Cell Service for Thee, But Not for Me

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,
On August 15, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias, the following was sent to our village board. The sole response was a note from Trustee Ann Gallelli stating, “Your points regarding the importance of reliable communications are well taken.” Otherwise, total silence.

“As you are aware, cell phone service along the Croton River, and in other areas of the village as well, is spotty at best. There are periods when it is just not possible to make contact with anyone via cell phone.

“This board seems to have unlimited hours to devote to the dog park—the dog park!!—and millions of your dollars to squander on ill-advised projects like Croton Point Avenue and Gouveia Park. Ms. Gallelli, in these pages, rightly railed against Con Ed and Altice pointing out the “critical need for TV, internet and phone services.” But where are she and her colleagues when it comes to ensuring such critical cell phone service for many of us in the village for whom it might be essential to preserve our lives? Nowhere to be found! Is her statement just gross hypocrisy? Or is it just one more example of a board that loves big projects, but has nothing but contempt for its constituents.”

Normally, this is just an inconvenience, but during the emergency we just experienced, when all other forms of communication are inoperable for an extended period, it raises a critical concern. Had we experienced a medical or other emergency, we might have been unable to summon help. I do not have to explain to you the possible consequences of such an event. This is especially disquieting to those of us who are no longer young and are at higher risk for this type of eventuality.

This problem has been brought to your attention on more than one occasion in the past, and the addition of cell towers at the railroad station and the Municipal Building roof has not rectified our isolation.

I fully understand that the village, in and of itself, cannot remedy this situation, but the board can take action to effect a solution. You will recall some years ago a cell tower was proposed in the area of the CET school to serve the Croton River gorge. An outpouring of public opposition, fearing the impact on CET students, resulted in the board’s rejection of that initiative.

However, at the conclusion of the meeting at which the tower proposal was denied, the developer offered to meet with village officials to find a location for a tower that would provide similar service and be acceptable to the community. To the best of my knowledge, the board never followed up on that offer—and here we sit.

Before we experience a tragedy in our neighborhood, I believe that it is incumbent on the board to initiate discussions with cell service providers, tower service companies, or whoever is necessary, to find such an acceptable location, install the requisite facilities and provide adequate cell phone connections to the underserved areas of the village.

I do not know if there would be any liability to any entity in the event of a loss of life, etc. resulting from the absence of communication with emergency services, but that is certainly not something we want to discover down the road.”

This board seems to have unlimited hours to devote to the dog park—the dog park!!—and millions of your dollars to squander on ill-advised projects like Croton Point Avenue and Gouveia Park. Ms. Gallelli, in these pages, rightly railed against Con Ed and Altice pointing out the “critical need for TV, internet and phone services.” But where are she and her colleagues when it comes to ensuring such critical cell phone service for many of us in the village for whom it might be essential to preserve our lives? Nowhere to be found! Is her statement just gross hypocrisy? Or is it just one more example of a board that loves big projects, but has nothing but contempt for its constituents.

Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold

There They Go Again!

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,
There they go again! The Gouveia property makes news again to the tune of $750K. The Democratic board had to have this property about five years ago, they just had to have it. It seemed to be an inside deal at the time and it was opposed by many in the Village, including me. The Board said the one million dollar endowment could be invested at 5% and we would have numerous events to make it a moneymaker. The investment plan did not come to fruition and there have been no events of consequence and no revenue.

So here we are again. I think the endowment has been spent. The burden of this project will come back to the taxpayers. This property has been nothing but a financial sinkhole and it will get worse if these improvements go forward.

Here is my problem. We are a village of 8,000 people and about 2,800 households with a budget of $19 million and outstanding debt over $30 million, which costs us almost two million dollars a year to service.

“Village taxes went up almost 2% last year and my school taxes and probably yours have gone up 3.5%. Why on earth would you start another project for $750K in this climate? The Police expansion is projected to be about  $4 million dollars if you can believe the numbers. The only way to support these projects is by taking on more debt and increasing taxes, which I believe many residents would not favor.”

The parking lot revenue is substantially reduced as is the sales tax revenue and the parking lot may never recover. Mayor Pugh recently balked at the cost of $16,000 to relocate the dog park citing the village’s shaky financial situation, and yet he and the board are willing to spend more money on the Gouveia property. This to me is insane and irresponsible and a disservice to the residents.

Village taxes went up almost 2% last year and my school taxes and probably yours have gone up 3.5%. Why on earth would you start another project for $750K in this climate? The Police expansion is projected to be about  $4 million dollars if you can believe the numbers. The only way to support these projects is by taking on more debt and increasing taxes, which I believe many residents would not favor.

I’d like to see a quick study done to see how much it would cost to raze the building and construct a large pavilion like we have at Senasqua park. Perhaps then maybe the park would be used by the residents. Right now it sits virtually empty all the time silently draining dollars from the budget.

Speak up! Say something! Do something or else you will pay.

Bob Anderson

Laws for the Little People

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
Citizens communicating with their elected representatives is a time-honored tradition in America. Back in a more innocent era, elementary schools would even have class assignments where students would write letters to their representatives (for young Gazette readers, writing letters is what we did before email).

The most famous was the 13 year-old whose mother said his room was a disaster area. The boy wrote to President Reagan asking for federal funds for a cleaning crew. Reagan wrote back noting that “the authority declaring the disaster is supposed to make the request. In this case, your mother.” Reagan suggested the boy launch a volunteer program to do the cleanup, and said to give his regards to Mom.

We live in a less innocent age, particularly in Croton. Elected leaders not only don’t care about their constituents, they view residents as the bottom rungs of a hierarchy. In Croton, politicians are on top.

A few years back there was the Croton politician who spoke of the necessity of “regaining power”—no thought of civic service for Croton leaders, only the raw use of “power.” Then last year we had a different Croton politician who was angered by a constituent communication and said that the resident was not “in a position of authority” and suggested that the Board of Trustees go into Executive Session to deal with the resident.

Most recently, last week we had a communication from the Croton Board of Trustees admonishing us that we should “use the normal chain of command” rather than communicate with the trustees. Seriously. We have a chain of command. Snap to attention and salute.

Can anyone imagine the Cortlandt Town Board going into Executive Session to gossip about a resident? Can anyone imagine Linda Puglisi responding to a resident by directing them to “use the normal chain of command”?

There is a long history in Croton of contempt for us average residents. Those with connections can get private briefings on the Katz property, while the average citizen is told to FOIL and is given a pile of heavily-redacted emails. Those with connections get lucrative solar contracts, while the average citizen pays taxes to upkeep the building on which the solar panels are installed. Et cetera, et cetera.

The latest is the proposal to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. Anyone who has ever seen La Teja pull up at the Croton Municipal Building and offload equipment understands that this is a valid concern. La Teja belches enough toxic emissions on the grounds of the Muni Building to give Greta Thunberg a coronary at first sight.

“There is a long history in Croton of contempt for us average residents. Those with connections can get private briefings on the Katz property, while the average citizen is told to FOIL and is given a pile of heavily-redacted emails. Those with connections get lucrative solar contracts, while the average citizen pays taxes to upkeep the building on which the solar panels are installed. Et cetera, et cetera. The latest is the proposal to ban gas-powered leaf blowers.”

Gas powered riding mowers, gas powered weed whackers, and yes… the infamous gas-powered leaf blowers. A foul-smelling symphony of machinery, appearing on a regular basis on the corner of Brook Street and Old Post Road. The Board of Trustees could lead by example and convert the lawn to an eco-friendly sustainable green space, but being at the top of the “chain of command” means never having to practice what you preach. So the conservation advisory council report merely recommends that the Village follow the law it will force everyone else to abide by.

You know who is outside the “chain of command” in Croton? Well, in addition to those residents cozy with the village trustees, rich people have always bypassed the Croton “chain of command” and the leaf blower ban is no exception.

Hudson National is one of the most expensive golf courses in the country. Almost a decade ago the initiation fee alone was over $200k, and the minimum annual cost at such a club is easily in the $30 to $50k range. The rich are different from you and me, and so it is only fitting that the proposed leaf blower ban won’t apply to the rich people.

Regular people will get stuck with increased landscaping costs, but then again the regular people should be used to getting the short end of the stick in Croton. Even in these unprecedented times when politicians have unprecedented “power” it is a bit distasteful to see the blatant political favoritism based on class and money.

Laws should apply equally to all of us. Our village government should live under the same leaf blower law that it imposes on the rest of us. Rich people drinking gin and tonics on the fancy golf course should be subject to the same laws as a resident living in a modest home in Harmon.

