movement and groundwater infiltration.

Based upon this new information, I have directed DPW staff to pause additional sewer reroute design work until the repair-in-place option is fully evaluated.

An in-place repair offers major advantages. It would be millions less, faster to complete, and far less disruptive to residents, businesses, and surrounding properties. And because the existing private sewer laterals (the pipes that connect the building’s internal plumbing system to the public sewer main) would remain undisturbed, the building owner would avoid the estimated $600,000 cost for extending those connections. Board of Health approval would also not be required.

Additional high-resolution CCTV inspections are scheduled for this week to inspect the sewer line between 120 and 100 East Hartsdale Avenue to further evaluate the overall condition of the line.

Many of the questions submitted for tonight’s meeting were based on the previously proposed sewer reroute plan, which is on hold while the Town completes additional camera inspections and evaluates the newly identified repair-in-place option. We understand the community’s interest and concerns regarding the reroute, and if, after a full evaluation, the Town determines that a reroute remains the appropriate course of action, we will address those questions in detail at that time and provide the necessary information to residents.

DPW will continue to provide updates following receipt and review of the additional inspection footage.

Respectively,
Frank Morabito
DPW Commissioner/ Building Inspector

Taxed Enough – Vote No for Greenburgh’s School Budget

2026-05-12T09:28:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother’s Day

2026-05-10T07:31:00.002-04:00

Dear Members of the Board of Education

2026-04-26T18:41:00.008-04:00

As a former member of this Board, I write with growing alarm about the district’s apparent unwillingness to rein in its ever-expanding financial appetite.

The newly adopted budget reflects a 3.03% increase over last year, bringing district spending to roughly $87 million for approximately 1,700 students. That translates to more than $50,000 per student per year, a level that rivals what families pay for private school. Yet this district does not deliver results that justify such extraordinary spending. Its performance remains modest at best, while taxpayers are asked year after year to shoulder an ever-higher burden.

This is happening at a time when families are already under significant financial strain. Town taxes, utility costs, fuel, food, and the general cost of living continue to rise, while wages do not keep pace. In that environment - which will only worsen with the current geopolitical situation - the Board’s repeated answer cannot simply be to raise the levy again, and again.
Just as troubling is the broader effect on the community. A district with high taxes, rising per-pupil costs, and only middling outcomes does not strengthen local property values; it depresses them. It makes the community less attractive to prospective buyers, less affordable to current residents, and more vulnerable to long-term decline. A school district cannot preserve itself by steadily weakening the tax base on which it depends.

Where is the serious public discussion of consolidating building use, rethinking transportation patterns, aligning staffing with enrollment realities, reevaluating the district’s heavy reliance on costly special education placements and services, and pursuing real operational efficiencies? Where is the evidence of strategic thinking equal to the scale of the problem? Fiscal stewardship requires more than approving annual increases rooted in "wish lists".

If the Board shows itself incapable of engineering a structure that is educationally effective, financially sustainable, and fair to the broader community, then more fundamental alternatives will inevitably enter the public discussion.

Sincerely,

Tanya Dragic

Happy Easter

2026-04-05T07:55:00.221-04:00

Happy Passover

2026-04-02T08:41:00.004-04:00

Major Water Main Break Impacts Edgemont Community

2026-02-07T09:26:00.002-05:00

Dear Supervisor Feiner,

I am writing in my capacity as President of the Edgemont Community Council (ECC). Since I’ve just learned there was a meeting last night of your Emergency Communications Task Force that I was excluded from despite your earlier invitation, I am writing to share directly my observations regarding communications around the recent major water main break that impacted much of the Edgemont neighborhood beginning at approximately 9:00 AM on Sunday, January 18, and continuing until roughly 7:00 PM on Monday, January 19. For nearly 36 hours, the majority of Edgemont residents were without running water.

First, on behalf of the Edgemont community, I want to recognize and sincerely thank the DPW, Water Department, Police Department and other personnel who worked tirelessly to locate and repair the break and ensure public safety throughout the situation. We are grateful for the dedication of the employees whose expertise and sustained effort ultimately led to the repair and restoration of service.

