New Castle Downtown Survey Continues Amidst Accusations of Bias
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A recent anonymous townwide mailer charged that a survey developed and sent to New Castle residents regarding potential use of municipally-owned property in downtown Chappaqua was biased in favor of development.
The postcard, which was apparently received by a wide swath of people living in New Castle, was referring to the survey from the Marist Poll to gain feedback from the public on what it might like town officials to do with about 23 acres of town-owned land near the Chappaqua train station. The survey is a follow-up to walking tours and public engagement sessions held by the town last May in the effort that is called Envision New Castle.
While the mailer complimented the town for trying to obtain public response on the issue, it also equated the latest effort to the failed Form Based Code, which in 2020 and 2021 stirred high emotions with opponents as the town discussed downtown rezoning to spur activity and potentially hundreds of additional housing units in multifamily structures.
On one side, the mailer stated that “If the town does not hear from you, we may face another misguided densification effort.”
“Recently the current Board held meetings to seek feedback re: public land in downtown and sent residents a related survey,” it also stated. “We strongly applaud this effort. Unfortunately, the survey is written in a way that is clearly biased toward new development.”
Supervisor Victoria Tipp said that the survey from the Marist Poll, a highly respected outfit, is to help officials learn what residents would like in order to determine the highest and best use of town land. She called the effort an “unprecedented open and inclusive outreach.”
The survey questions were based on public sentiment gained during last spring’s engagement sessions, Tipp said.
“I would just say about that, it’s just following the trends that we see in misinformation and disinformation and it’s highly irresponsible,” Tipp said of the mailer. “They are comparing what we’re doing to the Form Based Code and eliciting fears based on that. This is far from the Form Based Code. We did extensive outreach during the Envision New Castle sessions.”
Tipp, who campaigned against the Form Based Code and won a Town Board seat in 2021, said the survey, which had initially been expected to close on Nov. 15, has been extended to Dec. 4. There needed to be a second mailing of the survey because many residents ignored the first round, perhaps tossing it aside as election-related mail or junk mail, as the nature of the contents were not apparent from the outside of the envelope.
However, the supervisor said there is concern on the town’s part that the mailer may have influenced residents who had not yet answered the survey. The town planned to speak with representatives of the Marist Poll to find out if the survey has been compromised.
The Examiner reached out to Form Based Code opponents last week, all of whom said they had nothing to do with the anonymous mailer.
However, at the Nov. 19 Town Board meeting, resident Suzanne Chazin, said she agreed with the mailer’s premise that the survey appeared to be looking to skew results toward a certain conclusion. In the more than 20 questions, Chazin said there were only two questions that allowed a person to respond that they don’t want additional development.
Other questions focused on issues such as the prioritizing of changes or about building more housing in downtown, she said.
While Chazin said she went on the walking tour and attended the public engagements last spring, discussion about smaller but impactful changes such as a walking path, improved signage and even a seasonal splash park were absent.
“I really felt by the time we got to the survey it was very clear to me that there was an agenda here,” Chazin said.
Another longtime resident suggested rewriting the survey so residents who do not support development can make their sentiments known.
“I did not support the Form Based Code. I do not support this latest attempt either,” the resident stated in a letter to the Envision New Castle website. “The ‘walking tours’ you held earlier this year were extremely misleading, especially in contrast to the survey you sent to our homes. The survey arrived looking like political season junk mail. I had to rescue it from the trash. And I, unlike most residents, was keeping an eye out for it and eager to complete it.”
Tipp said a challenge is to receive public response regarding what residents may want to see. She said in last week’s supervisor’s report that options could including many uses including recreational spaces, green spaces, walking trails, parks, benches, lighting, trees and other plantings.
“It should be obvious that we’re not trying to replicate the Form Based Code,” Tipp said. “I ran against the Form Based Code. I’m not sure that says it all, but I think people get the recent information that they see and I hope they can be discerning.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