We will probably never return to those simpler times when elected leaders in Croton thought that constituent service was a key part of their job. But at least those leaders don’t have to constantly remind us that we are at the bottom of the civic society chain of command.

Paul Steinberg

Doing the Right Thing, Even if Only for Selfish Ends

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:

People can do the right thing, even if only for selfish ends. Such was the case with the Board of Trustees and the protest last month at Vassallo Park.

“The next time that a group wants to exercise their constitutional right to speak, they should be accorded the same treatment as the group which exercised their rights in Vassallo Park last month. Whether that group wants to speak out on climate change, racial justice, blue lives matter, or abortion should not matter. Nor should it matter whether a favored political candidate is a featured speaker while primary voting is taking place.”

I can understand the objection to waiving the normal requirement for insurance and permit approval, but I think those who object are looking at this the wrong way. We should be encouraging free speech, particularly in these times which are so hostile to any deviation from the majority viewpoint.

It is true that the protest gave an opportunity for a campaign speech by a Congressional candidate in the middle of a hotly-contested primary. It is naive to think that this opportunity was not a factor in the decision of the Board of Trustees not to require insurance and permits. But while the motives of our political leaders may have been improper, the action was taken and a precedent was set by our municipal government.

The Village Manager and Police Chief managed to successfully work with the residents and enable them to express their viewpoint in a village park, without buying expensive insurance or applying for permits months in advance. That is a good thing, and we should encourage more of that behavior on the part of our village government.

The next time that a group wants to exercise their constitutional right to speak, they should be accorded the same treatment as the group which exercised their rights in Vassallo Park last month. Whether that group wants to speak out on climate change, racial justice, blue lives matter, or abortion should not matter. Nor should it matter whether a favored political candidate is a featured speaker while primary voting is taking place.

Freedom of speech and equal treatment under the law are both principles of our democracy under attack from both sides of the political spectrum. In waiving requirements for the protest last month, the Board of Trustees acted in a manner that furthered freedom of speech and I applaud them for that. I hope that in the future the Board of Trustees will start to treat all residents as equal under the law.

Paul Steinberg

A Modest Proposal

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
Today we are spending a lot of time reviewing our history and how we are the beneficiaries of that shameful past. What we are not spending any time on is specific steps to atone for our shame.

“Returning the Gouveia property to its rightful owners will not be anywhere near full compensation for the injustice of the past, but it is a start. By giving Gouveia to the Shinnecock, both the taxpayers of Croton and the Shinnecock will come out winners.”

As the Village of Croton Board of Trustees noted in the June 15 resolution, all of us are living on lands which once belonged to a branch of the Algonquin tribe. For a brief period of time last year, here in Westchester had a fad whereby at the start of a meeting, the first speaker would ask if there were any Lenape “elders” who objected to us speaking. The trend faded in part because there are no nearby Lenape, elder or otherwise. I have a modest proposal to address at least this particular collective shortcoming.

There are branches of the Algonquin tribe which remain in New York State, including the Shinnecock on Long Island. As partial reparations, the Village of Croton could return Gouveia Park to the Shinnecock, as successors-in-interest of the native peoples whose land was stolen to create Croton.

We were told that the “natural amphitheater” of Gouveia would be a place for concerts and poetry readings, but the Board of Trustees has been unable to persuade anyone to appear, despite the best efforts of the village’s event marketing team. Even Charlie Puth won’t consider a concert, and he is jobless. But the Shinnecock are interested in expanding their revenue sources, and in negotiations with Andrew Cuomo for a casino permit. Using the Gouveia house as a casino plus the outdoor “natural amphitheater” for concerts has a chance of success. We still won’t get Beyonce, but Charlie Puth would be in reach. Given a choice between Charlie Puth and a poetry reading, it is a close call. But you take what you can get.

The Shinnecock are also good at marketing, and the Shinnecock Smoke Shop is a major destination on Long Island. That suggests that a similar operation on the Gouveia property (renamed, of course) would draw economic activity to Croton and the surrounding area.

Returning the Gouveia property to its rightful owners will not be anywhere near full compensation for the injustice of the past, but it is a start. By giving Gouveia to the Shinnecock, both the taxpayers of Croton and the Shinnecock will come out winners.

Paul Steinberg

Croton Math—Even Bernie Madoff’s Accountant Would Know Better!

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
What is 2 plus 2? That depends on whether you live in Croton, where creativity is a hallmark of our budgeting process.

That creativity only goes in one direction: to grossly understate the cost of a project. We have seen this for years, but recent examples include the Croton Point Avenue cost overrun, the disappearance of the Gouveia “perpetual” endowment, and the ballooning cost of the DPW building.

There are various reasons for these continuous budget surprises, including lack of foresight and wishful thinking. But sometimes the math is deliberately misleading from the outset. That is the case with the proposed $5 million bond for the police department expansion.

The merits of the police expansion are debatable, but let us assume for the moment that it is absolutely necessary to build a new police facility. The Village Manager says in her Memo of May 29: “If you assumed an additional $5-million bond, at 2% per year interest rate, that would be an additional $100,000 per year.”

If it were our esteemed Mayor making this statement, it would be one thing; when it comes to municipal finance his illiteracy is the stuff of Croton legend, and he really believes some of the whoppers that come out of his mouth. But our Village Manager holds an M.B.A. from one of the best schools in the world and worked for a global bank. She knows better, as does anyone with an ounce of common sense. Even Bernie Madoff’s accountant would know better.

“Unless we are so irresponsible that we are willing to stick future Croton taxpayers with a massive balloon payment in 20 years because we will be retired to some low-tax state, we owe it to the future residents of Croton to set aside money to pay off our debts. For the Village Manager to act as though the borrowed money never has to be paid back is irresponsible both morally and as a matter of generally accepted accounting principles.”

If Croton issues a 20 year bond in the amount of $5M, the village will get $5M in cash (less various underwriting and miscellaneous fees). In exchange it will indeed have to pay out $100,000 per year for the next 20 years. That totals $2 million. But ultimately the bond matures, and then Croton taxpayers need to come up with the $5M we borrowed in the first place.

Unless we are so irresponsible that we are willing to stick future Croton taxpayers with a massive balloon payment in 20 years because we will be retired to some low-tax state, we owe it to the future residents of Croton to set aside money to pay off our debts. For the Village Manager to act as though the borrowed money never has to be paid back is irresponsible both morally and as a matter of generally accepted accounting principles.

Prudent fiscal management is not a characteristic of the Croton Board of Trustees… but we live in hope. So let us assume they don’t want to simply screw the taxpayers living here in 2041, and they set up a sinking fund. Every year the taxpayers will pay $250,000 into an account. After 20 years when the bond matures, the sinking fund will have a balance equal to the bond principal payment due.

The king of England issued perpetual bonds to pay for the Napoleonic Wars. But the Croton Village Manager is not the king of England, and those police bond buyers are going to want their principal back when the bond matures. It may be that we need to increase spending on the Croton police department. But let us be honest for once about what that will cost.

Assuming a 20-year bond at 2%, the cost of the Croton Police Palace is not $100,000 per year that the Village Manager claims but rather $350,000 per year. The lifetime cost is not $2 million but $7 million.

Having a project end up costing three and a half times what we were told it would cost is typical “Croton math.” In this case, the fake numbers are clear to all of us from the outset. It may indeed be that we have no choice but to spend millions of dollars. But we should not deceive ourselves yet again: the math is what it is.

The Village Manager and Village Treasurer need to stop deliberately understating the cost of projects to Croton taxpayers. They can start by giving us a realistic budget and annual cost for the police department expansion.

Paul Steinberg

We Need a Cost/Benefit Study of the Croton Police Department

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
I like the Croton police. Having had personal experience with the Westchester County Police, I have serious reservations about having the county provide police coverage. That being said, the May 29 memorandum of Village Manager Janine King defending the cost of the Croton police is both offensive to the people of Croton and unprofessional.

Trustee John Habib suggested that the village undertake a cost/benefit study of the Croton Police Department (The Gazette, week of May 21/27). In her memorandum, Ms. King says that this suggestion “may have undermined morale by expressing doubt as to their worth.”

If the mere suggestion of a cost/benefit study has undermined the morale of the Croton Police Department, then we have a leadership problem with the Village Manager and Police Chief. Most of us have jobs where we are evaluated and assessed.

Much as I think Chief Harper and his force have done a great job, they are not above scrutiny and I was surprised by the suggestion that the Croton police might take offense because of a legitimate question raised by a member of the Board of Trustees charged with oversight of the police department.

