Greenburgh 2024 year in review

2024 is now history. Here is a summary of some of the highlights of the year in Greenburgh. Happy new year!  The accomplishments we made in 2024 would not have been possible without the hard work of all our employees. We have many plans for 2025 -and hope that Greenburgh will be an even better place in the future!FINANCIAL:Moody’s and S&P renew our Aaa bond rating. This is the highest rating a local government can receive and saves taxpayers dollars when we go out to the bond market. Moodys said “the town benefits from strong fiscal management.” S&P said “we view budgeting practices as well-grounded, realistic and proactive.”The 2025 budget was approved by the Town Board: tax rate in B budget decreased by 4.30%. Tax rate in A budget increased very slightly: 0.03%. Because of assessment changes some residents will see tax hikes on the town portion of their taxes; others will not.Earlier this year the Town Board appointed a new Comptroller, Kimberly Gutwein who replaced Roberta Romano who retired.KEEPING THE TOWN TOGETHER:Edgemont incorporation – a petition to incorporate Edgemont as a village was found insufficient. Petitioners are appealing in court. The town has also filed a lawsuit in NYS Supreme Court challenging the legality of treating Edgemont/Greenburgh differently from the rest of the state. The State Legislature passed a law making it much more difficult for residents of any hamlet to incorporate.  But Edgemont was exempt for 16 years. We want our town to be treated no differently than the rest of the state.ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:Brightview obtains building permits to build a 155-unit senior living community next to Metropolis Country Club.Mikado sushi restaurant, Chick Fil E, K-Pot, Il Sorrentino, Pizza One, Urban Center, Mobility City, Jeep/Dodge/RAM Dealership, and Dave’s Hot Chicken, are among new businesses that have opened this year.Regeneron continued their growth in Greenburgh–with over one million square feet of approved expansion under construction that is expected to bring more than 1,500 jobs to the area. They are spending $1.8 billion on the expansion.SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS:New sidewalks: Hillside Ave and Juniper Hill Road now have a new sidewalk. The Hillside Avenue sidewalk connects pedestrians from Parkway Gardens to Route 119 and the Juniper Hill sidewalk connects pedestrians to the Lee Jackson School. Planning and surveying is underway for future pedestrian improvements for Taxter Road, Old Army Road, Knollwood Road, Dobbs Ferry Road,  and Fort Hill Road from Underhill to Longview.The Town Board approved funding in the capital budget to replace the blinking light on Old Army Road with an adaptive traffic signal to replace the four ways stop sign intersection, lessening confusion for motorists, facilitating better flow, and incorporating pedestrian signals and ADA curb ramps for pedestrians. Engineering design is actively progressing for this important initiative.Governor signs law allowing red light cameras on E. Hartsdale Ave and Old Army Road/Ardsley Road. These red-light cameras were recommended by E. Hartsdale Ave civic leaders and by the Edgemont Community Council.NOISE LAW EDUCATION CAMPAIGN BEGUN:The Town Board requested that we educate residents about our noise law—which prohibits more than one leaf blower on a property at one time. On properties of 10,000 sq or smaller, only one leaf blower may be operational. On properties larger than 10,000 sf no more than 3 leaf blowers may be operated at any time. We have asked the police to enforce the law and have created a you tube video explaining the legislation. We are also reaching out to landscapers.NEED TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT STREET CLOSURES:Multiple Con Ed construction projects highlight need to improve communications to avoid delays. We are planning to purchase more digital signs to be placed around town.HALF OF ARDSLEY ROAD BRIDGE NEARING REPAIRS AFTER 4-PLUS YEARS:Half of the bridge is almost completed; a NYS bridge took the state over 4 years to complete half.NYS FINDS THAT LAWRENCE STREET BROWNFIELD CLEANED UP:NYS certifies that the brownfield site on Lawrence street near Ardsley has been remediated which will facilitate a new non-residential use.ROAD REPAVING:Some of the roads in Greenburgh are owned by the state and others by the county. NYS repaved half of Central Ave from Greenburgh to White Plains. Next year they will repave the other half of the street. The Greenburgh Town Board has appropriated millions of dollars to repaving town-owned roads. By the end of next year town-owned roads should be in good shape and we won’t have to spend as much money on road repaving. NYS plans to repave Knollwood Road next year.The Board approved legislation to require curb-to-curb road repaving when Con Ed or other utilities do underground workAFFORDABLE HOUSING:A 70-unit affordable housing development for seniors opened on Manhattan Ave. replacing a 50-year-old senior apartment complex. The Town Board worked with the Greenburgh Housing Authority which included a rezoning, to facilitate the project.A 45 unit affordable housing development opened on Dromore Road. The project included County funding which