Continue reading on the Edgemont Community Council's website:

https://edgemontecc.org/an-open-letter-to-supervisor-feiner-reflections-and-feedback-following-last-months-water-main-break-in-edgemont/

2026-01-20T11:30:00.003-05:00

January 19, 2026
UPDATE TO BOIL WATER ADVISORY FOR TOWN OF GREENBURGH WATER MAIN BREAK 1/19/26 AT 11:30 AM
To Residents of the Greenburgh Consolidated Water District #1,

UPDATE TO BOIL WATER ADVISORY FOR TOWN OF GREENBURGH WATER MAIN BREAK

1/19/26 AT 11:30 AM

To Residents of the Greenburgh Consolidated Water District #1,
We have received many questions regarding who should be observing the Boil Water Advisory as a result of the water main breaks on Sunday. This applies specifically to residents, businesses, and schools that have experienced either no water, low pressure or discolored water at any point since the breaks occurred. The Boil Water Advisory will remain in place until further notice, which will be at least 24 hours AFTER the repairs have been completed. The projected time for the completion of the repairs is by 5 p.m. today.

When in doubt, please err on the side of caution and drink boiled or bottled water. We thank you for your patience as the Town works diligently to make the necessary repairs to deliver safe and clean water back to you.

Regards,
Joy Haber
Greenburgh Town Councilwoman

Westchester County Health Department is responding to a water main break that may impact up to approximately 1,000 residents in Greenburgh, with possible effects extending into portions of White Plains.

The Westchester County Department of Health’s Division of Environmental Health is actively working with the Town of Greenburgh and its water operators to monitor the situation, support repair efforts and ensure appropriate water quality testing once service is restored.

When water service returns, affected residents will be placed under a Boil Water Notice as a precautionary measure. The notice will remain in effect until further testing confirms the water supply is safe for consumption and residents are officially notified that the advisory has been lifted.

BOIL WATER ADVISORY ISSUED

A boil water advisory has been issued by the Westchester County Department of Health and will remain in effect at least through Tuesday, January 20, 2026 and until further notice as a precautionary measure related to water main break/repair for all customers in the following areas served by the Greenburgh Consolidated Water District #1 in the Town of Greenburgh:

Between Sprain Brook Parkway and Central Park Avenue including Central Park Avenue corridor (north of Jackson Avenue and Fort Hill Avenue, south of Underhill Road).

Between Central Park Avenue and Bronx River Parkway (north of Clifton Road and Inverness Road, south of Old Army Road and Edgemont Road).

All streets on both sides of Central Park Avenue (north of old army and Underhill Road, and south of North Healy Avenue).

A boil water advisory means that those in the affected area are strongly advised to boil all tap water at a rolling boil for a minimum of one minute prior to drinking it or using it to prepare food, wash dishes by hand or brush teeth. The advisory does not extend to bathing, washing clothes or using a dishwasher.

The boil water advisory was issued as a precaution to protect residents from potential contamination caused by ground water infiltration into water mains as a result of the reduction in water main pressure caused by the water main break/repair.

Updates will be provided by the Greenburgh Consolidated Water District #1 in a timely manner and as they become available. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Greenburgh Consolidated Water District #1 at (914) 989-1900 or Westchester County Health Department at (914) 813-5000.

View it on website

Merry Christmas

2025-12-25T08:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Hanukkah

2025-12-13T07:18:00.000-05:00

Is GCSD Serving ALL Children

2025-12-07T08:09:00.001-05:00

Brief History Greenburgh Union Free School District #13
 It’s important to note Greenburgh Union Free School District #13 was dissolved by a specific state law that transferred its territory into the Irvington UFSD and dealt with employees, debt and records.

NYS Dissolution Law
 There's a separate New York local government dissolution law, but it doesn't apply to school districts. New York’s government reorganization and citizen empowerment act lets residents petition and vote to dissolve villages towns etcetera by referendum. Shall we dissolve? It was a state level statute, although local input obviously mattered.

Before the population growth of the 1950’s, the enrollment in Greenburgh’s many school districts were individually small. Edgemont-Greenville (aka #5) and Hartsdale (aka #7) were too small to support High Schools. Instead, they planned with neighboring school districts to “tuition in” their high school age students. Greenburgh (aka #8) periodically retained its high school classes. The senior class of 1939 had 31 students. It was clear maintaining a high school was financially impractical and the district returned to the practice of sending High School students to White Plains.

