The unedited video from the 3/30 NAACP panel & WARNING: Door to door private investigators in Edgemont.
FIRST: PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED REPORTS THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE GOING DOOR-TO-DOOR SAYING THEY ARE VERIFYING SIGNATURES ON THE PETITION. IN FACT, THIS DOCUMENT SAYS YOU OBJECT TO THE LEGAL SUFFICIENCY OF THE PETITION. THEY ARE LOOKING TO INVALIDATE YOUR PETITION SIGNATURE FOR INCORPORATION. BE AWARE!
Opposition rhetoric disguised as analysis still falls flat, and the EIC handles the difficult questions.
Thursday night, the EIC sat on a panel moderated by the head of the Greenburgh/White Plains chapter of the NAACP. The panel included three opposition leaders, three Greenburgh department heads, and one Town Board member. The rules required factual substantiation of all statements. Here is the complete video of the event:
Unfortunately, anti-incorporation leader Mike Schwartz continued to offer unsubstantiated and deceptive falsehoods. For example, he mentioned that he had been at the Town assessor's office that day for personal purposes, and realized that we had not factored that activity and others into the feasibility study. Mr. Schwartz apparently does not understand that paramedics, ambulances, and assessment services are provided through the Town-wide “A” budget. In other words, Edgemont pays for—and receives—those services irrespective of our incorporation status. This is very easy to check and we encourage Mr. Schwartz to review the Town budget, consult with Town officials, and if still unconvinced, issue a correction.
Town Board member Ken Jones maintains that property taxes will go up and services will go down in Edgemont. When asked for data and analysis to substantiate he claims, he provided none.
We were pleased to hear Victor Carosi, Town DPW Commissioner, confirm that the highway department cost and service assumptions in the EIC’s financial feasibility study are reasonable. In addition, Police Department Captain D'Alessio stated that the Town could provide the same police protection services to Edgemont if it received the same amount of revenue under an inter-municipal contract with Edgemont.
The meeting offered a wonderful opportunity to highlight the fact that the Theodore D. Young Community Center (TDYCC) provides essential services on a Town-wide basis, but is only funded by the unincorporated area (and not the existing six villages). The EIC believes that the entire Town, including the Village of Edgemont, if incorporated, should fund this critical organization and its many key programs, the most important of which focus on problems caused by poverty, racism, and cultural deprivation.
Finally, the EIC summarized the meeting with a brief discussion about risks and rewards vs. the status quo; contracting with the Town at current service levels in order to preserve scale and jobs and ensure revenue for the Town; and the potential for a financial feasible Village of Edgemont under a number of different scenarios.
We hope everyone has an opportunity to watch and listen to the video, review the answers on the website, read the feasibility study and the note the EIC sent to Greenburgh on purchasing services, and get informed with the facts on incorporation.
The EIC.