Ms. King says that the value of having our own police department “cannot be measured in dollars and cents.” After saying this, Ms. King then sets out a dollars and cents analysis measuring the value of the Croton police department. I recommend that every Croton taxpayer read Ms. King’s memorandum. Not only do her own numbers not support her conclusion, they support Mr. Habib’s recommendation for a cost analysis of the department.

The town of Cortlandt pays $1,043,761 per year. Cortlandt has roughly 43,000 residents. If you deduct the 8200 residents of Croton and the 2300 residents of Buchanan, that means that Cortlandt is spending roughly $32 per capita to cover 32,500 residents.

The town of Ossining pays $2,222,605 per year. If you take the 38,000 town residents and deduct the 25,000 village residents, that means that Ossining is spending roughly $171 per capita to cover 13,000 residents.

The village of Buchanan is the only outlier. Due to its small population of 2300, the $1.8 million budget (for 5 officers) works out to $782 per capita. The only reason the residents can afford this is because 46 percent of their budget comes from Indian Point, so in reality the taxpayers only have to come up with $422 per capita. Now that Indian Point is closing down, Buchanan is in discussions to join with Cortlandt’s police contract.

Croton pays $4,533,744 to cover 8200 people, or roughly $552 per capita. So a Croton couple with 2 children is paying on average $2,208 each year for police coverage—considerably more than nearby communities.

Cortlandt taxpayers pay $32 per capita, Ossining taxpayers pay $171, Buchanan taxpayers pay $422 (net of Indian Point money), and Croton taxpayers pay $552.

Ms. King’s memorandum justifies the cost of the Croton PD by computing cost per officer. But this is at best a metric not relevant to whether an acceptable level of service can be provided more efficiently by an alternate law enforcement agency. We may simply be overly policed. The fact is that the community to the north of Croton and the community to the south of Croton both pay significantly less per capita for police coverage.

I don’t think that Supervisor Puglisi and Supervisor Levenberg are putting the lives of their residents at risk. But let us assume that we in Croton want a level of policing suitable for an upscale community. Even by that standard, Croton is paying top dollar.

Darien Connecticut is one of the wealthiest communities in the nation, with a household income roughly double that of Croton. It has 22,000 residents who can afford to pay for a police force which is well-compensated and has made Darien the safest community in Connecticut year after year. To achieve this, the wealthy taxpayers shelled out $7,384,850 last year—in other words, about $336 per person.

“I am disappointed by the fact that the Village Manager and Police Chief won’t even acknowledge the economic hardship facing residents and are unwilling to undertake the same type of post-Covid cost/benefit analysis that most of us are undertaking at our own workplace. I am not asking for a reduction in per capita cost to match other municipalities, but it would be helpful if Chief Harper engaged in a dialogue with we the taxpayers. I think the Chief is making a mistake in not having such discussions: many Croton residents support our hometown police but we are concerned about the skyrocketing cost and office space demands being placed on taxpayers.”

If Darien can manage to keep its citizens safe for $336 per capita, is it unreasonable to ask Croton why we are spending $552 per capita?

I am not opposed to keeping the Croton police force the way it is now. But it is quite reasonable for a Village Trustee charged with a duty to represent taxpayers to explore the possibility of saving taxpayer dollars. That is particularly true as we prepare to spend another five million dollars on a massive expansion of the police department to consume the entire first floor of the Municipal Building.

An ominous sign of police budgets to come was during last fall’s discussion of the police capital budget where we were told that the Croton PD needs to prepare for a “black swan” event. Normally we might be tempted to dismiss this as another jumped-the-shark buzzword that our Board of Trustees is fond of using, but my guess is that we taxpayers are being prepared for a “black swan” blank check.

Does anyone seriously believe that this new Police Palace will not result in an expansion of mission and…. cost? So far we have seen no indication that the police budget will even be contained, let alone reduced. I rather suspect that most of us in Croton will be taking home less money in 2021, if we are not suffering from income decline already. The readers of this newspaper are cutting their budgets, and asking the same financial restraint from our police department seems reasonable.

Yet when we ask whether policing can be made more efficient we “may have undermined morale” of the Croton police force? Seriously? Village Manager King and Chief Harper don’t have to worry about pay cuts or furloughs or employers reducing 401(k) pension matching. But most of us living in Croton do have to worry about the fragile economy. If things don’t improve quickly, many of us will be out of a job. The Village Manager should remember that most people in Croton don’t have her level of pay nor her level of job security.

I am disappointed by the fact that the Village Manager and Police Chief won’t even acknowledge the economic hardship facing residents and are unwilling to undertake the same type of post-Covid cost/benefit analysis that most of us are undertaking at our own workplace. I am not asking for a reduction in per capita cost to match other municipalities, but it would be helpful if Chief Harper engaged in a dialogue with we the taxpayers. I think the Chief is making a mistake in not having such discussions: many Croton residents support our hometown police but we are concerned about the skyrocketing cost and office space demands being placed on taxpayers.

A final consideration which the Village Manager and Board of Trustees refuse to discuss is the impact of laws being proposed at the state and national level. I am personally opposed to much of what is being proposed and I think that it is an over-reaction to the actions of a tiny number of rogue police officers. But the reality is that these laws will increase litigation against police officers and the governmental entity which employs them. Indeed a key goal of these laws is to change police behavior by increasing liability for law enforcement officers.

There is a rabid anti-police feeling driving legislation in Albany this week, and even talk in Washington of doing away with Section 1983 qualified immunity. Regardless of how you feel about the desirability of such legislation, it dramatically increases the risk for a community of 8,200 people which has its own police department. The Board of Trustees needs to tell us: how will Croton manage the increased liability risk, whether this risk can be adequately managed through insurance, and what the cost will be.

I would prefer to keep the Croton police department rather than switch to using the county police. In particular, both Chief Harper and his predecessor Chief Tramaglini maintained good relations with the hispanic community, which is more than can be said for the county police. There is a benefit to having a police force with roots in the community it serves. But such a choice should be made with the full knowledge as to how much extra that is going to cost us.

Cortlandt is spending $1,043,761 versus Croton spending $4,533,744. Over the course of a decade, that equates to almost $35 million dollars! Add in the $5 million police department expansion and you have Croton taxpayers paying an excess of $40 million dollars versus our neighbors in Cortlandt.

Even for the spendthrift members of the Croton Board of Trustees, the potential to save forty million dollars over the next decade should cause the trustees to consider a cost/benefit analysis such as that proposed by Mr. Habib. I understand and share the emotional attachment we all have to the Croton Police, but we are talking about an annual police department budget in excess of $4.5 million.

The Board of Trustees owes Croton taxpayers a duty to make a decision based on both emotional attachment and prudent financial management.

Paul Steinberg

Croton Must Reduce Taxes Now

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,

Much has been written in these pages concerning the wisdom of inaugurating the ill-advised Croton Point Avenue project at the very peak of the coronavirus pandemic. I personally find it to be inappropriate, if not irresponsible. Not only are we increasing the likelihood that the out-of-town construction workers will contract the virus, but we are potentially exposing the 3 or 4 village employees designated by our village board to oversee the project to an unnecessary risk to themselves, to their families, and to other village employees with whom they will come in contact.

Our village forces, DPW, police, and all the others, have demonstrated exemplary dedication and courage to continue to provide vital village services during this emergency. It is folly to expose any of them to avoidable risks for a project of questionable benefit to the village.

Contrary to what some would have you believe, this project is “essential” only in the minds of our village board. The governor’s directive suspended all non-essential construction. He exempted all infrastructure projects from this edict. But he did not designate this individual project as essential, nor did he direct the village to proceed with it. That choice was left to the village board and they could well have chosen to delay the project without violating the governor’s decree.

This strikes me as just one more expression of the board’s lack of empathy for village residents and employees. Projects always seem to take precedence over people. It is yet another link in the chain that includes the recent adoption of zoning changes in the face of intense opposition from literally hundreds of Crotonites and the patent refusal of the mayor to meet with residents of the Nordica Drive/Piney Point Avenue neighborhood to explain what went wrong with the construction project in that area and what the village is doing to ensure that it will never happen again. And the list goes on.

“There are many in our village who have been, or will soon be, laid off or furloughed from their jobs or otherwise face a substantial reduction in their incomes. Our local businesses are shuttered providing no revenue to pay the salaries of their now laid-off employees or to sustain their proprietors. . . . Seniors . . . have seen their portfolios devastated by the recent turmoil in financial markets . . . And all of this is taking place just before our village taxes are due. . . . Thus it is incumbent on the board to minimize those tax bills. That does not mean keeping the increase in taxes low, but actually reducing the expenditures for next year until we can see our way out of this crisis.”