Hartsdale Not Approved 
From the April 1967 Hastings News: NYS Education Commissioner Allen writes that he will not approve Hartsdale plans to build a high school because of its small enrollment, fewer than 400 high school students and instead encourages mergers. Irvington school district rejected applications from Hartsdale families who seek to send their children to that high school. Hartsdale Board of Education offers to accept some low-income housing units in Hartsdale and is accused of “tokenism.”

Woodlands Designated  
In May of 1967, the Hartsdale Board of Education designated Woodlands as the high school for the 1967-68 school years, but also gives parents the right to send 10 through 12th graders to any Westchester County high school with Hartsdale paying out of district tuition up to the amount that would have been paid to Woodlands. Hartsdale appeals to New York Board of Regents to reject SED Commissioner Allen’s decision and instead to substitute 5/6/7 merger for 7/8.
Warburg Estate: Can of Worms  May of 1967 was pivotal. The decision to give parents the right to send their children to any Westchester County High School was an excellent decision. But next up was the donation of the Warburg Estate property, which opened the can of worms that we currently have today. Aging buildings scattered across four campuses. Less than 1,600 students are enrolled in the school district. The current cost of running the Greenburgh Central School district is $85,000,000 a year. This district does not serve the Hartsdale population of children. We are at a crossroads that residents have avoided for years.

100 Graduates A Year 
Currently 100 students graduate each year from Greenburgh Central School District. Most Hartsdale children do not graduate from this school district. Why? At an approximate cost of $85,0000 per student to run an underperforming school district that doesn’t serve Hartsdale residents should spark curiosity. But it doesn’t. Parents in Hartsdale realize K-1 in GCSD is fine to buy them time to shop around for a private school or to sell their homes to find a better school district. Many quietly find private schools, keep their mouths closed and continue to pay taxes for a failing district. Unfortunately, that increases yearly without qualification or validation.

The racial breakdown from the New York State Education Department on Greenburgh Central School District Enrollment is: 48% Hispanic, 38% Black, 10% white, 6% Asian and 1% or two or more races.
Two Freedom of Information Law Requests were filed with the Greenburgh School District revealing the following:
From 2010-2024 95 children transferred out of Lee F. Jackson Elementary (K-1 ).
From 2010-2025 192 children transferred out of 6th Grade from the Richard J. Bailey Elementary school.

A F.O.I.L. filed with Town of Greenburgh Clerks office revealed:
From 2020-2023- Greenburgh School District Late School Tax Penalties amounted to
School penalty        Greenburgh Town/ County penalty
2020 $1,274,634.66   $445,809.03
2021 $1,411,120.06    $739,131.88
2022 $1,123,529.65   $395,869.07
2023 $ 1,422,129.50   $374,273.31

The financial burden of over $7,000,000. in penalties distributed.l Does this seem like taxpayers could afford to pay the school taxes that increase each year, as enrollment number continues to decline? Taxpayers would find their money well spent if vouchers were issued, aging schools buildings sold, and school choice for ALL parents. It’s the only way we’ll get A Better Greenburgh!

— Greenburgh Action Alliance

Happy Thanksgiving

2025-11-27T08:51:00.003-05:00

Sustainable Energy ESCO Finally Loses Power

2025-11-26T08:06:17.559-05:00

Greenburgh residents received an email from Mr Feiner about one month ago stating that Sustainable Westchester, an Energy Service Company (ESCO) was shutting down – finally! Here's what he said:

Westchester Power will discontinue providing residents with renewable energy at the end of the year

Sustainable Westchester has informed us that the Westchester Power renewable energy program will be discontinued at the end of this year. This decision results from practical implementation challenges associated with recently-adopted State outreach and education mandates. Sustainable Westchester has concluded that these regulatory requirements cannot be met on a schedule consistent with the program’s continued operation.

Starting with this December’s utility bill, customers who take no action will be returned to [Con Edison/NYSEG] as their default supplier of electricity.

As an alternative, customers may select another Energy Services Company (“ESCO”) for electricity supply.

