This morning Mr. Feiner emailed you half of the story about WestHELP. Here's what he left out.For a decade the town was receiving $1,200,000 per year from an organization called WestHELP which provided housing for single moms and their kids. Today, Mr. Feiner failed to mention that he let the lease expire in 2011 even though WestHELP wanted to renew it. The property then fell into disrepair even though his administration was obligated to maintain it.
That means that at the previous rate, we missed out on a total of $8.4 million over the past 7 years. More importantly, it means that hundreds of moms and kids missed out on affordable housing.
Vote "Lucas Cioffi" Independent - November 5th. Please mark your calendars.
Under the terms of the new agreement the town is now only getting an average of $54,000 per year through 2031. That's $11,000,000 -- yes $11 million -- less than we would have received over the next 10 years.
You don't have to take my word for it. Last year a senior democrat in our county government declared the town committed a "mortal sin" by leaving 108 affordable apartments vacant for six years. Link to article.
In 2012, the Daily Voice reported, "A group of Westchester County legislators soundly rejected Greenburgh's proposal to transform a vacant homeless housing complex into a school for the developmentally disabled, then told town officials they have no one to blame but themselves for the lack of support."
When people ask me what I am going to differently, I tell them that I'm going to do our town's business out in the open. For example, that means publicly documenting the status of all major projects online. If Mr. Feiner had documented the WestHELP project appropriately over the years, we residents would be able to hold him accountable for his email this morning where he left out critical facts.
Unfortunately Mr. Feiner's lost revenue turns into higher taxes for all of us.
My name is Lucas Cioffi, and I am running against Paul Feiner for Greenburgh Town Supervisor November 5th.
If you live anywhere in Greenburgh -- including Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings, Irvington, Tarrytown, or unincorporated (Edgemont, Hartsdale, Fairview) -- this is the first time you can vote for a new town supervisor in a general election in over a decade.
Thank you for your consideration.
Lucas Cioffi
Candidate for Greenburgh Town Supervisor
Greenburgh, NY
Website: https://www.greenburgh.us
PS - You are receiving this email, because you receive our town's email updates. The New York State Committee on Open Government has confirmed that candidates running for office in Greenburgh may use the email list as long as we do not use it for fundraising purposes. Please let me know if you'd like to unsubscribe, and thank you for your time!
For context, here is the full text of Mr. Feiner's email this morning:
The closing related to the WestHELP/Mayfair Senior Housing Project is scheduled for both Wednesday, October 16th (today) and Thursday, October 17th. The town will receive $600,000 payment under the ground lease negotiated with Westchester County over a year ago. Marathon will convert the abandoned homeless shelter into 74 affordable senior housing apartments for seniors 62 years of age and older. Marathon Development Corporation already owns 90, 100 Manhattan Ave and 33 Oak Street and has experience managing affordable housing in the county.
The WestHELP homeless shelter used to house 108 homeless individuals. Former County Executive Rob Astorino closed down the shelter- which was built by Andrew Cuomo when his father was Governor in the 1980s.
The senior housing development has the support of the Mayfair Knollwood Civic Association which participated in the discussions leading to the decision of the town to support converting the shelter into affordable housing.
Prior to the decision to convert the WestHELP senior housing into 74 affordable housing units the town had supported a plan that would have knocked down the shelter and replaced it with a new home for Ferncliff Manor, a school for developmentally disabled children. Many Westchester officials objected-and the town decided to support affordable housing at the location instead.
There is a great need for affordable housing for seniors. The existing buildings are beautiful and once the renovations are complete will be enjoyed by seniors. The location is also great- on the grounds of Westchester Community College. This will provide seniors with the chance to audit classes at the college and interact with students.
It is expected that the renovations will take over a year to complete--before the seniors start moving in.
PAUL FEINER
For context, here is the full text of Mr. Feiner's email this morning:
The closing related to the WestHELP/Mayfair Senior Housing Project is scheduled for both Wednesday, October 16th (today) and Thursday, October 17th. The town will receive $600,000 payment under the ground lease negotiated with Westchester County over a year ago. Marathon will convert the abandoned homeless shelter into 74 affordable senior housing apartments for seniors 62 years of age and older. Marathon Development Corporation already owns 90, 100 Manhattan Ave and 33 Oak Street and has experience managing affordable housing in the county.
The WestHELP homeless shelter used to house 108 homeless individuals. Former County Executive Rob Astorino closed down the shelter- which was built by Andrew Cuomo when his father was Governor in the 1980s.
The senior housing development has the support of the Mayfair Knollwood Civic Association which participated in the discussions leading to the decision of the town to support converting the shelter into affordable housing.
Prior to the decision to convert the WestHELP senior housing into 74 affordable housing units the town had supported a plan that would have knocked down the shelter and replaced it with a new home for Ferncliff Manor, a school for developmentally disabled children. Many Westchester officials objected-and the town decided to support affordable housing at the location instead.
There is a great need for affordable housing for seniors. The existing buildings are beautiful and once the renovations are complete will be enjoyed by seniors. The location is also great- on the grounds of Westchester Community College. This will provide seniors with the chance to audit classes at the college and interact with students.
It is expected that the renovations will take over a year to complete--before the seniors start moving in.
PAUL FEINER
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