Election Update, Planning Board Drama, Villages Mayors, and Yes the Rumors are True
Hello Greenburgh,
Couple of topics for today's email but please make sure you read the last item even if you skip to the end.
Election Update
Congress CD16- George Latimer thoroughly trounced incumbent Jamaal Bowman. Latimer won 64% of the Westchester vote and 59% overall. It was a crushing defeat to Anti Semitism and ineffectiveness in Congress. Bowman has announced he won't be seeking the Working Families Party Line in the upcoming general election. We are all the better now that Bowman no longer represents us.
New York State 92nd Assembly District- MaryJane Shimksy defeated challenger Tom Abinanti 60% to 40%.
Westchester County District Attorney- After Adeel Mirza dropped out he still managed 9% of the vote(it's good to be listed first on the ballot) but Susan Cacace dominated with 61% of the vote defeating William Wagstaff and his 30%.
Land Use Drama
There was was some land use drama at the Town Board meeting this week with a resolution that passed 4-1(only Feiner voted no). Link to the resolution here. Several members of the planning board including Chair Hugh Schwartz and Johan Snaggs spoke at Public Comment oppossing the measure. The Town Board meeting got fairly contentious with the Town Board responding to the criticism of the resolution.
The resolution "prohibits members of the Town's boards and committees that render decisions on land use applications from being directors, officers or key persons or related parties of organizations whose primary function involves land use initiatives that may come before said boards and committees".
Village Revolt
The 6 village mayors wrote a letter to the Town Board opposing the Odell House budget being put in the A,or Townwide budget that is funded by all 90k residents of the Town, TOV and village alike. In their letter, I actually laughed out loud at the part where they said "The Town has repeatedly placed items in the A budget without any discussion or analysis with the villages", I spit out my coffee and I wasn't even drinking any. If anything, villages have too much influence over Town matters. That is because despite paying almost zero taxes, and having next to no vested interest in the Town, village residents still get to vote in Town elections, and since their population exceeds the TOV area, can overt an outsized influence on Town matters. Their complaint about not being consulted is laughably absurd. The Town Board represents all residents, TOV and village alike, in all Town matters. The people of Greenburgh were consulted, when they elected their Town Board to represent them.
I've always viewed village opposition to the Town Board with a healthy degree skepticism. Their refusal to support funding the Theodore Young Community Center(which is not a park) is a moral outrage that is not new. I remember working with Ken Jones back in 2018 to try and advocate for putting it in the A budget. But anyway, The Department of Community resources mission statement is "to increase the potential of Greenburgh residents, their families, and the community to overcome institutional, social, and personal obstacles and to increase their capacity to generate economic, social, and personal resources needed to enhance the quality of their lives." This benefits us all, and should be paid for by all.
Yes the rumors are true
So as many of you have heard the rumors are true, my family and I are moving out of Greenburgh at the end of the summer. I was honored by the Greenburgh Town Board about 9 minutes into this interview and you can watch my comments/farewell address and June 27th 2024 was declared "Eric Zinger Day In Greenburgh". We are set to close on our new house in Pleasantville sometime at the end of July and move shortly thereafter. The last 11 years in Greenburgh have been great and while I am sad to be leaving I am also excited for the next chapter. There are so many people to thank over the years, especially those who helped with my campaign in 2019, so I won't name individuals but you know who you are. I also want to thank everyone who has read,shared, and responded to the newsletter. So I'm not going too far so its not totally goodbye, more see you later.
Hopefully, you have found this informative. Please send any questions and 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