We originally reported on this apparent scheme being pushed, no, rammed down our throats, without regard to what residents wanted or would actually save. In fact, Mr Feiner knowingly lied about the amounts that could be saved, saying residents could save upwards of "$400 – $600 per month! The reality however was far from that. Most months saw that the Sustainable Power ESCO was not saving residents money. Rather they were higher than ConEd's rates. Once we learned that we had been opted IN to the program, many residents went through the process of opting OUT, then contacted ConEd to put a lock on their accounts so operatives like Mr Feiner and others could not do this to us again.

Here's a few excerpts in blue from an earlier February 2, 2016 article:

He also recounts, “the Town Board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the Town Supervisor to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") affirming that the Town and Sustainable Westchester, Inc. agree to participate in a Community Choice Aggregation program ("CCA") to procure energy supply from one or more Energy Service Companies ("ESCOs") for the residents of the Town of Greenburgh.” Not only did this not happen, but it was reported in the Rye Record newspaper that they failed to do this, stating, “Failure to observe even the minimum outreach requirements imposed by the commission results in an inadequately informed customer base.”

In Mr Feiner’s email he repeats the same information multiple times, almost trying to convince everyone that this is a good deal. In fact, Ken Stahn of the Ardsley Road Civic Association, met with, studied, and presented his findings to the civic associations’ umbrella organization, the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations, the Town Board and others. However, despite Mr Stahn’s pleas to slow down the process to acquire answers before jumping into this, he was summarily thanked and dismissed by the Town leaders. So while residents were sincerely trying to provide validation and correct the misinformation and contradictions, Town Hall was not listening – again!

Sustainable Westchester has a cool sounding, environmentally friendly name that would evoke a feeling of energy conservation and environmental friendliness, the reality is that this is an experimental program being run by a group of attorneys from a hedge fund group looking to initially do their testing as a non-profit and if they are successful, change to a for-profit venue. With Mr Feiner and other elected leaders blessing this operation without answers to important questions, people may be lulled into a false sense of security. In fact, one of the active participants in this Opt IN scheme was former New Rochelle Mayor, Noam Bramson. He was mayor of New Rochelle until he retired from New Roc and joined Sustainable Power as their Westchester Executive Director. Nice gig if you can get it! Apparently, they decided to terminate this program due to new outreach and education requirements from the State Public Service Commission.

ABG, Ken Stahn and others have all questioned the logic of people having to opt-OUT of this scheme because Mr Feiner and his Town Board want it that way. What we and many others have been saying is that residents and taxpayers should have to opt-IN to this experiment. After all, government should not have the right to decide on what and how you spend your money. Opt-IN, not OUT should be the standard. Many of the community leaders that Mr Feiner has referenced that are participating in this experiment have been appointed to Board of Director positions on the Sustainable Westchester Board of Directors. Does this sound like a conflict of interest to you?

Mr Feiner stated that Sustainable Westchester is “leading the way...” and “Their application to form the first pilot community aggregation program has been granted, and the rest of the state is watching and waiting.” Mr Stahn had expressed reservations about being the first and that we have the ability and luxury of waiting until this model is proven and can supply real numbers instead of projected ones. He also stated that the falling costs of energy around the world is making the entire project even more suspect and asked Mr Feiner and the Board to not rush into anything. A three year minimum commitment is required of all residents. ALL residents, you may ask? Yes, Mr Feiner had signed up all residents in the Town to participate. They must opt-OUT to be excluded. How will you know?

Others continued to monitor and prove that Sustainable Westchester was a flop. The unfortunate result of this is that while Mr Feiner is quick to point at President Trump and the Republicans for rising prices, our own home-grown democrats have forced residents to pay more than they should have by being forced into this scheme! Just remember, the entire Town Board members ALWAYS voted in favor of having Greenburgh residents/taxpayers participate in this fiasco. Not one of them ever questioned the stupidity of this type of program. Thankfully, after ten years it'll finally go away – for now. It needs to stay away and stay out of our resident's way. If they want an ESCO, they can get it on their own. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh!

Celebrating Those Who Served

2025-11-11T08:37:00.001-05:00

Staying Safe with Amazon Online

2025-11-08T12:03:00.000-05:00

Amazon sent us this in a personal email. We think its valuable information as the busy shopping season approaches, and decided to share it with these tips to help recognize impersonation scams - when a scammer pretends to be a trusted company and reaches out to try to get access to sensitive information like personal or financial information, or Amazon account details.

