The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.
To the Editor,
Last week, Dems chair Richard Masur published an extensive narrative of all of the actions taken by village officials in connection with the travesty on Piney Point Avenue/Nordica Drive, exonerating the village board of any direct responsibility for this debacle. Now, it is Mr. Masur’s job to promote and protect every politician with a D after his or her name and he does this admirably.
However, there was one thing missing from Mr. Masur’s dissertation—concern for people. Call them citizens or residents or constituents or what you will, the paramount impact of this atrocity is on those of us who live in its vicinity, and nowhere have we seen any really sincere concern or compassion expressed for those immediately affected.
The entire character of our neighborhood has been altered for at least decades, and possibly forever, and none of the procedures enumerated by Mr. Masur or penalties that may be imposed on the developers or the contractor will alter this one iota. It’s as if this was standard procedure in Croton, and once the system has gone through its cycle, life will go on as before. If he has not been down here, I would invite Mr. Masur to visit Ground Zero and I will personally give him a tour.
We are a pretty close-knit group down here by the river and we endure the depredations of the hordes who mob the gorge in the summer months because we really enjoy the (normally) quiet, sylvan nature of this area. Our annual block party is a highlight of the social scene in the village.
But now, a giant scar has been etched into our landscape. And it’s not the only one. Just down the street, near the base of Cedar Lane, another parcel has been ripped asunder. Giant excavators tore up that hill as well in anticipation of another dwelling on a lot that we all knew could not be effectively built upon. And now it, too, sits idle waiting for the next heavy rain to wash away the hillside. I am told that the contractor has quit the job because of the difficulty and cost of building there, but no remediation of the property is in evidence. It’s as if a curse has been levied on Nordica Drive to destroy the lifestyle we have come to love.
“President Harry Truman famously had a sign on his desk. “The Buck Stops Here!” As the chief executive of the nation, he accepted responsibility for whatever actions were taken by the federal government. The Board of Trustees is Croton’s chief executive and it would have been at least some solace if the board stood up and affirmatively and publicly took responsibility and vowed to determine the causes and to remedy whatever was found to be amiss.”
President Harry Truman famously had a sign on his desk. “The Buck Stops Here!” As the chief executive of the nation, he accepted responsibility for whatever actions were taken by the federal government. The Board of Trustees is Croton’s chief executive and it would have been at least some solace if the board stood up and affirmatively and publicly took responsibility and vowed to determine the causes and to remedy whatever was found to be amiss.
Did the board direct the contractor to cut down all of those trees? No, they did not. Did they come down with chain saws and remove the trees themselves? Of course not. But as Harry Truman understood so well, the ultimate responsibility rests with the chief executive and that is the role played by the Board of Trustees in Croton.
To be fair, Trustee Richard Olver did proclaim that something untoward had happened and that the board needed to find out exactly what it was. It would have been encouraging if the entire board had publicly stood with Mr. Olver, expressed solidarity with our neighborhood, and guaranteed to the area’s residents that this would expeditiously be accomplished. But since that time, I have not heard any announcement of an inquiry to root out the causes or to recommend changes to Croton’s development procedures.
John Habib will be joining the board in about two months. I do not know Mr. Habib, but he will bring a fresh perspective to the board. So if Mr. Olver has not completed this work by the time his term has expired, I urge Mr. Habib to pick up the torch and assure us all down here that he truly understands what we are experiencing and will do whatever is necessary to determine how this occurred and lead a review of all of the village’s procedures for future development and fix whatever needs revision, so that no other neighborhood will have to go through what we are experiencing.
A public statement in this regard will certainly be welcomed.
Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold