Development of Frank's Nursery Site Is Fraught With Problems
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This letter was submitted by Greenburgh resident Simon Cohen regarding property on Dobbs Ferry Road: I’d like to make you aware of a development project in the Town of Greenburgh near my home that is not only fraught with issues, but also has me wondering what is really going on. Supervisor Feiner and the Greenburgh Town Board have decided to lease Town-owned land located at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road (the former Frank’s Nursery) to a start-up company, Game On 365, to build a sports bubble facility (161,500 sq. ft and 8 stories high) in a residential zoned area.
The proposed lease is terrible for Town residents and the Town will lose money on this lease. Here are some of the major issues:
NO TAXES TO BE PAID BY TENANT: The Town has decided to personally pay any and all taxes owed by private business Game On (Lease p.2). After the $6.9M facility is assessed, the Town will pay taxes of around $250K or more. The Town will collect $260K in rent from Game On. The amount the Town will pay in taxes each year will almost equal what is collected in rent. This doesn’t even include the likely increase to the Town in community services from such a huge facility. The Town will NOT MAKE ANY MONEY OFF THIS 7 ACRE PROPERTY FOR 15 YEARS. Game On, however, boasts that they will have a gross income of $2.4M in year 1 and $5.1M in year 6.
GAME ON TO COLLECT MORE SUBLEASING 7,500 SQ. FT. TO RETAIL TENANTS THAN THEY WILL PAY THE TOWN IN RENT FOR THE ENTIRE FACILITY (161,500 SQ. FT. ON 7 ACRES): Game On has projected to earn $300-330K in annual rental income from 5 subtenants who will be using approximately 7,500 sq. ft. (less than 5% of their entire square footage) of their Clubhouse building. Game On will be paying the Town $260-335K in annual rent for the entire facility. When the economics of a deal don’t make sense, it is a clear indicator of something else going on behind the scenes.
TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR UNKNOWN ENVIRONMENTAL CLEAN-UP: The Town will use taxpayer money to pay for an environmental clean-up (Lease p.14) on this site that is known to be contaminated and they have been keeping this fact (that taxpayers will pay for it) from residents.
NO RENT PAYMENT DURING DEVELOPMENT OF UP TO 3 YEARS: Game On won’t pay a dime until after Town approvals, which could take up to 3 years, and they can walk away at any time (Lease p.16-17).
NO FINANCES REQUIRED FOR LEASE FROM START-UP COMPANY: The lease doesn’t contain any standard provisions for finances, guaranty or security. This is because Game On plans to raise the $7.5M for the facility construction and operation AFTER they sign the 15-year lease with the Town. The Town bears ALL the financial risks.
NO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES HAVE BEEN DONE: The Town has illegally decided not do any traffic, parking, noise, EMF, aesthetic or community services studies (SEQR) PRIOR to entering the lease (which is considered to be an action under SEQR). With the Fortress Bible Church and School is built just 2,500 ft. east on the same road, environmental impacts need a hard look. Residents will not be protected from potential harms without these studies being done prior to the lease, as the law states they must.
TOWN REJECTS MUCH BETTER OFFER: The Town has an offer of $1.5M to buy the property “as is” and the adjacent property (2 acres smaller) is on the market for $3.5M. If sold, the Town can immediately add this property to the tax roll for hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, which is hundreds of thousands more each year than they will receive with the current lease.
Does this all sound crazy to you?
What’s even more insane is that the whole RFP (Request for Proposals) process (issuance and developer selection) was tainted and predetermined. The RFP was designed around Game On and Game On tailored their proposal to fit things that others had no knowledge of. BEFORE issuing an RFP on the property, the Town spent NINE MONTHS negotiating with Game On. This included several presentations before the Town Board and countless meetings, emails and phone calls.
For example, the Town put forward a resolution solely to change the zoning of the property for an “indoor sports complex” use months before the RFP was even issued, Feiner admitted speaking to “tons” of people about the Game On proposal prior to the RFP being issued, and the other proposals received were never even looked at by the Town Board (this is all on video). This sham RFP process was detrimental to other interested parties and contrary to public interest in getting the best deal for the property.
The Town will also receive a lower than market rent payment. The Town never assessed the property to learn fair market value. The tainted RFP process led to only 3 proposals on a rare 7-acre site in southern Westchester off major highways. And just hours after having “opened” the proposals, the Town immediately agreed to the rent that Game On suggested in their proposal without negotiating. The residents of Greenburgh have been shortchanged on a bad deal for a below market rent.
The Town officials have done whatever they can to hide things from the public and mislead residents.
What is really going on here?
The lease is available on the Town of Greenburgh’s website. There will be an informal meeting on July 18th at 7pm at Frank’s Nursery and then the Town Board will vote on July 25th at 7:30pm at Town Hall.
I hope that local residents will attend both meetings to learn what has been going on and will contact Supervisor Feiner (pfeiner@greenburghny.com, 914-438-1343 - cell, 914-993-1540 - office).
Thank you for your time.