Tips to help stay safe:

• Always use the Amazon mobile app or website for all your shopping needs, including customer service, account changes, delivery tracking, and refund status.

• Remember, Amazon will never ask you to make payments or to provide payment information (including gift cards or wire transfers) for products or services over the phone.

• Consider setting up 2-step verification when available to your online accounts to help prevent unauthorized account access. You can set up 2-step verification at amazon.com/2SV.

• Save time and stay secure using a passkey. It’s a safer way to sign in than using passwords and it works with the same face, fingerprint, or PIN you already use to unlock your device. Set up a passkey at amazon.com/passkey.

• Scammers might try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they're asking. Be careful any time someone tries to convince you that you must act now.

Example impersonation scam tactics that you could receive:

• Fake messages claiming to be about delivery or account issues.

• Third-party social media posts and ads with deals that seem too good to be true.

• Shop directly on our website or mobile app for authentic offers.

• Messages through unofficial channels asking for your password or payment information.

• Unfamiliar links asking you to verify your account credentials through fake or phishing websites. Amazon will never send emails asking customers to verify their account credentials.

• Unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from tech support or other agencies.

Visit amazon.com/scams to learn how to identify and report scams, access resources for scam prevention, and understand Amazon's efforts to protect customers from fraudulent activities.

Committed To Help Fulton Park

2025-11-05T10:25:00.002-05:00

Two storms ago found residents packing a Town Board meeting to get answers to their flooding problems, which they would never get. What was available was a lot of hemming and hawing along with the admission from one tearful resident, “This was not the American Dream I signed up for!” Surely they cannot be the only neighborhood that is experiencing flooding in Greenburgh, are they? They’re not.

To career politicians such as Paul Feiner, Francis Sheehan, Rich Fon, Eyde McCarthy and others, all know that if they drag their feet long enough, those residents will eventually give up and/or move, taking a loss on the sale of their home just to be done with the corrupt, unresponsive and failed leadership that’s spearheading over-development in our Town at breakneck speed. All this while ignoring the antiquated infrastructure that is too overburdened to support the growth. Hence the flooding almost every neighborhood is experiencing.

Mr Feiner's patent line when he speaks to people who get flooded is, “I'm going to prove we're committed to help Fulton Park.” He rode his bicycle down Old Kensico Speedway recently and told it again. Having a good line of BS has paid off for him. On that day I told him no one in the neighborhood trusts or believe anything he says. After a little research, we found more neighborhoods that are flooding. Simply change the neighborhood from Fulton Park to the next affected neighborhood, i.e., “I'm going to prove I'm/we're committed to help Gibson Street,” or “I'm going to prove I'm/we're committed to help Babbitt Court” or “I'm going to prove I'm/we're committed to help Troublesome Brook residents.” You get the idea. Whatever lie is convenient at the time will be in play.

The Manhattan Brook has numerous choke points throughout its length, like this one below.

Apparently when the Army Corps of Engineers built the “brook’s” channel, flooding and water disbursement in the area was not as big an issue as it currently has become, but has been over-whelmed by various Feiner Town Boards’ actions. How did it become this bad so quickly? Simply, development. And in reality, over-development. Every project that his Town Boards approve sees an increase in water runoff that had previously been absorbed by grass, woods, open fields and even small lakes. More impervious space is the talk everyday as developers continue to pitch green roofs, water retention basins, dry wells and the like to get their project approved. And it works for them. While this happens individual homeowners are challenged by Mr Feiner’s boards for years to get their approvals.

Here’s a picture of the alleged pump that the Town brought to Fulton Park two storms ago, that just sat there and was soon after removed.

When questioned prior to that about the pump, we were told that it was missing parts. Skip to the day before the Thursday’s storm (Wednesday) when we saw three Town trucks and the mysterious pump on it’s trailer sat at the non-existent traffic circle (sarcasm re: Westhab development) where Old Kensico Speedway and County Center Road intersect. Later that day the trucks and pump were gone.

