Feiner to Hartsdale Parking: Let’s Punish Edgemont Together (Or You’re Done)
A few weeks ago, Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner suddenly moved to expand the Board of Commissioners of the Hartsdale Public Parking District (the separate entity that owns and controls commuter and commercial parking in Hartsdale) from 3 to 7 members, so that he could appoint a new majority. This was unexpected and curious: the law governing the HPPD's make-up has been the same throughout Feiner's 29-year reign as Greenburgh Town Supervisor. What's more, there have been no reported complaints about the HPPD's operations and its rates remain below-market for the community.
Things became even more confusing at the February 26 Town Board meeting, when Feiner claimed that the HPPD supported the change, but the HPPD made clear that it did not. Feiner's resolution ultimately failed by a vote of 3-2, but there will be a re-vote on March 11.
Today, the Scarsdale Inquirer revealed what was really happening behind the scenes.
On December 19, 2019, Feiner had sent a letter (now published in today’s Inquirer) asking the HPPD to disclose privileged information and "collaborate with the Town and share information regarding strategy and planning around possible incorporation." After the HPPD commissioners didn't respond, Feiner sent them an email again demanding answers. It was only after the HPPD board exercised their right to maintain the confidentiality of the legal advice that Feiner moved to expand the board--more than doubling it--so that he could appoint a new majority.
The Inquirer also notes that “a potential Edgemont incorporation was never disclosed to the public as a factor behind the introduction of the resolution” — which “was introduced for a town board vote on two separate occasions.”
The Scarsdale Inquirer also reports that Feiner has withheld re-appointing the chairperson of the board, who has been serving for 19 years as a commissioner, because he suspects that she may support Edgemont's incorporation, even though she has expressed no view on it. Feiner even told the Scarsdale Inquirer that he might now try to eliminate the HPPD altogether (something that New York State law does not give him unilateral authority to do).
In its masthead editorial, the Scarsdale Inquirer condemned Feiner's tactics, including his "politically motivated" reasons for keeping the chair's reappointment in limbo, his "quid pro quo" demand that the HPPD collaborate with him, and his statement to "our reporter he is considering dissolving the district and running it himself" when "he has no authority to do that." The editorial also praised the three board members for voting against Feiner's request, and urged them to "stick to their guns." We share the newspaper's disappointment that Feiner misrepresented his real reasons for trying to pack the HPPD, and we appreciate the HPPD's commitment to remaining apolitical in the face of undeserved, but extreme, pressure from Mr. Feiner.
We urge everyone to read the Scarsdale Inquirer report and editorial for the full story.
