EIC Files Third Petition
Dear Edgemont Neighbors:
Earlier today, we visited Town Hall and filed the third petition seeking a vote on whether the Edgemont community should incorporate as Greenburgh’s seventh village. Volunteers across Edgemont have donated money as well as countless volunteer hours toward this effort. We greatly appreciate it.
The third petition’s 1,400+ signatures represent approximately 27% of Edgemont’s qualified voters, demonstrating strong community support for a vote on incorporation. The petition includes a list of regular inhabitants (including children’s names that parents voluntarily provided).
Under applicable New York Village Law, Town Supervisor Paul Feiner must make the petition available for public inspection. The Supervisor must also notify the public within twenty days of today that he is scheduling a public hearing on objections to the legal sufficiency of the petition, and that hearing must be held within twenty to thirty days thereafter. Ultimately, Mr. Feiner himself will decide if the petition meets the statutory requirements. If he finds that it does, we can vote on whether to become a village.
However, if the past is predictive, the Supervisor will accept some number of objections and determine the petition to be invalid. Then, we will challenge him in court. We expect to prevail, as the only sustained objection to the last petition related to the description of Edgemont’s borders. We’ve now addressed that issue with an updated description prepared by a professional surveyor with extensive Greenburgh experience.
We look forward to an uptick in discussions about incorporation once word of the filing spreads. If you are new to the topic or would like a refresher, please review this article, which was published five years ago but remains relevant today. We also encourage Edgemont residents to review the April 2024 independent, third-party analysis of the potential fiscal and operational impacts of Edgemont’s incorporation by the independent consulting firm CGR. Additional background information about incorporation is available at our website. We are also happy to hold Zoom chats upon request and/or to answer questions over email.
The strong engagement and voter turnout in connection with the recent school bond show how much Edgemont residents care about our community. Regardless of how one feels about the bond vote’s outcome, the decision ultimately and appropriately rested solely with Edgemont residents as the stewards of our school district. We believe Edgemont residents also deserve the opportunity to vote on our preferred form of municipal governance.
We will keep you posted, and again, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions. Enjoy the summer!
– The EIC