On Thursday, at about 3pm, the storm began to pick up in intensity. Emails went out from neighbors asking for the pump, who naively believed, “I'm going to prove we're committed to help Fulton Park.” No timely replies. Now several days later, with even more debris collected at the vacant pump's staging area (see photo) the County committed to regular cleanups. Good. But here’s proof of a small part of the problem when a storm misses the schedule, promising us more of the same during the next storm. And this is after you cleaned out portions of the river off of County Center Road!

Several ideas have been suggested to all involved as to what to do by most of the people in the neighborhoods. If the plan is to respond with empty promises and false hope, and hope the residents get burnt out, fed up and move, then the plan is working! As my neighborhood has almost completely transformed itself with young families, they're hearing the empty promises that my neighbors before them also heard before they left.

Francis Sheehan talks about 100 year and 500 year storms as though they are the exception, and of course climate change, but the narrative needs to change. Even Bill Gates has acquiesced. Mr Feiner came to Miguel's house to give the group your empty pep talk and asking for them to trust him has proven that he’s full of it – just like all of the homes are full of water.

BTW, Eyde McCarthy telling everyone to reach out to her to meet and possibly adjust their revaluations and then saying she's too busy is also frustrating. And, passing a resolution or law to perform revaluations every year overcompensated in the wrong direction as home values rise and fall and a true value is unable to be equitably established by doing it yearly. But this is just another knee-jerk reaction by Mr Feiner and his Town Board.

Passing the flawed bill that the Greenburgh Town Board adopted as legislation that would help victims of storms and other disasters obtain tax relief if they experienced significant property losses helps no one as was pointed out in the Town meeting awhile back. The first step is the Supervisor must declare a state of emergency. Did that happen Thursday or even Friday? No. Is that because it would change the bond rating of the Town or lose the classification as one of the best places to live?

Residents sent you a video of the water raging down our streets, until it got into their yards and homes. We all have videos, photos and damages. Please don't tell us what you've done. What residents have done is pay our inflated, reevaluated taxes all while losing value in our homes and the quality of life while you vote yourselves raises and heap praise on others. While the police department did nothing to close the road to help the neighborhood, the traffic division could have dropped off the road horses and we could put them up. After all, it's seems we have to do everything else.

Bronx River Cleanup Scheduled for Nov 1

2025-10-31T10:16:00.000-04:00

Westchester Parks Foundation is looking for volunteers to help with its citizen science project—the Clean River Project—to address the issue of floatable trash, which is one of the three major water quality issues on the Bronx River. Volunteers will wear waders in the river and help count the bottles, cans, straws, and more found in the trash boom. The information collected helps find the sources of this trash and stops it from entering the river in the first place. The project engages volunteers by promoting outreach to local businesses whose products end up in and along the river, and it unites messaging around the harm to local waterways caused by non-biodegradable products.

What to know:
Dress for the weather; check the forecast before leaving
Please read special instructions on where to meet so we can begin promptly!
Wear closed-toe shoes, socks, and items that can get dirty
Bring your own reusable water bottle
Waders, gloves, trash bags, and all instruction will be provided
Please read special instructions listed with the location information to ensure you are in the right place and we can start on time.

Weather/cancellation policy:
Volunteers will work in most weather, including cold, heat, and light precipitation, so please dress accordingly! Westchester Parks Foundation will cancel the project if the weather seems like it may affect the safety of its volunteers.
In the case of inclement weather, the project may be cancelled up to an hour before the project start time. If you do not receive a cancellation email from Westchester Parks Foundation or Volunteer New York! before then, the project is still taking place.

F.O.I.L.ed Once, Overtaxed Everytime

2025-10-29T18:38:00.002-04:00

My property taxes went up again this year, and instead of fleeing (just yet), I decided to fight. To understand how assessments are calculated, I filed a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request this past August. I asked for three things: the raw data used to generate assessments, the modeling methodologies, and whether the modeling is conducted in-house or outsourced. What followed was a months-long bureaucratic obstacle course. First, I was told the request would take up to eight months to fulfill. Then I was informed I would need to pay $376 for 1,500 printed pages. Only after pushing back and citing the law was I permitted to bring in a thumb drive and receive the 1,500 pages electronically. To decipher what I received will require spending an entire weekend (at least) parsing the documents through ChatGPT, then manually verifying every interpretation. Fellow citizens, that’s not transparency. That’s obstruction. And it’s what compelled me to attend a recent Civic Association meeting featuring Greenburgh’s longtime town assessor, Edye McCarthy, as guest speaker. I was hoping for clarity and, instead, found deeper cause for concern.