The next chapter in this unfortunate saga will come with the adoption of the final village budget for FY2020/2021 in less than two weeks. As a result of the economic cataclysm spawned by the pandemic, there are many in our village who have been, or will soon be, laid off or furloughed from their jobs or otherwise face a substantial reduction in their incomes. Our local businesses are shuttered providing no revenue to pay the salaries of their now laid-off employees or to sustain their proprietors. Others are ill and this fraction may grow in the weeks ahead.

Seniors who rely on income from, and the drawdown of, the savings and investments they have accumulated over several decades, have seen their portfolios devastated by the recent turmoil in financial markets with no indication of whether and when they will recover. And all of this is taking place just before our village taxes are due. Consequently, many of our neighbors will find it extraordinarily difficult to make the requisite tax payments on time. Everyone is hurting to a greater or lesser degree.

Thus it is incumbent on the board to minimize those tax bills. That does not mean keeping the increase in taxes low, but actually reducing the expenditures for next year until we can see our way out of this crisis. Waiving penalties on water bills does little to help those in extremis.

Based on the data released to date, the capital budget has been reduced, but I fear these are deferrals rather than actual cuts. There has been some nibbling around the edges of the operating budget, but this has resulted in only a 1.5% reduction in spending and still yields a nearly 2% increase in the tax rate. These may be positive steps, but much more needs to be done.

The village manager has sounded the alarm regarding non-tax revenue. But if her dire projections prove to be overly optimistic, the village will be in deep fiscal trouble if the operating budget is not slashed. And we cannot predict for how long these conditions will prevail.

It is at times like these that we desperately miss the sage advice and counsel of the Financial Sustainability Committee, a non-partisan group of fiscal professionals dedicated to the preservation of the financial health of the village. But a couple of years ago, the mayor saw fit to effectively disband this body when they told him things he did not want to hear—much in the vein of another chief executive very much in the news these days.

Perhaps there is a way out of this dilemma without incurring deep budget cuts or overburdening our beleaguered citizens with taxes they will be hard pressed to pay. But, whatever the talents possessed by our current board members, none of them have the financial acumen that would have been provided at no cost by the FSC.

Our board members have presented themselves to us as the ones best able to deal with issues affecting the village. The test of such leadership is how one performs in a crisis and prudently makes the excruciatingly difficult decisions necessary to confront it. It is now the responsibility of the board to face this challenge with full consideration for all of our neighbors facing desperate times. There is still time. I pray they follow the right path.

Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold

Risking Workers’ Lives for a Bike Lane!

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor:
The most cynical thing ever said by a politician was Rahm Emanuel’s “never let a crisis go to waste.” Variants of that have percolated thru the national Democratic Party in the last few days, most offensive of which was House Majority Whip Clyburn calling this virus pandemic a “tremendous opportunity.”

Here in Croton, our local politicians agree. Where a normal human reaction is to grieve the loss of life, the Board of Trustees and Village Manager see a tremendous opportunity. For a six-hour period on Monday, one person was dying from coronavirus every 2.9 minutes in New York City. On Monday afternoon as refrigerated trailers arrived in New York to hold dead bodies, here in Croton our Village Manager Janine King announced that the Croton Point Avenue (CPA) project would start the following morning, despite the order from Governor Cuomo last Friday that “non-essential construction is going to stop.”

This morning, I drove past the construction site. At the corner of CPA and Riverside, they had set out traffic cones. A white pickup was parked there, with 2 men in the front seat looking over a document. Forget about social distance: they were speaking less than 12 inches apart with no mask or any protective equipment. And those appeared to be the supervisors!

This morning, we awoke to photos of forklifts hoisting coffins into those refrigerated trucks. People are dying by the hundreds, and Croton refuses to delay construction of a bicycle lane and stoplight. In fact some people have expressed the view that this is a great time to do the construction since there is virtually no traffic and everyone is staying home.

“This morning, we awoke to photos of forklifts hoisting coffins into … refrigerated trucks. People are dying by the hundreds, and Croton refuses to delay construction of a bicycle lane and stoplight. In fact some people have expressed the view that this is a great time to do the construction since there is virtually no traffic and everyone is staying home.”

There is a reason why there is little traffic: we have a worldwide pandemic killing millions of people. To save lives, the Governor has ordered people to stay home unless necessary. Some people must be out in public and many of them must interact in close proximity with strangers. The cashiers at the gas station, the stock clerks at ShopRite, and the pharmacists filling our prescriptions are vital. Laborers constructing a bike lane and putting blacktop over perfectly fine concrete are endangering their lives for no reason.

Croton’s police and sanitation crews are out working, at risk to themselves and their loved ones. That is admirable and heroic: without them our society would risk collapse. Delaying the CPA project for a month is not going to risk social collapse.

As always in uber-woke progressive Croton, there is a class element which we don’t want to discuss. Those ShopRite clerks and DPW crews have to work for a living. Unlike our village trustees, they don’t have the luxury of sitting home in a gated community or spending their time on their private tennis court at home. Unlike our Village Manager whose salary alone places her in the top 4 percent of income earners in the United States, the people who are out there on the front lines don’t have the kind of money to sit safely at home.

I recently passed by a Croton DPW crew working. I spotted a senior DPW management employee right out there with his crew. Village Manager King and the Board of Trustees might learn from that example. If they are going to make laborers go out at the height of a viral pandemic rather than delay a bike lane for a month or two, then at least they should be out there and expose themselves to the same risk. Put down that tennis racket, come out of your gated community, and lead by example.

After waiting a decade, the CPA project could have waited a few more weeks. The argument that this is a tremendous opportunity since there is no traffic is not only offensive, it is another example of the classist elitism that is the hallmark of the Croton Board of Trustees. It is true that starting construction now is more convenient for the residents who commute to their Manhattan skyscrapers. And it is equally true that in our supposedly progressive community, we don’t much care for those without money or clout: we don’t want them in our parks, but we have no problem sending them out to risk their lives so our train station commute is not disrupted.

History has taught me not to expect much humanity or empathy from our Board of Trustees. But I am truly disappointed in Ms. Horowitz. Not only has she shown some sparks of compassion for the average person in Croton, she has also devoted her professional life to caring for children. When she first ran for office, even people who voted against her told me that she was a nice person. How does she not stand up and tell her colleagues to not endanger lives merely for the sake of the convenience of train station commuters?

Mr. Pugh is cynical and opportunistic as always. As the attorney for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) he talks a good game about the working man. And SEIU has posted information about coronavirus, including demands that municipal employers “minimize the risk of infection for [union] members” as well as “adopt and provide copies of emergency response protocols and plans” and provide personal protection equipment (PPE) to workers.

Why won’t Mayor Brian Pugh walk the walk that SEIU attorney Brian Pugh would talk? Why do we have village laborers sitting a few inches apart in pickup trucks spewing microscopic drops of spittle? I understand that Mr. Pugh is way too important to put his own family at risk, but can’t he at least see to it that the CPA workers have a goddamn face mask?

In time, this too shall pass. We will aid our sick families, mourn those who we have lost, and we will move forward. But as we zip down Croton Point Avenue on our way to those fancy Manhattan skyscrapers, let us not forget that we placed our own convenience above the lives of those who built that fancy bike lane.

Paul Steinberg

Signs of the Times

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,
Signs?
Really?

After three or more years of Sturm und Drang, our esteemed village board has made the momentous decision to, OMG, ban all signs from village property. In a split vote yet! And it consumed half of the front page of this publication last week. How much time has the board devoted to this trivial, no, silly, subject?

For the record, I actually like the signs. I think they give our village a small town, Norman Rockwell kind of atmosphere. But our betters have spoken and the signs shall be no more.

Would that the board spend an equivalent amount of time, effort, and debate on issues that really matter. On the rezoning: 68% of survey respondents, 80-90% of speakers at the three public hearings, and, I believe, over 550 signatories to a petition presented to the board, all opposed high density housing on the Katz property. Yet the board continues to pursue it without any sign of internal dissent. This is clearly not nearly as significant as the signs and far less worthy of debate.

“The mayor promotes the supposed virtues of mixed-use development, when brick and mortar retail stores are dying throughout the country and we have already lost numerous businesses in Croton. He rightly claims that we need more affordable housing in our village, but knows full well that no more than 10% of any units constructed on Katz are required to be affordable. And the trustees say not a word. This clearly does not rise to the importance of banning signage in our village.”

