Hello Hartsdale Neighbors,
So much has happened since our last email went out! We have many items that we would like to keep you informed of, so apologies in advance for the length of this email. One of our number one priorities from day one has been to try to keep Hartsdale residents informed- and there has been a lot going on in our Hamlet and the Town of Greenburgh.
Before we get into everything, we wanted to say that it was wonderful to see so many of you at our October Realtor Round Table. We had a great discussion regarding Hartsdale property values, the local real estate market and items that specifically affect residents here. It was a really great Q&A with our panel of experts and I want to once again thank Amy Huang, Barry Kramer and Dean Nugent for joining us. It was a very valuable and informative experience for all who attended
The next open HNA meeting will be sometime in early December and we will post more information on that as soon as the date, location and topics are finalized.
Edgemont– The efforts to incorporate Edgemont into the 7th Greenburgh Village took a serious blow on 10/17 when the Appellate Division, Second Department NY Supreme Court ruled that the Town Supervisor, Paul Feiner, was not acting illegally when he denied the Petition to Incorporate as invalid. Quickly, the Petition was brought to Supervisor Feiner who determined (among other findings) that the boundaries of the proposed village were insufficiently clear and that the list of regular inhabitants was incomplete. The EIC challenged that ruling in an Article 78 appeal and won, and that ruling was then appealed by the Town of Greenburgh and they have now won at the appellate level. What the next step will be is unclear now, but the EIC has issued a statement saying “we will not stop our efforts until our community has a referendum on incorporation.” That could mean another petition or further legal challenges to the ruling.
Read the decision here.
This impacts Hartsdale as Edgemont is one of the 3 main areas of Unincorporated Greenburgh including Hartsdale and Fairview. Edgemont represents approximately 27% of the revenues for the B budget. That budget is the primary local municipal government for Hartsdale residents and includes Police, Sanitation, Parks, Library and Highway services among others. Should Edgemont choose to incorporate, that budget hole would need to be filled with service cuts, tax increases, or some combination of the two.
2019 Town Budget- The Town of Greenburgh released the first draft of their 2019 proposed budget this week. The total budget is made of two separate budgets. There is the Town Wide or “A budget”, which all areas, village and unincorporated pay into. This is the much smaller of the two, with 2018 spending of $18.8mm. Then there is the TOV or “B budget”, which only Unincorporated areas(Fairview, Hartsdale, Edgemont) pay into. This is the much larger of the two with 2018 spending of $77mm.
We have summarized some of the key points below. Hartsdale residents will be seeing a 2.51% tax increase on the town portion of your taxes (usually about 20% of your tax bill). HNA will be doing a full in-depth analysis of the budget to come at a later date. Please note that the first public hearing on the budget will be 11/28 at Town Hall.
- Town Wide or A Budget (All Villages and Unincorporated Pay)
- Town Wide Expenditures jump from $18.8mm to $27mm.
- $7mm allocated for spending on a new Court House.
- $10mm from Fund Balance (aka Reserves).
- $800k increase from $3.6 to $4.5mm in Employee Benefit Costs.
- Town Wide Expenditures jump from $18.8mm to $27mm.
- TOV Budget or B Budget (Only Unincorporated Areas Pay)
- Expenditures jump from $76.7mm to $81.41mm.
- Expected Revenues decrease from $18.1mm to $16.3mm.
- Primarily as a result of reduced expected building licenses and permit fees.
- $3.2mm increase from $15.7mm to $18.9mm in Employee Benefit Costs.
- $5mm of TOV Fund Balance (aka Reserves)
- $50k for Four Corners Revitalization Traffic and Flood Studies.
Four Corners On 10/24, the Town Board unanimously referred the Draft Study Vision Statement for the 4 Corners to the Planning Board for comment. The next step is for the Planning Board to review, listen to public comment, suggest changes, and refer back to the Town Board for approval. We thank everyone who has been involved in advocating for 4 Corners Revitalization. There is no reason whatsoever for this first step to have taken as long as it did, but we are finally moving forward. There is also $50k allocated in the 2019 budget (as noted above) to help with some of the needed Traffic and Stormwater studies that will need to be done. The town also took the drastic action of purchasing 2 properties at 10 and 14 W. Hartsdale Ave. While this decision was surprising and perhaps premature, we are focused on moving the ball forward and continuing to push ahead. Rest assured this would not be happening without the HNA and your support. We will keep you updated on scheduled Public Hearings when this is on the agenda with the Planning Board.
You can download a copy of the Draft Study here. Let us know what you think!
Elmwood Country Club- On Wednesday November 14, 2018, at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall Auditorium, it has been announced (though no full agenda has been published) that the Town Board will be hosting a public discussion related to the proposed residential development at the former Elmwood Country Club. At present, Ridgewood seeks a zoning map amendment to allow for a 175-unit townhouse development that would consist of age restricted (55+) housing and has been seeking said amendment. For comparative purposes, the applicant has also submitted a 119 unit conventional single family subdivision plan.
The supposed purpose of the meeting is for the Town Board to facilitate a forum for residents to be informed about the project and hear input from residents before the Town formally proceeds with review of an application for the site. We hope that means the meeting will primarily focus on hearing from residents and we encourage people to attend.
GCSD School Consolidation and Bond- At the last Board of Education meeting, the outline of the proposal for GCSD to consolidate and issue a bond to finance construction of a new Grade 3-8 school was presented. You can watch that presentation here. This would require a referendum to be voted on by residents within the GCSD. This is obviously an area of interest for all of us in the community and you will be hearing more from the HNA on this in the future. We are in talks with the district to host a public meeting where people can ask questions, and will announce that as we get closer to a date and potential vote. We will also be using our website to share across additional information as it becomes available.
Town Clerk- The most recent Town Board meeting on 10/24 saw its public comment dominated by discussions about recent actions in the Town Clerk’s office. That discussion involved very serious allegations and turned heated at times. We encourage anyone interested to watch for themselves at this link. You can skip ahead to Public Comment.
Important Dates
- 5th- Joint Planning Board/Town Board Work Session- 8:00pm Town Hall
- 14th- Greenburgh Town Board Meeting 7:30 PM: Town Hall
- Elmwood Country Club Public Discussion
- 14th- Hartsdale Fire District Commissioners Meeting: 7:00 PM: Hartsdale Fire House 300 W. Hartsdale Avenue
- 20th- GCSD School Board Meeting- 7:00 PM: Lee F. Jackson Cafeteria
- 28th-Greenburgh Town Board Meeting 7:30 PM: Town Hall
- Public Comment for 2019 Budget
Questions on any of the above? Something in the neighborhood you think we should be aware of? We can be reached info@
Hartsdale Neighbors Association