One would think that a large—curious if not angry—crowd would have been in attendance. Instead, the meeting featured two obsequious moderators, a single town board member (Francis Sheehan), and twelve residents. And yet, what unfolded offered a revealing glimpse into a deeply flawed property tax system that affects thousands of homeowners. The assessor, who has held her role for nearly four decades, gave a well-rehearsed presentation, painting a picture of professionalism and fairness. She detailed her team’s use of the CAMA system—Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal—to determine the value of homes based on dozens of parameters. Their findings, she then explained, are verified externally by (unnamed) third parties. But when the floor opened for questions, it became clear that behind the veneer of precision lies something far foggier.

I asked Ms. McCarthy why the assessed values in Hartsdale continue to rise despite a stagnant housing market. According to broker-reported sales activity, the average sales price in 2025 remained virtually flat compared to 2024 ($946,412 vs. $942,828), while the median price declined. Yet the 2025 Market Trend Map on the assessor’s site shows every neighborhood in “growth mode.” So even though her office implies to have access to current data—albeit questionably sourced or interpreted—her answer to my question was that assessments are based not on current-year sales, but on sales from up to two years prior. In other words, 2025 property taxes are pegged to values from 2023. This introduces an automatic lag into the system that all but guarantees upward drift. When the market softens, residents are still taxed at inflated rates until the lag eventually—if ever—catches up.

Even more revealing was her admission that there simply aren’t enough annual sales to support a valid statistical model in certain parts of town. Hartsdale had just 70 single-family home sales in 2023, 74 in 2024, and 22 so far in 2025 (likely due to incomplete data). Statistically speaking, these are paper-thin samples—nowhere near the scale needed to build robust, predictive models with meaningful p-values or confidence intervals. The assessor conceded this point, adding that in such cases, the science stops, and the “art” begins. This art, as she described it, involves her team stepping in to manually adjust values when the model falls short. Sometimes it’s based on neighborhood buzz—“things I hear,” she said. Other times it reflects broad judgments about desirability. For example, she noted that swimming pools didn’t used to be worth much but now “add a lot of value.” These judgments are not always integrated into the modeling software; they’re done by hand, by a team that now works year-round addressing grievances—because they are running a subjective and error-prone process rather than a neutral, data-driven one. This is how even homes like my parents’—which have not undergone a single renovation in 30 years—still see regular tax increases. If the average is based on lagging data, fragile models, and discretionary tweaks, and if most homes are nudged upward, then nearly everyone ends up paying more.

There are additional inequities that should concern all residents of unincorporated Greenburgh. The town assessor confirmed that a disproportionate share of the Town’s tax-exempt properties—such as religious institutions, public facilities, and other nonprofits—is concentrated in unincorporated Greenburgh. These properties are exempt from paying taxes, yet they still rely on municipal services funded by the rest of us. We are carrying this load—without any compensatory relief. To make matters worse, certain neighborhoods within unincorporated Greenburgh have never received meaningful remediation for chronic flood zones, rendering some homes effectively unsellable. These properties lose market value, yet continue to be taxed as if the flood risk doesn’t exist. And I won’t even get into school taxes—except to say that they increase every year, with no accountability. Thanks to the perennial decisions of the Board of Education, our tax burden continues to climb, even as the chronically under-performing Greenburgh Central School District further drags down property values. In short, we pay more and get less—less equity, less transparency, and less return on our community investment.

There is a larger sociological problem here. The town’s tax system, as it currently functions, is killing the host. Longtime residents are not selling their homes. They are not realizing the supposed gains in value that rising assessments assume. But they are being taxed on those paper gains just the same. Seniors and working families alike are being squeezed by a process that is inconsistent, and largely immune to scrutiny. Official inflation for 2025 is around 3%, but the U.S. dollar has also weakened by 10% against foreign currencies, raising the price of imported goods. Meanwhile, local wages are mostly flat, while housing costs—prices, taxes and mortgage rates—climb.