The mayor refuses to tell us how the changes made to the original zoning plan will affect that density or to reveal the maximum number of housing units that will be permitted on Katz. “That’s a rhetorical question,” he says. Yeah! Right!

In his letter extolling the virtues of the rezoning, the mayor “appreciate(s) everyone who has taken part in this process,” but totally flouts the overwhelming sentiment against high-density housing. And his colleagues sit silently by as these proposals wend their way to certain adoption. They disagree on signs, but not on an issue that can really change the character of our village.

The mayor promotes the supposed virtues of mixed-use development, when brick and mortar retail stores are dying throughout the country and we have already lost numerous businesses in Croton. He rightly claims that we need more affordable housing in our village, but knows full well that no more than 10% of any units constructed on Katz are required to be affordable. And the trustees say not a word. This clearly does not rise to the importance of banning signage in our village.

The mayor assures us that the village board will work with the planning board to ensure that any proposal for Katz will be “a win for our community.” I would invite the community to come to the Piney Point Avenue/Nordica Drive neighborhood to see what a win was scored for our area with our latest development, made under the watchful eyes of the village board and planning board. And the mayor patently refuses—on advice of counsel—to meet with neighborhood residents to explain what went wrong and what the village has done to ensure it never happens again. Gives one a warm fuzzy feeling for developing Katz, does it not? And still the trustees remain mum. Not as big a deal as signage, for sure.

Nor is there any dissent on the Croton Point Avenue Project, which this board has bungled to a fare-thee-well, or calls for exploration of viable alternatives to the multi-million dollar renovation of the police station which would give our police officers everything they need without breaking the bank, or questions on the yet to be defined costs of what must be done at Gouveia to implement whatever scheme the mayor is hatching there. None of these rise to the importance of preventing Croton organizations from publicizing their events or our neighbors from advertising their garage sales, much less denying anyone the ability to promote a political candidate who opposes our local machine.

Ah, signs! We have now been assured that nothing in Croton is more important, or more worthy of lively debate, than whether we will be allowed to post our signs on village property.

Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold

Shiny Object Syndrome

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome) is an affliction of most politicians. It is hard to resist just as a fish chases a shiny lure, so do our public officials. Croton-on-Hudson seems to be the easiest catch.

The Municipal Skate Park which was a failure cost the Village over $100K was the first cast and we chased the lure.

“SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome) is an affliction of most politicians. It is hard to resist just as a fish chases a shiny lure, so do our public officials. Croton-on-Hudson seems to be the easiest catch.”

Better yet Gouveia Park (the one where nobody goes) was dressed in a bright shiny outfit with a multi colored hula skirt and it was FREE! How could the Village resist? (It was a bit of an inside deal among friends). This one was swallowed hook, line and sinker. We now own 17 acres of land that can’t be developed with a decaying building that will cost ​tens of​ thousands of dollars to rehab to ADA standards, ​which​ will serve only a small minority of residents and remain a continuous drain on Village resources. Not to mention the lost tax revenue.

The big fish! Croton Point Avenue (CPA), the fish Spencer Tracy caught in the “Old Man and the Sea”. This was a classic! If the Village agrees to put in bike paths and sidewalks, we’ll give you a grant and the taxpayers will only have to kick in $300K. Sounds good right? Sure, bike paths for about 30 residents who ride to the station for about four months of the year weather permitting in a village of 8,000 residents. What a deal! We took the bait and the current estimates put residents on the hook for about $3 million for the project.

Well folks, like Kenny Rodgers said, “You gotta know when to fold ‘em”. It’s time to give back the ante and walk away. This project is a loser and if pursued will show up in your taxes before you know it.

By the way, if you want to fish in Croton, cast your lures when the Dems are in control. You’ll catch your limit in no time at all.

Bob Anderson

We Need to Say No to This Proposal

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,
I attended the November 18th public hearing regarding the proposed rezoning of the Municipal Gateway and North Riverside areas. Taking the opportunity to speak, I re-emphasized my concerns about traffic and infrastructure. I also highlighted the minimal discussion of potential impacts on our school district. The Mayor was quick to contradict the latter with some documentation, quoting a study from Rutgers and suggesting only 6 students would be added to the schools. He ended with a not-so-subtle jab, “that it’s common sense.”  

I’ve since followed up on the Mayor’s citation and I’m being generous to say the information is underwhelming. I didn’t roll into the public meeting without doing some homework first. Unfortunately, I made the rookie mistake of looking at the “final report”, where I assumed (and hoped) to find a thorough analysis. Of course, the information isn’t there; turns out it’s a measly 2 pages buried in an environmental impact statement.  

The data is obviously presented to appease critics. The environmental impact statement itself is mostly checkboxes. There are a few claims:

1. The Rutgers study is combined with a comparison to similar developments to suggest a paltry increase in students.

2. Croton’s school district is currently under-enrolled.

3. Westchester county birthrates are declining.  

The worst-case scenario in the document is about 6 additional students for an 80 unit complex. Does that sound like common sense? Say what you will, but that’s a stretch if I ever heard one. In a world where anyone can cite studies and stats to prove just about anything, I think Croton deserves deeper analysis.  

The document also claims Westchester’s birth rates are declining. Maybe so, but birthrates aren’t driving population growth; migration and immigration are. The Board has repeatedly cited “new village immigrants” as benefactors of new development, yet somehow they are neglected in this superficial analysis. It’s incongruous to cite low birth rates after having gone on and on about a housing shortage in our highly desired village, as the Board has.  

“I’d like to see us deal with the problems we have now so we can accommodate further development. Unfortunately, that type of foresight hasn’t been evident thus far. We need to say no to this proposal because fiscal responsibility is always a requirement! We need to say no because traffic planning is a prerequisite, not an afterthought. Say no because if you don’t the board will continue to spend without end, and they’ll happily repeat these shenanigans again and again.”

Here’s a question. If the Board is honestly seeking affordable housing for empty nesters or any other existing residents, who will move into the vacated homes? Germane to several community concerns, this seems like an obvious question, but I see no evidence it’s been asked or answered. The likely scenario is families with school-age children will move in, and that casts further doubt on the overly optimistic estimates in the document.  

Perhaps a conservative example will better make the point. Let’s assume 10 empty nesters move into a new development. Then typical 2 car / 2 kid families move into the vacated homes. That's already a net gain of 20 cars and 20 kids and that doesn’t count the impact of new immigrants.  

Assuming the enrollment numbers are correct, there is neither a guarantee or an understanding of that trend. The fact is we live in a highly desirable community, proximate to the largest city in the country. Citing what might be a temporary trend while discussing demand-driven housing costs and shortages is an obvious contradiction.

I stand by what I said at the hearing. Withstanding the conspicuous attempt to placate critics, the conversation around impacts on our schools has been lacking!  

Also in the meeting, the Board stressed 2 points:

1. The proposed changes are modest compared to what’s currently allowed.

2. They assured us that any future proposal would have to be approved by both the Planning Board and the Board of Trustees as a special permit.  

These points aren’t what they seem. The first is a false comparison. The Board only recently admitted it, but the rezoning proposal is specifically designed to entice development by increasing the allowable density and therefore potential profitability in the affected zones. There’s an underlying admission; currently, the Katz property isn’t economically appealing to develop, and so likely never would be! When they say it’s a modest change they’re comparing something that doesn’t and probably won’t exist to something they are specifically hoping will.  

The second point may be true but there’s a catch. The Board has an intrinsic interest in the sale and development of the property, but they are also responsible for approving any plan to do so. It’s also typical for developers to write approval contingencies into their purchase agreements. These are serious conflicts of interest, and in the Board’s desperation to sell the land they may be tempted to erode the very protections they’re touting.  

I’ve followed this process about as closely as a busy parent can, but it seems designed to befuddle even the most diligent observer. The labyrinth of hackneyed talking points and shallow justifications lead to obvious questions many of which go unanswered. Criticism is countered with a patronizing repetition of platitudes instead of a constructive demonstration of thoroughness most citizens expect.  

This tendency is so pronounced that a recent Board letter to the Gazette employed scare tactics, suggesting if we don’t develop Katz we’ll end up with a homeless problem like San Francisco. Reminiscent of “won’t someone think of the children”, another Board letter paraded out a seemingly contrived story about his elderly neighbor. And these are among the many innuendos and outright assertions that concerned citizens are nothing more than alarmist conspiracy theorists. Am I the only one that thinks this is ridiculous? It's a sad substitute for the methodical and thoughtful process I think our small village deserves. 