facilitated off-site improvements to Dromore Road that include a sidewalk to Central Park Avenue, drainage improvements and a roadway widening with curbing.The Department of Community Development and Conservation is drafting legislation to mandate that 10% of single family housing developments be affordable. That legislation will be initiated in 2025, and will include public input.SOLAR PARKING CANOPIES and GREEN INITIATIVES:The Greenburgh Town Board approved an agreement to place solar parking canopies at Town Hall and at AF Veteran park. The Town Hall project is projected to be built in the April 2025 and will significantly increase the amount of solar panels on the roof of Town Hall and include solar canopies in the parking lot. THe project will significantly reduce the annual energy expenses of the Town Hall building.The Town Board approved legislation that permits solar rooftop installations, solar canopies in parking lots, and solar farms, as permitted, special permit and through a Overlay Zone mechanism. Many residents and businesses in the Town have invested in solar upgrades. The local law provides additional opportunities to expand this green energy initiative.We renewed an agreement with Westchester Power ESCO—50% green power at fixed rates. If the rates are higher than Con Eds for three consecutive months residents who have not opted out will receive a card advising them that prices are higher. We are one of 26 participating communities and share comparisons with residents monthly on the town website.FLOODING:The Town Board awards engineering and related services to Arcadis in Connection with FEMA-advanced assistance grant of almost $600,000 to come up with a more detailed plan relating to action steps that need to be taken to address flooding on E. Hartsdale Ave Hartsdale Brook flood mitigation design.We have also devoted in house resources addressing flood related issues at Manhattan Brook and did some work addressing flooding related problems on Taxter Road.The Town also worked with the Fuller Center offering sandbags to those who worry about flooding. The Fuller Center is rebuilding a home that was destroyed during Hurricane Ida. Our application to receive a grant from FEMA to lift up homes on Babbitt Court that frequently gets flooded was approved.  We’re working on implementation of the grant. And have been working with the county to come up with a maintenance plan to remove obstructions from the Bronx River –which could help ease flooding in Fulton Park.EAST HARTSDALE AVE. SEWER MAIN BREAK:A major sewer break impacted residents of 100 and 120 East Hartsdale Ave in May. The sewer break took place around the time Con Ed was doing underground gas work. And is a complicated break to fix—the pipes are almost 90 years old and under the building. We have been reviewing options and expect the repairs to be completed next year. A Temporary sidewalk has been installed, and regular meetings have been held with residents.NEW OFFICIALS:Westchester County Executive George Latimer elected to Congress defeating Congressman Jamaal Bowman in a primary.Greenburgh Councilwoman Ellen Hendrickx named to run congressional district office.New Councilwoman—Greenburgh has a new Councilwoman! Joy Haber of Dobbs Ferry was sworn into office in January replacing Ken Jones who retired. Ken is continuing his service to the town and was appointed as a Commissioner of the Greenburgh Housing Authority.New Town Clerk–we welcome Lisa Maria Nero to the post. She is also offering residents free Notary services.Syed Alirahi, a former fire chief in Elmsford was elected district governor of Rotary 7230 covering Bermuda, Westchester, Staten Island, ManhattanEARLY VOTING:There were long lines at the Greenburgh Town Hall early voting site. To help residents time their voting we provided on the town website estimated wait times at Town Hall – an initiative other early voting sites around the state did not take.EMPLOYEES:The Town Board settled two union contracts: the CSEA and Teamsters.The Supervisor’s Office started an in-house newsletter for employees about employees.HONORING OUR VETERANS:We continued to honor our veterans and held our annual Veterans barbeque this fall. For the first time the veterans committee also organized a veterans appreciation breakfast.9-11 MEMORIAL WALL:The 9-11 wall at Presser Park may have to be demolished and replaced with another memorial to the victims. The wall has never held up and had to be repaired twice over 21 years. Some of the more than 1,800 tiles cracked and fell from the wall.WE MOURN:All the accomplishments of the past year were overshadowed by the tragic passing of Millie Ortiz Sheehan and daughter in law Diana Trochez Sheehan who died in a horrible car accident in White Plains in September. A GoFundMe page was created  to help Councilman Sheehan’s grandchildren.RECREATION:4 new pickleball courts were built at Travis Park.The Governor signed legislation authorizing a year round pickleball at the soon to be built AF Veteran tennis bubble.We dedicated the multipurpose center as the Gerry Byrne Center and the tennis facility in honor of  Janet & Larry Lefkowitz. Larry was responsible for purchasing the Scarsdale bath and tennis center now af Veteran Park in the 1970s and Janet developed