August Update- Town News and Updates and Greenburgh P.D. Lawsuit
Hello Greenburgh,
It has been quite a bit of time, approximately two months, since my last newsletter email. I've been trying to enjoy the summer as much as possible and hope you have been too. It has also been relatively quiet on the local news front after the primary election with not much to report. Obviously there is a lot going on in the nation and worldwide, and if you know me, you know I have strong opinions on those issues. However that is not what this newsletter is about and why you have subscribed. So its been relatively quiet the past few months but things are starting to pick up.
We have next year's Town budget coming out at the end of October. It will be very interesting to see what that looks like and how the federal stimulus and Corona Virus over the last year impacted our projected versus actual spending. If you recall, we projected to spend down a significant portion of our Town reserves to keep the Town tax rate flat in 2021. That was a decision that I agreed with, but also recognized left us with no second bullet for 2021. Hopefully we will have received injections of funding from the Federal stimulus, but the 2022 budget is one to closely watch when it comes out. We also have the Town's plan to build a large and costly new Police Station and Court House at what is increasingly looking like 100 Hillside Ave. No deal to purchase the property is in place, but a significant amount of resources have been invested with consulting firms by the town, with an eye towards that property.
One piece of news that just came out this week was allegations of sexual assault and police misconduct by a former Greenburgh Police Officer. You can read the full complaint here and a Lohud article about the lawsuit here. I encourage you to read the complaint in full and watch the bodycam footage embedded in the article. The allegations (and at this time they are merely allegations) are wide-ranging and allege a range of misconduct, but when I boil down the 42 page complaint the 3 main complaints that stand out to me are: 1) An allegation of sexual assault by another Greenburgh P.D. officer. The incident is partially captured on police body cam video, but the actual physical contact between the two officers is not visible. It is clear that something happens as the Lieutenant in charge clears the room and states "What the F*** Jeff." After an internal review, the offending officer was disciplined with loss of 2 weeks vacation. What is disputed is the exact nature of the physical contact. 2) An allegation against current Chief McNerney that he interfered with the plaintiff's attempt to transfer to Westchester County police and 3) An allegation that fellow officers were slow to provide backup or respond to requests for assistance by the plaintiff. There are many other allegations of inappropriate behavior, but these are the key items in my view.
I spoke to Police Chief McNerney about the case and he said "We can't defend ourselves in the media, but we are anxious to defend ourselves in court. We look forward to opportunity to disprove these allegations." Whatever actually happened, the police bodycam footage reflects poorly on the Greenburgh P.D. I know that if I did what Officer Cerone did to Officer Stein in my workplace, I'd be fired immediately and without pause. I agree with the Chief that now is not the time to rush to judgement. Many of the claims in the suit can quantifiably be proven either true or untrue. This is a story I will be following closely and I will continue to provide updates.
Other News:
An update on Odell House- The Town of Greenburgh has awarded the contract for historic preservation design services for the Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters to architect Stephen Tilly of Dobbs Ferry.
Dog swim on 9/12 at Anthony Veteran Park. Advance registration only. $10 per dog goes to Friends of East Rumbrook Dog Park Association. Sign up here.
Hopefully, you have found this informative. Please forward to your friends and neighbors. If you have questions about any of the above, please email me at Eric@ericzinger.com
Eric Zinger
www.ericzinger.com