And what about transparency? In the November 18th meeting Richard Masur (chairman of the Croton Democrats) was quick to point out the Board’s “plethora” of communications and public hearings. A curious statement, considering I personally heard him say at the June 18th workshop that we needed more time than had been allotted. I wanted to talk to Mr. Masur afterward to explain my impressions. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch him. However, I’d point out that much of the communications he cited including the 2 public workshops are legally mandated. Watching how they’ve been conducted, and observing the aforementioned points, I’m skeptical that they represent a transparent effort to work with the public.  

Furthermore, recent admissions and documentation make clear that more familiar spending policies are the primary motive, not affordable housing and/or comprehensive planning mandates. Hot on the heels of the costly DPW fiasco, the Board intends to continue spending like a teenager with a credit card. Spending millions on a CPA project that will likely hurt our quality of life is one example. Borrowing and spending still more millions to renovate a police station most of us will never step foot in is another. Granted selling Katz is meant to soften those consequences, but we should be in a period of reflection and recovery instead of questionable deficit spending.

In principle, I’m not against development or spending, but we’re not grappling with the complex issues we face. If we’re going to maintain the character of this village, we’re going to need a lot more than offset curb cuts and height restrictions. 

I’d like to see us deal with the problems we have now so we can accommodate further development. Unfortunately, that type of foresight hasn’t been evident thus far. We need to say no to this proposal because fiscal responsibility is always a requirement! We need to say no because traffic planning is a prerequisite, not an afterthought. Say no because if you don’t the board will continue to spend without end, and they’ll happily repeat these shenanigans again and again.

Steve Saporito

Croton’s Fiscal Wizards!

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,
Oh, Wow! We in Croton are indeed truly blessed. The financial acumen of our village board knows no limits! Eat your hearts out Carl Icahn, Jamie Diamond, Koch Brothers, Donald Trump, et al. You can’t hold a candle to our guys. The spirits of J. P. Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt are gazing down in awe and admiration.

Just look what they’ve done on the Croton Point Avenue (CPA) project alone. They took a prosaic effort, estimated at a measly $1.5 million, and through their herculean efforts ballooned it into a $5.2 million enterprise. That’s a 350% increase! And through ingenious wheeling and dealing, they were able to ratchet up the Croton taxpayers’ share from a trivial $300,000 to a colossal $3.4 million—that’s a fully tenfold increase! Oh, man! What other village government could possibly have reached those heights! Way to go guys!

“Just look what they’ve done on the Croton Point Avenue (CPA) project alone. They took a prosaic effort, estimated at a measly $1.5 million, and through their herculean efforts ballooned it into a $5.2 million enterprise. That’s a 350% increase! And through ingenious wheeling and dealing, they were able to ratchet up the Croton taxpayers’ share from a trivial $300,000 to a colossal $3.4 million—that’s a fully tenfold increase! Oh, man! What other village government could possibly have reached those heights! Way to go guys!”

And look what they were able to accomplish in just the past year. They sagaciously rejected a $2.9 million bid for CPA construction last spring. “We can do far better than that,” they assured us. And then, they went out and did it! The latest low bid was all the way up there at $3.8 million. That’s over a 30% increase in less than twelve months! And the management fee? It rose 25% as well. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. Where else can one find such fiscal wizardry?

It’s no wonder they threw the Financial Sustainability Committee under the proverbial bus. Who needs experienced financial professionals working pro bono for the village when our very own board members have such awe-inspiring fiscal expertise inherent in their DNA?

And CPA is only the beginning. That estimate of $5.5 million for the new police station? Forget it! I have complete faith that they can ramp that up to $6 million or even $7 million with one hand tied behind their collective backs. And if they really put their hearts and minds into it, I have full confidence that they’ll hit $8 million, or even $9 million, before they’re all finished.

And then there’s Gouveia Park. You know Gouveia? That’s the place where nobody ever goes. In one of their earlier crowning achievements, the then-Dem board took a piddling $12,000 estimate for the driveway and parking lot and majestically transformed it into a vast $215,000 venture. An 1,800% increase! Without even breaking a sweat!

And, joy of joys, they now tell us that the $215,000 road and parking lot just won’t work anymore and we need to spend an estimated $750,000 more to finally get it right. Plus, they’ve budgeted another $500,000 to renovate the house.

Now, c’mon guys. We know you’ve got another magical financial coup up your sleeves. Your phenomenal fiscal track record tells us that you’ve barely gotten started on Gouveia. You’re just teasing us with those numbers, aren’t you?

We know that, just as we’re getting comfortable with your current estimates, wham! Bam! Surprise! With great fanfare you’ll announce all of the extra zeros you’ll be adding to the costs. Elation will reign throughout our village! You’ll have done it once again!

The Wiegman board merely doubled Croton’s debt during its tenure. Chicken feed! We are fully confident that you will far exceed even their august achievements. We can take pride in the fact that, before you’re finished, you will lift Croton from its subordinate position as just one of the few most indebted villages in New York, to the very top spot. The most indebted community in all of the Empire State! And with just a little more effort, you can raise us up to the ultimate pinnacle. The most indebted village in the entire nation! What an astounding accomplishment to post on our village letterhead.

We know you’ve got it in you. We have full confidence you can do it! And we’re all behind you cheering all the way.

Joel E. Gingold

Croton’s One Party Government

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor:
The North Riverside re-zoning plan will go forward regardless of public input. Some of the quotes I hear from residents are: “It’s a done deal”, “They’ll do whatever they want” and “The meetings and questionnaire were just window dressing.”

Unfortunately, this is a result of a one party government. This is not new to Croton and it has happened before. The Municipal Place skate park debacle at a cost of  $100K or more. The Gouveia Park sham which will continue to drain resources and can only get worse. A former mayor receiving a Cadillac health plan for his family. The Croton Point Avenue project and the five million dollar renovation of the Municipal Building.

The common threads are the same: One party rule, stacked committees, public meetings that appear to get residents input but are ignored. The same cabal will always be in the background pulling the strings. The current party ran on transparency and open government, but it seems that more goes on in secret than in the public arena. You can make a public comment at a Board meeting but a response is unlikely. This board has met all the minimal requirements of public discourse and the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law. They could do a better job of pretending to care about the voice of the people they represent.

When I served on the Board, a good example of listening to the people was the Sunset Park discussion. There was an actual discussion with residents on how to best replace the park equipment. It was spirited at times and we ended up with a great result. The system worked.

Finally, the supporters of the current board will say, “If you don’t like it, run for office.”  It’s an easy out for them. People don’t run as a non-Democrat because of the fear of  retribution. You will be branded as a Republican regardless of you independent status. Some quotes: “I can’t run because I might need a building permit.” “I’m afraid to run, I’ll end up on the bad list and won’t be able to call the Village with a problem.” “I’ll be attacked by their social media troll.” And “They’ll try to dig up something or make up something to discredit me and my family.”

My advice is to not give up. Don’t be fearful. Let the Board know how you feel. Send the email. Write a letter. Go to a meeting. It’s time to let the sun shine in and get the government you deserve. If you do nothing you’ll get nothing.

Bob Anderson

This Project Has Jumped the Shark

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor:
Did you miss it? Late last Monday night, at almost the very end of the Village Board meeting, the Village Manager announced that based on the bids recently received for the Croton Point Avenue project, the village will now have to borrow $3 million dollars to complete the project. For those who have been following the progress of this misguided project from its inception, that is fully ten times the original estimated cost to the village, and that’s for only the scaled-back version of the project that the board announced earlier this year.

“The taxpayers of this village can only hope that some concern for their welfare will guide the decision making of this board, and that a decade’s worth of empty promises to their constituents does not force the Croton Dems to make a decision that prioritizes their party over the good of the community.”

And while I’m certain that proponents of the project will point out that the original estimate was made ten years ago, which is true, the project’s proponents would also have to admit that less than two weeks ago, the village manager estimated that the village would need to borrow $1.9 million to complete the project—which today seems like a bargain at only a little more than six times the original estimate.

This project, which proposes to narrow the driving lanes on Croton Point Avenue to the New York State minimum in order to construct bike lanes and a sidewalk designed to incentivize pedestrians to cross three separate highway entrances and exits on the south side of the street, and install three additional stop lights between Riverside Avenue and the train station, was flawed from the beginning. Admitting that fact now will literally save the taxpayers of this village millions of dollars. Let’s face it—with this price tag, this project has jumped the shark.

The taxpayers of this village can only hope that some concern for their welfare will guide the decision making of this board, and that a decade’s worth of empty promises to their constituents does not force the Croton Dems to make a decision that prioritizes their party over the good of the community.