our tennis programs.We held our 2nd annual diaper dash for children 2 and under.NATURE CENTER:Secured a 25-Year Future: The Town signed a long-term public/private partnership agreement with the non-profit Nunataks Ltd., ensuring the Nature Center will continue to thrive for the next 25 years. This agreement safeguards our 33 acres of open space, homes for over 100 animals, pollinator and native plant demonstration gardens, and transformative educational programs.National/Regional Recognition: The Nature Center was featured in News 12’s “A Road Trip Close to Home” and spotlighted  in the July 2024 issue of Travel + Leisure Magazine as a destination, shining a spotlight on our mission and impact to audiences far and wide.Expanding Accessibility: The Nature Center provided free entrance passes for the Manor House and Live Animal Museum to 25 Libraries throughout Westchester, giving families the opportunity to check out passes and enjoy free entrance to explore the wonders of the Nature Center. This program is bringing nature education to even more members of our community.CLOTHING BINS MUST DISCLOSE WHERE CLOTHING IS GOING:The Greenburgh Town Board approved a law requiring that  clothing bins must disclose where donated clothing is goingMEDIA:Scarsdale Inquirer and the Rivertowns Enterprise went out of business.Lucas Cioffi organized community forums highlighting the importance of having local media.Rivertowns Dispatch and ScarsdaleInsider were launched.EDUCATING RESIDENTS WITH SHORT YOUTUBE VIDEOS ABOUT YOUR TOWN GOVERNMENT:Our cable TV staff produced a number of behind-the-scenes features of different town departments helping residents have a better appreciation of how town government operates.STUDENT INTERNSHIPS AND INITIATIVES:Student News Network team of high school students broadcast their first show. The students hope to air monthly broadcasts on public access TV of local news.A student-led Tech Angels offers free help to seniors who need assistance navigating computers/technology. They meet at the Theodore Young Community Center twice a month.Town Clerk Lisa Maria Nero organized a successful student internship program. Most departments in town government provided students with opportunities to work in their departments.The student-led Snow Angels committee matches seniors with volunteers who help clear driveways of snow.ELMSFORD LITTLE LEAGUE TO GET LIGHTS AT RUMBROOK PARK:The Greenburgh Town Board approved a request made by the Elmsford Little League to light up the Little League field at Rumbrook Park.Elmsford Little League has more than 700 members. Lighting will enable the league to schedule 4-5 more games per week.FREE REPAIRS:The Fairview Empowerment Group organized two repair cafes in the spring and summer. Volunteer fixers repaired jewelry, bicycles, clothing, lamps, toasters, screen doors, toasters and other faulty products. This is the first year the town offered residents the opportunity to benefit from a repair café which was held at the Theodore Young Community Center.GREENBURGH CELEBRATES THE ARTS:In April, the Town organized its first annual Artists and Crafters Market at Richard Presser Park. Over 40 local creative art-makers exhibited a diverse array of talent, and invited market goers to create their own art during the event.Greenburgh continues to display excellent, original art by talented local artists of all ages in Town galleries.The annual Town Hall spring art exhibit by students from Greenburgh Central School District drew over 150 original works of art. More than 300 guests attended the exhibit's opening reception!Since early ‘24, volunteer Miriam Bernabei (a retired Greenburgh Central School District arts administrator) has interviewed artists who exhibit in Greenburgh.These entertaining and informative interviews feature examples of the artists’ work and share information about them and their creative process. The interviews air on Greenburgh’s cable TV and YouTube channels.LIBRARY RENOVATION:The Greenburgh Library completed a reconstruction project for the outside, front entrance and canopy. This reconstruction helped mitigate the leaks in the front vestibule and created better lighting over the outside sidewalk areas.ODELL HOUSE ROCHAMBEAU HEADQUARTERS MUSEUM:The work to create a museum celebrating our national and community heritage continues. All interior structural repairs are completed. The exterior awaits only the delivery of new windows and the shingles, expected in January, their installation will complete the restoration of the outer building. Dangerous trees are being removed from the property by the Town DPW so that the landscaping can begin.The Friends and the Town now have a professional inventory of all artifacts received from SAR and are jointly working to choose the best pieces for exhibits in the museum. The Museum planning firm hired by the Friends will present the Schematic Designs for all the interior exhibits at the Town Board meeting on January 22.THANK YOU TO THE TOWN BOARD AND DEPARTMENT HEADSThank you to Town Board members Francis Sheehan, Joy Haber, Ellen Hendrickx and Gina Jackson—and all the department heads for your efforts which made many of the accomplishments listed above possible.Have a great new year.PAUL FEINERGreenburgh Town Supervisor