Simon
Simon@HelpBurstTheBubble.com
www.HelpBurstTheBubble.com
Lightning Strikes on Stratton Road
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The weather was tempertuous on Friday. The day began with sunny skies and temperatures that soared into the 90's. But by lunchtime, thunderstorms moved in. A lightning bolt from the quickly moving storm struck a primary electrical line which snapped and burst into flames at about 1:35 pm. The picture of the line in flames was taken in front of 9 Stratton Road. The Scarsdale Fire Department and Police Departments stood by until Con Edison arrived.
Text by Drew Hahn/Photo by David Lawless
Scarsdale Kids Fight Poverty With Lemonaid
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Dozens of Scarsdale children supported the Robin Hood organization on Saturday June 9 by setting up lemonade stands to sell drinks and goodies to support a great cause. Robin Hood contributes the funds from the "lemonaid" initiative to underprivileged children who live in local urban areas, to provide meals, medical help, nutritional information, schooling, shelter, and legal counsel for those in need. The organization’s efforts highlight the1.8 million New Yorkers that live below the poverty line and the 59% of babies born in NYC who are born into poverty. Every year at this time, organizers send out kits and “lemonaid” T-shirts to all parents and children that want to take part in this program to sell lemonade to benefit children in need.
(contributed by Debbie Singer)
Emily Hirsch Turns 95
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Our beloved “Sweet Lady,” officially turned 95 years young on Friday, June 15th, and I was there to share in the celebration. And, oh boy, what a celebration. Friends, family, residents, and fellow local proprietors came out in full force to show their love, respect and admiration for one of our town’s treasures. There really is no one like her.
Emily’s son, Jeff Brown, a retired attorney, says, “She’s just a terrific person, who has always been there guiding me throughout my life.”
Jill Lefkowitz, one of Emily’s granddaughters, added, “She’s also a great role model with a pretty remarkable work ethic.” That’s for sure!
After chitchatting with Emily’s family for a bit, I had one burning question that I needed answered. So, I turned to Emily’s son Jeff, and asked, with resolute determination, “I see your Mom driving, almost every morning, a pretty old Mercedes, and I’m dying to know…what year is it? And, how does she see over the steering-wheel?”
Jeff smiled and gave a little laugh, as he answered, “It’s an ’84 Mercedes and she adds two cushions to the driver’s seat for some added height.”
Hmmm. The mystery has been solved.
The nicest thing about Emily’s birthday bash was the community outpouring of love and affection that went into it. La Renaissance made a beautiful cake, Starbucks donated the coffee, Scarsdale Art and Frame provided a gorgeously framed birthday card and Chamber of Commerce commendation, and Lange’s supplied the outdoor venue and food.
Bonnie Ernst, a friend from Scarsdale Child’s Play for 31 years, was there to enjoy the festivities. She informed me that Emily recently signed a two-year lease to remain in her current space. Yay.
The party also drew Dr. Rosen from Scarsdale Eye Gallery, Michelle from La Dentelliere, and a group from Accent
Tony from “Lange’s” and Emily’s good friend, Ann Jackler, a local psychotherapist in town, joined forces to throw
I asked one of Emily’s granddaughters, Jill, “Have you been surprised at how beloved your Grandmother is?”
Her answer, quite simply, “Not really.”
Happy Birthday, Emily!
Photos courtesy of Karen Baranick and Sharon Lippmann
Contributor Sharon Lippmann, writes about her "so called suburban life" as a proud resident of Scarsdale, NY. She is a writer, blogger, mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend and one sassy chick. She loves exploring the interesting, strange, perplexing, vexing, ridiculous and funny that life offers up frequently. Enjoying more of what she has to say about nothing, and, well, everything at mydailypill.com .
Bank Scammers Arrested in Scarsdale Village
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Another big week for Scarsdale Police: Quick work on the part of personnel at Chase Bank on East Parkway and Scarsdale Police lead to the arrest of a Mt. Vernon woman and a Bronx man who were attempting to use forged identification to withdraw funds from the bank. Bank personnel recognized Fern M. Davis from a security image that was distributed after she made a similar attempt at Chase Bank on Palmer Avenue last week. Police also had a description of the car she was driving.
Police got a call from Chase on Wednesday afternoon June 6 
at 1:42 pm that a woman, who was later identified as Davis, age 47, had attempted another withdrawal and was leaving the bank. Police were able to stop Davis in her car which was driven by Shannon Burley, age 31 of the Bronx. The two were unable to make a getaway due to the horrific traffic in the Village, which was snarled by the Popham Road Bridge project, a Verizon truck on the Popham Road Bridge and a Con Edision truck that was repairing a gas leak downtown. Stuck in the car, it was easy for police to stop and investigate them.
The two were charged with a host of offences stemming from a string of similar incidents at area banks including:
- Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument
- Attempted ID Theft
- Attempted Grand Larceny
- Unlawful Possession of Personal ID information
Both were arraigned in Scarsdale Village court and remanded to the Westchester County Jail on $75,000 bail each.