Roseann Schuyler

Different Versions of Reality in Croton

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
Anyone who has tried to pill a cat can sympathize with Mr. Masur: objectively speaking, the cat is stupid and you know what is best for the cat, but the cat still resents having something forced down its throat.

Mr. Masur is distressed (The Gazette, week of Dec. 5/11) because after the mayor and village attorney had patiently told us what is being forced down our throats, Croton residents “seemed often to ignore the information we had just been given.” Mr. Masur notes that the village attorney “clearly and explicitly explained” the process but—much like the cat—the residents of Croton resisted. They “continued to raise planning issues that were not and could not be addressed” in the current process. Mr. Masur went on to scoff at residents relying on “rumors” “mostly from the internet” “that equip us with very different versions of reality.”

“OK, we get it Mr. Masur. We are stupid and don’t appreciate that you know what is best for us.”

OK, we get it Mr. Masur. We are stupid and don’t appreciate that you know what is best for us.

Mr. Masur is demonstrably correct about one thing: Croton has a history of “very different versions of reality.” The first is presented when the Board of Trustees is voting on an issue, the second version is the truth that we find out down the road.

“Different versions of reality” are seen on a regular basis with the wildly optimistic fantasies known as “Croton budgets” on projects like Croton Point Avenue and the DPW building. It has happened deliberately with projects like the Gouveia public park with a “perpetual” endowment: the endowment was quickly spent and now another half-million dollars will be borrowed to convert the public park to an office building campus for the Recreation Dept.

“Different versions of reality” have been a feature of Croton’s steep slopes ordinance for decades: many years ago Fran Allen noted that the village passed a good steep slopes law but then granted so many individual variances that the law was useless.

More recently, the Croton powers-that-be gave us ordinary folk a different version of reality for Piney Point and Nordica Drive: complete with multiple hearings, lots of official-looking paperwork, and the much-vaunted oversight of the Board of Trustees and village staff. Residents of Piney Point and Nordica are now living with reality. Tell the people on Nordica Drive that they should believe “clear and explicit” statements and written plans of village officials.

Back when Harmon re-zoning was forced down our throats, residents were scoffed at and ignored when they raised concerns about parking, including on Young Avenue. The different version of reality came about before the first building was even completed, when the very first tenant had problems with parking and one of the first solutions considered was the very same thing which Young Avenue residents had been told would never be considered.

Mr. Masur says: “contrary to the rumors… there are no current plans or proposals to build anything new or different in either North Riverside or Municipal Place.” Does anyone believe Mr. Masur?

Among the few heavily-redacted documents released by the super-secret “North Riverside Neighborhood Zoning Working Group” (pursuant to a FOIL demand) was a set of four maps of building layouts on Municipal Place. And for months there have been periodic sightings of men in hard hats and fluorescent vests traipsing over the property.

Is there a single person in this village who honestly believes that there is not already a plan for Municipal Place? The final act to this comedy was written long ago by Ms. Gallelli and Messrs. Doyle, Kauderer, and Brumleve. The only thing we don’t know is the denouement and the production costs, and they ain’t telling us.

It is a shame, because there are valid concerns and solutions which underlie the re-zoning. There is a legitimate debate as to what (if anything) should be built on Municipal Place; I have heard some persuasive reasoning for several options. There are also sound economic and social reasons for addressing the lack of regional housing stock availability at lower price points. And it is true that going out among residents and building community consensus is less efficient than simply having 3 men in a room with Ms. Gallelli determining what Croton should look like.

Cats are a lot smarter than people give them credit for, and like cats, most people don’t like having something shoved down their throat.

Paul Steinberg

Silence the Opposition!

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
Newspapers are under attack from politicians today in a manner not seen since the days of Thomas Jefferson. The antics of Donald Trump are hard to miss, including his decision to cancel government subscriptions to newspapers based on viewpoint. There has been widespread condemnation of these attacks and his intimidation of the press.

Croton has a long tradition of politicians who seek to squelch free speech and citizen participation. Some of this is subtle, such as the secret proceedings regarding the Katz property. Other actions are more blatant, such as changing “citizen participation” to “citizen comment” and refusing to engage in colloquy with residents at Board of Trustees meetings.

Maria Slippen is not one for subtlety. Now that Croton has taken over the Cortlandt Democratic Town Committee, the effort to silence opposition is moving into a new phase. Hence Ms. Slippen’s warning (The Gazette, week of Nov 28/Dec 4) that my letters “are unworthy of being given additional oxygen in this publication."

“Croton has a long tradition of politicians who seek to squelch free speech and citizen participation. Some of this is subtle, such as the secret proceedings regarding the Katz property. Other actions are more blatant, such as changing “citizen participation” to “citizen comment” and refusing to engage in colloquy with residents at Board of Trustees meetings. Maria Slippen is not one for subtlety. Now that Croton has taken over the Cortlandt Democratic Town Committee, the effort to silence opposition is moving into a new phase.”

Quite apart from the obvious Trumpian aspect of the Cortlandt Democratic Town Committee taking the position that a publisher should stop printing viewpoints the party finds “unworthy”, there is a quid-pro-quo element which should disturb all of us.

In case anyone missed the timing, the position taken by the Democratic Party regarding publication of my letter occurred just a few days before the organizational meeting of the Croton Board of Trustees. Many readers of this newspaper might not have been aware of that, but as a former Croton trustee Ms. Slippen certainly is.

The Village of Croton-on-Hudson and the Town of Cortlandt have “official” newspapers. The municipalities are required by law to place certain specified notices and advertisements in the “official” newspapers. Who decides which newspaper is designated as an “official” newspaper for Croton? The Board of Trustees, and this is done by a vote at the organizational meeting.

The “official newspaper” can be changed at any time by a vote of the Board of Trustees. So when the Chair of the Cortlandt Democratic Town Committee tells a publisher that some views are “unworthy” of publication in the newspaper, it has a subtext which is loud and clear.

In both Croton and Cortlandt, every single member of the Board is a member of the Democratic Party. When the Chair of the Cortlandt Democratic party sends a letter to the publisher of a newspaper saying that a particular point of view is “unworthy” of being selected for publication, this is not something to be taken lightly.

There is a certain irony that the substantive issue which caused the Cortlandt Democratic Town Committee to take a position about what letters should be in The Gazette was their defense of a vile personal smear against someone who dared challenge the candidate selected by the Democratic Party leadership.

This newspaper has always been liberal about publishing letters from community residents. I have never heard of anyone who ever had the publisher refuse publication of their letter in this newspaper. The solution to speech you disagree with is not to seek to squelch that speech—the solution is to speak out yourself.

Political parties should not be taking positions on what is and what is not “worthy” of publication in a newspaper—particularly just a few days before they are to vote on whether to designate that specific newspaper as an official newspaper pursuant to statute.

This is the type of pressure that one might expect from Donald Trump. Now that Croton is running the Cortlandt party apparatus the politicians of Cortlandt might want to consider the wisdom of importing the autocratic governance style used by their colleagues in Croton.

Paul Steinberg

Croton’s Secret History

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
In the old Soviet Union, the official government records were skimpy and inaccurate. The real archives were kept secret, with only the top party members having access. History was what the party said it was.

Recently I filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to see the records pertaining to the failed attempt to sell the village-owned Hollis Lane property. What I received in response was obviously missing documents, so I sent a follow-up. At the end, the totality of production showed the details posted by Secretary to the Village Manager Bryan Healy on BidNet, a one-sentence memo from Janine King to Dan O’Connor, and a list of six local developers. There was nothing showing who decided to put the property up for sale, nothing about any discussions by anyone, and nothing to explain whether the six developers were contacted and what discussion was held with the developers.

This lack of transparency is a feature of Croton government, and it has ramifications beyond the immediate effort to hide government operations from the public. It is important to note that my FOIL was after the failed bid, so there was no reason to withhold any documents. The village did not respond with any notification of documents being withheld pursuant to a FOIL exemption.

“Neither our Croton politicians nor our Croton village management are big fans of transparency. They believe the village residents only get in the way of their plans. But there is a collateral consequence which is often overlooked, and that is the erasure of Croton history. Much like the old Soviet government, our village government’s failure to leave a permanent public record means that our village history is lost to future generations.”

Does anyone really believe this is the full extent of the documents? No other emails, memos, meeting minutes, agendas, etc? Of course not. That leaves two possibilities. One is that the village lied and is withholding documents. The other (and more likely) possibility is that the conduct of municipal business was done in secret, much as we have seen more recently with the Katz property development and Riverside Avenue re-zoning plan.