And all of this is happening under the watch of a single assessor who has been in office for 37 years and a town supervisor who is once again running unopposed. There is no check on this system. No rotation of oversight. Just a bureaucratic machine that lumbers on, adjusting its numbers by ear and squeezing ever more from residents—residents who are left with no choice but to comply or leave. It is time to demand more. Not just transparency, but reform. Not just models, but fairness. Not just polite meetings with twelve attendees—but real civic engagement.

— Tanya Dragic

Lithium-ion Battery Storage Units Overwhelm Our Neighborhoods

2025-09-28T18:33:00.003-04:00

All around us locally, state-wide and across the nation, a new phenomenon is taking place with communities approval and allowing the installation of industrial lithium ion battery storage units! Typically owned by a consortium of attorneys (not that there’s anything wrong with that), the goal is for them to purchase and store electricity in these units during the evening and night hours when the cost of electricity is cheaper and sell it back to the utility companies during the day at a higher price.

Pursuing a greener energy source is always admirable. However, at what cost is this a good idea? If a community has a Comprehensive Plan and they follow it, without adjusting their zoning to placate these attorneys and investors, it can be an invaluable tool to assist in controlling these burgeoning businesses and suburban sprawl. Yet, In a Town like Greenburgh, they politicized their Comprehensive plan into a feckless document acknowledging things like 500-year storms and climate change all while ignoring the wishes of the public: less impervious space, more green space, walkways and bike paths. Sadly, the residents lost out while the Comprehensive Planning committee patted themselves on their backs for a job, “well done,” that should have been referred to as “not done.”

Every proposal in Greenburgh is met with virtually the same information as if the cookie-cutter submission could pose no problem to our communities. By the time the Town Board meets with the attorneys in a Work Session, Mr Feiner has probably already met with them in his corner office and blessed the project, noting that there are no posed or potential dangers, the fire department is ready to extinguish any fire – should there be one, negligible water runoff, clean air and no toxicity for the residents. When these units fail, and they do fail, fire departments will require more resources as they will be committed to spend a minimum of 4-6 hours pouring copious gallons of water per minute to attempt to stop what’s known as Thermal Runoff (not fire).

When these battery backup systems fail, and they do fail, the results can be significant. One of the largest facilities is In Moss Landing, California. That battery plant failure burned in January requiring people to be evacuated and Highway 1 shutdown because of the toxic smoke generated. Firefighters were impotent to extinguish the fire and were forced to let it burn. An Arizona storage facility exploded and seriously injured firefighters. When multiple trailers burned, upstate residents were told to shelter in place.

Fortunately, numerous communities, such as Carmel and upstate’s Duanesburg, NY, have taken heed of the situation and have moved to prohibit larger battery storage systems in their communities. These communities are being practical in the face of recklessness: fighting a thermal runoff event (the actual name of a battery fire) is practically impossible to extinguish. Greenburgh should show the same initiative and predilection for safety for their respective fire service personnel and the public at large, but have chosen not to by approving any and all battery storage submission requests. So the result is that our communities are being bombarded with legal and illegal marijuana dispensaries, massage parlors, homelessness and now Energy Storage Systems!

These attorneys who are making submissions upon submissions are in high gear with no apparent slowing down. And left unchecked by the Town and its requisite Villages, residents are being forced to live and work in close proximity to these “farms”. Can you say Quality of Life? So what can we do?

First, we must implement a Moratorium on any new proposed battery storage units. Second, have multiple fire department veto power to sign off on site-specific planning for thermal runaway, plume modeling, water runoff and containment, ventilation and ultimately responsibility for cleanup. Third, the Town and Villages must develop complimentary zoning and legal requirements that curtail and more importantly protect our residents. Fourth, there should be an independent community group, such as the Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations to be the liaison between the public and the government. Fifth, there should be a state partnership where they develop and maintain uniformity throughout the state. Sixth, create greater setbacks that cannot be appealed and changed by the Authority Having Jurisdiction because a variance was submitted.

Finally, we shouldn’t be putting these battery storage units near residential areas, schools, and /or hospitals. Our current crop of “elected” officials are failing us with inaction, ignorance and complacency. We need term limits to ensure our politicians have a finite period of time to act and then we get some fresh blood in its place. It’s the only way we’ll get A Better Greenburgh.