Greetings Hartsdale Neighbors,
We hope you are enjoying your summer and have had an opportunity to get out to the pool or the beach. Here at HNA we are as busy as ever and there are several items that we wish to update you on. If you have any questions on any of the above below you can email us at info@hartsdaleneighbors.org. An informed Hartsdale community is one of our most important goals. Please do not hesitate to reach out.
Edgemont– As you all know, we at Hartsdale Neighbors have been actively following the Edgemont Incorporation Saga. The hearing for the towns appeal of New York State Judge Cacace decision that the incorporation petition was legally valid was expedited by the courts and has now been scheduled. A four-judge panel will hear the Town’s appeal on June 14th at 10:00am, in Brooklyn. The hearing is open to the public for those who are interested.
If the appellate division affirms Judge Cacace’s decision, the town may seek to further appeal, but this will require permission from the Court of Appeals in Albany and the town cannot appeal on its own. Should the town choose not to appeal, the town will have a 40-day window with which to schedule and hold the referendum. Should the decision be affirmed, and no appeal follows, a vote would likely take place in the late summer/fall. As Edgemont Incorporation will have an extreme impact on remaining Unincorporated area (which includes Hartsdale) residents, you can expect the HNA to keep you fully update to date throughout the process.
Property Assessments– If you are a property owner in Hartsdale you should have received a recent notice indicating any changes in the assessed value of your property. You have the legal right to challenge this assessment and if you choose to do so you must do so by June 19th. Many people choose to hire a professional to assist in this process but that is not required. For more information on challenging your assessment you can go here for additional details.
Please note that a change in your assessment does not necessarily mean an increase or decrease in your taxes. This is a complicated subject involving tax rates set by multiple municipalities (School, County, Town and Sewer) and the impact on your tax burden is a result of a combination of factors and inputs. We are looking to put out a more detailed bulletin on this in the coming weeks but please note the June 19th deadline to challenge your assessment.
Greenburgh School Updates- The Hartsdale Neighbors Association May meeting featured Dr. Tahira Chase, the Superintendent of the Greenburgh Central School District. If you did not get to attend you missed out on an engaging discussion. Following the meeting and speaking with Dr Chase, I was asked to join the newly formed “Construction Advisory Committee” for GCSD. The goal of this committee is to provide input, advice and support to the five-year capital plan. Our first meeting was this past week and we were privy to some exciting news. Details are still being finalized and coordinated, but in 2018, the School District will be looking to hold a referendum on a bond to totally overhaul the existing school buildings. This would involve a new building for a Grade 3-8 school, an expansion of Lee F. Jackson, and a total overhaul of the Woodlands building. I believe this is an exciting opportunity for us to transform the GCSD and will be sharing more details with you as they are developed.
Some additional quick updates and news items.
- Four Corners– The town board passed a resolution on 5/23 in support of a grant application associated with the Four Corners Study area. A link to the resolution can be found here and more information about the grant being applied for can be found here.
- March Storm update from Con Ed- At the same 5/23 meeting a representative from Con Ed came before the Town Board. Here is an article about that presentation. At the meeting Supervisor Feiner noted Con Ed is “Enhancing their tree-trimming program; working with municipalities and residents to take deeper cuts out of trees on residential property to avoid property outages”. We still have not heard what if any steps the town will be taking to mitigate the impact of future storms.
Note, that we do not currently have a meeting scheduled for July. Should the situation with Edgemont change we will look to schedule an HNA meeting to address that topic.
Eric Zinger
Hartsdale Neighbors Association