Neither our Croton politicians nor our Croton village management are big fans of transparency. They believe the village residents only get in the way of their plans. But there is a collateral consequence which is often overlooked, and that is the erasure of Croton history.

Much like the old Soviet government, our village government’s failure to leave a permanent public record means that our village history is lost to future generations. While the true history of Croton is known to a few key people, that is a history that properly (and legally) belongs to all of us—not just the powerful few who decide what happens in Croton.

History is about where we have come from; it is what links the past to our present. It is also about the future, and our village officials have an obligation to those who will come after us and seek to discover what has shaped the Croton in which those future generations will live. Preservation of history is a debt we owe not simply to current residents, but also to future generations. History should not be sacrificed because the Village Board of Trustees and the Village Manager choose to conduct the people’s business in secret.

Paul Steinberg

Sleazy Gutter Politics? Nothing New for Croton

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the editor:
“Let brown people in to rape our daughters in Westchester. Our white, blonde daughters.”

Sleazy gutter politics? Nothing new for Croton. This is a woke variant on the type of dog-whistle politics which is as old as the Ku Klux Klan.

For those people who thought that living in a one-party village would improve the level of civility, think again. As residents of Croton know, the quote above is from Croton resident Catherine Borgia—the senior politician of the Croton Democrats. Faced with token opposition, the Croton Democratic Party decided to make an example of the only person to contest a race.

““Let brown people in to rape our daughters in Westchester. Our white, blonde daughters.” Sleazy gutter politics? Nothing new for Croton. This is a woke variant on the type of dog-whistle politics which is as old as the Ku Klux Klan. For those people who thought that living in a one-party village would improve the level of civility, think again. As residents of Croton know, the quote above is from Croton resident Catherine Borgia—the senior politician of the Croton Democrats. Faced with token opposition, the Croton Democratic Party decided to make an example of the only person to contest a race.”

So a few months ago, Ms. Borgia told an audience that back in 2017 her opponent had sent a mailer out claiming that Borgia wanted to let “brown”people in to rape “our white, blonde daughters.” She added that one of the children in the photograph looked like her child. In the wake of the success of this lie, Ms. Borgia doubled down with a statement on Facebook that her opponent “spent most of the last campaign calling me an ugly slut.”

When asked to produce the document, Ms. Borgia’s spokesperson said that she “had a recollection” of its existence and when asked point blank about the basis for her allegations, the response was: “her memory.”

2017 was just two years ago. In an age of cellphone video and YouTube, this would have been front-page news. Yet nothing exists, because it did not happen. So the Croton Democrats created alternative facts. Ms. Borgia had a recovered memory. Since she had a recovered memory of being victimized, it must be true. Those are the rules in 2019.

If in 2019 we still believed in objective reality, we would call Ms. Borgia a liar.

Of course, nobody really believes Ms. Borgia. But her decision to smear her opponent with such a vile charge was wildly popular in Croton, and she will remain in the county legislature until Ms. Galef vacates her seat for Ms. Borgia and the voters march to the polls to rubber-stamp her coronation.

Maria Trunzo Slippen is a former Croton trustee. Now that Croton has taken over the Cortlandt Dems, the toxic Croton style is now spreading to Cortlandt. Ms. Slippen holds that people who say Ms. Borgia lied are merely expressing an opinion, and she even said that this has been “positive press” for the opponent who was smeared.

If you ask anyone to define Croton, the first thing you will hear is that we are “progressive” and then you will hear about how we are so nice and neighborly to each other.

Discussing rape of “our white, blonde daughters” is hardly progressive. The KKK was doing that a century ago. And making up vile personal smears against a local father and volunteer firefighter simply because he alone dared to run a campaign against a Croton Democrat is not nice or neighborly. Flipping a racist trope to conform to 2019’s culture of victimhood does not make it any less racist.

There was never any danger of the Democrats losing a seat. There was no political need for Ms. Borgia to get into the gutter and no political need for members of the Croton Democrats to defend this disgusting personal sliming of one of our neighbors.

Nita Lowey, Sandy Galef, and Linda Puglisi all manage repeatedly to win elections without the sewer politics of Croton politicians. It is true that they are from a different age when people were more polite, but there is something else going on here.

The key is understanding that Ms. Borgia framed her vile lies in the language of our woke times. By giving her foil a misogynistic anti-immigrant cast, she ensures that reasoned analysis of veracity goes out the window. By relying on a recovered memory, she ensures that what is objectively false becomes impervious to challenge: evidence and logic is no match for recovered memory, particularly when it comes to anything smacking of misogyny.

Ms. Borgia is the public face of the smear, but the real benefit is to the political party leaders such as Ms. Slippen. Much like Mr. Trump, if Ms. Borgia had shot someone in the middle of the street she still would have coasted to re-election. The genius of this smear is that the target was a well-liked father active as a volunteer first responder. By putting false personal attacks out there in the community, the party forced people to take sides.

Once we put party over decency, the party gets stronger because it is no longer constrained by the individual decency of its members. The corrosion of our values is of little concern compared to party discipline.

Most of us were here in 2017. We know that the “rape… our white blonde daughters” mailer never existed. We know the “ugly slut” campaign never occurred. And those of us who were not here in 2017 know that if such things did occur, there would have been stories on News 12 and LoHud would have dispatched a team of reporters whose articles and video would still be on the website.

Yet Croton residents still went to the polling place to support Ms. Borgia in the only contested race. This was not because their votes were needed; the election outcome was not in doubt. Rather it was because given a choice between withholding a vote (or voting for the target of the smear) and supporting our tribe, we chose to reinforce our tribal identity at the expense of our professed values. This is the same thing we condemn in Mr. Trump’s lemmings, but it is OK if the sleazy politician is on Row A.

Ms. Borgia has a reprehensible moral character, but voters who go to worship on Sunday and tell their children to be respectful and not lie or bully their classmates still came out in droves to vote for Ms. Borgia. And they will again in elections to come.

Who knows the next target of a future “recovered memory” by Ms. Borgia? My guess is it will be anyone who dares to run against her.

It did not matter that the 2019 target is a decent person and Ms. Borgia is not, because the target is of a different tribe. As we all know, objective facts and morality are less important than loyalty to our political party. The fabric of our community is less important than voting a straight party line, and anyone who contests an elected office must know that this is done at risk of false claims designed to damage the challenger long after the election is over.

If we are to change this environment, we need to stop having a double standard. It is not OK to excuse slimy behavior simply because the offender is of our political party, or because the person being slimed is of a different party. At some point we must stop seeing people as members of a tribe. Instead we need to start viewing them as fathers, mothers, neighbors… as members of our community.

The next time someone tells you how tolerant and civil we are here in Croton, ask them if they voted for Ms. Borgia.

Paul Steinberg

Let’s Recognize Two Individuals for Their Contributions to the Village

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor,
I have tried for over a year to have Croton’s current Board of Trustees recognize two individuals for their contributions to the village. There has been no action. The only responses during that time came from Brian Pugh, Ian Murtaugh and Sherry Horowitz.

I’m sorry but I don’t understand the difficulty in “reaching consensus” on this. Is it because the board members keep switching every couple of months? Even with the personnel changes the board has managed to name the meeting room, the trails, and a street, pretty much in the blink of an eye. Honoring Dr. Greg Schmidt requires no real discussion after the years of service he has provided to the village in both his public and private capacity.

“These two individuals gave almost 70 years of service to the Village, Dr. Schmidt as a Trustee, Mayor, Rotarian, and the force behind 31 years of Summerfest. Anne Kennedy founded the Caring Committee and put her heart into it for over thirty years.”

Similarly, Anne Kennedy created the Croton Caring Committee, and without her there would be no Croton Caring. I strongly disagree with the Mayor’s assertion that if the Caring Committee wants to recognize her, it’s their job.

Recognizing the contributions of an individual resident to our community as a whole, which Anne Kennedy absolutely deserves, is the job of this board. Since 1981 the Caring Committee has not simply helped Croton residents in need, it has let the members of our community know that even in hard times, there are neighbors who care. I think that is something worthy of recognition.

I have made three or four attempts to have these people recognized. It’s been over a year and there has been no forward progress. Please do your job. Do the right thing.

These two individuals gave almost 70 years of service to the village. Dr. Schmidt as a trustee, mayor, rotarian, and the force behind 31 years of Summerfest. Anne Kennedy founded the Caring Committee and put her heart into it for over thirty years.

The lack of action is startling and disheartening. Not everything has to be about politics, especially not in a small community like Croton. Sometimes we recognize people for the decades of service that have left Croton a better place.

Bob Anderson